Damn Good Education Daily

Damn Good Education Daily

Damn Good Education Daily

D.C. Schools Insider - Gray: IMPACT teacher evaluation system has 'a long way to go' for fairness

voices.washingtonpost.com - Posted at 1:25 PM ET, 01/17/2011By Bill TurqueAs a candidate, Mayor Vincent C. Gray treaded cautiously when it came to questions about the IMPACT teacher evaluation system, arguably former Chancell...

Larryferlazzo

From One Blog To Another « My Island View

tomwhitby.wordpress.com - January 18, 2011 by tomwhitby Once again I am finding it to my advantage to share my learning experiences on my Blog. I find this helpful because it can be interesting to the reader, but more impor...

tomwhitby

Creativity Is Almost Dead … and Non-Educators Want To Kill It — The Jose Vilson

thejosevilson.com - Double Reading RainbowAfter posting a few crosswalk documents between the New York State math standards and The Common Core Standards on this site and at my place of employ, I’ve been very involved...

TheJLV

Yes, We Still Have To Do Things Twice As Well — The Jose Vilson

thejosevilson.com - Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson“Why don’t the adults ever have to get into dress code? It’s bullshit.” The student didn’t say it loud enough for the dean to hear it, but, with me stand...

EDUCATIONCEO

The Answer Sheet - Is Rhee's key D.C. reform being tossed?

voices.washingtonpost.com - While Michelle Rhee is busy trying to build up a national organization to take on the teachers unions, back in Washington D.C., where she was chancellor for nearly 3 1/2 years, the new mayor may be...

Larryferlazz

Education reform needs a new starting point | Marketplace From American Public Media

Education reform needs a new starting point | Marketplace From American Public Media

Education reform needs a new starting point

Teacher performance. Standardized testing. Charter schools. Those are just some of the topics dominating the discussion on education reform. But what about something even more basic -- like how we talk about success and failure with children?

D.C. Schools Insider - The buzz about Rhee from "The Bee Eater"

D.C. Schools Insider - The buzz about Rhee from "The Bee Eater"

The buzz about Rhee from "The Bee Eater"

By Bill Turque

My holiday weekend reading included an early copy of "The Bee Eater," Richard Whitmire's biography of former D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, due out next month. Full disclosure at the top: Whitmire, a former reporter and editorial writer for USA Today, interviewed me and devotes a few pages to The Post's coverage of Rhee, including mine. It's fair to say he was not a fan.

"The Bee Eater" (title refers to the oft-told tale of how as a young teacher she silenced a rowdy grade school class by killing and swallowing a bee) doesn't unload any real revelations about the D.C. schools story. But there are a few interesting new nuggets for Rheeologists. New to me, anyway.

One is the role Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp played in pushing Rhee for the chancellorship. Kopp had already been a key figure in Rhee's career, reaching out to her to run the New Teacher Project, a nonprofit that helps school districts recruit teachers. Whitmire reports that at the 2007 annual meeting of the NewSchools Venture

“Tweets about Teachers!” « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

“Tweets about Teachers!” « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

“Tweets about Teachers!”

Ever wonder what’s being Tweeted about teachers? I never did. However, last night, I did a Twitter search for a site called “We Are Teachers.” That’s where the fun began. Instead of getting their Twitter page, tons of tweets came up with the words,” we are teachers” anywhere in the tweet. I found some of them very amusing, and wanted to share them with you, I left out the ones with profanity.:) I wrote them the way they were written. These are from students:

1. “I can’t learn history from a teacher who was born in the 70′s.”

2. “My PE teachers are retarded. They need to realize that if they let us run the mile WITH our Ipods we will be faster.”

3. “options,options,options, BLAH BLAH BLAH we all know wha

NJ Spotlight | A Christie Doctrine for Charter Schools?

NJ Spotlight | A Christie Doctrine for Charter Schools?

A Christie Doctrine for Charter Schools?

The governor has big plans for NJ charters, but his biggest stumbling block may be a lack of cash

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By John Mooney, January 19 in Education |Post a Comment

Credit: Frank Conlon/Robert Treat Academy

It was news enough that Gov. Chris Christie yesterday announced 23 new charter schools in New Jersey, the largest class yet of the semi-autonomous schools. Nine were approved for Newark alone, nearly doubling the total in that city.

Related Links

Approved Charter Schools

Proposed Charter Legislation

But the breadth of his plans may be more profound in the legislation his office is preparing, essentially rewriting the state’s 15-year-old charter school law.

In a copy provided by the administration, the bill would open up the potential of dozens of entities that could approve (or authorize) charter schools -- including local school boards. It would clear the way for both private and public schools to convert to charters, while eliminating any number of existing restrictions on who can operate charter schools and for which students.

For example, among the charters announced yesterday was a school serving children with autism, and another that would have single-sex classrooms -- in a co-educational building.

But the scope of his plans do not stop there. Under

Modern School: LAUSD: More Bureaucracy to Save Black Boys?

Modern School: LAUSD: More Bureaucracy to Save Black Boys?

LAUSD: More Bureaucracy to Save Black Boys?

by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Dunn)

In honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday, LAUSD’s lame duck superintendent Ramon Cortines announced that he has convened a committee to help black students finally close the achievement gap. In LAUSD, 71% of white students were proficient on the English CST exams last year, compared with only 36% of black students. In math, 65% of white students were proficient, compared to 30% of black students.

Of course these numbers are appalling and should be of great concern to everyone. However, Cortines’ announcement was really much more about political showmanship (considering its timing with the King Holiday) than about finding a real solution. Student achievement depends mostly on socioeconomic factors that affect children at home and in their communities. University of Washington economist Dan Goldhaber argues that as much as 60% of academic achievement is based on non-school factors like family income. Eric Hanushek believes that teacher quality accounts for only 7.5-10% of student test score improvements.

Therefore, unless Cortines has a plan for the decreasing wealth gap, or the political and social alienation of poor

Schools Matter: Wake County and Tedesco Featured on Colbert

Schools Matter: Wake County and Tedesco Featured on Colbert

Wake County and Tedesco Featured on Colbert

by Jim Horn

From NBC17:

Colbert quoted Tedesco during the segment:

"If we had a school that was, like, 80 percent high-poverty, the public would see the challenges, the need to make is successful. ... Right now, we have diluted the problem, so we can ignore it."

Colbert responded with this sarcastic remark:

"See! Misguided government do-gooders foolishly diluted the problem by addressing it. We need

If I Were Queen for a Day… an Educator’s Perspective on Florida Public Schools « Continuing Change

If I Were Queen for a Day… an Educator’s Perspective on Florida Public Schools « Continuing Change

If I Were Queen for a Day… an Educator’s Perspective on Florida Public Schools

by gatorbonbc

As a participant on the Stop Senate Bill 6 Facebook wall, I am often engaged with questions from the admin. Today’s wall question asked,

“If you were king or queen of Florida’s public schools, what would you offer up as an alternative ?

Hmm… Queen for a Day? Wow… if only…

ahh, but I digress… no relation, btw

OK… Ed Reform in Florida… My counter proposal to our governor’s voucher/accountability plan ?

Creativity Is Almost Dead … and Non-Educators Want To Kill It — The Jose Vilson

Creativity Is Almost Dead … and Non-Educators Want To Kill It — The Jose Vilson

Creativity Is Almost Dead … and Non-Educators Want To Kill It

by Jose

Double Reading Rainbow

After posting a few crosswalk documents between the New York State math standards and The Common Core Standards on this site and at my place of employ, I’ve been very involved in understanding how these mandated national standards will transform our way of teaching students, and how we need to get parents and students involved in the education ecology. By all accounts, the new standards are pretty good; light on how much we need to cover, deeper in the things we should cover.

Yet, this transition phase, like most other reforms, can often feel like it’s being done unto teachers and not with

The Answer Sheet - Is Rhee's key D.C. reform being tossed?

The Answer Sheet - Is Rhee's key D.C. reform being tossed?

Is Rhee's key D.C. reform being tossed?

While Michelle Rhee is busy trying to build up a national organization to take on the teachers unions, back in Washington D.C., where she was chancellor for nearly 3 1/2 years, the new mayor may be on the road to taking apart her signature reform. My colleague Bill Turque reported that new Mayor Vincent C. Gray just made his most detailed comments about the IMPACT teacher evaluation system that Rhee instituted and likes to point to as a success.

Fewer districts say they’re in trouble | Thoughts on Public Education

Fewer districts say they’re in trouble | Thoughts on Public Education

Fewer districts say they’re in trouble

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Sleepless nights ahead for Joel Montero of FCMAT

Posted on 1/19/11 • Categorized as Revenue and taxes

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Ten school districts have acknowledged that they’re headed toward insolvency this year or next. An additional 91 districts say they won’t be able to make ends meet two years from now, based on current projections.

The combination represents about 10 percent of the state’s school districts. It’s preliminary and may rise after county offices of education review districts’ financials over the next month.

But the totals are considerably lower than the 174 districts that last spring said they were headed for fiscal trouble. That’s surprising to Joel Montero, CEO of Fiscal Crisis and Management Advisory Team (FCMAT), the state agency that straightens out districts’

More turmoil at Montbello High School | DeFENSE

More turmoil at Montbello High School | DeFENSE

A shiny new building for friends of Hoyt Why would you divert bond money to expand Slavens K-8 when the middle-schoolers should be going to Merrill…and then tell people that there’s no money to renovate the old Byers building? Is this just a gift to Bruce Hoyt’s friends? DPS has argued ...

A DSST at the old Byers building? Community seems to say yes. This email went out today: Dear DPS Board Members: The former Byers Junior High building I am writing in support of bringing the nationally acclaimed Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST) to the empty Byers Junior High building at 150 S. ...

More turmoil at Montbello High School A mom from Montbello writes: The students of Montbello were going to have a walk out the week after the vote on the school turnaround. The admin and police of the school stopped them from doing it. They blocked doors and made their presence known ...

DPS releases “call for new schools” Tonight, the district presented its “Call for Quality Schools,” which is the open call for proposals from (mostly) new charter schools. There are a couple new developments, like asking for evidence of English-language learner support. They’re also

NYC Educator: Mayor Bloomberg's Dream

NYC Educator: Mayor Bloomberg's Dream

Mayor Bloomberg's Dream

by NYC Educator

Following up on Miss Eyre's post of yesterday (which was quoted in the New York Times, mistakenly attributed to me), Mayor Bloomberg indeed has a dream. Essentially, it entails firing anyone he wants, whenever he wants, for whatever reason he wants.

Likely it will be the principal making such decisions. Goodbye, chapter leader. Goodbye, delegates. Goodbye, pain in the ass loudmouth who's always telling everyone about the unsafe conditions in the auditorium. Hello, teacher willing to rendezvous with principal Tuesday afternoons at the Comfort Inn. In a merit

SFUSD Board Member Questions Turnaround Policies « InterACT

SFUSD Board Member Questions Turnaround Policies « InterACT

SFUSD Board Member Questions Turnaround Policies

by David B. Cohen

In my last post, I reacted to news from San Francisco, where a number of “persistently low-performing” schools will receive a federal school improvement grants (SIG) as part of the government’s “turnaround” policy. There are only four approved models or methods for school turnarounds, and the rigidity of the policy based on so little research and prior success has generated considerable criticism. My fellow InterACT blogger, Martha Infante, recently set about answering a question about schools in California: “The Affluent, Failing, Public School: Does It Really Exist?” And to no one’s surprise, the answer is no. Those of us in the profession are well aware that the ends of the school rankings spectrum reflect differences in circumstances and resources much more than they reflect differences in educators and their practices. Yet, school turnaround models approved by the government

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Colbert was brilliant last night.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Colbert was brilliant last night.

Colbert was brilliant last night.

Made a mockery of Wake County's T-Party rollback of deseg

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Disintegration
www.colbertnation.com

The Shriver Brief : Poverty Law Commentary & Insights : Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law : Affordable Housing, Healthcare Reform

The Shriver Brief : Poverty Law Commentary & Insights : Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law : Affordable Housing, Healthcare Reform

The Affordable Care Act Is Working! Turning Back the Clock Would Hurt Millions of Americans

POSTED ON JANUARY 18, 2011 BY ANDREA KOVACH

The House of Representatives is going to vote onH.R. 2 and H. Res. 9, which would repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively referred to as “the Affordable Care Act”). These two laws are already providing critically important benefits and protections for individuals and families across the country. Turning back the clock by repealing these vitally important laws would harm millions of Americans, and would once again allow insurance companies to put profits first.

Repeal would allow unfair and discriminatory insurance practices to continue. Repeal would eliminate important measures that hold insurance companies accountable. Repeal would once again impose lifetime or annual dollar limits on covered services, or rescind insurance coverage when an individual gets sick. Repeal would allow insurers to deny women coverage if they’ve had a Cesarean section, breast or cervical cancer, or received medical treatment for domestic or sexual violence.

Repeal would allow insurance companies to continue to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions. Members of Congress are guaranteed access to health coverage even if they or family members have a pre-existing

Shanker Blog » Policy And Research: A Shotgun Wedding In New Jersey

Shanker Blog » Policy And Research: A Shotgun Wedding In New Jersey

Policy And Research: A Shotgun Wedding In New Jersey

by Matthew Di Carlo

Earlier today, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced his plan to open 23 new charter schools in his state. Just hours before this announcement, the NJ education department issued an analysis of new data on the performance of charter schools in the state (during the 2009-10 school year). In an accompanying press release, the department claims that “the data affirms [sic] the need for Governor Christie’s reform proposals to grow the number of high-quality charter schools…”

The release also contains several other extremely bold assertions that the results support expanding the state’s charter sector. The title of the actual report, which contains only tables, is: “Living Up to Expectations: Charter Schools in New Jersey Outperforming District Schools.”

Unfortunately, however, the analysis could barely pass muster if submitted by a student in one of the state’s high school math classes (charter or regular public).

It seems that the department compared the overall proficiency rates of each of the state’s 70 or so charter schools with the rates of the district in which they are located, as well as with the overall state average (for the