Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/6/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

EARNING OUR PAY: Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent - LA School Report

Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent - LA School Report: EARNING OUR PAY: Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent Among the 43 people identified by the Los Angeles Times this week as potential candidates for LA Unified superintendent were nearly a dozen with a background in charter schools or the reform movement.One of them wasCaprice Young, a former pres

by mike simpson / 9min 

Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’ | EdSource

Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’ | EdSource: Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’Children who are expelled or suspended from preschool are more likely to have problems – including higher rates of incarceration – later in life, according to new report titled Point of Entry: The Preschool-to-Prison Pipeline.Preschoolers in public programs

by mike simpson / 1h 

John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals | Diane Ravitch's blog - Linkis.com

John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals | Diane Ravitch's blog - Linkis.com: John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals John Thompson, historian and teacher, explains that there are good alternatives to corporal punishment in school. Student discipline problems are rarely appropriately addressed by treating students with police tactics, as if they were crim

by mike simpson / 2h 

Charter Schools Shrink Boston’s Vision for Public Ed | The Progressive

Charter Schools Shrink Boston’s Vision for Public Ed | The Progressive: Charter Schools Shrink Boston’s Vision for Public Ed Jennifer BerkshirePhoto by ThoseGuys119“50,000 families of color on wait list for charter skls in NYC while so-called progressives say no.  Something seriously missing in this pic.”While this Tweet from former school chancellor Joel Klein refers to NYC, he could mean any num

by mike simpson / 3h 

Children's books by and about Native Americans | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Children's books by and about Native Americans | Philadelphia Public School Notebook: Children's books by and about Native AmericansAlmost 100 years ago, the first attempts were made to establish a holiday honoring American Indians. These days, some state and local governments have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day and, since 1990, November has been widely recognized as Native Amer

by mike simpson / 3h 

Something Important Happens Here - Lily's Blackboard

Something Important Happens Here - Lily's Blackboard: Something Important Happens HereSo here’s the thing. Everywhere I go I tell people about the amazing educators I serve. I tell the people I sit next to on airplanes. I tell taxi drivers. I tell my friends and family probably way too much.I tell people who already know and I tell people who don’t want to hear it. That’s because you all truly are

by mike simpson / 3h 

New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core tests - The Washington Post

New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core tests - The Washington Post: New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core testsThis belongs in the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff category. Also in the someone-is-actually-getting-paid-to-do-this category.In New York State this past spring, some 20 percent of students refused to t

by mike simpson / 3h 

CURMUDGUCATION: CAP & Common Core Whack-a-mole

CURMUDGUCATION: CAP & Common Core Whack-a-mole: CAP & Common Core Whack-a-moleI have decided that the Center for American Promise has based its relentless (and senseless) Common Core promotional campaign on a game of whack-a-mole in which they play the part of the mole.Here comes Carmel Martin, executive vice-president of policy at CAP (previously employed by the US Department of Education

by mike simpson / 3h 

Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian Counterparts

Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian Counterparts: Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian CounterpartsLOS ANGELES—White and Asian students in the United States continue to out perform their black and Latino counterparts nationwide, according to the  U.S. Department of Education's 2015 Nation’s Report Card that assesses nationwide student achievement.  Hi

by mike simpson / 4h 

Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test Scores | Diane Ravitch's blog

Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test Scores | Diane Ravitch's blog: Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test ScoresI knew Mike Petrilli well, back when I was a trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and Institute in D.C. But after I became disillusioned with testing and school choice, I didn’t see much of him anymore. We occasionally tra

by mike simpson / 4h 

Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated Youth | CSG Justice Center

Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated Youth | CSG Justice Center: Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated YouthA first-of-its-kind report released today by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center found that most incarcerated youth do not have access to the same educational services as

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Cheating the NAEP

CURMUDGUCATION: Cheating the NAEP: Cheating the NAEPWe've had our giant round of reaction to the NAEP test results, and their woeful failure to showAmerican school children being propelled forward into a wonderland of learning by over a decade of reformster policies. I'm not sure there's any reason to get excited about NAEP results at all, but test-loving folks do, and there's really no denying th

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 LearnersSACRAMENTO— 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.

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 SecurityWith 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 studen

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 CoreCommon 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 repo

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 SchoolsI 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 C

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 MovementNYSED 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 amount

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 RiskI was

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 CSUDuring 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

by mike simpson / 8h 

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 ProcessThe 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 g

by mike simpson / 9h 

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 LewisOn Tuesday the Mayor, wit

by mike simpson / 9h 

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 y

by mike simpson / 9h 

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 TimesAnyone 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

by mike simpson / 9h 

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 todayNational Education Association (NEA) President Lily Eskelsen Garcia will ask business leaders to support her union's push for Congress to report educational opportunities for

by mike simpson / 9h 

Why Common Core Is Cracking Up | The American Spectator

Why Common Core Is Cracking Up | The American Spectator: WHY COMMON CORE IS CRACKING UPBill 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 p

by mike simpson / 9h 

Good Intentions | The New Republic

Good Intentions | The New Republic: Good IntentionsBill 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

by mike simpson / 9h 

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 AmericaBENTONVILLE, 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

by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

Math placement tests deserve more scrutiny | EdSource

Math placement tests deserve more scrutiny | EdSource: Math placement tests deserve more scrutinyMathematics plays a central role in winnowing opportunities for students to enter and succeed in college. In California, students can graduate from high school with just two years of math, including a single college-preparatory course, Algebra 1. But if they don’t also complete Geometry and Algebra 2 (

by mike simpson / 17h 

Petrilli and Wright’s Porous Article on Mediocre Test Scores | deutsch29

Petrilli and Wright’s Porous Article on Mediocre Test Scores | deutsch29: Petrilli and Wright’s Porous Article on Mediocre Test ScoresIn November 2015, Fordham Institute’s Michael Petrilli and Brandon Wright published an article entitled, “America’s Mediocre Test Scores,” which is slated to appear in the Winter 2016 issue of Education Next.The article has a number of limitations worthy of note.For

by mike simpson / 18h 

Ed Notes Online: See the Video: Parents Sue Achievement First Charter Over Discipline and Lack of Services - We had the AF story 4 years ago

Ed Notes Online: See the Video: Parents Sue Achievement First Charter Over Discipline and Lack of Services - We had the AF story 4 years ago: See the Video: Parents Sue Achievement First Charter Over Discipline and Lack of Services - We had the AF story 4 years agoDUHHHHH!  This report by the NY TimesLawsuit Accuses Brooklyn Charter School of Failing to Provide Special Education Servicessupports t

by mike simpson / 19h 

CURMUDGUCATION: WSJ Runs Cyberschool PR

CURMUDGUCATION: WSJ Runs Cyberschool PR: WSJ Runs Cyberschool PRIf you were feeling badly about the poor beleaguered cyber schools that took a drubbing earlier this week (from both a report suggesting they are no more effective than a long nap and the many charter fans who piled on to excoriate them), take heart. Someone did run to their defense. And an alleged journalist paved the road so that th

by mike simpson / 20h 

American Indian/ Native Alaskan Caucus Cheers Enactment of Two Key Measures - California Teachers Association

American Indian/ Native Alaskan Caucus Cheers Enactment of Two Key Measures - California Teachers Association: AMERICAN INDIAN/ NATIVE ALASKAN CAUCUS CHEERS ENACTMENT OF TWO KEY MEASURESStoryteller David Garcia demonstrates the use of rhythm sticks employed in Chumash music and dance.Caucus Chair Mary Levi briefs participants in the celebration about AB 30 (Alejo), the CTA-backed bill that bars Ca

by mike simpson / 21h 

VIDEO: Republican Jay Dardenne Endorses Democrat John Bel Edwards for Louisiana’s Next Governor | deutsch29

VIDEO: Republican Jay Dardenne Endorses Democrat John Bel Edwards for Louisiana’s Next Governor | deutsch29: VIDEO: Republican Jay Dardenne Endorses Democrat John Bel Edwards for Louisiana’s Next GovernorDardenne Endorses EdwardsIn the race for Louisiana governor, Republican David Vitter’s DC Super PAC ran attack ads against both Republican contenders, Jay Dardenne and Scott Angelle.The October 24

by mike simpson / 22h 

Lawsuit Accuses Brooklyn Charter School of Failing to Provide Special Education Services - The New York Times

Lawsuit Accuses Brooklyn Charter School of Failing to Provide Special Education Services - The New York Times: Lawsuit Accuses Brooklyn Charter School of Failing to Provide Special Education ServicesSpecial education students at a Brooklyn charter school did not get mandated services and were punished for behavior that arose from their disabilities, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on

by mike simpson / 22h hide  //  save

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 11/5/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMHIP Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Affirmative Action — Hmong Innovating PoliticsHIP Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Affirmative Action — Hmong Innovating Politics: HIP Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Affirmative Action Earlier this week, Hmong Innovating Politics joined with over 160 Asian American and Pacific Islander groups in filing an Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court in support

by mike simpson / 1d 

EARNING OUR PAY: Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent - LA School Report

Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent - LA School Report:

EARNING OUR PAY: Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent 

Among the 43 people identified by the Los Angeles Times this week as potential candidates for LA Unified superintendent were nearly a dozen with a background in charter schools or the reform movement.

One of them wasCaprice Young, a former president of the district school board, as well as a founder of charter schools, the former president of the California Charter Schools Associationand the current CEO ofMagnolia Public Schools.

With at least four of the current seven board members having expressed concerns about the rising tide of charters in the district, including a nearly half billion dollar plan by the Broad Foundation to double their number, was she surprised to see her name as a possible choice?

“I don’t know about surprised or not,” Young told LA School Report. “Overall I was exited about the candidates the LA Times came up with. I think there are a lot of good people on that list. I think everyone who is committed to the students of Los Angeles would be excited to be thought about in that context.”

Young said she had not been contacted by the board’s search committee about the job but didn’t think anyone would before the Nov. 10 board meeting when the results of an online survey and public forums about the search will be discussed.

The Broad plan is unpopular among board members for its potential impact to enroll half of all district students in charter schools, wiping out thousands of union jobs, draining district coffers and causing other extraordinary changes in district operations.

Young characterized the plan as not that big of a deal and said it should not be part of Caprice Young: Don't rule out supporters for superintendent - LA School Report:

Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’ | EdSource

Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’ | EdSource:

Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’

Children who are expelled or suspended from preschool are more likely to have problems – including higher rates of incarceration – later in life, according to new report titled Point of Entry: The Preschool-to-Prison Pipeline.

Preschoolers in public programs, according to research from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights cited in the report, were expelled at more than three times the rate of K-12 students in 2014.

Behavior that can lead to suspension or expulsion, such as being defiant to adults or aggressive to other children, may indicate a need for counseling or mental health support, according to the report by the progressive policy group Center for American Progress. Exclusion from school used to be a last resort, but has become “wildly overused and disproportionately applied to children of color,” the report states.

“The school to prison pipeline is not a natural phenomenon,” said Maryam Adamu, one of the study’s authors, in a recent interview with EdSource. “It’s so important in the early years that discipline practices are developmentally appropriate. There are ways that schools imitate the criminal justice system.”

The report, released in October, examines a range of research on suspensions and expulsions in preschool settings. The findings include:

• African-American preschoolers were the most likely to be enrolled in low-quality preschool and the least likely to be enrolled in high-quality preschool.
• African-American children make up 18 percent of enrollment in public preschool, but they account for 42 percent of out-of-school Expulsion of preschoolers: ‘Let’s take that option off the table’ | EdSource:

John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals | Diane Ravitch's blog - Linkis.com

John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals | Diane Ravitch's blog - Linkis.com:

John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals 

John Thompson, historian and teacher, explains that there are good alternatives to corporal punishment in school. Student discipline problems are rarely appropriately addressed by treating students with police tactics, as if they were criminals.

Thompson writes:

I would rather jump into a gang fight than weigh in on the details of the recent violence inflicted by school police upon students in numerous locations, including an Oklahoma City school where I once taught. The big issue is clear. We can't just watch a teen beaten, whether by his or her peers or the authorities. But, jumping into the political fray on school discipline policy is risky (at least in terms of professional relationships.) Obviously, we must tackle the school to prison pipeline and the tragic criminalization of student misbehavior. Getting involved in a discussion in terms of solutions, however, is politically dangerous.

So, I'll start on safe ground and the sound insights of the New York Times's Richard Perez-Pena, Christine Hauser, and Sheryl Gay Stolerberg. In "Rough Arrest Puts Spotlight on Officers in Schools," they discuss the dilemmas faced by police who are being increasingly sent into schools to enforce their codes of conduct, as opposed to significant violations of laws. In too many cases, the police receive little or no training on how to handle students who are violating school rules.

Perez-Pena, Hauser, and Stolerberg explain that in the South Carolina case captured by cell phone video a girl defied a teacher's instruction to stop using her phone in class. She then refused to obey the orders by the teacher and an administrator to leave the classroom. They cite an expert on such situations, Mo Canady, who says that a policeman or sheriff in such a situation must first ask, "Was it a criminal offense going on that got him involved, or was it the heart of a school discipline matter that could be handled by school administrators?" By the time the officer arrives, "there may have been no easy solution to a student who is disruptive but nonviolent, and refuses to budge."

Canady’s advice echoes the professional development advice that teachers are provided, "to first 'remove the audience.'" After asking the John Thompson: Do Not Treat Difficult Students Like Criminals | Diane Ravitch's blog - Linkis.com:

Charter Schools Shrink Boston’s Vision for Public Ed | The Progressive

Charter Schools Shrink Boston’s Vision for Public Ed | The Progressive:

Charter Schools Shrink Boston’s Vision for Public Ed

• Jennifer Berkshire

Photo by ThoseGuys119

“50,000 families of color on wait list for charter skls in NYC while so-called progressives say no.  Something seriously missing in this pic.”

While this Tweet from former school chancellor Joel Klein refers to NYC, he could mean any number of cities where pitched battles over charter schools have raised a complicated question:  Who exactly is a progressive when it comes to education?

Take Boston, a city embroiled in a fierce fight over whether to raise a state cap limiting the amount of money that can be diverted from public schools to pay for privately-run charter schools. The dispute pits the teachers union against charter advocacy groups, and families (overwhelmingly black and brown) who want more charters against other families (often middle class and white) who fear that continued charter expansion will mean the death of the existing system.

But the story has begun to depart from this familiar narrative. Civil rights leaders like Mel King are joining the chorus of charter critics. At a recent hearing at the Statehouse, the 87-year-old King told members of the Education Committee that charter schools fall far short of what he calls the “Pledge of Allegiance” test. He said:

“If the solution is only meant for a few kids, and all the rest of the kids are left out, where is the liberty and justice for all?” 

I spoke with King recently, and it’s striking just how much bigger and more comprehensive his demands are than the “access to high quality seats” vision held by charter school advocates.

“It’s about a community having control of its resources and allocating those resources in a way

- See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/11/188396/charter-schools-shrink-boston%E2%80%99s-vision-public-ed#sthash.GdVbV4wl.dpuf

Children's books by and about Native Americans | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Children's books by and about Native Americans | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Children's books by and about Native Americans

Almost 100 years ago, the first attempts were made to establish a holiday honoring American Indians. These days, some state and local governments have replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day and, since 1990, November has been widely recognized as Native American Heritage Month. This November, encourage the children in your life to learn more about American Indian cultures.*

In the world of children’s and teen books, American Indians have long been represented as strange, savage, and dangerous. Remember The Little House on the Prairie? Books about Thanksgiving are especially problematic. Many books, while attempting to celebrate the friendship between European settlers and American Indians, contain nothing more than caricatures and stereotypes of a variety of cultures that are very much alive today. To balance this inequity, here are three books for youth that are written by American Indians, with contemporary American Indian characters.

In Jingle Dancer, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, young Jenna, a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in contemporary Oklahoma, watches footage of her Grandma Wolfe performing a jingle dance. She too wants to dance at the upcoming powwow and hopes she will be able to gather enough cone-shaped tin pieces to make her dress sing. Jenna visits four women in her community who all contribute to making her dance a success. Set in a contemporary suburban neighborhood, Jingle Dancer offers a great counterpoint to the notion that American Indians are a culture of the past.

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve has written countless nonfiction books about American Indians for children. She turns the focus to her own childhood in her picture book The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood. The daughter of an Episcopal minister father and Lakota Sioux mother, Virginia grew up on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. In this story, she recalls the cold winters on the reservation and how she longed for a new, warm coat. As the minister’s daughter, though, any charity donations went first to more needy children. After a long wait, Virginia finally gets a beautiful red coat for Christmas. The Christmas Coat is a great story of family and generosity.

For older readers, Sherman Alexie has written the story of the average teen in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. That is, if that teen is a gawky, artistic outcast who is routinely bullied, prone to seizures, and lives on a reservation. Although life on the "rez" is rough, Junior bands together with his aptly named best friend, Rowdy. But when he transfers to a rich, white school, he finds himself a different kind of outcast among his reservation friends and family. When tragedy strikes his family in the form of death and alcoholism, Junior must cope with loss along with the growing pains of a teen who is trying to find his identity. Alexie, who grew up on the Spokane Indian Reservation, using biting wit and plenty of humor to face down the complex realities of a kid growing up as a modern-day American Indian.

For more great children’s books by and about American Indians, check out Debbie Reese’s blog, “American Indians in Children’s Literature.” She is a tribally enrolled Nambe Pueblo teacher and children’s literature professor. 

Author’s note: American Indian or Native American? Indigenous peoples or First Nations? You may have noticed that throughout these reviews, I have used the term “American Indian.” This term is sometimes used interchangeably with “Native American,” but they are not without controversy. Whenever possible, I have used the author’s preferred term, and/or their accurate tribal affiliations. To learn more, read Amanda Blackhorse’s article“Blackhorse: Do You Prefer ‘Native American’ or ‘American Indian’? 6 Prominent Voices Respond.”

Sarah Stippich is a Children’s Librarian and the Early Literacy Coordinator for the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Jingle Dancer
By Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
2000
New York: Morrow Junior Books

The Christmas Coat: Memories of My Sioux Childhood
By Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, illustrated by Ellen Beier
2011
New York: Holiday House

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie, illustrated by Ellen Forney
2007
New York: Little, Brown and Company

Children's books by and about Native Americans | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Something Important Happens Here - Lily's Blackboard

Something Important Happens Here - Lily's Blackboard:

Something Important Happens Here

So here’s the thing. Everywhere I go I tell people about the amazing educators I serve. I tell the people I sit next to on airplanes. I tell taxi drivers. I tell my friends and family probably way too much.

I tell people who already know and I tell people who don’t want to hear it. That’s because you all truly are amazing. You make me proud. You make me humble (and if you know me at all, you know that’s very hard to do).

Everywhere I go I hear stories of how you are transforming students’ lives with the power of a great education. You are the best of the best.

I met a librarian in Mississippi who created the most magical reading oasis you could ever imagine; who put off retirement for an extra year so she could keep teaching her little ones the joy of reading; who considers herself theteacher of all students in the school.

I met a teacher in Florida who bravely stood up for her student when the state declared he had to take a mandatory standardized test – despite the fact he was in hospice care and couldn’t even hold a #2 pencil in his hand, let alone take a test.

I met a custodian in Illinois who comes in at 4 a.m. on winter’s snowiest days (winter! In Illinois!) to get the school ready for students. He told me, “The kids know that somebody cares about them when they see a place like this.”

I met a secretary in Utah who sat with a distraught student when her parents were late picking her up from school. When the parents sent her flowers the next day to say thank you, she told me, “They didn’t have to do that. I mean, it was nothing. It’s all just part of the job.”

And it doesn’t matter at all where I go, because you are the same everywhere: you are fearless and hardworking and wonderful. I know you are also tired, and stressed, and most of all worried about those students in your schools who need the extra help.

We are 3 million strong. We are teachers, cafeteria workers, para-educators, custodians, secretaries, bus drivers, school security officers, higher education faculty and staff, administrators, substitute educators, retired educators, and future educators.

I’m so proud of you that I want the whole country to know what you do for students.

That’s why I am so excited to announce a shiny new campaign that people all over the country will see. And, of course, they will all hear about it from me. That goes for seatmates, taxi drivers, friends, family, and everyone else I can get to listen.

Check it out for yourself; I think it’s pretty amazing. And it’s because it’s the story of you.

Visit www.nea.org/GreatPublicSchools for more information. Something Important Happens Here - Lily's Blackboard:

New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core tests - The Washington Post

New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core tests - The Washington Post:

New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core tests

This belongs in the you-can’t-make-up-this-stuff category. Also in the someone-is-actually-getting-paid-to-do-this category.

In New York State this past spring, some 20 percent of students refused to take high-stakes Common Core standardized tests.  Parents and students who did had various reasons, including as a protest against the tests themselves and the invalid use of student scores on the tests to evaluate teachers.

Instead of taking a hard look at the evaluation system or the tests, the New York State Education Department has put together an “Assessments Toolkit”for superintendents to try to lure back the opt-outs.The Web site says:

This toolkit is intended to help superintendents communicate with parents and educators in their districts about the value and importance of the annual Grades 3-8 English Language Arts and Math Tests. The toolkit is completely optional and contains customizable materials such as a letter to parents, a PowerPoint presentation about the higher learnings standards and assessments, and sample Twitter and Facebook posts. Superintendents are encouraged to check out these materials and use them if they would be an effective way to reach their parents and educators. Additional resources will be added in the coming weeks and months, so please check back often.

Yes, folks in the NYSED apparently think that an assessment toolkit can win over parents so opposed to the administration of the tests and use of the scores that they didn’t let their children take them despite threats that schools could lose funding.

As noted above, the toolkit consists of sample letters and (my favorite) sample social media posts, complete with the best times to send them and guidance New York’s baffling response to parents who didn’t let their kids take Common Core tests - The Washington Post:

CURMUDGUCATION: CAP & Common Core Whack-a-mole

CURMUDGUCATION: CAP & Common Core Whack-a-mole:

CAP & Common Core Whack-a-mole

I have decided that the Center for American Promise has based its relentless (and senseless) Common Core promotional campaign on a game of whack-a-mole in which they play the part of the mole.

Here comes Carmel Martin, executive vice-president of policy at CAP (previously employed by the US Department of Education-- you can view her revolving door history here), writing a piece for Inside Sources, a website that seems to be a sort of clearing house for news from "policy and industry experts" aka "people who have a news story they want to have placed." But it totally worked, because the piece was picked up by Newsday.

Martin announces her intent with her lede:

The irony of the controversy over the Common Core is that proponents and opponents actually agree on much more than we disagree on.

I'm not sure what the "irony" of the controversy is, really. That Common Core backers never thought anyone would argue with them or resist? That they are being sold as higher standards that will prepare students for college and career when there's no actual evidence they do either? But hey-- let's hold hands, start strumming our ukelele, and see what it is that we all agree on.

First, "we all agree" that America's students must be prepared to thrive in today's competitive global CURMUDGUCATION: CAP & Common Core Whack-a-mole:

Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian Counterparts

Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian Counterparts:

Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian Counterparts

LOS ANGELES—

White and Asian students in the United States continue to out perform their black and Latino counterparts nationwide, according to the  U.S. Department of Education's 2015 Nation’s Report Card that assesses nationwide student achievement.  

High school students Robin Choi and Jewell Prim share one key ingredient that makes them academically successful.

“Every since I can remember, college has never been a choice, it is something that is essential," said Prim.

“My parents have always told me since I was a child that education was an investment to my career," said Choi.

Both students attend Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, a school that gives them as much support as they get at home.  But not every school presents this type of experience.  

English teacher Natalie Collier says if students do not get basic academic skills by the time they reach high school, many of them become disinterested.  And that is just one challenge.  

“The lack of motivation also comes from outside the environment.  If the critical mass is not focused on education then I believe it kind of trickles down Black, Latino Students Continue to Fall Behind White, Asian Counterparts:

Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test Scores | Diane Ravitch's blog

Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test Scores | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test Scores

I knew Mike Petrilli well, back when I was a trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and Institute in D.C. But after I became disillusioned with testing and school choice, I didn’t see much of him anymore. We occasionally trade emails. I have a certain residual fondness for him. But I nonetheless think he is wrong and hold out hope that he will one day realize it.

But he is not ready.

He sent me this note recently:

Joanne gets it exactly right. Ready to concede a few points?

—-
Mediocre U.S. scores: Don’t blame poverty
// Joanne Jacobs — Thinking and Linking by Joanne Jacobs

When U.S. students post mediocre scores on international tests, poverty is “the elephant in the room,” says American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten. Others point to a “poverty crisis” rather than an “education crisis.”

The elephant is not in the room, write Michael Petrilli and Brandon Wright in Education Next. U.S. schools do as well — or poorly — educating low-income students as other countries. Furthermore, U.S. children aren’t more likely to be poor: Those sky-high child poverty rates really are measuring inequality rather than absolute poverty.

Overall, the U.S. rates 28th in math proficiency for advantaged students among the 34 countries in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Disadvantaged U.S. students rank 20th compared to similar students in other PISA countries.

Our advantaged students may do better than poor kids here, but they don’t outperform similar students in developed countries.

While income inequality is high in the U.S., absolute poverty is not especially high, Petrilli and Wright argue. Including all forms of income, Mike Petrilli and I Have a Brief Exchange about International Test Scores | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated Youth | CSG Justice Center

Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated Youth | CSG Justice Center:

Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated Youth

A first-of-its-kind report released today by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center found that most incarcerated youth do not have access to the same educational services as their peers in the community, and little accountability exists to ensure educational standards are met in lock-up.

The report, “Locked Out: Improving Educational and Vocational Outcomes for Incarcerated Youth,”reveals that despite spending between $100,000 to $300,000 per incarcerated child in secure facilities, only 13 states provide all incarcerated youth with access to the same types of educational services that students have in the community. Meanwhile, only nine states offer community-equivalent vocational services to all kids in lock-up.

“On average, what states spend on these kids while they are locked up is at least three times the cost of a Harvard tuition,” said Michael Thompson (pictured left), director of the CSG Justice Center. “Policymakers making this level of investment should be asking what type of education they expect to be provided to these youth.”

While most youth incarcerated 10 years ago were in facilities operated by state government, nearly two-thirds of youth locked up in the U.S. today are held in facilities operated by local government agencies or nonprofit or for-profit organizations.

The survey, conducted by the CSG Justice Center and in partnership with the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators, asked leaders in each state: Who is responsible for educating kids incarcerated in this patchwork of institutions? The report found that in more than 80 percent of states, no single state agency is charged with this authority, leaving an absence of leadership and, ultimately, accountability for ensuring youth make sufficient progress towards college and career readiness. The report also found:

• Fewer than one in three states is able to document what percentage of youth released from a juvenile correctional facility subsequently obtain a high school diploma;
• In nearly half of the states, it is up to the parent or guardian of the youth, or perhaps a community-based organization advocating on his or her behalf, to get that young person enrolled in a public school or another educational setting after his/her release from a correctional facility;
• In more than one-third of states, youth released from a facility are automatically enrolled in an alternative educational setting, which often do not meet state curricular and performance standards and suffer from lower graduation rates that traditional public schools.

“This report shines a light on a group of youth who, for most people, are out-of-sight, out-of-mind,” said Susan Burke (pictured right), director of Utah’s Juvenile Justice Services. “For the first time, it’s clear that more state oversight is warranted to ensure all youth receive the necessary educational services they need to succeed later in life. I’m looking forward to working with leaders in the education community to figure out what we do about this important problem.”

On any given day, there are about 60,000 youth incarcerated in the U.S. This report examines the more than half of these young people—two-thirds of whom are black or Latino—who have been committed to the custody of the state, on average for three to 12 months. Incarcerated youth overall tend to be several grade levels behind their peers, more likely to have an educational disability, and have been suspended multiple times and/or expelled from local schools.

“Measurement and accountability have been the hallmarks of the public education system,” said Kent Study Highlights Little State Oversight of Educational Services Provided to Incarcerated Youth | CSG Justice Center:

CURMUDGUCATION: Cheating the NAEP

CURMUDGUCATION: Cheating the NAEP:

Cheating the NAEP

We've had our giant round of reaction to the NAEP test results, and their woeful failure to showAmerican school children being propelled forward into a wonderland of learning by over a decade of reformster policies. I'm not sure there's any reason to get excited about NAEP results at all, but test-loving folks do, and there's really no denying that this round of NAEP results were Just Not Good.

Oh, but what if it turned out that they were actually even worse?

RaShawn Biddle may not be familiar to you; Biddle runs a one-man media empire parked firmly in reformsterland. But his blog Dropout Nation ran some interesting analysis of some NAEP numbers.

To understand what he's about, you need to know that NAEP allows states to opt out up to 15% of their student special population-- typically students with special needs and English Language Learners. But Biddle is a good reformster, and so he believes in the simple two-step proposition:

1) Public schools are failing. We just need to prove it so we can get support for dismantling them.
2) Making students take Big Standardized Tests who can't possible pass them-- that will help with #1.

Biddle likes to talk about "special ed ghettos" and he's a huge supporter of having all the students there fail BS Tests so we can prove that their school districts suck. But he's not wrong when he points out that some states and cities are gaming their NAEP stats by controlling who actually takes the test. Biddle has assembled two Dishonor Rolls.

On the state level, the big loser is Georgia.

The Peach State was the worst in the nation in excluding fourth- and eighth-grade kids in special ed, keeping 25 percent of each group of students from taking NAEP this year. Although the levels of exclusion declined by, respectively, six and seven percentage points from levels two years ago, CURMUDGUCATION: Cheating the NAEP: