Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/25/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan Horse | Save Maine Schools

Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan Horse | Save Maine Schools: Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan HorseFour years ago, Tom Vander Ark (former executive at the Gates Foundation, current partner at Learn Capital) wrote in an email exchangewith members of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and the Council for Chief State School Officers: “New tests will hinde

by mike simpson / 3min 

Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy | Reclaim Reform

Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy | Reclaim Reform: Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy(From a dear friend and fellow retired teacher)Dear Friends,I just wanted you all to know how [IL Gov. Bruce] Rauner’s unconstitutional act of not providing a signed budget has affected me at my most vulnerable.   As you all know, my cancer returned this past summer and I am force

by mike simpson / 2h 

President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored - Living in Dialogue

President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored - Living in Dialogue: President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored By Anthony Cody.Yesterday President Obama surprised us all by once again speaking out against standardized tests. In his speech, he spoke of the true role of education, to uplift and inspire. He said,When I look back on th

by mike simpson / 3h 

WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT - Perdaily.com

WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT - Perdaily.com: WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT(Mensaje se repite en Español)While I'm probably the last person in the world the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) entrenched and purposefully dysfunction leadership would like to have take them up on their clearly disengenuous offer to help them find a new superi

by mike simpson / 4h 

Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget buster | Tampa Bay Times

Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget buster | Tampa Bay Times: Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget busterTAMPA — The iconic photograph from 2009 shows Hillsborough County School Board members in happier times, holding hands with superintendent MaryEllen Elia to celebrate a $100 million gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

by mike simpson / 4h 

Fact Sheet: Testing Action Plan | U.S. Department of Education

Fact Sheet: Testing Action Plan | U.S. Department of Education: Fact Sheet: Testing Action PlanOne essential part of educating students successfully is assessing their progress in learning to high standards. Done well and thoughtfully, assessments are tools for learning and promoting equity. They provide necessary information for educators, families, the public, and students themselves to measure

by mike simpson / 4h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Get that Ballot In!

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Get that Ballot In!: Get that Ballot In!From Sol's Civic Minute on elections:First of all, mail in your ballot by next Tuesday, November 3rd! Here are some helpful links: FUSE Washington's Progressive Voters Guide. The Stranger's profanity-laced endorsements.Seattlish's gif-laced "Guide to Your Ballot".Seattle Weekly's thumbnail sketches of each race.Publ

by mike simpson / 4h 

How Should Educators Respond to the Obama Administration's Concession on Test and Punish? | John Thompson

How Should Educators Respond to the Obama Administration's Concession on Test and Punish? | John Thompson: How Should Educators Respond to the Obama Administration's Concession on Test and Punish?The outgoing secretary of education, Arne Duncan, now admits, "I can't tell you how many conversations I'm in with educators who are understandably stressed and concerned about an overemphasis on tes

by mike simpson / 5h 

What Arnie Duncan's Resignation Really Implies (Guest Post by Daniel Kwet) - Wait What?

What Arnie Duncan's Resignation Really Implies (Guest Post by Daniel Kwet) - Wait What?: What Arnie Duncan’s Resignation Really Implies (Guest Post by Daniel Kwet)Daniel Kwet is a Connecticut educator on the front lines of the effort to provide Connecticut’s urban children with the education they deserve.  In a school system under-funded by both the State of Connecticut and the local community, Da

by mike simpson / 5h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Sue Peters Community Meeting

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Sue Peters Community Meeting: Sue Peters Community MeetingI attended this meeting yesterday, along with at least 60 parents (plus School Board candidate Leslie Harris).  Director Peters did a superlative job in handling the crowd.There were two topics; bell times and the QAE issue. Bell Times- There is still mistrust over the idea that there can't be just two tiers

by mike simpson / 5h 

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: USED's Latest Nonsense

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: USED's Latest Nonsense: USED's Latest NonsenseThe statement on testing was embargoed and held until 12pm on a Saturday. What's with that? The US is out picking out pumpkins and Halloween costumes so let's release it then and maybe no one will notice? Well, of course, we noticed. We also noticed that major news outlets like the New York Times wrote an enti

by mike simpson / 6h 

Manufacturing the Illusion of Democracy – Chris Hedges | Creative by Nature

Manufacturing the Illusion of Democracy – Chris Hedges | Creative by Nature: Manufacturing the Illusion of Democracy – Chris Hedges“We’ve bought into the idea that education is about training and “success,” defined monetarily, rather than learning to think critically and to challenge. We should not forget that the true purpose of education is to make minds, not careers.The words consent of the gov

by mike simpson / 6h 

Marie Corfield: @DmitriMehlhorn who's really being uncivil in the ed 'reform' debate?

Marie Corfield: @DmitriMehlhorn who's really being uncivil in the ed 'reform' debate?: @DmitriMehlhorn who's really being uncivil in the ed 'reform' debate?Venus, Jupiter and Mars weren't the only planets aligning in the sky this month. For the past couple of weeks, Jersey Jazzman has been engaged in a debate on the merits of charter schools with Dmitri Mehlhorn, venture capitalist, education 'ref

by mike simpson / 6h 

Oh what a tangled web we weave…. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

Oh what a tangled web we weave…. | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing: Oh what a tangled web we weave….This just in from President Obama:I hear from parents who rightly worry about too much testing, and from teachers who feel so much pressure to teach to a test that it takes the joy out of teaching and learning both for them and for the students. I want to fix that.The President has made clear he

by mike simpson / 7h 

Special ed teacher quits: ‘I just cannot justify making students cry anymore’ - The Washington Post

Special ed teacher quits: ‘I just cannot justify making students cry anymore’ - The Washington Post: Special ed teacher quits: ‘I just cannot justify making students cry anymore’Wendy Bradshaw is a mother and a teacher in Florida’s Polk County who specializes in working with children — infants through fifth grade — living with disabilities to help improve their educational and life experiences. Sh

by mike simpson / 7h 

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Never Send a Human to do a Machine’s Job: Top 5 Mistakes in Ed Tech

Education in the Age of Globalization » Blog Archive » Never Send a Human to do a Machine’s Job: Top 5 Mistakes in Ed Tech: Never Send a Human to do a Machine’s Job: Top 5 Mistakes in Ed TechNever Send a Human to do a Machine’s Job: Top 5 Mistakes in Ed Tech[1]First published in the Answer Sheet of Washington Post on October 6 2015A few weeks ago, the OECD released a report[2] that essentially say

by mike simpson / 7h 

Reading Between the Lines: Obama's Testing Action Plan - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform

Reading Between the Lines: Obama's Testing Action Plan - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform: Reading Between the Lines: Obama’s Testing Action PlanThe following post is written by Morna McDermott and was first shared at Education Alchemy.Reading Between The LinesIs Obama’s Testing Action Plan, like Fruit Loops, part of a nutritious breakfast? Don’t believe the hype.This

by mike simpson / 7h 

Religion reads: Can teaching religion in public schools improve society? | OregonLive.com

Religion reads: Can teaching religion in public schools improve society? | OregonLive.com: Religion reads: Can teaching religion in public schools improve society?Good morning! "Religion reads" is a series of roundups where I share interesting religion stories I read during the week. I hope you'll use the comments section to share articles about faith and values you found particularly in

by mike simpson / 8h 

Dear USDOE, Testing Disaster Is Yours, and You Still Don’t Get It: A Reader | the becoming radical

Dear USDOE, Testing Disaster Is Yours, and You Still Don’t Get It: A Reader | the becoming radical: Dear USDOE, Testing Disaster Is Yours, and You Still Don’t Get It: A ReaderLet’s not miss that in the same week that vice president (and plagiarist) Joe Biden holds a press conference to announce what he plans not to do (o, the narcissism of the ruling class!), the U.S. Department of Education has c

by mike simpson / 8h 

The new anti-testing police | @ THE CHALKFACE

The new anti-testing police | @ THE CHALKFACE: The new anti-testing policeI am awash in analysis of the Obama administration’s walk-back of testing. See, from the NYT.This is a somewhat hopeful shift in focus for an administration that has exponentially increased the amount of testing in the last several years. But this increase in testing would not have occurred unless this administration did not

by mike simpson / 8h 

Louisiana Educator: The Louisiana Purchase of BESE Continues

Louisiana Educator: The Louisiana Purchase of BESE Continues: The Louisiana Purchase of BESE ContinuesIt was a huge waste of billionaire money, and it could have been much better used if it had simply been donated to better fund schools that serve the most at-risk students. But instead it was used to perpetrate the strangle hold of the privatizers on the Louisiana State Board of Education. What a

by mike simpson / 8h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Obama's Testing Action Plan Sucks (And Changes Nothing)

CURMUDGUCATION: Obama's Testing Action Plan Sucks (And Changes Nothing): Obama's Testing Action Plan Sucks (And Changes Nothing)As I noted yesterday, the administrative announcement of "Wow, this testing things sure is out of control. We should do something." is absolutely nothing new-- we went through the exact same exercise last year. I know I have readers who don't care for the snark

by mike simpson / 8h 

Food Trucks Are Making Healthy School Lunches a Little More Appealing - The Atlantic

Food Trucks Are Making Healthy School Lunches a Little More Appealing - The Atlantic: How Food Trucks Are Making School Lunch CoolThe same fruits and veggies, coming from a food truck, just seems to be a little more appealing.Getting high-school students to embrace healthy eating is an age-old battle. And when it comes to lunch, many eschew their school cafeteria in favor of eating off-campus, whe

by mike simpson / 8h 

Teachers Respond: Veteran Teachers Cry In Their Cars Too : NPR Ed : NPR

Teachers Respond: Veteran Teachers Cry In Their Cars Too : NPR Ed : NPR: Teachers Respond: Veteran Teachers Cry In Their Cars TooOne in 10 teachers will quit by the end of their first year — getting through October and November: especially tough. Having someone to support you along the way can help.Turns out there's a toolkit to help — as we wrote about this week. Thousands chimed in on Facebook,

by mike simpson / 8h 

The Billionaires Bought BESE in 2015, But They Didn’t Buy Edwards | deutsch29

The Billionaires Bought BESE in 2015, But They Didn’t Buy Edwards | deutsch29: The Billionaires Bought BESE in 2015, But They Didn’t Buy EdwardsThe Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) race has been bought again.Here are the results:District 1: James Garvey (71%); Lee Barrios (29%)District 2: Kira Orange-Jones (69%); Kara Washington (31%)District 3: Sandy Holloway (61%); Lo

by mike simpson / 8h 

Teaching Democracy: A Hands-On Exercise (Tara Kini) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Teaching Democracy: A Hands-On Exercise (Tara Kini) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: Teaching Democracy: A Hands-On Exercise (Tara Kini)This post is by Tara Kini, senior policy analyst at the Learning Policy Institute. It appeared in Education Week September 28, 2015.*I had the privilege of teaching history and civics to 61 8th graders in San Francisco this past year. Our sch

by mike simpson / 8h 

With A Brooklyn Accent: Why Teachers are Fair Game for Ruthless Politicians and School Officials

With A Brooklyn Accent: Why Teachers are Fair Game for Ruthless Politicians and School Officials: Why Teachers are Fair Game for Ruthless Politicians and School OfficialsI just had an epiphany. The reason school administrators have license to, and indeed can be ordered, to abuse teachers beyond acceptable limits is..... because they can!The economy has so few jobs that provide decent incomes, job

by mike simpson / 8h 

In Newark, charter schools beef up for political fight | Moran | NJ.com

In Newark, charter schools beef up for political fight | Moran | NJ.com: In Newark, charter schools beef up for political fight | MoranThe failure of urban schools, we are often told, can be traced to the apathy of urban parents when it comes to their children's success in the classroom.It seems that in Newark, no one got that memo.Because about 400 parents and their children crammed into the city

by mike simpson / 9h 

Alan J. Borsuk - 25 years into Milwaukee's voucher schools, lessons for Wisconsin

Alan J. Borsuk - 25 years into Milwaukee's voucher schools, lessons for Wisconsin: 25 years into Milwaukee's voucher schools, lessons for WisconsinLiterally hundreds of schools.Those are four important words, because they come from Jim Bender, president of School Choice Wisconsin, the advocacy group for programs that offer publicly funded vouchers to students to attend private schools in Wisconsin

by mike simpson / 9h 

Hillary Clinton Endorses Obama's Reductions In School Testing Wrought By No Child Left Behind, Education Law She Voted For

Hillary Clinton Endorses Obama's Reductions In School Testing Wrought By No Child Left Behind, Education Law She Voted For: Hillary Clinton Endorses Obama's Reductions In School Testing Wrought By No Child Left Behind, Education Law She Voted ForDemocratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Saturday she supports the Obama administration's efforts to reduce unnecessary standardized testing

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Commentary on Mathematica’s “First Study of Its Kind” of PARCC | deutsch29

Commentary on Mathematica’s “First Study of Its Kind” of PARCC | deutsch29: Commentary on Mathematica’s “First Study of Its Kind” of PARCCOn October 05, 2015, Mathematica published a study comparing the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers.In this post, I comment on a number of details related to the Mathematica

by mike simpson / 19h 

Schools Matter: Beware the Corporate Media Spin on the Obama Adminstration's Change of Course on Standardized Testing

Schools Matter: Beware the Corporate Media Spin on the Obama Adminstration's Change of Course on Standardized Testing: Beware the Corporate Media Spin on the Obama Adminstration's Change of Course on Standardized TestingOn October 24, 2015 the Obama administration announced a shift of its education policy when it announced a change in the Department of Education’s position on standardized testing.

by mike simpson / 19h 

Department of Education SorryNotSorry About High Stakes Testing | gadflyonthewallblog

Department of Education SorryNotSorry About High Stakes Testing | gadflyonthewallblog: Department of Education SorryNotSorry About High Stakes TestingThe Obama Administration must think the nation’s parents, teachers and students are pretty darn dumb.President Barack Obama and his hand-picked Department of Education are solely responsible for the knuckle dragging academic policies strangling our p

by mike simpson / 19h 

144 Schools ON ELI"S HIT LIST _ New York State Education Department

New York State Education Department: Commissioner Elia Identifies 144 Struggling and Persistently Struggling Schools to Begin Implementation of School Receivership in New York StateState Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia announced today that the Department has identified 144 schools in 17 school districts as Struggling Schools or Persistently Struggling Schools.  Of the schools identified, 124

by mike simpson / 22h 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LAUSD INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL REVIEW PANEL: The Board Informative and Meeting Materials

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: LAUSD INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL REVIEW PANEL: The Board Informative and Meeting Materials: 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit http://bit.ly/1MiBlldLAUSD INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL REVIEW PANEL: The Board Informative and Meeting MaterialsLAUSD Independent Financial Review Panel - Meeting Materials as of 23 Oct 2015(260 pages) 4LAKids - some of the news t

by mike simpson / 23h hide  //  save

We Are Being Played (So Fight On!) | Save Maine Schools

We Are Being Played (So Fight On!) | Save Maine Schools: We Are Being Played (So Fight On!)Really, really hate to be a Negative Nancy.Hopefully, in a few months time, anyone who likes will able to say, “Look, Emily, you were wrong about all this testing stuff,” and I will gladly – gladly – eat my words.But… I think we are being played.I think that what we heard from the White House today about lim

by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/24/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMPeg with Pen: No VictoryPeg with Pen: No Victory: No VictoryThere is no victory here. Obama's administration suddenly does not care about our children. King doesn't suddenly care either. These folks and their corporate cronies have been pummeling our public schools for how many years now and suddenly - now suddenly - they are listening and here to save the day? NO. As Morna McDe

by mike simpson / 1d

Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan Horse | Save Maine Schools

Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan Horse | Save Maine Schools:

Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan Horse

Four years ago, Tom Vander Ark (former executive at the Gates Foundation, current partner at Learn Capital) wrote in an email exchangewith members of the Foundation for Excellence in Education and the Council for Chief State School Officers:

 “New tests will hinder rather than help competency-based models…In short, I don’t want one big cheap end of year test used for more than it should be…I don’t want it to lock in the teacher-centric age cohort model for another decade. I don’t want simple assessments…I want a system that will incorporate all the performance feedback that students will be receiving a few years from now.”

Mr. Vander Ark, who is also a board member of a group called Global Education Futures, which recently put out this document that calls for turning “live education” into a “premium service” and advocates for the development of “competence profile(s)…that would record current state and development of individual’s knowledge & skills across different domains of professional & social life, and would accompany individuals throughout their life,” appears to have had a hand in the “Testing Action Plan” that was released by the White House this weekend.

According to the White House document, “A set-aside of $25 million would support competitive projects to help states develop innovative, new assessment models and address pressing needs they have identified for developing and implementing their assessments. This could includecompetency-based assessment.”

“The Administration will invite states that wish to request waivers of federal rules that stand in the way of innovative approaches to testing to work with the Department to promote high-quality, comparable, statewide measures. For Suspicions Confirmed: Testing Action Plan is Trojan Horse | Save Maine Schools:

Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy | Reclaim Reform

Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy | Reclaim Reform:

Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy

(From a dear friend and fellow retired teacher)

Dear Friends,

I just wanted you all to know how [IL Gov. Bruce] Rauner’s unconstitutional act of not providing a signed budget has affected me at my most vulnerable.   As you all know, my cancer returned this past summer and I am forced to undergo more chemotherapy which is an exhausting ordeal.  I was informed this week that my doctor could no longer treat me, despite my paying my premiums and Cigna approving 100% payment the State of Illinois could no longer make payments and has informed my doctor’s office that it would take over a year to process his invoices.  I will now have to drive 37 miles one way for treatment at Rush University which is still accepting my insurance.  With winter approaching and the exhaustion following the treatments, I will have to once again impose on friends or The American Cancer Society to get me to Chicago and back home again.

Something needs to be done about a governor holding the legislature and 

Retired Teachers: Collateral Damage – chemotherapy | Reclaim Reform:

President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored - Living in Dialogue

President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored - Living in Dialogue:

President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored 

By Anthony Cody.

Yesterday President Obama surprised us all by once again speaking out against standardized tests. In his speech, he spoke of the true role of education, to uplift and inspire. He said,

When I look back on the great teachers who shaped my life, what I remember isn’t the way they prepared me to take a standardized test. What I remember is the way they taught me to believe in myself, to be curious about the world, to take charge of my own learning so that I could reach my full potential. To inspire me. To open up a window into parts of the world that I had never thought of before. That’s what good teaching is. That’s what a great education is.

He offered three principles that tests ought to fulfill in order to be worthwhile.

First, our kids should only take tests that are worth taking. Tests that are high quality, aimed at good instruction, and make sure everybody’s on track.

Second, tests shouldn’t occupy too much classroom time. Or crowd out teaching and learning. Tests should enhance teaching and learning.

And third, tests should be just one source of information, used alongside classroom work, and surveys, and other factors, to give us an all around look at how our students and our schools are doing.

Sadly, there is very little connection between the inspirational view of education offered in his opening, the three principles he provides, and the policies his administration has created.

There has yet to be a standardized test that has proven itself to be “aimed at good instruction.” These tests President Obama (Again) Blasts All the Tests His Administration Has Sponsored - Living in Dialogue:

WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT - Perdaily.com

WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT - Perdaily.com:

WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

While I'm probably the last person in the world the Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) entrenched and purposefully dysfunction leadership would like to have take them up on their clearly disengenuous offer to help them find a new superintendent to replace the habitually retiring and morally challenged Ramon Cortines, I will push on nonetheless and let you the reader determine if what I propose makes more sense than what they have been doing purposefully wrong for generations.

For a long time the purpose of LAUSD has not been to educate students, but rather function exclusively to serve the financial and political interests of its corporate vendor population that would actually be threatened if those exiting public education in the 12th grade had enough mastery of K-12 academic standards like math and English to question why LAUSD pays significantly over fair market value for almost all goods and services it receives (see Belmont and Ambassador Hotel school construction contracts for starters). Take note of the inherent conflicts of interest that always permeate all LAUSD contract negotiations- even this process of superintendent selection- that never are questioned by any local, state, or federal regulatory agency. Why is that?

This is all the more offensive to the fundamental public interest to see children educated, since the exclusive rationale for the very existence of a dysfunctional behemoth like LAUSD- the second largest public school district in the country- is what is called the economics of scale. An enormous entity with the buying power of LAUSD should pay far less than anybody else, but winds up in this dytopic reality always paying more for virtually everything it uses, with the noteable except of teachers, which it continues to drive from the profession- those with the most seniority are first to go- while discouraging idealistic young people from ever considering teaching in the first place.

Key to changing LAUSD for the better is challenging an incestuous process where the primary requirement for ever being considered for the post of superintendent is ensuring LAUSD's entrenched bureaucracy- and the greedy corporate interests that keep them in power- you will never challenge the clearly illegal feeding frenzy that continues to go on at LAUSD at taxpayer expense.

In examining just one qualification for being considered superintendent, it should become perfectly clear that those who presently pick the superintendent have no intention of having a superintendent who could ever have the skill set to challenge the corporate interests that continue to predominate over critical education priorities. Why is having been a teacher with no business or legal background a prerequisite for being chosen to run a multi-billion dollar public education business entity like LAUSD? This clearly makes no sense, since this only assures that the WHY LENNY ISENBERG WILL NEVER BE LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT - Perdaily.com:

Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget buster | Tampa Bay Times

Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget buster | Tampa Bay Times:

Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget buster

TAMPA — The iconic photograph from 2009 shows Hillsborough County School Board members in happier times, holding hands with superintendent MaryEllen Elia to celebrate a $100 million gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The partnership would reform the way teachers were evaluated and paid. Its goal would be to make school better for children — especially poor and minority children. The Gates name would put Hillsborough on the map, and make its superintendent an education superstar.

Six years later, Elia is gone and there is more hand-wringing than hand-holding as the nation's eighth-largest district comes to grips with an experiment that left it in financial disarray.

A review by the Tampa Bay Times has found that:

• The Gates-funded program — which required Hillsborough to raise its own $100 million — ballooned beyond the district's ability to afford it, creating a new bureaucracy of mentors and "peer evaluators" who don't work with students.

• Nearly 3,000 employees got one-year raises of more than $8,000. Some were as high as $15,000, or 25 percent.

• Raises went to a wider group than envisioned, including close to 500 people who don't work in the classroom full time, if at all.

• The greatest share of large raises went to veteran teachers in stable suburban schools, despite the program's stated goal of channeling better and better-paid teachers into high-needs schools.

• More than $23 million of the Gates money went to consultants.

• The program's total cost has risen from $202 million to $271 million when related projects are factored in, with some of the money coming from private foundations in addition to Gates. The district's share now comes to $124 million.

• Millions of dollars were pledged to parts of the program that educators now doubt. After investing in an elaborate system of peer evaluations to improve teaching, district leaders are considering a retreat from that model. And Gates is withholding $20 million after deciding it does not, after all, favor the idea of teacher performance bonuses — a major change in philosophy.

• The end product — results in the classroom — is a mixed bag.

Hillsborough's graduation rate still lags behind other large school districts. Racial and economic achievement gaps remain pronounced, especially in middle school.

And poor schools still wind up with the newest, greenest teachers.

• • •

Since news broke that the foundation is holding back the last $20 million, critics of the reform movement Sticker shock: How Hillsborough County's Gates grant became a budget buster | Tampa Bay Times: