Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/19/15

Special Nite Cap 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than Race - The Atlantic

When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than Race - The Atlantic: When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than RaceIn 1963, kids in the 10th percentile of income fell behind children in the upper echelon of wealth by about a year or so. Today, that gap is closer to four years.On a weekday afternoon in July, Jessica Klaitman pulled her 16-month-old daughter Hannah ou

1 by mike simpson / 26min 

DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schools

DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schools: DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schoolsDENVER - Parents in northwest Denver showed concern Monday night over a proposal to make a charter school the essential home school. District officials say this is becoming the norm.When Kristin Barnes moved into the Sunnyside neighborhood in northwest Denver, she had a plan to send her kids to a tr

1 by mike simpson / 40min 

Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislation - Wait What?

Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislation - Wait What?: Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislationFollowing this past weekend’s CEA election, Connecticut’s largest union has begun a new television advertising campaign to push the “less testing, more learning message.”While the TV ad u

1 by mike simpson / 2h 

MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for district

UpFront: MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for district | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: UpFront: MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for districtMilwaukee Public Schools superintendent Darienne Driver said a proposal to pull the worst schools from the district and put them into a chart

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board races - LA Times

Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board races - LA Times: Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board racesVoters are going to the polls in Los Angeles on Tuesday to decide three school board races that will affect the direction of the nation’s second-largest school system.The campaigns have been dominated by independent spending. Outside groups have poured in $5.1 million, c

1 by mike simpson / 4h 

New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams | Alan Singer

New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams | Alan Singer: New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification ExamsThe New York State Board of Regents, the governing body for schools in the state, met Monday May 18 to discuss proposed changes in teacher evaluations and teacher certification requirements. United University Professions (UUP) and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), which r

1 by mike simpson / 5h 

It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race? | The Nation

It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race? | The Nation: It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race?Six weeks after Rahm Emanuel defeated populist, pro-teacher candidate Chuy Garcia in Chicago, public-school advocates are mobilizing for victory in Philly.Photo illustration | Alyse Moyer.

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

Happiness Is a Post-Standardized-Test World - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week

Happiness Is a Post-Standardized-Test World - Rick Hess Straight Up - Education Week: Happiness Is a Post-Standardized-Test WorldNote: Rick is taking a hiatus while he's off talking about his new book, The Cage-Busting Teacher. Meanwhile, this week's guest posts will be written by Lily Eskelsen García (@Lily_NEA), president of the National Education Association.I always find it ironic if not a lit

4 by mike simpson / 6h 

A fighting strategy wins contract gains in LA

A fighting strategy wins contract gains in LA | SocialistWorker.org: A fighting strategy wins contract gains in LAIn the battle between United Teachers Los Angeles and public school officials, the bosses blinked first, reports Los Angeles teacher Randy Childs.May 19, 2015UTLA teachers protest layoffs, budget cuts and school closures (Paul Bailey)AFTER AN eight-month campaign ofescalating protest a

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

How not to choose a schools superintendent - The Washington Post

How not to choose a schools superintendent - The Washington Post: How not to choose a schools superintendent2013 Broad Prize Awarded for Second Time to Houston Independent School DistrictThe citizens of Montgomery County, Md., might want to pay a little more attention to their school board elections. The Board of Education appears out to lunch with its primary charge: to recruit and hire a superin

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'Another lost generation': My notes from yesterday's inauguration

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'Another lost generation': My notes from yesterday's inauguration: 'Another lost generation': My notes from yesterday's inaugurationNo words... First -- One look at the new members being sworn in tells me that the City Council won't be the same. Congrats to the expanded and energized Progressive Caucus and especially newest progressives like Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

The Public School Wars - Documentary Film | Indiegogo

The Public School Wars - Documentary Film | Indiegogo: The Public School Wars - Documentary FilmThe battle to save public education: Chicago, NY, LA, Seattle, nationwide. These are the stories.The Public School Wars - Documentary Film is a sponsored project of Tribeca Flashpoint Academy"The Public School Wars," currently in production.Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, nationwide,

1 by mike simpson / 6h 

Right to Education | World Education Forum 2015

Right to Education | World Education Forum 2015:Right to EducationEnsure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030.Education is a fundamental human right and occupies a central place in human rights, as it is a right in itself and indispensable for the exercise of all other human rights.  As an empowerment right, education is the primary vehicle by which margi

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

Students on testing: Taking tests is not a job skill | Bright Light Small City

Students on testing: Taking tests is not a job skill | Bright Light Small City: Students on testing: Taking tests is not a job skillTesting from the inside out: This week, on May 20, the debate team at Minneapolis’ Northeast Middle School is hosting a “community panel on standardized testing.” With the help of French teacher and debate team coach Michael Grandys, these kids–whose school lives have

1 by mike simpson / 8h 

What’s the legacy of Head Start, 50 years on?

What’s the legacy of Head Start, 50 years on?: What’s the legacy of Head Start, 50 years on?TRANSCRIPTRELATED LINKSFederal government spending bill investing billions in education Giving traumatized kids a head start in healing States looking to expand preschool confront debate over results, funding GWEN IFILL: Fifty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson announced the creation of Head Start, t

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

The Purpose And Potential Impact Of The Common Core | Shanker Institute

The Purpose And Potential Impact Of The Common Core | Shanker Institute: The Purpose And Potential Impact Of The Common Core I think it makes sense to have clear, high standards for what students should know and be able to do, and so I am generally a supporter of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). That said, I’m not comfortable with the way CCSS is being advertised as a means for boosting stu

1 by mike simpson / 9h 

U.S. Supreme Court denies teachers' Katrina layoffs suit | NOLA.com

U.S. Supreme Court denies teachers' Katrina layoffs suit | NOLA.com: U.S. Supreme Court denies teachers' Katrina layoffs suit It's the end of the road for the thousands of New Orleans public school employees who said they were wronged when they lost their jobs after Hurricane Katrina. They lost in Louisiana in October, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied their appeal Monday (May 18), according to co

by mike simpson / 10h 

Broad Foundation Announces Finalists for 2015 Charter Schools Prize - Charters & Choice - Education Week

Broad Foundation Announces Finalists for 2015 Charter Schools Prize - Charters & Choice - Education Week: Broad Foundation Announces Finalists for 2015 Charter Schools PrizeTexas-based IDEA Public Schools, Illinois-based Noble Network of Charter Schools, and Achievement First which operates in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island have been selected as finalists for the 2015 Broad Prize for

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

Editorial: Private schools, public tab - Times Union

Editorial: Private schools, public tab - Times Union: Editorial: Private schools, public tabTHE STAKES:How about fixing public schools first?With New York's public education system in turmoil from years of flailing over tests, teacher evaluations, curriculum, taxes and funding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan have tossed yet another bomb into the classroom — taxpayer sup

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

KJ Got Some Splainin to Do | The Sacramento Bee

Mayor Kevin Johnson must explain his staff increase | The Sacramento Bee: Mayor Kevin Johnson must explain his staff increaseBY THE EDITORIAL BOARDThe burden of proof is squarely on Mayor Kevin Johnson to justify increasing the size of his staff from seven to 12.When the $700,000 expenditure came up at last week’s City Council meeting, Johnson was in Knoxville, Tenn., in his role as president of t

1 by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates Funding | deutsch29

NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates Funding | deutsch29: NEA’s Lily Eskelsen Garcia Remains Faithful to Gates FundingOn April 26, 2015, education historian Diane Ravitch moderated an hour-long discussion between National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen Garcia and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten at the second annual conference of

1 by mike simpson / 20h 

The Common Core “Deep Learning” Message that All Students are Gifted is Wrong

The Common Core “Deep Learning” Message that All Students are Gifted is Wrong: The Common Core “Deep Learning” Message that All Students are Gifted is WrongMAY 18, 2015 BY NANCY BAILEY 2 COMMENTS…in the ordinary elementary school situation, children of 140 IQ waste half their time. Those of 170 IQ waste practically all their time.— gifted education pioneer Leta Hollingworth, found in Genius Denied

1 by mike simpson / 22h 

Jersey Jazzman: Help Send @Edushyster to New Orleans!

Jersey Jazzman: Help Send @Edushyster to New Orleans!:Help Send @Edushyster to New Orleans!Jennifer Berkshire, aka Edushyster, is one of the very best writers on education "reform" we have. She's done some extraordinary work over the years, and now she's ready to take on her biggest project yet:The propaganda that the reformy types have pushed about the charterization of the New Orleans

by mike simpson / 22h 

Action Alert for Milwaukee | BustED Pencils

Action Alert for Milwaukee | BustED Pencils: Action Alert for MilwaukeeLast week Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) decided that their vast experience as suburban Wisconsin legislators qualified them to introduce a bill that would literally take away Milwaukee Public Schools from the people of Milwaukee.  Yes, they proposed a “public school take over bill.”

11 by mike simpson / 23h 

Michael Mulgrew: The better tests N.Y. kids deserve - NY Daily News

Michael Mulgrew: The better tests N.Y. kids deserve - NY Daily News: The better tests N.Y. kids deserveIt’s time to ring down the curtain on a long-running farce: New York’s current statewide standardized tests. These exams — administered last month — give parents misleading information, encourage schools to focus on test-prep rather than real learning and are all but useless to teachers, the peop

1 by mike simpson / 23h hide  //  save

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 5/18/15

Special Nite Cap CORPORATE ED REFORMChair of the Education Committee of the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP Statement on the Attack Public Education in Milwaukee | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!Chair of the Education Committee of the Milwaukee Branch of the NAACP Statement on the Attack Public Education in Milwaukee | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Chair of the Education Com

6 by mike simpson / 1d 

When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than Race - The Atlantic

When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than Race - The Atlantic:

When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than Race

In 1963, kids in the 10th percentile of income fell behind children in the upper echelon of wealth by about a year or so. Today, that gap is closer to four years.

On a weekday afternoon in July, Jessica Klaitman pulled her 16-month-old daughter Hannah out of a stroller in the lobby of the New York Kids Club, a "child-enrichment center" with four classrooms, a dance studio, and gym space in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.

Hannah was sleepy after a nap, but her face lit up as she was let loose with several other toddlers and their nannies. She grabbed some blocks and then headed to a table stocked with piles of a pink, play-dough-like sculpting material. For 45 minutes, the children wandered around wielding dolls and blocks, grabbing at each others' toys and taking turns on a miniature slide. When time was up, they sang along with the "Clean-Up Song" and helped put away the mess.

A drop-in class at the New York Kids Club costs about $47, according to an employee. Hannah's playgroup that day was free, but only because Klaitman, 40, and her husband, Jordan Small, 39, have enrolled their three children in package deals for classes in karate and preschool--which run about $650 per child for 17 once-a-week sessions. Klaitman estimates she's dropped thousands of dollars at the club over the years, not to mention what she spends on the private preschool her oldest son attends, additional classes in Spanish and music elsewhere, and the family's museum memberships.

The Klaitman-Smalls' considerable investment in their children is becoming the norm for families like theirs who are in the top tiers of the country's income distribution. The resources the affluent are pouring into their children are also driving a growing divide between academic outcomes of the children of the well-to-do and those of everyone else's kids. That widening academic divide means that kids who are born poor and kids who are born rich are increasingly likely to stay that way once they reach adulthood.

When Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech a half-century ago, on Aug. 28, 1963, black children lagged behind their white peers in school by more than three years. For poor children, the picture was somewhat more encouraging: Those in the 10th percentile of income fell behind the children in the upper echelon of wealth by about a year or so. Poverty was a major obstacle, but not so large that it couldn't be scaled by the brightest and most ambitious.

Fifty years later, social class has become the main gateway--and barrier--to opportunity in America.

The country is far from fulfilling King's dream that race no longer limit children's opportunities, but how much income their parents earn is more and more influential. According to a 2011 research study by Stanford sociologist Sean Reardon, the test-score gap between the children of the poor (in the 10th percentile of income) and the children of the wealthy (in the 90th percentile) has expanded by as much as 40 percent and is now more than 50 percent larger than the black-white achievement gap--a reversal of the trend 50 years ago. Underprivileged children now languish at achievement levels that are close to four years behind their wealthy peers.

These days, middle-class children are also falling further behind their affluent peers. The test-score gap between middle-income (the 50th percentile of income) and poor children has remained stagnant; it's the gap between the top earners and the rest that is growing rapidly. And though more poor and middle-income children are completing college these days, they can't keep up with the growth in college graduates among the wealthiest families. A 2012 study by Reardon also found that "more and more seats in highly selective schools have been occupied by students from high-income families."

"Income has become a much stronger predictor of how well kids do in school," Reardon says. "Race is about as good a predictor as it was 30 years ago. It's more that income has gotten more important, not that race has gotten less important."

Jessica Klaitman's husband works in the finance industry, and she's a social worker who has worked part-time running support groups for new parents and teaching yoga. They do well enough to pay $4,400 a month in rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn Heights, one of the borough's most-coveted neighborhoods, to pay for a full-time nanny in addition to their spending on preschool, and to take the family on regular vacations to see relatives out of state.

"I'm a middle-class New Yorker, and upper-class anywhere else," Klaitman says. "I know how astonishingly privileged we are, but at the same time we're dipping into savings for housing. I don't go out and buy shoes, but my kids have tons of classes."

"Income has become a much stronger predictor of how well kids do in school. Race is about as good a predictor as it was 30 years ago."

Researchers say the expanding class gap in education is likely a byproduct of the country's widening income inequality. There's been an explosion in spending by well-to-do parents on their children: The amount has more than doubled in the last 30 years, according to work by Columbia University School of Social Work researchers Neeraj Kaushal and Jane Waldfogel and Katherine Magnuson of the University of Wisconsin.

Parents in the top quintile of income in the U.S. (households earning at least $102,000 in 2011, according to census data compiled by the Tax Policy Institute, a nonprofit research group) now spend more than double what parents in the second quintile (earning at least $62,000) spend on trips for their children-about $2,000 per year compared with $800, the Kaushal study found. They also spend significantly more on childcare, computers, books, and private-school tuition than their non-wealthy peers.

A 2013 study by sociologists Sabino Kornrich and Frank Furstenberg found that disparities in spending between the top and the bottom grew between the 1990s and 2000s, with parents in the bottom half of income distribution actually spending less on their children in the 2000s than previously--probably because of decreasing incomes.

"It's everyone trying to take care of their kids, but if you have a lot of money, you can do all of them, the Mandarin, the lacrosse, the SAT tutoring, the camps," says Richard Murnane, a Harvard University economist and editor of Whither Opportunity, a 2011 book that published the Reardon and Kaushal studies. "You can do a lot of extra things with extra money."

Money Matters

America's widening class gap shapes the hopes and prospects of families like the Lynches, who live just a few miles from the Klaitman-Smalls in Crown Heights, a mostly working-class neighborhood in Brooklyn where stately limestone townhouses and public housing projects stand side by side.

At first glance, the lives of Bryson Lynch, two, and his three-year-old brother When Class Became More Important to a Child's Education Than Race - The Atlantic:

RELATED STORY

What's Really Behind the Ever-Rising Cost of Raising a Child in America

DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schools

DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schools:

DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schools

DENVER - Parents in northwest Denver showed concern Monday night over a proposal to make a charter school the essential home school. District officials say this is becoming the norm.

When Kristin Barnes moved into the Sunnyside neighborhood in northwest Denver, she had a plan to send her kids to a traditional neighborhood school.

"I love that feeling. I love that small town feel in an urban setting," Barnes said.

Barnes has three young boys ages 2, 4, and 6. So, when Denver Public Schools offered a public meeting Monday night to discuss the possible future of the schools in her neighborhood, she made last minute plans to go.

"I'm little bit frustrated. I think that something like this was kind of under the radar," Barnes said.

District officials discussed a proposal to make a charter school, Strive Preparatory School, the essential home school for families in the immediate area.

"We're not sure it's the right thing for our students," Barnes said.

Barnes wants Skinner Middle School or another district-run school to be the home school for her children. Strive Prep has shown success working with students from lower-income families and those who are still learning English. But, Barnes says her kids need a different program.

"I think what Strive School does for some kids is really fantastic, and I think that they do really great things," Barnes said. "But, I think it should not be a required choice to those of us who live in the neighborhood."

Strive Prep schools have longer school days, a longer school year, and an emphasis on college preparatory.

"Two extra hours of homework, less extra-curricular activities, less arts and music," Barnes said. "I think that is something that is lacking there, and I think that's something public schools need."

Chris Gibbons is the CEO and founder of the Strive Prep charter school network. He says his programs are designed to well-rounded.

"Every school has to prioritize the areas that they are ultimately focused on, and we do have a high priority on college preparation specifically," Gibbons said. "We also offer a competitive sports program. We also offer a robust arts program."

Gibbons says this proposal is nothing new. Strive Prep and other charter schools from Stapleton through southwest Denver already serve as essential neighborhood schools for DPS students. He says that's a good thing that parents should embrace.

"It insures that all families have access to a great school in their own neighborhood," Gibbons said. "It insures that all charter schools and district-run schools operate on an even playing field."

DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg says the district no longer delineates between charter schools and district-run schools. He says DPS has created an equity of opportunity, equity of access, and equity of accountability between all publicly-funded schools within Denver.

"For the overwhelming majority of parents, what they care about is that their child goes to a good school; a school where their child is challenged, is supported, is nurtured," Boasberg said. "I think most parents really couldn't care less about the governance model of their school."

Boasberg points out the district has turned to enrollment zones around Denver. That opens up more than just the closest school to someone's house as an option for schooling. So, while students in northwest Denver may have a preferred spot at Strive Prep under this proposal, parents can apply to send their kids to other schools within their enrollment zone. No one is required to attend their home school.

"By drawing those zones, somewhat larger, we're able to draw on a much more diverse and integrated group of students in our schools," Boasberg said.

He says the old model of neighborhood schools perpetuated an issue of having some separated into areas of socio-economic class. That's why he says he wants charter schools to be treated as equals amongst district-run schools.

"A key cornerstone of public education is that our schools are truly public," Boasberg said. "Whether they're district-run schools or charter schools, we're very clear on the importance of our public schools serving all kids and serving all kids well."

The proposal in northwest Denver is still in the early stages. The Denver School Board would have to approve any plans at a future meeting before anything is enacted.

Barnes still believes the district should look at expanding options of district-run schools versus having to consider a charter school.

"I don't think it would be the same. It's not what my husband and I intended for our children," Barnes said. "I certainly hope that our voices are heard and that they're being heard and they were heard last night."DPS wants charter schools as neighborhood schools:

Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislation - Wait What?

Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislation - Wait What?:

Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislation

Following this past weekend’s CEA election, Connecticut’s largest union has begun a new television advertising campaign to push the “less testing, more learning message.”

While the TV ad urges the public to call state legislators in support of the CEA’s bill to phase out the SBAC test, the ad unfortunately fails to support the opt-out movement or even mention that Connecticut parents have a fundamental right to refuse to have their children take the unfair and discriminatory Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test.

During the recent CEA convention, the delegates did adopt a resolution in support of opt-out, but the message didn’t make it to their TV ad.

According to the CEA blog today,

“A new CEA TV commercial featuring Connecticut students, teachers, and parents is now on the air urging lawmakers to pass legislation ensuring less testing and more learning in our public schools. The commercial asks members of the public to call their legislators and ask them to amend Senate Bill 1095.

Watch the commercial below and then call your legislators and share how SBAC testing is affecting your students.”

You can see the TV ad by clicking the following link;  https://youtu.be/B3K2z5kob7k

Meanwhile, around the nation, parents, students, teachers, teacher unions and elected officials continue the push back against the Common Core testing scheme.  Here are just Connecticut Education Association (CEA) starts TV advertising campaign to promote their legislation - Wait What?:

MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for district

UpFront: MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for district | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

UpFront: MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for district

Milwaukee Public Schools superintendent Darienne Driver said a proposal to pull the worst schools from the district and put them into a charter program would be devastating.

She told “UpFront with Mike Gousha” the district wouldn’t be able to survive the loss of revenue from schools, which would be given to a “turnaround” or “recovery” district.

The superintendent said current MPS initiatives have shown early signs of success, and if they are allowed to pan out, they will change the performance in the classrooms.

“We’re already seeing early signs of growth in reading and math,” Driver said on the show, which is produced in conjunction with WisPolitics.com.

Driver said that she has talked with both Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield, the two lawmakers spearheading the plan, and they are open to feedback.

“Both of them are very concerned about the educational system in Milwaukee,” Driver said. “They are open to feedback, suggestions and any insights that we have around this plan, but they, like many other members of this community, want to see change.”

She said that the state needs to realize high rates in poverty and crime are large factors in poor academic performance. She said that both public and private schools are struggling, and this proposal won’t fix issues in the classroom.

“I think that having choice schools becoming the method of choice, when they’re performing lower than MPS is currently, is a mistake,” Driver said.

She also said that the plan, which would allow the county executive to appoint a public school commissioner, doesn’t address finances or infrastructure, but instead simply the governance of running the Milwaukee Public School system.

“The idea of one person, the county executive, appointing another person, the commissioner, without any other types of details around how it would be funded, is very flawed,” Driver said.

Also appearing on the show, new Chief Justice Pat Roggensack said the idea that the state Supreme Court is in turmoil “doesn’t represent the facts of what is going on.”

Roggensack said that looking back, the approach conservative justices took of voting for a new chief justice via email was their only option. She said it would not have been practical to have a meeting on the change with Shirley Abrahamson suing to prevent implementation of the amendment changing how the chief justice is picked until after her term expires in 2019.

“You really can’t have a meeting of seven people to decide how you’re going to implement a new chief justice when one of the seven is suing you all,” Roggensack said.

The new chief justice insisted that the moment the Government Accountability Board certified the referendum results, Abrahamson no longer had her seat constitutionally, and the court was obligated to follow what the constitution now says.

She said that once issues among the members of the Supreme Court are resolved, she plans to involve all members “in a way they’ve never had the opportunity to participate before.”

She said that she also wants to get out more information on the good work the court is doing, and that the recent “bumps in the road” have been overshadowing their successes.

“We do a lot of wonderful things, and so what I want to do is to get out so that the public knows what we’re doing,” she said.

See more from the show:
http://www.wisn.com/politics/upfront

UpFront: MPS superintendent says charter option for struggling schools would be ‘devastating’ for district | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board races - LA Times

Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board races - LA Times:

Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board races

Voters are going to the polls in Los Angeles on Tuesday to decide three school board races that will affect the direction of the nation’s second-largest school system.
The campaigns have been dominated by independent spending. Outside groups have poured in $5.1 million, compared with less than $1 million spent by campaigns controlled by the candidates, according to reports filed through Monday.
The next school board will choose a superintendent to run the L.A. Unified School District and deal with thorny issues such as a new teacher evaluation system and graduation requirements.
The contest drawing the most attention and the most dollars is in District 5, which includes neighborhoods north and east of downtown, as well as the cities of southeast L.A. County.
One-term incumbent Bennett Kayser, backed by the teachers union, is running against charter school cofounder Ref Rodriguez, who is supported by a group representing charter schools.
The charter group, California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, has put in more money than any other organization.

Charters are independently operated and free from some regulations that govern traditional public schools. Most are non-union. Kayser has been the board’s most persistent voice opposing the continued growth of charter schools in L.A., which has more students in such schools than any district in the nation.
District 3, in the west San Fernando Valley, also features a face-off between the union, which backs challenger Scott Schmerelson, a retired principal, and two-term incumbent Tamar Galatzan, who has support from the charter group.

Spending in race for three LAUSD board seats reaches nearly $4.6 million

In this race, Galatzan also is receiving substantial backing from another political action committee, Great Public Schools Los Angeles. This PAC is drawing on many of the same donors as a PAC that was associated in recent elections with Antonio Villaraigosa, who was mayor at the time.
L.A.’s current mayor, Eric Garcetti, has avoided that level of involvement and also has declined to align with one camp or another.
In District 7, two-term incumbent Richard Vladovic is running against Lydia Gutierrez, an elementary school teacher in Long Beach Unified. He’s been endorsed by all three big-spending PACs, but none of them has devoted comparable resources to this race.
District 7 stretches from South Los Angeles to the L.A. Harbor.
Low voter turnout is expected; in most areas, the L.A. Unified contest is the only one on the ballot.

Voters go to polls today to decide L.A. school board races - LA Times: 

For more education news, follow @howardblume

New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams | Alan Singer

New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams | Alan Singer:

New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams

The New York State Board of Regents, the governing body for schools in the state, met Monday May 18 to discuss proposed changes in teacher evaluations and teacher certification requirements. United University Professions (UUP) and New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), which represent teacher educators in the State University system, protested at the hearings demanding an investigation of "Pearson's teacher certification exams" used in New York State. They charged that the exams lacked adequate field-testing and proof of either reliability (consistent results) or validity (evidence they test skills they claim to test).

For the teacher certification exams, Jamie Dangler, a UUP Vice-President reported that the Regents essentially accepted that the tests are flawed. They approved a series of "safety nets" that will allow students who fail tests to secure certification through alternative routes. On teacher evaluations, the Regents appear to be divided and will not vote on the issues until the middle of June, so debate will continue.

Earlier, NYSUT's representative assembly recommended that its college and university members boycott Pearson textbooks. NYSUT President Karen Magee also demanded that the Regents initiate a public review all Pearson tests administered on all grade levels.

In addition, to the NYSUT and UUP led protests, the Save Our Schools coalition organized a protest in Albany in conjunction with the Regents meeting against a plan championed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to base teacher evaluations on the high-stakes standardized testing of children, including children in their schools but not in their classes, and on spot checks by "outside" evaluators.

The Pearson teacher certification tests are also being challenged in the courts. Plaintiffs charge that at least one of the tests, the Academic Literacy Skills Test, or ALST is racially discriminatory because Blacks and Latino candidates pass at significantly lower levels than Whites. During the 2013-14 school year, 75% of White candidates for teacher certification passed compared to 56% of Latino candidates and 48% of Black candidates.

Judge Kimba M. Wood of the Federal District Court in Manhattan demanded that New York State provide documentation on the development of the tests. According to a report in the New York Times, "Judge Wood ruled that officials had not shown that the material on the test 'accurately measured the minimum knowledge about the liberal arts and sciences that teachers need to be competent.'"

Schools of Education that have large numbers of students who do not pass the ALST will be subject to review and possible de-accreditation, which would put pressure on them not to admit minority candidates who have potential as teachers but questionable prior academic performance. The federal Department of Education is pushing similar mandates on a national level.

Possibly in response to the lawsuit, candidates for teacher certification who fail the ALST will be able to circumvent the test by submitting an "attestation" of academic skill and equivalent performance in a teacher education program signed by the dean or chief academic officer of the program.

According to UUP and NYSUT, all four New York State teacher certification exams, the ALST, the EAS (Educating All Students), the CST (Content Specialty Test), and the edTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment), "present unfair obstacles to student teachers." All four exams were created and/or administered and assessed by Pearson and student teachers must pay almost $1,000 to take the exams, and that is if they pass the tests the first time. Students are charged additional fees for practice tests

The list of objections include "no formal process to report potentially inaccurate items," numerous questions with more than one potentially correct answer that force students to guess the answer Pearson wants, questions based on areas outside the test-takers area of certification, and inadequate feedback when students do not pass exams, inadequate time, and just generally poorly constructed questions.

In addition to these problems, there are major questions about how Pearson grades tests. In online testimony by an edTPA evaluator that is being distributed by Pearson's SCALE testing partner to demonstrate the legitimacy of the tests, the evaluator New Challenges to Pearson Teacher Certification Exams | Alan Singer:

It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race? | The Nation

It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race? | The Nation:

It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race?

Six weeks after Rahm Emanuel defeated populist, pro-teacher candidate Chuy Garcia in Chicago, public-school advocates are mobilizing for victory in Philly.

Photo illustration | Alyse Moyer. Photo credits | John Dougherty: Katharine Gilbert; Anthony Williams: Kimberly Paynter/WHYY/NewsWorks.org; Ken Trijilio: © 2014 Greg Wasserstrom for Friends of Ken Trujillo; Jim Kenney: © 2011 Will Connelly; Money, piggy bank and dollar sign: istock by getty images

Read more at http://www.phillymag.com/citified/2015/02/15/dark-money-philadelphia-mayors-race/#RyuwlU8C3e3FCcTB.99

In early April, advocates of public education were dismayed to see Rahm Emanuel, backed by a$30 million-plus war chest and free-flowing super PAC funds, beat back insurgent progressive Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in the Chicago mayor’s race. Now, six weeks later, it looks like education activists might have reason to celebrate—albeit in a different mayor’s race, several hundred miles away.

Today Philadelphia voters are heading to the polls to vote in the primaries for mayor and City Council. Since the city is overwhelmingly Democratic, the winners of the party’s primary will likely be the winners of the general election. For weeks, the mayoral race looked like a dead heat between public-schools advocate and former City Councilman Jim Kenney and charter-schools booster and State Senator Anthony Williams. Before that, Williams had been seen as an almost unbeatable front-runner. But a poll released on May 13 changed the calculus: Kenney, who is backed by the teachers’ union, had the support of 42 percent of Democratic voters while Williams, who is backed by a trio of wealthy suburban financiers, was trailing with 15 percent alongside former District Attorney Lynne Abraham.

News of Jim Kenney’s swift climb in the polls was greeted with shock by observers, given Williams’s huge cash advantage and presumed support from black voters. Williams, an African-American, is a longtime West Philadelphia politician and the son of one of the city’s pioneering black political activists. Kenney is a white South Philadelphian who has, during his years on City Council, remade himself from a conservative Democrat into an outspoken and surprisingly vocal progressive, successfully pushing to decriminalize marijuana in the city and to end local police cooperation with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. But he is a relative newcomer to the center stage of the city’s grinding schools debate. As the race began, public-school advocates were desperately seeking a candidate to take on Williams, who seemed headed for a likely victory. Kenney got into the race after others took a pass, including powerful City Council President Darrell Clarke.

Kenney opposes the expansion of charter schools until the state restores assistance to manage the resulting costs, and calls for tougher oversight of the privately managed public schools. Williams, by contrast, is a high-profile supporter not only of charter schools but also of taxpayer-funded vouchers for private-school tuition. Both speak in favor of boosting state funding of city schools, a controversial issue among Republicans in the state legislature, but a basic litmus test for any Philadelphia politician.

Kenney’s late entry did not at first seem to bode well for his chances against Williams. The election is Philadelphia’s first major post–Citizens United showdown, and, as in Chicago, outside money flowed into the city in record amounts, most copiously from the three suburban financiers backing Williams: Joel Greenberg, Jeff Yass, and Arthur Dantchik. The three founders of the Susquehanna International Group (SIG) are committed “school choice” enthusiasts and It’s Election Day in Philadelphia: Will a Trio of Wealthy School ‘Reformers’ Buy the Mayor’s Race? | The Nation: