Groundbreaking Approach to English Learners - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education)

Groundbreaking Approach to English Learners - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Next Step in Implementing Groundbreaking Approach to Teaching English Learners

SACRAMENTO— State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that California has taken the next step in implementing its groundbreaking approach to teaching English learners.

On Wednesday, the State Board of Education voted to approve instructional materials for kindergarten through grade eight that are aligned to the California Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in Science, History-Social Studies and Technical Subjects, that were based on the Common Core, and the California English Language Development Standards.

California is the first state to integrate English language arts/literacy (ELA) and English Language Development (ELD), which helps English learners by making their language development a core part of the curriculum and not a separate, isolated part of the school day.

"This is a big step because these instructional materials can help teachers develop the language skills of English learners throughout the school day," said Torlakson. "I'm proud California is a leader in this area.  We will continue to welcome all students to our classrooms and work with them to inspire learning. The one-quarter of our students who are English learners are an asset to our state and will continue to foster growth for all of us."

Of the 27 instructional materials programs submitted for consideration from 10 publishers, the State Board of Education approved 25. Reviewing the materials were nearly 200 educators and the Instructional Quality Commission. Among the 25 adopted programs, 17 were basic grade-level programs, and eight were intervention programs.

Local school districts may now begin their own process of reviewing the materials to determine which of the adopted programs best meet the needs of their students. With such a wide variety of choices, including a number of technology-based programs, districts have greater flexibility when designing and implementing a curriculum that will help their students achieve academically.

The adopted programs are on display for public review at Learning Resources Display Centers across the state. For more information about the 2015 ELA/ELD Adoption process, visit the California Department of Education English Language Arts Instructional Materials Web page.

# # # #

Attachment

2015 ELA/ELD Instructional Materials Adoption

Program 1 Basic ELA

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
Amplify Education, Inc.	Amplify ELA: California Edition	6–8
EMC Publishing, LLC	Mirrors & Windows: Connecting with Literature	6–8
McGraw-Hill School Education	Reading Wonders	K–6
McGraw-Hill School Education	StudySync	6–8
Pearson Education, Inc., p.a. Scott Foresman and Prentice Hall	CA Pearson System of Courses	K–8
The College Board – SpringBoard	SpringBoard, English Language Arts	7–8

Program 2 Basic ELA/ELD

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
Amplify Education, Inc.	Amplify ELA: California Edition and Amplify ELD: California Edition	6–8
Benchmark Education Company	Benchmark Advance	K–6
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt California Journeys ©2017	K–5
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt California Journeys-Collections ©2017	6–8
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt California Collections ©2017	6–8
McGraw-Hill School Education	Reading Wonders	K–6
McGraw-Hill School Education	StudySync	6–8
National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning	Reach for Reading	K–6
The College Board – SpringBoard	SpringBoard, English Language Arts & English Language Development	7–8

Program 3 Basic Biliteracy

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
Benchmark Education Company	Benchmark Adelante	K–6
McGraw-Hill School Education	Lectura Maravillas	K–6

Program 4 Intensive Intervention

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
McGraw-Hill School Education	FLEX Literacy	4–8
National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning	Inside	4–8
Pearson Education, Inc., p.a. Scott Foresman and Prentice Hall	CA Pearson iLit	4–8
Scholastic Inc.	California Read 180 Universal System	4–8
Voyager Sopris Learning, Inc.	LANGUAGE! Live California	4–8

Program 5 Specialized ELD

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt California Escalate English ©2017	4–8
Pearson Education, Inc., p.a. Scott Foresman and Prentice Hall.	CA Pearson iLit ELL	4–8
Scholastic Inc.	California English 3D Course A and Course I System	4–8

These Programs Are Not Adopted

Program 1 Basic ELA

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
Amplify Education, Inc.	Core Knowledge Language Arts California Edition (CKLA CA)	K–5
The College Board – SpringBoard	SpringBoard, English Language Arts	6

Program 2 Basic ELA/ELD

Publisher	Program Title	Grade Level(s)
Amplify Education, Inc.	Core Knowledge Language Arts with Language Studio: California Edition (CKLA/LS CA)	K–5
The College Board – SpringBoard	SpringBoard, English Language Arts & English Language Development	6

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Last Reviewed: Thursday, November 5, 2015

Groundbreaking Approach to English Learners - Year 2015 (CA Dept of Education):

Study: Black Students—Not Crime—Determine If Schools Get Security

Study: Black Students—Not Crime—Determine If Schools Get Security:

Study: Black Students—Not Crime—Determine If Schools Get Security

With the viral video of a police officer violently arresting a black female student at high school in South Carolina reinvigorating the debate over school resource officers, new research bolsterscritics' claims that school security can have a negative effect on students, particularly African Americans.

The new study by two academics in New York showed that the mere presence of African American students at a school makes it more likely the school will take on security measures, even when controlling for neighborhood crime and school misconduct.

The study also found, among other things, greater racial disparities in student suspensions and arrests in schools where there are cops present or other security measures are taken. Those arrest and suspensions are believed to contribute to the so-called "school-to-prison pipeline."

“To the extent that police in schools may contribute to the disproportionate arrest of African-American students, the use and/or role of police in schools should require careful reexamination,” an overview of the study provided to TPM said.

The study was conducted by Tim Servoss, a professor of pyschology at Canisius College in New York, and Jeremy Finn, a professor of education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The results of the study are scheduled to be presented in full at April’s American Educational Research Association conference in Washington, DC.

Servoss and Finn relied on a sample of about 700 high schools, drawing from the data of three national surveys. Three-quarters of those schools employed at least one part-time police officer. Fifty-seven percent of the schools with an officer present had no student arrests, a point Servoss Study: Black Students—Not Crime—Determine If Schools Get Security:

Stockholm Syndrome – The Only Reason Any Teachers Still Support Common Core | gadflyonthewallblog

Stockholm Syndrome – The Only Reason Any Teachers Still Support Common Core | gadflyonthewallblog:

Stockholm Syndrome – The Only Reason Any Teachers Still Support Common Core

Common Core is dying a well-deserved death.

The very idea that we need the same academic standards in public schools from coast-to-coast is unpopular, expensive, ineffective and politically suicidal.

The Wall Street Journal reports at least $7 billion taxpayer dollars have been wasted implementing this plan, and it would cost significantly more to finish the job.

“Five years into the biggest transformation of U.S. public education in recent history, Common Core is far from common. Though 45 states initially adopted the shared academic standards in English and math, seven have since repealed or amended them. Among the remaining 38, big disparities remain in what and how students are taught, the materials and technology they use, the preparation of teachers and the tests they are given. A dozen more states are considering revising or abandoning Common Core.”

Meanwhile public support drops precipitously with each passing year. Less than half of all Americans – 49% – and only 40% of teachers now favor the policy. That’s a drop Stockholm Syndrome – The Only Reason Any Teachers Still Support Common Core | gadflyonthewallblog:

More Magical Thinking about Technology in Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

More Magical Thinking about Technology in Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: " "

More Magical Thinking about Technology in Schools

I watched the World Series and saw both New York Mets and Kansas City Royal fans wearing hats, shirts, and displaying signs designed to get their teams to win. I saw similar clothes and painted faces on soccer fans during the World Cup. The belief, the intuition that these caps and jerseys would get their teams to win borders on superstition. And most fans would agree. Yet, yet, yet just maybe wearing the stuff, painting the face, and holding signs aloft would be just the thing that would snatch defeat from the other team. As a recent op-ed put it: fans “have an powerful intuition and, despite its utter implausibility, they can’t just shake it.”  The contradiction is aptly caught in the title of the opinion piece: “Believing What You Don’t Believe.”

This is no rant, however, about how emotion trumps reason or how thinking thoughts (or fans waving signs) will produce the desired outcome. Nor will this post elaborate how our cognitive “slow” and “fast” thinking ways do not always work in sync or that our “slow thinking” will correct the impulsive move where we have “trusted our gut. ” In this post, I again look at how local, state, and federal policymakers, high-tech entrepreneurs, and CEOs of major corporations engage in “magical thinking.” Inhabiting a technocratic mind-set, these leaders who rely on experts  believe that more and more use of high-tech tools will provide the adrenaline shot for U.S. schools to match international rivals’ test scores and lead ultimately to a larger share of the global market for U.S. goods and services.

I offer two examples of high-tech industry and civic leader aspirations to link all More Magical Thinking about Technology in Schools | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: " "

Perdido Street School: NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia Declares War On Opt Out Movement

Perdido Street School: NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia Declares War On Opt Out Movement:

NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia Declares War On Opt Out Movement

NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia sent out a letter to superintendents around the state touting an NYSED "toolkit" for districts to use to "educate" parents about the wonders of the Endless Testing regime.

The toolkit amounts to a lame PR campaign that tries to sell the same old pro-testing talking points we've heard from ed deformers and educrats before.

To say the toolkit was not well-received by superintendents and parents is an understatement.

This is from this morning's Politico NY education email:

“One anti-testing group believes this will only ‘fuel’ the movement. ‘It’s a declaration of war,’ said Jeanette Deutermann, co-founder of anti-testing group New York State Allies for Public Education and administrator of Long Island Opt Out. ‘This is a marketing strategy they’re using …This is insane...’...  

When Patchogue-Medford schools superintendent Michael Hynes received the email and kit he said he felt ‘embarrassed’ and then ‘angry.’ ‘I was embarrassed for the state education department because to me it’s a waste of time and it’s a waste of money from their vantage point, a waste of energy to Perdido Street School: NYSED Commissioner MaryEllen Elia Declares War On Opt Out Movement:

Are parent behaviours with their use of technology having an impact on their child’s development? | Connected Principals

Are parent behaviours with their use of technology having an impact on their child’s development? | Connected Principals:

Are parent behaviours with their use of technology having an impact on their child’s development?

I recently attended a very intriguing keynote presentation from Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair titled: Lost in Connection: How The Tech Effect Puts Children’s Development at Risk

I was preparing to listen to more information about how children are using technology and the negative effect of this on their development. Certainly, this would fit with some of the concerns that parents raise about their children and how technology is impacting upon their lives. There is, perhaps, even more concern given that many schools use 1 to 1 laptop programs and iPads are also rapidly being introduced to compliment classroom instruction from teachers.

I was, therefore, pleasantly surprised that the presentation that Dr. Steiner-Adair gave was not about this at all. It was, in fact, about the behaviours of parents with technology and the impact that these behaviours are having on children.

While I certainly did not agree with every aspect of her talk, some excellent points were made for us to consider in our role as parents and, for that matter, as teachers:

• How attached are we to our mobile devices?
• How often are we checking for emails, messages and notifications?
• How we are using mobile technology to record many aspects of our lives and also those of our children?

Three things really stuck in my mind. Firstly, when we hear a notification alert on our mobile device and how that makes us feel. For many of us, there is that instant need to break free of what we are currently doing to attend to that notification. So many important moments that we spend with our children can be interrupted by our mobile devices, that when we try to return to the conversation, the moment, it has passed, we cannot recapture it and children see that.Are parent behaviours with their use of technology having an impact on their child’s development? | Connected Principals:

Malloy Administration ushering in a “Wisconsin Moment” at UConn and CSU - Wait What?

Malloy Administration ushering in a “Wisconsin Moment” at UConn and CSU - Wait What?:

Malloy Administration ushering in a “Wisconsin Moment” at UConn and CSU

During last year’s gubernatorial campaign, Connecticut’s state employee unions mobilized their members with the powerful message that a vote for Democrat Dannel Malloy was the only way to prevent Connecticut from having a “Wisconsin Moment,” a reference to Republican Tom Foley’s comments in support of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s unprecedented attack on public employees and their rights.

As the state employee unions wrote in a commentary piece that appeared in a summer 2014 on CT Newsjunkie entitled Union Members Not Interested in ‘Wisconsin Moment’

The last thing we need is a Koch Brothers-funded campaign to transform Connecticut into Walker’s Wisconsin.

AFSCME’s newsletter further explained,

“Preventing a “Wisconsin moment” from taking place in Connecticut was the prevailing theme of the Connecticut AFL-CIO’s 10th biennial political convention that took place June 16-17 in New Haven.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders electrified the more than 300 union delegates to the convention with his keynote address on June 16. “We can’t afford Connecticut to become another Wisconsin.”

[…]

Hours after Saunders’ speech, Gov. Malloy declared “We’re going to have a 

Malloy Administration ushering in a “Wisconsin Moment” at UConn and CSU - Wait What?:

 State Treasurer Denise Nappier’s powerful statement about Malloy’s State Employee Pension Proposal

Connecticut’s State Treasurer Denise Nappier deserves significant praise for stepping forward and having the courage and conviction to speak the truth about the legitimate concerns surrounding Governor Dannel Malloy’s proposal to fundamentally change the way Connecticut funds is massively underfunded State’s Employee Pension Fund.

Just three years ago, Malloy called on Connecticut to aggressively resolve the state’s historic unwillingness to properly fund its State Employee Pension Fund (See January 2012 Wait, What? post  Malloy Takes Bold Step – Proposes Paying for State Pension Fund the Right Way.)

However, Malloy recently reversed his previous position and rather than focusing on making the State Employee Pension Fund more financially sounds, Malloy proposed shifting a significant portion of the shortfall onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.

See October 28 2015 Wait, What? post Malloy kicks the can so far down the road that it land’s right on our children’s heads.

The 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 nothing more than an outrageous maneuver to balance his failed state budgets on the backs of our children and their future.  As the title of yesterday’s Wait, What? blog stated – Connecticut: BEWARE of Governor Malloy’s most fiscally irresponsible budget proposal yet.

The CT Mirror’s Keith Phaneuf provides more information about Malloy’s 

 State Treasurer Denise Nappier’s powerful statement about Malloy’s State Employee Pension Proposal

U.S. Dept. of Ed. Acknowledges Flawed Charter School Grant Review Process | janresseger

U.S. Dept. of Ed. Acknowledges Flawed Charter School Grant Review Process | janresseger:

U.S. Dept. of Ed. Acknowledges Flawed Charter School Grant Review Process

The U.S. Department of Education sent a letter (Scroll to the end of the news story to see the letter itself.) on Wednesday to Richard Ross, Ohio’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, to inform Ross that, despite the Department’s huge grant—$71 million to Ohio (the largest of any of this year’s five-year, federal Charter School Program grants to seven winning states) to expand charter schools and take over and charterize the Youngstown School District, the Department has decided to withhold the money until Ohio does a better job of explaining what journalists have shown to be mistakes and lies in the grant application submitted last summer by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) for federal  dollars.

The letter explains: “(A)t various stages during and after the competition, the Department became aware of various concerns regarding ODE’s Office of Quality School Choice and the circumstances surrounding the resignation of the director of that office… [I]n making the original grant award, the Department conducted an expedited review of information available at that time and made a preliminary determination that these concerns and issues should not disqualify ODE from the FY 2015 CSP SEA competition. The Department took such concerns into consideration when awarding ODE’s grant, however, and placed special conditions on the grant, pending receipt of more information regarding these matters. Since awarding the grant to ODE, the Department has received additional information that raises continuing concerns regarding ODE’s ability to administer its CSP SEA grant properly, particularly in the areas of oversight and accountability with respect to Ohio’s charter schools.”

So what are the concerns of which the U.S. Department of Education has recently become aware—the concerns missed by the grant reviewers the federal government brought in to read and evaluate the proposals?  Well, David Hansen, head of Ohio’s charter school program for the ODE, was the person who prepared the federal grant proposal along with designing U.S. Dept. of Ed. Acknowledges Flawed Charter School Grant Review Process | janresseger:

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The proper response to Rahm's plea for help. Prepare for a strike.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The proper response to Rahm's plea for help. Prepare for a strike.:

The proper response to Rahm's plea for help. Prepare for a strike.

"Look, we all want the same thing..." -- Rahm Emanuel

 "We cannot blow up schools because you don't have any money. You have to figure out some other way to do this." -- CTU Pres. Karen Lewis

On Tuesday the Mayor, with his poll ratings sinking like a stone, called on the CTU to drop talk of a strike and get behind him and House Speaker Madigan, in their so-far-futile attempt to get the governor to stop holding the state budget hostage.

Rahm & Madigan

His plea for help came one day after CTU leaders responded to the mayor's threats to fire 5,000 more teachers and staff by calling on the membership to get prepared for a "protracted strike." Yesterday, teachers were given, what was called a "practice strike vote." I'm waiting for the votes to be counted, but it's not that they need any practice. Last time around, CTU members responded to the leadership's call with a 95% yes vote. When pushed to the wall, Chicago teachers have shown their heart for the struggle and support for their leaders.

What Rahm is doing is using his threat of mass teacher firings to signal pal Rauner Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: The proper response to Rahm's plea for help. Prepare for a strike.:

With A Brooklyn Accent: How Do I Explain "Gentrification?"

With A Brooklyn Accent: How Do I Explain "Gentrification?":

How Do I Explain "Gentrification?"

Imagine you and your family have been living in a neighborhood for decades. It's not perfect but its home. You have neighbors who are also friends. Stores that you feel comfortable in; Inexpensive restaurants that serve your favorite ethnic foods There is crime, but not as much as 20 years ago when you and your neighbors organized.to push the drug gangs out , get more police patroling during daylight hours and get the abandoned buildings knocked down and replaced with affordable housing.

Now after all that work you put into make the neighborhood safer and more livable, everything starts to change before your eyes. New people start moving in who never look at you when they pass you or when they do, look at you with pity and contempt, New buildings start going up, on the few remaining vacant lots, that none of your longtime neighbors can afford. Rents start creeping up, and then skyrocketing not only in apartments but in the commercial districts. Soon, the stores you have shopped in for years start closing, replaced by establishments which sell products you don't want at prices you can't afford.

And then the exodus begins. Friends and neighbors moving, not only out of the neighborhood, but out of the city, because it has become impossible for them to afford. After five years, you look around and you are a stranger where you once felt at home. None of the people who worked to bring back the neighborhood from crime and violence and With A Brooklyn Accent: How Do I Explain "Gentrification?":

Schools Matter: Detailing Eli Broad's Efforts to Take Over Los Angles Times

Schools Matter: Detailing Eli Broad's Efforts to Take Over Los Angles Times:

Detailing Eli Broad's Efforts to Take Over Los Angles Times

Anyone who has read the LA Times on education knows that they are just as cozy with CorpEd as WaPo, the NYTimes, or even the Nashville Tennessean.  For Eli Broad, however, coziness is not enough. He wants total control.  

The Columbia Journalism Review looks inside the ongoing efforts by Eli Broad to buy the print media in Los Angeles, where he has boasted of his plans to have half of LA's public school children attending charter chain gangs by 2023.  

The clip below indicates what Southern California readers will contend with if Broad succeeds.  It pinpoints what occurred in the recent past with Broad's hand-picked editor's effort to provide a special corporate ed news section.  This clown, Austin Beutner, was fired when Broad's first takeover failed:

For those in the newsroom, more concerns had surfaced. While current and former Times staffers spoke in support of Beutner’s local-first sales pitch, several expressed consternation that the former publisher’s influence was also seeping into the news pages. But they declined to go on the record with specific examples. 

“He didn’t want a newspaper that was edited from Chicago,” Newton says. “All of that was good on paper. In practice, it’s difficult to have a publisher who’s so immersed in the politics of the place. It’s difficult to say whether some of these initiatives were made for the good of the region or a manifestation of the publisher’s politics. Inevitably, with pluses come complications.” 

Take Beutner’s August launch of a single-subject education verticle, an effort backed by pro-charter nonprofits including the Broad Foundation. “We didn’t have a revenue model to support education coverage,” Beutner says. “I said [to the foundations], You guys spend a ton of money on advocacy to help inform people, but if you give us money, we can help you reach those people who aren’t informed.” 

Broad’s money, in addition to other foundation funding, allowed the Times to hire two full-time Schools Matter: Detailing Eli Broad's Efforts to Take Over Los Angles Times:

No Child Left Behind and unequal opportunities are the target of NEA President Garcia at City Club today | cleveland.com

No Child Left Behind and unequal opportunities are the target of NEA President Garcia at City Club today | cleveland.com:

No Child Left Behind and unequal opportunities are the target of NEA President Garcia at City Club today

National Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen Garcia will ask business leaders to support her union's push for Congress to report educational opportunities for each school and district, not just test scores. (AP/J. David Ake)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – All students need to have the same chances for a good education, says National Education Association President Lily Eskelen Garcia, and that can't happen until we know just how unequal the opportunities are between rich schools and poor ones.

That's why Garcia is in Cleveland this week to promote the "opportunity dashboard" that she hopes Congress will include as it updates the No Child Left Behind program.

Garcia will talk about the NEA's desire for education equity at noon today at theCity Club of Cleveland.

In a conversation with The Plain Dealer Thursday, Garcia outlined her hopes for the "dashboard," the bill and how she hopes her talk today will convince business leaders to back the NEA's plan.

See a full description of the "dashboard" below.

She also had sharp criticisms of charter schools, of the amount of standardized testing in schools, of the national focus on meeting test score targets and of schools cutting arts and afterschool programs to spend money on test preparation instead.

Garcia said No Child Left Behind program created by President George W. Bush in 2002 was a valuable one because it forced states and school districts to break apart its test scores and show how racial and economic subgroups were regularly lagging behind white and affluent students.

But she said "No Child Left Untested" and other school "reform" plans have brought "13 painful years" in other ways.

"What we have seen in these 13 years has been fraud and mismanagement, schools that were rewarded by test scores that didn't deserve it and schools that have been punished that didn't deserve it," she said.

She said the worst failure of No Child Left Behind is that it expected all students to meet test score targets, without paying any attention to how poverty affects how much kids learn. Expecting scores to rise without solving underlying socioeconomic issues was never realistic.

The "opportunity dashboard" that was included in the Senate's version of the new No Child Left Behind bill, but not the House version, is a first step in making the challenges of poor districts clear, Garcia said. She is hoping that business leaders will put pressure on Congressional leaders to keep the dashboard and reduce the penalties for low test scores as they negotiate a compromise bill.

Garcia wants the federal government to report things like student access to Advanced Placement classes, kindergarten, nurses and arts or foreign language No Child Left Behind and unequal opportunities are the target of NEA President Garcia at City Club today | cleveland.com:

Why Common Core Is Cracking Up | The American Spectator

Why Common Core Is Cracking Up | The American Spectator:

WHY COMMON CORE IS CRACKING UP

Bill Gates’s earnest help hasn’t helped.

After a decade in the making, the Common Core State Standards are on track to replace uneven state standards in English, mathematics, and other basic academic subjects. But as a rising number of parents and elected officials question this emerging national catechism, the program is meeting new resistance.

First proposed by a coalition of governors and state school superintendents, Common Core codifies what elementary and high school students should study and know after completing each grade.

Strictly speaking, the standards are not a curriculum. Nominally, how subjects are taught and the materials used are decisions left to individual states and school districts. Supporters insist they will raise academic proficiency and ensure uniformly high standards across the nation.

The truth is: Common Core ratifies the federal takeover of elementary and high school instruction. In spite of disclaimers, it promotes a national syllabus. Testing for national standards will indirectly dictate what is taught and undermine local control of education.

Technology and testing corporations stand to be the big winners. The president of the College Board — the nation’s premier gatekeeper of admissions to higher education — is David Coleman, who is Common Core’s chief designer and first advocate.

What Common Core vividly demonstrates is the nature of contemporary political power and formation of education policy.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is Common Core’s leading force. Gates created the world’s dominant computer operating system, and he is by all accounts a technocratic genius. But his failed effort to beat back non-performance in education through state of the art facilities and smaller classes illustrates his profound naïveté in matters of culture. His foundation has spent approximately $3.4 billion since 1999 on an array of measures to try to improve public education.

Admitting defeat six years ago, the foundation subsequently turned to developing Common Core standards, spending some $250 million on their development and promotion.

As reported in an exceptional 2014 Washington Post article, the foundation then acted strategically to solidify Common Core support. Sidestepping prohibitions on political activism, it staged a stunning policy coup in education.

The Gates Foundation aggressively targeted state legislators and business leaders, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association, private institutes and schools of educations, and the Obama administration.

Gates did not forget what passes for conservative voices in the education establishment. The American Enterprise Institute has received $4 million from the foundation since 2007. The Fordham Foundation, recipients of Gates largess, has produced several hit-and-run reviews of state curriculum standards.

Gates allies also took charge of the federal department of education. In 2009, the new federal education secretary Arne Duncan named Margot Rogers his chief of staff. She had been Why Common Core Is Cracking Up | The American Spectator:

Good Intentions | The New Republic

Good Intentions | The New Republic:

Good Intentions

Bill Gates is here to change the world—will he make money doing it?

n March of 2013, I watched Bill Gates give the keynote lecture at SXSWedu, an annual education technology-themed offshoot of the Austin mega-festival. Addressing several thousand entrepreneurs who hoped to sell apps to schools, Gates celebrated education technology as “potentially a large-sized market” of about $9 billion. The attendees were rapt. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s philanthropic investment in data-driven teacher evaluation and the Common Core national curriculum standards would, they hoped, make U.S. public education more uniform from state to state and city to city—a standardization that would in turn help ed-tech startups sell their products at scale. Gates dangled before the audience the promise of an enormous payday. “Innovators who win in the most demanding markets,” he said, “will have opportunities on a very global basis, just as we’ve seen in the horizontal software market. So there should be an opportunity for some, of course, very big successes.”

Would all this profit-making help children learn? In his speech, Gates promoted the idea of the “flipped classroom,” in which students watch online video lectures at home and then come to school the next day to do what is currently thought of as homework, with the teacher acting as a sort of tutor. “At a very deep level, software is able to create this interactive, connected experience for the student in a way that simply isn’t economic in a public school context,” Gates said.

If you are at all skeptical of the richest person on earth, a software titan, arguing that software is the key to improving U.S. public education, you are not alone. Since the Gates Foundation launched in 2000, it has become the most influential philanthropic body in the world: The Obama administration has adopted many of its favored education reforms, and the foundation provides 10 percent of the World Health Organization’s revenue (only the U.S. government provides a comparable amount). The foundation’s trustees are Bill Gates, his wife, Melinda, and Warren Buffett. Its self-described missionis to “unlock the possibility inside every individual. … From the education of students in Chicago, to the health of a young mother in Nigeria, we are catalysts of human promise everywhere.” These giant ambitions have recently attracted increased scrutiny. Education historian and activist Diane Ravitch has emerged as the leading American critic of the foundation’s enthusiasm for standardized testing, which she sees as athreat to traditional, locally controlled public schools. On global health, the editorial board of The Lancet has criticized the foundation’s lack of transparency and relatively narrow set of priorities.

Bill and Melinda Gates hold heavy sway over public policy, yet no one elected them to any office. It is crucial that they, and other large donors, be held accountable as philanthropists. This is the worthy goal of an impassioned new book by Linsey McGoey, a sociologist at the University of Good Intentions | The New Republic:

Walton Family Foundation gives $50M to Teach for America

Walton Family Foundation gives $50M to Teach for America:

Walton Family Foundation gives $50M to Teach for America

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Walton Family Foundation says it will donate $50 million over three years to Teach for America to support 4,000 new teachers nationwide.

Teach for America, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, recruits college graduates to teach for two years in schools in high-poverty areas.

The foundation, which was created by Wal-Mart’s founders, says the grant will support the recruitment, training and professional development of about 4,000 new teachers in Atlanta, Arkansas and the Mississippi River Delta region; the San Francisco Bay Area; Camden, New Jersey; Houston; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Memphis, Tennessee; New Orleans; San Antonio; and Washington, D.C. The grants also funds new teachers in Colorado and Massachusetts.

The Mississippi Delta region, one of the poorest areas of the country, will get 800 new teachers under the grant.Walton Family Foundation gives $50M to Teach for America: