UPDATE: FLorida TAKE ACTION – Say NO to Vouchers !! Fl Comm of Ed Pam Stewart Emails FL Teachers #MoreGates #Florida #Schools #FundEducationNow

Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart Emails FL Teachers – New Name for Standards & Tests #MoreGates #Florida ? | Continuing Change:


FLorida TAKE ACTION – CALL Your Leaaders NOW and Say NO to Vouchers !! #Florida #Schools #FundEducationNow

From Stop Senate Bill 6 Page on FaceBook – TAKE ACTION on VOUCHERS NOW! PLEASE make these calls tomorrow (Monday 3/17). The voucher expansion bill will be up in the Choice and Innovation Subcommittee on Tuesday. Vouchers harm public schools by diverting tax dollars to unaccountable private schools. Please call or email members of the Choice and Innovation Subcommittee. Ask them to vote NO to HB

by gatorbonbc / 20min 

Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart Emails FL Teachers – New Name for Standards & Tests #MoreGates #Florida ?

March 17, 2014Educationaccountability, education, FEA, Florida, Gates, Pam Stewart,reforms, teachers, testing

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I am a teacher in Florida.

Today, during spring break, a friend and colleague encouraged me to log into my school email and read a letter from our FL Commissioner of Education, Pam Stewart. 

Her letters tend to come wrapped in much controversy, so I took the plunge and opened the email. Here is her letter below. I will reserve judgement, except to share a few info links below the letter (to give it a frame of reference, ya know).

I am assuming sharing is allowable as our Commissioner’s communication department  preempted the letter with the words: “We encourage you to share this information with your colleagues and your students’ families.”

So, here is me sharing. What do you think?

I have already heard from one parent who responded with links re the Gates connection. See links below Commissioner Stewart’s letter:

Dear Florida Educators: 

Florida Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart Emails FL Teachers – New Name for Standards & Tests #MoreGates #Florida ? | Continuing Change:

3-17-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online:

PEP Tuesday Night/CEC Members/Parents Urge Tish James to Press Co-Loco Law Suit

I am going to be there and film. Rumor is that Eva is bringing the Success people out to enforce the idea that their 194 kids are more important than autistic kids they want to throw out at PS 149 and the Mickey Mantle special ed school -- and backed by millions of dollars for commercials - which could have been used to get the 194 kids a building of their own.This was just sent by Leonie Haimson:

by ed notes online / 15min 

Evaluation Law Suit on Poverty: NYSUT Leadership Supports Rochester TA

Interesting news here given that Adam Urbanski is supporting the Mulgrew/Revive takeover of NYSUT. Will Rochester delegates to the April 5 NYSUTRA vote for  Iannuzzi/Stronger Together because of this support? Ravitch reports:Rochester Teachers Sue State Over Teacher Evaluationsby dianeravitch The Rochester Teachers Association is suing the state over its teacher evaluation system, alleging that it

by ed notes online / 3min 

3-15-14 Ed Notes Online Week

Ed Notes Online: Ed Notes OnlineChange the Stakes Explains Opt-Out at District 14 High Stakes Testing Town Hall - Wed. March 19Janine Sopp, David Dobosz, Brian DeVale, Brooke Parker and Esteban Duran -- Oh what a night this will be --- , Do you know what High Stakes Testing means for your children, their teachers and our schools?The Community Education Council for District 14TOWN HALL MEETINGWedne

by mike simpson / 43min 

3-17-14 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):

Keep seniority for layoffs, Vergara witness tells court

Linda Tolladay A 30-year veteran of teaching in California school districts testified for the defense today in Vergara v. California, saying state laws protecting teacher employment are critical to maintaining teacher effectiveness in the classroom. Linda Tolladay, an eighth grade science teacher in the Madera Unified School District outside Fresno, told the court that replacing seniority with a m

by Mark Harris / 58min 

Analysis: Hudley-Hayes resume raises more than red flags

Genethia Hudley-Hayes Rather than jump to conclusions in the case of allegations first reported here earlier this month, that a LA Unified School Board candidate, Genethia Hudley-Hayes, has numerous inaccuracies in her resume, we at LA School Report embarked on our own due-diligence. What we found were a series of repeated conflicts and inconsistencies over a number of years, without any apparent

2 by Jamie Alter Lynto... / 15min 

It’s settled: McKenna gets top spot on District 1 ballot

While it’s not clear that ballot order has a significant impact, in a crowded field of 7, it can’t hurt to be first. But it takes some doing to figure it out. So LA School Report has un-scrambled the randomized alphabet drawing procedure the California Secretary of State used to determined the ballot order in the LA Unfiied School Board special election. Here’s the list:     George McKenna - Reti

by Aaron Stella / 0min 

Garcia, UTLA candidate for president, fired as LAUSD sub

The field of candidates for UTLA president may be reduced by one. David Garcia, one of nine men challenging the incumbent, Warren Fletcher, has been dismissed as an LA Unified teacher, putting his candidacy in limbo. Garcia confirmed his firing in an email circulated on Friday and blamed it on his challenging the district on an issue involving other candidates’ being able to campaign during school

3 31min 

Morning Read: LAUSD moves students into rival territory and incites protest

L.A. Unified’s decision to move students sparks furor Officials didn’t take into account long-standing rivalries when they decided to transfer about 280 students from Boyle Heights to Lincoln Heights, critics say. The two schools are a two-minute drive apart in similarly low-income, largely immigrant neighborhoods. But to hear students tell it, the two places might as well be different planets. LA

2 16min 

3-15-14 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):Schwarzenegger benefits LA after school programs with tank ride (VIDEO)Hollywood star and former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just launched the coolest campaign ever to benefit after-school programs in LAUSD and in other cities. The campaign comes in the form of a contest. For as little as $10 a ticket,

by mike simpson / 21min 

IS HIGH STAKES TESTING THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE EDUCATION Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

IS HIGH STAKES TESTING THE BEST WAY TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCE AMONG STUDENTS OF COLOR AND STUDENTS LIVING IN POVERTY?

By: Dr. Mark Naison

 March 17, 2014 

 

    Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, there has been a concerted effort to reduce gaps in educational  performance  by race and class by promoting regular testing in all grades and subjects and rating schools and teachers on the basis those tests.  As a consequence of such policies, thousands of  public schools in low income neighborhoods and communities of color have been closed, tens of thousands of teachers removed from their jobs, and charter schools promoted  as the best strategy to combat educational inequality.

 

   Given the failure of these policies to achieve their stated goal- namely, to  reduce the Black/White and Latino/White Achievement Gap as measured by test scores or college completion rates- and the many other consequences of such policies which have been largely negative, we would like to call for a reconsideration  of High Stakes Testing by elected officials and educators in Low Income Communities and Communities of Color, along with a search for alternative strategies which might produce better results.

 

   Before we provide a critical examination of some of the negative consequences of High Stakes Testing- we would like to call attention to another approach, put forward more than twenty years ago, which has been neglected in the years since No Child Left Behind- namely community schooling and culturally appropriate 

Shanker Blog » Valuing Home Languages Sets The Foundation For Early Learning

Shanker Blog » Valuing Home Languages Sets The Foundation For Early Learning:

Valuing Home Languages Sets The Foundation For Early Learning

Posted by Candis Grover on March 17, 2014

 Our guest author today is Candis Grover, the Literacy & Spanish Content Manager at ReadyRosie.com, an online resource that models interactive oral language development activities that parents and caregivers of young children can do to encourage learning.

Many advocates, policymakers, and researchers now recognize that a strong start requires more than just a year of pre-K. Research shows that promoting children’s success starts with helping parents recognize the importance of loving interactions and “conversations” with their babies.

The above statement, which is taken from a recent report, Subprime Learning: Early Education in America since the Great Recession, emphasizes the role of parents as the earliest investors in the academic success of their children. This same report states that more than one in five of these families speaks a primary language other than English, and that this statistic could reach 40 percent by 2030. Despite the magnitude of these numbers, the Subprime Learning report asserts that the research on dual language learners has been largely ignored by those developing early childhood education policies and programs.

As a bilingual (English/Spanish) educator who has worked with dual language learners since 1999, I have read many books and attended numerous trainings that encouraged me to value home language as the foundation upon which to build English and academic skills. However, it was not until I became a mother that I truly appreciated the research supporting the importance of native language instruction.

Although I am not a native Spanish speaker, my years of teaching in a bilingual classroom inspired me to 

Just Tryin to Make My Momma Proud | Cloaking Inequity

Just Tryin to Make My Momma Proud | Cloaking Inequity:

Just Tryin to Make My Momma Proud

From the Huffington Post:

Expert Slams ‘Education On The Cheap’ For Latino Students

VOXXI is dedicated to recognizing those working in the field of education for making a difference and setting the example for our future generation.

Inequality continues to be the plight facing Latino and minority students in America. However, from coast to coast there are dedicated individuals – from K-12 educators to higher education leaders – attempting to make a difference for future generations.

One such example is University of Texas-Austin Educational Policy and Planning Associate Professor Julian Vasquez-Heilig, a vocal supporter of public schools who promotes early childhood education and quality teachers to low-performing schools with a high poverty rate and a large English language learner population.

Cloaking Inequity

Inequality continues to be the plight facing Latino and minority students in America.

Vasquez-Heilig also is behind the incredibly popular and influential blog “Cloaking Inequity,” which is consistently ranked as one of the top 50 education blogs in the world by Teach100.

“It’s read by folks in 170 countries and hundreds of thousands of people,” Vasquez-Heilig told VOXXI. “It’s an education blog specifically for Latino and African-Americans regarding their experience in U.S. schools.”

Something else that makes “Cloaking Inequity” innovative is the fact Vasquez-Heilig, a tenured associate professor 

UPDATE: Gates’ Poor Defense of the Common Core on This Week | Truth in American Education

Gates’ Poor Defense of the Common Core on This Week | Truth in American Education:

Sandra Stotsky on Common Core Assessments

Massachusetts is telling their parents that they can not opt their students out from the PARCC assessments that are being field tested this year.  They are treating them the same as MCAS which are considered mandatory under state law.Dr. Sandra Stotsky, who served as a Senior Associate Commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education and was later on the Massachusetts State Board of Educa

by Shane Vander Hart / 24min 

Gates’ Poor Defense of the Common Core on This Week

 Bill Gates went on This Week with George Stephanopoulos to defend the Common Core. Here’s the video below:

Some observations:

• First of all the Common Core’s failure to launch is not because of “confusion.”  We are not confused about what it is.
• Secondly we also understand it is not a curriculum, they are very poor standards.
• Third, yes support for the Common Core is bipartisan, so is the opposition.  This is a non-partisan issue that advocates like to paint as partisan to deflect criticism.
• Fourth, regarding the federal takeover deflection… It’s disingenuous to take a “nothing to see here” approach.  No the Common Core is not federal standards, but they are not state-

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, March 17, 2014

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

UPDATE: New Issue of Cream and Cherries: Los Angeles charter schools outperform traditional district schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Education Headlines

Monday, March 17, 2014

San Juan considers shutting 76-year-old Sylvan Middle School

The aging, deteriorating Sylvan Middle School campus in Citrus Heights would close in 2016 under one proposal before San Juan Unified School District trustees.

Modesto Teachers Association weighs split with CTA

The Modesto Teachers Association will vote on breaking away from its statewide affiliate in April, President Doug Burton announced. The Modesto City Schools union will hold a series of meetings for its members before the vote.

Pact reached in Tracy Unified

Negotiators for teachers and the Tracy Unified School District broke their three-month impasse late Thursday, reaching a tentative contract agreement calling for a 3 percent raise, a 1.65 percent one-time payment and several changes in working conditions teachers had requested.

Stanislaus Union District special education changes unsettle families

Changes are being made to cut costs, but families say some siblings will have to go to separate schools and others students will be forced to walk farther to their bus stops.

Beverly Hills principal cleared in sports camp probe

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has concluded its investigation into Beverly Hills High School Principal Carter Paysinger and the for-profit summer sports camp he owned — clearing him of any criminal wrongdoing, authorities said Thursday.

California schools issue few pink slips

This year, many fewer teachers than before are receiving the tentative pink slips. The California Teachers Association, which represents the majority of the state's K-12 teachers, on Friday estimated that just over 1,000 members would be told they risk being laid off.

Parents see "sexting" discovery at middle schools as learning tool

As police continue to investigate allegations that more than a dozen East Contra Costa middle school students shared sexually explicit pictures on their cellphones, school officials and parents said Friday the case reinforces the importance of teaching kids to act responsibly on the Internet.

Galt Joint Union High School District approves layoffs

At the end of the school year, the Galt Joint Union High School District will likely lay off the equivalent of five employees, including an assistant principal. The decision was made by the school board at its regular meeting this week.

Centinela Valley school district spends more than double the state average on administration

The same school district that made Jose Fernandez perhaps the most highly compensated superintendent in California last year also spends two-and-a-half times the state average on its administration as a whole.

How much should your school districts spend on disadvantaged students?

As the July 1 deadline for creating district spending plans is looming under the state's new Local Control Funding Formula, school officials should be asking parents how they believe money should be spent to best serve their children.

Deadline passes with few teacher layoffs in Southern California

Although California public school districts aren’t exactly flush with cash, the Ides of March appears to have passed without major layoffs in Southern California school districts.

Frey: National report highlights racial disparities in suspensions

In schools across the nation, African American boys receive harsher penalties than white students for the same offense; there is no evidence that “bad” students need to be removed from class so “good” students can learn; and poverty does not fully explain racial disparities in discipline, according to the findings of a series of reports  released Thursday.

Fensterwald: State Board makes it official: No API scores for next two year

With federal approval finally in hand to give a Common Core-aligned practice test this spring, the State Board of Education took the inevitable next step this week. It suspended the Academic Performance Index, the chief measure of schools’ academic growth or progress, for this year and next.

Wave of retirements could reshape SD schools

By eliminating some of the most seasoned teachers from the district payroll, San Diego Unified would shave millions off its looming multiyear budget deficit.

Mayor Garcetti’s top education deputy Thelma Meléndez leaves City Hall

Just seven months after joining Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, his top education deputy Thelma Meléndez is leaving to take a position at Los Angeles Unified School District, a district spokesman said Saturday.

Baron: Online test will challenge students’ computer savvy

Even with seemingly innate technical aptitude, many students will be stymied when they sit down to take the computer-based aligned to the Common Core standards starting this month.

Baron: Are schools ready for the new online Common Core tests?

California is just weeks away from learning whether its test of the test will pass or fail. For nearly 12 weeks, beginning March 25, more than 3 million students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 will take the computer-based Smarter Balanced field, or practice, test aligned to the Common Core State Standards in math and English.

Program will help cash-strapped teachers fund their projects

The L.A. Fund for Public Education will announce a groundbreaking initiative that will give teachers access to hundreds of millions in funding opportunities.

L.A. Unified's decision to move students sparks furor

Officials didn't take into account long-standing rivalries when they decided to transfer about 280 students from Boyle Heights to Lincoln Heights, critics say.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Ventura school officials prepare for computer testing

Beginning early next month, as many as 1,000 Ventura students each day will sit before computers and take a new standardized test. There will be another test during those six weeks for the Ventura Unified School District: whether the technology works.

Fewer teachers get layoff notices across Sonoma County

For the second year in a row, Sonoma County has seen a dramatic drop in the number of layoff notices issued to teachers whose jobs are vulnerable to being cut for the 2014-15 school year.

Alisal board debates security needs

In a much improved political climate, the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees took care of business Wednesday night.

Galt Joint Union High School District remains on state's financial watchlist

Galt Joint Union High School District remains on a state Department of Education financial watch list due to its budget.

Extent of high-paid Centinela Valley superintendent Jose Fernandez’s self-imposed pay cut unclear

Two days after a raucous school board meeting where embattled Centinela Valley high school district Superintendent Jose Fernandez offered to cut his hefty compensation, it’s still unclear just what, exactly, he is giving up.

West Contra Costa school board approves harassment policies without reviewing new procedures

The West Contra Costa school board on Wednesday unanimously approved policies intended to help prevent harassment without asking to review or approve the procedures staff must follow to implement and enforce them.

News Archives

Test scores or jobs? I’ll have both | Hechinger Report

Test scores or jobs? I’ll have both | Hechinger Report:

Test scores or jobs? I’ll have both

By Andre Perry

This week, the Black Alliance of Educational Options (BAEO) convenes its Annual Symposium in New Orleans, a battleground city for school reform validation (some may say disapproval). As a Symposium participant, I’m leading a town hall dialogue described as “[a] discussion of the progress that has been made to reform public education in New Orleans post-Katrina and a dialogue about how difficult issues such as race, class, community participation, and power will impact education reform efforts going forward.”

Click to read more columns.

But how should we measure progress? As New Orleans approaches the ninth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, assayers will inquire: Has education improved since the storm? This simplistic question elicits rhetorically loaded responses in which test scores and demographic shifts are thrown around like Mardi Gras beads. In my opinion, there’s no more important framework of progress than: Are poor black and brown residents of New Orleans any more equipped to leave and return to New Orleans after a natural disaster? Consequently, a conversation on educational progress must point to evidence of true community empowerment among poor residents of color.

Let’s be clear; poor black folk in New Orleans need more than increased performances on standardized tests. Life expectancy in New Orleans’ poorest zip code is 25.5-years lower than the zip code with the least amount of poverty. Forty-two percent of Orleans Parish children live in poverty. Whites on average earn twice as much as blacks.  Less than 50 percent of black men are in the