6-16-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:

Charter School Strong-Arming Where No One Wants Charters: A Case Study

The Emerald Academy Charter School Application submitted to and approved by the Knox County Board of Education is signed by Steve Diggs, who is the Executive Director of the Emerald Youth Foundation (EYF), a Christian ministry with some of Knoxville’s and the State’s highest rollers onboard.  This effort represents a prime example of corporate missionaries being joined by Christian missionaries to

2 by Jim Horn / 59min 

Memphis: School Board Gets 360% Pay Raise and Indigent Juvenile Lawyers Get New Furniture

From the Daily News: And an ordinance that would raise the pay of Shelby County Schools board members from $4,200 a year to $15,000 a year, with $16,000 a year for the chairman, is on Monday’s agenda for third and final reading.  . . . Another resolution includes $190,258 in funding for furniture and installation for the new Public Defender Juvenile Defense Unit at 600 Adams Ave.

2 by Jim Horn / 16min 

What People Are Saying about Hoosier School Heist after the Dance Circus

By Doug Martin As I come off of my buzz from speaking to over 700 people as Dance Circus Ringmaster for the Nancy Sauer School of Theatrical Dancing's 60th Anniversary performances in Indiana (check out a few photos here: it was a great way to get the word out about corporate ed. reform to parents) and prepare for my talk at the IUPUI-Indiana Urban Schools Association's summer conference this week

6 by Doug Martin / 3h 

6-14-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:  Schools Matter All WeekToxic Culture of EducationOrlando SentinelFrustrated Orange teacher decries 'toxic culture of education'By Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel6:26 PM EDT, June 12, 2014Fed up and fired up, algebra teacher Josh Katz this spring took to the stage for a 17-minute denouncement of what he called the "toxic culture of education" in Florida's public schools.S

by mike simpson / 13h 

6-16-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE:

Those Nonsense Annual NCTQ Ratings Are Coming on June 17

On June 17, 2014, the so-called National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) will unleash upon the world its ratings of teacher training programs. Here is part of an announcement sent on June 9, 2014, to members of the press: Washington, DC – On Tuesday, June 17, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) will release the […]

by deutsch29 / 10min 

What Will Weingarten Say in Connecticut on June 17?

Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is no friend to public education. As education historian Diane Ravitch notes in December 2013: Malloy has abandoned his commitment to equality of education opportunity and now relies on high-stakes testing, evaluation of teachers by test scores, and ample funding to charter schools as the reforms that can take the place of […]

by deutsch29 / 32min 

The Very Disappointing Teacher Impact Numbers from Chetty

The Very Disappointing Teacher Impact Numbers from Chetty. via The Very Disappointing Teacher Impact Numbers from Chetty.

by plthomasedd / 13min 

Oklahoma City Families and Teachers Find Their VOICE

Until recently, I thought of VOICE as a handful of liberal Christians, spitting into the hot Oklahoma City wind. Similarly, I never expected a grassroots coalition of parents from across the state to stand up to the bubble-in testing mania. I realized last Sunday that VOICE has also become a force to be reckoned with. […]

by John Thompson / 27min 

George Saunders’s Allegory of Scarcity and Slack

George Saunders’s Allegory of Scarcity and Slack. via George Saunders’s Allegory of Scarcity and Slack.

1 by plthomasedd / 1h hide  //  save

“Click, Clack, Moo”: Why the 1% Always Wins

“Click, Clack, Moo”: Why the 1% Always Wins. via “Click, Clack, Moo”: Why the 1% Always Wins.

1 by plthomasedd / 1h 

All Week 6-15-14 @ THE CHALK FACE

@ THE CHALK FACE: To those focusing on tenure, you’re doing it wrongIf my social media accounts are any indication, I’m probably one of the last 1% of teachers with a week’s worth of school days remaining. It will take me a little more time, once graduations and all of these other special events are over this week, to fully digest and comment on the CA tenure […]by Shaun Johnson / 36min All Week 6

by mike simpson / 9h 

6-16-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letter to the BATS-

With A Brooklyn Accent:

For those who say Strong Unions are A Problem for the Nation

In the mid 1950's:35 percent of the US Labor Force was unionizedThe top 1 percent of earners made 9 percent of the incomeThe US was the most equal advanced nation in the world in terms of income distributionMillions of American families were moving out of crowded apartments intoprivate homesIn 201411 percent of the US Labor force is unionizedThe top 1 percent of earners makes 23 percent of the inc

by Mark Naison / 2h 

6-14-14 With A Brooklyn Accent: Love Letter to the BATS- On the First Anniversary of the Badass Teachers Association

With A Brooklyn Accent:Are Teachers and Teachers Unions Really to Blame for the Shrinking of the Middle Class?If the American Dream of upward mobility seems to be fading away, if in fact more people are falling out of the middle class than moving into it- is the explanation for this really "a failing public school system, filled  with incompetent teachers" which is what Billionaires and

by mike simpson / 13h 

6-16-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

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

The Very Disappointing Teacher Impact Numbers from Chetty

It appears that Raj Chetty, of the very famous and mostly hypothetical Chetty et al. study addressing teacher quality’s impact on students’ lifetime earning potential, had a big influence on the Vergara case in California: Testimony in Vergara by Harvard profs. Does anybody–other than Judge Treu–really believe these guys?! Amazing! pic.twitter.com/MvHVCEiUuj — Gene V Glass (@GeneVGlass) June 13, 2

by plthomasedd / 43min 

“Click, Clack, Moo”: Why the 1% Always Wins

[Originally posted at Daily Kos and Truthout, "Click, Clack, Moo": Why the 1% Always Wins is a powerful companion to George Saunders's Allegory of Scarcity and Slack.] As a high school English teacher for nearly two decades, I came to embrace a need to offer students a wide range of lenses for interacting with and learning from many different texts, but I also learned that coming to read

9 by plthomasedd / 1h

6-15-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University)

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): George Saunders’s Allegory of Scarcity and SlackThe stories themselves, literally, are powerful and engaging or George Orwell’s 1984 and Arthur Miller’s The Crucible would not have endured as they have as literature people read again and again—and possibly should read ag

by mike simpson / 8h 

6-16-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School:

Zephyr Teachout Attacks Cuomo For "Looting" Public Schools

From Daily Politics: Zephyr Teachout opened her “Summer of Democracy” by trying to put some progressive political heat on Gov. Cuomo. Teachout, the upstart Fordham University law professor, formally launched her Democratic primary campaign by attacking Cuomo as the benefactor and protector of a corrupt political system that favors only the wealthy and most powerful segments of society. “Four years

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Public Trusts Teachers A Lot More Than NYSED Commissioner John King

There's a lot of bad news lately for teachers. but here's one piece of good news:If you missed it, upstate NYers trust teachers over Cuomo/Tisch/King to do what's right 4 kids http://t.co/GieoAh1q0A— realitybasededucator (@perdidostschool) June 15, 2014 .@JohnKingNYSED Overall, 88% of upstate NYers trust teachers over 43% who trust you to do what's right for students.— realitybasededucator (@perdi

by reality-based edu... / 48min 

Governor Cuomo Apologized To Hedge Fund Managers Via Video About Skipping Lake Placid Education Reform Conference

Who's your daddy, Andy?ALBANY—Governor Andrew Cuomo apologized to hedge funders who gathered in Lake Placid that he wasn't able to attend their pro-charter school conference, despite having been made “honorary chair."“I wish I could be with you in person, but I am stuck downstate today,” Cuomo said in a four-minute video he sent on May 5 in place of his attendance. “But thank you for coming.

by reality-based edu... / 4min 

De Blasio Finally Gets Some Profession Public Relations Help

From State of Politics:

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

Eva Moskowitz Plans To Double Success Academies Network In Size In The Next Few Years

From the NY Times:The network, the Success Academy, said that it was submitting applications to the state to open schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens. The move comes just two months after Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and state lawmakers granted charter schools in New York City some of the most generous protections in the country, requiring that the city find space for them or help pay the

by reality-based edu... / 1h 

Times-Union/Siena Poll: 43% Do Not Support Current Use Of Standardized Tests

So many great things in the Times-Union/Siena poll on education issues that was released yesterday.I have already posted how the public overwhelmingly supports teachers over the NYSED, the Regents and Governor Cuomo when it comes to doing what is right for children.I have posted too about how the public isn't buying into the argument that schools are suffering from substandard technology and need

by reality-based edu... / 5h 

6-15-14 Perdido Street School Week

Perdido Street School: OPEN THREAD: What Is The UFT/AFT Strategy To Counter Attacks On Teacher Tenure/Due Process Protections?The NY Times published an attack on teacher tenure earlier in the week in an editorial and today the NY Post followed up with a sensationalized PERV TEACHER story that is meant to drive the "Reform Tenure" narrative and bring about political action.The attacks on

by mike simpson / 9h 

Louisiana Educator: New Educational Series on Recovery District

Louisiana Educator: New Educational Series on Recovery District:

New Educational Series on Recovery District

A Perfect Storm: The Takeover of New Orleans Public Schools Part One 17 Days in November from N.O. Education Equity Roundtable on Vimeo.

The New Orleans Equity Roundtable has produced a series of short videos that tell the true story about the takeover of public schools in New Orleans by the state and their conversion to semi-private charter schools. Click here for the first video in the series.

These videos are extremely instructive about the whole issue of school takeover. They effectively expose the myth of "amazing transformation" and "dramatic progress" in educating the at risk children in New Orleans.

Right after the devastation of hurricane Katrina, a whole new group of education entrepreneurs were encouraged by our Louisiana Department of Education to take over any school that was rated as performing below the state average. These charter school developers were given school buildings and almost Cart Blanche to do innovative stuff to close the achievement gap of the mostly poor and at risk student population in New Orleans students. Most of the leaders of this movement adopted a "no excuses" policy for driving up student performance. They diagnosed the problem in New Orleans schools as one of corrupt school management, lazy, uncaring teachers and administrators and low expectations of students. Their remedy was to not rehire the 7,000 educators that were  laid off as a result of the destruction of schools by Katrina. Instead, the new charter schools were encouraged to hire many untrained recent college graduates who would not carry all of the baggage of "low Louisiana Educator: New Educational Series on Recovery District:

Teacher tenure ruling energizes race for state school chief :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

Teacher tenure ruling energizes race for state school chief :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

JUNE 16, 2014

Teacher tenure ruling energizes race for state school chief

by Tom Chorneau

(Calif.) Last week’s decision that invalidated the state’s teacher tenure law sent proponents on both sides scrambling to prepare for the appeals process and to do battle in other states over similar protections.

But pundits say the Vergara decision has also energized the already bitter race for state superintendent of schools – a contest where simmering hostilities over education reforms, mostly among Democrats, have broken into the mainstream.

“This is a battle that has been raging with the Democratic Party for about 20 years but it has today become quite fierce,” said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. “In California, with the Democrats so dominant, you look for issues that are going to divide the majority party and I think this one is pretty close to the top.”

The first days of the charter movement might serve as the starting point of confrontation but the issues today include a variety of policies aimed at shaking up the status quo such as teacher evaluations, school choice, parent rights and interventions of struggling schools.

Teacher tenure and dismissal laws are probably most polarizing, a status that has only grown since Los Angeles County Judge Rolf M. Treu issued his 16-page ruling striking down state laws that Teacher tenure ruling energizes race for state school chief :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Reserve cap blemishes otherwise good news budget

(Calif.) Despite strong opposition from school management groups, the final state budget approved Sunday night includes provisions restricting the size of reserves that districts can accumulate under certain economic conditions.

by Tom Chorneau / 2min 

David Berliner—Witness in Vergara Courtroom—Denies He Called Any Teachers “Grossly Ineffective” | janresseger

David Berliner—Witness in Vergara Courtroom—Denies He Called Any Teachers “Grossly Ineffective” | janresseger:

David Berliner—Witness in Vergara Courtroom—Denies He Called Any Teachers “Grossly Ineffective”

Posted on June 16, 2014 by janresseger

Last week I blogged on the California teacher tenure decision in Vergara v. California. I concluded overall that, “The Vergara attorneys sought to portray the needs of children as separate and very different from the needs of their teachers.  In fact, teachers and children in our poorest communities share the need for society to invest in improving their public schools.”

But what had struck me as I read the decision was the supposed statistical evidence incorporated right into the decision itself by Judge Rolf Treu to prove that tenure among teachers violates the civil rights of California’s poorest children of color.  I was particularly struck by the judge’s interpretation of evidence from respected education researcher David Berliner, professor emeritus at Arizona State University and a long supporter of teachers and their need for unions.  I wrote about my puzzlement: “In one case the judge seems to have extrapolated from what he heard—from expert David Berliner, who is described to have “testified that 1–3 % of teachers in California are grossly ineffective.”  Treu continues, “Given that the evidence showed roughly 275,000 active teachers in this state, the extrapolated number of grossly ineffective teachers ranges from 2,750 to 8,250.”

I thank Diane Ravitch who posted The Statistical Error at the Heart of the Vergara Decision, for bringing to my attention an important piece published on June 12 by Jordan Weissmann, the senior business and economics correspondent for Slate.  Weissmann interviewed David Berliner by telephone about his testimony that between one and three percent of California’s teachers are grossly ineffective:  “But where did this number come from?  Nowhere, it turns out.  It’s made up.  Or a ‘guesstimate,’ as David Berliner, the expert witness Treu quoted, explained to me when I called him on Wednesday.  It’s not based on any specific data, or any rigorous research about California schools in particular.  ‘I pulled that out of the air,’ sayDavid Berliner—Witness in Vergara Courtroom—Denies He Called Any Teachers “Grossly Ineffective” | janresseger:

Did Cami lose–or is she just lying again? | Bob Braun's Ledger

Did Cami lose–or is she just lying again? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Did Cami lose–or is she just lying again?

Cami Anderson: Beaten–or just lying?

Cami Anderson, the state-imposed Newark school superintendent,  can be beaten and already has lost a major battle in her drive to privatize Newark schools to help her friends in the charter school industry. That’s what parent leaders at the Hawthorne Avenue school are saying in response to a letter from Anderson saying the school will not be closed and privatized after all.

Or is this just another scam by Cami Anderson and her puppeteers in Trenton?

Parents are claiming victory:

“This concludes an almost seven-month battle for the Hawthorne Avenue community to keep their top performing K-8 elementary school open under the leadership of principal H. Grady James,” declared a press release issued by Grace Sergio, the president of the school’s parent-teacher-student association.

Under Anderson’s “One Newark” plan, originally devised by a private consulting firm headed by the entrepreneur who would later be named state education commissioner, the Hawthorne Avenue  school was slated to be closed and turned over to the TEAM Academy charter schools as part of a plan to hand all South Ward schools over to the national charter school chain. Former Education Did Cami lose–or is she just lying again? | Bob Braun's Ledger:

NYC Educator: Teacher Season Begins Nationwide

NYC Educator: Teacher Season Begins Nationwide:

Teacher Season Begins Nationwide

In the wake of Vergara, corporate reformers are smelling blood in the water, and see this as the time to pounce. How else would you explain the sudden return of education expert Campbell Brown to the tabloids, and the banner article on the cover of yesterday's Post? (I'm not linking to it.)

The recipe is quite simple. Take a few cases, sensationalize them, and apply them to every member of a group. This sort of argument resonates with the public. I hate that group of people. They get too many privileges. Who the hell do they think they are wanting to sit in front of the bus?

And no, I do not see the distinction between using this line of argument against teachers or against racial or ethnic groups. I'm honestly not certain the Post, or the DOE even knows what a bad teacher is. Thus, they grab whatever they can find, blow it up to define the teacher they pick, and then display that image as representative of all teachers. That's simply ridiculous.

When demagogues like Bloomberg pack children like sardines into trailers, hallways, bathrooms and worse, these self-appointed protectors of our children are completely silent. When money-grubbing parasites establish virtual charters in which kids don't even turn on their computers, you hear crickets. When the saviors of the universe, the charter school owners, fail to take in kids with extensive special needs, when they make parents jump through hoops, when they indulge in practices that exclude those who need the most help, that's fine as long as Eva Moskowitz can be compensated at a higher rate than, say, the President of the United States.

This is only the beginning. And unfortunately, PR is one area in which the UFT is even worse than other NYC Educator: Teacher Season Begins Nationwide:

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire Griffin's influence will be felt no matter who wins the election

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire Griffin's influence will be felt no matter who wins the election:

Billionaire Griffin's influence will be felt no matter who wins the election

Chicago Magazine

The Billionaire Boys Club is flexing it's electoral political muscles again in Illinois. The Sun-Times reports that Citadel hedge-fund CEO Ken Griffinhas kicked in a tidy $2.5 million to fellow billionaireBruce Rauner's already bloated campaign fund. That includes $71,000 worth of in-kind contributions for the use of Griffin's private jet. It's reportedly the biggest single Illinois political donation ever — in the modern-day era — to a candidate for governor of Illinois. It's also the biggest ever from an individual other than the candidate himself  in the post-Watergate era when public disclosure records were first required, said one political scientist.

Griffin has also given more than $1 million to Karl Rove’s American CrossroadsSchooling in the Ownership Society: Billionaire Griffin's influence will be felt no matter who wins the election: