Charter Schools USA Has No Profit Limits at Indiana Takeover Schools | Scathing Purple Musings

Charter Schools USA Has No Profit Limits at Indiana Takeover Schools | Scathing Purple Musings:

Charter Schools USA Has No Profit Limits at Indiana Takeover Schools

by Bob Sikes

But no minimum requirement on classroom spending either. From the South Bend Tribune:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A company hired by the state to take over three Indianapolis public schools says it could lose money in the deal in the first two years even though its contracts don’t set minimums for classroom spending.
Similar contracts cover private operators now running a Gary high school and another Indianapolis school in the first state takeovers of schools that struggled for years with low student test scores, The Indianapolis Star reported Monday.
The state contracts pay each of the operators a set amount per pupil, which will come to more 

UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-7-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Debating Testing

by dianerav

The New York Times recently ran a feature debating testing today.

There were my favorites in the debate.

This by Leonie Haimson.

This by Pedro Noguera.

Both make excellent points. Tests are overused and misused, as Leonie says; and accountability should be for those at the top, not just those in the classroom as Pedro says.

Standardized testing as mis-used today has become an obstacle to good education. Judging teacher quality by these flawed measures is ruining education.

Do First-Year Teachers Become Ineffective?

by dianerav

In response to the post about the “irreplaceables,” in which the New Teacher Project claims that an average first-year teacher is more effective than 40 percent of teachers with seven or more years of experience, teachers are asking the inevitable questions.
Why is education the only field in which experience is undesirable? In what other line of work would a first-year practitioner be considered better than those with years of experience? When you go to a hospital, do you want to see a doctor or a first-year intern or, for that matter, a new college graduate with no medical training at all?

The Future of National Board Certification of Teachers

by dianerav

Nancy Flanagan is a nationally known teacher and teacher-advocate. I am honored to post her comment here because she has deep authority. And what she has to say is alarming. Pearson has taken over the National Board Certification process! Will they align it with their tests and the Common Core, where they are funded by Gates to develop online resources?

I am a National Board Certified Teacher. I also worked for the National Board as a certificate developer, assessor, and in their teacher leadership and policy outreach divisions, then returned to the classroom. I have How Charters Prosper by dianerav This is a good one. Florida charter chain Charter USA is expanding into Indiana, where it will run three charter schools. It is a for-profit operator. The states where it operates don’t require it to spend any minimum on educating kids. So it has enough money left over in its profits to make Who Is Really an Irreplaceable Teacher? by dianerav We have lately heard that certain teachers are “irreplaceable.” So was the conclusion of a report by The New Teacher Project, an organization founded by Michelle Rhee to place new teachers in the classroom. TNTP always thinks big ideas that will push out experienced teachers and make room for the new teachers they recruit. TNPT is enamored with test scores as the bottom-line measure of good teaching because they are

When Merit Pay Went Wrong

by dianerav

A thought-provoking comment by Jere Hochman, the remarkable superintendent of the Bedford, New York, school district:
Merit pay existed well before the corporate interest in the ’80s / ’90s, the Governors’ attention in the ’90s, the Federal Intrusion in ’01, and the recent corporate takeover of politicians and state education. (Hopefully an unintended consequence of RTTT).
Several school districts had “merit” pay plans in place in the ’70s and ’80s with at least two presumptions: 1) 

What Charters Do to Public Schools

by dianerav

There is a growing danger in the expansion of charter schools. Propelled by the Obama administration’s Race to the Top, charters are increasing wherever they are legal (they are not authorized in nine states). They are supposed to be fonts of innovation, but most are just focused on test scores, to prove they are better than public schools.
But the danger is that when students leave for charter schools, those left behind are disproportionately ELL, special ed, and struggling students. This threatens the future of public education, which enrolls most students in America.
Competition was supposed to make schools better, but it doesn’t work that way. The charters are siphoning off

But He Didn’t Mention His Test Scores

by dianerav

An amazing exchange took place on this blog.
I posted a comment by a reader who gratefully remembered four teachers in the Chicago public schools who literally changed his life.
One of the four teachers responded.
And the original writer wrote back:

Wow! Thank you, Miss Schwartz!Of the teachers that I mentioned, you actually impacted my life the most. At the time, I was primarily into writing, but I learned from you that, in order to Why Governor Christie Can’t Wait by dianerav As this article shows, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has decided that the state needs charter schools so badly that he can’t wait for the Legislature to act. He plans to do by regulation what the Legislature has thus far failed to do: To allow more charter schools and possibly an online charter school as well. What’s the hurry? The evidence is clear that charters don’t get different results from public schools when they enroll the same Teachers, Join with Parents by dianerav A reader writes–and I agree with him. A good place to start is to go to the website of Parents Across America. This is a national organization of activist parents who understand what is happening. They oppose high-stakes testing and privatization and they support teachers and professionalism. They are smart and they are fearless. Learn about PAA and reach out to the parents you know. You have interests in common: You both care about Note to New York Times: What Motivates Teachers by dianerav In response to our discussion about merit pay, this teacher writes: We become teachers for the rewarding feeling we get from touching childrens lives, not for the money. If that feeling is stripped from us, what or who will be left? The Ten Elements of Digital Learning by dianerav Doing some research on for-profit virtual schools, I come across study after study about their poor performance, high attrition rates, and low graduation rates. But then I discovered a document produced by Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellent Education and Bob Wise’s Alliance for Excellent Education. It is called “the Ten Elements of Digital Learning” and it is a rallying cry for deregulation and Why She Left Teaching by dianerav I don’t think teachers who are passionate about teaching should quit, no matter how awful the circumstances. I know it’s easy for me to say, because I am not there. But it is important to keep experience and wisdom in the profession. A Florida Teacher Describes A Plan That Worked by dianerav In response to another reader, this Florida teacher describes a plan for teacher professionalism that worked very well but was de-funded by the Legislature. In Florida, we used to have a system in place for such merit: It was pay for National Board Certification. Teachers went through a very rigorous process of evaluations, lesson planning, test-taking, etc. over a year and submitted their work to a national organization to be evaluated. It was a tough process, and not every teacher  A Nomination for Florida’s Commissioner by dianerav A reader has a suggestion for the next Comissioner of Education in Florida. I am mentioning this because he made me laugh out loud. More than once. I actually think that Bill Gates might like this job. He could try his bracelets on the kids, and use Florida as a kind of laboratory for reform. Florida always scores near the bottom with testing anyway, so what the hell. It is all the fault of the unions…oh I forgot, they don’t have unions, sorry. It may be something to do with the heat and  This School Took NY Times’ Advice: Carrots & Sticks for All by dianerav The New York Times was late in recommending carrots and sticks for teachers. Here is a school that is doing it already (satire alert!): http://studentslast.blogspot.com/2012/08/grin-and-bear-it-teachers-paddled-in.html

City College of San Francisco told to do less | EdSource Today

City College of San Francisco told to do less | EdSource Today:

City College of San Francisco told to do less - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron

California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott told a roomful of people at City College of San Francisco something they didn’t want to hear: They’ll have to prioritize, ration and do less from now on.  At a special meeting of the college’s Board of Trustees last night, called to discuss the school’s accreditation crisis, Scott offered help and advice.

“We’re limited in what we can do, but anytime you want to consult us we will be available, because frankly, this will be a disaster if City College of San Francisco loses its accreditation,” said Scott.

In June, the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges gave City College a “show cause” order, the most severe of the three levels of sanctions.  It’s evaluationidentified 14 areas where the college was not meeting standards, including assessing and improving student learning, providing student and library services, school governance, and 

School funding primer: A is for Alligator - by John Fensterwald

by John Fensterwald

It’s called “the alligator chart” because it looks like a reptile’s gaping maw. Nicknamed by its creator, the Sacramento-based education consulting firm School Services of California, it’s one graph that voters should clip on their refrigerators to remind them what’s at stake this November when they consider more money for K-12 schools. School Services shared an updated version with district...

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School Tech Connect: The New Messaging

School Tech Connect: The New Messaging:

The New Messaging

by noreply@blogger.com (Tim Furman)

Glen Brown has a nice post up illustrating the very recent tone change in the messaging from TRS. Over the years, TRS has educated the state with wonderful articles and letters to the editor, correcting the factual errors and false narratives that are constantly being put forth by interested parties.

Mainly these pieces were written by TRS's Dave Urbanek, but Dick Ingram was writing them too, until recently, when he unilaterally announced "the new reality." I'm not sure there's been a complete cessation of the old truth-telling, but I do scan the internet every day for something from Dave Urbanek, and aside from the excellent piece on the economic impact of the TRS throughout the state, I believe the other messages have stopped.

As far as I know, nothing has really changed in terms of the accuracy of the old Urbanek pieces. What's 

Special Education Services After High School Uncoordinated, Unmonitored, GAO Finds

Special Education Services After High School Uncoordinated, Unmonitored, GAO Finds:

Special Education Services After High School Uncoordinated, Unmonitored, GAO Finds

by Joy Resmovits

Thirty-six hours after Marlyn Wells gave birth to Anna, she learned her daughter had Down syndrome. Just a few years later, the family started talking about Anna's career. In pre-school, Anna had said she wanted to be a "fire truck" when she grew up.

But 20 years later, the family hit roadblocks trying to help find paid work for Anna. One program responsible for helping Anna find a job only kicks in six months before students like her graduate from high school. A different vocational agency was required to contact her once a month, "which is not adequate," Wells said. "We were not told how the funding part of that particular service works, so it left us out of being able to make an informed choice as to which service provider might be the most appropriate one for Anna's needs."

According to a new Government Accountability Office released late Tuesday, Anna's struggles are far from the 

7,000 Children Left Behind | The Jose Vilson

7,000 Children Left Behind | The Jose Vilson:

7,000 Children Left Behind

by Jose

A couple of weeks back, newspapers across the city reported that around 7,000 students were wrongly sent to summer school because of their ELA or math test scores. I’m almost certain a few of those include my own (former) students.
For those of you who don’t know the inner workings of how these officials make their decisions, the ELA and Math tests have two basic elements: the multiple choice and the extended response. The multiple choice questions are (obviously) given a different weight than the extended response, but, because the test keeps changing on us, it’s hard to determine off-hand whether the student actually passed the whole test based on the multiple choice section.
That’s exactly what the state officials do, much to the chagrin of those of us who have to face the students.
When students get their summer school letters, they’re told on the spot whether the recommendation was based 

Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans That Lower Payments, Forgive Debt - US News and World Report

Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans That Lower Payments, Forgive Debt - US News and World Report:

Federal Student Loan Repayment Plans That Lower Payments, Forgive Debt

Find out if one of these options makes sense for you.

By KATY HOPKINS

August 7, 2012 RSS Feed Print

Borrowers should research repayment options to find the best plan for them.

If you're borrowing to help pay for college, exhaust all your federal student loan options first, many experts recommend. Going with a government option means you'll have a fixed interest rate and borrower protections, including the ability to defer payments if you wind up in economic trouble after graduation. 

[Learn more about the benefits of federal loans.]

Taking certain federal student loans (excluding Parent PLUS 

The Innovative Educator: Flip your classroom and more with TedEd videos

The Innovative Educator: Flip your classroom and more with TedEd videos:

Flip your classroom and more with TedEd videos

by noreply@blogger.com (Lisa Nielsen)

Guest post by Shawn Rubin

TedEd is a a new resource from TED talks with a focus on the flipped classroom model. The idea behind TedEd is that teachers can take the best of YouTube or create their own videos then flip them, which means adding titles, directions, questions and links to other resources.

These videos then live on the TedEd website. They each have their own unique URL and can be sent around to the general public for viewing and learning.

The beta version is quite useful for teachers looking to enter the flipped classroom space. Educators should note that there are a few missing features that will hopefully be addressed

What science can — and can’t — do for education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

What science can — and can’t — do for education - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

What science can — and can’t — do for education

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, professor and director of graduate studies in psychology at the University of Virginia and author of “Why Don’t Students Like School?” His newest book is “When Can You Trust The Experts? How to tell good science from bad in education.” This appeared on his Science and Education blog.

By Daniel Willingham

Steven Levitt, of Freakonomics fame, has unwittingly provided an example of how science applied to education can go wrong.

On his blog, Levitt cites a study he and three colleagues published (as a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper). The researchers rewarded kids for trying hard on an exam. As Levitt notes, the goal of previous research has been to get kids to learn more. That wasn't the goal here. It was simply to get kids to try harder on the exam itself, to really show everything that they knew.

(Patrick Reddy/AP)Among the findings: (1) it worked

Principals: Our struggle to be heard on reform

by Valerie Strauss

This was written by Carol Burris and Harry Leonadartos. Burris is the principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York.  Leonadartos is the principal of Clarkstown High School North in Rockland County, New York. Carol is the co-author and Harry is an active supporter of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student scores. Over 1,500 New York principals and more than 5,400 teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens have signed the letter which can be found here.
Read full article >>

Does Bill Grundfest Love Collies?.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Does Bill Grundfest Love Collies?

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

Oh the last 24 hours has been fun. Last night, I wrote a response to Campbell Brown's WSJ column in which she has quoted RheeFirst sycophant Michael Loeb. Then today, failed writer, Bill Grundfest decided to chime in on what little he knows of the United States Constitution, the 14th Amendment, due process, and of course, education.

Originally I had wished to give Bill a public civics lesson on why government employees are afforded due process and private sector employees are not. But after discussing it with my cat, she informed me that the lesson would be way over Bill's head and that I was better off saving the lesson when school starts and to use it on a Kindergarten class come this September.

Now, you may ask, what is a Bill Grundfest? Bill, is a TV writer, producer, former 660 WNBC jock or whatever that suckles at the 

West Seattle Blog… » Followup: Middle College HS, K-5 STEM will not share Boren

West Seattle Blog… » Followup: Middle College HS, K-5 STEM will not share Boren:

Followup: Middle College HS, K-5 STEM will not share Boren

August 6, 2012 at 12:41 pm | In West Seattle news, West Seattle schools | 2 Comments

West Seattle’s smallest public high school, Middle College HS, will not be sharing the Boren Buildingcampus in Delridge with the new K-5 STEM elementary school after all – another location for MCHS has been found instead. That’s according to an announcement by West Seattle’s school-board rep Marty McLaren, confirmed by Seattle Public Schools spokesperson Teresa Wippel, though both say the new location cannot be publicly disclosed yet.

We first reported in June that MCHS was being forced to leave its longtime home at South Seattle Community College; two days later, SPS announced the high school would move into portables on the Boren campus, a plan that no one seemed happy with. McLaren promised to 

Get Tested Or Get Out: School Forces Pregnancy Tests on Girls, Kicks out Students Who Refuse or are Pregnant

Get Tested Or Get Out: School Forces Pregnancy Tests on Girls, Kicks out Students Who Refuse or are Pregnant:

Get Tested Or Get Out: School Forces Pregnancy Tests on Girls, Kicks out Students Who Refuse or are Pregnant

By Tiseme Zegeye, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 12:33pm

In a Louisiana public school, female students who are suspected of being pregnant are told that they must take a pregnancy test. Under school policy, those who are pregnant or refuse to take the test are kicked out and forced to undergo home schooling.

Welcome to Delhi Charter School, in Delhi, Louisiana, a school of 600 students that does not believe its female students have a right to education free from discrimination. According to its Student Pregnancy Policy, the school has a right to not only force testing upon girls, but to send them to a physician of the school administration’s choice. A positive test result, or failure to take the test at all, means administrators can forbid a girl from taking classes and force her to pursue a course of home study if she wishes to continue her education with the 

Credentials and Teaching:

Credentials and Teaching

Many jobs require certain skills in order to perform them in a competent manner and teaching is no exception. Teachers are required to have at least a BS in education, and many states require secondary teachers to have, if not a major, then a given number of courses in the subject in which they will be licensed. In addition, many states require teachers to obtain a Masters degree in order to obtain tenure, the belief being that more formal education for the teacher will make them a better instructor in the classroom. Over the course of the past few years, this belief has come under increasing attack by conservative elements who see little connection between student learning 

Senate report finds large cost gap between for-profit, public colleges | California Watch

Senate report finds large cost gap between for-profit, public colleges | California Watch:

Senate report finds large cost gap between for-profit, public colleges

Erica Perez

Jeramey Jannene/Flickr

Among the findings of a U.S. Senate committee’s recently released investigation of the nation’s for-profit college industry is a stark assessment of the huge gap between what it costs to get a degree or certificate from a career college and the price tag of a comparable program at a public college or university in California.
The two-year investigation [PDF] by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee took a sweeping look at 30 for-profit education institutions nationwide, combing through financial statements, internal company documents and other data to create a picture of a sector that it says fails to provide adequate return on investment for students and taxpayers.
Republicans on the committee criticized the report as biased, as did organizations representing the for-profit 

Louisiana charter school kicks pregnant students out of class | The Raw Story

Louisiana charter school kicks pregnant students out of class | The Raw Story:

Louisiana charter school kicks pregnant students out of class

By Eric W. Dolan

Monday, August 6, 2012 20:03 EDT

Topics: ACLU ♦ american civil liberties union ♦ Delhi Charter School

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Louisiana on Monday warned a public K-12 charter school in Louisiana that its policy violated federal laws and the U.S. Constitution.

Delhi Charter School’s policy manual states that the school has the right to require any female student to take a pregnancy test if teachers or administrators suspect they are pregnant. Those who test positive or refuse to take the test are prohibited from attending classes on campus.