Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Day Posts #ows #edreform #edchat

Officials call for plan to increase L.A. Unified enrollment - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 11 minutes ago

Officials call for plan to increase L.A. Unified enrollment - latimes.com:Officials call for plan to increase L.A. Unified enrollmentThe Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday directed staff to develop a plan to increase district enrollment by at least 5%. The nation’s second-largest school system has shrunk rapidly in recent years because of declining birth rates, population shifts and an exodus of students to nearly 200 independently managed charter schools.The plan may include an expansion of successful and popular magnet ... more »

AN $80,000 KICK « Teachers Fight Back

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 11 minutes ago

AN $80,000 KICK « Teachers Fight Back:AN $80,000 KICKby alkleenChicago Tribune news item: A college student who said he was kicked in the leg by his automotive course instructor during a class is suing the teacher and the college. The student said his teacher kicked him in the shin in class after the teacher saw the student attempting to attach an auto transmission part with a hammer. The teacher allegedly shouted at the student and without any warning or provocation ...more »

But First Him, Always Him | The Jose Vilson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 11 minutes ago

But First Him, Always Him | The Jose Vilson:But First Him, Always Himby JoseAlejandro Luis Vilson Rojas and His DadFor the last four days, I’ve averaged about four hours of consistent sleep, including a a period of 24 hours from Thursday to Friday where I slept nothing. These days have been a haze of semi-consciousness, floating between staring at hospital beds and nurseries and recouping in the disaster area that was my house. Before December 5th, I remember reading a ... more »

What’s wrong with N.J. charter school policy - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 11 minutes ago

What’s wrong with N.J. charter school policy - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:What’s wrong with N.J. charter school policyby Valerie StraussThis speech, given recently at a protest in Maplewood, N.J., against the state’s charter school policy, was delivered by Stan Karp, who taught English and journalism in Paterson for 30 years. He is now the director of the Secondary Reform Project for New Jersey’s Education Law Center and an editor of Rethinking Schoolsmagazine.Read full article

Des Moines Education Association: A DMEA Executive Board Member's Initial Take on Iowa Education Reform Proposals

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 11 minutes ago

Des Moines Education Association: A DMEA Executive Board Member's Initial Take on Iowa Education Reform Proposals:A DMEA Executive Board Member's Initial Take on Iowa Education Reform Proposalsby Mr. ROur Executive Board Treasurer, Scott Rieker wrote down his initial thoughts on the education reform proposals to the Iowa Legislature from Governor Branstad. If you have not yet read the proposals in full you can read them at this LINK.Here are Scott's thoughts...."Hi all,The big legislative “bomb” that we’ve been waiting for ... more »

City and State Move to Shut Down Brooklyn Charter Network – SchoolBook

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 11 minutes ago

City and State Move to Shut Down Brooklyn Charter Network – SchoolBook:City and State Move to Shut Down Brooklyn Charter NetworkFACEBOOKTWITTERPRINTRelated SchoolsWilliamsburg Charter High SchoolBelieve Northside Charter High SchoolBelieve Southside Charter High SchoolJan. 10, 2012, 6:39 p.m.By ANNA M. PHILLIPSCity and state education officials announced on Tuesday that they plan to close an entire network of charter high schools in Brooklyn that have suffered management and financial woes for years.One day after New York City Department of Education officialsdeclared their ... more »

"NYSUT responds to governor's statement on teacher evaluations." January 10, 2012. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org

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"NYSUT responds to governor's statement on teacher evaluations." January 10, 2012. NYSUT: A Union of Professionals. www.nysut.org:NYSUT responds to governor's statement on teacher evaluationsALBANY, N.Y. Jan. 10, 2012 - New York State United Teachers today respectfully disagreed with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's characterization of New York's teacher evaluation law enacted in 2010 in concert with the state's Race to the Top application."This legislation was not designed to protect unions but, in fact, was jointly supported by NYSUT and the State Education ... more »

Bush Foundation Financial Backer K12 Inc to be Investigated for Securities Fraud | Scathing Purple Musings

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Bush Foundation Financial Backer K12 Inc to be Investigated for Securities Fraud | Scathing Purple Musings:Bush Foundation Financial Backer K12 Inc to be Investigated for Securities Fraudby Bob SikesFrom a Yahoo Business story last month:NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Faruqi Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential securities fraud at K12, Inc. (“K12” or the “Company”) (NYSE: LRN – News).The investigation focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by failing to disclose that: ... more »

SBE Numbering and Charter Submission Package - Resources (CA Dept of Education)

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SBE Numbering and Charter Submission Package - Resources (CA Dept of Education):SBE Numbering and Charter Submission PackageDeadlines for SBE Numbering and Charter Submission PackageListed below are the deadlines and required documents for submitting a Charter Submission Package in order to receive a charter number from the State Board of Education (SBE).E-mailed numbering requests will not be accepted. All items listed in the Charter Submission Package are to be received by the Charter Schools Division by 5 p.m. on the due ... more »

Schools Matter: With 99% of the People, Why Can't We Get 2/3 of the States

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Schools Matter: With 99% of the People, Why Can't We Get 2/3 of the States:With 99% of the People, Why Can't We Get 2/3 of the Statesby Jim HornDuring this political season, corporations are taking their turns lining up to sponsor political debates whose results are then made made entirely meaningless and irrelevant by subsequent unlimited blasts of negative ads that serve to buy the candidate most likely to prostrate himself completely at the feet of American plutocrats. Since the ... more »

Parents – watch out for parent trigger proposals in your state « Parents Across America

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Parents – watch out for parent trigger proposals in your state « Parents Across America:Parents – watch out for parent trigger proposals in your stateby pureparentsPAA member Caroline Grannan recently posted this update on the parent trigger, explaining that, despite well-funded propaganda, there are no successful parent trigger programs. The Parent Revolution, which pushed the California parent trigger law, has apparently abandoned the strategy.Yet parent trigger proposals are popping up all over the country, including Florida. Details in this PAA ... more »

RheeFirst! » Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?

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RheeFirst! » Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?:Are D.C. school officials hiding test data?by adminNote: Although these tests occurred in 2011, one year after Rhee’s departure from DC, the DC school personnel that administered them are the same personnel and system that she put in place.Written by Jay Mathews for The Washington Post. Read the entire article here.“Is this an intentional effort to deny parents, voters and taxpayers the information they need to judge the integrity of D.C. test ... more »

Misunderstanding & Misrepresenting the “Costs” & “Economics” of Online Learning « School Finance 101

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Misunderstanding Misrepresenting the “Costs” “Economics” of Online Learning « School Finance 101:Misunderstanding Misrepresenting the “Costs” “Economics” of Online Learningby schoolfinance101The Fordham Institute has just released its report titled “The Costs of Online Learning” in which they argue that it is incrementally cheaper to move from a) brick and mortar schooling to b) blended learning and then c) fully online learning.http://www.edexcellencemedia.net/publications/2012/20120110-the-costs-of-online-learning/20120110-the-costs-of-online-learning.pdfAccompanying this report is... more »

In Bad Faith | Edwize

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

In Bad Faith | Edwize:In Bad Faithby Leo CaseyThere is but one conclusion that can be drawn from the NYC Department of Education’s last minute walk out of negotiations over a teacher evaluation system for 33 schools placed in the Transformation and Restart models: it was always Tweed’s intention to refuse to enter into an agreement for teacher evaluations.Part of the evidence for this conclusion comes from the conduct of NYC DOE officials during negotiations. Throughout the month of December, ... more »

Blue Jersey:: Dear NJEA: You Break It, You Buy It

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Blue Jersey:: Dear NJEA: You Break It, You Buy It:Dear NJEA: You Break It, You Buy Itby: Jersey JazzmanTue Jan 10, 2012 at 12:30:00 PM ESTLast evening, the New Jersey Senate passed the Urban Hope Act by a margin of 53-3:The charter school pilot bill designates three failing school districts - in Trenton, Camden and Newark - as renaissance school districts. The bill enables one or more nonprofit entities to apply to the state to supplant the existing non-performing schools ... more »

John Thompson: No Excuses Reformers Find Plenty of Them for NCLB - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

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John Thompson: No Excuses Reformers Find Plenty of Them for NCLB - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:John Thompson: No Excuses Reformers Find Plenty of Them for NCLB by Anthony CodyGuest post by John Thompson.On the 10th anniversary of "the lost decade," produced by No Child Left Behind, we will read plenty of explanations of why the law did little good, and often did great harm to poor children of color. Ironically, the rationale for NCLB was that educators had ...more »

Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund

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Selling Schools Out | Corporate Accountability | The Investigative Fund:Selling Schools OutBY LEE FANGTHE NATIONNOVEMBER 17, 2011Under the banner of high-tech progress, corporate lobbyists have rammed through legislation privatizing K-12 education across the country.EmailContact usPrintShareIN CONJUNCTION WITHSee this story at its source »MICROSOFTBill Gates and Rupert Murdoch, two of the tycoons who stand to benefit from a wave of school privatization laws, at a Microsoft CEO Summit in 2009.If the national movement to "reform" public education through vouchers, charters and ... more »

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Mid Morning Posts #ows #edreform

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 6 hours ago

Schools Matter: Why not try the obvious first?Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-1 minute agoSchools Matter: Why not try the obvious first?:Why not try the obvious first?by skrashenWhy not try the obvious first?Sent to the Chicago Tribune, Jan 9, 2012According to one principal, students need a longer school day so they can catch up in reading (“Chicago schools to begin longer days Monday,” Jan 9).We can get much bigger gains spending less money and with much less work, with ... more »

This Week In Education: Video: What The Nation's "Best" Teachers Have To Say

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This Week In Education: Video: What The Nation's "Best" Teachers Have To Say: Thompson: Building On Disaggregationby john thompsonNCLB supporters have been celebrating the law's tenth anniversary by savaging the educators who had the temerity to challenge the self-evident righteousness of data-driven accountability. Opponents have been citing NCLB's failure to improve student performance, while recounting the damage it did to the children it was supposed to help. Jack Jennings's take on NCLB in Education Week best exemplifies the retrospectives by ... more »

Parents catching up under No Child Left Behind - Featured Stories - Modbee.com

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Parents catching up under No Child Left Behind - Featured Stories - Modbee.com:Parents catching up under No Child Left BehindBy Nan Austin naustin@modbee.com E-Mail Printreprint or license0 CommentsText Size: Parents were supposed to get power under the No Child Left Behind Act to recognize failing schools and choose to leave them or help fix them.But too often all the schools in low-income neighborhoods are on federal watch lists. Few parents move their children to higher performing schools when given the ... more »

Civic Learning: Renewing Our Sense of Who We Are | ED.gov Blog

Civic Learning: Renewing Our Sense of Who We Are | ED.gov Blog:

Civic Learning: Renewing Our Sense of Who We Are

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Cameron Brenchley

“Education is more than just book knowledge. It’s about how we engage in a vibrant democracy,” Secretary Duncan said yesterday afternoon at the White House. Duncan joined Obama Administration officials and education leaders at the launch of a national conversation about the importance of advancing civic learning from grade school to graduate school.

Image courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol

Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter noted that “it’s time to renew our sense of who we are and what we stand for.” Kanter explained that the benefits of civic learning range from “instilling civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions, and promoting civic equality, to building 21st century competencies, along with helping to improve school climate, engage students in learning, and lower the dropout rate.”

In conjunction with today’s event, ED released the report “Civic Learning and Engagement in Democracy: A Road Map and Call to Action.” The report says that while America’s democratic ideals remain a model for the world, civic knowledge and democratic participation in the U.S. are lacking. The Road Map points to a 2010 report that shows less than 30 percent of 4th, 8th, and 12th graders were proficient in civics.

The Road Map highlights nine steps that ED will take to advance civic learning and democratic engagement, including promoting pubic service internships and careers, leveraging federal programs and public-private partnerships, and adding civic indicators to national student surveys.

Visit www.ed.gov/civic-learning to read the full set of ED’s commitment, the entire Road Map, and for additional civic learning resources.

Profiles of For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: Thirteenth Annual Report - 2010-2011 | National Education Policy Center

Profiles of For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: Thirteenth Annual Report - 2010-2011 | National Education Policy Center:

Profiles of For-Profit and Nonprofit Education Management Organizations: Thirteenth Annual Report - 2010-2011

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by Gary Miron, Jessica Urschel, Mayra A. Yat Aguilar, Breanna Dailey

January 6, 2012

While past annual Profiles reports have focused on either for-profit EMOs or nonprofit EMOs, this is the first annual Profiles report to cover both categories in a single report which allows for easier comparisons. The 2010-2011 school year marked another year of relatively slow growth in the for-profit education management industry and another year of steady growth in the nonprofit EMO industry. We believe our key finding from the past three years, that the for-profit school management sector has leveled off and that many for-profit companies are expanding into supplemental services, continued in the 2010-2011 school year. The nonprofit management sector’s growth remains steady, both in terms of new nonprofit EMOs and new managed schools. While the number of new schools under for-profit EMO management has slowed, enrollments in all managed schools continue to grow at a rapid pace.

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Student Debt Crisis Isn't Just About Economy - Student Loan Ranger (usnews.com)

Student Debt Crisis Isn't Just About Economy - Student Loan Ranger (usnews.com):

Student Debt Crisis Isn't Just About Economy

By EQUAL JUSTICE WORKS

January 11, 2012 RSS Feed Print

With the Iowa caucus under our belt, the 2012 election year is in full swing and one issue being raised across the country isstudent debt. So far, it seems that a number of candidates propose to address this issue through their plans to "improve the economy." They don't seem to understand the educational debt crisis very well.

We certainly recognize the dire need for more jobs, but we think the issue of educational debt demands a more direct solution. We're taking this opportunity to raise some issues that warrant candidates' attention and to clarify the magnitude of

Why Even People Who Think They Don’t Care About Pensions Should Care About Pensions

Why Even People Who Think They Don’t Care About Pensions Should Care About Pensions:

Why Even People Who Think They Don’t Care About Pensions Should Care About Pensions

by Kris Amundson

Across the country, state legislatures are reconvening. As the late, wonderful Molly Ivins noted, legislative politics can often provide the “finest form of free entertainment ever invented.”

At the top of many state legislatures’ agenda this year will be the issue of pensions. Although the warning signs have been there for years, legislatures tend to put off addressing issues until there’s a real crisis. As one of my legislative buddies used to say, “We legislators are outstanding at dealing with the flood in the basement, but we constantly put off addressing the leak in the roof.”

This year, there’s a crisis. Simply put, far too many state pension systems

Messaging Measures of Teacher Effectiveness

by Sarah Rosenberg

Last Friday, we saw again how messaging matters as much as substance with the release of two controversial reports. First, The New York Times published an article on a new National Bureau of Economic Research study on the long-term effects of high value-added teachers on their students. As I wrote last week, the results were exciting: in the most in-depth research of its kind, the authors demonstrate that highly effective elementary and middle school teachers, as measured by high value-added scores, have a long-lasting positive effect on their students’ lives beyond test scores, including lower rates of teenage pregnancy, higher rates of college attendance, and greater adult earnings.

But the reader’s takeaway was tucked halfway through the article. After a discussion on the costs of keeping a minimally effective teacher, one of the authors, John N. Friedman, remarks, “the message is to fire people

Teachers in Bankrupt Pennsylvania School District Pledge to Work for Free - Education - GOOD

Teachers in Bankrupt Pennsylvania School District Pledge to Work for Free - Education - GOOD:

Teachers in Bankrupt Pennsylvania School District Pledge to Work for Free

by Liz Dwyer

Would you still go to work every day if your boss couldn't pay you? That's what 200 teachers and 65 other employees of Pennsylvania's Chester Upland School District have pledged to do after district officials told them that a $19 million budget shortfall meant they wouldn't be receiving salaries.

Sara Ferguson, who's been a teacher in Chester Upland—a 3,700-student school system just south of