Wednesday, February 3, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Wednesday, February 3, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES

The High Stakes of Miguel Cardona’s Senate Confirmation Hearing | Education News | US News - https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-02-02/the-high-stakes-of-miguel-cardonas-senate-confirmation-hearing#new_tab on @USNews

STATE’S REFUSAL TO FUND SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION FORCES STUDENTS BACK TO COURT | Education Law Center - https://edlawcenter.org/news/archives/school-facilities/state%E2%80%99s-refusal-to-fund-school-construction-forces-students-back-to-court.html

Carrying Betsy DeVos' Torch: More States Push Voucher Programs | HuffPost - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-school-voucher_n_6019bb29c5b668b8db3c89d9?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 on @HuffPostPol

Equity & Access - https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Equity-and-Access-Educational-Leadership-Preparation

Trying To Bring Research, Sanity, Teacher Expertise & Student Voice To The “Learning Loss” Discussion | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=115330 on @Larryferlazzo

Free Webinar Dealing With Learning Disabilities In Delaware On February 10th | Exceptional Delaware - https://wp.me/p4JboV-5Nm via @ExcptlDelaware

Some Philadelphia teachers may get vaccine before return to buildings Monday, health commissioner says - Chalkbeat Philadelphia - https://philadelphia.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/2/22263102/some-philadelphia-teachers-may-get-vaccine-before-return-to-buildings-monday-health-commissioner on chalkbeat

Choosing Democracy: Reopening schools during the pandemic is proving to be a complex assignment - http://choosingdemocracy.blogspot.com/2021/02/reopening-schools-during-pandemic-is.html

Education Pick Miguel Cardona Is New To Washington — But Not To Classrooms http://feeds.scpr.org/~r/893KpccSouthernCaliforniaNews-Education/~3/9J_gwgbAOGs/

Cardona's nomination wins Burr's support - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/03/miguel-cardona-nomination-richard-burr-465494

‘Wake Up and Learn’ Mayor, Superintendent call on community to help improve student attendance https://thelensnola.org/2021/02/02/wake-up-and-learn-mayor-superintendent-call-on-community-to-help-improve-student-attendance/

Defund or reform UC campus police? Sharp disagreement surfaces http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/uQTh5ACnSIA/defund-campus-police-or-reform-them-sharp-disagreement-surfaces-at-uc

Southern California pediatricians call for L.A.-area schools to immediately reopen http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/LMOw-sdYJ50/southern-california-pediatricians-call-schools-reopen

Opinion: What Biden administration can learn from NJ’s fight for equitable education https://www.njspotlight.com/2021/02/nj-fight-equitable-education-lessons-newark-big-tent-digital-social-emotional-equity/

Montclair schools in bitter dispute with teachers union over reopening https://www.njspotlight.com/video/montclair-schools-in-bitter-dispute-with-teachers-union-over-reopening/

NYC families enrolled in remote-only learning can now opt into in-person ‘Learning Bridges’ childcare programs https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-nyc-remote-learning-childcare-programs-20210202-p5xngzx7tfaidbj5zu36ha5s6u-story.html#ed=rss_www.nydailynews.com/arcio/rss/category/new-york/education/

When worldviews collide: Why science needs to be taught differently https://bigthink.com/13-8/science-education

Virginia’s largest school systems vow to reopen classrooms for all by March https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-loudoun-reopening-plan/2021/02/03/c56dcd70-65b9-11eb-8c64-9595888caa15_story.html

Wednesday’s Must-Read Articles On School Closings | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=115310 on @Larryferlazzo

As Newsom pushes for return to classrooms, teachers say it would put them at risk https://fox40.com/news/local-news/as-newsom-pushes-for-return-to-classrooms-teachers-say-it-would-put-them-at-risk/

OPINION: A Black principal’s case against educator neutrality - The Hechinger Report https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-a-black-principals-case-against-educator-neutrality/

After months of planning, protests and false starts, D.C. students and teachers head to classes for first time in nearly a year https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-schools-reopening/2021/02/02/29bfe1c4-6514-11eb-8468-21bc48f07fe5_story.html?tid=ss_tw

Perspective | How to start ending the school-to-prison pipeline — by an educator just elected to the U.S. House https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/02/03/ending-school-to-prison-pipline/?tid=ss_tw

Perspective | Teacher: What Americans keep getting wrong about our unions during the pandemic https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/02/02/what-american-get-wrong-about-teachersunions/?tid=ss_tw

Chicago Families Debate School Reopening https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/us/chicago-school-reopening.html

Betsy DeVos is no longer education secretary. But the school voucher programs she loves are expanding in states. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-school-voucher_n_6019bb29c5b668b8db3c89d9?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004 via @HuffPostPol

Education Pick Miguel Cardona's Message To Lawmakers: 'En La Unión Está La Fuerza' https://www.npr.org/sections/biden-transition-updates/2021/02/03/963620575/education-pick-miguel-cardonas-message-to-lawmakers-en-la-union-esta-la-fuerza?utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

Two major teachers' unions call on GOP leadership to remove Greene from Education Committee https://thehill.com/homenews/house/536976-two-major-teachers-unions-call-on-gop-leadership-to-remove-greene-from#.YBr5e_8ACF8.twitter

Gov. Tom Wolf wants to raise Pa. income taxes and give $1.5 billion more to schools - https://www.inquirer.com/education/gov-wolf-pennsylvania-budget-income-tax-public-schools-20210202.html#new_tab via @PhillyInquirer

Detroit district will remove Fs, limit graded assignments in push to help overwhelmed online students - Chalkbeat Detroit - https://detroit.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/2/22263532/detroit-district-will-eliminate-fs-limit-graded-assignments-in-push-to-help-overwhelmed-students#new_tab on chalkbeat

Montclair teachers union says it’s ‘sucker-punched,’ district plans to sue https://www.montclairlocal.news/2021/02/02/montclair-schools-sue-union-to-bring-students-back-to-class/ via @Montclair Local News

Missouri school districts could lose control of virtual education decisions under proposed legislation | Politics | stltoday.com - https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/missouri-school-districts-could-lose-control-of-virtual-education-decisions-under-proposed-legislation/article_9f8c91ed-2066-5d05-88a4-78005b336fec.html#new_tab on @stltoday

5 big questions Miguel Cardona may face during his confirmation hearing https://www.chalkbeat.org/2020/12/23/22197906/5-big-questions-miguel-cardona-education-secretary via @Chalkbeat

16% of New Orleans public school students miss class each day. Officials issue a 'call to action' | Education | nola.com - https://www.nola.com/news/education/article_af9ce2c2-6570-11eb-8a6f-9ffe9da33000.html#new_tab on @nolanews

S.F. school board leans toward permanently stripping Lowell High of its merit-based admissions rules - https://www.sfchronicle.com/education/article/S-F-school-board-leans-toward-permanently-15919996.php on @sfchronicle

The schools of the future can be built in less than a week https://www.fastcompany.com/90599439/the-schools-of-the-future-can-be-built-in-less-than-a-week

One of Biden’s biggest problems in his first 100 days comes from an unlikely place - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/02/02/california-poses-bidens-biggest-test-on-school-reopening-465211#new_tab

#BlackLivesMatterAtSchool Online Book Forum: BLM co-founder Opal Tometi will join Brian Jones, Denisha Jones, Jesse Hagopian and Marshé Doss in conversation about making Black Lives Matter–from the streets to the classroom. – I AM AN EDUCATOR - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/blacklivesmatteratschool-online-book.html

Big Education Ape: Open Letter: Cancel the Standardized Testing Mandate for Spring 2021 | Schott Foundation for Public Education - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/open-letter-cancel-standardized-testing.html

Big Education Ape: Teacher Tom: To Do Good Feels Good - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/teacher-tom-to-do-good-feels-good.html

Big Education Ape: Teachers to Biden: What we want from your administration + Jamaal Bowman: ending the school-to-prison pipeline + Americans keep getting wrong about our unions - The Washington Post - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/teachers-to-biden-what-we-want-from.html

Big Education Ape: Mike Klonsky's Blog: Parkland - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/mike-klonskys-blog-parkland.html

Big Education Ape: Septima Clark, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/septima-clark-black-educator-hall-of.html

Big Education Ape: NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/newblackman-in-exile-today-blm_3.html

Big Education Ape: A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/02/a-very-busy-day-larry-ferlazzos_3.html

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Raynard Sanders - Network For Public Education

by Mike Simpson / 4min

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Raynard Sanders Start: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 • 7:00 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00) End: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 • 8:30 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00) The Network for Public Education invites you to join us for a video conference with NPE President Diane Ravitch. Diane's guest will be author and educator, R

A New Anthem for #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool: “False Knowledge,” by the middle school duo Triple S! – I AM AN EDUCATOR

by Mike Simpson / 4min

A New Anthem for #BlackLivesMatterAtSchool: “False Knowledge,” by the middle school duo Triple S! To support the artists, Triple S, please buy the track on Bandcamp at: https://southseattleswagger.bandcamp.com/track/false-knowledge Black Lives Matter at School has a new anthem for the movement! The middle school duo from Seattle, Triple S (South Seattle Swagger)–Mc’s Freeze 32 and Gucci Grape–is

Florida: Stop the Mega-Voucher Bill! | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4min

Florida: Stop the Mega-Voucher Bill! The Constitution of the state of Florida bans the transfer of public funds to religious schools or any religious institution. The ban is unequivocal. It says: “No revenue of the state or any political subdivision or agency thereof shall ever be taken from the public treasury directly or indirectly in aid of any church, sect, or religious denomination or in ai

Alfie Kohn: The Tests Are Lousy, So How Could the Scores Be Meaningful? | National Education Policy Center

by Mike Simpson / 4min

Alfie Kohn: The Tests Are Lousy, So How Could the Scores Be Meaningful? Way before Waze, I listened to traffic reports on my car radio whenever I had to drive to the airport. Over time I came to realize that the information they broadcast was frequently wrong: I’d be caught in a jam on a highway that the radio had just told me was in good shape or, conversely, I’d be speeding along on a road I’d

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s First Big Test | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 4min

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona’s First Big Test Miguel Cardona’s confirmation hearing as President Biden’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education is scheduled for this morning at 10 AM in the U.S. Senate Education Committee. Assuming Cardona is confirmed by the committee and subsequently on the floor of the U.S. Senate, his first big test as Education Secretary will be his decision

YESTERDAY

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Tuesday, February 2, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #BLACKHISTORYMONTH

by Mike Simpson / 21h

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES It’s Groundhog Day & Here Are Teaching & Learning Resources | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=115304 on @Larryferlazzo Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL | Larry

Big Education Ape

#BlackLivesMatterAtSchool Online Book Forum: BLM co-founder Opal Tometi will join Brian Jones, Denisha Jones, Jesse Hagopian and Marshé Doss in conversation about making Black Lives Matter–from the streets to the classroom. – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Online Book Forum: BLM co-founder Opal Tometi will join Brian Jones, Denisha Jones, Jesse Hagopian and Marshé Doss in conversation about making Black Lives Matter–from the streets to the classroom.

Black Lives Matter co-founder Opal Tometi wrote the foreword for the new book, Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice, and she will be joining the book’s co-editors, Denisha Jones, Jesse Hagopian, along with contributing authors, Marshé Doss and Brian Jones. Join us for this conversation about making Black lives matter in our schools and beyond as part of this year’s Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

In her foreword to Black Lives Matter at School: An Uprising for Educational Justice Opal Tometi writes: “Both within classrooms and outside the school grounds, Black lives are under threat. The events that led to the creation of Black Lives Matter—the murder in 2012 of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his killer—weren’t isolated events. The culture of endangering Black lives is something students know well from inside their very own classrooms. . . Young people deserve safe, affirming environments where they know without a shadow of a doubt that their lives matter. The work that supporters of Black Lives Matter at School are doing is making this happen.”

Join us for conversation about making Black lives matter in our school and beyond.

***Register through Eventbrite to receive a link to the video conference on the day of the event. This event will also be recorded and have live captioning.***

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Speakers:

Opal Tometi is an award-winning human rights defender and one of three women co-founders of #BlackLivesMatter. Born to Nigerian Immigrant parents in the USA, her human rights activism crosses borders and extends almost 20 years. Tometi recently graced the #TIME100 Most Influential people of the year 2020 and March 2020 cover for #TIMES100 Most Influential Women of The Last Century. She is the founder of the new media and advocacy hub, Diaspora Rising and is a trusted advisor to various transnational organizations.

Denisha Jones is a member of the national Black Lives Matter at School steering committee and Director of the Art of Teaching, graduate teacher education program, at Sarah Lawrence College. She is the co-editor of Black Lives Matter at School.

Jesse Hagopian is a member of the national Black Lives Matter at School steering committee and teaches Ethnic Studies at Seattle’s Garfield High School. He is the co-editor of Black Lives Matter at School, an editor for Rethinking Schools magazine and is a co-editor of Teaching for Black Lives.

Marshé Doss was born and raised in South Los Angeles.She is a recent graduate from Dorsey High School in South Los Angeles. Marshé is an organizer and leader in the student-led movement Students Deserve. She leads the Making Black Lives Matter in Schools effort in LA, which tackles the school-to-prison pipeline and over-policing of schools in Black communities. She is a nationally recognized speaker, organizer, and activist, known for direct actions and addressing crowds of over fifty thousand people. She can be reached on Instagram at @its.marshe.

Brian Jones (moderator) is the Associate Director of Education at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. He writes about Black education history and politics.

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This event is sponsored by Haymarket Books. While all of our events are freely available, we ask that those who are able make a solidarity donation in support of our important publishing and programing work.

Open Letter: Cancel the Standardized Testing Mandate for Spring 2021 | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Open Letter: Cancel the Standardized Testing Mandate for Spring 2021

The Schott Foundation is proud to add our name, alongside our longtime partners and allies, to this open letter to Dr. Miguel Cardona, President Biden's pick for Secretary of Education. It's time to follow up on candidate Biden's promise on standardized tests: cancel the spring 2021 testing mandate.

To: Secretary of Education Nominee, Miguel Cardona
Dear Dr. Cardona:
On December 14, 2019, President Joe Biden participated in the 2020 Public Education Forum held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Early childhood expert, Dr. Denisha Jones, explained the damage done by standardized testing and then asked, “If you are elected President, will you commit to the ending of standardized testing in public schools?”
Joe Biden's response was immediate, direct, and clear. “Yes.” He continued, passionately declaring that “teaching to a test underestimates and discounts the things that are most important for students to know.” As you listen to his full remarks regarding why he is opposed to standardized testing, you will hear the authentic response of someone who is not only married to a teacher but who, growing up with a disability, may have felt the brunt of standardized testing himself.
We, the undersigned understand that the pandemic has inflicted enormous social, emotional, physical, and academic harm on America’s children. We also know that the consequences of the pandemic have not fallen equally on some children’s shoulders. Those who were disadvantaged prior to Covid-19 are bearing a disproportionate weight from CONTINUE READING: Open Letter: Cancel the Standardized Testing Mandate for Spring 2021 | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Teacher Tom: To Do Good Feels Good

To Do Good Feels Good

One of the single most depressing days of my life was when the professor in a university course I was taking called The Art of Rhetoric argued the case against altruism. He made his claim, then invited a classroom full of idealistic youths to try to prove him wrong.

"What about the hero who runs into a burning building?" we asked.

"He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself otherwise. Or maybe he knew it would be unbearable to lose a loved one. Or maybe he was thinking about the kudos and rewards."

"What about a mother who cares for her baby?"

"She will be arrested if she neglects it. She'll be a social outcast if she behaves otherwise. She loves the praise of being a good mother."

It went on for some time, but in the end I walked away with new doubts and cynical thoughts about humanity, myself CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: To Do Good Feels Good

Teachers to Biden: What we want from your administration + Jamaal Bowman: ending the school-to-prison pipeline + Americans keep getting wrong about our unions - The Washington Post

Teachers to Biden: What we want from your administration - The Washington Post

Teachers to Biden: What we want from your administration

Teachers around the country are eager to see where President Biden and his Education Department take federal policy to improve public schools — especially after four years of the Trump administration, which did not try to hide its contempt for public education.

In this post, three educators who have decades of cumulative experience teaching students and teachers spell out where they hope the new administration will go in helping schools provide an education to all students that, as they explain, “is relevant and engages them in things that matter.”

The three are Jenna Fournel, Cosby Hunt and Aleta Margolis — all of them from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Inspired Teaching, a nonprofit that provides innovative professional learning programs for teachers and seeks to transform the school experience for students from compliance-based to engagement-based.

In their following letter to Biden, Vice President Harris, and Miguel Cardona, who is expected to be confirmed by the Senate as education secretary, they urge a focus on “support of inquiry-based teaching and learning, media literacy, anti-racist pedagogy, prioritizing social studies and science, and centering teachers in our democracy.”

Fournel is director of digital programming and communications at the organization, where she leads its #Inspired2Learn initiative. A former high school English teacher, Fournel has served as director of communications for the National Council of Teachers of English. Contact Fournel at jenna@inspiredteaching.org or follow her on Twitter @inspireteach.

Hunt is director of youth programming and leads the organization’s Speak Truth and Real World History programs. Hunt is a National Board Certified teacher who has taught social studies to students and teachers in Washington, D.C., for more than 20 years. He is also the 2019 National History Day Teacher of the Year, and currently teaches AP U.S. History at Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School in Southeast Washington. Contact Hunt at Cosby@inspiredteaching.org. CONTINUE READING: Teachers to Biden: What we want from your administration - The Washington Post

How to start ending the school-to-prison pipeline — by an educator just elected to the U.S. House - The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/02/03/ending-school-to-prison-pipline/

Teacher: What Americans keep getting wrong about our unions during the pandemic - The Washington Post - https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/02/02/what-american-get-wrong-about-teachersunions/

Mike Klonsky's Blog: Parkland

Parkland

I was in Parkland two days after the massacre in 2018. I did some interviews with parents, educators, and students at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School, all shaken with anger and despair, feelings that in the following months would inspire the energy behind a movement for gun control. It was a movement led by the students themselves, that would sweep the nation and play a critical role in the political shift towards Democrats in the last election.

Like most of the country, I cheered on the dozens of students who boarded the buses to Tallahassee that day to offer their "reasonable" gun control proposals to the state legislature only to be ignored and insulted by state pols.

Now three years later, some of those feelings of grief and anger have returned as I watch video of gun-toting white-supremacist, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene berating anti-gun student leaders and mocking news of the massacre that killed 17 people at MSD and wounded 17 others and still no significant gun laws on the books.

Rep. Greene is easy to hate unless you're one of the thousands of north Georgia Republicans CONTINUE READING: Mike Klonsky's Blog: Parkland

Septima Clark, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

SEPTIMA CLARK, BLACK EDUCATOR HALL OF FAME

E’ry day this month, the Center for Black Educator Development, in partnership with Phillys7thWard.org, will highlight a Black Educator Hall of Famer.

But, don’t forget, e’ry month is Black History Month...February is just the Blackest.

Today, our featured Black Educator is Septima P. Clark.

Septima Clark was an eduactivist, born in South Carolina on May 3, 1898. A student of W.E.B. Du Bois, she became an educator and taught throughout South Carolina for over 30 years. However, she was fired from teaching because she refused to resign from the NAACP. A state law passed in 1956 prohibited city and state employees from belonging to civil rights organizations – Septima knew you could’nt separate racial justice from educational justice. She also know that despite the school board separating her from her beloved teaching position, the teaching and learning she was committed to doing would continue.

She pivoted and turned her work of teaching for liberation to a broader effort – adults.

Septima spent summers teaching literacy and civil and Constitutional rights at the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee. The Highlander School was COUNTINUE READING: Septima Clark, Black Educator Hall of Fame - Philly's 7th Ward

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Raynard Sanders - Network For Public Education

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Raynard Sanders

Start: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 • 7:00 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)

End: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 • 8:30 PM • Eastern Daylight Time (US & Canada) (GMT-04:00)

The Network for Public Education invites you to join us for a video conference with NPE President Diane Ravitch. Diane's guest will be author and educator, Raynard Sanders. Join Diane and Raynard in conversation about Raynard's latest book, The Coup D’état of the New Orleans Public Schools: Money, Power, and the Illegal Takeover of a Public School System.

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Raynard Sanders - Network For Public Education

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Wednesday, February 3, 2021