Thursday, December 8, 2011

Americans Split Over In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students - Hispanically Speaking News:STUDY: Americans Split Over In-State Tuition for Undocumented StudentsAmericans are evenly split over whether illegal immigrants who graduate from high school in their state should be eligible for in-state college tuition: 48% say they should be eligible for the in-state tuition rate, while 46% say they should not.The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People the Press, conducted Nov. 9-14 among 2,001 adults finds continuing partisan ... more »

School Tech Connect: Chicago's Miracle Workers

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 minute ago

School Tech Connect: Chicago's Miracle Workers:Chicago's Miracle Workersby noreply@blogger.com (Tim)Well, the NAEP Urban District Assessment is out, and it pretty much re-confirms everything that everyone has already known. I don't think you can make conclusions beyond the executive summary of any high-quality study, and here's the thrust of it for the reading portion.Scores for some groups are creeping a little higher since 2002, after a decade of test-centric reforms and all

Countdown to Dec 15th: A CALL TO ACTION FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT MÓNICA GARCÍA AND THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 1 minute ago

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Countdown to Dec 15th: A CALL TO ACTION FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT MÓNICA GARCÍA AND THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION:Countdown to Dec 15th: A CALL TO ACTION FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT MÓNICA GARCÍA AND THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATIONAN EMAIL FROM MÓNICA GARCÍA, PRESIDENT – LOS ANGELES BOARD OF EDUCATIONsmf: 4LAKids disagrees with Ms. García much of the time. CSEA’s support of this and of Mónica is an awful lot about ... more »

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Lacking a Sensitivity Chip

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Lacking a Sensitivity Chip:Lacking a Sensitivity Chipby Melissa WestbrookIf you've been following the local news, there's a couple in our region, living in a $1.2M lakefront home, and the woman has been collecting welfare for a couple of years. She claimed she and her two children lived on $5,000 a year and her husband was the "landlord." They've collected over $100,000 and, of course, live pretty well. (To her credit, she did put down their real ...more »

Brother of VP Biden promotes charters, invoking family name - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

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Brother of VP Biden promotes charters, invoking family name - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:Brother of VP Biden promotes charters, invoking family nameby Valerie StraussFrancis W. “Frank” Biden, a younger brother of Vice President Joe Biden, is a real estate developer in Florida. He also is helping a for-profit company open charter schools in the state by employing a major asset: his last name.In February, Frank Biden urged the Palm Beach County School Board to approve a charter ... more »

When a School Board Member Takes a Test, the World Listens - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

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When a School Board Member Takes a Test, the World Listens - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:When a School Board Member Takes a Test, the World Listensby Anthony CodyThree days ago, Valerie Strauss' Answer Sheet blog in the Washington Post published the hardest-hitting critique of testing of the year. Before discussing that, I want to take a moment to recognize her work. Ms. Strauss is the ONLY blogger in the mainstream media to consistently address education issues from ... more »

Joining Forces to Build a Better Future | The Forum for Education and Democracy

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Joining Forces to Build a Better Future | The Forum for Education and Democracy:Joining Forces to Build a Better Futureby Tony MonfilettoAt ACE Leadership High School we’re determined to transform career and technical education, and we’re not going it alone. Partnerships with industry are key to our mission of preparing students to be leaders on any path they choose.ACE stands for architecture, construction and engineering and it’s a place where kids get their hands dirty in a purposeful--if sometimes a ... more »

Art in the real world. A plaything for the 1%. « Fred Klonsky

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Art in the real world. A plaything for the 1%. « Fred Klonsky:Art in the real world. A plaything for the 1%.by Fred KlonskyBy one of my fifth grade students.I’m sitting over my morning coffee, preparing myself for another day with kids making art.It won’t be art with a capital A.Much of Art in the real world is not much more than a plaything for the 1%.In fact, what feels so good about the Occupy Wall Street movement is the ... more »

Teacher from Pro-Walker Ad Among Those Who Gave Standing Ovation to White Pride Speech |

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Teacher from Pro-Walker Ad Among Those Who Gave Standing Ovation to White Pride Speech |:Teacher from Pro-Walker Ad Joined in Standing Ovation to White Pride Speechby bluecheddarAccording to the Politiscoop blogger, a key Walker advocate, Kristi LaCroix, was present at a Kenosha event when a woman stood up to deliver what I would call a ‘white pride speech’, and at the conclusion of said speech, Ms. LaCroix stood with others to deliver a standing ovation. Ms. LaCroix is the Lakeview ... more »

Study details societal ramifications for high school dropouts - chicagotribune.com

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Study details societal ramifications for high school dropouts - chicagotribune.com:Study details societal ramifications for high school dropoutsAt policy forum, group calls out CPS chief, others, to address issueComments8Share56By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune reporter9:09 p.m. CST, December 7, 2011Teens who drop out of high school have a greater likelihood of ending up in jail, being unemployed, relying on food stamps and becoming a fiscal drain on society than those who graduate, according to a new study commissioned by the Chicago ... more »

And Now, About Those Mega-Rich Alleged Job Creators… - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard

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And Now, About Those Mega-Rich Alleged Job Creators… - Lily's Blackboard – Lily's Blackboard:And Now, About Those Mega-Rich Alleged Job Creators…Dec 6th, 2011 by Lily.I’m sorry. I’m not normally a violent person. But how can you not want to slap the next clown that routinely and without an pinky fingernail-size of evidence continues to characterize the mega-wealthiest amongst us as “Job Creators”?A bona-fide mega-wealthy rich guy is Nick Hanauer. He’s got millions and millions and says he wants politicians and ... more »

Blue Jersey:: Education Reform: For Profit, Not For Progress

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Blue Jersey:: Education Reform: For Profit, Not For Progress:Education Reform: For Profit, Not For Progressby Marie CorfieldBefore the end of the year Governor Christie wants the legislature to pass the remainder of his property tax ‘tool kit’ including his education ‘reform’ agenda. And the fate of one of the nation’s best public education systems and thousands of its students hang in the balance.Out of over twenty four hundred schools in this state, about two hundred are not doing a good ... more »

UPDATE: Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top AM Posts #ows #edreform

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John Thompson: Diane Ravitch and the History That "Reformers" Do Not KnowBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-6 minutes agoJohn Thompson: Diane Ravitch and the History That "Reformers" Do Not Know:John ThompsonAward-winning Historian, Lobbyist and Guerilla-gardener, and Inner City TeacherGET UPDATES FROM JOHN THOMPSON Like134Diane Ravitch and the History That "Reformers" Do Not KnowDiane Ravitch has again done the seemingly impossible. She prompted Education Sector's Kevin Carey to take a glance at the history of education. Even so, Carey's piece ... more »

Shanker Blog » Education Advocacy Organizations: An Overview

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Shanker Blog » Education Advocacy Organizations: An Overview:Education Advocacy Organizations: An Overviewby Ken LibbyOur guest author today is Ken Libby, a graduate student studying educational foundations, policy and practice at the University of Colorado at Boulder.Education advocacy organizations (EAOs) come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some focus on specific issues (e.g. human capital decisions, forms of school choice, class size) while others approach policy more broadly (e.g. changing policy environments, membership decisions). Proponents of these organizations claim the...more »

Both Sides of the Classroom « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

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Both Sides of the Classroom « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Both Sides of the Classroomby ASCD Whole Child BloggersPost submitted by Whole Child Blogger Carole HaywardAdora Svitak, ASCD’s youngest member at 14 years old, became involved in classroom teaching when her first book was published at age 7. As a current high school student, Svitak has a truly unique perspective of seeing both sides of the classroom.At a general session at ASCD’s Fall Conference in October, Svitak ... more »

National charter school enrollment now tops two million students | Get Schooled

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National charter school enrollment now tops two million students | Get Schooled:National charter school enrollment now tops two million students8:00 am December 7, 2011, by Maureen DowneyAs Georgia has shown, there is a great deal of parental interest in charter schools. The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools announced today enrollment in charter schools, which are public schools that operate with autonomy in exchange for contractual performance goals, has surpassed two million. (There are 46 million students in the public ... more »

Recess Has Some New Competition – SchoolBook

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Recess Has Some New Competition – SchoolBook:Recess Has Some New Competitionby Mary Ann GiordanoOne of SchoolBook’s prolific commenters is Vicki Zunich, who is passionate about the need for young children to have more play and unstructured time during the school day.Wednesday’s New York Times offers plenty of fodder for discussion in an article by Kyle Spencer that looks at how recess and lunch time are being turned into structured club and enrichment time for children at some of the city’s ... more »

Americans Re-Occupy Their Homes | OccupyWallSt.org #ows

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Americans Re-Occupy Their Homes | OccupyWallSt.org:Americans Re-Occupy Their Homesby OccupyWallStToday, Americans stood up and said, "We have a right to shelter. No one can take that right from us." Today we re-occupied our homes.In East New York, Brooklyn - a foreclosed home is being reclaimed today by a local homeless family. #OWS, along with local neighbors and community groups, has pledged to stay with the family and defend them from eviction. Kendall Jacklman from Picture The Homeless spoke to the ...more »

Tony Bennett, It’s Better for Educrats to Dictate Standards? | Truth in American Education

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Tony Bennett, It’s Better for Educrats to Dictate Standards? | Truth in American Education:Tony Bennett, It’s Better for Educrats to Dictate Standards?by Shane Vander HartI had to shake my head at comments made by Tony Bennett, the Indiana Superintendent of Public Schools, to EdWeek in their coverage of ALEC passing anti-common core model legislation:Indiana’s Bennett defended the common standards during a couple of sessions at the ALEC convening, including one at the education task force. He told me after the ... more »

John Thompson: Diane Ravitch and the History That "Reformers" Do Not Know

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John Thompson: Diane Ravitch and the History That "Reformers" Do Not Know:John ThompsonAward-winning Historian, Lobbyist and Guerilla-gardener, and Inner City TeacherGET UPDATES FROM JOHN THOMPSON Like134Diane Ravitch and the History That "Reformers" Do Not KnowDiane Ravitch has again done the seemingly impossible. She prompted Education Sector's Kevin Carey to take a glance at the history of education. Even so, Carey's piece in The New Republic, "The Dissenter," indicates that he did not read carefully.Carey wrote that Ravitch "left a polarized ... more »

My ‘brilliant’ idea | Taking Note

My ‘brilliant’ idea | Taking Note:

My ‘brilliant’ idea

by JOHN MERROW on 08. DEC, 2011 in EDUCATION PHILOSOPHIES, THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS, TEACHING

If you live in or around NYC, John will be appearing in conversation with Randi Weingarten — the topic is “Unions and the Future Of Our Schools” — on Wednesday, December 14. Click here for tickets and info.

Talk it up on Facebook!

Some years ago, when I still believed that I was a pretty clever fellow, I dreamed up a campaign to persuade young people to stay in school. What inspired this brilliant idea was daily sightings of adults standing at intersections wearing signboards advertising one thing or another. This was, to my eye, the ultimate low-skill job because it required absolutely no mental effort and hardly any physical work. I hypothesized that the workers must have dropped out of school.

So I thought about taking photographs of the sign-wearers, blurring their faces, and then creating

A Veteran Principal Describes Testing Day (Dave Sherman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

A Veteran Principal Describes Testing Day (Dave Sherman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

A Veteran Principal Describes Testing Day (Dave Sherman)

by larrycuban

Dave Sherman is an elementary school principal in a suburb north of Chicago. He described a day of testing in Education Week, March 5, 2009.

Tuesday was the first day of [state tests]for all 3rd through 8th grade students in the State of Illinois. This is a big deal for Illinois schools…. Each school’s percentage of students passing the tests will be published in all of the newspapers. Schools will be ranked and judged based solely on these tests. The pressure is on all of us: students, teachers, administrators, secretaries, custodians, bus drivers, postal employees, UPS guys, and the milk delivery man. (OK, maybe not the milkman).

I find this to be a very frustrating time of year. Right now, my office is filled with boxes of test booklets, answer sheets, paper rulers, testing manuals, and rules and regulations for teachers to read. The materials all had to be counted, labeled, and numbered, and each student was assigned a specific booklet and answer sheet. This was labor intensive work for our office staff which kept them very busy for a week. Then, whole-school and classroom

Pablo Casals is under attack. Parents fighting back. « Fred Klonsky

Pablo Casals is under attack. Parents fighting back. « Fred Klonsky:

Pablo Casals is under attack. Parents fighting back.

by Fred Klonsky

Pablo Casals elementary school is on this list for turnaround status by CPS boss J.C. Brizard.

After attending the CTU teach-in on school closings last week, 50 parents and teachers showed up at Monday’s ward night at Alderman Roberto Maldonado office.

Then Maldonado had canceled ward night without notice.

The parents and teachers picketed the office instead.

A spokesman for Maldonado said he would meet with the group last night. I have received no word yet on the

Americans Split Over In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students - Hispanically Speaking News

Americans Split Over In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students - Hispanically Speaking News:

STUDY: Americans Split Over In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

Americans are evenly split over whether illegal immigrants who graduate from high school in their state should be eligible for in-state college tuition: 48% say they should be eligible for the in-state tuition rate, while 46% say they should not.

The national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Nov. 9-14 among 2,001 adults finds continuing partisan differences over immigration policy. More than twice as many Republicans as Democrats say the priority for dealing with illegal immigration should only be better border security and stricter law enforcement (47% vs. 22%).

Nearly half of the public (48%) thinks an illegal immigrant who went to high school in their state and is accepted

School Tech Connect: Chicago's Miracle Workers

School Tech Connect: Chicago's Miracle Workers:

Chicago's Miracle Workers

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim)

Well, the NAEP Urban District Assessment is out, and it pretty much re-confirms everything that everyone has already known. I don't think you can make conclusions beyond the executive summary of any high-quality study, and here's the thrust of it for the reading portion.

Scores for some groups are creeping a little higher since 2002, after a decade of test-centric reforms and all

Countdown to Dec 15th: A CALL TO ACTION FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT MÓNICA GARCÍA AND THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Countdown to Dec 15th: A CALL TO ACTION FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT MÓNICA GARCÍA AND THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION:

Countdown to Dec 15th: A CALL TO ACTION FROM SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT MÓNICA GARCÍA AND THE CALIFORNIA SCHOOL EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION

AN EMAIL FROM MÓNICA GARCÍA, PRESIDENT – LOS ANGELES BOARD OF EDUCATION

smf: 4LAKids disagrees with Ms. García much of the time. CSEA’s support of this and of Mónica is an awful lot about protecting jobs. That said she and they are absolutely right about this – those kids can’t drive the buses themselves …no matter what Newt Gingritch says!

The Magnet Program is one of LAUSD’s jewels, it relies upon busing students to schools they and their parents choose (It is a real “Choice” program!) to exist, succeed and survive.
The busing of Special Ed and Special Needs students is critical to that program and legally mandated. (Note that Brown isn’t threatening to eliminate the program, only to eliminate the funding for it.) The superintendent has already said he won’t eliminate it – he will not ‘leave Special Ed Students on the street’ – which means the money to sustain transportation will come from somewhere else. From another program we and the children can’t afford to cut.

Dec 8, 2011 :: As you may know, on November 16^th the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) declared that the California General Fund in 2011-12

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Lacking a Sensitivity Chip

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Lacking a Sensitivity Chip:

Lacking a Sensitivity Chip

by Melissa Westbrook

If you've been following the local news, there's a couple in our region, living in a $1.2M lakefront home, and the woman has been collecting welfare for a couple of years. She claimed she and her two children lived on $5,000 a year and her husband was the "landlord." They've collected over $100,000 and, of course, live pretty well. (To her credit, she did put down their real address but no one checked it.)

Now, naturally, we all feel disgust especially in this time of economic crisis when so many REAL poor people are suffering.

But now we get the poster child for this kind of nonsense.

You may recall that the former head of the Philadelphia school system, Arlene Ackerman, was ousted earlier

Brother of VP Biden promotes charters, invoking family name - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Brother of VP Biden promotes charters, invoking family name - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

Brother of VP Biden promotes charters, invoking family name

by Valerie Strauss

Francis W. “Frank” Biden, a younger brother of Vice President Joe Biden, is a real estate developer in Florida. He also is helping a for-profit company open charter schools in the state by employing a major asset: his last name.

In February, Frank Biden urged the Palm Beach County School Board to approve a charter school proposal from the company, known as Mavericks in Education.

Read full article >>

When a School Board Member Takes a Test, the World Listens - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

When a School Board Member Takes a Test, the World Listens - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

When a School Board Member Takes a Test, the World Listens

by Anthony Cody

Three days ago, Valerie Strauss' Answer Sheet blog in the Washington Post published the hardest-hitting critique of testing of the year. Before discussing that, I want to take a moment to recognize her work. Ms. Strauss is the ONLY blogger in the mainstream media to consistently address education issues from a perspective that is critical of the test-crazy status quo. Every day she brings us insightful perspectives, research and reports from the field. Her column includes her own excellent work as well as that of others (including occasionally myself.)

Monday's post, When an adult took standardized tests forced on kids, contributed by education expert Marion Brady, was exceptional. In the past three days, this post has been shared more than 54,000 times on Facebook. At this time, more than 500 people have commented on the post. I get excited when I see a post on

Joining Forces to Build a Better Future | The Forum for Education and Democracy

Joining Forces to Build a Better Future | The Forum for Education and Democracy:

Joining Forces to Build a Better Future

by Tony Monfiletto

At ACE Leadership High School we’re determined to transform career and technical education, and we’re not going it alone. Partnerships with industry are key to our mission of preparing students to be leaders on any path they choose.

ACE stands for architecture, construction and engineering and it’s a place where kids get their hands dirty in a purposeful--if sometimes a little disorderly--environment. A place where they learn through projects like using ancient building techniques to build adobe ovens that have come into vogue for their sustainability benefits for residential and commercial buildings. The project, developed with the help of Associated General Contractor (AGC) partners, rolls Science, New Mexico History, and Geometry into one productive hands-on experience. To an outsider, though, building adobe ovens might not seem to be the best way to prepare kids to go to college and/or work.

Art in the real world. A plaything for the 1%. « Fred Klonsky

Art in the real world. A plaything for the 1%. « Fred Klonsky:

Art in the real world. A plaything for the 1%.

by Fred Klonsky

By one of my fifth grade students.

I’m sitting over my morning coffee, preparing myself for another day with kids making art.

It won’t be art with a capital A.

Much of Art in the real world is not much more than a plaything for the 1%.

In fact, what feels so good about the Occupy Wall Street movement is the explosion of people’s art that I haven’t

Teacher from Pro-Walker Ad Among Those Who Gave Standing Ovation to White Pride Speech |

Teacher from Pro-Walker Ad Among Those Who Gave Standing Ovation to White Pride Speech |:

Teacher from Pro-Walker Ad Joined in Standing Ovation to White Pride Speech

by bluecheddar

According to the Politiscoop blogger, a key Walker advocate, Kristi LaCroix, was present at a Kenosha event when a woman stood up to deliver what I would call a ‘white pride speech’, and at the conclusion of said speech, Ms. LaCroix stood with others to deliver a standing ovation. Ms. LaCroix is the Lakeview Tech Academy charter school teacher in Kenosha, Wisconsin who did a TV advertisement for Scott Walker. The white pride speech transpired at a right-wing “Pints and Politics” event in Kenosha, Wisconsin on December 1, 2011. LaCroix has proudly and publicly spoken in an ad in favor of Scott Walker. Is she equally proud and public in her applause for racism? Or as this audience might put it, “white pride”? The entire recording should be absorbed from beginning

Study details societal ramifications for high school dropouts - chicagotribune.com

Study details societal ramifications for high school dropouts - chicagotribune.com:

Study details societal ramifications for high school dropouts

At policy forum, group calls out CPS chief, others, to address issue

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune reporter

9:09 p.m. CST, December 7, 2011

Teens who drop out of high school have a greater likelihood of ending up in jail, being unemployed, relying on food stamps and becoming a fiscal drain on society than those who graduate, according to a new study commissioned by the Chicago Alternative Schools Network.

Using average tax payments to state, federal and local governments as well as looking at cash benefits like unemployment compensation through U.S. census data available in the 2009 and 2010 American Community Survey, the study conducted by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston determined that dropouts cost society $1,510 annually as opposed to high school grads, who pay more than $5,000 in

Are All Choices a Choice? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Are All Choices a Choice? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Are All Choices a Choice?

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,

There has always been a special American admiration for wealth as a sign of God's favor. Status from wealth was celebrated as more democratic compared with status from lineage. It's part of our exceptionalism. It's at a high mark right now, best expressed by Newt Gingrich's comment to the Occupiers to "take a bath and get a job." I think of it as I read your accounts of how some of our fellow Americans have taken to the slogans about the opportunities lurking in every human disaster—to other people (e.g. New Orleans).

Lots of old slogans reappear in new guise, like the pre-French Revolution one about the freedom of both the rich and the poor to sleep under a bridge. (I don't actually think that freedom still exists!)

One of my readers suggests that in opposing charters and vouchers you and I are taking choice away from the poor. He also chides us for having "the nerve," as old, white ladies (actually, Diane, you aren't old!), to give the