CORPORATE ED REFORM
Common Core and Corporate Colonization: The Big Picture | educationalchemy
Common Core and Corporate Colonization: The Big Picture | educationalchemy: Common Core and Corporate Colonization: The Big PictureI said it over three years ago and I’ll say it again. Common Core was, and is, an agenda crafted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). It was never about “communism,” or “socialism.” It was the state and federal governments serving as the delivery boys f
Senate Bill 740 prohibiting charter schools from receiving any funding for nonclassroom-based instruction unless the SBE determines its eligibility for funding
Nonclassroom-Based Determination of Funding - Administration & Support (CA Dept of Education): Senate Bill 740 prohibiting charter schools from receiving any funding for nonclassroom-based instruction unless the SBE determines its eligibility for fundingEnacted by Senate Bill 740 (PDF) (Chapter 892, Statutes of 2001, Education Code [EC] Section 47612.5 ) prohibiting charter schools from recei
Smoke screen of outside money, complex disclosure laws obscure spending in school board races | Chalkbeat
Smoke screen of outside money, complex disclosure laws obscure spending in school board races | Chalkbeat: Smoke screen of outside money, complex disclosure laws obscure spending in school board racesObservers predict total 2015 spending never will be knownGood luck if you’re trying to follow the money in Colorado’s increasingly expensive and contentious school board races.Increased involvement by
Why Philadelphia needs a 'Citizens Commission for Education' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
Why Philadelphia needs a 'Citizens Commission for Education' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Why Philadelphia needs a 'Citizens Commission for Education'We need a better mechanism for authentic public participation in the governance of the state-controlled School District of Philadelphia.Education Voters has launched a new effort calling for the creation of a “Citizens’ Commission for Educa
CURMUDGUCATION: The Charter Knives Come Out
CURMUDGUCATION: The Charter Knives Come Out: The Charter Knives Come OutThis week you may have caught this report that ran in the Columbus Dispatch and the Washington Post and the Detroit Free Press, to name a few. Turns out there's a study that shows that online charter school students learn far less than their bricks-and-mortar counterparts. Check out this mind-boggling statistic:Nationally, onl
International Test Score Comparisons and Educational Policy: A Review of the Critiques | National Education Policy Center
International Test Score Comparisons and Educational Policy: A Review of the Critiques | National Education Policy Center: International Test Score Comparisons and Educational Policy: A Review of the CritiquesStanford education professor Martin Carnoy examines four main critiques of how international tests results are used in policymaking. Of particular interest are critiques of the policy analyse
Do I hear $170 a vote? Going Once, Going Twice, Sold to the man from Greenwich - Wait What?
Do I hear $170 a vote? Going Once, Going Twice, Sold to the man from Greenwich - Wait What?: Do I hear $170 a vote? Going Once, Going Twice, Sold to the man from GreenwichHartford Courant columnist and fellow blogger Kevin Rennie has reviewed candidate Luke Bronin’s campaign finance reports and has discovered another disturbing fact.Not only is Greenwich native and political newcomer run the most
Obama regrets “taking the joy out of teaching and learning” with too much testing | I AM AN EDUCATOR
Obama regrets “taking the joy out of teaching and learning” with too much testing | I AM AN EDUCATOR: Obama regrets “taking the joy out of teaching and learning” with too much testingIn a stunning turn of events, President Obamaannounced last weekend that “unnecessary testing” is “consuming too much instructional time” and creating “undue stress for educators and students.” Rarely has a president
Blame the Victim – America’s Favorite Pastime | gadflyonthewallblog
Blame the Victim – America’s Favorite Pastime | gadflyonthewallblog: Blame the Victim – America’s Favorite PastimeI watched a little girl at school refuse to get out of her seat and get pounded by the police.I watched a teenager in his car try to zoom away from a cop and get shot deadthrough the driver’s side window.I watched all of these things and more from the safety of my cell phone. I wasn’t
This Yale Psychiatrist Knows How to Shut Down the School to Prison Pipeline: So Why is He Ignored? | Creative by Nature
This Yale Psychiatrist Knows How to Shut Down the School to Prison Pipeline: So Why is He Ignored? | Creative by Nature: This Yale Psychiatrist Knows How to Shut Down the School to Prison Pipeline: So Why is He Ignored?“You know the purpose of the school is not just to raise test scores, or to give children academic learning. The purpose of the school is to give children an experience that will he
60 minutes on Bat of Minerva | Cloaking Inequity
60 minutes on Bat of Minerva | Cloaking Inequity: 60 minutes on Bat of MinervaAristotle once said “For as the eyes of bats are to the blaze of day, so is the reason in our soul to the things which are by nature most evident of all.”Today, I’d like to share 60 minutes on the Bat of MinervaWhile I was in Minneapolis to give a keynote at the University of Minnesota (See “Lead Bravely.” How To Change
What Sort of Assessment DOES Enhance Learning? - Living in Dialogue
What Sort of Assessment DOES Enhance Learning? - Living in Dialogue: What Sort of Assessment DOES Enhance Learning?By Anthony Cody.In recent weeks we have heard President Obama talk about the value of tests – even as he acknowledges that they have become too pervasive. President Obama suggested we should have tests that “enhance instruction,” and “enhance teaching and learning.” Unfortunately, the
LAUSD: When did education become political? The Board of Education - Change The LAUSD
LAUSD: When did education become political? The Board of Education - Change The LAUSD: LAUSD: When did education become political? The Board of EducationThe seven members of the school board are elected. Do they care about education or is it politics they care about? Are they educators, parents with school age children or are they aspiring politicians?Warren Furutani and Jackie Goldberg, former sc
"The Beast Side" and "Chasin' the Gram" | John Thompson - Linkis.com
"The Beast Side" and "Chasin' the Gram" | John Thompson - Linkis.com: "The Beast Side" and "Chasin' the Gram"Being an inner city teacher, my favorite part in D. Watkins's great book, The Beast Side, is the chapter with the ironic title of "Chasin' the Gram." Watkins is a former drug dealer, so it would be easy to assume he is writing about cocaine.
New State Programs Place the Emphasis on Training High-Quality Teachers - The Atlantic
New State Programs Place the Emphasis on Training High-Quality Teachers - The Atlantic: A Renewed Focus on Training TeachersSeveral state programs take a pointed approach to ensuring all students have access to high-quality educators.Many states are ramping up their efforts to ensure student access to quality teachers, regardless of the students’ race, ethnicity, household income, or any of the ot
Foundations fund L.A. Times’ education reporting. A conflict? - The Washington Post
Foundations fund L.A. Times’ education reporting. A conflict? - The Washington Post: Foundations fund L.A. Times’ education reporting. A conflict?The Los Angeles Times announced what seemed like good news for its readers in August: a new reporting initiative that would expand the paper’s coverage of local education.“Our goal is to provide an ongoing, wide-ranging report card on K-12 education in L
Mathematica, CRPE, and CREDO Condemn Online Charter Schools in Three-Agency Report | janresseger
Mathematica, CRPE, and CREDO Condemn Online Charter Schools in Three-Agency Report | janresseger: Mathematica, CRPE, and CREDO Condemn Online Charter Schools in Three-Agency ReportYou can learn exhaustively about cyber charter schools in the National Study of Online Charter Schools, a major, three-part report released earlier this week. Significantly, although one of the think tanks presenting th
Lead With Love [Spring Valley High Is Your School Too] | The Jose Vilson
Lead With Love [Spring Valley High Is Your School Too] | The Jose Vilson: Lead With Love [Spring Valley High Is Your School Too]Today, I finally saw some of my cockamamie student groupings come to a screeching halt when some of my best students started clashing with each other over how to approach their scientific notation project. My 280 lbs frame usually settles disagreements if I’m in proximity
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Making the case against power philanthropy
Schooling in the Ownership Society: Making the case against power philanthropy: Making the case against power philanthropyJoanne Barkan is once again on the case of the new breed of muscle philanthropists who hide their obscene wealth in tax-sheltered foundations and use it to exercise unaccountable displays of power over public education and all aspects of public life. She makes the case that the
School Board Recall Vote Divides Colorado County | Al Jazeera America
School Board Recall Vote Divides Colorado County | Al Jazeera America: School board recall vote in Colorado could have national implicationsCounty election says a lot about larger political battles over educational choice, vouchers and curriculum controlPatterson International Elementary School teachers, students and parents protest a curriculum review committee proposed by the Jefferson County sc
A letter to give your principal at the beginning of the school year on testing | Seattle Education
A letter to give your principal at the beginning of the school year on testing | Seattle Education: A letter to give your principal at the beginning of the school year on testing…or any time during the school year.From the Parents Across America website:Model Parent Letter on TestingA PAA-Roanoke Valley leader Laura Bowman shared this excellent model letter prepared by her PAA chapter for parents
NYC Public School Parents: FERPA complaint from Fatima Geidi to US Dept of Education re Eva Moskowitz violation of student privacy
NYC Public School Parents: FERPA complaint from Fatima Geidi to US Dept of Education re Eva Moskowitz violation of student privacy: FERPA complaint from Fatima Geidi to US Dept of Education re Eva Moskowitz violation of student privacySince the original PBS program and the subsequent illegal disclosure of educational records by Eva Moskowitz (see our cease and desist letter), more details and inst
Malloy kicks the can so far down the road that it land’s right on our children’s heads - Wait What?
Malloy kicks the can so far down the road that it land’s right on our children’s heads - Wait What?: Malloy kicks the can so far down the road that it land’s right on our children’s headsThe voters of Connecticut need to pay special attention to Governor Dannel Malloy’s irresponsible proposal to change the way that Connecticut funds its pension program for state employees.Governor Malloy’s plan is
Death threats, big money become part of Jeffco school board recall - The Denver Post
Death threats, big money become part of Jeffco school board recall - The Denver Post:Death threats, big money become part of Jeffco school board recall Allegations of bullying, death threats part of increasingly partisan campaign in Jefferson County school board recall electionDeath threats, allegations of bullying and fake social media accounts have all become part of the contentious school board
At the Intersection of Money & Reform Part I: Teacher Compensation | School Finance 101
At the Intersection of Money & Reform Part I: Teacher Compensation | School Finance 101: At the Intersection of Money & Reform Part I: Teacher CompensationPondering Chartering: Balancing PortfoliosOctober 30, 20150The blogging has been quiet for a while. This is partly because I feel like most issues that arise have already been dealt with somewhere on this blog. Also because I’ve been inv
Schools Matter: Asshat!
Schools Matter: Asshat!: Asshat!When she reminded us the other day of Arne Duncan's spin after the 2013 bump in NAEP scores and after the 2015 dip in NAEP scores, Valerie Strauss captured for us what blatant ideology can breed in the ethically septic mouth of a fool:. . . . reformers who have touted NAEP score increases in the past as evidence of success are now trying to spin the newest results
55 kids in a class? Typical at some Oregon online schools | OregonLive.com
55 kids in a class? Typical at some Oregon online schools | OregonLive.com: 55 kids in a class? Typical at some Oregon online schoolsClasses at Oregon's two huge online public schools, Oregon Connections Academy and Oregon Virtual Academy, routinely include 55 students or more, the state reported Thursday.No brick-and-mortar schools packed that many students into any math, English or science class
What If Every High School Had A 'Justice Program' Instead Of A Cop? : NPR Ed : NPR
What If Every High School Had A 'Justice Program' Instead Of A Cop? : NPR Ed : NPR: What If Every High School Had A 'Justice Program' Instead Of A Cop?This week's viral videos of a Columbia, S.C. deputy's push-the-chair-over-and-drag-the-student arrest of a 16-year-old high school girl in her classroom has refocused attention on the expanding role of police in schools, "zero tolerance" d
Education Reform’s Very Bad Week
10/29/2015 – Education Reform’s Very Bad Week: Education Reform’s Very Bad WeekOctober 29, 2015 SubscribeTHIS WEEK: Now Who’s Making Excuses … Capping Tests Won’t Help … School-To-Prison Pipeline … Online Charters Stink … Deaths From High School FootballTOP STORYEducation Reform’s Very Bad, God-Awful WeekBy Jeff Bryant“Because of all the big money behind current education policies, it’s difficult
Florida teacher's 'deeply personal' resignation letter goes viral
Florida teacher's 'deeply personal' resignation letter goes viral: Florida teacher's 'deeply personal' resignation letter goes viralThere's been more than a little talk about our education system lately; parents and teachers alike are frustrated over the test-focused curriculum they're asked to put kids through. Former Polk County Florida teacher Wendy Bradshaw is finished with the system and isn'
Obama administration weighs in on transgender bathroom debate - Yahoo News
Obama administration weighs in on transgender bathroom debate - Yahoo News: Obama administration weighs in on transgender bathroom debateThe US Department of Education and the Department of Justice issued a joint statement in a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a student suing for the right to use the boys' restroom.Schools that prevent transgender students from using restrooms for the gende
Damning Report Shows How Charter Schools Dump Struggling Students: Gothamist
Damning Report Shows How Charter Schools Dump Struggling Students: Gothamist: Damning Report Shows How Charter Schools Dump Struggling StudentsParents like charter schools because they are intensely student-focused. Hedge fund managerslike charter schools because they provide a model for private education that is publicly funded. Governor Cuomo likes charter schools because hedge fund managers lik
Education reformer fired for suggesting radical change
Education reformer fired for suggesting radical change: Jacques: Reformer fired for suggesting radical changeGreg Harris, the state director of StudentsFirst in Ohio, decided to weigh in on the Detroit school reform debate. And now he’s the former state director.Harris got fired for a guest piece he wrote for The Detroit News last Friday. Apparently, he hadn’t received permission from his counterp
Who's Behind Friedrichs? The right-wing one-percenters who are funding a mega-attack on unions
Who's Behind Friedrichs?:Who's Behind Friedrichs?The right-wing one-percenters who are funding a mega-attack on unionsAs the current term of the U.S. Supreme Court opens this autumn, looming on the docket is Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, a case designed to decimate public-sector unions. While it may not come to that—even the most knowledgeable Court-watchers are unsure how the jus
Jindal and the Core: Louisiana snubs the Manchurian Candidate | The Lens
Jindal and the Core: Louisiana snubs the Manchurian Candidate | The Lens: Jindal and the Core: Louisiana snubs the Manchurian CandidateDiane Ravitch, the high-profile New York academic and blogger, is probably the punditocracy’s most relentless opponent of what’s been happening in public education here since Katrina. Charter schools and the choices they provide families, high-stakes testing to ass
YESTERDAY
Saving Students From A Shattered System: Debates and the standardized test.
Saving Students From A Shattered System: Debates and the standardized test.: Debates and the standardized test.On and on ad nauseam candidates are spewing out their one liners trying to get the most points on the debates. Like standardized tests, they are a national disgrace. They depend on simple answers to complex questions forcing the simple minded in the viewing audience to cheer or boo over
Federal monitor finds phony records used to lie about special ed progress in Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger
Federal monitor finds phony records used to lie about special ed progress in Newark | Bob Braun's Ledger: Federal monitor finds phony records used to lie about special ed progress in NewarkThere are no words…Employees of the state-run administration of the Newark schools may have tampered with documents essential for determining whether the state-operated district is complying with a federal court
R-E-S-P-E-C-T | The Crunk Feminist Collective
R-E-S-P-E-C-T | The Crunk Feminist Collective: R-E-S-P-E-C-T“What do you think I want, respect or compliance?”This was the question I posed my class this week, after I asked them to define the terms. For compliance they yelled out things like “following orders” and “obedience.” They defined “respect” as “valuing the thoughts of others” “being loyal,” and so on.I asked them to define respect versus
Thinking about Darrell Steinberg and Angelique Ashby in a post-K.J. Sacramento
Sacramento News & Review - Thinking about Darrell Steinberg and Angelique Ashby in a post-K.J. Sacramento - Essay - Opinions - October 29, 2015: Thinking about Darrell Steinberg and Angelique Ashby in a post-K.J. SacramentoCosmo Garvin pushes aside the Steinberg buzz to ask some real questions about the candidateReally? It was the video that did it for you? The transcripts, that whole, “Again,
2016-20: The Waltons Set Out to Promote “Choice Ecosystems” | deutsch29
2016-20: The Waltons Set Out to Promote “Choice Ecosystems” | deutsch29: 2016-20: The Waltons Set Out to Promote “Choice Ecosystems”In September 2015, Jim and Alice Walton contributed a combined $400,000 to a Louisiana PAC in order to influence the October 2015 Louisiana state board of education election.The Waltons have an eye on Louisiana, and it has to do with school choice in New Orleans. As o
CURMUDGUCATION: The Only Good Standardized Test
CURMUDGUCATION: The Only Good Standardized Test: The Only Good Standardized TestAs testing has risen once again to the surface of the ed policy soup, I have found myself in versions of the same conversation, because people who like the idea of standardized testing really like the idea of standardized testing, and because I said the number of necessary standardized rests is zero.Jennifer Borgioli
New Testing Makes No Sense - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice
New Testing Makes No Sense - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: New Testing Makes No SenseTwo “Super Supers” came to Idaho to bring us their wisdom. It is always good to listen to the voices of experience; it helps clarify things. It certainly threw light on some issues for me.Dr. David P. Driscoll (MA) and Dr. Eric Smith (FL) were brought to Idaho by the Albertson Foundation, which has been fina
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Follow-Ups and Did You Know?
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Follow-Ups and Did You Know?: Follow-Ups and Did You Know?Did you know that the district has rank ordered programs/support activities in district buildings? The reasoning is two-fold - for enactment of 1351 for smaller class sizes in K-3 and the growth in Seattle Schools. Here's the list from a letter that Flip Herndon sent on Oct. 13, 2015 to "Seattle Publi
Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/29/15
CORPORATE ED REFORMPAA responds to President Obama’s letter on testing | Parents Across AmericaPAA responds to President Obama’s letter on testing | Parents Across America: PAA responds to President Obama’s letter on testingOn Monday, President Obama published an open letter to parents and teachers about testing.The letter introduced his administration’s new Testing Action Plan which is supposed t
(PDF) (Chapter 892, Statutes of 2001, 
