Thursday, February 13, 2014

2-13-14 GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com:

Jessie B. Ramey, of the University of Pittsburgh at Alternet… “We don’t need more choices in public education. We need great public schools in every community, that any parent would be happy to send their children to, and that meet the needs of local families. We don’t really have any choice at all if our local public school is not a high quality option. Choice is a free market ideology. Markets d

5 by GPS / 4h

NY – NYSUT, lawmakers react to common core changes…

Kelly McCarthy at WBNG-12 in Binghamton… “Members of the New York State United Teachers are disappointed with Common Core recommendations released Monday and approved Tuesday by state education committees. The teachers group said the proposed changes only skim the surface of the real problems facing teachers and students with the new standards. The only delay included in the plan is for high sc

5 by GPS / 4h

A fight is brewing over tests in the Common Core age…

Lyndsey Layton in The Washington Post… “Testing season begins soon in U.S. public schools, requiring millions of students to spend days answering standardized questions in math and reading, as mandated by an outdated federal law. But this year is filled with tumult. Educators are questioning the purpose of testing, lawmakers in several states are pushing back against federal regulations, and a mo

6 by GPS / 4h

NC – Teachers know their work isn’t a numbers game…

Jeri Rowe in The News & Record… “She sees Raleigh wanting to run public schools like some corporation where numbers rule people’s fate. With this tenure law, along with the thinking among a majority of the legislators, she worries that state education officials will rely too much on test scores to determine whether a teacher is effective — or not…” Read it. What do you think? Read and share co

by GPS / 4h

LA teachers use Facebook to expose ‘Third World’ school conditions…

The Stream Team at Aljazeera America… “Would you rather have a personal iPad in class or a water faucet that works? Two Los Angeles teachers assert that their school district has neglected basic upkeep and repairs in favor of purchasing expensive tablet computers, leaving classrooms in a condition reminiscent of a “Third World” country. To highlight deteriorating conditions at the L.A. Unified Sc

4 by GPS / 4h

Vergara sisters take the stand…

Mark Harris in The LA School Report… “Beatriz and Elizabeth Vergara, sisters at the center of a state lawsuit in their name, Vergara vs. California, took the witness stand today, describing chaotic classrooms with inattentive and hurtful teachers in their middle school. The sisters, who now attend high school at Cesar Chavez Learning Academies, an LA Unified school in San Fernando, are two of nin

3 by GPS / 4h

St. Paul teachers prepare for potential strike…

Steve Patterson at KSTP – ABC5 “We’re learning more about what a potential teacher strike in St. Paul could look like — and what brought the two sides to the brink. If the St. Paul Federation of Teachers votes to strike on Feb. 24, and the union’s executive board then votes to authorize a strike, the school district says all schools would be closed, all before and after school activities would be

by GPS / 4h hide // save

Portland schools gear up for possible teachers strike…

Jennifer Anderson in The Portland Tribune… ‘There’s less than a week left for those future meetings to occur. PPS and PAT have been bargaining for 10 months, trying to reach a settlement on the last several issues with the help of a mediator since October. The district has 48,000 students and 2,800 teachers. The teachers’ union members met Feb. 7 to authorize a strike beginning Feb. 20…” Read it.

by GPS / 4h

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com

GoPublicSchool.com « An open discussion of public school issues. GoPublicSchool.com: GPS Viewpoint – Mike Weston…CC – The wrong focus now… I am greatly troubled by the rushed implementation of the common-core standards. With common-core comes an entire new student testing, school grading and teacher evaluation paradigm; things Florida already does poorly. There are many arguments against common-co

by mike simpson / 9h

2-13-14 empathyeducates All Week

empathyeducates:

“Treating People with Fundamentally Unequal Backgrounds as Superficially the Same”

Base Photograph; AP Photo | Wisconsin State Journal/John Hart By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originally Published The Becoming Radical. February 12, 2014 “Work hard. Be nice.” is the tag-line of Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) charter schools, schools that serve primarily (and often exclusively) high-poverty minority […]

by empathy / 7h

2-9-14 empathyeducates All Week

empathyeducates: 4 Education Overhauls to Watch for in 2014By Owen Davis | Originally Published at Salon. AlterNet. February 4, 2014 8:30 AM For people looking to “disrupt” public education, it’s become requisite to bemoan the “educational status quo” — a phrase meant to evoke images of poor kids striving against the impediments of failing schools […]by empathy / 7h 2-8-14 empathyeducates All Week

by mike simpson /

2-13-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

NY Post: Farina Says No Excuse For Students Who Took A Snow Day

Wow, Chancellor Farina now rivaling Cathie Black for eye-raising statements.Here's the latest, as reported by the NY Post:Farina also callously declared that students who were absent from school Thursday would not be given a pass for taking the day off.“At the course of a whole day, you can still get to school,” she said.The Daily News reports that only 45% of NYC school children showed up to scho

by reality-based edu... / 47min

A Failed Test By De Blasio And Farina

I want to note before I start quoting meteorologist Craig Allen and weather personality Al Roker that I "first-guessed" the decision to leave NYC schools open last night when it was announced.You can see that post at this link, but here is some of what I wrote:Why would Farina announce schools are opened tomorrow so early tonight before the storm hits, even as both Nick Gregory of FOX an

by reality-based edu... / 40min

Craig Allen: Worst Of The Snow To Come, No Time To "Play A Hero"

Just heard Craig Allen on WCBS 880 that the worst of the storm is yet to come, we will be getting heavy bands of snow through late morning or early afternoon before the rain line finally hits the city.He actually said this is no time to play a hero just because a boss, like the NYC school system, wants you in to work.Allen is no hysteric and usually downplays hype around storms, so when he says th

by reality-based edu... / 3h hide // save

We May Be Heading Into The Heaviest Snow Of The Day

Many of the TV stations were downplaying snow totals last night, so perhaps that gave Farina and de Blasio cover to announce schools were going to be open no matter what, but the heaviest snow of the day is supposed to be the 6 AM-10 AM hours and according to one meteorologist on the weather board, that heavy snow is still on track to hit.Again according to the weather boards, the radar shows the

by reality-based edu... / 4h

2-12-14 Perdido Street School: The Cost Of Common Core And The Race To Top Reforms

Perdido Street School: The Cost Of Common Core And The Race To Top Reforms: The Cost Of Common Core And The Race To Top ReformsFrom State of Politics:New Yorkers for Students’ Educational Rights, an education advocacy group, is suing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Board of Regents and state Education Commissioner John King, claiming the state has systematically shortgaged the public school system by faili

by mike simpson / 9h

It pays to be a friend and neighbor of Chris Christie | Bob Braun's Ledger

It pays to be a friend and neighbor of Chris Christie | Bob Braun's Ledger:

It pays to be a friend and neighbor of Chris Christie

Brian Zychowski, flanked by Christie and Cerf

Brian Zychowski, the North Brunswick schools superintendent, is considered a leading candidate to replace state Education Commissioner Christopher Cerf who is leaving at the end of the month. Gov. Chris Christie has appointed Zychowski to a number of important state commissions. The governor and Zychowski are Mendham neighbors and friends and Zychowski coached Christie’s daughter, a member of a local basketball team. And, finally, Christie apparently has overlooked Zychowski’s salary which goes far beyond the state caps imposed with both anger and some fanfare by the governor.

It’s apparently good to have a good friend and neighbor who is governor.

Zychowski makes $206,237 a year. According to the caps imposed by the governor in February, 2011, he should only be making $165,000 a year. If he is offered and takes the education commissioner’s job, he will be making only $141,000 a year.

What is also curious about Zychowski’s salary contract is its timing. It appeared to be timed to avoid the pay cut hundreds of other superintendents faced because of Christie’s insistence on cutting what he called “lavish” spending on the salaries of local school chiefs.

According to Zychowski, he began negotiations with the North Brunswick school

Shanker Blog » Recovering One Of The Midwest’s Best Ideas

Shanker Blog » Recovering One Of The Midwest’s Best Ideas:

Recovering One Of The Midwest’s Best Ideas

Posted by Conor P. Williams on February 13, 2014

Our guest author today is Dr. Conor P. Williams, a proud product of Michigan’s public schools, and currently a Senior Researcher in the New America Foundation’s Early Education Initiative. Follow him on Twitter: @conorpwilliams

President Obama sent a veritable drawerful of his cabinet to Detroit last fall (and Vice President Joe Biden led a similar visit last month). While the Tigers were headed for the postseason, the big shots weren’t in town for a glimpse of quality baseball. Attorney General Eric Holder, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, and Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx were in the Motor City to brainstorm with state and local leaders on ways to use federal resources to spark — and hopefully speed — Detroit’s economic recovery.

While there are flickers of economic revival in the city, it’s hard to imagine that this conversation was wide-ranging enough to break the spiral. Is there an easy long-term recovery to be found in Detroit—or are its considerable problems the product of a fatally flawed economic development plan? There’s ample evidence for the latter.

