4-14-14 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):

Caputo-Pearl: Fletcher made right decision, stepping aside

Warren Fletcher Alex Caputo-Pearl, the presumptive next president of UTLA,  said today that current president Warren Fletcher made the right decision by expressing a willingness to step aside in the race to lead the second largest teachers union in the nation. “We look forward to the opportunity to expand the base of support behind an approach where UTLA leads the fight for quality schools and res

by Vanessa Romo / 17min 

SEIU 99 decides not to endorse a candidate for District 1 board seat

SEIU Local 99, the service employees union, which represents more than 30,000 cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, special education assistants and other school support staff at LAUSD, has decided not to endorse a candidate for the district’s vacant District 1 Board seat. The local is the largest labor unit within LA Unified that chose not to get behind any of the seven candidates in the Ju

1 43min 

UTLA unsure of financial support for teachers in board race

Winning endorsement is one thing. Winning financial support is quite another. UTLA, the teachers union, has endorsed three candidates in the June 3 special election to fill LA Unified’s District 1 board seat, all three with ties to the union: Rachel Johnson and Sherlett Hendy-Newbill are teachers, and Hattie McFrazier is a former teacher. The head of UTLA’s political action committee, PACE, said t

by Vanessa Romo / 10min hide  //  save

Morning Read: Bus crash investigations moves to LA

Deadly bus crash: Bulk of investigation shifts to Los Angeles The investigation into what caused a FedEx freight truck to cross a median and slam into a charter bus in Northern California, killing 10 people, is shifting to Los Angeles. On the itinerary for investigators: meeting with Silverado Stages, the company that owned and operated the bus involved in the collision, and interviewing student s

1 40min 

L.A. teachers union president ready to step aside for challenger

Via the Los Angeles Times |  By Howard Blume Los Angeles teachers’ union president Warren Fletcher said he will no longer actively campaign for reelection, clearing the path for challenger Alex Caputo-Pearl to become the next leader of United Teachers Los Angeles. In the first round of voting in March, Caputo-Pearl received 48% of the votes and Fletcher 21%. The runoff election takes place this mo

1 10h  

4-12-14 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):Bus crash update: LAUSD offers no names of dead and injuredVia @NBCLA LA Unified officials had no additional information by mid-day on the fate of 19 students from 16 LAUSD high schools who were on the bus involved in a fatal crash yesterday, heading to Humboldt State University. Superintendent John Deasy

by mike simpson / 8h 

4-14-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman:

Repost For Tax Day: The Teacher Supply Tax Credit & Why We Aren't Saints

I'm reposting this from December of last year in "celebration" of Tax Day tomorrow.Via Fred Klonsky, here's yet another way to screw teachers out of money:STATELINE (WIFR) -- Local teachers may be forced to spend more of their own money on school supplies next year, now that a federal tax break is about to expire.Teachers are able to deduct up to $250 on what they spend on classrooms sup

10 by Duke / 26min hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Sunday Music: Hugh Masekela

I caught Hugh Masekela last Sunday at NJPAC. The younger Jazzboy plays the trumpet (his first instrument is the computer, actually, and the music he makes on it is really quite good), so Mrs. Jazzman and I thought this would be good family outing. It was.Masekela is 75 and is really amazing; he's a ball of energy on stage, playing, singing, dancing, telling stories, and just generally being great.

13 by Duke / 10h 

4-13-14 Jersey Jazzman Jammin' All Week

Jersey Jazzman: Data Wars, Episode IBruce Baker wrote a post yesterday about the appropriate use of data that really should be read by all engaged in education policy debates:My next few blog posts will return to a common theme on this blog – appropriate use of publicly available data sources. I figure it’s time to put some positive, instructive stuff out there. Some guidance for more casual users

by mike simpson / 6h 

UPDATE taking a leap without a net, a parachute, or even a bungee cord +Thoughts inspired by Paul Krugman

Thoughts inspired by Paul Krugman:


taking a leap without a net, a parachute, or even a bungee cord

I am new to the school system in which I teach.  If I am not coming back I am required to notify them in writing by May 1.  While in theory that would give me another 2.5 weeks, I have sent an email to my building administrators and to the people in the central office with oversight over the STEM program in which I was hired to teach that I will not be returning.  I had already notified my two dep

2 by rss@dailykos.com ... / 15min

Thoughts inspired by Paul Krugman

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who in his column this morning wrote, as quoted by bobswern,

…In short, we’re giving huge sums to the financial industry while receiving little or nothing — maybe less than nothing — in return. Mr. Philippon puts the waste at 2 percent of G.D.P. Yet even that figure, I’d argue, understates the true cost of our bloated financial industry. For there is a clear correlation between the rise of modern finance and America’s return to Gilded Age levels of inequality.

The following was written as a comment to bobswern's diary, but is buried so far down the thread I thought I would offer it as a stand-alone, and perhaps flesh it out a bit more:

Krugman thinks the 2% of GDP is low

the estimates for our GDP as of January were 17.4 Trillion dollars.

each percent, therefore, is 174 Billion.

Two percent would be 348 Billion dollars.

if three percent, that would be 522 billion - more than half a trillion.  

Now consider how much we need the following items, not getting funded by Wall Street:

infrastructure repair
 - roads
 - bridges
 - dams
 - tunnels
 - school buildings  (over 150 billion for this alone)
long term unemployment
affordable health care for all
class size reduction in schools

and that list would go on

We have a system in which public money is spent primarily when it benefits those who already have it, and enables them to make more.

I said primarily.  

Because I include tax expenditures

Those tax expenditures include the lower tax rates given to hedge fund operators, as well as the obscenely low rate of capital gains

Those tax expenditures also include our refusal to enact a financial transactions tax

We have the further refusal to extend the notion of Thoughts inspired by Paul Krugman:

UPDATE: empathyeducates – The Paradox of Race in the U.S. + Parental Involvement Is Overrated

empathyeducates – Parental Involvement Is Overrated:

The Paradox of Race in the U.S.

Generic Image (Istockphoto) By Paul L. Thomas, Ed.D. | Originlly Published at The Becoming Radical. April 14, 2014 The paradox of race in the U.S.: In order to become a culture in which race does not matter, race must always matter. Due this coming June, my first […]

by empathy / 13min 

Imagining Equity Literacy

By Paul C. Gorski | Originally Published at Teaching Tolerance. April 10, 2014 Cultural competence: I learn about Latino culture so that I can communicate effectively with my Latino students’ families. Cultural proficiency: Acknowledging the tremendous diversity among Latino families, I learn about the cultures, identities and […]

by empathy / 2min 

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Parental Involvement Is Overrated

“Parent Involvement” can take many directions. Do we teach our children to be autonomous or do we ostensibly “help” them? “Too much is never enough” has become an American tradition. Too much love, too much guidance…are we hurting our children? Researchers have studied this question and ask us to consider our own parent-child relations. Have we relied on conventional wisdom and/or misconceptions? Might it be that…

Parental Involvement Is Overrated

By Keith Robinson and Angel L. Harris | Originally Published at The New York Times. April 12, 2014

Most people, asked whether parental involvement benefits children academically, would say, “of course it does.” But evidence from our research suggests otherwise. In fact, most forms of parental involvement, like observing a child’s class, contacting a school about a child’s behavior, helping to decide a child’s high school courses, or helping a child with homework, do not improve student achievement. In some cases, they actually hinder it.

Over the past few years, we conducted an extensive study of whether the depth of parental engagement in children’s academic lives improved their test scores and grades. We pursued this question because we noticed that while policy makers were convinced that parental involvement positively affected children’s schooling outcomes, academic studies were much more inconclusive.

Despite this, increasing parental involvement has been one of the focal points of both President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act and President Obama’s Race to the Top. Both programs promote parental engagement as one remedy for persistent socioeconomic and racial achievement gaps.

We analyzed longitudinal surveys of American families that spanned three decades (from the 1980s to the 2000s) and obtained demographic information on race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, the academic 

4-14-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

Cuomo's Control-Freak Style Comes Back To Bite Him

It's a banner day in the newspapers for Cuomo-bashing. Here's another Cuomo-bashing piece, this one from Ken Lovett in the Daily News: ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo's latest woes over his handling of an anti-corruption commission can be traced back to his need for control, insiders say. Cuomo is privately being called out by some of those he appointed to the Moreland Commission — which he initially promised

by reality-based edu... / 2min 

Long Island NYSUT Members Will Protest Cuomo

Cuomo's vulnerable these days, so it's good to see the protests against him from teachers pick up steam:Long Island public school members of New York State United Teachers are planning a protest when Gov. Andrew Cuomo headlines the Suffolk Democratic dinner April 28. Richard Schaffer, Suffolk Democratic chairman, confirmed last week that union officials informed the party they will not be taking a

by reality-based edu... / 18min 

Cuomo Fears A Third Party Candidate Could Make Him Lose Re-Election

An extraordinary column from Fred Dicker in the NY Post:After his worst week in office since becoming governor, Andrew Cuomo is now viewed for the first time by important Democrats as potentially vulnerable to Republican challenger Rob Astorino, The Post has learned. The changing sentiment results from the extraordinary criticisms Cuomo received last week from corruption-fighting Southern District

1 by reality-based edu... / 33min hide  //  save

Cuomo Faces A Challenge Like He's Never Faced Before

Blake Zeff at Capital NY:This time, Andrew Cuomo may be in some trouble. I don’t write those words lightly: I’ve never written them before, and I’ve never even thought them. But the man who’s picked fights with—and systematically disemboweled—every New York politician who’s stood in his way (or who he’s feared might stand in his way at some point) is up against a very different kind of obstacle th

12 by reality-based edu... / 2h 

4-13-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: Former Moreland Commissions Erupt In Fury Over Cuomo's Interference In Panel WorkI don't know how deeply US Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara intends to probe Cuomo and his aides over their interference into the Moreland Commission work, but from accounts of former Moreland Commissioners given to Ken Lovett in the Daily News, it seems there's a lot there: ALBA

by mike simpson / 9h 

Districts should make early learning a priority in their local accountability plans | EdSource Today

Districts should make early learning a priority in their local accountability plans | EdSource Today:

Districts should make early learning a priority in their local accountability plans

April 13th, 2014 | Add a Comment | 
By Ted Lempert and Mark Friedman /commentary

Ted Lempert

The achievement gap is a term used so regularly in the education world that its realities can sometimes lose their significance. But according to new research from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the gap is still very much here in California, resulting in sizable disparities between African American and Latino children and their white and Asian peers.

Just a few of the highlights: A 4^th grade white student in California is three times more likely to be reading proficient than an African American one; an 8^th grade Asian student is nearly four times more likely than a Latino student to be proficient in math. These differences transfer well into adulthood, yielding substantial inequities between young adults in their access to higher education and careers.

Since research shows children’s vocabulary development by the age of 3 can predict how well they perform in 3^rd grade, more than anything else these new results spell the urgent need to ensure all children have access to the early learning opportunities research shows help prepare them for academic and lifelong success.

Mark Friedman

The good news is California now has the opportunity to increase support for early learning through the state’s new education finance system, the Local Control Funding Formula, a landmark reform that holds school districts accountable to meeting long-range goals to improve outcomes for all students, particularly those who are disadvantaged. Under the school finance formula, all districts will develop Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) that push th Districts should make early learning a priority in their local accountability plans | EdSource Today:

More non-profits teaching parents to read with children - by Lillian Mongeau

Uriel Torres, 4, wasn’t sitting quietly as his tutor read him a book about Clifford, that irascible big red dog. He wasn’t sitting at all. He leaned forward out of his high chair, almost laying ... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit the Edsource Today website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

1 by Lillian Mongeau / 9h 

janresseger | "That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education

janresseger | "That all citizens will be given an equal start through a sound education is one of the most basic, promised rights of our democracy. Our chronic refusal as a nation to guarantee that right for all children…. is rooted in a kind of moral blindness, or at least a failure of moral imagination…. It is a failure which threatens our future as a nation of citizens called to a common purpose… tied to one another by a common bond." —Senator Paul Wellstone — March 31, 2000:

Philly Parent Activist: How Portfolio School Reform Is Destroying the School District

Last week this blog reviewed the concept of “portfolio school reform” as it is being practiced in Chicago, New York City, and Newark.  It is a theory promoted actively by the Center for Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, which posts a map of the school districts identified formally as its network of portfolio school districts. Last week’s post on this blog did not cover

by janresseger / 41min 

NYC Chancellor Carmen Farina Brings Expertise and Good Sense to 1.1 Million Student District

Carmen Farina, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recently appointed chancellor for the New York City Public Schools, has been on the job only since January.  She is, however, a lifetime educator, teacher, principal, and former district administrator who came out of retirement to serve. This week we have begun to observe pivots from the school policies in place under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who regularly app

by janresseger / 41min hide  //  save

Portfolio School Reform: What Does It Mean in Chicago? Newark? New York City?

Controversy about charter schools has heated up this spring in New York City, over whether charter schools should be co-located into buildings shared by traditional public schools and whether charter schools ought to be charged rent; in Newark, over Governor Chris Christie and state appointed caretaker superintendent Cami Anderson’s One Newark Plan that would close traditional schools and fire tea

by janresseger / 41min 

Philly Parent Activist: How Portfolio School Reform Is Destroying the School District

Last week this blog reviewed the concept of “portfolio school reform” as it is being practiced in Chicago, New York City, and Newark.  It is a theory promoted actively by the Center for Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, which posts a map of the school districts identified formally as its network of portfolio school districts. Last week’s post on this blog did not cover

by janresseger / 1h 

Shanker Blog » What Is A Standard Deviation?

Shanker Blog » What Is A Standard Deviation?:

What Is A Standard Deviation?

Posted by Matthew Di Carlo on April 14, 2014

Anyone who follows education policy debates might hear the term “standard deviation” fairly often. Most people have at least some idea of what it means, but I thought it might be useful to lay out a quick, (hopefully) clear explanation, since it’s useful for the proper interpretation of education data and research (as well as that in other fields).

Many outcomes or measures, such as height or blood pressure, assume what’s called a “normal distribution.” Simply put, this means that such measures tend to cluster around the mean (or average), and taper off in both directions the further one moves away from the mean (due to its shape, this is often called a “bell curve”). In practice, and especially when samples are small, distributions are imperfect — e.g., the bell is messy or a bit skewed to one side — but in general, with many measures, there is clustering around the average.

Let’s use test scores as our example. Suppose we have a group of 1,000 students who take a test (scored 0-20). A simulated score distribution is presented in the figure below (called a “histogram”).

The numbers on the horizontal axis are test scores, from 0-20. The bars for each individual score tell you how many students received that score (frequencies are on the vertical axis). The bars for the scores around 10 (the average) are the highest, and they get shorter the further you move to the left of the right, since fewer and fewer students receive scores that are far away from the average.

Now look at the second graph, which is, let’s say, the same test and number of students but a very different distribution.

In this case, the average score is still 10, but the distribution is much “tighter,” with far fewer students scoring much higher or lower.

As you can see, the average score can be a useful summary statistic, but it can’t tell you about how students’ scores are actually distributed around that average. In the second graph, the scores are clustered fairly compactly, Shanker Blog » What Is A Standard Deviation?: