Wednesday, November 20, 2013

November 20th, 2013 | Add a Comment |
By John Fensterwald

California, in gray, is the only state that didn’t report this year to the Data Quality Campaign’s 9th annual analysis. Two states in orange, Arkansas and Delaware, reported a perfect 10 actions to create effective state data policies.

California for the first time declined this year to participate in Data Quality Campaign’s annual national survey,creating a hole in the 50-state map marking progress states have made in collecting and effectively using educational data. The results of the 9^th annual report were released Tuesday.

The survey tracks states’ progress in taking 10 actions the national nonprofit organization has deemed essential to help parents, teachers and policymakers make informed decisions to improve student achievement. These include creating a database that can track students’ progress from pre-kindergarten through college and the workplace, training teachers in how to read and use data to target student interventions, and permitting data access to researchers and universities while preserving student privacy.

“It’s disappointing,” said Brad Strong, senior director of education policy for Oakland-basedChildren Now, a strong data advocate. “Participating in the survey helped provide a national perspective on our data use.”

In 2011, the Campaign started sending the survey to governors instead of state K-12 education departments, because questions also pertain to higher education and pre-K data. Since then, only the office of Gov. Jerry Brown, who has questioned the value of state-collected education data, responded that it wasn’t interested in participating in the survey, with no reason given, said Paige Kowalski, director of state policy and advocacy for the Campaign. The California Department of Education filled out the survey in 2011 and 2012 at the Campaign’s request but wasn’t asked to

Council holds hearing on funding for public schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Council holds hearing on funding for public schools | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Council holds hearing on funding for public schools

by thenotebook on Nov 20 2013 Posted in Latest news

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Photo: Isaac Riddle

Council members Mark Squilla, David Oh, and Jannie Blackwell at a hearing on education funding Tuesday.

by Isaac Riddle

School District of Philadelphia chief financial advisor, Matthew E. Stanski, and Lori Shorr, chief education officer for the mayor’s office, told the City Council Committee on Education Wednesday that the School District doesn’t have enough revenue to adequately educate students.

In response, however, City Council members were surly, questioning the relationship between money and achievement while expressing their irritation that Stanski couldn’t tell them right now exactly how much money they will be asking for next year from either the city or the state.

Shorr and Stanski argued that a predictable state funding formula would help the District become financially stable.

A state funding formula based on districts' needs and student enrollments hadbeen created under the Rendell administration, but was abandoned when Gov. Corbett took office in 2011.

“We need a funding formula so it isn’t a year-to-year begging,” said Shorr. “There’s got to be a predictability, you have to be able to know so that it is not an every year drama.”

Part of the purpose of the hearing was to weigh a Council resolution which would call for the education committee to begin a series of meetings to address the state’s approach to education funding.

Council members voiced their frustration and skepticism of the District’s fiscal

11-19-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG - Thanks to Millions of Professionals Who Support Our Students Everyday

Thanks to Millions of Professionals Who Support Our Students Everyday — Whole Child Education:

Thanks to Millions of Professionals Who Support Our Students Everyday

Supported, the fourth tenet of the ASCD Whole Child Initiative, says that each student has access to personalized learning and is supported by qualified caring adults. While teachers, administrators, and parents are often the most recognized adults in the school community, we must also remember the often overlooked adults helping to educate and keep our kids safe—the school support staff. Ther

by Kristen Pekarek / 3min skip // save

Common Core and Student Success: What Parents Can Do

Today, as we look at the importance of parental involvement in education—as part of American Education Week's Parents Day—it is important to consider the role parents play in the Common Core State Standards' success. Like most other education initiatives, the Common Core standards will need a team of committed individuals, starting at home with the parents, to ensure its success. The Common Core

by Kristen Pekarek / 3min

11-19-13 THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG Common Core and Student Success: What Parents Can Do — Whole Child Education

Common Core and Student Success: What Parents Can Do — Whole Child Education: Common Core and Student Success: What Parents Can DoToday, as we look at the importance of parental involvement in education—as part of American Education Week's Parents Day—it is important to consider the role parents play in the Common Core State Standards' success. Like most other education initiatives, the Common Cor

by mike simpson / 20h

AFT's Harvey Weinstein to Host Screening of MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM - BWWMoviesWorld

AFT's Harvey Weinstein to Host Screening of MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM - BWWMoviesWorld:

AFT's Harvey Weinstein to Host Screening of MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

November 20

11:502013

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👤by Movies News Desk

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AFT's Harvey Weinstein to Host Screening of MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM

The American Federation of Teachers and The Weinstein Company are bringing the story of Nelson Mandela's life and his message of social justice, reconciliation and leadership to 3,000 Los Angeles public high school students with a screening tomorrow of the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and a conversation afterward with AFT President Randi Weingarten and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company.

"The message of this great man and his incredible life should not be lost on this generation. Film can be a phenomenal educational tool, and this film touches on the universal themes of fear, oppression, hope, reconciliation and forgiveness," Weingarten said.

The AFT has posted lesson plans related to the movie on its Share My Lesson website. Share My Lesson-available at no charge for educators-offers lengthy clips from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and several Common Core-aligned lesson plans for English language arts and world history classes. "Using engaging curriculum like the Mandela lessons is one way we can reclaim the promise of public education for all children," Weingarten said.

On Thursday, 3,000 Los Angeles high school students will attend a screening of the film and then participate in a discussion about the film and its message with the AFT's Weingarten and film company executive Weinstein. A similar event will take place in New York on Nov. 26.

Teachers across the country can enter a Share My Lesson contest to win a package of 30 tickets to the movie for their students. To enter, teachers must register, free of charge, to join Share My Lesson; download any lesson;

Investing in the Future | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Investing in the Future | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

Investing in the Future: Revenue Options to Give
Every Child the Opportunity to Learn
New Report is Powerful Advocacy Tool for Fair School Funding

Today the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center and the Opportunity to Learn Campaign are pleased to releaseInvesting in the Future: Revenue Options to Give Every Child the Opportunity to Learn. The report is a valuable resource for education advocates and grassroots organizers across the country who are fighting for fair school funding, and it illustrates how states can play a pivotal role in ensuring that every child has a quality education.

Every day students across the nation attend schools that, simply because they're located in low-income communities, don't have the means to provide every student with the resources and opportunities they deserve. States can make a huge difference by raising additional funding for the schools and students that need it most.

Investing in the Future identifies a range of strategies for redirecting resources to support students and to help states make effective investments in our schools, our teachers and our students.

A key tool for advocates and organizers are the Stories from the States that give examples of efforts to raise new revenue and the lessons learned along the way. The report also provides contact information for research organizations in almost every state that have expertise in revenue issues.

Investing in the Future is available online as an interactive website. Don't forget to share it with your friends and colleagues on Facebook and Twitter!

"Zero-Tolerance: The History of Structural Violence on Our Students" | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

"Zero-Tolerance: The History of Structural Violence on Our Students" | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity: "Zero-Tolerance: The History of Structural Violence on Our Students"Posted on: Monday November 18th, 2013OTL allies from the Urban Youth Collaborative (UYC) and the Dignity in Schools Campaign – New York (DSC-NY) are presen

by mike simpson / 18h

Education Spending in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia: Matthew Steinberg and Rand Quinn | Penn GSE Press Room

Education Spending in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia: Matthew Steinberg and Rand Quinn | Penn GSE Press Room:

EDUCATION SPENDING IN PENNSYLVANIA AND PHILADELPHIA: MATTHEW STEINBERG AND RAND QUINN

Professors Matthew Steinberg and Rand Quinn are experts on education funding and education policy. In a recent studyprepared for the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Education, Steinberg and Quinn found that the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) does more, per pupil, with its current resources than its closest counterparts in terms of student poverty and achievement. However, Steinberg and Quinn point out that although SDP is doing more with less, only half of the district's students are proficient in math and reading, and adequate levels of resources are necessary so all students can be successful academically.

"Philadelphia is a story of possibility. Philadelphia is doing more than less."

-Matthew Steinberg in The Philadelphia Inquirer

Report and Presentation

View and download a copy of the report, Assessing Adequacy in Education Spending: A Summary of Key Findings from Pennsylvania and Philadelphia.

View and download a copy of the presentation to Philadelphia City Council, Assessing Adequacy in Education Spending: A Summary of Key Findings.

Media Inquiries

If you are interested in writing about Steinberg and Quinn's report or setting up an interview, please contact our Assistant Director of Communications Margaret Sanborn at (215) 898-3269 ormsanborn@gse.upenn.edu.

Press Release

For more information on Assessing Adequacy in Education Spending, please refer to the press release.

Press Coverage

The Philadelphia Inquirer
Study: Phila. schools do more with less than peers, November 20, 2013
"Philadelphia is a story of possibility," said Matthew P. Steinberg, an assistant professor at Penn's Graduate School of Education. "Philadelphia is doing more than less."

The Washington Post: The Answer Sheet
Surprising new research on school funding, November 20, 2013
"While the SDP is perennially underfunded and among the lowest-performing districts in the state, our preliminary findings from an ongoing study of school funding suggest that the SDP does more, per pupil, with its current resources than its closest counterparts in terms of student poverty and achievement."

Does Common Core Matter? An Excellent 2012 Musing by Tom Loveless | deutsch29

Does Common Core Matter? An Excellent 2012 Musing by Tom Loveless | deutsch29:

Does Common Core Matter? An Excellent 2012 Musing by Tom Loveless

November 20, 2013

The Education Week article below was written in April 2012 by Brookings Institute member Tom Loveless.

In it, Loveless argues why having “common standards” across states will likely produce no monumental gains for states adopting Common Core.

The piece raises such excellent points that I had to offer it to my readers.

Does the Common Core Matter?

By Tom Loveless

The 2012 Brown Center Report on American Education includes a study of the Common Core State Standards project. It attempts to predict the effect of the common core on student achievement. The study focuses on three arguments: that the quality of the common core is superior to that of existing standards, that the tests tied to the common core will be rigorous, and that having common standards will reduce differences across the United States by “putting all states on the same page.” It summarizes the current debate on the common core, but takes no stand on the merits of the arguments.

For example, the study does not attempt to determine whether the common-core standards are of high or low quality, only whether the quality of state standards has mattered to student achievement in the past. The finding is clear: The quality of standards has not mattered. From 2003 to 2009, states with terrific standards raised their National Assessment of Educational Progress scores by roughly the same margin as states with awful ones.

The analysis of rigor takes the same tack. It investigates whether it has mattered to

Who Writes the Songs? | Taking Note

Who Writes the Songs? | Taking Note:

Who Writes the Songs?

by JOHN MERROW on 20. NOV, 2013 in 2013 BLOGS

I write the songs that make the whole world sing.
I write the songs of love and special things.
I write the songs that make the young girls cry.
I write the songs, I write the songs.

No doubt that the Barry Manilow tune is now playing in the heads of most readers.[1] But who “writes the songs” in the larger sense of the term? Who and what determine how we look at the world, what you might call our ‘political narrative’?

We know this matters. Time and again research has shown the power of preconceptions over conclusions and decisions. If people are led to believe that a particular artist’s work is masterful or a certain composer’s music is sophisticated, that’s what most people are likely to see and hear. When a teacher is told that her students have low potential, those kids somehow end up performing poorly; conversely, if the teacher is told the students are gifted, that’s how they do in class. That’s the influence of the narrative.

What I find intriguing is the power of the current narrative about public education, which goes this way:“Effective teachers are the cornerstone of quality education, and, because so many of our public schools are failing today, it stands to reason that our schools must have a surfeit of ineffective teachers. Ergo, to reform education, we must drive out those bad teachers and replace them with quality teachers who will produce higher scores on standardized tests.”

Once one accepts that narrative, it makes sense to evaluate and fire teachers based on student test scores. Accept that narrative, and it’s logical for the federal government to award millions of “Race to the Top” dollars to states which agree to evaluate teachers based on test scores.

When I wrote about the public narrative about education just three years ago, the two sides were

11-20-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Tell FedEx and the World How TFA Affected Your Life

Jim Horn ‏@MismeasureOfEd1mTFA impacted me when schools started hiring these corporate missionaries to replace teachers. http://at.fedex.com/qwi6o #CountlessPossibilities Reply Delete Favorite MoreExpand

by Jim Horn / 1min

Update on Data Quality Campaign to Judge All Knowledge on Corporate Needs

A Jane Roberts clip from the Memphis Corporate Appeal yesterday on DQC:. . . .In 2012, Tennessee scored six, including that it was among a handful of states taking steps to ensure that teachers — and students training to be teachers — know how to read data so they can better meet student needs. “We’ve seen a little gain in this area, but still Tennessee is in a small group here,” said Elizabeth Da

by Jim Horn / 17min

11-19-13 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: An Arne Duncan ReaderWhile Secretary of Education Arne Duncan—career-long bureaucrat who has never taught and has no formal background in education—has created a controversy over his swipe at "white suburban moms," the great irony comes from his equally vapid apology, in which he concludes: "Let’s get back to that conversation, because it’s an important one for our c

by mike simpson / 1h

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, November 20, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Teachers union members, parents protest $1-billion iPad plan

Education Headlines

FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Monterey Peninsula USD prepares to make final settlement payment to teachers

The Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is closing a long and painful chapter as officials gear up to liquidate a debt with its teachers that dates back more than a decade.

CVUSD, ADC differ on financing Arab mascot changes

If the cost of changing the mascot, logo or murals becomes too expensive for Coachella Valley High School, the national anti-discrimination group that spurred the changes will help raise funds for the school.

Westminster schools hire new district leader

A veteran educator from San Diego has been hired to lead the Westminster School District. Marian Kim-Phelps officially began working as district superintendent on Nov. 18 after her contract was unanimously approved by the district’s Board of Trustees on Nov. 14.

Twin Rivers board votes 5-1 calling for trustee Quinn’s resignation

Trustee Cortez Quinn was not at the Twin Rivers Unified School Board meeting Tuesday night, but it didn’t stop the board and parents from calling for his resignation.

Teachers association, district head toward impasse

Members of the Sweetwater Education Association came out in force Monday to the Sweetwater school board meeting to protest what they say are contract violations.

San Jose council deadlocks on Rocketship charter school in Tamien neighborhood

After more than three hours of debate, a deadlocked San Jose City Council late Tuesday voted to defer action after falling a vote short of approving construction of a new charter school that has long divided a low-income San Jose neighborhood.

Science, math, and at last parents’ common sense for Common Core

California’s science and math aficionados gathered in Sacramento this week to talk about grand plans to improve standards in these fields, starting in kindergarten, with the end goal of matching the state’s grads with high numbers of highly skilled and unfilled jobs in those fields.

iPad software licenses expire in three years, L.A. Unified says

Renewing licenses could cost $50 to $100 per iPad, about $60 million annually, despite earlier statements that the district would own the software permanently.

Teachers union members, parents protest $1-billion iPad plan

More than a dozen Los Angeles teachers on Tuesday staged their first protest of a $1-billion plan to provide iPads to every student and teacher, calling the effort misguided and unsustainable.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Wasco names new superintendent

The Wasco Union Elementary School District has promoted director of categorical programs Kelly Richers to superintendent.

Oxnard school board OKs 1.5 percent raise for employees

The board approved an across-the-board salary increase of 1.5 percent for employees. For many employees, the raise is retroactive to July 1.

Common Core may change path to math

Traditionally, U.S. students studied algebra and geometry in compartmentalized courses starting with algebra 1, then proceeding to geometry and algebra 2. But as schools get ready for the Common Core standards, which officially take effect in the 2014-15 school year, officials must decide whether to stick with this system or use an integrated model.

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