We’re Not No. 1! We’re Not No. 1!

We’re Not No. 1! We’re Not No. 1!:

We’re Not No. 1! We’re Not No. 1!

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That is the title of this this Nicholas Kristof op ed in today's New York Times

It examines the result of the Social Progress Index, which is

a brainchild of Michael E. Porter, the eminent Harvard business professor who earlier helped develop the Global Competitiveness Report. Porter is a Republican whose work, until now, has focused on economic metrics.

  Porter told Kristof

that he became increasingly aware that social factors support economic growth: tax policy and regulations affect economic prospects, but so do schooling, health and a society’s inclusiveness.

Porter and his team spent two years examining lots of data

reflecting suicide, property rights, school attendance, attitudes toward immigrants and minorities, opportunity for women, religious freedom, nutrition, electrification and much more.

For some of the results please continue beneath the fold.

The index is based on three distinct themes: Human Needs, Foundations of Wellbeing, and Opportunity.  Because of how each theme is calculated, using four dimensions,

Louisiana Educator: A Disappointing Vote

Louisiana Educator: A Disappointing Vote:

A Disappointing Vote

The House Education Committee, after debate that went into late evening hours yesterday, voted to kill HB381 by Gueyman, Pope and Kostelka that would have provided a process to create Louisiana based school standards in the place of the Common Core State Standards. Big business in Louisiana represented by LABI and CABL once again wielded their power over the legislature. It did not seem to matter that most of the real experts in Louisiana education led by some of our most successful local superintendents warned that the present CCSS may not be appropriate and that the PARCC test may be more harmful than helpful. John White and his big business buddies were determined to put our schools through another round of gut wrenching reform and condemnation. The committee also defeated HB 558 by Cameron Henry that would have stopped the PARCC testing and substituted Louisiana developed tests instead.

I want to thank Superintendent Pujol of Ascension Parish, Superintendent Folse of St Tammany Parish and Superintendent Puyau of Vermilion Parish who led the effort by educators to restore sanity to the process of education reform in Louisiana. There were many other superintendents present also who made their support known for HB 381, along with many supervisors and teachers. LAE and LFT representatives and the School Board Association also supported HB 381.

Many parents stayed to the bitter end of the debate to support this and a bill by Rep. Cameron Henry, HB 558, that would have 

Are Charter Schools Really ‘Helping Poor Children?’ | PopularResistance.Org

Are Charter Schools Really ‘Helping Poor Children?’ | PopularResistance.Org:

Are Charter Schools Really ‘Helping Poor Children?’

EDUCATE! EDUCATION 
By Jim Naureckas, www.fair.org
April 3rd, 2014

 Richard Cohen doesn’t understand why people are so down on the rich.  The Washington Post columnist (3/18/14) writes:

The rich are incessantly accused of being slyly manipulative and self-serving. For instance, they support charter schools. Apparently, there is nothing worse.

I am mystified. Charter schools are not private schools. They are free public schools open to any student, usually by lottery. Some rich people support them, provide funds for special programs and, in return, get vilified for their efforts.

“They’re helping poor children,” Cohen insists, while opponents of charter schools, he suspects, “would rather hurt the rich than help the poor.”

But are charter schools really helping poor students–or any students? “Say what you will about New York or Washington charters, but by the usual measurements–test scores, etc.–they are succeeding, some of them stunningly so,” the columnist writes–contrasting them with “the old system,” in which “failure was a certainty.”

Who can argue with success? (cc photo: Multitude)

The link on “test scores” goes to aWashington Post article (7/30/13) headlined “D.C. Students Reach New Heights in Annual Standardized Tests.” Note that the subject of the headline is “D.C. students,” because the story reports gains by students in both charter schools and the “old system” alike.

But not quite alike: If you look at test scores over the past seven years, you see that D.C. charter schools have raised  test scores by an average of 15.o percent–while the old  Are Charter Schools Really ‘Helping Poor Children?’ | PopularResistance.Org:

Common Core debate leads to mom's suspension from son's school:

Common Core debate leads to mom's suspension from son's school

SACRAMENTO - As California prepares to adopt the new state educational standards known as Common Core this fall, more parents are speaking out against them. Now one local mom says she was suspended from her son's school for doing so.

"I was outraged," 12-year-old Christopher Duran said.

The boy couldn't believe it when he found out his mom had been suspended from Mark Twain Elementary School.

"Why would the principal sign a withdrawal of consent to my mom, and furthermore, why would she send the police to the house?" Christopher asked.

That withdrawal of consent, delivered by a police officer, banned Christopher's mom from school for 14 days. Last week when we asked the school district why, they told us Katherine Duran was disrupting the school.

"It appears went a little too far with regards to how she distributed information at school sites, distributing information to children directly," Sacramento City Unified School District spokesperson Gabe Ross said last Thursday.

"To blame me and say that I had personally handed a child that information on school property during school hours and disrupting the school. No, none of that is true," Christopher's mom Katherine O'Neal Duran said.

After speaking to Katherine, we followed up with the school district. Ross admitted they were mistaken on that point, that it was actually Christopher who distributed forms to his classmates encouraging them to opt out of Common Core testing.

"I wanted to pass out these forms so that the students could give them to their parents," Christopher explained.

So why was his mother suspended? When Katherine found out the school had confiscated the letters her son was distributing she went to see the principal. The district says that confrontation is what led to her suspension, but Katherine says they are exaggerating what happened.

"I think it's an effort to undermine the anti-Common Core movement," she said.

According to Katherine, the principal insisted the letters were inappropriate, so Katherine tried to take them off the principal's desk.

"She slammed her hand down on top of those letters and said, no they're not yours anymore; you left them here," Katherine said describing the principal's reaction.

Katherine took the letters and left. Within a few days a police officer was at her door letting her know she had been suspended, but she didn't let that officer leave her home empty-handed.

"I asked him if he had children, he said yes, so he took a couple of my opt-out forms," Katherine said.

We Need Changes Beyond School, Too - Bridging Differences - Education Week

We Need Changes Beyond School, Too - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

We Need Changes Beyond School, Too

By Deborah Meier on April 3, 2014 8:53 AM

Deborah Meier continues her conversation with Robert Pondiscio. The two will finish co-blogging next week.

Dear Robert,

Let's use these last letters—our blog partnership ends next week!—to pursue your question: Do We Need Changes In Our Schools? Yes. Yes. Yes. (But maybe "reform" was never quite the right word.)

Given the nature of the beast, we are probably doing better than we ever have. That's important to remember.  And we always needed better-educated citizens! But we won't get them until we identify both (1) what it is we are looking for and (2) what we know it would take to get there. That's where there's a serious divide among "reformers."

At present, we apparently have settled for closing the test-score gaps between the poor and rich on at least math and reading tests. Some, more realistic, just insist they all be proficient—although what that really means may be just as utopian. (Some may even not care as long as the reforms end teacher unionism and public education.)

But that's not the goal that has driven me (or you) for the last 50-plus years.

"Closing test score gaps" is probably an absurd goal even if we had great assessment tools. E.g. I could design an objective, standardized test that would close the score gaps between my three children or three different tests that put each in turn in the top spot—if I had the power to choose 

4-3-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Common Core Can’t Bring Teaching Back to Teachers

Before attending the United Opt Out conference in Denver, I began to do a little more research on the trends in the Common Core debate for some of my upcoming presentations.  One of the interesting things I came across was a PowerPoint created by Ellen Bernstein of the Albuquerque Teachers Federation (ATF), a local chapter of […]

36 by Kris Nielsen / 42min 

National Poetry Month: “What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?”

National Poetry Month: “What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?”. via National Poetry Month: “What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?”.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical

1 by plthomasedd / 18min 

4-2-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: On Children and ChildhoodOn Children and Childhood. via On Children and Childhood.Filed under: PAUL THOMAS: Becoming Radical1 by plthomasedd / 52min hide  //  saveYESTERDAYSome High-profilers Gunning for Common CoreSome High-profilers Gunning for Common CoreThe Common Core State Standards (CCSS) surely are causing quite a stir. That is what happens when non-teachers try to impose

by mike simpson / 9h 

4-3-14 the becoming radical A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

National Poetry Month: “What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?”

National Poetry Month 2014 comes not on “little cat feet,” like Carl Sandberg’s “Fog,” but in the wake of Walter Dean Myers and his son, Christopher, responding to reports of the whitewashing of books for children. Walter Dean Myers explains: But there was something missing. I needed more than the characters in the Bible to identify with, or even the characters in Arthur Miller’s plays or my belov

3 by plthomasedd / 20min 

4-2-14 the becoming radical A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): On Children and Childhoodchildren guessed(but only a few and down they forgot as up they grew “[anyone lived in a pretty how town],” e.e. cummings In one of those early years of becoming and being a teacher, when I was still teaching in the exact room where I had been a

by mike simpson / 9h 

4-3-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

PEF President Wants To See Someone From Left Primary Cuomo

Can you imagine anybody from the Mulgarten-controlled AFT/UFT (and perhaps soon to be NYSUT) saying anything like this?The state Democratic and Working Families parties should find a primary challenger to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the president of one of the state’s top public-employees unions said today. Susan Kent, the president of the Public Employees Federation, said the Democratic governor hasn’t li

by reality-based edu... / 4min 

This Would Get Under Cuomo's Skin

From State of Politics:Former New York City Councilman Charles Barron this week filed paperwork with the state Board of Elections to run for the state Assembly seat vacated by his wife, Inez, records show. The move for Charles Barron is not unexpected. Barron, left the Council due to term limits, and had been telegraphing for months he would run for the Brooklyn-based district. The former Black Pa

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

What Did The UFT Leadership Get To Look The Other Way On Cuomo's Charter Deal?

Michael Fiorillo on the news confirmed today by the NY Times that the UFT leadership did nothing to fight the charter school protections Cuomo wanted enshrined in the budget that give charters unlimited expansion rights, free rent in NYC public school buildings or the tab picked up by the NYCDOE and other goodies that the charter entrepreneurs wanted:Does this (mis)leadership ever fight anything?S

by reality-based edu... / 0min 

Cuomo Was Behind The Organization Of The Eva Moskowitz/Success Charter School Rally

There have been some stories out that it was Governor Cuomo who pushed for the charter school giveaway rally in Albany - those stories are now confirmed in the NY Times:It was a frigid February day in Albany, and leaders of New York City’s charter school movement were anxious. They had gone to the capital to court lawmakers, but despite a boisterous showing by parents, there seemed to be little cl

by reality-based edu... / 1h hide  //  save

UFT Didn't Fight Cuomo's Charter School Giveaways

In this morning's Times analysis of how and why Cuomo pushed through so many charter school protections is this:A lot was riding on the debate for Mr. Cuomo. A number of his largest financial backers, some of the biggest names on Wall Street, also happened to be staunch supporters of charter schools. According to campaign finance records, Mr. Cuomo’s re-election campaign has received hundreds of t

1 by reality-based edu... / 3h 

4-2-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Don't Accept Minor Tweaks To APPR Teacher EvaluationsAndrew Cuomo issued a statement yesterday saying he and the legislature will revisit the APPR teacher evaluation component that is tied to Common Core tests now that the CCSS tests have been de-linked from high stakes for children for a couple of years.There was much surprise around the Internets and the Twitterverse and n

by mike simpson / 9h 

Public housing authorities pilot education programs | EdSource Today

Public housing authorities pilot education programs | EdSource Today:

Public housing authorities pilot education programs

April 2nd, 2014 | Add a Comment | 
By Lillian Mongeau

8

Americorps member Chia Vang helps Imani Conley, 2, with a finger-painting of a coconut tree during a class at the little girl’s public housing complex in Fresno. Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource

In an effort to improve literacy rates among children from low-income families, public housing authorities across the state are piloting programs that help parents prepare their children for school and increase their access to books.

In Sacramento, children living in public housing will soon have access to a new library, designed especially for them. In Oceanside, north of San Diego, public housing officials now distribute books instead of toys at the annual holiday party. In Oakland, the housing authority is working with the school district to improve attendance and bring parents living in public housing into their children’s schools more often.

“We’re not just about bricks and mortar, a roof over a head,” said Preston Prince, the executive director of the Fresno Housing Authority and president of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. “To be successful, children need additional help and the environment of where a child lives has a pretty major impact on how they do in school.”

Prince has led the effort to get more city and county housing authorities in California to provide on-site educational programs for children. Prince said he was convinced by research showing that children who are reading at grade level by 3^rd grade are more likely to stay on track in middle school and graduate from high school on time. Prince credits Kendra Rogers, executive director of Fresno County’s First Five Commission and a housing authority board member, with helping him understand that children who are read to as infants and toddlers have stronger reading skills in   Public housing authorities pilot education programs | EdSource Today:

Report: Foundation funding widens the gap between California's 'rich' and 'poor' schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

Report: Foundation funding widens the gap between California's 'rich' and 'poor' schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

Report: Foundation funding widens the gap between California's 'rich' and 'poor' schools

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | April 3rd, 2014, 5:30am

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/KPCC

The Irvine Public Schools Foundation raises money to pay for all K-3 music classes, and covers some of the costs of music classes for 4tn, 5th, and 6th graders in Irvine Unified schools.

Southern California researchers are finding that foundations, set up to raise money for public schools, are reintroducing funding inequality that was supposed to be eliminated back in the 1970's, when the California Supreme Court ruled on the Serrano vs. Priest case.

“The court said spending needs to be equitable between school districts, you can’t have Beverly Hills spending twice as much as the other guys, per pupil, because a child’s education should not be dependent on the wealth of the area in which they happen to live,” said Cal State Fullerton professor Sarah Hill.

She and two colleagues have compiled  information from about 1500 education foundations and other fundraising groups such as booster clubs and PTAs, along with Internal Revenue Service data, to create a database Hill said is the first of its kind.

“We’re doing more of a sophisticated analysis looking at how wealth matters for which school districts are able to raise money. How demographics matter,” she said.

Some Northern California public school foundations are raising additional funds of about $2,000 per student. Researchers say that figure is a significant addition to the roughly $8000 per student the state gives public schools each year. California's current level of per pupil spending is the second lowest in the country.

Seven of the 15 foundations that raised the most money in California are in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Manhattan Beach’s foundation, according to Hill’s data, raised $7.5 million in 2011 to boost instructional programs for roughly 6800 students in the district. Irvine Unified’s foundation is number three on Hill’s list, with $5.1   Report: Foundation funding widens the gap between California's 'rich' and 'poor' schools | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC: