5-25-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":

Associated Press Feature On “Promise Neighborhoods”

I’ve written a lot about Promise Zones & Neighborhoods (see My Best Posts On The Harlem Children’s Zone & Other “Promise Zones”) – both critical and supportive. The Associated Press just published a feature on them in three separate parts: What to know about Promised Neighborhoods AP Photos: A new approach to save a neighborhood Tackling poverty: DC community tries new approach Here’s an e

4 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h hide  //  save

New Report: “The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8″

The Impact of Family Involvement on the Education of Children Ages 3 to 8 is a new report by a number of researchers, including Joyce Epstein. Here’s how they describe it: This report summarizes research conducted primarily over the past 10 years on how families’ involvement in children’s learning and development through activities at home and at school affects the literacy, mathematics, and socia

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

“State Lawmakers Throttle Back on ‘Parent Trigger’”

State Lawmakers Throttle Back on ‘Parent Trigger’ is an article at Education Week. Here’s how it begins: Interest in the controversial school choice option known as the parent trigger has declined sharply among state lawmakers this year… I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Learning Why The Parent Trigger Isn’t Good For Parents, Kids Or Schools.

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h 

MAY 21

Potentially Useful Fundraising Ideas

School Fundraisers That Broke the Mold—and the Bank shares some potentially useful fundraising ideas that parents might be interested in trying-out. Thanks to Alexander Russo for the tip.

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 4d 

MAY 19

Boy, These “Academic Parent-Teacher Teams” Sound Worse Every Time I Read About Them

I’ve previously posted about something called Academic Parent-Teacher Teams, and I just read an article about their implementation in Georgia. Here’s what I wrote about them last year: I’ve previously posted about a program called Academic Parent-Teacher Teams. It has apparently now become a program sponsored by West Ed, a school reform/research organization, and they’ve just published an article

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 5d 

“Parent sit-in ends at Gresham Elementary School”

I’ve published a number of posts about the tone-deaf approach to parent engagement by the Chicago Public Schools. Here’s another example from The Chicago Sun-Times: Parent sit-in ends at Gresham Elementary School

3 by Larry Ferlazzo / 5d 

MAY 18

“Does Family Engagement Matter?”

Does Family Engagement Matter? is a response to the now infamous “Broken Compass” book questioning the usefulness of parent involvement. It’s written by three of the top experts in the field – Karen L. Mapp, Anne T. Henderson, and Nancy E. Hill. I’m adding it to The Best Commentaries On The “Broken Compass” Parent Involvement Book.

5 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7d hide  //  save

Sorry For Multiple Emails To Readers Using That Subscription Option — Problem Should Be Fixed Now

Readers who subscribe to this blog by email received multiple email notifications of yesterday’s post. I know it hasn’t been the first time this has occurred, but Edublogs has gotten on the problem and it should be fixed for good now. I apologize for any inconvenience…

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7d 

5-25-14 Wait What?

Wait What?:

Wait What? All Week

A reporter and a teacher highlight why we need new leadership for Connecticut

The story could be called “Hooray for one hundred thousand dollar pensions” or “How Governor Malloy pulled a fast one on the people of Connecticut.” Hartford Courant investigative reporter Jon Lender lays out the details in his story, “New Law To Restrict Excessive Judges’ Pensions Has Holes In It – Intentionally Lender writes, State legislators […] The post A reporter and a teacher highlight why

9 by jonpelto / 3h 

5-24-14 Wait What? All Week

Wait What?:  Wait What? All WeekUnion Leader says Pelto is anti-union?In recent weeks, one political pundit called me a “union stooge,” while the former Democratic Party Chairman, John Droney, referred to me as a “liberal ideologue.” But this morning, in a “What the _____” moment, the President of SEIU 1199NE, the great union that represents 19,000 Connecticut health care workers issued a press re

by mike simpson / 8h 

5-25-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Common Core Continues to Be on the Run

No matter how many tweets that DFER or ReadyWashington or any other group that supports Common Core send out saying that it's here to stay, the evidence is mounting that it may survive but not in exactly the way its end game was pictured.Update on CC across the country: Indiana has already bowed out of Common Core but only to replace it with their "own" standards which appear to be a cut

by Melissa Westbrook / 51min 

Have we seen this movie before? Did it star Shirley Jones and Robert Preston?

Please forgive me, but I'm old, and old people like to natter on about the past. It's just what we do. We like to imagine that our experience has value. We see things and we think "Hey, I've seen this before!" That's bad enough, but then we feel compelled to tell you about it.Back in 2000 Seattle Public Schools was on fire with a revolutionary idea. It was a change in perspective that wo

by Charlie Mas / 1h 

5-24-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumScience Fairs: Yay or Nay?by Melissa Westbrook / 20h Friday Open ThreadNaturally, in Seattle, the first "summer" holiday and it's raining. At the Columbus College of Art and Design, two anonymous students create art for all to enjoy. Something to show the artist in your home.New names to look for in, say 2019, in SPS classroo

by mike simpson / 8h 

5-25-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Jim Crow Rides Again

From Aljazeera America:by Daniel Denvir @danieldenvirThe Supreme Court ruled 60 years ago this May 17 in Brown v. Board of Education that “segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, pursuant to state laws permitting or requiring such segregation,” is unconstitutional.The ruling abolished the explicitly mandated segregation made infamous in

by Jim Horn / 21min 

To Forbes: The problem is not a lack of technology. The problem is poverty.

Comment on "Education Needs to Change as Fast as Technology," by Zack Sims. Posted athttp://www.forbes.com/sites/techonomy/2014/05/23/education-needs-to-change-as-fast-as-technology/Mr. Sims hasn't done his homework. He points out that the "US is ranked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. is 31st in math achievement, 24th in science, and 21st in

by skrashen / 5h 

5-24-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All Week“Putting the 2-Step Over the ISTEP," Doug Martin, Otter Creek Democrat Club, Terre Haute, IN., May 21, 2014Here is the link to the video of my talk in Terre Haute, which is just over 16 minutes in length:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QlCX-I_m0o Hoosier School Heist author Doug Martin discusses his book and possible strategies Democrats in Vigo Count

by mike simpson / 9h 

Oklahoma Goes Where No State Legislature Has Gone Before | Missouri Education Watchdog

Oklahoma Goes Where No State Legislature Has Gone Before | Missouri Education Watchdog:

Oklahoma Goes Where No State Legislature Has Gone Before

inShare

What just happened in the Oklahoma legislature is stunning and the reverberations will spread to other states.

It’s astounding when concerned citizens have to celebrate a state legislature reclaiming control of what is rightfully theirs to control: the educational development and delivery of their standards.  State legislatures should NEVER have had to spend time in session undoing what is illegal.  Governors overstepped their authority to sign their states on to the concept of national standards (they weren’t even written) and give away their state’s right to set educational standards and assessments to private companies.   It is astounding that a state legislature has to pass legislation to thwart the plans of private organizations to take over the control of public education and bypasses voters and legislators.

Kudos to the Oklahoma House and Senate becoming the first legislature to draw the line in the sand for the education reformers via the repeal of Common Core standards.  It told them it was not interested in their schemes for power and unfunded mandates.  It now lies on the desk of Governor Mary Fallin.  Below is the press release from Restore Oklahoma Public Education detailing the bill that repudiates the Common Core State Standards Initiative.  And special thanks to the tireless Oklahoma Goes Where No State Legislature Has Gone Before | Missouri Education Watchdog:

5-25-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Misreading the Never-Ending Drop-Out “Crisis”

Misreading the Never-Ending Drop-Out “Crisis”. via Misreading the Never-Ending Drop-Out “Crisis”.

by plthomasedd / 1h  

All Week 5-24-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE : All Week @ THE CHALK FACE NCTQ Gets Caught in a Data Collecting LieThe National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) will be “grading” university-level, traditional teacher training programs again soon. Last year, 2013, they released this report on June 18. They “grade” in a superficial manner, relying upon program artifacts to form skewed judgments– judgments that they publish in 

by mike simpson / 9h 

5-25-14 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):

Misreading the Never-Ending Drop-Out “Crisis”

Prompted by Peter Greene’s Why Students Drop Out, further evidence that evidence doesn’t matter for the Obama administration of Secretary Duncan, I post below an entry for the Daily Kos from 4 February 2012. The political and public concern about high school graduation rates must be placed in two contexts: the historical reality of drop-out rates in the U.S. and the misleading use of “crisis” disc

12 by plthomasedd / 1h 

 

5-24-14 the becoming radical EMPATHYEDUCATES! | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

THE BECOMING RADICALRadical ScholarshipEMPATHYEDUCATES!the becoming radical  A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by Margaret Fuller: “I find no intellect comparable to my own”“Men disappoint me so,” Margaret Fuller shared in a letter (21 February 1841) to Reverend William Henry Channing. Born on May 23, 1810, Fuller was a contemporary of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, notable for what

by mike simpson / 9h 

5-25-13 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:

CAP Serves Some CCSS Baloney

The Center for American Progress came down hard for the Common Core last week, providing yet another field test for the 100% baloney sandwich that is the Core's urban poor talking point menu.In "The Common Core Is An Opportunity for Educational Equity,", CAP asserts, "The Common Core State Standards hold promise for low-income students, students of color, English language learners,

by Peter Greene / 1h 

5-24-13 Curmudgucation Week

CURMUDGUCATION:Ap A-Ok?The US DOE, among its many promotional and marketing activities, has been pushing hard for AP classes. This week they aimed loud praise noises at the state of Colorado for increasing AP participation in the state. The laudatory article declares success because more students take and pass the AP courses.But before parents and students get too excited about the spreading and b

by mike simpson / 8h 

More Nonsense | Live Long and Prosper

More Nonsense | Live Long and Prosper:

More Nonsense

KNOWLEDGE IS ALL THAT MATTERS

A nonsensical majority on the Indiana State Board of Education has demeaned, devalued, and insulted every professional educator in the state of Indiana. Six of the eleven members of the State BOE believe that anyone with a college degree can be a teacher.

These people apparently don’t care that good teachers should be well-trained professionals. To them, subject area knowledge is all that matters.

Vic’s Statehouse Notes #179 – May 21, 2014

On May 14th, the State Board of Education in a close 6-5 vote made a fundamental error in lowering the standards teachers for a teaching license in Indiana. Indiana doesn’t need lower standards for teachers.

If the adopted rules are allowed to remain anyone with a college degree could get “on-the-job-training” in a classroom with 25, 30 or even 40 students.

Union calls on state board to drop teacher licensure plan

Andrea Neal, one of the members of the board supporting the rule, said,

A very experienced educator served as my mentor…I’m not a licensed teacher. That obviously colors my view on this but some of the best teachers I know are not licensed teachers. I’m not inclined to change my mind.

Note, however, that Ms. Neal is not a public school teacher. She teaches in a private school…a school which can pick and choose its students…a school which can throw out disruptive or “difficult to educate” students…a school in which a “very experienced educator” had the time needed to mentor someone with no More Nonsense | Live Long and Prosper:

NYC Educator: VAMalot!--the Arne Duncan Musical

NYC Educator: VAMalot!--the Arne Duncan Musical:

VAMalot!--the Arne Duncan Musical

More and more statisticians and studies are proving what most career teachers knew from the get-go:  VAM is a SHAM (see here for example).  Still, Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, clings to it like a captain aboard a ship which is sure to sink.

Sadly, the UFT enshrined test-based teacher evaluations in its new contract.  Yes, teachers in non-tested areas will be evaluated only on the test scores of their students, but in subjects which they do not teach.  And, the DOE has promised to create more standardized tests for non-assessed areas.  More tests?  Is it Pearson Envy?  Is it some form of OCD or an expensive habit of pandering to yet more standardized tests?

In honor of VAM's eventual demise, here is a new version of "Camelot, the Reprise":

ARNE DUNCAN:
Each evening, from September to September,
Before you drift to sleep upon your cot,
Think back on all the tests that you remember
Of VAMalot.
Ask ev'ry person if he's heard the story,
And tell it strong and clear if he has not,
That once there was a fleeting wisp of gloryNYC Educator: VAMalot!--the Arne Duncan Musical: