Thursday, October 6, 2011

Big Education Ape: 10-6-11 PM Facing Social and Educational Inequity EDition

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

Anger Toward Wall Street Understandable, Cuomo Says

capitaltonight.com - Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this morning he understood why protestors continue to demonstrate in Lower Manhattan, part of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street presence that has been growing in strength and su...

DianeRavitch

Facing Social and Educational Inequity

dailykos.com - So let’s consider more fully the logical and evidence-based elements behind claims that U.S. public education is cheating the top 10% of students, specifically in order to meet the needs of the low...

DianeRavitch

PSBA | Issue: Tuition Vouchers

psba.org - When new legislation passes, PSBA is seen as the leader in analyzing it and helping members make sense of it. History and Status of Taxpayer-Funded Voucher Bills School Director Toolkit Summary of ...

DianeRavitch

Chamber cheerleading the charter movement

arktimes.com - Propaganda party touted here by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, which has served for some time as an enabler of messaging about the alleged waste of money that is the Little Rock Scho...

DianeRavitch

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coopmike48 Josh Golin: Channel One Promotes "Not Safe For School" Pics in Schools - http://t.co/f5Tj1IiI2 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 “Occupy Sacramento” Brings Out Hundreds, Davis Residents Included - Davis, CA Patch - http://t.co/RZxmCZxiabout 1 minute ago · reply · retweet · favorite

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EducationSee all

Will the Real Progressives Please Stand Up!

nbcchicago.com - After finishing third in February’s mayoral election, Miguel del Valle promised to use his following among neighborhood activists to build a progressive movement in Chicago. On Saturday, Oct. 15, f...

delValleChicago

Wall Street Warily Eyes the Protests on Its Doorstep

wnyc.org - The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have riveted the nation's attention, and are now spreading to other cities, but it's unclear whether the protesters' message is actually reaching financial ins...

leoniehaimson

SocietySee all

Legal Scholar Derrick Bell Dead at 80

theroot.com - We had barely absorbed the sad news of the passing of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth Wednesday -- not to mention the death of Apple leader Steve Jobs -- when we heard news of another tragic loss: the deat...

mikeklonsky

PoliticsSee all

Obama: Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration"

schoolingintheownershipsociety.blogspot.com - President Obama speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House. (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images/ 10/6/2011President Obama said Thursday that the Occupy Wall Street protests show ...

mikeklonsky

Art & EntertainmentSee all

Jóvenes mexicanos becados para estudiar moda

vidayfamilia.univision.com - Sin duda alguna, la pasión que se siente por una profesión es la clave del éxito para la vida. Ana patricia entrevistó a estudiantes que persiguieron un sueño y lo lograron. Gracias a su esfuerzo y...

coopmike48

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 06, 2011 Rose Garden1:52 P.M. EDTTHE PRESIDENT: Everybody have a seat. Howdy!AUDIENCE: Howdy!THE PRESIDENT: Welcome to th...

coopmike48

TechnologySee all

How He Made The Nerd Cool

huffingtonpost.com - Apple, more than any other company, factored us, the people, in, and extrapolated outwards. Designers obsessively anticipate the forms they see fitting into our worlds, often changing those worlds ...

leoniehaimson

iPhone 4S: “Lo Siento… No Hablo Español”

hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 12:35 pm, October 6, 2011 Photo Credits: iPhone 4S Doesn't Speak Spanish Siri, the new iPhone 4S voice recognition app, responds to commands in three dialects of English, French and Ge...

coopmike48

Get Involved with GoodSearch

goodsearch.com - Get involved with GoodSearch! There are dozens of ways you can help us spread the word about GoodSearch and earn funds for your school or non-profit. Click on the links below to locate buttons, ban...

coopmike48

BusinessSee all

Ty Fahner is a big fat liar. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - Illinois is Broke is an organization fully funded by the the pals and members of the Civic Committee and their millionaire lawyer, Ty Fahner. As part of their efforts to destroy the Teacher Retirem...

mikeklonsky

Pay No Attention to Those Banksters Behind the Curtain

my.firedoglake.com - I'll get you, my pretty! Photo: tom-margie Peter Orszag, formerly the head of OMB for Obama and now the vice chairman of global banking at Citigroup Inc, offers an interesting look at the problems ...

coopmike48

#progressiveRead this paperSee all

Will the Real Progressives Please Stand Up!

nbcchicago.com - After finishing third in February’s mayoral election, Miguel del Valle promised to use his following among neighborhood activists to build a progressive movement in Chicago. On Saturday, Oct. 15, f...

delValleChicago

#chicagoRead this paperSee all

Will the Real Progressives Please Stand Up!

nbcchicago.com - After finishing third in February’s mayoral election, Miguel del Valle promised to use his following among neighborhood activists to build a progressive movement in Chicago. On Saturday, Oct. 15, f...

delValleChicago

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      Linked K-12, Postsecondary, and Workforce Data—A Bipartisan Holy Grail?

      Linked K-12, Postsecondary, and Workforce Data—A Bipartisan Holy Grail?:

      Linked K-12, Postsecondary, and Workforce Data—A Bipartisan Holy Grail?

      by Amy Laitinen



      The Holy GrailIt’s rare to see Republicans and Democrats agree on anything these days, so it was particularly heartening at yesterday’s Data Quality Campaign meeting on Strengthening the Feedback Loop: Using Data to Support the College-and-Career-Ready Agenda, to see high-ranking conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats sound the call for better data to understand how secondary and postsecondary schools prepare students for further education and the workforce

      While data nerds and policy dorks (myself included), have been harping on this for a looong time, yesterday’s event made it clear that this conversation has finally entered the center of federal and state education policy-
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      Idealism that Blinds: Facing Social and Educational Inequity | Dailycensored.com

      Idealism that Blinds: Facing Social and Educational Inequity | Dailycensored.com:

      Idealism that Blinds: Facing Social and Educational Inequity

      Written by EducationOct 6, 2011
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      One aspect of the education reform debate that persistently gives me pause is the claim that the top students are being short-changed in U.S. public education—specifically due to disproportionate time and money being spent on struggling students. I have attempted to address this argument bothseriously and satirically, but each approach has brought primarily defense of those neglected top students.

      In their work on think tanks, Think Tank Research Quality: Lessons for Policy Makers, the Media, and the Public, theNational Education Policy Center [NEPC] has raised a strong caution concerning the poor quality of think-tank research:

      “Unfortunately, according to Think Tank Review Project co-director Kevin

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      Study looks at 20 years of Chicago school reforms | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

      Study looks at 20 years of Chicago school reforms | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

      Study looks at 20 years of Chicago school reforms

      by thenotebook on Oct 06 2011 Posted in Latest news

      Tags:

      The Notebook recently began sharing content with Education Week, where this piece originally appeared.

      As we continue to search for reliable measures to evaluate a school district’s progress and debate the true meaning of test score gains, this sobering story broke in Chicago. A complex analysis of test and other data over 20 years showed that, despite perceptions that school reform in Chicago has led to significant student progress, there was little gain in elementary reading and the

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      Ty Fahner and the Civic Committee are a laughing stock with their anti-teacher pension ad. « Fred Klonsky's blog

      Ty Fahner and the Civic Committee are a laughing stock with their anti-teacher pension ad. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

      Ty Fahner and the Civic Committee are a laughing stock with their anti-teacher pension ad.

      by Fred Klonsky

      Since Ty “Big Fat Liar” Fahner and his front group, Illinois is Broke, came out with their ad with an actress portraying a handwringing teacher, the response has been underwhelming.

      The ad shows a teacher in a classroom setting only Hollywood would recognize. She’s a school marm at a desk, with lots of books behind her. Our Miss Brooks perhaps?

      NBC’s Ward Room mocked it.

      That’s right, teachers. Look at the kids in your class. Don’t look at attorney

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      Genocide Education Survey - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

      Genocide Education Survey - Letters (CA Dept of Education):

      October 5, 2011

      Dear County and District Superintendents, Charter School Administrators, and High School Principals:

      GENOCIDE EDUCATION SURVEY

      The California Department of Education (CDE), with the assistance of The Genocide Education Project, has prepared a brief online survey regarding the teaching of the Armenian Genocide.

      Please ask the history-social science teachers in your district/school to take the survey. Your help completing this survey will allow us to have a better understanding about how this subject is taught in California schools.

      You can find the statewide genocide education survey on the SurveyMonkey CDE Statewide Survey Web page athttps://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cadoe_survey (Outside Source).

      As you may know, California has been one of the national leaders in genocide and human rights education. The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide was first introduced in 1988 and called for the teaching of the Armenian Genocide and other major human rights subjects. In 1998, the Armenian Genocide was included in the state history-social science standards for 10th grade history (Standard 10.5.5.).

      I look forward to receiving the survey results. If your district’s teachers are interested in accessing Armenian Genocide teaching materials, please consider examining the Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide located on the CDE Instructional Materials – History-Social Science Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/im/ and accessing the Armenian Genocide Resource Library on The Genocide Education Project Web page at http://teachgenocide.com/ (Outside Source).

      If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Craig Cheslog, Principal Advisor to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Superintendent’s Initiatives Office, by phone at 916-319-0554 or by e-mail at ccheslog@cde.ca.gov.

      Sincerely,

      Tom Torlakson

      TT:ccc
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      5 Lessons from the Save Our Schools & AERO Conferences | IDEA

      5 Lessons from the Save Our Schools & AERO Conferences | IDEA:

      5 Lessons from the Save Our Schools & AERO Conferences

      by Melia Dicker in The Landscape

      It is summer conference season. Oh yes, it is summer conference season.

      As you may have noticed from our social media updates, the IDEA team has been traveling all over creation for the past couple of months. Last month Dana Bennis flew to Devon, England, for the 19th annual International Democratic Education Conference, while Scott Nine went to Providence, Rhode Island, for Free Minds, Free People. Earlier this month, Scott and I traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action. A few days later, the entire IDEA staff and much of the rest of our team (board members, interns, and organizers) convened in Portland, Oregon, for the 8th annaul AERO Conference.

      Is your head spinning yet? Mine is. I feel exhausted, but energized at the same time.

      At IDEA, we're committed to sharing the knowledge of the landscape that we gain from traveling, so I'd like to sum up my reflections on the SOS and AERO gatherings and share a few takeaways. The interpretations of
      Posted by at

      solidaridad: CAMS October Actions: Stop Military Recruiters from having easy access to our children!!!

      solidaridad: CAMS October Actions: Stop Military Recruiters from having easy access to our children!!!:

      CAMS October Actions: Stop Military Recruiters from having easy access to our children!!!

      by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene
      Inform students about their right to "opt out" of their school giving their private information to MILITARY RECRUITERS! Join Palisadians for Peace and CAMS as they distribute Student Privacy (Opt Out) forms to high school juniors and seniors.

      Stop Military Recruiters from having easy access to students
      October Student Privacy (Opt Out) Actions:

      Thursday, October 6, 7am
      Belmont High School
      1575 W 2nd St
      Los Angeles, CA 90026

      Tuesday, October 11, 7am
      Jordan High School
      2265 E. 103rd St.
      Los Angeles, CA 90002

      Monday, October 17, 7am
      Lincoln High School
      3501 No. Broadway
      Los Angeles, CA 90031

      Wednesday, October 26, 6:30am
      Bell High School
      4328 Bell Ave.
      Bell, CA 90201

      RSVP: Sandra Sunshine Williams 310-573-1901 sandrasdelmundo@gmail.com

      OPTING-OUT: Section 9528 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (No Child Left Behind) mandates that school districts must provide the contact information (names, addresses and telephone numbers)of juniors and seniors to the military upon request unless an Opt Out form is signed and returned to the school.

      Students must Opt Out every year.

      LAUSD deadline:
      Opt Out forms must be returned by October 28, 2011.
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      Missouri Education Watchdog: It's Confirmed! Totalitarian Democracy Alive and Well in Education.

      Missouri Education Watchdog: It's Confirmed! Totalitarian Democracy Alive and Well in Education.:

      It's Confirmed! Totalitarian Democracy Alive and Well in Education.

      by stlgretchen

      We change the quote at the top of the MEW page from time to time and our current heading reads:

      Is this Arne's Duncan plan for public education?

      "      Totalitarian democracy is a term made famous by Israeli historian J. L. Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, while granted the right to vote, have little or no participation in the decision-making process of the government."

      We may have been on to something other than common sense understanding of what is happening in public
      Posted by at

      A Letter to All Parents in the State of Washington About Charter Schools | Seattle Education

      A Letter to All Parents in the State of Washington About Charter Schools | Seattle Education:

      A Letter to All Parents in the State of Washington About Charter Schools

      by seattleducation2011

      The letter below is being sent to as many parents as we can contact regarding the PTA proposal to back charter schools during the next legislative session.

      So far the people of this state have voted down charter schools three times and for good reason…they don’t work and it is simply a means to privatize one of our last public institutions.

      If you know of a parent, teacher or concerned citizen that might need to be informed of both sides of the argument, please forward this to them.

      This letter is a shorter version of two posts that I wrote in response to the PTA proposal.

      It reads as follows:

      Dear PTA Members,

      Below is an excerpt from a blog post that I did regarding the PTA charter school proposal that has been sent to

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      Brennan Center for Justice Report on Voting Law Disenfranchisement of 5 Million Americans: Students, the Elderly, Communities of Color and the Poor are Targeted « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

      Brennan Center for Justice Report on Voting Law Disenfranchisement of 5 Million Americans: Students, the Elderly, Communities of Color and the Poor are Targeted « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

      Brennan Center for Justice Report on Voting Law Disenfranchisement of 5 Million Americans: Students, the Elderly, Communities of Color and the Poor are Targeted

      by millerlf

      Brennan Center for Justice: at New York University School of Law

      Voting Law Changes in 2012

      By Wendy R. Weiser and Lawrence Norden
      – 10/03/11

      Ahead of the 2012 elections, a wave of legislation tightening restrictions on voting has suddenly swept across the country. More than five million Americans could be affected by the new rules already put in place this year —

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      Education Research Report: State Budget Cuts

      Education Research Report: State Budget Cuts:

      State Budget Cuts

      by Jonathan Kantrowitz


      Complete report

      Of 46 states that publish education budget data in a way that allows historic comparisons:

      * 37 states are providing less funding per student to local school districts in the new school year than they provided last year.
      * 30 states are providing less than they did four years ago..
      * 17 states have cut per-student funding by more than 10 percent from pre-recession levels.
      * Four states— South Carolina, Arizona, California, and Hawaii — each have reduced per student funding to K-12 schools by more than 20 percent. (These figures, like all the comparisons in this paper, are in inflation-adjusted dollars and focus on the primary form of state aid to local schools.)

      State-level K-12 spending cuts of this magnitude have serious consequences for the nation.

      * State-level K-12 cuts have large consequences for local school districts. Some 47 percent of total education expenditures in the U.S. come from state funds (the share varies by state). Cuts at the state level mean that local school districts have to either scale back the educational services they provide, raise more revenue to cover the gap, or both. In particular, cuts in state aid may particularly affect school districts with high concentrations of
      Posted by at

      College-Going Rates Released - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

      College-Going Rates Released - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):

      State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Reports Nearly Three-Fourths
      of California High School Grads go on to College

      Torlakson unveils new information that for first time
      uses CALPADS and two other data systems to produce results

      SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson reported today that nearly three out of four California high school graduates in 2008-09 enrolled in a college or university somewhere in the nation, according to data gathered by the California Department of Education.

      "In a knowledge-based economy, college and career training are becoming the price of admission to the job market, so it's good to see so many California graduates taking the next step on the path to success," Torlakson said.

      The department's new postsecondary transition data provides new insights on where high school graduates are enrolling, information that was not available before the creation of a statewide student tracking system.

      For the first time, the department matched student data from its California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) with two other data systems to create college-going rates for California high school graduates who enroll in colleges and universities inside and outside the state.

      First, CALPADS data from 2008-09 was matched with postsecondary enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). NSC is a national nonprofit organization that verifies student degrees and enrollment data. The result produced a college-going rate of 74.4 percent of California graduates in 2008-09 enrolled in a postsecondary institution in the United States.

      In addition, CALPADS data from 2006-07 was matched with enrollment data from the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC). CPEC maintains a data system used to audit and evaluate student progress in California postsecondary education. The result produced the number and percentage of public school students who enrolled in higher educational institutions in California and earned credits within a specified time period. That process revealed a college-going rate of 51.3 percent of California graduates in 2006-07 enrolled in a California Community College, a California State University, or on a University of California campus. Also, of the 356,654 graduates, 28.3 percent earned at least one year of credit within two years of their enrollment.

      These two new reports display state-, county-, district-, and school-level reports by subgroup. Both reports contain footnotes that describe the information included in the reports as well as disclaimers on the accuracy of the matched data. For example, the numbers and percentages of students represented in these reports are most likely underestimated because the NSC database includes 93 percent of postsecondary institutions. That means results are not available for the remaining 7 percent of postsecondary institutions. Also, some schools may have underestimated postsecondary enrollment counts if a significant number of graduates opted out of having their postsecondary enrollment information released.

      To download the Postsecondary Transition reports, go to the California Department of Education's DataQuest at DataQuest. For more information on NSC, please visit National Student Clearinghouse: Degree verification & enrollment verification(Outside Source). For CPEC, please visit California Postsecondary Education Commission - Home Page (Outside Source).

      # # # #

      Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
      Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
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      The craziness continues. Legislation targets Michigan Education Association. « Fred Klonsky's blog

      The craziness continues. Legislation targets Michigan Education Association. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

      The craziness continues. Legislation targets Michigan Education Association.

      by Fred Klonsky

      Breaking Michigan news:

      Right to Teach legislation to be introduced today in the Senate will only apply to schools that have the Michigan Education Association (MEA) as the bargaining unit, according to the bill language obtained by MIRS.

      Schools where employees are represented by the American Teachers Federation – Michigan (AFTM) would not be included.

      The bill is SB 0729 sponsored by Senate Majority Floor Leader Arlan MEEKHOF (R-West Olive).

      Senate Majority Floor Leader Randy RICHARDVILLE (R-Monroe) floated the Right to Teach concept last month on Off the Record, but legislation had not been introduced until today.

      http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billintroduced/Senate/pdf/2011-SIB-0729.pdf
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      NYC Students Push Back Against School Pushout « EdVox

      NYC Students Push Back Against School Pushout « EdVox:

      NYC Students Push Back Against School Pushout

      by edvoxny

      Student Demand Alternatives to Suspensions and Over-Policing

      On October 4, 2011 members of the Urban Youth Collaborative and the Dignity in Schools Campaign-New York gathered at City Hall Park to demand an end to the harsh and discriminatory discipline practices and lock-down conditions in many of the city’s public schools. Over 100 students, parents, teachers and community members shared their demands for the Department of Education to reduce high suspension rates and implement

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