Changing the city’s course will require much more than budgetary tweaks. It’s going to take a comprehensive rethinking of the area’s approach to education and economic opportunities. It’s going to require starting with the youngest Detroiters—and building a lasting foundation for economic growth.

It’s not enough to invest more resources in Detroit’s current model. With its tumbling population, crumbling infrastructure, shrinking tax base, and moribund economy, Detroit looks a prime contender for serial bankruptcy. Think US Airways. Think Donald Trump. Without a fundamental rethinking of the region’s economic situation, we risk throwing good money after bad.

Gloomy as this sounds, it’s not just a problem for Detroit and its surrounding environs. The Motor City’s (most) recent implosion isn’t just the product of local idiosyncrasies. Sadly, it’s symptomatic of big, structural challenges facing the entire Midwest. Detroit is just a sagging anchor on a sinking ship. Things are only marginally better in other Midwestern cities: the 2010 census showed that Detroit surrendered 25% of its population in just a decade. Cleveland lost 17%. Even Chicago, the Midwest’s cultural and economic capital, lost 7% of its population.

Without a substantive jolt, the Midwest’s future looks a lot like Detroit’s present. Changing that path is going to take

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Guest Post – Gates Foundation’s Vicki Phillips On Common Core Momentum II

Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Guest Post – Gates Foundation’s Vicki Phillips On Common Core Momentum II:

Guest Post – Gates Foundation’s Vicki Phillips On Common Core Momentum II

Vicki Phillips is Director of Education, College Ready at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (a foundation that funds Bellwether). In a guest post last month she discussed Common Core implementation and sparked a lively debate. She’s back today to discuss the issue further:

Stick-to-itiveness. Determination. Tenacity. Grit. These are concepts that every teacher tries to impart to his or her students – the importance of not giving up when the going gets tough. In fact, according to Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth, a psychologist and a 2013 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, grit – that potent combination of passion, perseverance and stamina – is the true key to achieving success.

But if that’s the case, I wonder why we are now hearing calls to pause, halt and even reverse the Common Core State Standards – one of the most important U.S. education initiatives in decades. During this time of implementation, being able and willing to adjust and recalibrate is certainly a necessary part of the process, but going backwards is not the answer. As I recently wrote, realizing success for all students is within our reach, and instead of quitting, we must focus on giving teachers and students the support they need as they adjust to the new standards. Equally, we must ensure that teachers and students are truly prepared before consequences for not meeting the standards are implemented.

So, how do we do this?

First, teachers must play a key role in the Common Core implementation process. We’ve seen fantastic results in districts where teachers are already involved in implementation, and the momentum is only growing. For example, in Cleveland, several teachers worked together to create high-quality curriculum units aligned to the Common Core standards. These lessons are now available to all teachers in the district via School Net, Cleveland’s district-wide resource database, and are being taught in

Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) (CA Dept of Education)

Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) (CA Dept of Education):

Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA)

Authorizes the creation of an educational accountability system for California public schools. Its primary goal is to help schools improve and to measure the academic achievement of all students.

PSAA Program Information

CalEdFacts PSAA Section
California Department of Education's information and media guide about education in the State of California. For information on other topics, visit the full CalEdFacts.

California Education Code and PSAA

API 2013 Regional Meetings

The California Department of Education is developing a college and career indicator to include in the Academic Performance Index (API) and is seeking input on the indicator by conducting regional meetings. Please view the schedule for meeting dates and locations.

PSAA Advisory Committee

Notice of Public Meeting (Revised 12-Feb-2014)
Meeting Dates
PSAA Meeting Webcast Archive
Committee Members 2014–2015

PSAA Components

Questions: Karen Heiner | KHeiner@cde.ca.gov | 916-319-0635

My notes on state gov't plans to close 5% of WI public schools every year A.K.A. Hearing on #AB379 #SB286 : blue cheddar

My notes on state gov't plans to close 5% of WI public schools every year A.K.A. Hearing on #AB379 #SB286 : blue cheddar:

My notes on state gov’t plans to close 5% of WI public schools every year A.K.A. Hearing on #AB379 #SB286

by blue cheddar • February 13, 2014

WI Senate Education Committee meets today 10AM to take up the “accountability bill”. Then at 10:05AM it will conduct public hearings.
Room 411 South, Wisconsin Capitol Building

I went to the latter half of AB379 – - what’s being called the “accountabiity bill” in the Assembly Education committee* – a hearing for a bill which, in theory, imposes requirements for all private school pupils to be tested in a manner consistent with public schools and makes the results public in some fashion.
In reality this bill is designed to close 5% of Wisconsin’s public schools every year and send their students to charter schools at taxpayer expense. To help get this accomplished in a stealthy manner (well, that’s how I look at it), legislators have put it through at least 6 drafts.**
A surprisingly low number of people came to the hearing on Wednesday. It could have been due to the fact that there were 12 Assembly hearings and some number of Senate hearings – -what one friend called a “legislative dump” and what another speculated was timed to distract us all from developments in the John Doe II investigation.
Before I go into my notes from the hearing, I should note some info that came to me through an AP story:
* Nobody supported this latest version of the legislation on the senate side at a public hearing on Wednesday.
* It may not have enough votes to clear the Assembly Education committee. (A sentiment shared by a legislator I spoke with after the hearing.)
And according to AP “a Senate committee” will take up a more narrowly tailored version of this bill on Thursday in the executive session at 10AM in Rm. 411S.
AP: “Support does seem to be coalescing around a much narrower proposal, up for a Senate committee vote on Thursday, that has no sanctions for schools. It would also not assign letter grades to schools and instead would focus on ensuring that data from private schools in the voucher program is included on the current report cards for public schools.”
Wisconsin Soapbox has followed this initiative for months and Andy “gets” all the educational jargon – oh – and he’s a teacher. So he has a fuller report on this than I do. Rebecca Kemble of The Progressive should be providing a report any moment now as well.
You may also want to dig into the testimony provided by Dan Rossmiller of Wisconsin Association of School Boards. [A PDF document]
For what it’s worth, here are a few of my own notes and observations from the hearing:

Whirled class - Bites - February 13, 2014 Sacramento News & Review -

Sacramento News & Review - Whirled class - Bites - Opinions - February 13, 2014:

Whirled class

Sacramento city schools keep losing students and funding as teacher-contract negotiations kick off

By Cosmo Garvin
cosmog@newsreview.com

This article was published on 02.13.14.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget promises an increase in funding for the Sacramento City Unified School District, but district officials are predicting more austerity. Not coincidentally, contract negotiations with the district’s teachers are about to get started.

The district wants to cut retiree health benefits and build reserves. Teachers and parents want smaller class sizes. So does Brown: His school-finance-reform plan, the Local Control Funding Formula, requires districts to reduce class sizes to 24 students. Right now, Sac city schools have 31 students per class in the lower grades, 32 in kindergarten.

District leaders say they can’t afford smaller classes. “There is no feasible way for the district to get to 24 to 1 without going bankrupt,” said Ken Forrest, the district’s chief business officer.

But can the district really afford not to reduce class sizes?

It’s losing money because it is losing students. It’s losing students, in part, to suburban districts and to charter schools, where class sizes are smaller.

If you look at Forrest’s budget projections, the district stands to gain under LCFF—which favors districts with high numbers of poor, minority and English-learner students.

But those gains are largely erased by declining funding due to losses in enrollment. The dwindling student body cost the district $5 million this year, and is predicted to cost another $7 million next year. Enrollment has dropped by about 10 percent in the last 10 years.

Some of that is just changing demographics and a bad economy. The kids who weren’t born because the economy tanked in 2008 would be starting kindergarten about now. Many parents moved out of the area for better job prospects.

But some wounds are self-inflicted. In 2002-2003, charter schools accounted for less than 2 percent of enrollment. Last year, charters had 10.5 percent of district enrollment and are expected to reach 11.3 percent this school year.

That hurts the district’s bottom line, because the per-pupil funding from the state goes with the student to the charter. This is not meant to open the whole debate about charter schools—some are better than others. (And the usual disclosure here: Bites is married to a SCUSD teacher and is generally pro-public education.)

But there’s no debating that charters impact the district budget. While overall enrollment has dipped 10 percent in the last decade, once charter schools are figured in, it’s about an 18 percent drop in the same period.

Last year’s school-closure debacle hurt enrollment as well. The district has been averaging about 10 percent loss of students to other districts and charter schools each year. (The total drop in enrollment each year is smaller, because new students are coming into the district as others

Time to rebuild the Twin Rivers Unified School District - Sacramento News & Review

Time to rebuild the Twin Rivers Unified School DistrictSacramento News & ReviewTime to rebuild the Twin Rivers Unified School District. This article was published on 02.13.14 . .... Bites Sacramento city schools keep losing students and funding as teacher-contract negotiations kick off. Ask Joey Joey advises readers on how to ...

4h hide // save

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