Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/3/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP - CATCH UP ON TODAY'S POST 5/3/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?

Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?: Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) Fellow Connecticut educate advocate Wendy Lecker has been one of the most powerful and important voices on behalf of public education and against the corporate education reform industry’s unending assault of public school teachers, public schools and the r

1 by mike simpson / 40min 

LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times

LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times: LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm os Angeles-based charter group awarded food-service contracts worth millions of dollars to a company partially owned by one of the schools' high-ranking employees, a state investigation has found.The probe involved Jacqueline Duvivier Castillo, who is the director o

2 by mike simpson / 2h 

BREAKING: L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal | Diane Ravitch's blog

BREAKING: L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal | Diane Ravitch's blog:  L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal  Charter school founder Ref Rodriguez is running for the Los Angeles school board, seeking to beat incumbent Bennett Kayser. Kayser is known for his insistence that charter schools be financially transparent and accountable for their use of public funds.The Los

by mike simpson / 2h 

East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort | Bob Braun's Ledger

East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort | Bob Braun's Ledger: East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort Nearly 1,000 students–more than half of the school’s enrollment–burst through the doors of East Side High School noon Friday and began a three-hour march around the city, determined to stop the state administration from turning their school into a “turnaround” school with

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the State | educarenow

Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the State | educarenow: Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the StatePosted on May 1, 2015 | 3 CommentsIf you’re paying attention to education matters in the state of Michigan, you know that Michigan’s Governor Snyder has come out with his plan for what is to become of Detroit Public Schools.  In a nutshell, it con

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising? | Cloaking Inequity

Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising? | Cloaking Inequity: Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising?In the post, Exclusive: Students Tear Gassed By Police While Protesting School Inequality I askedAre you ready for more protests?School “reformers” have argued that the Baltimore uprising is a call for more market-based education. I argue the opp

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

Karen Wolfe: Teachers! Turn Out for Bennett Kayser! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Karen Wolfe: Teachers! Turn Out for Bennett Kayser! | Diane Ravitch's blog: Karen Wolfe: Teachers! Turn Out for Bennett Kayser! Karen Wolfe is a public school parent in Los Angeles:She writes:“Just like a rash of neighborhood robberies reminds us to double check that our doors are locked, Ref “Reformer” Rodriguez’s campaign to take the school board seat away from experienced educator Bennett Kayse

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

Schools Matter: High School Charter Expansion in Memphis Assisted by Green Dot Exec on School Board

Schools Matter: High School Charter Expansion in Memphis Assisted by Green Dot Exec on School Board:High School Charter Expansion in Memphis Assisted by Green Dot Exec on School Board Yesterday the Commercial Appeal reported that the next corporate assault on Memphis public schools will be directed toward the hostile takeover of high schools next year.  Although the upper grades corporate charter

1 by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Edushyster: Peter Cunningham's Woes

CURMUDGUCATION: Edushyster: Peter Cunningham's Woes: Edushyster: Peter Cunningham's WoesI have now met Jennifer "Edushyster" Berkshire, and I totally get it. I don't believe there is a human being on the planet who, upon sitting down with her, would not want to answer every question just to prolong the conversation and once you're talking, well, lying to the woman would be like kicking a

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

New study suggests Corporate Profits do significantly better in charter schools | Deseret News

New study suggests urban students do significantly better in charter schools | Deseret News: New study suggests urban students do significantly better in charter schools Students in major urban centers around the country perform better in charter schools than they do in traditional public schools, according to a new study from the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University.Th

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

When the Governor Sneezes the Whole State Catches a Cold - Finding Common Ground - Education Week

When the Governor Sneezes the Whole State Catches a Cold - Finding Common Ground - Education Week: When the Governor Sneezes the Whole State Catches a Cold"Instead of being a means of educational improvement, standardized testing has become an obsession in itself." Sir Ken RobinsonIt's been a year since I have been out of the role of principal in a public school system. Although I work w

1 by mike simpson / 11h 

Weingarten regrets supporting Cuomo's running mate | Capital New York

Weingarten regrets supporting Cuomo's running mate | Capital New York: Weingarten regrets supporting Cuomo’s running mate BUFFALO—American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten regrets campaigning for Governor Andrew Cuomo's running mate in last year’s elections, she told Capital during a union convention on Saturday.Weingarten, former president of New York City’s United Federation of

by mike simpson / 11h 

Why the movement to opt out of Common Core tests is a big deal - The Washington Post

Why the movement to opt out of Common Core tests is a big deal - The Washington Post: Why the movement to opt out of Common Core tests is a big dealThe movement among parents to refuse to allow their children to take Common Core-aligned standardized tests has been growing in a number of states, as recent Answer Sheet posts have chronicled (here and here, for example). As opt-out numbers have grown

by mike simpson / 11h 

YESTERDAY

Out-of-state Dark Money seek to influence Tennessee's legislators | Local News | Times Free Press

Out-of-state interests seek to influence Tennessee's legislators | Local News | Times Free Press: Out-of-state interests seek to influence Tennessee's legislators NASHVILLE -- Out-of-state interests have long sought to shape public policy in Tennessee, but some national organizations that are relative newcomers to the Volunteer State have added millions of dollars to the mix of political money and

1 by mike simpson / 20h hide  //  save

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/2/15

Special Nite Cap - Catch Up on Today's Post 5/2/15Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMDyslexia and Teachers in a World with No Special EducationDyslexia and Teachers in a World with No Special Education: Dyslexia and Teachers in a World with No Special EducationMAY 2, 2015 BY NANCY BAILEY LEAVE A COMMENTWhat happens to students with dyslexia and learning disabilities when there are no more special

2 by mike simpson / 23h 

Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?

Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?:

Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker)

 Fellow Connecticut educate advocate Wendy Lecker has been one of the most powerful and important voices on behalf of public education and against the corporate education reform industry’s unending assault of public school teachers, public schools and the rights of students and parents.  While many policymakers, education administrators and even the organizations responsible for protecting and promoting public education have turned a blind eye or engaged in the politics of appeasement, Wendy Lecker has continued to speak the truth and promote the notion that a just society strengthens not undermines its commitment to a comprehensive public education system.

In her latest piece entitled, Core jeopardizes foundation of learning, and initially published in the Stamford Advocate, Wendy Lecker takes down the claim that the “Common Core” is the “Solution” to the challenges facing the nation’s public schools.

Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker)

This spring, parents and students across the country led a massive movement to refuse Common Core tests to protest over-testing and the changes in education wrought by the new standards. In the face of this revolt, supporters are attempting to salvage the Common Core by claiming that while testing may be a problem, the standards themselves are educationally superior. Moreover, they assert, the standards do not dictate what is to be taught in school. These claims are false: many of the standards are bad for education and demand developmentally inappropriate educational practices in schools.

Recently, experts at the organization Defending the Early Years issued a report focusing on one of these bad standards: the standard calling for kindergartners to “read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.” Translation: children must learn to read in kindergarten.

This mandate contradicts everything we know about child development and forces kindergarten teachers to engage in damaging practices. Play has been severely reduced or eliminated in favor of direct instruction, worksheets and frequent testing.

As I have written before (The disturbing transformation of kindergarten), the milestones of child development have not changed in a century. While there is a wide range of development at this age, most children in kindergarten are not ready to read. Reading requires understanding that symbols, letters, represent sounds and put together, in words, represent ideas or objects. Kindergartners’ brains cannot comprehend that kind of abstraction. They also typically do not recognize certain shapes and lines that are essential to understanding letters. This “lack” is normal, and it explains why play is essential in kindergarten.

As child development expert Diane Levin of Wheelock College told me, through play, children develop the foundation for reading. When a child builds with blocks or engages in socio-dramatic play, s/he is making a representation of something in a different form — a step toward abstract thought. By painting and drawing, a child begins to understand that two-dimensional lines can represent three dimensional objects — a precursor to comprehending that letters can represent sounds and words can represent objects or ideas. By telling stories or putting on plays, a child understands sequencing. In playing with objects, s/he learns to categorize. These activities are intentionally designed to help children build a strong foundation for the kind of skills required for formal reading instruction later on. Children need to first build this foundation experientially, in the concrete world in which they live, in order for the skills to have meaning for them.

During the above-described play, children may start to recognize letters and words. However, for most children, formal reading instruction at this age is not meaningful or engaging. They may learn to mimic and comply with instructions, but without the necessary foundation, they will not integrate the lessons. In fact, studies show that children who begin formal reading instruction at age seven, having first developed strong oral language skills in a play-based environment, catch up to children who learn to read earlier and have better comprehension skills by middle school.

Emphasizing formal reading instruction in kindergarten has crowded out the play-based, child-directed activities essential to building a strong foundation for successful academic learning. Teaching reading earlier does not give children get a “head start” on academic learning; it is a roadblock.

Losing play-based kindergarten also deprives us of a vital tool to help children’s social and emotional development. The majority of American public school students live in poverty. Brain experts have shown that many of the factors associated with living in poverty cause “toxic stress;” which impairs, among other things, the development of their executive function, making it difficult for children to concentrate, remember and control impulses. This impairment has a lifelong impact, impeding the ability to sustain relationships, cope with stress, make healthy life choices and learn successfully.

Play helps develop executive function, coping mechanisms, and problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills. Through play, children also learn to build social supports with peers — a key to resilience. Eliminating play robs children of an opportunity to develop these skills. Replacing play with developmentally inappropriate, frustrating and meaningless demands 

Common Core jeopardizes foundation of learning (By Wendy Lecker) - Wait What?:

LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times

LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times:

LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm

 Los Angeles-based charter group awarded food-service contracts worth millions of dollars to a company partially owned by one of the schools' high-ranking employees, a state investigation has found.

The probe involved Jacqueline Duvivier Castillo, who is the director of business and development for PUC Schools and a part-owner in Better 4 You Meals, a company that has provided food to the charter group for the last five years. Investigators said the charter failed to demonstrate that the contract was "awarded properly despite the apparent conflict of interest."

Late Saturday, the charter organization said in an email to The Times that Duvivier Castillo would no longer be an employee of PUC.

"This move will allow her to focus on her business full-time and will remove any perception of conflict with our schools," the PUC statement said. "While we in no way believe that Ms. Duvivier influenced our decision-making process, full disclosure and transparency are of utmost importance to us as an organization."

The state Department of Education, which released emails and documents about its investigation to the Los Angeles Times under the California Public Records Act, also found:
Duvivier Castillo failed to properly report her financial interests in the company.
The company was ineligible for the food contracts because it lacked a health permit and relied on a subcontractor to prepare meals.

PUC Schools did not select the lowest-priced bidder as required.

One of the area's largest charter groups, PUC serves about 4,800 students in 15 schools, including in the east San Fernando Valley and north of downtown. PUC's test scores typically compare well with nearby traditional neighborhood schools. It recently started a national organization that opened a campus in Rochester, N.Y.

The education department recently ordered PUC Schools to begin a new bidding process under state supervision. The charter group must also adopt stricter conflict-of-interest guidelines, the department said.

Duvivier Castillo did not respond to requests for comment.

The head of Partnerships to Uplift Communities denied wrongdoing, but said the charter organization is taking the state's findings seriously and plans to comply.

"We have always run a competitive bid process that we believe is legal and is within the realm of how it's supposed to be done," said Chief Executive Jacqueline Elliot. "We were not aware of Jackie's personal involvement in Better 4 You. All we were aware of was that the procurement process was done appropriately."

The charter organization was co-founded by L.A. Unified school board candidate Ref Rodriguez. Rodriguez is on the charter group's board of directors and works part-time as its treasurer.
He is vying to unseat one-term incumbent Bennett Kayser in an expensive, hard-fought contest for a spot on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The election is May 19.

Better 4 You Breakfast, the company's original name, contributed $2,200 to the Rodriguez campaign and Duvivier Castillo received $1,700 this year for work as an election consultant, according to campaign finance reports.

The state investigation began before Rodriguez announced his candidacy.
Rodriguez declined to answer questions about the state investigation, but issued a statement saying that he backs the decision to terminate the agreement, particularly because he supports "public transparency around our schools and our decision-making."

State officials did not determine who was at fault for the charter issues. Charter schools are publicly funded and independently managed.

Most of PUC's 16 schools are under the supervision of the L.A. Unified School District. Officials said Friday that the district had no record of PUC alerting LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times:LAUSD charter group gave food contract to an employee's firm - LA Times:

BREAKING: L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal | Diane Ravitch's blog

BREAKING: L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal | Diane Ravitch's blog:

 L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal 

 Charter school founder Ref Rodriguez is running for the Los Angeles school board, seeking to beat incumbent Bennett Kayser. Kayser is known for his insistence that charter schools be financially transparent and accountable for their use of public funds.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the charter school chain co-founded by Rodriguez (who is its treasurer) is embroiled in financial scandal.

“A Los Angeles-based charter group awarded food-service contracts worth millions of dollars to a company partially owned by one of the schools’ high-ranking employees, a state investigation has found.

“The probe involved Jacqueline Duvivier Castillo, who is the director of business and development for PUC Schools and a part-owner in Better 4 You Meals, a company that has provided food to the charter group for the last five years. Investigators said the charter failed to demonstrate that the contract was “awarded properly despite the apparent conflict of interest.”

“Late Saturday, the charter organization said in an email to The Times that Duvivier Castillo would no longer be an employee of PUC….

“Duvivier Castillo failed to properly report her financial interests in the company. The company was ineligible for the food contracts because it lacked a health permit and relied on a subcontractor to prepare meals. PUC Schools did not select the lowest-priced bidder as required.
One of the area’s largest charter groups, PUC serves about 4,800 students in 15 schools, including in the east San Fernando Valley and north of downtown. PUC’s test scores typically compare well with nearby traditional neighborhood schools. It recently started a national organization that opened a campus in Rochester, N.Y….”

Charter officials said they were unaware of the conflict of interest but official documents showed otherwise.

“Tax documents for 2010 list the company as a vendor in filings signed by Rodriguez or Elliot. PUC, the documents said, was “party to a business transaction” with a “key employee.”

“The charter’s tax returns for 2012, however, no longer listed the company as a vendor.

“Company documents provided by the state show that Duvivier Castillo’s husband, Fernando Castillo, is a top official with the company, which provides meals for students at more than 100 charter and private schools.

“He could not be reached for comment.

“Annual audits paid for by PUC and released by the state indicated charter officials knew of the alleged conflict of interest.

“Additionally … PUC has signed a contract with a company that is one hundred percent owned by PUC’s director of business and development,” the PUC audit said. “PUC’s management believes that all transactions, including the bidding process, were done in arm’s length.”

“According to these audits from PUC, the charter group paid Better 4 BREAKING: L.A. School Board Candidate and His Charter Scandal | Diane Ravitch's blog:

East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort | Bob Braun's Ledger

East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort | Bob Braun's Ledger:

East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort

 Nearly 1,000 students–more than half of the school’s enrollment–burst through the doors of East Side High School noon Friday and began a three-hour march around the city, determined to stop the state administration from turning their school into a “turnaround” school with new faculty members and a radically altered program.  The passionate yet peaceful demonstration, which closed some of the city’s main thoroughfares, gave new energy to a flagging effort to block state-appointed superintendent  Cami Anderson from remaking the state’s largest school system.

“She has awakened a sleeping giant,” said Newark school board member Marques-Aquil Lewis, one of four members who joined the march. “This is phenomenal,” said newly-elected board president Ariagna Perello. “This will mean a big change.”

Whether the active participation of a high school, like East Side, with a strong sense of attachment to its neighborhood, will slow down  Anderson’s efforts to shutter traditional public schools and expand privately-operated charter schools remains to be seen. One test of the demonstration’s significance will come as early as Saturday when opponents of state control have planned another rally in front of another threated school, Weequahic High, at noon.

If the East Ward can join with the South Ward–where Weequahic is located–to oppose Anderson and state control, then Anderson could be in trouble.

“I believe this is the beginning of a city-wide movement,” said Phil Hellinger, a board member who is from the East Ward.

Whatever else the demonstration proves, it clearly highlighted the organizing capabilities of the Newark Students Union (NSU), an organization that has repeatedly proven itself far ahead of adult groups in challenging the state control of Newark’s schools.

The NSU began organizing at East Side little more than a week ago and, despite opposition from principal Mario Santos, an Anderson ally, pulled off a carefully-coordinated and well-behaved march from the East Ward through the neighborhood’s business section, across McCarter Highway to the downtown section and visits to the federal building–where Chris Christie allies were meeting a sort of justice over Bridgegate–and then on to City Hall and school headquarters at 2 Cedar Street.

The protest march draw a light and unintrusive police presence–a handful of motorcycle and horseback officers–that clearly was there to protect the students, not to impede them.

Mayor Ras Baraka, a staunch opponent of Anderson and state control, has expressed support for student protests and yesterday top aides, including chief school officer Dr. Lauren Wells and the mayor’s brother, Middie Baraka, actually joined the march from City Hall to the school headquarters–where Anderson was a no-show.

Jose Leonardo, vice president of the Newark Students Union

One of the key organizers, NSU vice president Jose Leonardo, often led the march and, when he returned the students back to East Side, he told them the struggle against state control was just beginning.

“We have to keep this up,” he told the East Side students. “We have to love each other. That’s the East Side student walkout energizes anti-Cami effort | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the State | educarenow

Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the State | educarenow:

Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the State

Posted on May 1, 2015 | 3 Comments

If you’re paying attention to education matters in the state of Michigan, you know that Michigan’s Governor Snyder has come out with his plan for what is to become of Detroit Public Schools.  In a nutshell, it consists of creating two school systems, one that will exist only to contain and deal with existing debt, and the other to run as a debt free portfolio system  of common enrollment that will contain what is left of traditional public schools in Detroit, and charter schools.

There are some interesting quirks in this plan.  Most interesting to me is that this plan implicitly recognizes that the previous state takeover of DPS was a failure.  Governor Snyder’s response to this failure is this plan, which essentially is a state takeover of a failed state takeover.  ( Remember Einstein’s definition of insanity?)

As Detroit Data and Democracy points out, the consequences of the state takeover, originally in 1999, from the fairly elected DPS board of education have not been positive:

“…by 2002, the district was well into a cycle of decline from which it has not recovered:

• A positive general fund balance turned negative, inducing austerity measures that impacted programming.
• Cuts interrupted the academic progress the district had been making relative to the rest of the state.
• With worsening academics, parents began to leave the district for charters and suburban schools.
• The resulting enrollment decline led to a worsening financial position for the district, prompting further cuts.
• Further cuts produced a further decline in academics, which led to more enrollment loss.”

Even the controversial Detroit Coalition for the Future of Detroit Schoolchildren has made It clear that the state of Michigan is responsible for current DPS debt.

“John Rakolta, chief executive of Walbridge and another co-chair of the Still Waiting for Democracy: When the State Takes Over From the State | educarenow:

Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising? | Cloaking Inequity

Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising? | Cloaking Inequity:

Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising?

In the post, Exclusive: Students Tear Gassed By Police While Protesting School Inequality I asked

Are you ready for more protests?

School “reformers” have argued that the Baltimore uprising is a call for more market-based education. I argue the opposite is actually true.

First, Baltimore. Then, Chile.

I was involved in crafting the Network for Public Education’sresponse to the Baltimore Uprising. Here is our statement:

The death of Freddie Gray while in police custody is a national tragedy. We support his family and the millions nationwide who call for justice in his case. We support the thousands who have peacefully joined protests for justice. The national media coverage of the Baltimore uprising continues to sensationalize the violent responses of some of those protesting while ignoring the thousands of people across the country peacefully gathering to demand an end to violence inflicted upon our communities.

We will watch intently the outcome of the charges filed yesterday against six police officers allegedly involved in the death of Freddie Gray.

However, the pursuit of justice must not be isolated to this single case. Cries for justice should not only surround Gray’s killing, but also include many people of color who are disproportionately targeted, arrested, and killed by police across the nation.

We also seek justice and fairness for millions of students who are subject to inequitable treatment in our nation’s schools. At the Network for Public Education, we fight for strong public schools and the right of all students, current and future, to receive a quality education. 

Notably, across the United States, there are educators implementing restorative justice practices in schools to build affinity and de-escalate tensions before they lead to additional violence and a school-to-prison pipeline. Schools often exacerbate the criminalization and dehumanization of our youth, but they can and must be part of the solution.

At our recent national conference, many spoke on the need for communities of color and education organizations to coalesce to fight for social justice. Some spoke on the need for us to address racial injustice and inequities more directly. We encourage our members and educators everywhere to teach, discuss and learn with and from our students about these issues.

We stand with the people of Baltimore crying out for a nation to see their pain from persisting injustice 

Will Market-Based Education Produce More or Less Student Uprising? | Cloaking Inequity: