8-5-14 Answer Sheet

Answer Sheet:

Michelle Rhee has a new position

Michelle Rhee just got a new position. According to the Sacramento Bee she was just named interim board chairwoman of St. Hope Schools, a small group of Sacramento charter schools. The new position gives “Rhee a powerful new role in the charter school system founded by her husband, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.” But she isn’t […]

by Valerie Strauss / 7:16 AM UTC-7 hide  //  save

School reforms that actually work

For years now education leaders have been pushing onto school districts school reforms that don’t show any sign of working while giving short shrift to those that have a track record of working. Gary Ravani, a 35-year public school teacher and president of the California Federation of Teachers’ Early Childhood/K-12 Council, explains in this post. […]

35 by Valerie Strauss / 4h 

If this isn’t school reform failure, what is?

School reformers have made student standardized test scores the most important measure of how public schools are doing, so it seems only fair to measure their performance by their own definition of success. The newly released 2014 high-stakes test scores tells us that D.C. Public Schools doesn’t have a great deal to show for its […]

44 by Valerie Strauss / 6h 

8-4-14 Answer Sheet

Answer Sheet: It’s innovative, but is it really better?The word “innovative” is invoked a lot to describe school reform policies that are alleged to be improvements over what existed before. But is innovative inherently better? Arthur H. Camins answers the question in the folowing post. Camins is the director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institut

by mike simpson / 8h 

8-5-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Odds and Ends, first week of August 2014

The main difference between the Gates Foundation funded Common Core and Dr. Maria Montessori's method is this: Montessori did not create educational theories and then try them out on children. She did the opposite. — Jeffrey Katz It's been a very busy summer. Here in Los Angeles we're faced with a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school board special election to replace my dear friend,

by Robert D. Skeels ... / 16min 

Matt Ubelhor, the Walmart/Amway Family Greeder

by Doug Martin With $106,000 of in-kind contributions from Mitch Daniels’ school privatizing Aiming Higher PAC (page 7), $13,000 of in-kind contributions (page 11) from Brian Bosma,  a $1,500 direct deposit from Mike Pence’s committee (page 10),  and $53,000 (page 8) in hard cash from the anti-critical thinking Indiana Chamber’s Indiana Business for Responsible Government PAC, Matt Ubelhor, Indian

by Doug Martin / 20min 

KIPP Foundation's 990 for 2011

The closer I get to the KIPP story, the more bizarre and disturbing it gets from every angle. Let's take a peak at administrative costs first.  Prior to 2011, the KIPP Foundation's administrative costs averaged 18 percent of its operating expenses every year.  According to Nonprofit Investor, which, by the way, rates KIPP a "Buy," that percentage improved in 2011, so that administrative

2 by Jim Horn / 29min 

Get Visas for the Entire Family with $500,000 to a Charter School

I came across this Reuters story yesterday while researching funding for charters.  Don't know how I missed this in October 2012, when it was first printed:. . . .Wealthy individuals from as far away as China, Nigeria, Russia and Australia are spending tens of millions of dollars to build classrooms, libraries, basketball courts and science labs for American charter schools.In Buffalo, New York, f

2 by Jim Horn / 2h

8-4-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Campbell Brown Clip from Colbert ShowThe Colbert ReportGet More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archiveby Jim Horn / 3min 8-3-14 Schools MatterSchools Matter: From Korea to KIPP: "production, performance, and obedience"Reading the essay by Se-Woong Koo on the South Korean system of educational child abuse, I was struck by how much of wha

by mike simpson / 4h 

8-5-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education:

It’s Called Backdoor Legislation, Senator Gardiner, and the Florida Constitution Says You Can’t Do It

Vice President of the Florida Education Association Joanne McCall provides an effective response to Andy Gardiner’s shrill attack on the teacher’s she represents for their lawsuit against SB 850. With two days left in this year’s session, Gardiner allowed his bill addressing personal learning accounts for severely disabled students to be attached to SB 850 along with several other pieces of educat

by Bob Sikes / 3h 

8-3-14 Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida

Scathing Purple Musings | Color me purple in Florida, red in Washington, dark sky-blue in Israel and public school in Education: One Florida Community Complains About TOO MANY Charter Schools OpeningFrom Sun Sentinel reporter Arun Sivasankaran: Tamarac city officials have shot down a proposal to open a charter high school within the city. At a recent City Commission meeting, officials went against

by mike simpson / 8h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 8-5-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

