Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/13/16

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/13/16

Featured Post

The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools | Alternet

The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America

by mike simpson / 31min

The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America : The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings By Julie Woestehoff, PAA interim executive director It has been more than 10 years since I and many of my former colleagues began warning Chicago that massive school closings would not improve education and would most likely lead to increased violence. It gives me n

Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post

by mike simpson / 2h

Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post : Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. (Photo of kids playing at recess supplied by LiiNK Project and used with permission) For years we’ve been hearing that many schools have cut back — or eliminated — recess for young children because academics a

Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What?

by mike simpson / 3h

Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What? : Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case In response to Governor Dannel Malloy’s unprecedented assault on public school students, parents, teachers and schools, Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) has been one of the most outspok

The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy

by mike simpson / 3h

The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy : The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools f you're only half tuned in to the education philanthropy space, you might think that most funders could care less about traditional public schools as they rush to pump money into cha

AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme | American Federation of Teachers

by mike simpson / 3h

AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme | American Federation of Teachers : AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme WASHINGTON —In response to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s release of “ School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligibl

The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc

by mike simpson / 7h

The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc : The Oklahoman’s criticism of school funding is unfair S chool finance is complicated enough without The Oklahoman muddying the waters in an attempt to shift much of the blame for chronic underfunding of schools to the school systems themselves. That criticism of traditional public schools and other school reformers is like comparing

Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com

by mike simpson / 7h

Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com : Charter Schools: Student population Published: September 9, 2016 John Thompson, a former teacher, talks about how charters take high poverty children, but don't have the kids experiencing trauma and generational poverty. Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com :

ECOT online school funding fight reaches court: ECOT says state rules are "unenforceable," state says ECOT is "absurd" | cleveland.com

by mike simpson / 7h

ECOT online school funding fight reaches court: ECOT says state rules are "unenforceable," state says ECOT is "absurd" | cleveland.com : ECOT online school funding fight reaches court: ECOT says state rules are "unenforceable," state says ECOT is "absurd" COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state's fight over whether the giant ECOT online school deserves the $106 million

The U.S. Has Started Tracking Religious Discrimination In Schools | Huffington Post

by mike simpson / 8h

The U.S. Has Started Tracking Religious Discrimination In Schools | Huffington Post : The U.S. Has Started Tracking Religious Discrimination In Schools It’s high time. The United States government is taking a big step to curb religious discrimination in schools. The U.S. Department of Education announced a series of initiatives this summer to address religious discrimination in public schools, in

In Perplexing Decision, Connecticut Judge Fails to Raise the Bar for Adequate School Funding | janresseger

by mike simpson / 8h

In Perplexing Decision, Connecticut Judge Fails to Raise the Bar for Adequate School Funding | janresseger : In Perplexing Decision, Connecticut Judge Fails to Raise the Bar for Adequate School Funding Last week, Connecticut Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher found Connecticut’s system of education unconstitutional. Here is how Elizabeth Harris of the NY Times describes the decision in the eleven year ol

Massachusetts Ballot Question 2: The Union Money, and More | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 8h

Massachusetts Ballot Question 2: The Union Money, and More | deutsch29 : Massachusetts Ballot Question 2: The Union Money, and More Save Our Public Schools - https://saveourpublicschoolsma.com/ On November 08, 2016, Massachusetts voters will be deciding whether or not to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the state. The ballot measure, known as Question 2, would open the door for “u

California Charter School Scandals Shows the Movement Is a Vehicle for Fraud & Corruption

by mike simpson / 9h

California Charter School Scandals Shows the Movement Is a Vehicle for Fraud & Corruption : The Charter School Movement Is a Vehicle for Fraud and Corruption As it is presently constituted. I may have mentioned , we have a red-hot ballot initiative up here in the Commonwealth (God Save It!) in which we are asked whether or not we want to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the st

The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools | Alternet

by mike simpson / 9h

The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools | Alternet : The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools “Does Jerry Brown want his legacy to be the anti-democratic privatization of our public schools?” Aimee Roylance was thrilled when her son was accepted into Livermore Valley Charter School in 2010. The traditional public schools in their part of the Bay Area

U.S. GAO - School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students

by mike simpson / 9h

U.S. GAO - School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students : Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students Participation in voucher and education savings account (ESA) programs, which fund private school tuition and other ed

Students Who Play Do Better in School - The Atlantic

by mike simpson / 9h

Students Who Play Do Better in School - The Atlantic : Students Who Play Do Better in School Google the definition of play and the first thing that pops up is this: “[To] engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.” Jack Shonkoff, the director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, finds that language supremely frustrating. “It

Parent awareness of California school finance accountability law abysmal | USC News

by mike simpson / 9h

Parent awareness of California school finance accountability law abysmal | USC News : Parent awareness of California school finance accountability law abysmal More than half of the people surveyed by the PACE/USC Rossier poll — and nearly half of those with school-age kids — say they are unaware of the state’s Local Control Funding Formula rents are among the many Californians who say they have n

Turkey submits formal request for US to detain Fethullah Gulen - FT.com

by mike simpson / 10h

Turkey submits formal request for US to detain Fethullah Gulen - FT.com : Turkey submits formal request for US to detain Fethullah Gulen Turkey asked Washington to detain Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric it blames for a failed coup in July, marking the first step in a legal battle to extradite Mr Gulen. The provisional arrest warrant was requested by Turkey’s Justice Ministry, said Anadolu, a s

YESTERDAY

The Racism of School Closures

by mike simpson / 21h

The Racism of School Closures : The Racism of School Closures As parents, students and teachers celebrate the start of a new school year, many communities across the country are facing the pain of having their schools

Top Posts This Week

• 

  John Oliver's Last Week Tonight charter school clip spurs $100000 contest
• 

  Taxpayers Sue Snyder for Theft of Revenue Sharing Dollars
• 

  Low Test Score: Get the Hell Out - More Victims of High Stakes Testing - The Washington Post
• 

  Will John Oliver Come Out of Hiding to Do His Show Last Week Tonight With John Oliver @LastWeekTonight
• Stop Humiliating Teachers - The New Yorker
• Community Schools: Why Do We Need Them? - LA Progressive
• Obama’s education policies are a ‘disaster,’ Diane Ravitch tells Hillary Clinton - The Washington Post
• 

  NYC Public School Parents: The lawsuit just filed on behalf of the receivership schools
• Alfie Kohn: Why Punishment Won't Stop a Bully - Education Week
• In Detroit, Freedom Schools Offer an Alternative to City’s Struggling Education System by Zenobia Jeffries — YES! Magazine

The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America

The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America:

The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings

By Julie Woestehoff, PAA interim executive director

It has been more than 10 years since I and many of my former colleagues began warning Chicago that massive school closings would not improve education and would most likely lead to increased violence. It gives me no pleasure to see that this prediction has come true, and to such a tragic extent.

We began to sound the alarm about school closures in 2004, as Mayor Daley and Arne Duncan touted their Renaissance 2010 program, an attempt to satisfy the business community’s call to create 100 charter schools. Some of us slept on the sidewalk outside of the Board of Education headquarters the night before the August 2004 board meeting so that we could present a steady stream of testimony the next morning against the plan’s proposed 60 closures. 

While Arne Duncan dismissed parent and community concerns, affected schools and neighborhoods became increasingly dangerous. In 2006, the media reported that violence had soared at five of the nine high schools that accepted most of the students transferred out of the high schools closed under Renaissance 2010. West side activists rose in anger in 2007 when 27 children were killed within a few months of the closure of the only open enrollment high school in Austin, the city’s largest neighborhood, forcing their children to travel across several gang lines to get to school. The nation was gripped The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America:

Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post

Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post:

Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day.

(Photo of kids playing at recess supplied by LiiNK Project and used with permission)

For years we’ve been hearing that many schools have cut back — or eliminated — recess for young children because academics are seen as more important than giving kids a chance to move during the school day. But now some schools are bucking the trend — big time, sending kids outside four separate times a day for unstructured play.

It’s part of a new program, called the LiiNK Project, which connects play and character development and is designed to bridge academics with the social, emotional and physical well-being of children. The program started in the 2015-2016 school year with four schools in Texas that used the program and four other schools that served as controls. Although it’s too early for definitive results, the short-term ones look promising. Kids in the program schools focused better than those in the control groups during the year, and reports of bullying were down. This year it is being used in 14 public schools in six school districts in Texas and Oklahoma.

Allowing young kids in school a chance to go outside for recess is not just a good idea — it’s a “crucial” one. That’s what the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on School Health declared in a 2013 statement on the subject:

Recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated, academic challenges in the classroom. But equally important is the fact that safe and well-supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional, and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from, and a complement to, physical education — not a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development and, as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons.

[How schools ruined recess — and four things needed to fix it]

But, of course, in the standardized-test-based era of school “accountability,” recess has been drastically reduced — and in some cases eliminated — for children for precisely those reasons. Even kids in kindergarten are being asked to focus for long periods of time on math and reading — even if they are not developmentally able. The result, according to Angela Hanscom, a Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post:

Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What?

Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What?:

Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case

In response to Governor Dannel Malloy’s unprecedented assault on public school students, parents, teachers and schools, Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) has been one of the most outspoken advocates for public education in Connecticut,

Now, calling the judge’s ruling in the CCJEF V. Rell case, “Breathtaking in its Hubris” and noting that, “the decision is flawed in many ways,” State Senator Fasano is urging Connecticut’s Attorney General to pursue an appeal of Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s September 7, 2016 decision in Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding, Inc. v. Jodi Rell.

Fasano’s press release explains;

 “Judge Moukawsher’s decision can only be characterized as overreaching by an activist judge. His decision reads more like a legislative agenda or white paper on education policy than a judicial finding.”

“Interestingly, the court never ruled that the statutory Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula itself is unconstitutional or that the state’s overall education funding levels are constitutionally insufficient,” Fasano observed.  “Rather, the court found that the Democrat controlled general assembly, over the last few years, has ignored the state ECS formula and manipulated education funding for political purposes” to create an “irrational, arbitrary, and fundamentally unfair system.”

Fasano noted how the court used “recent unjustifiable and arbitrary actions by the majority party to then reach into areas well outside its jurisdiction including but not limited to student testing, teacher evaluations, teacher contracts and teacher compensation.”  He said that “for a judge to opine on the

Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What?:

The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy

The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy:

The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools

If you're only half tuned in to the education philanthropy space, you might think that most funders could care less about traditional public schools as they rush to pump money into charters and education nonprofits. Of course, that wouldn't make much sense, given that 95 percent of U.S. K-12 students still go to regular district schools. And sure enough, as we so often report, there's tons of philanthropic action around these schools involving both local and national funders. 

One funder that's deeply involved in working with district schools in its own community is Salesforce.org, the philanthropic arm of Salesforce.com, the Bay Area technology company. Its commitment, which involves much more than money, has been growing, and it's interesting to examine more closely. 

Last year, the company's chief philanthropy officer, Suzanne DiBianca, filled us in on the backstory. She said that Salesforce's commitment to the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) emerged after a meeting with the mayor and superintendent. “We decided this was a place to make a big bet,” DiBianca said.

Salesforce saw an opportunity in helping the SFUSD because not many funders were getting behind the city's traditional schools. “Nobody is doing it,” DiBianca said, calling the state of public education “abominable.”

Salesforce started with a $2.7 million gift to SFUSD in 2013. Then, in 2014, it gave $5 million. In 2015, it raised the amount to $6 million. Much of this grant support went to fund infrastructure and technology improvements, an area where the school district is particularly weak. But Salesforce also made $100,000 available to each middle school principal through an innovation fund to spend as they see fit. 

Related: Inside the Salesforce Foundation: What's This Leader in Corporate Philanthropy Up to Now?

Now, Salesforce has increased its commitment further, putting another $8.5 million behind its successful partnership with San Francisco Unified School District, and adding their neighbor across the Bay, Oakland Unified Schools. The primary focus of the new funding will be supporting computer science education, with Salesforce sticking to an area it knows well.

Outsiders should be paying attention to what's happening here. 

Many observers have commented on the dismal state of computer science instruction across the country (roughly only 25 percent of schools offer The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy:

 

AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme | American Federation of Teachers

AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme | American Federation of Teachers:

AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme 

WASHINGTON—In response to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s release of “School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students(link is external),” AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

"With this report, the GAO confirms basic facts we have long known: While public schools have the responsibility for educating all students, many voucher schools take public funding while picking and choosing students based on their academic and behavioral characteristics. Voucher schools don’t abide by the same academic quality standards as public schools. They blur the lines separating church and state. Finally, vouchers exacerbate inequity by directly draining critical funding away from public schools—often the schools that need that funding most.

“This report was in the making long before Donald Trump announced his half-baked, ideology-driven plan to redirect $20 billion in federal education funding to a voucher scheme. But the GAO’s findings cast a harsh light on that plan and show why Trump’s education plan should terrify anyone who cares about leveling the playing field for all students.

“Analysis of Trump’s plan shows it could devastate up to 56,000 schools and leave as many as 21 million children worse off, while only providing vouchers to a tiny fraction of the students he claims he’ll help.

“Trump’s reckless voucher scheme could wreak real-world havoc. For schools with the highest concentration of high-needs students, Trump’s plan would likely mean:

• Losing tens of thousands of highly qualified teachers and classroom aides, increasing class sizes and decreasing access to one-on-one attention for students.
• Cutting curriculum improvement programs and professional development for educators.
• Slashing resources for extended learning time and tutoring for kids who need extra help.
• Firing counselors and ending counseling programs that help at-risk kids stay in school.
• Cutting programs that increase parent participation and involvement.
• Firing school nurses and ending in-school medical and dental care for students.
• Cutting funding for classroom technology, school supplies and other critical materials for high-needs students.

“Trump’s proposal dwarfs any voucher scheme reviewed by the GAO and would cause tremendous damage. Let’s end the drive to privatize education and, instead, invest resources in public schools so that every student has access to a high-quality neighborhood school.”

# # # #

The AFT represents 1.6 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

- See more at: http://www.aft.org/press-release/afts-weingarten-gao-school-choice-report-and-trumps-voucher-scheme#sthash.NwLKHsbK.dpuf

John Thompson The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc

The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc:

The Oklahoman’s criticism of school funding is unfair

School finance is complicated enough without The Oklahoman muddying the waters in an attempt to shift much of the blame for chronic underfunding of schools to the school systems themselves.

That criticism of traditional public schools and other school reformers is like comparing the per-patient costs of a clinic serving young, mostly healthy drop-ins with the costs of an emergency room.

Two points jump out from the newspaper’s recent editorials:

First, The Oklahoman blames educators — who have their hands full keeping their underfinanced schools open — for not fixing the historic problems that plague Oklahoma’s budgeting and taxation systems. Presumably, in their spare time, education leaders should take charge of the state’s problems with auditing its property taxes. To do that, I guess, educators should wave a magic wand and reform tax-incentive finance districts so that money diverted to Oklahoma City’s downtown could be redirected back to the classroom. (And if educators would also solve the state’s problem with earthquakes, we’d be respected more, and our political stock would rise.)

Second, none of the charges cited by The Oklahoman have been directed toward the Oklahoma City Public School System. For instance, the newspaper’s editorials have long-criticized supposedly excessive spending on overhead. In a future post, I hope to address the reasons why the federal government — not the local schools — deserves the blame for The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc:

Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com

Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com:

Charter Schools: Student population

Published: September 9, 2016

John Thompson, a former teacher, talks about how charters take high poverty children, but don't have the kids experiencing trauma and generational poverty.

Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com: