Latest News and Comment from Education

Show All

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Big Education Ape: 12-22-11 AM Day of resistance to school closings EDition #ows #edreform

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:
Big Education Ape: Ed News Now

Published by Coopmike48 – 8 news spotters today

NEA Teachers Step Up | ED.gov Blog

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - NEA Teachers Step Up | ED.gov Blog: NEA Teachers Step Up Posted on December 21, 2011 by Arne Duncan Last year the National Education Association (NEA) took a courageous step by creating a Counc...

coopmike48

Mavericks Charges Charter Schools $350K in Rent, Plus Fees

bobsidlethoughtsandmusings.wordpress.com - This is sure to bring out a new round of troll attacks. From Lisa Rab in the New Times: When a private company aims to profit from a taxpayer-funded public school, the extra dough must come from so...

tbfurman

More Angels Under the Bus

jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com - An update to my post about two schools in Newark whose students and staff were misrepresented by a child advocacy group, the press, and the Newark superintendent:Branch Brook is the elementary scho...

DianeRavitch

More Georgia Schools Accused of Cheating

nytimes.com - Investigators who this year found rampant cheating among Atlanta public school teachers and principals released another report on Tuesday detailing widespread wrongdoing in another Georgia county. ...

DianeRavitch

Live Twitter stream on

@coopmike48/big-edu-ape-news-11

coopmike48 profile

coopmike48 A Closer Look at Charter Practices | Edwize - http://t.co/vIwdE1ZD12 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

coopmike48 profile

coopmike48 Charters schools' spending varies | http://t.co/QnFY8WMc & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper -http://t.co/boPMyTwI12 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

coopmike48 profile

coopmike48 Charters schools' spending varies | http://t.co/QnFY8WMc & The Charlotte Observer Newspaperhttp://t.co/wqeHyjiq #Edu10 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

Instant Analysis Of The Dillon Era (& What Happens Next)

scholasticadministrator.typepad.com - December 20, 2011 | Posted At: 10:40 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Media Watch , NCLB News News got out yesterday via email and the NY Observer that longtime national education reporter ...

leoniehaimson

Neighborhood high schools losing students | catalyst

catalyst-chicago.org - One of the justifications given for phasing out the West Side’s Crane High School is that most students in the attendance boundary are “voting with their feet” to go elsewhere. Only 17 percent of t...

mikeklonsky

SocietySee all

Chris Turney’s last letter to me. « Fred Klonsky

preaprez.wordpress.com - Back in the Fall when we were in the thick of the fight against the attack on pensions, Chris Turney invited me to speak to the Dupage County chapter of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association of...

fklonsky

PoliticsSee all

Sposato Now Backs UNO School In Ward

chicagonewscoop.org - by DAN MIHALOPOULOS | Dec 21, 2011Facing the embarrassing prospect of seeing a new charter school approved for his ward without his blessing, freshman Ald. Nicholas Sposato (36th Ward) said Wednesd...

fklonsky

EnvironmentSee all

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release December 21, 2011 MEMORANDUM FOR THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCYSUBJECT: Flexible Implementation of the ...

coopmike48

HealthSee all

Deadly New Man-Made Flu Could Wipe Out Millions

modeducation.blogspot.com - digg_url="http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2011/12/deadly-new-man-made-flu-could-wipe-out.html"; Image from WikipediaA group of scientists is preparing to publish research on how they created a ma...

coopmike48

BusinessSee all

Mexican Economy Pegged to Grow 3.25% in 2012

hispanicallyspeakingnews.com - Published at 4:36 pm, December 21, 2011 Photo Credits: Mexican Economic Growth 2012 Mexico’s economy will grow 3.25 percent in 2012 even though the economic problems in Europe and the United States...

coopmike48

Census: Population slowing in large portions of US

northjersey.com - WASHINGTON — Many states that posted big population gains in the 2010 census are now seeing their decade-long growth fizzle, hurt by a prolonged economic slump that is stretching into larger port...

coopmike48

#eduRead this paperSee all

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Reflections on my Schools

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Seattle Schools Community Forum: Reflections on my Schools:Reflections on my Schoolsby Michael RiceI have not really contributed much to this blog so far this school year. Since we are almost finis...

coopmike48

#takethetestSee all

A Challenge to #Takethetest – SchoolBook

nytimes.com - Dec. 21, 2011, 12:37 p.m. EduTalk is a feature of SchoolBook that looks closely at words and phrases that are in use, but largely understood only by people who have passed through a teachers colleg...

K12NN

A Challenge to #Takethetest – SchoolBook

nytimes.com - Dec. 21, 2011, 12:37 p.m. EduTalk is a feature of SchoolBook that looks closely at words and phrases that are in use, but largely understood only by people who have passed through a teachers colleg...

coopmike48

VideosSee all


Posted by at

Charters schools' spending varies | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper

Charters schools' spending varies | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper:

Charters schools' spending varies

By Ann Doss Helms
Published in: Education
  • Learn more
  • Per-pupil spending

    • Related Images

    Per-pupil spending among Mecklenburg-area charter schools varied widely last year, with a handful reporting that they spent significantly less in local money than Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools forwarded to them.

    Total spending ranged from $6,194 at Queens Grant, a Mint Hill school run by a for-profit chain, to $15,157 at Kennedy Charter in south Charlotte, run by the nonprofit Elon Homes, according to 2010-11 state report cards.

    The average for CMS was $7,994. The state doesn't calculate spending for individual schools in a district; CMS plans to release its own tallies for 2010-11 when the school board's budget planning begins in January.

    Charters - publicly funded schools that don't report to local school boards - are attracting new attention since the state legislature lifted the 100-school limit in hopes of increasing innovation and student success.

    The Public School Forum of North Carolina, a Raleigh-based nonprofit research group, does annual studies of school spending but doesn't include charters. Because of the expected surge in new ones, "that's an issue we're going to have to look at," said President Jo Ann Norris.

    Some common factors shape per-pupil spending at charters and traditional public schools: Size, grade level, special missions and student need. When CMS did its 2009-10 report, spending

    Posted by at

    Two charter schools recommended for closure - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post

    Two charter schools recommended for closure - D.C. Schools Insider - The Washington Post:

    Two charter schools recommended for closure

    by Bill Turque

    Two long-time public charter schools are candidates for closure because of poor academic records and management issues, the D.C. Public Charter School Board said Monday night.

    The board voted to place Community Academy PCS, opened in 1997, and Integrated Design Electronics Academy (IDEA), opened in 1998, on the path to revocation of their operating charters. A final decision will come early next year after the schools have a chance to address the specific deficiencies at public hearings.

    Read full article >>
    Posted by at

    Early Education and Care in Federal Spending Bill «

    Early Education and Care in Federal Spending Bill «:

    Early Education and Care in Federal Spending Bill

    December 22, 2011 by Irene Sege

    The U.S. Congress has passed a year-end omnibus spending bill that contains some encouraging news for early education. The New America Foundation’s Early Ed Watch blog has published a chart with the various line items affecting early education and care. And CLASP offers this summary:

    “A final 2012 funding bill clearing Congress contains much-needed increases in child care and early education funding, including:

    • A $424 million increase for Head Start and Early Head Start to maintain the enrollment of children currently served into next school year.
    • A $60 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant
    Posted by at

    Rahm’s mental health clinic closer chased out the south side. « Fred Klonsky

    Rahm’s mental health clinic closer chased out the south side. « Fred Klonsky:

    Rahm’s mental health clinic closer chased out the south side.

    by Fred Klonsky

    It is becoming a regular thing.

    Last week, Rahm’s board of education had to flee from a board meeting when teachers, parents and students did a mic check.

    On Tuesday, members of the Mental Health Movement stood to speak out against Rahm’s plan to close half of Chicago’s mental health clinics and privatize all 7 of its neighborhood health centers.

    Health Commissioner Bechara Choucair came to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center at 43rd and Cottage Grove but ended up running from the building.

    Run, Rahm, run.


    Posted by at

    Daily Kos: A Teachers union helps make a difference - McDowell County WV

    Daily Kos: A Teachers union helps make a difference - McDowell County WV:

    A Teachers union helps make a difference - McDowell County WV

    by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

    This video is almost 15 minutes. It is important:

    If you take the time to watch it, perhaps you will not need to read the rest of this post.

    Last week saw the announcement of an important initiative. Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, Senators Manchin and Rockefeller, Randi Weingarten and the AFT and over 40 partners from business, foundations, non-profits and labor announced that they will lead an effort to bring educational improvement and brighter economic prospects to McDowell County, WV, one of the poorest areas in Appalachia.

    Yesterday, Laura Clawson had this brief front page story on this initiative. It deserved more attention.

    I want to provide some context to the effort.

    I have been through McDowell County 6 times in the past 3 Octobers, going to and from volunteering in free dental clinics at a Remote Area Medical - Mission of Mercy event in Grundy Virginia, in Buchanan County Virginia, just across the border. The two places are comparable, and I have written in the past about the poverty in Buchanan County. It is worse in McDowell County.

    Please keep reading, so that you will see why this initiative is so important.

    Posted by at

    A Promise Neighborhood in Hayward - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools

    A Promise Neighborhood in Hayward - The Education Report - Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools:

    A Promise Neighborhood in Hayward

    Monday, December 19th, 2011 at 6:43 pm in achievement gap, families, finances, initiativesNo Comments

    Today, in its first round of five-year Promise Neighborhoods grants, the U.S. Department of Education handed out just five awards.

    One of the recipients was a project focused on the Jackson Triangle neighborhood in Hayward, down the hill fromCal State East Bay

    Last year, I wrote about Hayward’s $500,000 Promise Neighborhoods planning grant. Out of 330 applicants, it was one of 21 winners. The Cal State East Bay-led project beat the odds again this year, winning the full

    Posted by at

    Schooling in the Ownership Society: Pearson under investigation in N.Y.

    Schooling in the Ownership Society: Pearson under investigation in N.Y.:

    Pearson under investigation in N.Y.

    by Mike Klonsky

    Pearson Foundation is the tax-exempt arm of the giant, British-owned textbook and test publisher. The New York Times reports today that the foundation is currently under investigation by the state's attorney general for trying to influence state education officials by paying for overseas trips and other perks and not even being cool about it.

    NCLB and current corporate-style "reforms" have states paying millions of dollars annually to companies like Pearson to develop and administer the standardized tests required under the law, tests which are now being used widely to evaluate teacher performance. Pearson has also cashed in on a provision mandating tutoring for students as well as from the expansion of virtual learningprograms. Pearson recently formed a partnership with the Gates Foundation to create online reading and math courses aligned with common core standards that some 40 states have adopted in recent months.

    In New York, Pearson Education most recently won a five-year, $32 million contract to administer state tests,
    Posted by at

    State Is Investigating Pearson Foundation Trips – SchoolBook

    State Is Investigating Pearson Foundation Trips – SchoolBook:

    State Is Investigating Pearson Foundation Trips

    by Mary Ann Giordano

    Back in October, Michael Winerip in The New York Times reported in his On Education column about trips for education officials provided by the Pearson Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Pearson Education, the large testing company.

    On Thursday, Winnie Hu reports in The Times that the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, is now investigating whether the foundation acted improperly to influence New York State officials by paying for the trips and other perks.

    Specifically, the attorney general’s investigation is looking at whether foundation employees improperly sought to influence state officials or procurement processes to obtain lucrative state

    Posted by at

    New York Attorney General to Investigate Pearson; Can Florida Be Next? | Scathing Purple Musings

    New York Attorney General to Investigate Pearson; Can Florida Be Next? | Scathing Purple Musings:

    New York Attorney General to Investigate Pearson; Can Florida Be Next?

    by Bob Sikes

    From the New York Times:

    New York State’s attorney general is investigating whether the Pearson Foundation, the nonprofit arm of one of the nation’s largest educational publishers, acted improperly to influence state education officials by paying for overseas trips and other perks.

    The office of the attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, issued subpoenas this week to the foundation and to Pearson Education seeking documents and information related to their activities with state education officials, including at least four education conferences — in London, Helsinki, Singapore and Rio de Janeiro — since 2008, according to people familiar with the investigation.

    At issue is whether the activities of the tax-exempt Pearson Foundation, which is prohibited by

    Posted by at

    Missouri Education Watchdog: What in the World is Going on with Teachers? Common Core Praises Appear Again in Song.

    Missouri Education Watchdog: What in the World is Going on with Teachers? Common Core Praises Appear Again in Song.:

    What in the World is Going on with Teachers? Common Core Praises Appear Again in Song.

    by stlgretchen
    We reported a few days ago on the singing Pep Squad teachers extolling the virtues of the Common Core standards. We now have another set of teachers praising, literally and figuratively, Common Core standards This version takes on a religious fervor by the end of the clip. It is set to the tune of "We are the World".

    From youtube and an unnamed school:
    Posted by at

    Digital Bootstraps for Analog Problems — A Reply to Forbes Columnist Gene Marks’

    Digital Bootstraps for Analog Problems — A Reply to Forbes Columnist Gene Marks’:

    Digital Bootstraps for Analog Problems — A Reply to Forbes Columnist Gene Marks’ “If I Were A Poor Black Kid”

    by CYNTHIA on DECEMBER 22, 2011

    A truly clueless if well-intentioned column by Gene Marks titled “If I Were A Poor Black Kid” in Forbes magazine is getting righteously ripped fromjournalists all around the web. They’re correctly pointing out how bereft Marks’ column is of history, research, practical awareness, racial sensitivity, or the sheer realities of hunger or even homelessness that low-income children face. Marks seems to suggest that kids from impoverished backgrounds – all too many of whom are African American – can simply

    Quickie highlights of Diane Ravitch’s critique of test-driven, NCLB-style ed ref…

    by K-12 News Network
    Quickie highlights of Diane Ravitch's critique of test-driven, NCLB-style ed reform in an interview w/ @HNN. What's Wrong with School Reform: Interview with Diane Ravitch hnn.us Craig Thurtell was a teacher at Ardsley High School in Ardsley, NY, and is a contributor to HNN's forthcoming "Teachers' Edition," which will provide historically-grounded lesson plans on current events to elementary and high school teachers


    Posted by at

    Jersey Jazzman: Poverty, Shmoverty - Part III

    Jersey Jazzman: Poverty, Shmoverty - Part III:

    Poverty, Shmoverty - Part III

    by Duke
    Gonna get wonky here...

    I have to admit it: Amanda Ripley really got under my skin. Twice. So much so that I went back to her blog to look at her two recent posts - here and here - about how much American schools suck and how people who tell you that poverty is the overriding cause are selling you magic beans.

    Lucky for you, Ripley has "...been to Finland, Korea and Poland working on this book, and I have the luxury of spending hours reading PISA results." Apparently that gives her license to mock Diane Ravitch, David Sirota, and liberals in general. It also seems to give her license to make the following mistakes:

    - Failing to understand that Ravitch's comparison of low-poverty US school districts to low-poverty countries allows for poor kids to be included in both sets.

    Jersey City's Tangled Reformy Web

    by Duke
    So Acting NJ Education Commissioner Chris Cerf is sticking his fingers into the Jersey City schools pie:
    Outgoing Jersey City Board of Education member Sean Connors continues to raise questions about an e-mail sent earlier this month to Board President Sterling Waterman by the state's Acting Commissioner of Education, Chris Cerf.

    In an e-mail dated Dec. 2, Cerf wrote: "It is now abundantly clear to me that this board is not interested in pursuing an agenda of transformational change for the children of Jersey City. You are presented with a unique moment in time in which courageous leadership would make an extraordinary difference. Parochial concerns, interest group influence, and personal political ambitions need to give way to boldness and willingness to accept the inevitably challenging
    Posted by at

    Raqnel James – Not Guilty! « JD2718

    Raqnel James – Not Guilty! « JD2718:

    Raqnel James – Not Guilty!

    by jd2718

    Raqnel James won a just verdict, but when will real justice come?

    Three years ago Fordham HS for the Arts principal Iris Blige had Raqnel arrested, paraded of out school in handcuffs, for threatening the principal. But the threatening letter, no one ever saw anyone aside from Blige with the letter in their possession. And today a judge, in finding Raqnel not guilty, agreed with her supporters and did not believe that Raqnel wrote it.

    At the time, Lynne Winderbaum, United Federation of Teachers District Rep for Bronx High Schools (and one hell of an ESL teacher) organized a protest in front of the school. Four hundred teachers from dozens of schools showed up in support. Raqnel was not Iris Blige’s first victim – she

    Posted by at

    'Where Do You Call Home?' For These Kids, It's the Library - Education - GOOD

    'Where Do You Call Home?' For These Kids, It's the Library - Education - GOOD:

    'Where Do You Call Home?' For These Kids, It's the Library

    by Liz Dwyer

    Popout

    Thanks to the economic downturn, it's been a rough few years for public libraries. Budgets have been slashed—cuts in California just eliminated funding for the rest of the fiscal year for the state's public libraries—staff have been laid off, and hours of operation have been scaled back. But despite the tough times, libraries remain safe places where kids can take their homework and study after school, fall in love with a good book, and learn something new.

    This short, inspiring video from the New York Public Library features three New York City kids talking the positive

    Posted by at

    The Emotional Life of Middle School Students « City School Stories

    The Emotional Life of Middle School Students « City School Stories:

    The Emotional Life of Middle School Students

    by fmurphy

    Teacher Stories

    Submitted by Teacher Man on December 22, 2011

    The more that I progress as a classroom teacher, the better I am at making new and important levels of observation about my students. Having to spend less time focused on new teacher issues like pacing of lessons and classroom management, I am able to spend more time getting to know my students as individuals. One of the most common observations I have made about my 7th and 8thgraders this year is that many of them experience a bad combination of overwhelming emotions with few healthy options to access or express their feelings.

    It seems as though my students experience waves of new and powerful emotions everyday. A very important part

    Posted by at
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)