Why Due Process (aka “Tenure”) Matters « Diane Ravitch's blog

Why Due Process (aka “Tenure”) Matters « Diane Ravitch's blog:

Why Due Process (aka “Tenure”) Matters

by dianerav

From a reader:

Without due process, I would not put it past local school boards to balance their ever-decreasing budgets on the backs of experienced teachers. Allowing Virginia teachers to be fired without cause reminds me of the times when female teachers could not keep their jobs when they were pregnant. These continual attacks on educators is incredibly demoralizing. It is harder and harder to tell my students, “Excellent choice,” when they say they want to be a teacher when they grow up.

Farewell, Nora Ephron

by dianerav

I was sad to hear that Nora Ephron died.
We were at Wellesley College at the same time.
She was two years behind me, class of 1962. I am class of 1960.
I was editor of the Wellesley College News when Nora joined

Greetings to Readers Outside the U.S.

by dianerav

I love seeing the listing of where readers live outside the U.S.
Of course, I am happy to see friends in Australia, Canada, the U.K., and New Zealand.
But special greetings this evening to readers in India, Israel, Chile, Germany, France, the Russian Federation, the Philippines, and Chile.
Isn’t the Internet wonderful?
Diane

Need I Say More?

by dianerav

Bloomberg News Social column June 26, 2012

Born to Rise’

Jonathan Gray, Blackstone Group LP (BX) senior managing director, was at the IAC Building last night to fete Deborah Kenny, the founder and chief executive officer of Harlem Village Academies, on her new book “Born to Rise: A Story of Children and Teachers Reaching Their Highest Potential.”
“The idea of kids who live a mile north from my kids and have little educational opportunity feels wrong,” Gray said at the party hosted by Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg, with Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Katie Couric in attendance.
Help goes beyond financial. Gray’s wife, Mindy Gray, is a Homework Helper. Jane Och, the wife of Daniel Och,

Life and Death in a “Turnaround” School

by dianerav

A reader in New York City writes to describe the closing scenes in a Turnaround school. I can’t help but think of the desk jockeys inside the Beltway, the gals and guys who pull down six figures to explain why “turnaround” is a great idea. And all those consultants ready to swoop in for half a million or so. Then then there are the public relations consultants who will tell the media that this wonderful plan is working. The think tanks will celebrate: the theory works! Who are those ants on the ground. People, you say? But they are data, not people. Remember, it’s all about the children!
No problem: Just fire everyone, and it’s time for a do-over. Start fresh!
From D.C. it looks good. But at the school, it doesn’t look that great. A community dies. People pack their things. Careers ended, a school has died. It hurts:

Since you mention “turnaround schools,” I thought I would offer a glimpse of what is happening at the school I work at in Queens, NY that is undergoing turnaround. It is grim! The hiring process is awful. We teachers (and

UseYourTeacherVoice will be at NEA and AFT | The Classroom Sooth

UseYourTeacherVoice will be at NEA and AFT | The Classroom Sooth:

UseYourTeacherVoice will be at NEA and AFT

by classroomsooth

There’s no better time to make your UseYourTeacherVoice video clip than the month of July!  As both major teachers unions set their agendas for the coming year, rank-and-file educators’ voices must be heard.  Do you agree with the actions of your Union?  What’ does it take to build a fighting union? Would you like to see something else?  Do you want to voice your support for actions taking place around the country?

I will be on location at the NEA convention next week, and at AFT (Detroit) at the end of July.  Follow my tweets from both @UseYrTcherVoice and@ClassroomSooth to find out where in the Convention Center I will be each day.  You can always submit a video via email, or upload your own and link it to the UseYourTeacherVoice Project  YouTube site.

Here is the latest video from Mark Friedman (Rochester, NY).

Saying “No” to Transnational corporate Pearson and their privatized testing scams: Parents and children rally against Pearson | Dailycensored.com

Saying “No” to Transnational corporate Pearson and their privatized testing scams: Parents and children rally against Pearson | Dailycensored.com:

Saying “No” to Transnational corporate Pearson and their privatized testing scams: Parents and children rally against Pearson

by Danny Weil

Picture of Iris Culver, an 11-year-old fifth-grader, wearing a pineapple costume she made with her friend, Asha Karmen-Chan, 10, who stands to her right. The students were protesting standardized testing outside Pearson’s Midtown office on June 7th, 2012.  The parents and children who attended the rally came from some of the 61 elementary and middle schools where anti-testing activists said families were boycotting “field tests” from Pearson, which began on Tuesday.

Pearson PlC is one of the largest text book and educational services corporations in the world.  It is British owned and is now busy designing inauthentic tests for students in NY and elsewhere, while posting very authentic profits.  This is due to the fact that state capitalism allows public monies to subsidize their business plans.  and it is all wrapped up in what is supposed to be a bed of roses.  Parents obviously didn’t think so for 

BAMN: Catherine Ferguson Academy School in Detroit still struggling school closure

by Danny Weil

  If you have not heard of the Catherine Ferguson Academy School in Detroit, the attempt to close the school and the fight to keep it open which is now winning you should. I have written much about the issue at Daily Censored and you can  simply use our search engine and type in the name [...]

Efforts to Help Struggling Students Pass Exit Exam Are Too Little, Too Late | California Progress Report

Efforts to Help Struggling Students Pass Exit Exam Are Too Little, Too Late | California Progress Report:

Efforts to Help Struggling Students Pass Exit Exam Are Too Little, Too Late

by megan

By the Public Policy Institute of California
State-funded support services for students who fail the California High School Exit Exam in grade 10 have helped only a small percentage of students go on to pass the test and obtain their diplomas, according to a report released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
The PPIC report assesses the impact of two state laws allocating funds to districts for tutoring and other services to help students pass the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), which is administered several times before the end of grade 12. One law, AB 128, funds tutoring and other support for students primarily in grades 11 and 12. A second, AB 347, provides two additional years of support for students to re-enroll in school if they have failed to pass the exam by the end of grade 12.
read more

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: UPDATED: A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOU FROM BOARDMEMBER KAYSER ABOUT THE IMPENDING ELIMINATION OF BEYOND-THE-BELL YOUTH SERVICES FOR 42,000+ STUDENTS

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: UPDATED: A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOU FROM BOARDMEMBER KAYSER ABOUT THE IMPENDING ELIMINATION OF BEYOND-THE-BELL YOUTH SERVICES FOR 42,000+ STUDENTS:

UPDATED: A CALL-TO-ACTION FOR YOU FROM BOARDMEMBER KAYSER ABOUT THE IMPENDING ELIMINATION OF BEYOND-THE-BELL YOUTH SERVICES FOR 42,000+ STUDENTS

June 26, 2012
Dear 4LAKids Reader:
I write to express alarm and concern for the safety and well-being of our children. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is proposing to eliminate the Youth Services program (a $6.9 million cut) that provides after-school direct services to over 42,000 students daily, across the district’s 26 cities and portions of the County. Additionally, thousands more will lose access to their campus at 2:10pm, ending non-profit and private enrichment programs, tutoring, arts education, evening nutrition, and sports and recreation opportunities. Worse, there is not private capacity to take on 50,000 children by the start of school in six weeks even if their parents had the money to pay for after-school care.
Fifty-thousand latchkey children, ranging from 5 years of age to teenagers will soon be populating our parks, libraries, and streets. As a school police officer noted, the gangs have an afterschool program too and they are not making budget cutbacks. We simply have no choice, local governments and foundations must come together to solve this crisis as it impacts all of us through increased rates of bullying, obesity, poverty, teen pregnancy, crime and dropout rates, never-mind the adverse affect on the local economy and family budgets.
Through wars, depressions and recessions, since 1915, the LAUSD has provided some form of free, after school programming to millions of students and families, but on June 28^th, 2012 the LAUSD Superintendent, proposes to end that commitment. As a Board Member, teacher for 14 years, and parent of two LAUSD graduates, I cannot stand by and allow our students, parents, and communities to be put at risk. Frankly, I cannot think of one standardized test, curriculum overhaul or evaluation metric that could be worth more than the safety of a child, nor one pot-hole for that matter.
I need your help to ensure that the Superintendent and my colleagues at the Board of Education understand the gravity of this situation and the potential catastrophic impact eliminating after school programming will have on all of us. I would like to close by thanking you for your time and consideration on this most important of issues. We are all servants of communities and together we can guarantee that our children will remain safe with an eye towards their future.
Sincerely,

Bennett Kayser
Board Member, District 5

School Tech Connect: Putting The Whole Thing Together

School Tech Connect: Putting The Whole Thing Together:

Putting The Whole Thing Together

As I've said before, I think that in some ways the Rachel Maddow show is linked directly (through its silence on the issue, and the explicit education agenda of its advertiser, Exxon) to the promotion of corporate ed "reform,"  but there's nobody better in the world right now at explaining issues related to free speech.

Here she is explaining how the Supreme Court's ruling in the Montana case affects you, me, the Caterpillar CEO, and the unions. It's really quite something.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make [Class of 2012] | The Jose Vilson

In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make [Class of 2012] | The Jose Vilson:

In The End, The Love You Take Is Equal To The Love You Make [Class of 2012]

by Jose

On The Future of Teaching blog, I made a list of the five things I learned this year, a standard writing prompt for writers who can’t for the life of them get a word out about the whirlwind named “The End of the Year.” Every year spins out of control right around the last two weeks, and the staff, prepared for emergency landing, lock their seatbelts extra tightly and enjoy the ride. Some of us, like yours truly, put our hands up in the air and leave them up there until the ride is over. I barely remember anything other than the phrase “Come on, kid. Graduate, graduate, graduate.”
Alas, when I sat in the front row onstage, my mind swooped back and forth, past the dynamic student MC, past the awesome Stuyvestant / MIT alum, past the couple of boring less-interesting speakers, and right to the graduates receiving their makeshift diplomas, representatives for the real ones they’ll receive on the last day. During the bluster of graduation, I tried to remain cool. Naturally, I was excited to see our choir and band 

Geaux Teacher!: REPUBLICAN PARTY BULLIES TEACHER PETITIONERS

Geaux Teacher!: REPUBLICAN PARTY BULLIES TEACHER PETITIONERS:

REPUBLICAN PARTY BULLIES TEACHER PETITIONERS

by noreply@blogger.com (Lee Barrios, M.Ed., NBCT)

PRESS RELEASE

RECALL BOBBY JINDAL CAMPAIGN
P. O. Box 12449
Lake Charles, Louisiana 70612-2449

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DATE: June 26, 2012
Contact: Lee Barrios, Communications/Media Director 985-789-8304



The initiators of several recall campaigns in Calcasieu and St. Tammany Parishes have received intimidating letters purportedly written on behalf of Jason P. Dore, Executive Director of the Republican Party of Louisiana.

The letter, written by an unnamed party who signed on Dore's behalf, demanded the release of "the name, address, and signature of each person that has signed the recall petition." The writer threatened to institute legal proceedings and noted the possibility that "the court may award the requester civil penalties not to exceed one hundred dollars per day" for each day that the petitioner might fail to respond beyond proscribed time limits.

One letter to a St. Tammany petitioner who did respond stated, ". . we will wait until Wednesday, June 27 to pursue legal action on this matter. If you officially resign as Chairman with the Secretary of State by that time, we will not pursue this action against you. However, if you choose to remain chairman of the recall campaign and fail to comply with our public records request, we will have to proceed with the institution of legal proceedings." That petitioner subsequently resigned as Chairman of the Pearson recall.

Calcasieu teachers Angie Bonvillain and Brenda Romero who filed the Jindal and Kleckley petitions, sought legal representation. Thomas A. Filo of Cox, Cox, Filo, Camel & Wilson, L.L.C., Lake Charles, countered with the legal opinion that his clients were not required to release the records. Filo also cited concern that the request "raises serious constitutional issues under the 1st and 14th Amendments." Bonvillain said they are "ready to take the issue all the way to the State Supreme Court" in order to protect citizens' democratic and constitutional rights to conduct a recall without the fear of threats or reprisals.


For more information:

www.recallbobbyjindal.com

Lee Barrios, 985-789-8304

FUTURE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS – DON’T READ THIS « Teachers Fight Back

FUTURE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS – DON’T READ THIS « Teachers Fight Back:

FUTURE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS – DON’T READ THIS

by alkleen

Chicago Public school officials unveiled revisions to the student code of conduct Monday that eliminated mandatory 10 day out-of-school suspensions for even the most serious cases.  They reduced the automatic length of suspension from 10 days to 5 days for the most serious cases, including allegations of arson, sexual assault and use of a weapon. The suspensions will also be the “in school” variety, so these lovely children will not miss much schooling. There were other changes to the student code, all of which seemed to lessen the severity of punishments. While most Chicago charter schools insist on strict control, strict discipline and uniformed students , the normal public schools are heading in the other direction. Let’s see, if you were a concerned Chicago parent, what type of school would you want your child to attend? The normal public school, or a charter school ? If you were a teacher, in what environment would you rather teach in ?
I’m sure Chicago public school teachers back this new discipline plan. What teacher wouldn’t want their 

When A Strange Principal Calls - www.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

When A Strange Principal Calls

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

I loved seeing Uncle Mike not getting his way last week when in a act of having some balls, the state legislature stood up to him and his quest to publicly shame teachers by publishing our evaluations, and made evaluations only to parents on a request to know basis in the principal's office with the Cone of Silenceactivated.

Of course Uncle Mike is throwing a tantrum, which Leonie Haimson had a good snark at, by insisting, nay commanding, that principals will harass and harangue parents with phone calls (at least a million calls) letting them know that they can come in to see their children's teacher's evaluations.

We at SBSB wondered what such a system proposed 

Schools Matter: Online Testing, and How Pearson Sent Wyoming Back to Paper

Schools Matter: Online Testing, and How Pearson Sent Wyoming Back to Paper:

Online Testing, and How Pearson Sent Wyoming Back to Paper

by Jim Horn

 WaPo has a story on Delaware's decision to go to online testing, so that now testing can happen all year round.  Tests four times a year rather than one, tests to get ready for tests, and tests to prepare for the practice tests:

The online format allows states to give standardized tests — once a week-long ordeal in the second half of the school year — as often as four times a year. It’s an opportunity that early adopters such as Delaware have already embraced.

“This is so thrilling and exciting for those of us who work with schools,” said Joe Willhoft, executive 

Missouri Education Watchdog: Just Some Silly Questions to the Missouri State Board of Education...or are they?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Just Some Silly Questions to the Missouri State Board of Education...or are they?:

Just Some Silly Questions to the Missouri State Board of Education...or are they?

by stlgretchen

But does the State Board of Education REALLY want you to keep smoking to fund education?  Which is it?

Here is a post from KC Education Enterprise on the latest and greatest idea from the Missouri State Board of Education to drum up additional funding. The current $.17 tax on cigarettes will be increased to $.90 if this State Board Initiative is placed on the November ballot and approved by 

School Tech Connect: Poor, Poor Caterpillar

School Tech Connect: Poor, Poor Caterpillar:

Poor, Poor Caterpillar

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

One more jab at Caterpillar, then I'll be done. As you know, the Caterpillar CEO recently reiterated his attack on the social contract Illinois holds with its citizens, announcing that because of the fiscal "climate" here (we raised our corporate and state taxes recently, responsibly, and temporarily), Illinois is not in the running for any new factories, or whatever.   No factories for you!

Caterpillar is enjoying record profits, and its CEO enjoyed a 60% pay increase last year to $16.9b, and like all corporation, they can pretty much play state against state in their relentless drive increase CEO compensation. So, you can see why their CEO is all butt-hurt about having to pay a little more in taxes, which he probably won't 

Open Letter: Labor Leaders Support the Lakeview Sit-In and People’s School | Dailycensored.com

Open Letter: Labor Leaders Support the Lakeview Sit-In and People’s School | Dailycensored.com:

Open Letter: Labor Leaders Support the Lakeview Sit-In and People’s School

by Danny Weil

Posted on June 23, 2012

http://saveoaklandschools.org/2012/06/23/open-letter-labor-leaders-support-the-lakeview-sit-in-and-peoples-school/

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We are writing to declare our support for the parents, teachers, and community member sit-in and People’s School for Public Education at Lakeview Elementary in Oakland, and to urge full labor support and outreach for this fight to keep all Oakland neighborhood schools open, public, and fully funded, and to oppose the anti-union policies of the Oakland school district administration.

At the end of this school year, the Oakland Unified School District closed 5 public elementary schools, displacing over 1,000 students. The school district plans to convert some of these school buildings into district administration offices, and to turn the others over to privately controlled (and non-union) charter schools. This 

Schools Matter: Making Life Miserable for Every Politician, CEO, Corporate Foundation, and Hedge Funder that Supports Corporate Ed Reform

Schools Matter: Making Life Miserable for Every Politician, CEO, Corporate Foundation, and Hedge Funder that Supports Corporate Ed Reform:

Making Life Miserable for Every Politician, CEO, Corporate Foundation, and Hedge Funder that Supports Corporate Ed Reform

by Jim Horn

Hound them, rebuke them, throw pies in their faces.  Scream at them, protest, sit up, sit down, go on strike, opt out, join up, scramble their testing databases, burn their tests, just say no, repudiate every effort to initiate the Common Core, online testing, corporate charters, mayoral takeover, parent tricker laws, zero tolerance. Any and all of their anti-democratic, anti-teacher, anti-child, anti-parent bullshit policies must go. 

Let us gather together to counter, to make impossible, the most expensive, extensive, and well-orchestrated attack on public education ever mounted.  They have the money--we have the numbers and the bodies, and the minds.  And god knows we have the spirit and right on our side. Never give up.  Never say yes.  Never negotiate.

From FairTest below:

National Center for Fair & Open Testing*__*

for further information:

Dr. Monty Neill(617) 477-9792

Bob Schaeffer(239) 395-6773

for immediate release, Tuesday, June 26, 2012

*HIGH-STAKES TESTING RESISTANCE SPREADS ACROSS NATION;*

*RESOLUTIONS, BOYCOTTS, OPT-OUTS SHOW INCREASED PUBLIC OPPOSITION *

*TO FAILED "TEST-AND-PUNISH" SCHOOL POLICIES*

A rising tide of protest is sweeping the U.S. as growing numbers of parents, teachers, and administrators take action against high-stakes testing, according to the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (FairTest). Instead of "test-and-punish" policies, which have failed to improve academic performance or equity, the movement is pressing for broader forms of assessment they say will enhance teaching and learning. From Texas to New York and Florida to Washington State, reform activists seek to reduce the number of standardized exams. They also want to scale back the consequences attached to test scores and use multiple measures to evaluate students, educators, and schools.

More than 10,000 individuals, 350 organizations and hundreds of school boards have now endorsed the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing.Launched by education, civil rights and religious groups including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Educational Fund, United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, Parents Across America and the National Education Association as well as FairTest, the National Resolution urges state officials to "reexamine school accountability." It calls for a system "which does not require extensive standardized testing, more accurately reflects the broad range of student learning, and is used to support students and improve schools." It also asks Congress and the Obama Administration to overhaul No Child Left Behind.

The national movement was catalyzed by Texas where 545 local school boards have adopted a "Resolution Concerning High Stakes, Standardized Testing of Texas Public School Students." The endorsing districts are responsible for educating 3.3 million students, more than two-thirds of the state's public school enrollment.

In Florida more than a dozen countywide school committees serving three-quarters of a million students endorsed the National Resolution. Early supporters included Broward County, the nation's sixth biggest district, and Palm Beach County, the 11^th largest. Then, the state association of school boards annual convention voted to endorse a state-specific version. Dozens of newspaper editorials, opinion columns, and letters to the editor have called for a reduction in testing and an overhaul of the state's assessment system.

The National Resolution has also won support from several school boards in the Tulsa, Oklahoma, area as well as Ohio and Virginia.

The resolutions are not the only form of protest. This spring New York parents organized a boycott of a "field test" designed to develop future questions. Parents at more than five dozen schools held their children out on days the exams were scheduled. Boycotts also emerged in other states. In Snohomish, Washington, 550 parents opted their children out. Campaigns aimed at encouraging more "opt-outs" are underway in California and Colorado.

This summer, assessment reform leaders intend to use campaign season to continue their momentum. They plan to press elected officials and their challengers to take public positions against test misuse and overuse. In St. Petersburg, Florida, for example, voters already convinced seven of eight contenders for the local school board to oppose high-stakes standardized exams. By "bird-dogging" candidate forums, asking pointing questions, publishing opinion columns in local media, and commenting on political blogs, advocates expect to deliver a clear message to those who ultimately make assessment policy: "Enough is enough!"

- - 3 0 - -

- The National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing is online at http://timeoutfromtesting.org/nationalresolution/

Jersey Jazzman: How to Debate Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee

Jersey Jazzman: How to Debate Michelle Rhee:

How to Debate Michelle Rhee

More like this!





The best way to debate Michelle Rhee is to make the topic her own record of failure: her record as a teacher, as a superintendent, as a proponent of testing, as a "reformer," and as arecruiter.

The reason this woman is allowed to continue to dominate our nation's conversation about 

Vouchers Won't "Save" Anyone

by Duke

Former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio has been making the rounds, speaking out against school vouchers... sorry, "taxpayer funded private school scholarships." More commonly known as... vouchers!

The financing of vouchers under pending proposals would authorize businesses to write off their state taxes, dollar for dollar, tax credits to pay for such vouchers. They would be creatively labeled “scholarships.” At a time of record deficits, each tax dollar lost to the state would make a very bad situation worse. You don’t have to be an economist to understand that tax credits are tax expenditures and, thus, revenues lost to be made up by someone else.

We should all be intellectually honest enough to label a business tax break as such and not call it an educational funding mechanism — especially when it 

A Public School Teacher and Student Discuss Democratic Education « Cooperative Catalyst

A Public School Teacher and Student Discuss Democratic Education « Cooperative Catalyst:

A Public School Teacher and Student Discuss Democratic Education

by germantownauthors

This is a dialogue between Leigh Pourciau, an educator at a public middle school and blogger at www.bestinclassblog.blogspot.com, and Anna Baker, a rising senior in a public high school. Both live in the Jackson, Mississippi, metro area. Anna’s sister, Stacy, is a teacher; Anna has considered becoming one, too, but is deterred by the current system. It wasn’t the first time a left-brained colleague had come to me with such a request. Stacy, the pragmatic and exceptional science teacher from the 7th grade hall, sent me a Facebook message, “If you don’t mind, I may refer my little sister, Anna, to you…She is considering education, but is losing faith in our current system. She reminds me a lot of you…I’m a bit too pragmatic to advise her, I think!” As my school’s resident, right-brained, rabble-rouser, my colleagues and friends occasionally send me the free-spirited question-askers that remind them of me.

I had no way of knowing then that my interaction with Stacy’s sister would convict me in a way that no professional development ever had. That she would make me want to break apart my current teaching philosophy 

Summer Meal Sites for 2012 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education)

Summer Meal Sites for 2012 - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Urges
Families to Utilize Summer Meal Sites

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced disadvantaged families may access an interactive 2012 Summer Meal Service Sites - Food Programs Web page to find out where to take their children for free, nutritious meals during the summer recess.

"When school is closed for the summer, many low-income children don’t have access to the nutritious and free or inexpensive meals usually offered during the school year," said Torlakson. "I encourage families to go to the hundreds of summer meal sites already open throughout the state to ensure their kids get the proper nutrition needed to help them develop properly and be ready to learn when they return to school."

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) serves free meals to children in geographic areas where at least 50 percent of students are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals. The programs may also operate activities for children.

SFSP reimburses agencies that serve nutritious meals to children 18 years and younger during school vacation. The program benefits all children in accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) policy, and is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability.

SFSP operates when schools in the community are on vacation for at least 15 continuous school days, or when year-round schools are not in session. Non-school sponsors may also serve snacks to children after school under SFSP.

Eligible sponsors and locations may include schools, camps, Indian tribal governments, private nonprofit agencies, and municipal, state, county, or local government offices. Sponsors may prepare meals or obtain meals from another SFSP sponsor, public or commercial food vendor, or a school food service department.

All meals must meet the USDA minimum meal guidelines. Meals must follow a specified plan that includes milk, fruits, vegetables or juice, grain products, and meat or meat alternative. Meals may include breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack.

The 2012 summer sites are posted at the California Department of Education’s Web site at 2012 Summer Meal Service Sites - Food Programs. The interactive map will point parents to a summer meal site near them. Parents can then call site directors listed for more information. If parents do not have access to computers, they can also call the Hunger Hotline, 1-866-3HUNGRY (1-866-348-6479), for assistance.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

The Washington Teacher: Ignoring DC Public Schools Erasure Gate!

The Washington Teacher: Ignoring DC Public Schools Erasure Gate!:

Ignoring DC Public Schools Erasure Gate!

by noreply@blogger.com (Candi Peterson)

white·wash:
to whiten with whitewash, to cover up or gloss over the faults or errors of; absolve from blame

Written by Candi Peterson

Last week, Washington Post education columnist, Jay Mathews and blogger of Class Struggle wrote an excellent piece titled: "DC Keeps Ignoring its Test Erasure Scandal." While I don't always agree with Mathews, he certainly hit the nail on the head this time. Two thumbs up to Jay Mathews!

Mathews believes that the results of the second investigation into the testing erasure scandal in DC Public Schools is a cover-up. I wholeheartedly agree with him. As a veteran reporter, Mathews knows a white wash when he sees one.  Mathews gives full disclosure in his article stating that he is married to Linda Mathews, editor at USA Today who conceived and exposed the series of articles in 2011 into testing erasure scandals not only in DC but Atlanta, Georgia, as well.

Mathews asked the million dollar question of DC Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson,"What about all those erasures?" Mathews writes: "Henderson seems uninterested in the question stating that I am pleased that this investigation is complete and the vast majority of our schools were cleared of any wrongdoing." What is 

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "They Did Not Choose Their Parents!"

DIARY OF A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER!: "They Did Not Choose Their Parents!":

"They Did Not Choose Their Parents!"

by Lisa M

 These words were spoken at the 2011 PLC Summit I attended in Arizona.  "They didn't choose their genetic pool". "They couldn't say I want two college-educated parents who love me, care for me, and make education my priority."

I realized after hearing this statement,  that many times, I get frustrated with my students  about things over which they have no control.  When they come to school without school supplies,  their parent doesn't sign a form, or  misses a scheduled appointment, or has made the child stay home to babysit, again.

These are things that the student can not control, but yet, year after year, my frustration is placed on a  child, who is probably just as frustrated as I am!  How many times has the child walked in the day after parent-teacher conferences, and I've said, "Your mother scheduled an appointment and didn't come"  The child stands there