Monday, April 25, 2011

Eli Broad’s Last Hurrah in Detroit? | Seattle Education

Eli Broad’s Last Hurrah in Detroit?

by seattleducation2011

Billionaires like Eli Broad seem to be willing to go to any length at this point to usurp their power over others when it comes to transforming public school systems into what they think is best for the rest of us.

Robert Bobb

I have been following Bob Bobb for the last year or so basically due to my amazement at the bravura that he has shown in carrying out the policies of the Broad Foundation. See Bob Bobb, The Sad Saga Continues and Bob Bobb, The Sad Saga Continues, Part 2. It seems that Bob Bobb is willing to go to any length to continue with his benefactor’s agenda to have a charter school in every district and municipality around this country.

Unfortunately, Eli Broad’s desire to reach his goal seems to be verging on the point of fanaticism with the push to get legislation through by way of Governor Snyder that now provides Emergency Financial Managers such as

California State University Sneaks Toward Academic Elitism

by SOURCE on APRIL 25, 2011

in: CIVIL RIGHTS, ECONOMY, EDUCATION

CSU students and faculty rally against cuts, April 13, 2011.

by Kit-Bacon Gressitt / Excuse Me, I’m Writing

On Wednesday, April 13, campuses across the California State University system (CSU) hosted demonstrations — dubbed Take Class Action Day — to protest budget cuts to the Cal State system.

The rally was the first time, since landing at CSU San Marcos in January, that I sensed that protest high of my otherwise misspent youth. As I approached the gathering, shades of rhythmic rebellion synced with my beating heart as students, staff and faculty sang the praises of the

Challenges Ahead: Brizard’s departure to Chicago « Failing Schools

Challenges Ahead: Brizard’s departure to Chicago

APRIL 24, 2011

by markfriedman1

Since joining Failing Schools as a writer, I’ve written a fair amount about the policies, leadership, and resistance to ~~former~~ Rochester City School District Superintendent Jean-Claude Brizard. I attempted to have us collectively examine Brizard’s agenda, better known as the Broad Agenda, by understanding what common consequences Eli Broad-trained Superintendents bring to school districts throughout the nation. This process has been filled with numerous struggles, (and questions from the very start) as Brizard has attempted to advance top-down policies filled with dubious unethical mismanagement that many in Rochester have viewed as hostile to some of the basic tenets of public education.

Several times in the last few weeks, parents, schools, and community came together before the

115th Annual National PTA® Convention and Exhibition June 9–12, 2011 | PTA

Workshops | PTA

National PTA® Convention: Workshops

115th Annual National PTA^®
Convention and Exhibition
June 9–12, 2011
Disney Coronado Springs
Resort and Convention Center
Orlando, Florida

This year, the National PTA Convention features 60 content specific workshops covering six tracks: (1) Best Practices & Innovation in Family Engagement, (2) Advocating for All Children, (3) Improving Health and Wellness, (4) Engaging All Students and Families, (5) Leadership Development, and (6) Building Capacity of Your PTA.

Because of previous popularity, this year our Convention Workshops will again be offered without the need for advanced reservation, they will be open seating; first-come first-served. Please take a few minutes and review the workshop offerings.

For your convenience, you will be able to print workshop handouts in advance and bring them with you. You also have the option to “go green” and view the handouts online before and after convention. Submitted handouts will be available online in late May.

Education Petition: Put the Parent Voice back in Public Education! | Change.org

Put the Parent Voice back in Public Education!

SIGN THIS PETITION

SIGNATURES

391

PETITIONING

The President of the United States

+ 2 others

STARTED BY

Leonie Haimson

New York, NY

OVERVIEW

Secretary of Education Duncan's proposals to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) would take the parent voice out of public education, would encourage more test prep and narrowing of the curriculum, would lead to more privatization and inequities in funding, and would further undermine the quality of our public schools.

Parent leaders from across America have written a letter to the President and the US Congress, asking them to listen to parents, and enact real education reforms that have been proven to work, including requiring more parent involvement in decision-making and reducing class size.

We insist that the next version of the ESEA formally incorporates the views of public school parents. As highly knowledgeable primary stakeholders, we must be permitted to have a seat at the decision-making table.

The original letter is posted here. Please join us by signing the letter below! You can also personalize it, adding details about your own school or community. And then join our facebook page, Parents Across America.

Weblogg-ed » The “New” Normal

The “New” Normal

by Will Richardson

Tim Stahmer’s post “There’s No Normal to Return To” has me thinking this morning. He writes:

At the same time we in education are also doubling down on the “back to basics” and on teaching kids how to follow someone else’s instructions. Our leaders, both political and business, want us to think that if we just combine greater effort with more standardization that we can recreate the glorious old days where every kid was above average and US test scores topped every other country.
The former, of course, is statistically impossible (only in Lake Wobegon) and the later a myth, but we spend large chunks of money, instructional time, and public discourse trying to make it happen.
So when do we acknowledge that our current education system, built to support that industrial

The End of the CEC Illusion « EdVox

The End of the CEC Illusion

by edvoxny

By Norm Fruchter

The deadline for parent candidates for election to the 32 Community Education Councils (CECs) across the NYC school system was last Friday night, April 22^nd. According to a story by WNYC’s Beth Fertig, by last Thursday night only 450 candidates had applied to stand for the 325 CEC seats — not exactly a competitive election. In five school districts, not enough candidates had applied even to form a quorum. Observers blamed the Office for Family Information and Action (OFIA) for failing to adequately promote and publicize the CEC elections. (OFIA was the same office that had not only failed to announce the start of the candidate sign-up period, but had also initiated an inappropriate and possibly illegal effort to enlist Parent Coordinators to lobby Albany legislators to vote to end the role of seniority in teacher lay-offs – the Last In/First Out or LIFO rule). But the numbers of candidates applying for CEC seats have been falling in each successive election since the CEC’s were initiated in 2004.

Yet when the first few elections to the Community Education Councils were held, then-Chancellor Joel Klein trumpeted the high CEC voter participation rate and compared it to the very low rate of participation in community

ASCD Inservice: Deliver Us from Math Class Hierarchies

Deliver Us from Math Class Hierarchies

In a typical math classroom, ability spreads across a range, from Olympic mathlete, to non-starters. But what if instead of multiplying differences in background knowledge, quickness, confidence, and focus; what if math instruction minimized these differences?

John Mighton, author of The Myth of Ability, says his curriculum, Jump Math, can do this, and he backs his claim with the success of several schools using the curriculum in England and Canada. Mighton credits the curriculum's success to breaking down math processes into tiny steps, and giving students extensive practice and scaffolding to work through the steps. His approach mirrors that of 2011 California Teacher of the Year and ASCD author, Kadhir Rajagopal. (We'll get

In Case You Missed It Here's some new stuff happening around ASCD: One week from today! The ASCD EDge Social Networking Group presents two P.D. events online Friday April 29, 2011 for all members of the group - Join for free today! Listen to the...

Reflection on Global History Unit 5: Revolutions « Outside the Cave

Reflection on Global History Unit 5: Revolutions

by Stephen Lazar

This is the first unit we’ve done this year that I’m not happy with overall. There were some really good things that occurred, specifically our work around more advanced documents and historical analysis, but overall, I think we got more wrong than we got right. Most of the small lessons went well, but the meat of the unit around the French Revolution was off. We also didn’t do nearly enough at the end to synthesize all the different strands we had investigated.

Things We Got Right

We focused our students’ learning on a clearly defined set of skills (those necessary to analyze complex and conflicting documents) that had clear assessments that enabled us to measure student growth and to give students clear feedback.
Students improved their writing and historical thinking during the unit.
Students gained a thorough understanding of the causes of the French Revolution.
The Enlightenment Socratic Seminar was our best one yet.
I really liked beginning the unit with the Revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. Students were engaged, and it

Graduating Is Overrated, Anyway | Dissident Voice

Graduating Is Overrated, Anyway

by Terry Everton

Is Senate Bill 7 a model of collaboration or a model of collaboration? « Fred Klonsky's blog

Is Senate Bill 7 a model of collaboration or a model of collaboration?

by Fred Klonsky

In the classic Billy Wilder movie Stalag 17, the plot involves trying to figure out who the Nazi collaborator is.

Spoiler alert: It is Sgt. Price played by Peter Graves.

I grew up in a time when the word “collaboration” was not a positive thing. Although I was born after the end of World War II, the language of the era persisted. A collaborator was somebody from our side who worked for the victory of the other side.

A few years back the word “collaboration” had come to mean both

NOT THE ONION: Hechinger Report | Shortage of qualified leaders imperils charter movement

Hechinger Report | Shortage of qualified leaders imperils charter movement

Shortage of qualified leaders imperils charter movement

by Sarah Butrymowicz

WASHINGTON, D.C.—One Sunday in October 2009, the principal of Potomac Lighthouse Public Charter Schoolin Northeast Washington called the school’s board to tell them she was quitting. The next day, school officials said, she didn’t come to work.

It was already a month into the school year and Lighthouse Academies, a national charter network in five states and the District of Columbia, faced a slim, picked-over field of candidates to replace her.

A national search team immediately placed advertisements in local newspapers and on charter-organization job boards but received just 15 applications. Of those who applied, only five had the qualifications school officials

What Do Teachers Really Want? « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

What Do Teachers Really Want?

Speak Up For Education and Kids is a group started by the National Education Association to unite educators and community members committed to investing in education, preventing harmful cuts, and ensuring students have the bright futures they deserve! I came across their site on Facebook.

They have a section called Ed Votes poll. I checked out their poll and the question was, “ Which gift you would most like to receive on May 3 for Teacher Appreciation Day?” I found it interesting because their choices were not typical choices. For example, one of their choices was a request for more professional development opportunities. Another was smaller class sizes so teachers can give individual attention to students. (My choice). So far, smaller class sizes is in the lead, followed by less standardized testing. A number of teachers responded with choices of their own. One teacher commented that she would like her job back! If you have a second, please add your voice to the votes. I am going to check back later. Maybe they can show the votes to our

Characteristics of Students Enrolling in High-Performing Charter High Schools « A "Fuller" Look at Education Issues

Characteristics of Students Enrolling in High-Performing Charter High Schools

by Dr. Ed Fuller

Listening to the pundits and current crop of education reformers, one would assume that high-performing charter chains such as KIPP, YES, and IDEA (among others) enroll low-performing poor students and save their academic careers by providing requiring extra time and effort as well as holding a “no excuses” attitude. Indeed, those promoting High-Performing (HP) charter schools constantly remind us that these HP charter schools enroll very high percentages of poor students who are often years behind their peers. Yet, what we don’t ever hear about is the details about the performance of the students entering such schools.

Fortunately, the Texas Business and Education Coalition (www.tbec.org) has a courageous leader in Ken Zornes who wants to know the truth about education and education reform. He has provided funding for me to examine charter schools in Texas using data on students and schools. Rather than looking for a prescribed outcome, Ken instructed me to report on whatever the data show.

Below is a slice of the upcoming report.

Table 1 includes the 8th grade TAKS scores for incoming 9th graders in all Texas schools with at l;east 50% economically disadvantaged students. The schools are disaggregated into high-performing charter schools (KIPP, YES, and IDEA), other charter schools, and non-charter schools.

As we see in the table, incoming 9th grade students at the HP charter schools have a slightly greater average

Education Research Report: Parent Involvement and Extended Learning Activities in School Improvement Plans

Parent Involvement and Extended Learning Activities in School Improvement Plans

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Ω

This REL Midwest study, Parent Involvement and Extended Learning Activities in School Improvement Plans in the Midwest Region, reports the findings of a content analysis of 1,400 school improvement plans in five Midwest Region states. Under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, Title I schools that fail to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years are required to develop school improvement plans describing proposed activities for boosting student achievement.

Sections 1116 and 1118 of NCLB outline requirements and recommendations for involving parents and providing extended learning activities (before-school, afterschool, or summer program), two sets of activities that some research suggests improve student outcomes. The study examines the extent to which school improvement plans:

A Unique Opportunity to Improve School Meals Applications

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Ω

PDF of this report (74pp.)

By improving school meals applications in the following ways, states and school districts can help families struggling against hunger get healthy meals for their children.

* Provide materials in a language and at a level parents can understand.
* Ask only for necessary information.
* Reduce opportunities for math errors.
* Encourage eligible families to apply.

This paper provides specific suggestions for revisions to school meals applications to help achieve these goals.

Overview

The school meals programs can play a critical role in supporting the healthy development of children and helping to ensure that low-income school-aged children have access to adequate nutrition. The process of enrolling for

Guest post: Glen Brown on what some legislators really want to do to the teacher pension system. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Guest post: Glen Brown on what some legislators really want to do to the teacher pension system.

by Fred Klonsky

Besides other egregious changes to the teachers’ pension, with the creation of a Second-Tier, teachers hired after January 2011 cannot receive their pension benefits until they are 67 years old; this is the highest retirement age in the nation.
Teachers were stunned last spring when Senate Bill 1946 passed in less than 12 hours. “It is estimated that [the Teachers’ Retirement System’s new] Tier-Two benefits will be 30 percent less than benefits for Tier-One teachers, if the final average salary and creditable service time for both are equal” (Illinois Education Association, IEA); moreover, teachers retiring with “10 years of service credits under [the] Tier Two [plan] would actually earn more benefits from Social Security” (IEA).
What could be the effects if Senate Bill 105 proposed by Senator Chris Lauzen, et al and HB 149 proposed by Representative Tom Cross, and others are also passed this spring? Even without discussing the third incongruous part of this “fire-breathing” Chimera, which also includes a Tier-Three Defined-Contribution option, presumably, many young teachers will not continue to work in

Schools Matter: Let the Green Charters Wither and the Chain Gangs Bloom

Let the Green Charters Wither and the Chain Gangs Bloom

by Jim Horn

A clip from Michael Winerip's latest, which focuses on the benefits of the well-connected corporate charterites of the Bloomberg dominion, where advantage goes to Wall Street, i. e., City Hall acolytes. While progressive independent charters like Growing Up Green struggle to find space and pay rent, KIPP and the Moskowitz KIPP wannabes, with hundreds of millions in Wall Street tax write-offs, pay no ($0.00) rent. My bolds:

. . . .The city pays a charter $13,527 per child. To increase his revenue, Mr. Greenberg set his average class size high, at 28 students per class. He would prefer to have 25, but those three extra children in each classroom — a total of 27 additional students at the school — generates $365,229 in revenue, which literally pays the rent.

Rent is not something charter chains worry about. KIPP, the nation’s biggest (99 schools) and richest ($160 million in corporate grants over the last four years) chain, pays no rent for its seven charter schools in the city. Nor does Eva Moskowitz, who has opened seven Success Academy charters in Harlem and the Bronx. Achievement First has 10 charters in Brooklyn that do not pay rent, andUncommon Schools has 12. Citywide, 67 percent of chain charters receive free space in public school buildings, compared with 51 percent of

Indiana, Tennessee Pass Voucher Bills - High School Notes (usnews.com)

Indiana, Tennessee Pass Voucher Bills

By JASON KOEBLER

Posted: April 25, 2011

Indiana passed the country's most extensive school voucher program bill that would provide a subsidy to parents who want to send their children to private schools.

Instead of doling out tax money to public schools, some would be reserved for scholarships to private schools for families of four or more who make less than $60,000 a year. The bill is expected to be signed by Republican Governor Mitch Daniels this week and would pay up to 90 percent of private school tuition, depending on how much money a student's family makes.

The program would be open to 7,500 students next year and 15,000 students in its second year.

Indiana joins many states in considering expanded voucher programs. Late last week,

Latest News and Comment from Education