‘Half-baked sale’ protest over Seattle teacher reassignments | The Seattle Times

‘Half-baked sale’ protest over Seattle teacher reassignments | The Seattle Times:

‘Half-baked sale’ protest over Seattle teacher reassignments

Seattle students, teachers and parents held events to protest the district’s plan to reassign two dozen teachers.

Though the official list of Seattle schools who may lose — or gain — teachers in a budget-related shuffle hasn’t been released, parents and lawmakers are asking the school district to halt plans to move anyone.

Students, teachers and parents held a “half-baked sale” and staged a protest Tuesday outside Seattle Public Schools headquarters to bring attention to the planned reassignments of about two dozen teachers, which the district said last week is largely tied to lower-than-projected enrollment.

“Parents were already unhappy (from the strike),” Alki Elementary parent Amy King said. “This pushed us over the edge. This made us angry.”

Earlier Tuesday, a newly formed group called Teacher Retention Advocate Parents — T.R.A.P — held a “half-baked sale” on the lawn of Seattle Public Schools headquarters to protest the reassignments. Parents sold items like “packed-class pralines” from a table with a sign that read “How many cookies do we need to sell to raise $90,000?”

The purpose of the sale was to “highlight the absurdity of funding basic education with carwashes and bake sales,” said Carolyn Leith, whose two children attend Olympic View Elementary School and Jane Addams Middle, both of which are slated to lose staff. Although the district has yet to announce which teachers will move where, a number of schools have already announced they expect one or more of their teachers to be transferred.

Outside the district’s headquarters in Sodo, parents and other supporters talked about the division that occurs when some schools raise more money than others. Some schools are trying to raise the $90,000 it would take to keep a teacher, but don’t expect to reach that level. So far, Alki Elementary, with the help of a donation of $70,000 from a Ballard parent, is the only school known to have reached that goal.

The need for fundraising puts pressure on all schools, said Erin Murphy, who will find out later this week if her first-grader, who attends Concord International Elementary School, will remain in a first-grade class, or ‘Half-baked sale’ protest over Seattle teacher reassignments | The Seattle Times:

Kids Not Cuts Picks Up Speed

 The Seattle Times has two stories on the staff cuts at more than 25 Seattle Schools. One is Danny Westneat's column whose headline made me smile, "Outraged Seattle Public Schools parents, pace yourselves."  Sigh. He's right.  (BUT I do believe we ARE hitting a tipping point and it is to the parent side. Sadly, there will be more pain before healing but I believe the day of reckoning is

by Melissa Westbrook / 19min 

YESTERDAY

Kids Not Cuts Gets Political

Update 2: Word is that not all members of the School Board even saw the letter (no less signed-off on it) before it was sent.  I think that an appalling lack of respect.  This continues a theme on the Board as Board members were not told that Principal Chappelle was leaving for a city job in education.   I have to wonder about Director McLaren out on the campaign trail, denigrating the previous Bo

7 by Melissa Westbrook / 15h 

And How Many Cookies to Save Teachers at 25+ Schools?

by Melissa Westbrook / 15h 

Tuesday Open Thread

Update:From City of Seattle:"...We still have trees in need of good homes! If you, a friend, neighbor, or family member have room in the yard for a beautiful Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), grand fir (Abies grandis), or willow oak (Quercus pehllos), please let me know. The yard tree application is still open and we're still accepting applications for these lovely yard trees. Send your f

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 23h 

OCT 12

Alki Gets Money to Retain Staff (from a complete stranger)

Update: Kids Not Cuts leader, Chandra Hampson, had an interview on KIRO radio this morning.  (It's brief and starts at about minute 23:00.  But, the reporter said that the district said "nothing is final."  So I'm hoping that is true.  More to come.end of updateFrom the West Seattle blog:The West Seattle school that was crowdfunding to try to save a teacher from being cut has apparently

by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

Seattle Schools Central Administration Spending

From Reader 47:From the 2015/16 Budget book (pg44)CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION Actual 2013/14 Adopted 2014/15 Recommended 2015/16 Board of Directors $4,377,610 $2,603,840 $4,270,653 Superintendent's Office $5,263,869 $5,515,745 $6,418,660 Business Office $5,790,899 $6,207,175 $6,980,623 Human Resources $4,685,999 $4,705,558 $5,283,638 Public Information $490,227 $500,189 $623,449 Superv. of Instruction

13 by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

Hit the Pause Button on October Staff Cuts

Sent to the Board this morning:Dear Directors,You have an Executive Ctm Meeting of the Whole on Wednesday.  I am asking you to please consider 10 minutes to discuss hitting the pause button on the extensive cuts that affect schools in every single region that the Board covers.  You have it within your power - having an advertised public meeting of the whole - to ask the Superintendent to not make

4 by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

Letter to Ken Gotsch, CFO

Dear Ken,I am working with the parent leaders from various schools over the staffing cuts announced last week.  I know you have given of your time to several parents in order to explain the situation.  But it continues to be murky and honestly, this is not good.  Parents are losing faith in what they hear from senior staff.  To that end, I'm asking for clarification on some issues.  1) In Jan of 2

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

Indigenous Peoples Day 2015 in Seattle

2 by Melissa Westbrook / 1d 

OCT 11

Seattle Public Education This Week

Monday, Oct. 12thBoard Curriculum&Instruction meeting from 4:30-630 pm at JSCEE.  AgendaHighlights:- there's a Race to the Top grant for the Seattle Teacher Residency.  The Board should reject this.  Why?  Because the relationship with one partner for the STR, the Alliance for Education, is tenuous and the district may be left holding the bag for this project.  I think that the district had th

6 by Melissa Westbrook / 2d hide  //  save

Parents Rising - Dear Directors

Dear Directors,I write to you with both a heavy and joyful heart.  Heavy because there is so much frustration and sadness in our district this early in the school year.  Not because of the teachers strike but because of the staff cuts at a large number of schools.  I am joyful because enough parents are now ready and willing.  I am joyful because, unbidden by me or anyone else, they have risen up

100+ by Melissa Westbrook / 2d 

Transparency - That's All It Takes

From a teacher reader;The problem with opacity with teacher pulls:  we don't know if they are legitimate or punitive.   The problem when no one speaks up for a school that is under attack is that it gives permission to launch attacks against other schools in the future!  Hence, Schmitz Park today!If they do this to JAMS, they will do it to Meany, Eagle Staff and Lincoln High School.    From Kellie

2 by Melissa Westbrook / 2d 

If SPS Thinks All Parents are Good for is Fundraising...

Join Teacher Retention Advocate Parents for a "bake sale" to highlight the inadequacy of local parent groups to fund raise for major staffing cuts. We will call on SPS to make alternate budget cuts and our state legislature to fully fund McCleary.Tuesday, October 13th from 11 am - 1pm at JSCEE  We will have a table with various treats and goodies such as:  - Bum Deal Brownies- Choppi

19 by Melissa Westbrook / 3d 

Where kindergartners can be suspended for calling out an answer in class - The Washington Post

Where kindergartners can be suspended for calling out an answer in class - The Washington Post:

Where kindergartners can be suspended for calling out an answer in class

Most of the 3 million or so students who get out-of-school suspensions are in high school. But increasingly kids in preschool and kindergarten are getting sent home as punishment, and for reasons that you might not expect.

In this PBS NewsHour video, John Merrow reports about suspensions in the  Success charter school network in New York City, which began in 2006 with one school and now has 34, most of them elementary. The Success network is a prime example of the “no excuses”  model of schooling, which essentially means that teachers are responsible for student achievement and that there are no excuses — not hunger or sickness or violent home lives — for students not doing well. Joan Goodman, a professor in the Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania and director of the school’s Teach For America program, recently described them this way:

“These schools start with the belief that there’s no reason for the large academic gaps that exist between poor minority students and more privileged children. They argue that if we just used better methods, demanded more, had higher expectations, enforced these higher expectations through very rigorous and uniform teaching methods and a very uniform and scripted curriculum geared to being successful on high-stakes tests, we can minimize or even eradicate these large gaps, high rates of drop outs and the academic failures of these children. To reach these objectives, these schools have developed very elaborate behavioral regimes that they insist all children follow, starting in kindergarten. Submission, obedience, and self-control are very large values. They want kids to submit. You can’t really do this kind of instruction if you don’t have very submissive children who are capable of high levels of inhibition and do whatever they’re told.”

[Why no-excuses charter schools mold ‘very submissive’ students — starting in kindergarten]

That provides background for Merrow’s video on the Success Academy Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, which is housed in the same building as P.S. 138 in Brooklyn, a traditional public school that doesn’t suspend its students. The contrast in philosophy is striking.

At Success Academy Prospect Heights, students are required to avoid committing any one of 65 infractions that take six pages to explain. The code of conduct, Merrow says, labels as infractions everything from “bullying and gambling to littering and failing to be in a ready-for-success position.” Getting out of a seat without permission or calling out an answer are infractions as well, and it doesn’t take many to get suspended.

Merrow said that at Success Academy Prospect Heights, which enrolled 203 kindergartners and first graders last year, Principal Monica Komery issued 44 suspensions — all to 11 students. One child, Merrow said, was suspended 12 Where kindergartners can be suspended for calling out an answer in class - The Washington Post:

North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay | Logan Smith

North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay | Logan Smith:

North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay

What's a young couple to do when they are expecting a baby, and both husband and wife are public school teachers in a state ranked one of the worst places to be a teacher?

For Dan and Katie Mangum in Asheville, North Carolina, the answer was clear: move to Georgia for better-paying teaching jobs.

In the years since North Carolina's Republican takeover in 2010, the state's once-proud education system has fallen on tumultuous times thanks to politicians who no longer seem to value public schools. Despite a $450 million budget surplus this year, lawmakers have refused to restore school funding to pre-recession levels -- which leaves teachers struggling to cope with rising enrollment while their salaries remain stagnant.

"A big thing was just a lack of respect," Dan Mangum told the Asheville Citizen-Timesabout his decision to leave North Carolina for better pay. "[We] just kept looking around every year and just seeing a revolving door of people coming in and out and kept looking at other states and seeing North Carolina pay not comparing year after year."

You can see more of Dan and Katie's story in a video produced by Progress North Carolina, a public policy nonprofit working to raise North Carolina teacher pay to the national average:

Last year, personal finance website WalletHub compiled nationwide data on teacher pay and classroom spending and found North Carolina to be the worst state in the nation for teachers. This year, we moved up on the list -- all the way to second-worst. According to WalletHub's data, North Carolina ranks 43rd in teacher safety, 46th in per-pupil spending, and 49th in teacher pay increases over the past decade.

The report highlights what North Carolina educators have been saying all along -- that although politicians claim to support public education on the campaign trail, their actions over the past few years have done absolutely nothing to improve North North Carolina's "Education Exodus" Worsens as More Teachers Leave for Better Pay | Logan Smith:

Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors - WSJ

Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors - WSJ:

Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors

New niche develops as more charters open doors; some states help with financing

By 

PETER GRANT

Oct. 13, 2015 11:33 a.m. ET

Real-estate investors are showing an increasing interest in charter school development as the demand grows for classroom seats and some state and local governments become more willing to help finance charter-school projects.

Almost all charter schools are operated by nonprofit organizations. But these groups often rent and buy their buildings from private real-estate developers, and that is creating a new niche asset for some investors.

One of the latest entrants to the charter real-estate business is Northstar Commercial Partners, a Denver-based private-equity firm that is raising a $100 million fund. It will focus on converting charter schools out of vacant office, industrial and retail properties that can be purchased for less than half of what they would cost to build, according to Northstar Chief Executive Brian Watson.

Meanwhile, investment manager Bobby Turner, who founded Turner Impact Capital LLC in 2013, is raising his second fund with tennis legend Andre Agassi for building new charter schools, this one with a goal of $400 million.

And established players in the business are seeing volume increases on chart school developments. For example, a venture of HighMark School Development and EPR Properties, a real-estate investment trust, spent more than $118 million in 2014 on acquisition, renovation and construction, compared with $34 million in 2011.

“There’s no shortage of cash,” said Patrick Beausoleil, a HighMark vice president.

The rise in investment activity partly reflects the growth of the charter school movement, which has been overcoming political opposition in many states. During the 2014-2015 school year, 500 new public charter schools opened nationwide, for a total of more than 6,700 enrolling about 2.9 million students, according to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

Some states are beginning to make financing tools available to charter schools that had been limited to traditional public schools. For example, the states of Texas, Colorado and Utah now backstop tax exempt bond issues for some charter schools, reducing their capital costs when acquiring facilities, according to Scott Rolfs, managing director of B.C. Ziegler & Co., a niche investment-banking firm that has underwritten more than $600 million in charter school bonds.

But the growing role of for-profit real-estate developers has added a new dimension to Charter-School Movement Grows—for Real-Estate Investors - WSJ:

Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries

Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries:

Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries

This piece comes to us courtesy of Stateline. Stateline is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news service of the Pew Charitable Trusts that provides daily reporting and analysis on trends in state policy.

Even with 16 years of teaching experience and two master’s degrees, Nathalia Moreno had a hard time finding a new job in the financially stressed schools where she lived in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Her prospects brightened when she began considering working in schools on the mainland, where bilingual teachers are in high demand. She got an offer from Florida, but took a job teaching physical education in Las Vegas where recruiters were more persistent.

It’s worth being persistent to hire a good teacher, especially one like Moreno who speaks English and Spanish, said Staci Vesneske, chief human resources officer for Las Vegas’ Clark County school system.

“It’s not uncommon for our recruiters to follow up two or three times to say, ‘Hey, we really want you to finish your application,’ ” Vesneske said.

Growing demand for bilingual teachers, fed by increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking public school students, is forcing local school districts to get creative in their recruiting. A major target for their efforts is Puerto Rico: the teachers, already U.S. citizens, don’t require a visa if they decide to leave the island and its struggling economy to go work on the mainland.

Oklahoma City Public Schools, for instance, started the school year in August with more than a dozen new teachers from Puerto Rico, including Iriana Sanchez, a kindergarten teacher who left because “it’s hard to get a job there, and here I feel very welcome.”

Houston-area schools are organizing recruiting conferences locally and in San Juan. The Dallas Independent School District, which already recruits in Puerto Rico, is this year looking to Mexico and Spain for candidates, while starting a training program for local bilingual professionals to become teachers.

“As bilingual programs in Dallas and across the state continue to grow, the need for bilingual teachers increases exponentially each year,” said Jordan Carlton, who heads a recruiting team for the district.

A smaller share of U.S. college students is getting education degrees. Relatively low pay and declining job benefits can make the profession look less attractive. State certification of teachers varies widely, and states don’t always recognize each other’s teacher certifications.

A 2013 study by the Council of the Great City Schools found that about half of large Why American Schools Are Starting To Recruit More Teachers From Foreign Countries:

Fresno Unified holds closed door meeting that angers Fresno teachers union | abc30

Fresno Unified holds closed door meeting that angers Fresno teachers union | abc30.com:

FRESNO UNIFIED HOLDS CLOSED DOOR MEETING THAT ANGERS FRESNO TEACHERS UNION

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --

A decision by the Fresno Unified School District to hold a closed door meeting tonight caught some members off guard and angered the Fresno Teachers Association.

The union says the board trustees planned to meet in closed session to discuss the ongoing federal investigation into no-bid contracts.

The FTA says the board was expected to vote whether to authorize paying for attorney's to defend district employees in the investigation. After two hours members broke-up the meeting without taking any action.

Trustee Carol Mills claims the meeting was called too hastily and she could not get in touch with the superintendent. "Mr. Hansen, I called, text and emailed, and I didn't get a response. I got this email at 5:15 yesterday."

"This is difficult, to say we're not communicating when you're not seeking the avenue of picking up the phone, when you're encouraged to do so," stated Michael Hanson, FUSD Superintendent.

The regular board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. There's a chance the issue could come up again then.Fresno Unified holds closed door meeting that angers Fresno teachers union | abc30.com:



Former Chicago Public Schools pleads guilty on no-bid contracts - WREX.com – Rockford’s News Leader http://bit.ly/1RaYSCd



Questions abound over $3.5M 'no-bid' contract with Real Alternatives - TheIndyChannel.com http://bit.ly/1RaYTpO

Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A. - LA Times

Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A. - LA Times:

Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A.

The union representing Los Angeles teachers has pulled together a coalition of other employee unions to oppose a controversial plan to more than double the number of local students attending charter schools.

The linking of the unions is a potentially significant step in the showdown over charter expansion, which, if successful, would alter the education landscape in the city.

The proposed $490-million effort, spearheaded by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, would enroll half of L.A. Unified students in charter schools over the next eight years.

The plan has allies among a group of civic leaders as well as philanthropists and foundations, including the Walton Family Foundation, which has long supported the growth of charters across the nation.

Opponents said the alignment of the other district unions with the teachers provides a significant political boost.

"This was an important moment because the representatives of all employees, many of whom are parents of students in our schools, are all coming forward to say we should invest in our existing schools," said Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Charter supporters questioned the priorities of critics.

"We are committed to ensuring that families have more high-quality choices in public education," said Myrna Castrejon, acting chief executive for the California Charter Schools Assn. "It is astonishing to us that anyone would be standing in the way of those parents' efforts to get the best educational opportunity for their children."

Charters are independently operated and exempt from some rules that govern traditional campuses. Most are non-union. L.A. Unified already has more than 100,000 students in charters, the most in Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A. - LA Times:

Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda : News : ISchoolGuide

Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda : News : ISchoolGuide:

Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda

The K-12 policy agenda of the Federal government still has unfinished business up to the present time. With the upcoming leadership turnovers in the Congress and the United States Department of Education in the next few months, there is a probability that completing this unfinished business will cause difficulties.

The K-12 policy agenda of the Federal government still has unfinished business up to the present time. With the upcoming leadership turnovers in the Congress and the United States Department of Education in the next few months, there is a probability that completing this unfinished business will cause difficulties.

With the U.S. Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, and Speaker of the House, John A. Boehner, stepping down from their positions in the next months, the transitioning of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) poses complications. The incumbent administration is faced with the challenge on how to enforce the mandates of the said education act considering that the some of the nation's competitive grants funding are thinning and becoming limited.

The situation gets tougher when the Chairman of the House Education Committee, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn, announced his plan of retiring from Congress. Rep. Kline is the author of the bill that aims to rewrite and revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  

"Certainly no one was expecting Secretary Duncan to leave at this time," according to the National Education Association's Director of Government Relations, Mary Kusler. As she desires for the renewal of the said law, she said that the resignation of another primary player presupposes that things should be immediately finalized and settled.

Kusler said that ESEA proceedings could be hastened considering the forthcoming departures of these three leaders.

The former Commissioner of Education in Kentucky, Terry Holliday, said that, John B. King Jr., the former chief of the state schools in New York who will become the acting secretary, should Duncan steps down, will be working hard with the states "to honor their work over the last several years."

The incumbent administration is working with another alternative as a response to this issue by passing the "No Child Left Behind Act", a rewritten version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. However, with respect to the concern about how this act would shape up, it remained in question.    Congress and US Department of Education: Top Leadership Turnovers Complicate Unfinished K-12 Agenda : News : ISchoolGuide:

ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party

ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party:

ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party

The lines snaking out from the Crest Theatre extended halfway down K Street, past clubs and restaurants, amused bystanders, and two light-rail platforms. It was a full hour before the Sacramento premiere of Down In The Valley, a new entry in ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, and yet the street was already aswarm with fans and local celebrities.

Barbara “Sign Lady” Rust was there with a trademark custom sign reading “Sacramento’s done it ALL, to keep NBA BASKETBALL.” Carmichael Dave, a local radio host heavily featured in the documentary, showed up rocking Kings purple. But no ESPN representatives were there to celebrate the project; Michelle Rhee was not seen; and no Kings representatives were seen basking in the glow of their team’s supposed salvation, save mascot Slamson.

ESPN announced hours before last night’s premiere that it had postponed the October 20 broadcast of Down In The Valley, citing “a renewed focus on certain issues,” by which it meant the broadening public awareness of sexual abuse allegations made against Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento, whom the film celebrates. A source told our Dave McKenna that the movie was “on the ropes.” Everyone seemed to be fleeing from the project—except Kevin Johnson. Even if this would be the only time the show would ever run, the show, if the mayor had anything to do with it, would go on.

ESPN Shelves Its Kevin Johnson Documentary

Tickets to tonight’s showcase of the documentary Down In The Valley in Sacramento, Calif., just got …Read more

Ben Sosenko, press secretary to the Sacramento mayor’s office, corralled the media together about 10 minutes before Johnson showed up. He told us, briefly, what he wanted us to ask Johnson about. This was always supposed to be a victory lap for him and the other key figures in getting Sacramento to pay a quarter of a billion dollars in public funds for a new stadium, and they wanted to keep it that way. The mayor, we were told, only wanted to talk about the contents of Down In The Valley—not the quarantine in which ESPN had placed the movie, and certainly not the consistent pattern of women accusing him of sexual abuse. It didn’t work out for them.

Kevin Johnson, when he turned up, was repeatedly asked about the abuse allegations. He evaded every hard question and threw back only ESPN Kills Kevin Johnson Propaganda Movie; Kevin Johnson Throws Himself A Party:

Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools | Vicki Cobb

Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools | Vicki Cobb:

Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools

The military long ago solved its education problem: How do you take collections of disparate individuals from all walks of life, who have never killed anyone, and turn them into cohesive, well-disciplined units of warriors? First, get the individuals who enter the program to sign up for it voluntarily. This way they have some idea of what they are getting into and they are, for the most part, at least eighteen years old and physically fit. Second, the military doesn't have a lot of time to whip recruits into shape. They've got to get the job done as efficiently as possible in seven to twelve weeks. Boot camp is designed to be challenging and tough with all contingencies for reward and punishment controlled by the military 24-7 because the recruits are living on the premises. Thus the initial tough tactics are designed to put maximum stress on the recruits--break them down emotionally so that they can be built back up to become soldiers. It is powerful and effective. Many find comfort and strength from the disciplined life imposed on them, especially if they come from unstructured, somewhat chaotic backgrounds. Soldiers take pride in whom they become precisely because they endured and overcame tough training challenges and they know, deep in their bones, what they've achieved. Some people don't make it. But that is not a problem for the military. They can go find other careers.

It seems that some charter school chains have taken a page out of the military training manuals with their harsh performance standards for a no-excuses school. One such chain is Eva Moskowitz's Success Academy in NYC. The philosophy is shape up or ship out. Diane Ravitch recently reposted an interview with teacher Emily Talmage who had worked for Success academy. Although they don't exactly follow the military manual; they used a derivative: Doug Lemov's book Teach Like A Champion, which Emily paraphrased "Teach like a robot." Children are expected to walk silently, sit quietly with hands folded, keep eyes on teachers while a monotonous lesson is parroted to them. And what if you break the rules? Suspension is the consequence for children as young as five. John Merrow, the distinguished education commentator for PBS NewsHour did a segment on this, which is eye-opening. Such draconian Military Boot Camp and No-Excuses Charter Schools | Vicki Cobb: