3-8-14 Wait What? All Week

Wait What?:

  Wait What? All Week

The two “MUST READ” columns of the weekend

Fellow pro-pubic education advocates and commentators have done it again – with two more MUST READ pieces. Sarah Darer Littman with “The Brave New World of being ‘College and Career Ready” and Wendy Lecker with “A crisis of low standards” Wendy Lecker writes, Not poverty. Not inadequate resources. Not toxic stress. Not segregation. According to […]The post The two “MUST READ” columns of the weeken

8 by jonpelto / 2h 

YESTERDAY

Who is behind the effort to destroy Hartford’s Clark Elementary School?

Clark Elementary School’s parents, teachers and community have a right to know what is really going on behind the scenes in the ongoing effort to stifle parental involvement and hand Clark over to an out-of-state charter school company. The corporate education reform industry has targeted Clark, but who exactly is pushing this unfair, discriminatory proposals […]The post Who is behind the effort t

7 by jonpelto / 1d 

MAR 06

NEWS FLASH: Stefan Pryor & Morgan Barth trying to roll Hartford’s Clark School parents and teachers – again

The battle for control of Hartford’s Clark Elementary School has become a case study in how the corporate education reform industry works. On one side are the heroic parents and teachers who are working tirelessly to save and improve one of Hartford’s local neighborhood schools. On the other side is the money, greed and arrogance […]The post NEWS FLASH: Stefan Pryor & Morgan Barth trying to ro

15 by jonpelto / 1d 

Question for Connecticut public school teachers and parents of public school students

A number of public school districts across Connecticut have informed parents or teachers that parents do not have a right to opt their children out of the Connecticut Mastery Test or the Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test. Administrators who have communicated this  information to parents or teachers are either misinformed or are part […]The post Question for Connecticut public scho

28 by jonpelto / 1d 

If Malloy won’t stop Pryor’s lies, then Attorney General Jepsen must do the job

Connecticut parents have a right to opt their children out of the standardized tests! Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, knows that is the truth but has chosen a engage in a strategy to mislead and lie to the Connecticut’s parents of public school students. Governor Malloy must immediately put an end to this travesty […]The post If Malloy won’t stop Pryor’s lies, then Attorney Gener

49 by jonpelto / 2d 

MAR 05

Stefan Pryor says his rules trump parental rights

Stefan Pryor, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, has sent out a new memo to public school superintendents instructing them that Connecticut parents don’t have the right to opt their children out of the Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test scheduled to take place from March through June of this year. Pryor’s memo is by […]The post Stefan Pryor says his rules trump parental r

100+ by jonpelto / 2d 

Diane Ravitch Speech at the Network of Public Education Conference

Here is a link to Diane Ravitch’s inspiring speech at last weekend’s Network of Public Education Conference in Austin Texas. http://www.schoolhouselive.org/ I was particularly honored and appreciative that Diane would recognize my efforts and my blog in her speech. As background, The Network for Public Education is an advocacy group whose goal is to fight […]The post Diane Ravitch Speech at the Ne

17 by jonpelto / 3d 

The Election Year epiphany syndrome

Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States…. President Obama will fly to Connecticut today as part of his campaign to promote a $10.10 minimum wage.  Glued to his side will be Governor Dannel Malloy, whom the President will call a champion in the effort to promote a fairer minimum wage. This is the […]The post The Election Year epiphany syndrome appeared first on Wait What?.

7 by jonpelto / 3d 

MAR 04

John Kuhn & Karen Lewis speeches at Network for Public Education Conference

On March 1, 2014 John Kuhn and Karen Lewis were the keynote speakers at a conference of public education advocates meeting in Austin Texas. John Kuhn is the superintendent of Perrin-Whitt School District.  Kuhn was the first Superintendent in America to be named a “hero” by Diane Ravitch on her blog.  Since then, Connecticut’s own […]The post John Kuhn & Karen Lewis speeches at Network for Pub

23 by jonpelto / 3d 

Quinnipiac poll confirms Governor Malloy faces major obstacles should he seek re-election

The Quinnipiac University Polling Institute released its latest poll today.   While the Malloy political operatives will claim that the poll shows him leading the unknown Republican candidates and is tied with former gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley, the data provides a harsh assessment of Malloy’s standing with the Connecticut electorate. Despite Governor Malloy’s numerous proposals […]The post

15 by jonpelto / 3d 

MAR 03

Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor lies to Education Committee

A last  Friday’s Democrat’s informational  “non-public” hearing on the Common Core and the Common Core Smarter  Balanced Field Test, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, couldn’t even manage to tell the truth about this year’s Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Field Test. called SBAC. Pryor is not only the Commissioner of Education and a […]The post Commissioner of Educ

42 by jonpelto / 4d 

A real public hearing on the Common Core and Common Core testing fiasco?

Many parents, teachers, public school advocates and taxpayers are asking whether the Connecticut General Assembly will hold a real public hearing on  the Common Core , Common Core testing fiasco, and the flawed teacher evaluation system? The answer is …  yeah, sort of, maybe… it depends on what you call a real public hearing. When Governor Malloy […]The post A real public hearing on the Common Cor

8 by jonpelto / 4d 

Malloy administration’s farce of a hearing on Common Core

The development and implementation of the Common Core and its related Common Core testing scam is one of the most important issues facing American public education. The Common Core was developed in relatively secrecy and forced upon the states by Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.  Some of the people who developed the Common Core Standards were even […]The post Malloy administration’s far

48 by jonpelto / 5d 

MAR 02

Connecticut to end non-credit remedial courses at public colleges

No really….  A Connecticut law passed in 2012 made it illegal for Connecticut public colleges to provide non-credit remedial courses starting in 2014. Long time Wait, What? readers may remember the discussion on the blog. Led by Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy and the Democratic controlled General Assembly, Connecticut adopted a corporate education reform initiatives aimed […]The post Connecticu

76 by jonpelto / 6d 

3-8-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools' Basketball Teams Advance to Championships

All three Seattle schools won their basketball game last night and are playing in championship games today.Good job and best wishes to the Cleveland girls basketball team, the Rainier Beach HS boys basketball team and the Garfield boys basketball team!(The Garfield game went off without any incident from either side.  There had been concern about the issue of racially-charged tweets by a few ignor

by Melissa Westbrook / 18min 

Seattle School District Seeks Input on Math Selections

From SPS:Elementary math instructional materials - We want your feedback!The elementary math adoption committee work has reached a critical stage. In looking to partner with parents and community to find the best possible math program for Seattle Public School students for the 2014-15 school year and beyond, the committee invites you to give us your thoughts and opinions. The committee is excited

7 by Melissa Westbrook / 11h 

Reactions to New SAT

To note: college success is better verified by GPA than SAT or ACT.From the president of Bard College via Time:The SAT needs to be abandoned and replaced. The SAT has a status as a reliable measure of college readiness it does not deserve.  The blunt fact is that the SAT has never been a good predictor of academic achievement in college. High school grades adjusted to account for the curriculum an

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 14h 

Music Org for Music Education

Just learned about the National Association for Music Education's Broader Minded: think beyond the bubbles program.  Music not only impacts academic achievement, it also shapes the way our students understand themselves and the world around them. Let's think beyond the bubbles and educate the whole student.They have good insights and arguments for supporting music in our schools.  Consider this go

by Melissa Westbrook / 15h 

Education News Updates

Legislature:The Washington Senate voted unanimously for a bill to make it easier for minors to seal their records (for minor crimes).  I'll have to read the bill but I doubt it will protect your child if the incident happened at school and it is now part of a school record.  The FERPA changes would allow that kind of data to go out to vendors of all kinds (and even our friends at the Seattle Times

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 15h 

Friday Open Thread

Documentary Brunch this Sunday with the film, Girl Rising.  It's a documentary about 9 girls in Nepal, India, Cambodia, Haiti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Peru, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.  Go be inspired. And free mini-cupcakes.  SIFF Cinema Uptown, all ages.Fun fact for the kids - apparently crocodiles can climb trees...up to thirty feet. (Somewhere a bird is saying, "You've got to be kidding me.&qu

by Melissa Westbrook / 23h 

MAR 06

What We Don't Measure By Testing (Tell Me Big Data-Where is this Listed?)

From the Maria Montessori page:

5 by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

Garfield High Basketball Players/Cheerleaders Abused in Tweets

Garfield High School's basketball team is on its way to start playing at the state finals.  (So is Cleveland's girls basketball team.)  My Northwest is reporting that after the school's third meet-up with Issaquah's basketball team, things took a nasty turn after tweets were sent saying racially disrespectful things about team members and cheerleaders.From the report:Senior Mikayla Brooks has been

by Melissa Westbrook / 1d hide  //  save

Teacher Evaluation Bill in Trouble in Legislature?

 UPDATE: There's a 5 p.m. deadline today for all non-budget-related bills to be voted off the floor.  So we will know by the end of the day the outcome for the teacher evaluation bill.end of update.That's the chatter from Twitter mostly via Times' reporter, Brian Rosenthal.   Hmmm.Inslee deflecting larger Qs on testing. Says this is all about $: "I don't have the luxury...to opine about situa

by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

Updates on People and Organizations

A couple of readers asked about some people and organizations that they feel have been perhaps too quiet.First is director Sue Peters.  I'm not sure exactly what people were expecting from Sue but I think she is doing exactly what she should do as a new director.   She's behaving like the new director that she is - i.e. learning respectfully from her peers on the Board with more longevity and list

by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

MAR 05

SAT Changes (in a Big Way)

Update: listening to the NPR story this morning, I heard a few interesting things about this story like:- David Coleman, the head of the SAT, says it will be better aligned to what is being taught in high school.  Fair enough, until you learn that he helped write the CC standards.  Oh.- also, apparently historically, the SAT was NOT supposed to follow high school curriculum End of update.For one t

by Melissa Westbrook / 2d 

TFA Decides to Try Something New

Me and my hero, Diane Ravitch I plan to go to the Board soon and ask that the district's contract with TFA be ended.  There are two reasons. One, it seems like a lack of real support for the district's own fledgling Seattle Teacher Residency to support another teacher training program.  All SPS' attention and efforts should be towards STR.Second, TFA has just not been popular here in the least.  O

43 by Melissa Westbrook / 2d 

An SPS Parent Weighs in on her Unhappiness

 Update: where's this story at Crosscut?  My link still works but somehow - after just one day - the story has disappeared from Crosscut's main page.  There are many older stories still there.  Hmmm.End of update.Over at Crosscut, the director of the (mostly)charter think tank that is the Center on Reinventing Public Education, Robin Lake, weighs in on customer service at SPS.She doesn't directly

by Melissa Westbrook / 2d 

Petition Against Cuts in SPS School Budgets

There is a petition against cuts in school clerical staff - which will primarily affect high schools where, frankly, they can least take it - to send a message to the district. There is a minute-and-a-half video of the issue by Mary Smith who works in the office at Ingraham.  Mary is a long-time SPS school employee and I have been acquainted with her and her work now for over 10 years.  Mary has s

20 by Melissa Westbrook / 2d 

MAR 04

The Alliance for Education - Big Plans for SPS

The Alliance For Education released their own strategic plan today. On the plus side, not so much ed jargon.  Good job. On the down side, well, there's a lot.- Their foundational beliefs statement doesn't include teachers.  Seems like something of a "whoops."  (Unless they are calling teachers "leadership" which is not exactly where most people's thoughts would go when you were

by Melissa Westbrook / 3d 

Here's Some Homework - Common Core Style

 From a mom in NY State:  My son's KINDERGARTEN homework. I hold a Master's Degree and have won multiple Emmy Awards and my husband is a Lieutenant in the NYPD. We couldn't figure it out. It's a SAD SAD SAD state when two well educated parents can't help their child with their KINDERGARTEN homework. This is what you have to look forward to in the future.  Data walls and homework you may not be ab

4 by Melissa Westbrook / 3d 

Tuesday Open Thread

A heartbreaking story about the Greenwood shooting by the Ballard student via the Times.  The student was not homeless (he came from a two-parent household) but had chosen not to live at home.  Both his mother and the victim's wife seem to have deep sympathy for the situation of the other.  From SXSW from Microsoft's CTO - "anonymity going to be more valuable than gold in near future." 

by Melissa Westbrook / 3d 

Teacher Evaluation Bill - Yay or Nay?

After Inslee caved to Duncan's demand that Washington State law reflect a "must" use test scores for teacher evaluation, rather than "can" as it currently does, the Legislature is moving a bill around. I'm going on the record - I don't have a problem with using test scores for teacher evaluation (even though there is virtually no proof they really show anything about how well a

by Melissa Westbrook / 3d 

MAR 03

Testing Time? Time to Think about Opting-Out

One fascinating thing I learned at the Network for Public Education conference in Austin was that Washington State is one of the luckier states in terms of ed reform.  Being behind (or slow to go) the ed reform curve has many benefits.For example, did you know that there is large (and growing) opt-out of testing movement nationwide?  Indeed there is and I met many parents at the conference who sa

3 by Melissa Westbrook / 4d 

Ballard High Student Charged in Greenwood Murder

Bryon White, a senior at Ballard High school, was arrested and charged with the murder of David Peterson, 54,  who was killed in the Greenwood area on Feb. 23rd.  White is to be charged as an adult for the killing.  White was apparently homeless.   Apparently right before Peterson's robbery and subsequent murder, three suspects had taken money from a nearby restaurant and had tried to rob another

by Melissa Westbrook / 4d 

Seattle Schools This Week

Had a great time at the Network for Public Education conference in Austin this weekend.  Very inspirational and got to talk with two education heroes - Diane Ravitch and Karen Lewis, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union.  More on this later especially about Common Core.To note, the district and bus drivers have reached a tentative agreement so there should be no bus drivers strike.Also to rememb

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 4d