Recent Lausd Graduate Vanessa Perez’ Speech To The Superintendent’S Annual Administrator’S Meeting

by smf for 4LAKidsNews Tuesday August 5, 2014  ::  This morning Superintendent Deasy hosted his annual back-to-school confab for principals and administrators in the new auditorium at Garfield High School. The highlight of these affairs is usually a barnburner of a kick-off-to-the school year speech from the superintendent to his assembled principals – a listing of the successes of the past year

by smf / 31min 

L.A. Times Editorial: SCHOOL BOARD RACE TURNS NASTY FOR NO GOOD REASON

Alex Johnson's attacks on George McKenna are misleading, if not downright inaccurate By The Times Editorial Board | http://lat.ms/1s9QdDU  Aug 5, 2014  ::  Negative campaigning is a legitimate if overused tactic. If a candidate for elected office has flaws, his opponent has every right to say so. But in the current runoff race for the Los Angeles Unified school board, the attacks on veteran

by smf / 36min 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 8-4-14

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Supes Surveyed On Suspensionsfrom Politico Morning Ed and AASA: The School Superintendents Association and the Children's Defense Fund asked 500 school superintendents how and why they use out-of-school suspension. Out of the 92 percent who thought the punishment leads to negative consequences, more than two-thirds of superintendents said lost class tim

by mike simpson / 8h 

8-5-14 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):

A Call for the Next Phase in the Resistance

Teachers at every level of schooling have struggled against two powerful social claims: (i) education has always been labeled a failure by political leaders and the media (notably in the context of international comparisons and despite such claims being at least misleading if not completely false) and (ii) that K-12 teachers must not be political while university professors should also focus on th

15 by plthomasedd / 1h 

8-4-14 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): Rational and Evidence-Based Responses to Standards Advocates and CriticsBecause the education agendas and discourse by Democrats and Republicans are essentially indistinguishable, as I have argued before, educators have no political party. Educators are similarly trapped

by mike simpson / 8h 

8-5-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks:

Comrade DeFacto Tourette's Jeers at Alex Caputo-Pearl Lies and Issues A Call to Action

John DeasyI had raised this in exposing the cover-rops by collaborator  Pres A. Caputo/Pearl   (on al Jazeera interview).  UTLA knows the 'score' and the officials are political willing tools for the LAUSD purges-- ruining of their own dues pays , This goes back to Duffy /Perez regimes  and even further.Now so many  members careers arehemorrhaging by the  many hundreds and even thousands. ALL

by Rene Diedrich / 11min 

Dana Goldstein on L.A. Teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl and the Real Deal Behind Closing Schools

To be fair, this is an interesting look at how well Pearl moves between the reform and conform . He has an engaging voice and employs a very credible tone. But here's the deal. Smaller schools are BETTER. You do not cram 3500 kids in school built to hold ( they look like prisons in the hood)  a mere 2000 . Small schools are not what Gates wanted. I was part of his experiment with SLCs . These

by Rene Diedrich / 13min 

UTLA's talk of a strike: 'breathtakingly irresponsible' according to Deasy, who already has the drop on teachers with his PR Firm's carefully crafted new image

Deasy on UTLA's talk of a strike: 'breathtakingly irresponsible'FROM LASR-- the pro Deasy Deform Authority  As LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy prepared to deliver his "State of the District" speech to school leaders and educators at Garfield High School today, he sat for a wide-ranging interview

by Rene Diedrich / 9min 

Fwd: Al Jazeera: The Inside Look into Teacher Jail

www.hemlockontherocks.comcavete tyrannisqui doecet in doctrinaBegin forwarded message:From: Søren Sørensen Date: August 5, 2014 12:33:37 AM PDTTo: Rene , Arlene Schery , Jeffrey Barry , Alex Caputo-Pearl , George Buzzetti , Eric Bidna

by Rene Diedrich / 1h hide  //  save

LAUSD Chief Deasy Refines Reformy Rhetoric to Lift Students Out of Poverty Where They Have a Choice of College Ready or Career Prepared

LAUSD Chief Deasy Sounds Optimistic Note Ahead Of New School Year « CBS Los Angeles Dontchhoooo Believe IT!

by Rene Diedrich / 1h 

SXSWedu: How to Keep Friends and Influence No New PeopleY

SXSWedu: How to Keep Friends and Influence No New People

by Rene Diedrich / 3h hide  //  save

Teach for America’s Wendy Kopp Embraces New Unionism in LEE and Retains Close Ties with Alex Caputo Pearl

http://prospect.org/article/teach-america%E2%80%99s-deep-benAlex Caputo-Pearl is a member of Teach for America's inaugural class in 1990 and has maintained a close relationship with its founder Wendy Kopp Teach for America's Deep Bench "Is this our Egypt moment? Will we seize the moment?" Former New York

by Rene Diedrich / 3h 

Education Scandals Could Impede Reform Efforts - Courant.com

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-education-reform-reax-0803-20140804,0,3015662.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Courantcom-OffTheBeat+(Courant.com+-+Off+The+Beat) Education Scandals Could Hurt Reform Efforts, Advocates Say

by Rene Diedrich / 9h 

8-4-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks: Local Accountability and Astroturf: Local Control without the Local Control | Cloaking InequityHow can we banish No Child Left Behind's top-down and narrow paradigm? Local control has been a bedrock principle of public schooling in America since its inception. NCLB sent us in the opposite direction of this traditional notion. A return to a traditional locally based educationa

by mike simpson / 9h 

8-5-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:

Who Wants To Be South Korea

South Korea is on the reformster short list of Countries We Want To Be Like (right up there with Finland and Estonia). She Who Will Not Be Named frequently cites her own year in South Korea as a formative experience (from which she somehow jumps to the conclusion that every child in America needs the same experience).And yet, a piece in the Sunday, August 1, New York Times reminds us why South Kor

by Peter Greene / 0min 

Without Tenure...

Yesterday, twitter blew up with responses to Whoopi Goldberg and the View having one more uninformed discussion of tenure (and, really, we need to talk about why education discussions keep being driven by the work of comedians)."#WithoutTenure I can be fired for...." was the tweet template of the day, and even though I rode that bus for a bit, it occurs to me this morning that it misses

79 by Peter Greene / 1h 

8-4-14 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION: K12 Defies... Well, EverythingK12 remains the top dog in the junkyard of cyberschooling. It provides an instructive lesson in how a good pile of cash and friends in the right places can keep a business afloat even after people have poked holes in the hull.There was never anything about the organization that didn't look like a red flag. It was set up by hedge fund manager Ronald Pac

by mike simpson / 8h

8-5-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

The "Air Of Inevitability" Around Cuomo's Re-Election

Laura Nahmias at Capital NY:ALBANY—More than half the 50 top donors to the state’s Republican party between 2003 and 2006 have given more to Cuomo and the Democrats this campaign cycle than they have to the G.O.P. and Rob Astorino, an analysis by NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney shows. Of the 50 donors who gave the most to the G.O.P. in the runup to the 2006 gubernatorial election—when Democrat Eliot Spitze

by reality-based edu... / 44min 

8-4-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: Former Moreland Co-Chair Kathleen Rice "Assisting" With Federal Prosecutors Looking Into Cuomo's Commission MeddlingSo much Moreland news this morning, hard to get it all on the blog.Here's another piece of news via Ken Lovett of the Daily News: Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, one of three former co-chairs of Gov. Cuomo’s anti-corruption commission,

by mike simpson / 8h 

Campbell Brown and Joe Nocera Trash Teachers; Education Experts Respond | janresseger

Campbell Brown and Joe Nocera Trash Teachers; Education Experts Respond | janresseger:

Campbell Brown and Joe Nocera Trash Teachers; Education Experts Respond

Posted on August 5, 2014 by janresseger

Again in the past week, two prominent media personalities—neither one a school teacher by profession or training and both with an ax to grind—have attacked school teachers, the programs that train teachers, and the teachers unions and due process rights protected in union contracts.

Of course Campbell Brown, the former CNN anchor, has launched her new organization, the Partnership for Educational Justice, whose mission is to bring lawsuits across the states to get rid of due process protections for teachers.  This week her organization filed a second Vergara-type lawsuit in New York state, and Campbell Brown went on The Colbert Report to promote her new cause.  (This blog has covered Campbell Brown here, and here.)  Earlier this week, Valerie Strauss published an analysis of Campbell Brown’s interview with Stephen Colbert. Strauss’s guest columnist is Alyssa Hadley Dunn, a former high school teacher and now assistant professor of teacher education at Michigan State University.  Hadley Dunn fact-checks what Campbell Brown had to say; I urge you to read her careful analysis.  She concludes: “Ms. Brown… I wholeheartedly concur that educational policies should be determined by what is best for children.  What I remain unconvinced about, however, is how eliminating teachers’ rights is what is best for children.  We know that teacher working conditions are student learning conditions…. What research actually shows is best for children is teachers with long-term and sustained preparation in content and pedagogy; an equitable education that is not segregated by race and socioeconomic status; and student-centered, hands-on pedagogy that sustains students’ cultures and challenges them to be critical thinkers and engaged citizens.  None of this has anything to do with teacher tenure laws.”

And Joe Nocera (on the op ed page of the NY Times) has once again been attacking college training programs for teachers.  Last December Nocera praised the almost universally discredited report from the National Council on Teacher Quality, an organization established by the Thomas Fordham Foundation in 2000 to promote alternative certification paths outside the teachers colleges.  As the education writer and UCLA professor of education,  Mike Rose wrote in response to Nocera’s December column, “Much has been written about the problems with this report, particularly about the significant limitations of its analysis, built primarily of Campbell Brown and Joe Nocera Trash Teachers; Education Experts Respond | janresseger:

NYC Educator: If Ed. Deformers had a Rubric...

NYC Educator: If Ed. Deformers had a Rubric...:

If Ed. Deformers had a Rubric...

Do you ever find yourself wondering whether Ed. Deformers have a rubric of their own?  Much to my horror, in my mind, I stumbled upon the first page of one.  If we saw page two, we might add other elements like mining young children's data!

Ed. reformer name* ________________  
*Hint:  You may wish to keep your identity secret.