Murdoch, Klein & Amplify: courting ed officials in search of sweetheart deals? - Integrity in Education

Murdoch, Klein & Amplify: courting ed officials in search of sweetheart deals? - Integrity in Education:

Murdoch, Klein & Amplify: courting ed officials in search of sweetheart deals?

This week, after news broke that New Jersey Education Commissioner Chris Cerf would be leaving his position for an executive role at Amplify, we were immediately reminded of the scandal that erupted when Amplify’s CEO, former NYC schools chancellor Joel Klein, first came on board.

Amplify owner Rupert Murdoch’s decision to appoint Klein as CEO raised a lot of eyebrows late in 2010, given the lucrative no-bid contracts the company, known then as Wireless Generation, had pending with the New York City Department of Education and New York State. That company, prior to being purchased by Murdoch and News Corporation, produced the ARIS data management system, which many local teachers and principals hated. Some complained at the time this deal was proposed that the system was both more expensive and less useful than others on the market.

As we’ve looked more closely at Amplify this week, we’ve noticed a pattern: this company seems to have a “thing” for government officials. In addition to Cerf, eight other top Amplify executives come from large district and state departments of education, as well as the US Department of Education. Each of these executives 

OPINION: An Open Education Not Ready to be Open | EdSurge News

OPINION: An Open Education Not Ready to be Open | EdSurge News:

OPINION: An Open Education Not Ready to be Open

Tensions between 'open' and traditional schooling

CC BY 2.0 Flickr user kennymatic

I am a tried-and-true supporter of open courseware. They enabled the first steps of my becoming a software engineer. So much of my knowledge today is indebted to people who have graciously shared theirs on the Internet. Even more of my belief in the possibility of a new path is indebted to this generous ethos of enabling access to worlds you did not previously know.

But anyone who has actually studied with online open courseware knows it is terribly lonely and difficult, even for very motivated learners. When I was taking Stanford’s online introductory computer science class in Taiwan, I had no access to people who could help me when I got stuck. The only thing that lessened this loneliness was the writing of a girl in San Francisco who had already completed one of the classes. When I absolutely needed some hints to progress, I consulted her blog for quick and limited hints. Often, it was for trivial but bottlenecking questions like how to incorporate certain libraries. To me, lifting her solutions wholesale (or “cheating”) had no value. If I didn’t do as much of it as possible myself, the knowledge was not mine.

When I started looking for jobs as a software engineer, I put up my completed assignments as part of my portfolio on GitHub to demonstrate that I had studied fundamental data structures. After all, I had invested close to 300 hours for the two introductory courses and I wanted to showcase this in lieu of a formal CS 

Promise of CA’s New School Finance Law Hinges On Parents - New America Media

Promise of CA’s New School Finance Law Hinges On Parents - New America Media:

Promise of CA’s New School Finance Law Hinges On Parents

 New America Media, News Report, Peter Schurmann, Posted: Feb 14, 2014


Above: From left to right, EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg, Children Now Senior Education Policy Director Samantha Tran and SFUSD Office of Family and Community Engagement Director Ruth Grabowski.

SAN FRANCISCO – Getting parents more involved in their children’s education can be difficult, particularly in poor and immigrant communities. But it’s a challenge school districts in California are now tasked with under the state’s new school finance law, known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). 

Experts say the law’s success -- LCFF has been hailed by some education reformers as a historic step toward achieving equity across California’s school system -- will ultimately depend on whether or not districts can effectively engage the communities they serve, starting with the parents. 

“This is an opportunity for California to create a better [education] system,” said EdSource Executive Director Louis Freedberg. “But it’s up to parents to make it a meaningful process.”

He noted that prior to LCFF, education reform in California had largely been a top-down affair, with Sacramento issuing marching orders for districts to follow. The new law, signed last year by Gov. Jerry Brown, is expected to “bring some balance” back to the relationship between school districts and the state, by giving districts and their communities more authority in setting spending priorities. 

At a news briefing hosted by New America Media on Wednesday, Freedberg announced the 

2*14-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Student Survey Coming about Teachers but Why?

Several weeks back I became aware that some Seattle PTAs were working with the district, students on the Seattle Youth Commission, SPS Research, Evaluation & Assessment and "teachers associated with Teachers United" on a student survey. To whit via McClure PTA:--The work is to conceive, define and implement a structured survey of students' perceptions of their teachers. - The object

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h hide  //  save

Seattle Schools' Tours

Have you been on a tour yet?  Where and how was it?Had a friend who went to an IBX meeting at Ingraham and said it was absolutely packed to the rafters. I recently got a private tour of Sand Point Elementary (which I had never been to and had wanted to check out).  Very impressive.  For those of you who wondered how well a new start-up school can do, here's proof.  And, it's a team effort with the

by Melissa Westbrook / 3h 

Friday Open Thread

Good story on Garfield teacher Jesse Hagopian in Seattle Met.The Times editorial board weighs in on the North Center Kids/Cascade program and oddly, completely leaves out Cascade.  Naturally this baffled a couple of readers who ask, "What is the about?  Why would the district do this?"  But paint a complete picture?  Not the Times.Best wishes to all your loves this Valentine's Day - be t

by Melissa Westbrook / 54min  

Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Math Adoption Committee WorkI attended the Math Adoption Committee meeting a week ago.  I stayed about 2 hours (out of a daylong meeting).  I didn't have high hopes at the beginning as the meeting seemed disorganized and slow to start.  The meeting was monitored by staffers Anna Box and Shauna Heath. They first went over the discussion from the Boar

by mike simpson / 18h 

2-14-14 This Week in LA - School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):

Defense tries hard to undermine an expert in Vergara trial

Arun Ramanathan was back on the stand. Arun Ramanathan, Executive Director of The Education Trust–West, a group that works for high academic achievement, returned to the witness stand today for more questions by the defense, aimed at undermining his credibility, research and right to be considered an expert. As one of the plaintiffs’ key experts in the landmark trial, Vergara vs. California, Raman

by Mark Harris / 1min

LAUSD leads charter school growth in California, and nation

California launched the largest number of charter schools in the nation last year, according to a report released this week by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (NAPCS). The state saw the start of 104 charter schools, bringing its total to 1,130. Almost 520,000 California students of more than 6 million now attend charters in the state. Other states with big charter school gains wer

by Doris D Quintanil... / 0min 

LA Unified’s education policy is upheld in US district court

–Photo by Aaron BlevinsFrancis Blend and Van Ness elementary schools are merging. Via Park LaBrea News-Beverly Press | By Aaron Blevins U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Lew has ruled against two parent groups that sought to challenge the Los Angeles Unified School District’s increased efforts to integrate special education students with their general education peers. According to the district, one

2 2h hide  //  save

Morning Read: Panel adopts standards for CA principals

New professional standards for CA principals approved Setting a clear expectation that schools should be a place of safety and fairness, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted Thursday new standards for school principals that embrace restorative justice practices. SI&A Cabinet Report L.A. Unified had requested guard where woman was killed The Los Angeles Unified School District sough

2 2h 

2-13-14 This Week in LA - School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Vergara trial resumes today with more ‘expert’ testimonyBeatiz Vergara, the lead plaintiff The Vergara v California trial continues this morning, with Dan Goldhaber, an expert in education policy at the University of Washington, continuing his testimony after the court took a day off yesterday Following h

by mike simpson / 21h 

2-14-14 @ The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet:

How ‘data walls’ in classrooms can humiliate young kids

A long time ago I had a math teacher at West Miami Junior High School who changed the seating arrangement in my class every week according to how well each of her students did on weekly exams. Given that math was  not one of my better subjects, this weekly exercise generally left me mortified with […]    

by Valerie Strauss / 1min 

How investing in paste and crayons can help save Detroit and other big cities

What will save Detroit and other ailing big U.S. cities? Here’s an idea from 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. This first appeared on the Shanker blog. By Conor P. Williams President Obama […]    

4 by Valerie Strauss / 1h 

Map: How much snow it takes to close U.S. schools

How much snow does it take to close schools? It depends on where you. Here’s a map put together by Reddit user Alexandr Trubetskoy which answers the question (with explanations).   Caveats: *The lightest green says “any snow” but also includes merely the prediction of snow. Also, this is snow accumulation over 24 hours/overnight. *In much […]    

6 by Valerie Strauss / 6min 

2-13-14 @ The Answer Sheet

The Answer Sheet: At least 44 school shootings since Newtown — new analysisThere have been at least 44 school shootings on K-12 or college campuses in 24 states — an average of more than three a month — since the deadly 2012 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., according to a new analysis. Twenty-eight people have died and 37 have been injured. Twenty children […]    1 by Vale

by mike simpson / 3min 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, February 14, 2014

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

The school standards rebellion

Education Headlines

Friday, February 14, 2014

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.

Solar panels pay off for Scott Valley schools

A recent review showed that the devices are exceeding expectations for energy collection.

Monterey Peninsula USD working through its math problem

Math scores throughout the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District show that students are struggling mightily.

Long Beach charter New City Public Schools avoids California Dept. of Education disciplinary action

New City Public Schools will not be disciplined by the state for failing to meet targets on standardized tests.

Rialto Unified board: Superintendent's fate to be decided soon

The top two administrators in the Rialto Unified School District being out on paid leave for the past five months have cost taxpayers the equivalent of three veteran teachers during that time. But the pair won’t be in limbo much longer, according to board members.

Fresno Unified says teacher contract talks are at impasse, teachers union disagrees

Over the objections of the teachers' union, Fresno Unified School District on Thursday unilaterally declared an impasse in negotiations for a new labor contract.

Teacher put on leave after massage allegations

A veteran third-grade teacher at Salt Creek Elementary School in Chula Vista who was placed on leave for allegedly soliciting massages from her students in exchange for “class dollars” will not finish the school year after more parents complained when she returned to the classroom.

Grossmont school board discusses members' rights

Tension among Grossmont Union High School District trustees was evident Thursday when the board passed a resolution to limit trustees' attendance at meetings of the district's Bond Oversight Committee.

LAUSD food effort makes local farms healthier too

The district is working with local farms that produce vegetables, a program that offers relief as growers switch from fruit over worries about an invasive and deadly citrus pest.

Adams: Proposal would allow military instructors to teach physical education

High school military instructors could become authorized physical education teachers if a contentious regulation change before the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing is approved Friday.

California schools have $37.5 billion in unissued bonds

Though California has exhausted its authorization to issue state bonds for schools, school and community college districts have $37.5 billion in approved but unissued local school construction bonds.

The school standards rebellion

A standards rebellion — or in the eyes of the opponents, the dumbing down of America — is sweeping red states and blue, promoted by both Republicans and Democrats. President Barack Obama has called for a rigorous college-prep curriculum for all students. States, however, are responding with defiance: They’re letting teens study welding instead of Spanish, take greenhouse management in place of physics and learn car repair instead of muddling over imaginary numbers.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Moorpark school superintendent to retire June 30

Moorpark Unified School District Superintendent Teresa Williams announced Tuesday that she will be retiring and her last day with the district will be June 30.

Simi Valley school trustees take up financial matters

After weeks of talking about closing schools, Simi Valley trustees broadened their discussion to money matters this week, taking up their future budget, a potential bond measure and the sale of surplus property.

Rowland teachers call for new superintendent

Just minutes after the Rowland Unified School District school board evaluated their superintendent behind closed doors Tuesday night, a steady stream of teachers evaluated him in public — in front of all gathered inside a packed board room.

Monterey Peninsula USD working through its math problem

Students are refining and improving their algebra knowledge with a computer program called Assessment and Learning in Knowledge Spaces, or ALEKS, which evaluates students' skills before giving them more challenging problems.

Long Beach charter New City Public Schools avoids California Dept. of Education disciplinary action

New City Public Schools will not be disciplined by the state for failing to meet targets on standardized tests.

Fresno Unified says confidential information will be secure

Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson assured parents Wednesday night that confidential information about district schools and students sent to a research institution at Stanford University will be secure.

Los Al school board OKs graduation at church hall

Two middle-school graduations and a concert will be held at a local megachurch this year despite arguments by a parent and atheist group that it would violate the separation of church and state.

Ocean View to overhaul tech gear, infrastructure

The Ocean View School District has developed standards for what type of technology to have in its classrooms, announcing a massive overhaul of the district's technology and infrastructure costing about $1.9 million.

A Buffet of Excellence | EduShyster

A Buffet of Excellence | EduShyster:

A Buffet of Excellence

 Michelle Rhee and company serve up heaping helpings of some familiar fare

By Sarah Lahm
Michelle Rhee and her cavalry of status quo blasters recently braved the frigid Minnesota winter to present a veritable buffet of warmed-over ideas for boosting our sad, slumping schools and closing our many cavern-sized gaps. From *grit* and *rigor* to healthy portions of data consumed throughout the day to helpful tips on avoiding the unpleasant taste of *corporate education reform,* it was familiar fare—and there was plenty of it. Here’s a taste.

Grit with a side of rigor
Great news: According to featured speaker Michelle Rhee, producing the world’s most super-educated generation of *pull yourselves up by the bootstraps* individualists full of grit and rigor is as easy as getting rid of teacher tenure. With teacher tenure out of the way, even the poorest children will be able to laugh in the face of poverty, no matter their zip code, as they careen towards college debt. Or a college degree. I’m not sure which one Rhee said would be best.

And a gravy boat of confusion
Does anyone have any questions? How about the confused gentleman in the back who