Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Early Evening Posts 4-17 #SOSchat #p2 #edreform

Louisiana Educator: Ed Reform May Increase Segregation

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Louisiana Educator: Ed Reform May Increase Segregation: byMichael DeshotelsEd Reform May Increase SegregationOptions galore!That's how theBaton Rouge Advocate describes school optionswithin the next few years for Baton Rouge public school parents. Now in addition to expanded charters and vouchers, a new breakaway district is in the process of being approved by the legislature for another mostly white section of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. One would assume that expanded school choice, should increase the racial mixing of all ... more »

Florida Diversity and Leadership Conference

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Florida Diversity and Leadership Conference: RegisterSessionsSpeakersSponsorsSessionsRead moreDiversityFirst JobsLooking for that perfect candidate? Post your jobs on DiversityFIRSTjobs.com!Visit DiversityFIRSTJobs!Florida DiversityVisitFlorida Diversity, our new magazine publication catering to the state's business professionalsRead moreHomeFounder's WelcomeConference Co-ChairOrganizersGet InvolvedKeynote SpeakersAgendaSessionsNominationsRegistrationPartnership OpportunitiesVenueFlorida Diversity Council2011 ConferenceContact UsWhy Attend?We've got a thousand reasons why, butclick ... more »

Bullying Is Not a Rite of Passage—Theme of White House LGBT Safe Schools Conference | ED.gov Blog

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Bullying Is Not a Rite of Passage—Theme of White House LGBT Safe Schools Conference | ED.gov Blog: Bullying Is Not a Rite of Passage—Theme of White House LGBT Safe Schools ConferencebyGuest BloggerWith the goal of empowering and informing advocates on the ground about the federal resources available to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) community, White House officials joined federal and local partners at the first LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities on March 20that the University of ... more »

Schools Matter: Protect Your Children And Stop the Orgy of Tabulation: Opt Out!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Schools Matter: Protect Your Children And Stop the Orgy of Tabulation: Opt Out!: Protect Your Children And Stop the Orgy of Tabulation: Opt Out!byJim HornGreat resource guide below--do have a look and get involved. This movement can bring an end the madness of high stakes standardized testing.Tuesday, April 17, 2012MEASURING SUCCESSOpting Out: Families and Advocates Against Standardized TestingEducation Perspectives for the Central ValleyPursuant to California Education Code 60615, parents have the right to opt their children out of the Standardized ... more »

The Washington State PTA Convention: Be There | Seattle Education

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

The Washington State PTA Convention: Be There | Seattle Education: The Washington State PTA Convention: Be Therebyseattleducation2011There is a movement underfoot to take our rogue PTA back in the state of Washington.It has been taken over withthe likes of Stand for Children and the League of Education Voters(LEV) who have been setting the agenda for the WSPTA for the last two years, an agenda which includes merit pay for teachers, evaluating a teacher’s performance based on test scores and the ... more »

Huge Quebec Student Strike Enters New Phase « Student Activism

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Huge Quebec Student Strike Enters New Phase « Student Activism: Huge Quebec Student Strike Enters New PhasebyAngus JohnstonQuebec’s ten-week student strike, now the longest in the province’s history, is reaching a critical point.Although government officials continue to reject students’ demand that they reverse a planned tuition increase, Quebec education minister Line Beauchamp said Sunday that she is willing to meet with student leaders to discuss demands forreform in university governance.That concession was echoed the next day byQuebec’s premier, Jean Charest. ... more »

Time to take a hard look at charter schools (Letter) | MLive.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Time to take a hard look at charter schools (Letter) | MLive.com: Time to take a hard look at charter schools (Letter)Published: Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 6:00 AMByletter writersFollow1ShareEmailPrintI am not in the least surprised to hear that charter schools spend more on administration than they do on instruction. Here in Michigan, I would expect that result since 80 percent are for-profit charters.How lovely to think that charter schools’ use of our tax money not only goes for more administrative ... more »

Connecticut teachers' unions battles powerful outsiders over reform - Hartford Courant

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Connecticut teachers' unions battles powerful outsiders over reform - Hartford Courant: Teachers Union Battles Powerful InterestsOTHER OPINIONApril 16, 2012|By PHIL APRUZZESE and MARY LOFTUS LEVINE,The Hartford Courant"There is something awful going on in America. It has to do with scapegoating teachers, demonizing unions, and undermining education." That commentary is from former U.S. Assistant Commissioner of Education Diane Ravitch. Ravitch, who today is a professor and author, also is concerned about excluding teachers through top-down reforms. But that's exactly what anti-union... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: GAM vs. Tiger Moms

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 52 minutes ago

Missouri Education Watchdog: GAM vs. Tiger Moms: GAM vs. Tiger MomsbyAnngieLast year Amy Chua started a national debate about how hard parents should push their children to succeed. Her bookBattle Hymn of the Tiger Motherput a spotlight on the practices Chinese mothers used to get their children to the top of the success heap. Many Americans were appalled, but a slight note of worry was also struck by her comment to Meredith Vieira,"To be perfectly honest, I know that a ... more »

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Royko would have loved Rahm. « Fred Klonsky

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Royko would have loved Rahm. « Fred Klonsky: Life in Rahm’s Chicago. Royko would have loved Rahm.byFred KlonskyFrom theSouthtown.That brilliant chronicler of the verities of Chicago’s corrupt politicians, Mike Royko, would see Rahm Emanuel, the Dimunitive Despot, as a columnist’s dream come true.The scenario of a former suburbanite and D.C insider, whose campaign was well funded by charter-school lobbyist money, destroying the Chicago Public Schools and the careers of dedicated teachers for political gain, would be ... more »

Equal Pay Day 2012 | The G Bitch Spot

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

Equal Pay Day 2012 | The G Bitch Spot: Equal Pay Day 2012byG BitchThis year, it’s also Tax Day.Did your senators and/or representative support the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009? Do they even acknowledge the wage gap? Do you live inWY where women earn 64% of what men do? Or are you lucky enough to have a federal job where the pay gap is less extreme—notabsentbut less extreme?Today’s reading: the National Committee on Pay Equity’spay equity info page. ...more »

The MomsRising blog is a soapbox where people across our nation can talk politics, policy, and parenting.

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

MomsRising Blog: "The MomsRising blog is a soapbox where people across our nation can talk politics, policy, and parenting."Equal Pay Day: A Joint Blog Carnival With National Women’s Law CenterRuth MartinatMomsRising Blog-17 minutes agoToday is not just Tax Day. It is also Equal Pay Day – the day that symbolizes how far into 2012 women must work to earn what men already earned in 2011. That’s right. Women have to work for 16.5 months to earn what men make in ... more »

This Week In Education: Thompson: Refocus On Classroom Instruction, Brookings Urges

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

This Week In Education: Thompson: Refocus On Classroom Instruction, Brookings Urges: Thompson: Refocus On Classroom Instruction, Brookings Urgesbyjohn thompsonThe contemporary data-driven "reform" movement, fundamentally, is a theoretical bank shot, where in the name of "output-based" accountability non-educators'change the subject away from teaching and learningin order tosomehow improve teaching and learning. "Choosing Blindly," by the Brookings Foundation's Grover Whitehurst and Matthew Chingos, is a reminder that the best wayto improve classroom outcomes is to concentrate on the... more »

Cui Bono? The Question Rarely Asked, Let Alone Investigated - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

Cui Bono? The Question Rarely Asked, Let Alone Investigated - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher: Cui Bono? The Question Rarely Asked, Let Alone InvestigatedbyAnthony CodyFollow me onTwitter at @AnthonyCodyAs our public schools are systematically re-engineered for dubious reasons, with questionable results, by people of uncertain motives, there is a disturbing lack of skepticism on the part of our watchdogs for the public good, journalists. One of the basic principles of reporting is to ask "cui bono" - who ... more »

Some teachers feel frustrated, devalued by LA Unified | 89.3 KPCC

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

Some teachers feel frustrated, devalued by LA Unified | 89.3 KPCC: Teacher: Cuts to arts education are a 'great tragedy'Pass / Fail-8 hours agoAt Peary Middle School in Gardena, visual arts teacher Valerie Davidson teaches drawing and painting to about 175 students. She is the only arts teacher in a school of nearly 2,000 students. "Less than 30 percent of the kids in school have access to the arts," Davidson said Monday at the RIF notice hearings at California Market ... more »

What the U.S. can’t learn from Finland about ed reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

What the U.S. can’t learn from Finland about ed reform - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post: What the U.S. can’t learn from Finland about ed reformByValerie StraussFinland’shigh-achieving public school system is now part of the conversation about U.S. education reform these days. What, it is often asked, can we learn from Finland? (Plenty, actually, though U.S. reformers consistentlyignore the lessons.)The queryhas been asked and answered so often that it seems like a good time to ask what the ... more »

Asking Questions | Taking Note

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

Asking Questions | Taking Note: Asking QuestionsbyJohn MerrowHow does one run a panel? John has some ideas.Question:You moderate a lot of panel discussions at education meetings, and you have a reputation for doing a pretty good job at it. In fact, some of those appearances are embedded above in this post. Can you pass along some tips to the rest of us?John:Sure, but why are you asking me now?Question:Well, you’re not getting any younger, are you?John:Fair enough. There’s really just ... more »

http://www.southbronxschool.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 4 hours ago

http://www.southbronxschool.com: Right Now In New York Statebynoreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)Right now as I am typing this it is Monday, April 16, 2012 at approximately 9:24 PM. My 5th grade son is watching the Yankees and the Twins as his normal 10 PM bedtime approaches. He had a long day today. School, then a baseball game tonight. We are treating things as normal this evening, as well as the upcoming evenings, even though this coming week will not be normal for thousands ... more »

An Ode To The Big Tests | The Jose Vilson

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

An Ode To The Big Tests | The Jose Vilson: An Ode To The Big TestsbyJoseHere’s to you.Here’s to the students who will be pelted with Scantron sheets and test booklets emblazoned with the shape of New York State, a place they’ve explored so little.Here’s to the students who, after 140 days of mixed concentration for varied reasons, will be asked to focus all their energies on answering 50+ multiple choice and 9+ extended response questions they’ll have to take ... more »

Modern School: Data-Free Reform: The Bunkum of “Multiple Learning Styles”

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Modern School: Data-Free Reform: The Bunkum of “Multiple Learning Styles”: Data-Free Reform: The Bunkum of “Multiple Learning Styles”byMichael DunnEvery year teachers are asked to add more to their repertoire of teaching techniques, to work harder and longer to implement reforms that are supposed to improve student learning. If these reforms actually improved learning outcomes, the investment in professional development and teacher’s time might be worth it.Teachers should be wary.Administrators and proponents typically claim reforms are based on solid evidence and ... more »

How to Destroy the Educational System » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

How to Destroy the Educational System » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names: Take Away Their Funding, Terrorize Teachers, and Send Kids Somewhere ElseHow to Destroy the Educational Systemby ELIZABETH WALTERSHow can we improve public education for our children?The answers to this question–and the perspectives on the current quality of public education in the United States–are as varied and individualized as the 55 million students who attend public school in this country. Recently, legislators in Louisiana, like their counterparts ... more »

School Tech Connect: Totally Not A Rant

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

School Tech Connect: Totally Not A Rant: Totally Not A RantSo... here's a cautionary tale, not a rant. It's going to sound like a rant. I'm not ranting, swear to God.Anyway I get an email from my state representative, and it turns out she's having office hours at a place I can get to and I time I can make, if I A) drive instead of biking and B) haul ass. Here's the relevant bit of email...This email irks me ... more »

Democrats Running for Governor Need to Fully Support Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Democrats Running for Governor Need to Fully Support Public Education « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Democrats Running for Governor Need to Fully Support Public EducationbymillerlfRemoving the Walker regime is within the grasp of Wisconsin voters. Walker’s policies, if allowed to continue, will make pain and suffering the order of the day for many people, while corporations and the wealthy will flourish.As an advocate of public education, working for over 80,000 Milwaukee students, my goal is to steer education ... more »

Schools fight dominates record spending on lobbying | The New York World

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Schools fight dominates record spending on lobbying | The New York World: Schools fight dominates record spending on lobbyingPosted onApril 16, 2012 byAlice BrennanandCurtis SkinnerThe schools group chaired by former New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein was last year's fourth-biggest Albany lobbyist. Photo: Gotham SchoolsWith this story, The New York World launchesThe Lobbies at the Top, a guide to spending on political influence in New York State. The first edition takes a look at the power players of 2011, ... more »

Hilary Rosen, Michelle Rhee and Barack Obama’s AFT – NEA Support | Scathing Purple Musings

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 16 hours ago

Hilary Rosen, Michelle Rhee and Barack Obama’s AFT – NEA Support | Scathing Purple Musings: Hilary Rosen, Michelle Rhee and Barack Obama’s AFT – NEA SupportbyBob SikesWhile the American Left rose to the defense of Hilary Rosen’s smear of Ann Romney, the lobbying firm who pays Rosen’ssalary was cashing in on her contacts with the Obama White House. According to Lee Fang ofThe Nation, among Rosen’s clients isMichelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst:SKDKnickerbocker representsconsultingforStudents First, a lobbying group aimed at destroying collective bargaining, ... more »

tomhayden.com - Police, Student Protesters and Pepper Spray #UCDAVIS

tomhayden.com - Peace Exchange Bulletin - Police, Student Protesters and Pepper Spray :

POLICE, STUDENT PROTESTERS AND PEPPER SPRAY 

TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012 AT 3:08PM

Tom Hayden testifies at a December 14, 2011 joint hearing of the Senate Committee on Education and the Assembly Committee on Higher Education at the state Capitol in Sacramento.In the most comprehensive official report on police tactics towards campus anti-tuition protests since the Occupy movement broke out last year, a University of California investigation concludes, “The pepper spraying incident that took place on November 18, 2011 should and could have been prevented.”

The police action was code-named Operation Eco-Friendly. The report delves deeply into the irrationality of administrative conduct, which resulted in the pepper spraying of UC Davis students on that day, and also paints one of the first portraits of the good-natured nonviolent idealism among the new wave of student protestors.

The report was issued in name of Dr. Cruz Reynoso of the Davis campus, a former member of the California Supreme Court who lost his position during the anti-crime, anti-government hysteria that swept California in 1986, a precursor of the Neo-Con and Tea Party counter-

Cry Me A River: The Parent Trigger And The Misfortunes Of Poor ALEC, DFER and Rishawn Biddle | Edwize

Cry Me A River: The Parent Trigger And The Misfortunes Of Poor ALEC, DFER and Rishawn Biddle | Edwize:

Cry Me A River: The Parent Trigger And The Misfortunes Of Poor ALEC, DFER and Rishawn Biddle

by Leo Casey

The powers that be at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate funded, right wing outfit that writes model legislation for state and local officials who apparently can’t write themselves, is feeling mighty sorry for themselves these days.
It seems that a confluence of different political events have exposed much of ALEC’s work and political agenda, revealing the connections among a number of their projects:

• In the wake of the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, ALEC’s role in writing and disseminating “stand your ground” gun laws which make armed individuals into judge, jury and executioner have drawn considerable 

Meet ASCD President Debra Hill — Whole Child Education

Meet ASCD President Debra Hill — Whole Child Education:

Meet ASCD President Debra Hill

by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post submitted by whole child blogger Willona M. Sloan
In her career as an educator, Debra Hill has worked at just about every level of education, from classroom teacher to superintendent to university professor.
She discovered her calling during her sophomore year at Northwestern University, when she designed cultural activities for young children. "I spent a summer with 25 5- to 7-year-olds—and 1 assistant—and decided, 'This is fun!'" Hill says.

As a student teacher, Hill taught a multiage class (grades K–2) and was the first full-time African American teacher in the Oak Park (Ill.) school system. Next, Hill says, she was teaching elementary school in Evanston, Ill., when the superintendent tapped her to fill an open position as curriculum coordinator in the central office.
"When I asked him why he had selected me," Hill says, "he said that he had observed me in my interactions as a part of various committees—particularly the curriculum advisory council and some of the professional 

Howard Fuller Proposal for Creating New City Charter Schools Critiqued by Community Group « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Howard Fuller Proposal for Creating New City Charter Schools Critiqued by Community Group « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Howard Fuller Proposal for Creating New City Charter Schools Critiqued by Community Group

by millerlf

EDUCATION FORUM
Women Committed to an Informed Community
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
April 4, 2012
City of Milwaukee Common Council c/o The Milwaukee Charter
School Review Committee
200 E. Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
Forwarded to Email Addresses of Committee Members
Regarding: Charter School Application for Quest-Milwaukee, Inc.
as submitted by Edgar T. Russell, Executive Director for Quest Institute for the Transformation of Learning, Marquette University 750 N. 18th Street, Milwaukee WI 53233 – (414) 288-3055 – v
Dear Chairman Ingram:
The undersigned individuals, on behalf of the Education Forum of the Women Committed to an Informed Community (Women Committed), ask that the Committee consider the following information in finalizing your review of the Charter School Application submitted on February 3, 2012 by Quest-Milwaukee, Inc. Individuals with Women Committed gave testimony during the public hearing (March 2012) for Charter School Applications. We have taken into consideration the defense of the School’s representation at the Hearing and the actual Application Packet from which your written reviews will be made.
The Education Forum of Women Committed to an Informed Community strongly encourages the Charter School Review Committee to defer approval of the Quest-Milwaukee Charter School Application at its April 4, 2012 session. The deferment would allow the entity to either invoke the Appeals process available in the City Ordinance Chapter 330 (typically 30-45 days) or to re-apply during the next application cycle. Deferment would allow the applicant to appropriately respond to missing and incomplete information that is critical in making an informed approval of the proposed network of Quest-Milwaukee schools.

Please note that the following items are listed in no specific order. 1.0 Required Contracts and Collaborations
1.1 It will be necessary for Quest-Milwaukee to secure thorough and ongoing contractual relationships with EdVision as outlined in the Application. This contractual agreement is not identified as either in process or completed. EdVision is the only true model that is similar in nature to the ‘variation’ of education delivery. An alternate plan is not identified should EdVision refuse to contract with Quest-Milwaukee or cancels its contract with the school.
1.2 It will be necessary for Quest-Milwaukee to secure thorough and ongoing contractual relationships with Microsoft / Google Chrome as outlined in the Application. This contractual agreement is not identified as either in process or completed. Is this contract predicated on the existing Microsoft Agreement with Wisconsin Department of Public Institutions? An alternate plan is not identified should Microsoft / Google Chrome refuse to contract with Quest-Milwaukee or cancel its contract with the school.
2.0 Staffing and Class Size
2.1 Too few appropriately certified teachers:
2.1.1 Entity lists only one teacher per location per discipline for as many as 475

Students with no back-up process when the ‘one teacher’ is not yet hired or

resigns. These start-up schools are known for high levels of staff turnover. 2.1.2 Unlicensed paraprofessionals will provide the daily interactions that are
reserved for licensed teachers in the EdVision model.
2.1.3 The EdVision model is designed for use in a small-school environment. Quest-Milwaukee’s use of this model will greatly exceed the desired staff/pupil ratios.

• Grouping (class size) in the EdVision Model is 20 students to 1 licensed teacher;
• Grouping in the Quest-Milwaukee Model is 22 students to 1 unlicensed paraprofessional with 475 students to 1 licensed teacher.
• A similar model previously existed in Milwaukee (under the name of Phoenix Charter High School with Grades 9-12) under contract with EdVision but without the support and on-going direction of EdVision. This school had extreme challenges in implementing this education variation model in an urban environment.
• Open-concept classroom or whole school model is in place at Bradley Tech High School (Milwaukee). Implementation and safety is an extreme challenge for the more mature students (grades 9-12). The Forum has extreme reservations with inclusion of grades 6 -7 into the model with very limited teacher/paraprofessional physical oversight.

 Applicant does not provide data to demonstrate that this will be

of benefit as it relates to the learning process.

2.1.3 Students will be chosen and grouped to include same-sex students of all grades-6th through 12th. Students will be provided online ‘communities for this grouping’ with no indication of on-going monitoring by the paraprofessional (teacher not included in the model). A typical makeup of the physical and online community can include students as young as 11year olds and as mature as 21 year olds. Under normal circumstances, this grouping poses a threat of safety.
2.1.4 Computer technicians are under staffed with one individual slotted to float between multiple buildings for a 100% computer-based delivery system.
2.2 Many of the key school leadership will not be hired and prepared in advance of student enrollment. A pro-active hiring will allow staff to become acclimated to the teaching environment prior to inclusion of students in the areas of responsibilities.
2.3 Students will not have access to training information outside of the physical school plant—specifically because the material will be housed on an intranet. If this is a true intranet, it is not clearly explained how students/parents will approach homework and extracurricular work.
2.4 The Center for Support is a critical element of the organizational resources. The Center for Support will is not scheduled for staffing until School-Year #Three.
3.0 Curriculum
3.1 Each student will develop and implement an individual learning plan. Application does not indicate at what point the teacher or paraprofessional (advisor) will be responsible to amend the individual learning plan to reflect realistic goals for either the learning disabled or the over-achiever.
3.1.1 In the EdVision model, the development and amendments are reserved for the licensed teacher.

3.1.2 Teacher-student evaluations are replaced with student-student evaluations.

3.2 Absent of an existing contract with EdVision (Carpe Diem or other similar models), no actual data is provided in school’s application to indicate success/fail/correction rates. The “extensive research and development” is only mentioned but not included in the Application Packet. EdVision has been implemented in the small-school environment for more than seven years. (Our Education Forum found EdVision implementation data that dates back to 1994 in a Minnesota school.)
3.2.1 No indication that the small-school training model can be transferred

successfully to the whole-school model as identified by Quest-Milwaukee.

3.3 It is not clear what an ‘average’ school day will look like for students. Some show only 2 hours of school-based subject-matter instruction while others show as much as 7 hours of actual main subject instruction. The school day is not clearly defined and only briefly discussed.

3.3.1 The Quest-Milwaukee school year will not lend well to older students who desire/need to work and/or complete community service hours outside of the school. The proposed year extends for 8 weeks beyond the traditional parochial high school. Many, if not all, of the reasonable positions that are available to the age group will be taken.
4.0 Employment Arrangements
4.1 It is not clear in the Application Packet why this Wisconsin employer seeks hiring practices that exceed Wisconsin law. Statutes that are in place at the time of this application submission do not allow for barring of all types of felony convictions.
This greatly exceeds existing law and should be explained. This should be addressed for compliance.
4.2 Health benefits are slotted for only 70% employer share during the first year. Any percentages less that 80% qualifies the employee to be identified as uninsured and eligible to apply for Wisconsin Medicaid for lack of insurance. The Education Forum does not believe that it is the intent of Quest-Milwaukee to place its instructors and staff onto the Medicaid roles. This should be addressed for compliance.
4.3 The proposed school intends to implement a $250 penalty for unexcused absences. There is no clear financial template to indicate that the employee arrangement will not violate federal/state minimum wage hours. Ultimately, the deduction of $250 from a 3-day pay week may not leave enough compensation equivalent to $7.25 for actual hours worked. This should be addressed for compliance.
5.0 Financials
5.1 Non-profit [501(c)3] approval not in place by original application time. Conversation during Public Hearing referenced a recent approval. Documentation, however, was not provided for inclusion into the Application Packet—which is a matter of public record.
5.2 Conversation during Public Hearing referenced a recent approval by the Executive Board to increase the per-student tuition rate from $7,777 to $11,000. No additional explanation was offered verbally. Documentation, however, was not provided for
inclusion into the Application Packet—which is a matter of public record.

• The Application Packet, along with any modification should be made

available as a matter of public record. The process of amending an

Application Packet may by a CSRC process that does not currently

lend well to public inspection.

• The Education Forum’s recommendation is to amend the

responsibilities of the Committee Clerk to include tracking with update notification to all parties requesting release of the public documents, namely submitted Charter School Application Packets. A reasonable timeframe to provide the update notification is within 3 calendar days of receipt from applicant entity.

5.3 Three-year projections included in the Application Packet itemize the expenses of a
preparation year with a fiscal start date of July 1. Missing from the Packet is an

itemization of the expenses for the prior years of preparation. The standard itemization is addressed with a voluntary statement: “Note: This is a new school and does not have prior school year financial information.” To the contrary, the actual operation of Quest-Milwaukee (with Edgar T. Russell identified as Executive Director for Quest) is referenced in petitions to elected officials as far back as January 2011. This would account for two prior school years if the July-June fiscal year is applied as identified by the applicant.
5.4 Use of the Wisconsin Planning Grant ($200,000) is not identified as being a part of
the 2012-13 planning year but was briefly mentioned in the Public Hearing.
6.0 Senior Management and Executive Board Structure
6.1 The discussion of the Executive Board structure for Quest-Milwaukee indicated a composite of eight members. The Application Packet submitted for review, however, only list three members—only two of which were available for the public hearing.

• Questions regarding the Executive Board members not yet identified were addressed by the Board Treasurer as ‘not enough time to identify prior to the public hearing.” Deferment would allow for additional time to secure and evaluate individuals who will the significant makeup of this decision-making body.
• It is a serious question of the Education Forum whether a true 2/3 majority can be obtained with the current Executive Board structure given that two of the Members are a husband/wife team.
• Current Executive Board Chair is also the Chair of another entity that is applying for Charter School approval during this March 2012 approval cycle.
•  The Education Forum finds is extremely odd that the Application Packet of the second entity was significantly deficient and is encouraged by the CSRC to re-submit for
• approval in September 2012.
• The Application references two different Executive Board Chairs in different areas of the Packet. It is not clear if this is an oversight and when the structural changes were made because two of the documents where authored/signed within days of each other.

7.0 Miscellaneous
7.1              The Education Forum would ask the applicant to review and adjust the document
to exclude overly repetitive documentation. Entire sections are repeated throughout the document—with no added value—as much as three times.
7.2             The Education Forum believes that it is a challenging feat—possibly a conflict of
interest—for CSRC Members who are also long-term and life members of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) organization to also take responsibility for approval of an entity that is the product of the organizations founding members. The Education Forum’s opposition here, however, will take a back seat if the remaining items are addressed to the public’s satisfaction.
The Education Forum and the Women Committed feel that it is necessary to express that these requests are from Milwaukee residents who are working to see the achievable school options are available to our children. Those who join us in the Education Forum have worked and volunteered in the Milwaukee Public School system, as well as, private/choice schools at varying grade levels. We do not require our members to express opposition to choice schools. To the contrary, individuals who have recently made application for review as a Charter School through the City of Milwaukee have previously met with the Education Forum.
If you have additional questions during your serious review of this material and its application to your decision-making process, contact information for Education Forum Leaders is provided below.
Respectfully,

Harriet Callier, Associate Chair Education Forum
608-313-5101
Gail Hicks, Chair Education Forum 414-358-1042
Marva Herndon, Chair
Women Committed to an Informed Community 414-350-3027
Women.Informed@gmail.com www.WomenInformed.org

RheeFirst! » Parsed & Shredded: The Incoherent Reform of Michelle Rhee

RheeFirst! » Parsed & Shredded: The Incoherent Reform of Michelle Rhee:

Parsed & Shredded: The Incoherent Reform of Michelle Rhee

by admin

Jazzman parses & shreds Rhee’s incoherent radio interview.
“Teachers and parents, know this: Michelle Rhee is “absolutely” wrong when she claims she champions children better than you do. She places primacy on the teacher, yet she supports policies, but her own admission, that will do nothing to get and keep great teachers in classrooms. Her entire agenda is designed to denigrate the profession of teaching and remove workplace protections, even as she claims to value the very profession.
She is incoherent, and she should not be driving the national dialogue about education; she should not be allowed to buy a seat at your table. Do not let her deep-pocketed backers drive a wedge between you. You have far more claim to represent the interests of students than she ever will.”

Mayoral Candidates and Education Leaders Discuss School Closure Policy « EdVox

Mayoral Candidates and Education Leaders Discuss School Closure Policy « EdVox:

Mayoral Candidates and Education Leaders Discuss School Closure Policy

by edvoxny

Panel Members Release Report, Recommend Alternatives to Bloomberg Administration’s Close-and-Replace Policies
(New York, NY – April 17, 2012) – Leading candidates for mayor – Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson – joined education leaders from the Working Group on School Transformation today to release a report (click here to download report) on Mayor Bloomberg’s school closure policy and recommend alternatives as part of a breakfast forum on education at New York University’s Kimball Hall Lounge.

Councilmember Robert Jackson, Chair of the Education Committee

The mayor’s controversial school closings policy and approach to struggling schools has been met with increasingly harsher criticism from communities and elected officials, and lower approval ratings from voters over the last few years.  In response, the forum’s panelists – including the mayoral candidates, City Council Education Chair Robert Jackson, former DOE Deputy Chancellor Carmen Farina and NYU Professor Pedro 

Schools Matter: Krash Course #7: The Reform Narrative EXPOSED

Schools Matter: Krash Course #7: The Reform Narrative EXPOSED:

Krash Course #7: The Reform Narrative EXPOSED

by P. L. Thomas

In Krash Course #6, I highlighted the inverse relationship between what educators acknowledge as important education reform and what self-proclaimed reformers claim as educational reform by noting Diane Ravitch'sexcellent blog in the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher.


Since that posting, several key examples of the failure of political leadership and the media are captured in a few examples that can stand as evidence of how educators and researchers must first expose the hollowness of claims about charter schools, teacher merit pay, VAM-style accountability of teachers, charges of "bad" teachers ruining education, and an array of technocratic and bureaucratic minutia that has little to do with the 

K-12 Education Loans: The Other Private School Profit Center | Crooks and Liars

K-12 Education Loans: The Other Private School Profit Center | Crooks and Liars:

K-12 Education Loans: The Other Private School Profit Center

8 comments

By karoli

ENLARGE

Whenever the right wing privatization profitization fetish is the topic of a post, it's usually in the context of direct profiteering on the privatized activity. Talking about private prisons raises the ethical question about turning crime into a profit center, not to mention the racial issues. Talking about private libraries raises an ethical question about content, and whether private providers have an obligation to make all books available or only those books which the provider approves.
When it comes to education and the privatization fetish, most discussion centers around the private school industry and related profit centers. Those centers are usually textbooks, lower wages for teachers and support staff, and reduced compliance and credentialling requirements for private schools. Oh, and testing. Of course, we can't forget testing.
There's another profit center that no one is really talking much about, but which has the potential to do lasting and deep harm to our economy: K-12 private loans. Just as the college loan industry has bolstered for-profit colleges and driven college debt balances up to levels higher than all car loans and credit card balances, the for-profit K-12 loan industry has the potential to really drive up debt, and along with it, defaults on that debt.
Via WSJ SmartMoney.com:

It used to be that families first signed up for education loans when their child enrolled in college

Smarter Balanced Technology Readiness Tool Rollout - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Smarter Balanced Technology Readiness Tool Rollout - Letters (CA Dept of Education):

Dear County and District Superintendents and Direct-Funded Charter School Administrators:

SMARTER BALANCED TECHNOLOGY READINESS TOOL ROLLOUT

As you know, in June 2011, California became a governing state in the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). SBAC brings states together to create an innovative assessment system for mathematics and English language arts/literacy that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. The SBAC assessments will be delivered via computing devices; assessing our students using technology provides schools and districts much faster turnaround of results and a better opportunity to assess our students on twenty-first century skills with twenty-first century technology. This is indeed an exciting opportunity to enable our assessment system to assess those critical thinking skills that our educators are teaching.

The purpose of this communication is to announce the statewide rollout of the SBAC Technology Readiness Tool. The statewide data collection window is now open and will close June 14, 2012. As California moves forward with the implementation of the SBAC computer-adaptive assessments, your efforts will be critical in gauging our schools’ readiness to administer these assessments.

By using the Technology Readiness Tool, schools and districts will be able to submit information on key readiness indicators, including number and type of computers and devices; ratio of devices to test-takers; local network and bandwidth infrastructure; and local staff resources. This first data collection will be used as an inventory for baseline purposes to help determine the minimum system requirements for the SBAC system.

We know that surveys can take time, and to minimize the burden on your staff, CDE implemented a phased rollout of the Technology Readiness Tool by piloting it with volunteer districts in each of the 11 California service regions to test the system. As a result of the pilot, we have provided critical feedback and suggestions to the vendor for improving the LEA experience with the Technology Readiness Tool. These districts piloted the system from March 20, 2012, through April 9, 2012.

As the statewide window opens, a list of technology directors/coordinators in each district has been generated. CDE will send an e-mail to the technology directors/coordinators in each district with links to several webinars, including SBAC 101, Technology Readiness Tool 101, Using the Technology Readiness Web site, and California-specific Technology Readiness Details to help them navigate the system.

This is an important opportunity for the state and districts to assess readiness for implementation of the SMARTER Balanced assessments, and we appreciate your willingness to join us in this important endeavor.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Jose Ortega, State Readiness Coordinator in the Education Technology Office, using a special e-mail account we have created specifically for this initiative: sbac-itreadiness@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson

TT:kb

Louisiana Educator: Ed Reform May Increase Segregation

Louisiana Educator: Ed Reform May Increase Segregation:

by Michael Deshotels

Ed Reform May Increase Segregation

Options galore! That's how the Baton Rouge Advocate describes school options within the next few years for Baton Rouge public school parents. Now in addition to expanded charters and vouchers, a new breakaway district is in the process of being approved by the legislature for another mostly white section of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system. One would assume that expanded school choice, should increase the racial mixing of all students by allowing students to transfer to successful schools and by forcing the closing of unsuccessful mostly segregated schools. It is quite likely instead that racial segregation will intensify as a result of the radical reforms approved this year by the legislature. Governor Jindal's contention that vouchers and charters will allow many low income parents to exercise better educational opportunities for their children will turn out to be mostly an empty promise. Other large school systems such as Caddo may soon follow the example of EBR in allowing the breakaway of mostly white or affluent sections of the school system also resulting in poor, mostly black inner city districts with decreased financial resources compared to the suburbs! I believe that much of the reform effort will eventually result in a reduction in opportunities for poor and black students!

Re-segregation has happened before following the federal courts' push to end racial segregation in many