Dear Schools, Please Stop Discriminating Based on Pregnancy. Thanks, Title IX | MyFDL

Dear Schools, Please Stop Discriminating Based on Pregnancy. Thanks, Title IX | MyFDL:

Dear Schools, Please Stop Discriminating Based on Pregnancy. Thanks, Title IX

by RH Reality Check

Written by Lara S. Kaufmann for RH Reality Check.
Imagine you’re an honors student at a community college. You’re doing great: you’ve got a merit-based scholarship and you’re enjoying your classes. You’re also pregnant and excited to welcome the new addition to your family.
Being the conscientious student that you are, you approach your professors as soon as classes start, tell them that you’re due near the end of the semester, and ask that if you miss any tests due to a pregnancy-related absence you be allowed to make them up. You even offer to provide a doctor’s note. Three of your professors congratulate you, and tell you that of course this won’t be a problem.
But one of your professors says she will not excuse any such leave or allow work missed to be made up, even if it’s a labor and delivery emergency. She will not reconsider this policy “just because you find it inconvenient.” You’ll just have to deal with it or drop the class.
Sheesh, okay, fine, this professor is being unreasonable. But surely when you appeal to the administration — 

This Week In Education: Thompson: Rhee Defenders Increasingly Desperate

This Week In Education: Thompson: Rhee Defenders Increasingly Desperate:

Thompson: Rhee Defenders Increasingly Desperate

by john thompson

I can't deny my enjoyment of Michelle Rhee's fall from grace.  It is also fun to witness the convoluted spin of her defenders, as her duplicity is further documented.
Despite what he says in "More Rhee!," Andrew Rotherham must realize that Richard Kahlenberg is correct and we have two ways of testing whether Rhee's theories could work.  Schools in the American South, where unions are not powerful, have lower student performance.  Surely, Rotherham knows that his next argument strengthens Kahlenberg's case.  If we were to "blind taste test schools between different labor contexts (eg Maryland and Virginia for instance)," he writes," you’d have a hard time knowing what state you’re in."
Rotherham correctly questions many of the  "various rules, regulations, and practices[that] are codified in state law."  Those frustrating regulations are legacies of complicated dilemmas created by a

Reform: DFER Vs. StudentsFirst, One Headline At A Time

by Alexander Russo

Think that all reform groups are alike?  Take a look at how StudentsFirst and DFER blogged out the results of the latest study on charter schools in Michigan:
From StudentsFirst: "Michigan charters making progress, great option for parents, more work remains"

From DFER*: "Charter school growith in Michigan brings cautionary tale on quality"

*Passing along HuffingtonPost headline

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers 

Just Like Michelle Rhee's Students first only BETTER

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Other Astroturf lobbying groups

الشركات استيلاء التعليم العام

Just Like Michelle Rhee's

 Students first Astroturf lobbying (only Better) 

Torlakson, Lockyer Caution Against Bonds - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

Torlakson, Lockyer Caution Against Bonds - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer Caution School Districts Against Issuance of Capital Appreciation Bonds

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Treasurer Bill Lockyer today issued the following letter to local educational agencies regarding capital appreciation bonds:

Dear County and District Superintendents:

CAPITAL APPRECIATION BONDS

We understand many districts face a critical need to build or modernize facilities for their children, and we recognize that falling property tax assessments, revenue losses, and statutory debt service limits have all combined to reduce districts' debt financing options. As a result, some districts have turned to capital appreciation bonds (CABs), which have forced taxpayers to pay more than 10 times the principal to retire the bonds.

Thus, we urge you and your Board of Education not to issue CABs until the Legislature and the Governor have completed their consideration of this year's proposals to reform the CAB issuance process by improving transparency and protecting taxpayers against exorbitant debt service payments. Through this process, we welcome and encourage your input to ensure that the needs of districts are still being met.

In too many cases, CAB deals have forced taxpayers to pay more than 10 times the principal to retire the bonds. Also, the transactions have been structured with 40-year terms that delay interest and principal payments for decades, resulting in huge balloon payments and burdens on future taxpayers that cannot be justified. Too frequently, board members and the public have not been fully informed about the costs and risks associated with CABs. In some cases, board members have reported they were not even aware they approved the sale of CABs.

It is important to note that CABs with terms exceeding 25 years place the repayment obligation on future taxpayers who likely will not benefit from the capital improvements financed by the CABs. At the same time, the CABs payments will reduce those taxpayers' capacity to finance construction and modernization projects their own children will need.

We are convinced that remedial legislation is needed to prevent abuses and ensure that both school board members and the public obtain timely, accurate, complete, and clear information about the costs of CABs, and alternatives, before CABs are issued. The Governor has told us he wants reforms. Key lawmakers and legislative leaders have made clear they agree statutory changes are needed.

For all these reasons, we believe your district and every other district in the state should impose a moratorium on issuing CABs. The moratorium should remain in effect until the Governor and Legislature decide on reforms in the current legislative session. If reforms are enacted, subsequent CABs deals can be conducted in compliance with the new statutory requirements.

Thank you for your consideration. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeannie Oropeza, Deputy Superintendent, California Department of Education, by email at joropeza@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
California Department of Education

Bill Lockyer
State Treasurer
California State Treasurer's Office 

# # # #

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

School Discipline Report Highlights Tension Between Safety, Civil Rights

School Discipline Report Highlights Tension Between Safety, Civil Rights:

School Discipline Report Highlights Tension Between Safety, Civil Rights

by Joy Resmovits

In Holmes County, Miss., a sheriff's car once picked up 5-year-old. The crime? Wearing shoes with red-and-white symbols, an apparent school dress code violation.

In DeSoto County, Miss., cops reportedly arrested and threatened six students for arguing on a school bus.

The examples of what advocates are calling Mississippi's extreme discipline problem are part of a reportreleased Thursday by the Advancement Project, a civil rights group. The report, "Handcuffs on Success: The Extreme School Discipline Crisis in Mississippi Public Schools," outlines how the practice of arresting, suspending and expelling young students for minor infractions -- known as "zero-tolerance policies" -- create a school-to-prison pipeline. The report says the practice has left the state with the country's sixth lowest 

Schools Matter: Please Sign the Petition in Support of Garfield Teachers

Schools Matter: Please Sign the Petition in Support of Garfield Teachers:

Please Sign the Petition in Support of Garfield Teachers

by Jim Horn

Go here to sign the petition.

The Measure of Academic Progress test used in Seattle Public Schools needs to be removed because:

-The MAP’s margin of error is greater than expected gains.

-The MAP is not aligned with state standards which teachers are expected to teach. There is no way to see the content of the test and thus prepare for it.

-Administering the MAP takes time away from instruction. The test is taken 3 times a year and requires dedication of crucial instruction hours to test preparation and administration.

-The test negatively impacts students with special needs & English language
learners.

-The MAP test is administered online and thus monopolizes computer lab access for weeks at a time, preventing students from using the school computers for other important projects.

-The MAP is not taken seriously by students when they realize their grade isn’t
affected by their performance on the test. Students are known to intentionally put
the wrong answer in order to lower the difficulty of the test. Teachers' performance evaluations are then partially based on the results of a test students don't take seriously.

-The MAP was adopted at a cost of millions of dollars to the district amid a serious conflict of interest. Former SPS Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, sat on the board of the MAP test’s developer and owner, the Northwest Evaluation Association, when the MAP test was adopted by the Seattle School District. A state auditor found this to be an ethics violation.

-The company that makes the MAP, the NWEA, advises that the MAP test not be used for teacher evaluation.

-The Seattle Education Association has condemned the use of the MAP test.

To:
Seattle Public Schools, Superintendent José L. Banda 

We are asking that you support all teachers refusing to administer the MAP.

The Measure of Academic Progress test used in Seattle Public Schools needs to be removed because:

-The MAP’s margin of error is greater than expected gains.

-The MAP is not aligned with state standards which teachers are expected to teach. There is no way to see the content of the test and thus prepare for it.

-Administering the MAP takes time away from instruction. The test is taken 3 times a year and requires dedication of crucial instruction hours to test preparation and administration.

-The test negatively impacts students with special needs & English language
learners.

-The MAP test is administered online and thus monopolizes computer lab access for weeks at a time, preventing students from using the school computers for other important projects.

-The MAP is not taken seriously by students when they realize their grade isn’t
affected by their performance on the test. Students are known to intentionally put
the wrong answer in order to lower the difficulty of the test. Teachers' performance evaluations are then partially based on the results of a test students don't take seriously.

-The MAP was adopted at a cost of millions of dollars to the district amid a serious conflict of interest. Former SPS Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, sat on the board of the MAP test’s developer and owner, the Northwest Evaluation Association, when the MAP test was adopted by the Seattle School District. A state auditor found this to be an ethics violation.

-The company that makes the MAP, the NWEA, advises that the MAP test not be used for teacher evaluation.

-The Seattle Education Association has condemned the use of the MAP test.

Please support these teachers as they stand up for their students!

Sincerely,
[Your name]

I am "Paul - .southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

I am "Paul"

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

You don't get to meet a lot of really good people in this "business" of education. The type of people where you know they will have your back, be honest with you, and hope for the best. Two of these people are David Greene and Diane Ravitch.

The first time I met Dave, I got an instant respect for him when he put me in my place for generalizing TFA teachers. I was like, "Wow, this guy says what is own his mind!" But it was not only that, it was the encyclopedic knowledge he has of education and the history of education in his extraordinary mind that he possesses that is so amazing and unique. But, more importantly, he is what my people call a mensch.

Diane Ravitch, I have met once. But it is always been a kick and an honor when she retweets something I had shared on Twitter or when last month she linked to what I had written on these pages twice.

Last month, Dave in his blog, DCG Mentoring wrote about a teacher named Paul. Diane Ravitch, in turn last week linked and shared the story as well.

I am Paul.

From the words of David Greene; 

Yesterday I received an emergency phone call from an experienced teacher in a Bronx school who 

Rethinking Schools: Chicago points the way for a new teacher unionism. « Fred Klonsky

Rethinking Schools: Chicago points the way for a new teacher unionism. « Fred Klonsky:

Rethinking Schools: Chicago points the way for a new teacher unionism.

by Fred Klonsky

The editors of Rethinking Schools draw lessons for the teacher union movement from the recent events in Chicago.

Some people describe this new unionism as an organizing model. Others call it “social justice unionism” or “social movement unionism.” Regardless, the Chicago teachers demonstrated its main features:

• Unapologetically defend wages and working conditions of public school educators. Teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions.

• Stand up for students, the teaching profession, and an equal and nurturing 

NYC Public School Parents: Who is to blame for the failed negotiations over teacher evaluation?

NYC Public School Parents: Who is to blame for the failed negotiations over teacher evaluation?:

Who is to blame for the failed negotiations over teacher evaluation?

by Leonie Haimson

If the Governor goes ahead with punishing NYC children for the mayor’s failures by subtracting $250 million from state aid, it will be terribly unfair.  Yet there is little doubt that most parents will blame Bloomberg for this latest fiasco, as the just-released Quinnipiac poll shows that NYC voters trust the UFT by 53 to 35 percent over the mayor. And 63 percent of those polled believe that the mayor should share power, compared to only 13 percent who say he should continue to have complete control, without any checks and balances. 

In response to  bills introduced in the Legislature to undo mayoral control last year, the mayor’s spokesperson said that no one should want to return to “those bad old days of dysfunction and corruption.”  These bills have just been re-introduced.

Actually the "bad old days" look pretty good compare with the collapse of negotiations over a new 

SCUSD School Closure List Makes Some Students Winners or Losers | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

SCUSD School Closure List Makes Some Students Winners or Losers | The Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education:

SCUSD School Closure List Makes Some Students Winners or Losers

by Kate_Lenox

     The SCUSD school closure list is out and some of the criteria behind the selection of the schools on it has been revealed. Three of  the Superintendent's Priority Schools get a pass, despite the fact they are under enrolled. Oak Ridge was on a closure list two years ago because of low enrollment and  the poor shape of its facility. Now it will be a receiving school for students from Bret Harte and Fruitridge Elementary Schools. Schools with criteria like Phoebe Hearst and Camellia, which can pick and chose their students from all over the district, will remain open while neighborhood  schools are closed. Nor was any consideration given to closing the small high schools, which are also under enrolled, and housing  their programs on a larger campus to save money. So much for right sizing the district and closing schools that make the most sense, despite whatever programs are in place, since "programs can be moved".  This is all evidence that Sac City is not considering this issue holistically, but merely choosing the most expedient targets.  District students attending "special" schools are going to be winners and those attending neighborhood schools will be losers if this list stands.

     Back in 2009 when schools were proposed for closure, public meetings were held in each area. One audience member at a meeting at Washington Elementary observed that to address the declining enrollment and 

We Must Question and Dream | Connected Principals

We Must Question and Dream | Connected Principals:

We Must Question and Dream

by John Marschhausen

“Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things,” President Ronald Reagan eloquently stated in his 1988 speech at Moscow State University. “It is the right to dream – to follow your dream or stick to your conscience even if you’re the only one in a sea of doubters.”
I thought of this quote by President Reagan as I read the headline I had been anticipating – school reform is back on the state agenda.

Ohio school districts will soon be facing the reality of a new state biennial budget – a budget sure to have a new vision for our children. Four consecutive Ohio governors have proposed significant reforms for our education system. With each reform movement have come requirements and procedures, policies and legislation. Some ideas have proved to be effective while others have simply been a waste of time. Regardless of party affiliation or ideology there is a common thread to each movement . . . the status quo isn’t getting it done for all students in

The world our children will inherit

by Stephen Harris

The world that our children experience
This blog seeks to capture aspects of emerging technology and culture that will shape the world of tomorrow for the students of today. The way we have taught kids in the past just won’t cut it into the future. The traditional classroom is predicated on a control philosophy. The teacher’s role has been to manage and control the behaviours of the class and once this is achieved, to then be the provider of knowledge and content.
Some students can cope with the school models of the past, but many students (dare say most students) do

Green Dot to reorganize Locke High School - latimes.com

Green Dot to reorganize Locke High School - latimes.com:

Green Dot to reorganize Locke High School

In a move to address slumping academic performance of incoming ninth-grade students, charter school operator Green Dot Public School is proposing to reorganize Locke High School in Watts.
The Locke campus is split into five small schools. Rather than dividing the ninth-grade students among the five, most new freshmen will be placed in a single academy on the campus. One of the schools, Animo Watts, will continue to serve ninth through 12th grade.
There will be three 10th-12th-grade academies and the charter group wants to open a new middle school in the area to better prepare incoming students, Green Dot announced Thursday.
While Locke has seen some gains, they have not been distributed evenly across the entire campus. The percentage of ninth-grade students who test below basic, or far below basic in math has increased sharply in 

Jersey Jazzman: Rhee-ly Big Trouble

Jersey Jazzman: Rhee-ly Big Trouble:

Rhee-ly Big Trouble

by Duke

Oh, my:

It’s been over six months, and we have still not received the McGoldrick-Sanford emails. How hard can it be to find email? Or could there be something in the McGoldrick-Sanford communications that DCPS does not want the public to read?

But we know the Sanford memo is out there. What does it say? Three secondary sources have told us that Sanford was troubled by the widespread erasures. An anonymous letter was mailed to me on June 20, 2012, stating in part, “The memo indicated there was cause for concern with a significant number of school test results….(Sanford) did not draw conclusions, but we all know he suspected cheating was widespread.”

A second secondary source told of being in a meeting where McGoldrick spoke of Sanford’s 

Diane in the Evening 1-17-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Jersey Jazzman on Rhee’s Memogate

by dianerav

Jersey jazzman dissects John Merrow’s report on the Case of the Missing Memo.
Why won’t DCPS release the memo?
What secret 

Charter School Math in Connecticut

by dianerav

Connecticut has the misfortune to have a bad combination: a significant group of very rich hedge fund managers devoted to charter schools and a state commissioner of education who wants to open more charter schools. The charter schools in the state serve disproportionately small numbers of English language learners. So is it a good idea to open more of them?
Here’s a

Corporate Reformers Waste over Half Million in Bridgeport Election

by dianerav

A reader in Connecticut links to Jonathan Pelto’s report of spending by wealthy supporters of corporate reform in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in their failed attempt to persuade voters to abandon their elected school board. The voters said no.
“Did you see this yet? Over a half a million spent by corporate “education reformers” to persuade voters to 

Can a Teacher in Sacramento Beat the Rhee Machine?

by dianerav

A seat opens up on a school board in West Sacramento.
An employee of StudentsFirst decides to run for it.
A teacher challenges him.
One has big money.
The other has experience as a parent and teacher in the schools. Who will win?

Value-Added Measurement Is Unstable

by dianerav

Data hounds continue to search for a measuring stick to identify teacher quality.
They can’t believe they are on a fruitless hunt, like trying to find a barometer or yardstick to say which piece of art is best, which doctor is best, which…… as though human judgment means nothing.
Here is Matt Di Carlo summarizing the research on the instability of VAM, meaning that the best teacher this year might be only average next year, or vice versa.

John White Is #1, And So Is Louisiana

by dianerav

Crazy Crawfish has a regular blog where he skewers the mighty, the powerful, the phonies, and the masters of data manipulation.
Like EduShyster, CC knows data, and he has humor. And he seems to know more about state school data–and the games people play–than most people.
Read this brilliantly witty report of John White’s statistical legerdemain.
So what if Education Week gave Louisiana an F for academic performance? Michelle Rhee placed it at the top.

NYC Voters Want to End Mayoral Control of Schools

by dianerav

When Mayor Bloomberg was elected in 2001, his first priority was to gain control of the schools. At the time, the schools had a central board with seven members, two appointed by the mayor. Now the mayor appoints a majority and they serve at his pleasure.
In the last decade, the city’s schools have Ben subject to four major reorganizations and three chancellors. One of them lasted only 90 days, a record of sorts.
Now, voters and NYC public school parents oppose mayoral control. In a new poll, only 18% want the mayor to control them.

D.C.: Why the Double Standard for Public Schools and Charter Schools?

by dianerav

D.C. Chancellor Kaya Henderson is set to decide how many public schools to close.
A D.C. teacher and blogger reviews the shifting rationales for closing public schools.
A public school closes if enrollment falls below 350. But more than 70% of charter schools have less than 350 students, and some have less than 50 students, and they are not on the chopping block. Why the double 

Tennessee Legislature Purges Voucher Opponent

by dianerav

Yesterday I posted a comment from Linda Whittington, a member of the state Legislature in Mississippi who was removed from her assignment on the House Education Committee because she opposes charters.
Today a reader in Tennessee posted a comment with these links from Memphis:
http://schoolingmemphis.blogspot.com/2013/01/tn-state-rep-fitzhugh-forced-off.html
http://schoolingmemphis.blogspot.com/2013/01/harwell-shenanigans-confirmed-in.html
You will learn here that Tennessee House Democratic leader, Craig Fitzhugh, was removed from his position on

Bush and Rhee Double-Team Tennessee

by dianerav

Jeb Bush and Michelle Rhee are working Tennessee, with grandiose claims about the great results that charters and vouchers can accomplish.
The good news is that the reporter shows skepticism about thei claims.
Why don’t they tell their audiences about Milwaukee, which has had vouchers and charters for 20+ years? On 

EduShyster Commends Prep School Grads Who Want to Reform Public Schools

by dianerav

Elitism may be a dirty word in some circles, but not to EduShyster.
She here commends the graduates of tony private schools who work so hard to see that their lesser brethren can go to “no excuses” schools where they will learn to sit up straight and keep their eyes on the teacher.

UFT Leader Blames Mayor for Failure to Reach Deal on VAM

by dianerav

Apparently the mayor and the union in NYC did not reach a deal on teacher evaluation.
Too bad. VAM Is junk science. It should not be legislated or imposed anywhere.
Here is the UFT press release. Count on seeing the mayor blame the union for not accepting a lousy scheme that has no basis in evidence or experience.
STATEMENT BY UFT PRESIDENT MICHAEL MULGREW:
I am sorry to announce that I have notified Governor Cuomo and other state officials that — despite long nights o

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 1-17-13 Diane Ravitch's blog

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] John White Is #1, And So Is Louisiana by dianerav Crazy Crawfish has a regular blog where he skewers the mighty, the powerful, the phonies, and the masters of data manipulation. Like EduShyster, CC knows data, and he has humor. And he seems to know more about state school data–and the games people play–than most people. Read this brilliantly witty report of John White’s statistical legerdemain. So what if Education Week gave Louisiana an F for academic performance? Michelle Rhee *Diane in the Evening... more »