AJC investigation: Dropouts in Georgia far higher than reported. Can we fix it? | Get Schooled

AJC investigation: Dropouts in Georgia far higher than reported. Can we fix it? | Get Schooled:

AJC investigation: Dropouts in Georgia far higher than reported. Can we fix it?

by Maureen Downey

In a front page Sunday investigation, the AJC shares its discovery – learned through open records requests — that 30,751 students in the Class of 2011 left high school without a diploma, nearly double the 15,590 initially reported.
The jarring difference owes to new federal requirements for counting dropouts, requirements that now put the onus on systems to track students who disappear.
I wonder whether schools have the staff to do what one principal described as intense detective work to hunt 

UPDATE: LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-19-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

A Word to Fellow Teachers

by dianerav

From a teacher, who read this advice and added more:
Dear teacher sister/brother, as I read and absorb your advice, and wish you well for all of it, may I respectfully add one more idea for your consideration? It’s a big part of my school year:
“I will be mindful that next door, down the street, and across the country thousands and thousands of teachers like me are trying to do the same thing, for the same reason. Because children are our focus. Because we love and care about them and their families and our communities. Because we have to protect them from the suits, who are trying to spread darkness over the areas where we are devoted to bringing light. And since there are far more of us than of them, despite their billions and their government support, when we join together, we can turn 

What Happens to Charters That Recruit Needy Children?

by dianerav

When the charter idea was first proposed, in 1988, the idea was that charters would enroll the students who were failing, for whatever reason, in regular public schools. The charters would enroll the dropouts, the about to dropout, the students who were unable to function in a regular environment. The charter would come up with workable ideas and share them with the public school, to make the public schools better.
Things haven’t worked out that way. Now charters compete for higher test scores, and it is risky to enroll high-needs students because they will drag down the school’s average. The charters run by hedge fund managers 

A Parent’s Letter to Frank Bruni of the New York Times

by dianerav

I just received this comment. This parent should be invited to appear on NBC’s “Education Nation,” on Morning Joe, on Rachel Maddow, on CNN’s “Newsroom,” and on any other talk show, most of which put people on camera who have never been public school parents or teachers or principals. She is more knowledgeable than Michelle Rhee or Bill Gates or any of the other “reformers”:

Dear Dr. Ravitch,I was composing my own letter to Frank Bruni early this morning, and didn’t see your post until later. Thanks, as always, for your advocacy. Below is a copy of the letter I emailed to Mr. Bruni this morning. Sincerely, Rebecca Poyourow Dear Mr. Bruni, While I usually enjoy your opinion articles, I was dismayed by yesterday’s article on parent trigger laws. It seems to me that you do not know much about the issue and are relying for your talking points on the PR campaigns of the groups that support them, ironically not grass-roots parents’ groups but primarily astroturf groups with financial, policy, and personnel links reaching back to groups like ALEC (groups which you are

The Goodness of Which We Are Capable

by dianerav

Thanks to my brother for calling my attention to this remarkable woman, Irene Sendler.
I had not heard of her before.
She rescued 2,500 children from certain death in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II.
It is always important to remember that there are ordinary people who rise to do extraordinary things, who show courage at great peril to themselves, on behalf of others.

The NY Times on the Parent Trigger

by dianerav

I am not going to write anything substantive about the movie celebrating the so-called “parent trigger” until I have seen it.
But the stories about it continue to miss the point about  why parents and teachers think it is a corporate-conceived and corporate-driven idea, for the benefit of corporate charter chains. Why not mention the Florida parents’ fight to stop this so-called “parent empowerment”? If it really empowered parents, why did parents oppose it?
Here is the latest example. Frank Bruni, usually a thoughtful writer, has an article in today’s New York Times. He sees the movie as part of the ongoing (and at least partially justified) critique of teachers unions. He never

Good Advice for Teachers

by dianerav

This teacher explains how she will deal with the new school year:
I have been practicing mindfulness as a way of combating much of the stress I anticipate for the coming year.
I’m not going to overthink the coming year.  It will unfold itself.  No point in stressing what hasn’t happened yet.
One doesn’t know what’s coming.  I’m starting my 13th year in pre-k in the same school.  No one is going to push me out before I’m ready to go.
What I noticed at the end of the school year last year and over the summer is that the suits have no clue what they are supposed to do.  They are working in the dark almost as much as we are.  I will insist that they provide guidance for every initiative they want me to do and ask them to model for me.  I will document every discussion we have.  I intend to have a long paper trail.
And I will teach my students as though we are at Sidwell Friends.

More on Voucher Schools with No Standards

by dianerav

So now we know what true education reform looks like.
It means sending kids to schools that are no better or worse than their local public school.
It means sending kids to schools that teach them that the Bible has all you need to know about the origin of the

Before the Craziness

by dianerav

This teacher, now retired, reflects on the madness of giving standardized tests to students in special education. She sees hope in the determination and unity of the teachers of Chicago. She also reminds us why retired teachers must stay involved and speak up for their colleagues in the classroom, especially those whose lives are being heedlessly destroyed by pointless reforms:

I was a special ed. teacher who was there before–and when– this craziness started. (Although there were always problems {& NOTHING even compares to the present-day intimidation, harassment}, I was lucky enough to be teaching when one could really teach. To get to the point–as a special ed. teacher, I had a front row seat to the suffering caused by the high-stakes tests. We had no business whatever making some of these

Daily Kos: State of the Unions (and Professional Organizations): On Equity

Daily Kos: State of the Unions (and Professional Organizations): On Equity:

State of the Unions (and Professional Organizations): On Equity

byplthomasEdDFollow

 3  

PERMALINK

1 COMMENT

Union bashing is nothing new, but in the past decade, that union bashing has bled over into political, public, and media demonizing teachers through a nearly compulsive focus on themythological "bad" teacher.

This mantra of "bad" teacher, and the concurrent claim that we must immediately identify the best teachers, poses a significant contradiction in logic when paired with the anti-union message: If the teacher is the primary or even sole agent of student learning (the basis of the "bad" teacher mantra), then how are the working conditions of that teacher (the purview of teachers' unions) irrelevant to the teacher quality debate?

Walt Gardner has joined the union debate at his blog, opening with a provocative statement:

"Teachers unions have been called practically every bad name under the sun for so long that it seemed impossible to add to the list. At least that's what I thought until I 

Study: Students from middle-income families incur higher student loan debt | Get Schooled

Study: Students from middle-income families incur higher student loan debt | Get Schooled:

Study: Students from middle-income families incur higher student loan debt

by Maureen Downey

One of the working research papers being presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Denver this weekend deals with the disproportionate share of student debt that falls on students from families earning  between $40,000 and $59,000.
Here is the official release on the paper by Jason N. Houle of the University of Wisconsin-Madison:

Young adults from middle income families are more likely to rack up student loan debt — and in greater amounts — than students from both lower and higher income backgrounds, finds new research to be presented at the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association.
“Many middle income families make too much money for their children to qualify for student aid packages,” said study author Jason N. Houle, a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “While at the same time, they may not have the financial 

Daily Kos: A personal reflection

Daily Kos: A personal reflection:

A personal reflection

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

When I was still in the classroom I would often offer my Saturday morning reflections, in part fueled by stepping back from another week with adolescents and how that shaped my view on things in the world, political and personal.
Tomorrow my former co-workers report back to school, something last done in that school without me a decade past.  My reflections tend to be shaped by other things nowadays.
They are also far more frequent, and perhaps in greater depth - in part because I have more time to reflect, but also because I find it of value to look at things in far greater depth than I have for years.
Over a period of just less than a month I have found myself greatly changed.  It started as the result of a chance encounter where I now sit, in my local Starbucks.  The implications of that encounter are not yet played out, so I will not now - and may never - share all of it, or of what has flowed.  Let it suffice to say that it has led to a serious reflection on how I relate to the world and to people.  My spouse and I have talked more openly than we have in a number of years.  When I consider possible job opportunities I do so with a different mindset.
I have not been here as much, either in posting diaries or in commenting on those I do post or those of others to which I consider offering my thoughts or observations.
I can share this much.  In part because of my advancing age - I am now 66 - I have watched the world flying by me ever more quickly, and my not being as connected as I feel I should be.  I want to slow things down, or at least slow myself down.
I also realize that the only way I can honestly related to the world is to be totally open in my heart.  That is not as easy as it may sound, for I have been a very wounded person.  Many of my wounds have been self-inflicted, and those that were not were things on which I too often obsessed, which paralyzed or distorted my interactions with other people.
I am going to continue this below the squiggle.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Will Home Schooled and Private Schooled Students Have to Take Common Core Assessments?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Will Home Schooled and Private Schooled Students Have to Take Common Core Assessments?:

Will Home Schooled and Private Schooled Students Have to Take Common Core Assessments?

by stlgretchen

What happens when "choice" schools can't choose their own assessments due to legislative action?  What kind of choice is that for students and parents?  They will have the same education from either traditional public or "choice" schools.

There is some concerning news coming from Florida regarding private school testing requirements that 

“Spend nothing unless absolutely necessary” | The G Bitch Spot

“Spend nothing unless absolutely necessary” | The G Bitch Spot:

“Spend nothing unless absolutely necessary”

by G Bitch

So familiar, it sends a chill:

“Spend nothing unless absolutely necessary,” Gov. George F. Drew advised the Florida legislature in 1877, and lawmakers took his advice to heart, abolishing the penitentiary, thus saving $25,000, and abandoning a nearly completed Agricultural College, leaving the state without any institution of higher learning, public or private. Alabama’s Redeemers closed public hospitals at Montgomery and Talladega and Louisiana’s were “so economical that . . . state services to the people almost disappeared.” Similar reductions affected provisions for the insane and blind as well as appropriations for Southern paupers, despite the lingering effects of the 

Why Billionaires And Hedge Funders Are Setting Up Education Non-Profits | Scathing Purple Musings

Why Billionaires And Hedge Funders Are Setting Up Education Non-Profits | Scathing Purple Musings:

Why Billionaires And Hedge Funders Are Setting Up Education Non-Profits

by Bob Sikes

6 Reasons Teachers Unions Are Good for Kids | Alternet

6 Reasons Teachers Unions Are Good for Kids | Alternet:

6 Reasons Teachers Unions Are Good for Kids

Our schools need teachers unions as much today as they ever have.

August 17, 2012  |  

 

Photo Credit: Matt Gibson / Shutterstock.com

 

 

Once upon a time, labor unions enjoyed a fair amount of political legitimacy among both the public and political elites. While it is true that unions were always a source of concern for capitalist elites and union-busting was always with us, the public generally considered unions mainstream. They had a political voice because regular working- and middle-class people often voted based on their endorsements.

Yet over the last three decades, the power of unions has decreased steadily -- especially as a result of the hostility to business regulation that characterized Reagan-era politics of the 1980s, and the anti-communist Cold War propaganda of the time that made the general public more suspicious than ever of labor activism.

But if unions as a whole have taken a reputational hit over the last 30 years, teachers unions in particular have found themselves especially demonized. From being falsely accused of defending sexual predators in 

Special needs kids staying in traditional schools - SFGate

Special needs kids staying in traditional schools - SFGate:

Special needs kids staying in traditional schools

CHRISTINA HOAG, Associated Press

Updated 2:21 p.m., Saturday, August 18, 2012

• 
  In this photo taken Monday, Aug. 13, 2012, Matthew Asner walks his son Will, 9, who is autistic, to the Nestle Avenue Elementary School in the Tarzana district of Los Angeles. Public school districts are seeing higher proportions of children with special needs due to declining enrollment and charter schools that do not accept as many kids with disabilities, especially more severe disabilities. This raises a question of equitable access for these kids, as well as cost issues for school districts. Photo: Damian Dovarganes / AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The high cost of educating students with special needs is disproportionately falling on traditional public schools as other students increasingly opt for alternatives that aren't always readily open to those requiring special education.

The issue is particularly acute in districts where enrollment has declined due to demographic changes such as low birth rates and population shifts combined with an influx of charter schools and voucher programs that have siphoned off students.

School district officials say all schools that receive public funds should share the cost of

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Special-needs-kids-staying-in-traditional-schools-3798330.php#ixzz23zwokctb

Two important Chicago area meetings this week. « Fred Klonsky

Two important Chicago area meetings this week. « Fred Klonsky:

Two important Chicago area meetings this week.

by Fred Klonsky

Glen Brown, PREA President Erin Breen and John Dillon at the Springfield Capitol on Friday.

Glen Brown, who publishes the blog, Teacher/Poet/Musician, and I will be speakingat the special meeting of the North Suburban chapter of Illinois Retired Teachers Association ((IRTA) on Thursday, August 23rd beginning at 7PM.  The meeting will take place at the Wilmette Public Library, 1242 Wilmette Avenue in Wilmette. All who concerned with the pension issue and state funding are invited to attend.

A North Side Education Forum will be held on Tuesday, August 21st at the Old Town School of Folk Music’s new building, 4545 N. Lincoln. Get an update from the CTU on the current contract talks and discuss ways to work with teachers to create the schools Chicago children deserve. The forum is sponsored by Parents 4 Teachers and the CTU. It beings at 6:30 PM.

Schools Matter: Six Degrees of Insanity: Education "Reform"

Schools Matter: Six Degrees of Insanity: Education "Reform":

Six Degrees of Insanity: Education "Reform"

by P. L. Thomas

Popular culture's six degrees of separation (a claim that each person is separated from any other person by six connections) spawned a film of that name and a trivia game, six degrees of Kevin Bacon.

The current education reform movement, hell-bent on accountability, has recently moved into a phase that has not been recognized nearly as well as its pop-culture cousins: Six Degrees of Insanity.

Starting in the early 1980s, this accountability movement began by focusing accountability mandates (built on standards and standardized tests) on schools and students. Over the next thirty years (despite abundant evidence that the accountability-standards-testing paradigm does not work), that momentum has more recently turned the same accountability mantra on teachers and then teacher educators.

The consequences of that insanity was highlighted for me recently when I received an email from a new teacher 

Truth about Policymakers? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Truth about Policymakers? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Truth about Policymakers?

by larrycuban

I read Rick Hess’s books and blog.  He is clear, crisp, and provocative in his positions. A former social studies teacher and professor, he is  Resident Scholar and Director of Education Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. He frequently comments on parental choice, educational philanthropy, accountability, teacher unions, and scads of other hot topics in the federal, state, and district policy arena.
Recently, he wrote two posts on his Education Week blog carping at “educators” who complain about standards, testing, and accountability policies. He advises them to stop asking policymakers for more 

EDMC's 'Art Institute' For-Profit College Forces Out Arts Professor for Refusing to Adopt E-Textbook | Dailycensored.com

EDMC's 'Art Institute' For-Profit College Forces Out Arts Professor for Refusing to Adopt E-Textbook | Dailycensored.com:

EDMC’s ‘Art Institute’ For-Profit College Forces Out Arts Professor for Refusing to Adopt E-Textbook

by Danny Weil

Forget about academic freedom or even democratic decision making if you work for one of the for-profit gulags they call ‘universities’, or ‘institutes’ or ‘academies’.  They are little more than low paid sweat shops where what gets produced are useless diplomas, not education, and the diplomas come at an exorbitant price.

It should be noted that EDMC is being sued by the federal government and the former CEO and the company could be liable for more than $33 billion, that is with a ‘B’ dollars, to the federal government.  They are also being pursued by state Attorney Generals.

Change to Win has gone after the company as well for breach of fiduciary duties to its members.  Change to win 

Going To California

Christine Rubino Gets The Shaft.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

Christine Rubino Gets The Shaft

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

This will be the first of hopefully many documents from the files of the Christine Rubino case.

Tonight's inanity is how mediator Randi Lowitt and DOE "attorney" Jeffrey Gamils team up on Christine for not having an attorney at the opening of her hearing.

Long story short, Christine changed attorneys, as is her right, at the last minute. The arbitrator had no problem having a hearing without an attorney representing Christine, and the DOE "attorney" seemed to have 

An Urban Teacher's Education: Two Items for Those of Us Living in the Pacific Northwest

An Urban Teacher's Education: Two Items for Those of Us Living in the Pacific Northwest:

Two Items for Those of Us Living in the Pacific Northwest

by James Boutin

There are two things I've been trying to promote recently for concerned citizens in the Pacific Northwest. So please, if you agree that either of these are worth promoting, share on Facebook, Twitter, and everything else.

1) At the SOS Conference in DC a few weeks ago, the Washington State delegation decided it would be a good idea to generate a listserv focusing on education related news items from around the Pacific Northwest - i.e. Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. As corporate reform moves west, it will become increasingly important that those of us adamently opposed to it organize and find ways of connecting. The listserv is meant to serve as a 

Cultural Miseducation: Knowledge, Power and Ethnic Studies | MyFDL

Cultural Miseducation: Knowledge, Power and Ethnic Studies | MyFDL:

Cultural Miseducation: Knowledge, Power and Ethnic Studies
By: Michelle Chen Friday August 17, 2012 8:36 pm	Tweet

Julio Salgado

Originally posted at CultureStrike

This summer, Tucson students, educators, and activist did something rebellious: they celebrated books. These weren’t just any books, of course. They were the books that had been deemed contraband by school authorities, vilified as tools of a curriculum that promotes ethnic hatred. In other words, they were works like Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years, Mexican White Boy, the play Zoot Suit, and Like Water for Chocolate. Texts that aim to foster critical thinking, political curiosity, and other dangerous behaviors.

The idea that these books are “subversive” was a pretext for a crackdown on Mexican American studies in Tucson. And once the controversy was broadcast across the country, Americans of all background