4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-3-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

Vergara Litigants Await Judge’S Decision As To Whether The Case Will Proceed

by Mark Harris, LA SCHOOL REPORT | http://bit.ly/1jMT5Dq Posted on March 3, 2014  ::  After a one-week recess, the court resumes tomorrow, Tuesday,  in the case of Vergara vs. California. Attorneys for both the defense and the nine student plaintiffs are gearing up for what could turn out to be a critical juncture in this landmark case. Before Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu is whether to throw

1 by smf / 1h hide  //  save

Zimmer Introducing Plan To Give Students A Role With Lausd School Board

by Michael Janofsky LA School report | http://bit.ly/1fCOVZL  March 3, 2014  ::  Fresh off his (unsuccessful) effort to get a District 1 voice onto the LA Unified school board right away, trustee Steve Zimmer is returning to the monthly board meeting tomorrow with a plan that would lead to another voice with influence on the board: Students. Zimmer is introducing a measure — the Student

1 by smf / 1h 

Meet the ®eformers: ELI BROAD APPOINTS BRUCE REED AS HEAD OF BROAD FOUNDATION EDUCATION EFFORT

  Adolfo Guzman-Lopez  | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1krBUua [3 min 37 sec] Lauren Cioffi/KPCC | Eli Broad, left, has appointed Bruce Reed, former CEO of the influential Democratic Leadership Council, to lead his foundation. March 3rd, 2014, 6:00am  ::  After more than a decade of directly overseeing $1

1 by smf / 34min 

L.A. School Board To Consider Expansion Of Computer Science Offerings

Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1luH8p3 Berkley Lab/ Flickr March 3rd, 2014, 6:00am  ::  Offering computer science classes at California high schools is a challenge because of a shortage of qualified teachers. An initiative to address the shortage of computer science offerings in the L.A. Unified School District will go before the school board Tuesday. Only

by smf / 6min 

Time Running Out For Boyle Heights High School / Se Termina El Tiempo Papra Una Preparatoria De Boyle Heights

By Jacqueline García, EGP Staff Writer/Reportera de EGP | Eastside Sun / Northeast Sun / Mexican American Sun / Bell Gardens Sun / City Terrace Comet / Commerce Comet / Montebello Comet / Monterey Park Comet / ELA Brooklyn Belvedere Comet / Wyvernwood Chronicle / Vernon Sun http://bit.ly/1hCnyUR Students, parents and advocates protest in front of LAUSD headquarters to keep the doors of

by smf / 8min 

BOYLE HEIGHTS SCHOOL PROTESTS DISTRICT’S DECISION TO MOVE CAMPUS + smf’s 2¢

With fewer than 300 students enrolled, the high school is too small to be financially sustainable, schools chief John Deasy says. "He hasn't even visited our school or given us a chance,"  a student claims. By Teresa Watanabe, L.A. Times, http://lat.ms/1luMQra In front of L.A. Unified headquarters last week, students protest the possible closure of the Academy of Environmental and Social

1 by smf / 29min 

Meet the ®eformers: TED MITCHELL + DAVID WELCH

THE EDUCATION OF TED MITCHELL | Written by Gary Cohn/CAPITAL & MAIN | INVESTIGATING POWER & POLITICS |  http://bit.ly/1oiNdlI 28 Feb 2014-CALIFORNIA EXCLUSIVE  ::  The nomination of Californian Ted Mitchell to the number two position at the U.S. Department of Education is the latest indication that proponents of school privatization are continuing to gain influence over the Obama

by smf / 8h   

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-2-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: The (Woeful) Status Of Adult Education In Lausdfrom the associated administrators of LA weekly update | http://is.gd/s1BvkS 27 February 2014  ::  There are currently more than 14,000 adults and concurrent students on waiting lists for classes in the Division of Adult and Career Education. However, there are only ten Adult Education Service Areas present

by mike simpson / 9h 

Doing a Snow Job On Educators: The V.A.M. Sham As It Relates to the Weather

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure:

Doing a Snow Job On Educators: The V.A.M. Sham As It Relates to the Weather

Originally, there was a large storm predicted for NYC today.  The meteorologists kept scaling down numbers until the storm diminished into something that could not even close schools on Long Island, let alone in Manhattan. Since I find some value in the Tao, I will simply go with the flow; but, as usual, I cannot help but find humor in it all, or some sort of irony.  Statisticians will have a fiel

by Adam Bergstein / 3h hide  //  save

With Data On Our Side (A Retake on Bob Dylan's "With God On Our Side," Written For Charles Barone of DFER, With Apologies)

There was recently a U.S. News "Debate Club" on the Common Core, involving personages such as Michelle Rhee of Students First and Dennis Van Roekel of the N.E.A.  It seems Charles Barone of DFER, an advocate of the Common Core, referred to it as the "Vietnam of educational issues" in some states, due largely, in his opinion, to its botched implementation.  Although I feel the C

by Adam Bergstein / 3h 

 

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Fine Art of Advertising Bad Teachers in N.Y.C.

V.A.M.: Value Added Measure: The Fine Art of Advertising Bad Teachers in N.Y.C.: The Fine Art of Advertising Bad Teachers in N.Y.C.When I decided to become a teacher, twenty some odd years ago, I realized that I wouldn't have the same clout as a doctor or as a lawyer; yet, I never imagined in a million years that my chosen profession--which seemed noble at the time--would become the butt of billbo

by mike simpson / 7h 

3-3-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Andrew Cuomo's Common Core Ad Is Full Of Distortions And Mistruths

Take a look at the Cuomo Common Core ad his campaign is running and think about the chutzpah it took to make this piece of propaganda:Here's the script:Hello, I’m Governor Andrew Cuomo. For all of us, there’s nothing more important than our children and their education is everything. While the state’s new Common Core curriculum is heading in the right direction, testing on it is premature. It crea

by reality-based edu... / 3min 

John Flanagan Doesn't Want To Delay Common Core

From State of Politics:Senate Education Committee Chairman John Flanagan was non-committal on whether his chamber would take up the Assembly bill to delay for two years the implementation of the Common Core standards. Flanagan indicated the concerns of the Senate are necessarily the speed of implementation, but that it should simply have been done better. “The real challenge comes as how do you d

by reality-based edu... / 32min hide  //  save

Cuomo Using State Resources To Juice Turnout For His Events

Fred Dicker in the NY Post:Aides to Gov. Cuomo have been secretly using state resources to “crowd-build’’ turnouts at public events for Cuomo’s new and supposedly all-volunteer Citizen Preparedness Corps, which responds to natural disasters, e-mails obtained by The Post show.The confidential e-mails in some cases direct officials to come up with at least 10 people each to attend the sessions.They

by reality-based edu... / 2h 

If CCSS Tests Aren't Good Enough To Be Used For Student Evaluations, Why Are They Good Enough For Teacher Evaluations And Merit Pay?

A commenter on the Newsday article reporting Andrew Cuomo is going to run his own pro-CCSS ads that will also criticize the CCSS roll-out from the state and say the CCSS tests are not ready to be used on students:So he says outright that using the test scores is unfair for evaluating students....But it IS fair for evaluating teachers? And he thinks some should get a taxpayer funded $20,000 bonus b

by reality-based edu... / 19min

Putting Common Core In Perspective

A commenter at the Newsday story reporting Cuomo is going to run his own pro-CCCSS ads:CC is part of a world-wide corporate globalization initiative to dumb down teachers, currricula and students and turn them into scared, uncreative, unimaginative, test- taking drones. The de-skilling of teachers and students will turn them into lower-paid, passive people with the ultimate goal of increased corpo

by reality-based edu... / 14min hide  //  save

Governor Cuomo To Air His Own Common Core Ads This Week

From Newsday: ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will start airing a statewide television ad this week to push his reforms to the Common Core curriculum so students won't unfairly be hurt by test scores under the new, higher standards, a spokesman said Sunday evening. The governor's push comes amid a move by Assembly Democrats to delay aspects of the highly criticized Common Core standards for two yea

by reality-based edu... / 3h 

3-2-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Oldie But Goodie: What Eva Moskowitz, Success Academies And Cancer Have In CommonA Perdido Street School post from October 11, 2013:Eva Moskowitz - A Cancer In The School System Eva Moskowitz's charter schools - uncontrolled cancerous growth:Like many public school parents and veteran educators, Lynn Manuell is fed up with the special treatment granted charter schools during

by mike simpson / 8h 

EmpowerED 2014 – Elevating Student Power in Los Angeles

EmpowerED 2014 – Elevating Student Power in Los Angeles:

EmpowerED 2014 – Elevating Student Power in Los Angeles

“If you had the power to change the education system, what would you do?”

This is my favorite question to ask students that I mentor in Los Angeles. Their responses are wonderfully imaginative, ranging from broader curriculum to outdoor classrooms. However, when I ask them what is stopping them from fighting for those changes, the answers have a similar ring. “I feel alone.” “No one listens to students.” “I don’t even know where to begin!”

As much as it saddens me to hear this, I do understand where they’re coming from. In recent years, the issue of education has gained more attention and has sparked a riveting national conversation about the state of our education system and the reforms it needs. Unfortunately, these conversations are often dominated by those furthest from the classroom, and ironically, almost completely absent from these debates are the voices of those who are most affected by the issues in question: the students.

(Source: teachertownhall.org)

Education reformers Dr. Steve Perry, Michelle Rhee, and George Parker at StudentsFirst’s Teacher Town Hall event in Los Angeles. Ironically, no student voice and very little teacher voice was permitted at the event and I spoke out at the end to bring light to the fact that these education reformers have not taken the time to consider the voices of those closest to the school and its community.

As a result, the so-called “reforms” that have emerged from these conversations have done very little to help students, and have actually left even more of them behind than ever. In the face of all this, how could a student even begin to feel like their voice is important? How could they not feel alone?

If students are the ones receiving the education, shouldn’t their voices be heard? 

Students all over the US, from Portland to Chicago to Providence, are tired of feeling powerless when it comes to decisions that affect their education. They are the future of this country and their voices should be the ones leading the national conversation on education.

That’s why they’ve begun to organize together, forming student unions and fighting back against threats to their 

Welcome to the New Student Voice!

Hello! Welcome to the new website, we’re glad that you’re here. This website redesign has been in the works for the past couple of months, as we’ve been iterating on a more accessible, navigate-able, and aesthetic version of Student Voice. Things are exciting on our end, and redesigning the website is barely scratching the surface as to the amount of exciting and big things ahead. There will be a

by Daniel Kao / 8h 

Michelle Gunderson: Administrator's Pledge on Ethical Treatment of Students Who Opt Out - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Michelle Gunderson: Administrator's Pledge on Ethical Treatment of Students Who Opt Out - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Michelle Gunderson: Administrator's Pledge on Ethical Treatment of Students Who Opt Out

By Anthony Cody on March 3, 2014 8:16 AM

On Saturday I shared a report from Chicago teacher Michelle Gunderson about the decision by the faculty at two Chicago elementary schools to risk their jobs by boycotting the ISAT test. Today she provides us with an important new statement, regarding the ethical stance administrators should take when responding to students who opt out. 

Guest post by Michelle Gunderson.

Imagine you are 8 years old. Your parents respectfully requested that you not participate in standardized testing. Yet, your school system insists on putting the test in front of you, reading the directions, and making you sit quietly for the duration of the test.

Now that over a thousand students have opted out of testing in Chicago this is the scenario facing many children whose schools follow the protocol required by the Illinois Standards Achievement Test (ISAT).

It is time for administrators to take an ethical stance and make a firm commitment to the fair and kind treatment of children whose parents have opted them out of testing.

Deciding to opt a child out of testing is never taken lightly. Parents looked at the harm being done through standardized tests and made a moral and philosophical decision to no longer let their children be used as pawns. Because this decision is grounded in a belief system, school administrators should honor opting out with the same level of respect as a family's religious 

Learning from the Past: The Economy and School Reform Then and Now* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Learning from the Past: The Economy and School Reform Then and Now* | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Learning from the Past: The Economy and School Reform Then and Now*

There is hardly any work we can do or any expenditures we can make that will yield so large a return to our industries as would come from the establishment of educational institutions which would give us skilled hands and trained minds for the conduct of our industries and our commerce.   

Theodore Search, President of the National Association of  Manufacturers, 1898 (quoted here, p. 29)

No issue will have a bigger impact on the future performance of our economy than education.  In the long run it’s going to … determine whether businesses stay here.  It will determine whether businesses are created here, whether businesses are hiring here.  And it will determine whether there’s going to be an abundance of good middle-class jobs in America….The countries who out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow.  That’s a simple fact.  And if we want America to continue to be number one and stay number one, we’ve got some work to do. 

President Barack Obama, speech to National Governors Association, 2012

Teachers as Trustees, Part 2 | InterACT

Teachers as Trustees, Part 2 | InterACT:

Teachers as Trustees, Part 2

MARCH 3, 2014

tags: guest post, Kirby-Gonzalez, school board

by ACT Guest Blog Posts

InterACT Guest Blog Post by Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez

InterACT features many blog posts on the topic of teacher leadership, but very few teachers are able to view the field from the perspective of elected office – especially one held concurrently with their teaching position. This guest blog post is number two in a series of three. The prior installment in this InterACT series was written by Christopher Chiang, and Part 3 is coming soon!

Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez

This post comes to us from Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez, an elementary teacher in the Folsom-Cordova School District and a school board trustee in her home district, Washington Unified School District, in West Sacramento. She wrote this guest post for InterACT, and was also featured recently in California Educator. (By the way, that link features information about several other teachers on school boards). 

Like many educators, I have been baffled by some education policy put in place by people who clearly don’t have an understanding of how things will play out in the day-to-day workings of a classroom. In frustration, I explored ways to be a teacher leader and set long-term goals.

Last year I found a special election for school board would be happening in my town, and the mayor was holding an information session. I didn’t think it was my time, but went to the meeting for more information and to show my interest. According to Emerge California’s website, 

Russ on Reading: Dispatches from the Front 2

Russ on Reading: Dispatches from the Front 2:

Dispatches from the Front 2

Notes from Day 2 of the Network Of Public Education Conference

Day 2 of the Network for Public Education Conference in Austin, TX began with people lining up in the aisles of the Lady Bird Johnson Auditorium to get Diane Ravitch to sign their copy of Reign of Error. Poor Anthony Cody struggled to get people into their seats to begin the first session. Teachers on a mission can be a non-compliant group. Finally the session, a panel discussion on the Common Core, began aboout 20 minutes late. It probably couldn't end soon enough for Randi Weingarten, the AFT President and Common Core supporter, who was given the lead position in the discussion and then had to sit uncomfortably as articulate and passionate opponents of the Core, Paul Horton, Geralyn McLaughlin, Mercedes Schneider and Jose Luis Vilson, took apart every positive point about the Core that Weingarten had presented.

Weingarten said the Common Core standards were not the problem, over-testing was the problem. The key points made by Common Core opponents included how the Common Core was a top down process that did not include teachers in the development in a meaningful way, that the Common Core is developmentally inappropriate for early childhood education, that the Common Core prescribes instruction that takes away teacher professional judgement and that the Common Core was a part of the effort to undermine teacher unions. To her credit, Weingarten received the criticism with 

Public Education, Public Obligation, and the Distribution of Opportunity | janresseger

Public Education, Public Obligation, and the Distribution of Opportunity | janresseger:

Public Education, Public Obligation, and the Distribution of Opportunity

Posted on March 3, 2014 by janresseger

A just society would distribute opportunity fairly and, in the case of K-12 education, give each child the chance to realize her or his promise.  While our society has never fully realized this ideal, we have, historically, agreed on the goal.  We have also assumed that there is a public purpose for public education—that our society benefits from the education of its citizens in myriad ways.

Education philosopher John Dewey declared: “A government resting upon popular suffrage cannot be successful unless those who elect and who obey their governors are educated.” (Democracy and Education, p. 87) Political philosopher Benjamin Barber describes public schools as, “our sole public resource: the only place where, as a collective, self-conscious public pursuing common goods, we try to shape our children to live in a democratic world.” (An Aristocracy of Everyone, pp. 14-15)  Chicago education professor Bill Ayers writes:  “What makes education in a democracy distinct is a commitment to a particularly precious and fragile ideal… that the fullest development of all is the necessary condition for the full development of each; conversely, the fullest development of each is necessary for the full development of all.”

These writers define public education as essential to the public good, and they point to the moral obligation to provide opportunity for all, not just for some in a society that aspires to justice.  These days we talk very little about the universal provision of public services as the 

Eli Broad appoints head of philanthropic education efforts | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Eli Broad appoints head of philanthropic education efforts | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Eli Broad appoints head of philanthropic education efforts

 After more than a decade of directly overseeing $1 billion in education reform grants from his non-profit foundation, philanthropist Eli Broad is grooming a replacement.

He's hired Bruce Reed, a high profile Washington political operative who spent decades in the halls of power. Reed was a speechwriter for then-U.S. Senator Al Gore, advised President Bill Clinton's domestic policy agenda, and was CEO of the influential Democratic Leadership Council.

Sitting at a conference table at Broad's 12th floor Westwood office recently, Reed sounded almost like an intern.

“I'm sitting at the right hand of the master, learning how this is done,” Reed said. “He's been a great mentor in so many ways already.”

Among the billions Broad has donated over the years, a substantial chunk has gone to public education. For more than a decade, his support has fed the growth of charter schools and pushed for results-based teaching.

Reed began two months ago as president of the Broad Foundation, a newly created job. 

L.A. Unified board to consider expansion of computer science offerings

Offering computer science classes at California high schools is a challenge because of a shortage of qualified teachers.; Credit: Berkley Lab/ Flickr An initiative to address the shortage of computer science offerings in the L.A. Unified School District will go before the school board Tuesday. Only one-in-three of the district's high schools are offering a basic course this year, and far fewer ar

by Annie Gilbertson / 16min 

CURMUDGUCATION: 11 Essential Questions from the Network for Public Education

CURMUDGUCATION: 11 Essential Questions from the Network for Public Education:

11 Essential Questions from the Network for Public Education

At the wrap-up from last weekend's Network for Public Education conference in Austin, TX, the leaders of the national pro-public education (I realize that alignment should be obvious from the title, but these days you can't assume these things) issued a call for Congressional hearings " to investigate the over-emphasis, misapplication, costs, and poor implementation of high-stakes standardized testing in the nation’s K-12 public schools."

NPE offered a list of eleven essential questions for Congress to ask, but I'd offer those questions to anyone who is questioning test-based high stakes education in their schools. There will be, I hope, plenty written about this, but the word needs to be spread far and wide.These are questions that need to be answered, in public, loudly.

Do the tests promote skills our children and our economy need? Is there a big market for professional bubblers, or people who can take tests that are easy to score with a computer? If we need creative thinkers, problem solvers and collaborators for the future, do these tests foster or measure any of those abilities? Tests promote certain values by virtue of saying "This is what counts." Are the tests aligned with the skills we really value?

What is the purpose of these tests? Couldn't be to help me teach, because the students in my class who take them will be gone by the time I see my highly generalized results. Nor will my students get 

Pink Hula Hoop. Worse than a crime. Racism. | Bob Braun's Ledger

Pink Hula Hoop. Worse than a crime. Racism. | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Pink Hula Hoop. Worse than a crime. Racism.

Rice with Quintana and Caputo

State Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex) said he believes  the story of “Pink Hula Hoop” is astory about crime. That’s the quaint name given to the convoluted way in which rich and politically-connected people and wealthy organizations raised mostly public money to buy—at a discount– public property for private purposes. “The  crime is in the entire set up,” Rice  said. “It’s a Ponzi scheme.”

Rice made the remarks at a press conference Friday at Newark Teachers Union headquarters. He was flanked by the city’s interim mayor, Luis Quintana, and an Assemblyman, Ralph Caputo, a former Essex County schools superintendent. In the audience were the leaders of statewide teachers unions and the president of the Newark school  board.

I don’t know whether  Rice can prove superintendent Cami Anderson’s sale of Newark’s 18^th Avenue School to the leaders of the TEAM Academy Charter Schools involved criminal activity. I think it was worse than a crime. I think it was 

New All-Digital Curriculums Hope to Ride High-Tech Push in Schoolrooms - NYTimes.com

New All-Digital Curriculums Hope to Ride High-Tech Push in Schoolrooms - NYTimes.com:

New All-Digital Curriculums Hope to Ride High-Tech Push in Schoolrooms

By MOTOKO RICHMARCH 3, 2014

English language curriculums built entirely on a digital platform — replacing written textbooks, worksheets or printed study guides — are about to enter the market from several companies, with promises that they will change the nature of classroom learning across the country.

The Obama administration has pledged to provide high-speed Internet connections to 15,000 schools over the next two years, districts are purchasing tablets and laptops for students, and on Friday, President Obama announced $400 million in corporate commitments from the software companies Adobe and Prezi, which will donate software to teachers. Meanwhile, other companies are rushing in.

On Monday at an education conference in Austin, Tex., Joel Klein, the former chancellor of New York City public schools and the current chief executive of Amplify, the education unit of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, will introduce a digital English language arts curriculum for middle school.

Mr. Klein said the new software, which will run on a variety of devices and is priced at $45 per student a year, includes videos, games and vocabulary apps and allows teachers to track student writing and give feedback directly online. “This is not a bunch of souped-up PDFs,” Mr. Klein said, referring to digital versions of print documents.

McGraw Hill, the textbook publisher, will also announce this week that it has 

NYC Educator: Epic Fail at UFT Leadership

NYC Educator: Epic Fail at UFT Leadership:

Epic Fail at UFT Leadership

I've been speaking to heads of other locals, and they're pretty shocked when they hear we've gone over five years without a raise. They tell me if that happened where they are, they'd have been voted out. Of course, where they are, it's not customary for over 80% of their members to sit out elections.

Now of course Unity-New Action stalwarts will say, oh, it's Bloomberg, it's not our fault, what could we do, blah blah blah, but it is in fact, the job of leadership to negotiate contracts, and this they have not done since 2007, if I recall correctly. They said this was the last contract they'd have to negotiate under Bloomberg, and who would've anticipated they'd be correct and sit through his entire third term without getting anything done?

Actually, it's the job of leadership to anticipate such things. When you have a megalomaniac billionaire mayor with no hope of becoming President, someone who will drop 100 million for reelection just as easily as you or I might buy a cup of coffee, you have to wonder what he will do next. Clearly leadership did not anticipate he might just decide to buy himself a third term.

They did have leverage, of course. A UFT rep came to my school and told hundreds of UFT members that leadership was very smart, and made a very strategic decision. There was a new law, they told us, the APPR law that made sure all teachers would be rated by junk 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

CTU Pres. Karen Lewis asks NPE conferees, "If you support the [test-boycotting] teachers at Saucedo & Drummond, stand up and say aye."

Diane Ravitch 

"A for-profit public school is an oxymoron." -- Speech at NPE Conference

Mark Woods

I’m not even sure where to begin. But let’s start with the music, P.E. and art teachers. Each had a negative VAM score, based largely on student tests in subjects that they don’t even teach. Beyond that obvious flaw, there is seemingly overlooked value of simply having elements of music, P.E. and art... Florida x VAM = SHAM. -- Florida Times Union

Ben Joravsky

 Wait—another update! Teachers at Drummond Elementary—located on the north side—just voted not to give the ISAT. Despite B3's ultimatum. Oh, no. The rebellion's spreading. What's an all-powerful mayor to do?... Here's what you