UPDATE: Does Head Start work for kids? + Is school reform about replacing blackness?

Is school reform about replacing blackness?:

Does Head Start work for kids? The bottom line

by Valerie Strauss

Head Start, the most important education program for 3- and 4-year-olds in the country, is in the news again, not only because there are concerns about how many children will be negatively impacted as a result of federal budget cuts … Continue reading →

Is school reform about replacing blackness?

Posted by Valerie Strauss on March 5, 2013 at 8:00 am

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Fifth-graders from D.C.’s  Watkins Elementary School  (By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News)

Here is an original look at the modern school reform movement. It was written by Natalie Hopkinson is a Washington-based writer, and author of “Go-Go Live: The Musical Life and Death of a Chocolate City”. This appeared on The Root D.C., where she is a contributing editor. She can be reached at NHopkinson@hotmail.com.

By Natalie Hopkinson

I was among a group of writers, musicians and scholars of go-go music presenting at aseminar for D.C. social studies teachers last month when moderator Kenny Carroll asked me a provocative question.

He was sharing some reactions to the renewed attention being paid to go-go—D.C.’s unique brand of funk that has been popular among generations of working-class black 

SO MUCH FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

Oklahoma’s school A-F grading system called ‘misleading’

Oklahoma's A-F school accountability grading system is, researchers say, so flawed that it needs to be replaced.

By Valerie Strauss 3 hours ago

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DID IT WORK?

Jeb Bush’s A-F school grading scheme: The facts

Jeb Bush instituted a questionable A-F school grading system in Florida when he was governor and has persuaded a number of other states to do it too. Did it work in the Sunshine State?

By Valerie Strauss 4 hours ago

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'PROMISE IS DYING'

Principal: ‘I was naïve about Common Core’

An award-winning principal who wrote a book in support of the Common Core now says she was "naive" about the standards' implementation.

By Valerie Strauss 22 hours ago

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BILLIONAIRES CHIP IN MILLIONS

Big outside money pouring into L.A. school board races

Here's why school reformers are spending millions on three local school board races in Los Angeles and why they are worried about the results.

By Valerie Strauss March 4, 2013

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NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS

How George Orwell might explain school reform

School reform through George Orwell's world view? It's a scary view. Take a look

UPDATE: The Myopic Menace of Order Schools Matter: What Happens If the Billionaires Boys Club Takes Over Los Angeles Schools?

Schools Matter: What Happens If the Billionaires Boys Club Takes Over Los Angeles Schools?:

The Myopic Menace of Order

by Storm

White man got no dreaming,
Him go 'nother way.
White man, him go different.
Him got road belong himself.

I have never been able to discover any Aboriginal word for time as an abstract concept.  And the sense of 'history' is wholly alien here....

...The Dreaming conjures up the notion of a sacred, heroic time of the indefinitely remote past, such a time is also, in a sense, still part of the present.  One cannot 'fix' The Dreaming in time: it was, and is, everywhen....

Clearly, The Dreaming is many things in one.  Among them, a kind of narrative to things that once happened; a 

What Happens If the Billionaires Boys Club Takes Over Los Angeles Schools?

by John Thompson

Educators have grown increasingly concerned that the "Billionaires Boys Club's" plan for test-driven "reform" of schools is more than misguided. Basically, it advocates "disruptive innovation" to destroy the "status quo" and so that schools can overcome the legacies of poverty. So many of their theories are so silly that many teachers worry that their real plan is to privatize schools.

On one hand, I respect the careful scholarship of Sarah Reckhow, who has documented the edu-philanthropists' strategy of "convergence" or their coordination of funding. She worries about the consequences of that trend, as she expresses concerns that they join together to pursue policies that are not well-grounded in research. But, her "Philanthropy Critique Can Obscure Key Differences" suggests that some are exaggerating the dangers of billionaires banding together.

On the other hand, the outcomes of two California disputes could pose a threat to the democratic governance of 

UPDATE: Has it come to this…? + Vallas Gets Illegal 3 year contract on 5 to 4 vote - Wait, What?

Vallas Gets Illegal 3 year contract on 5 to 4 vote - Wait, What?:

And last but not least, in Finch/Vallas land…

jonpelto at Wait, What? - 13 minutes ago

Categories: - Bridgeport - Mayor Bill Finch - Paul Vallas Speaking of $100,000 After helping Mayor Finch and five of the six Democrats on the Bridgeport Board of Education push through an illegal 3 year contract for Paul Vallas on a vote of 5 to 4, Joshua Thompson, Finch’s “education point person” continues to have a biography up on a national website calling himself; Deputy [...] *(Read more...)*

And while cutting essential services, Malloy gives $100,000 to a Stamford Brewery

jonpelto at Wait, What? - 13 minutes ago

Categories: - Budget Cuts - Corporate Welfare - Malloy Tags: Budget cutsCorporate WelfareMalloy In a tribute to modern American politics, while Sunday’s newspaper featured the article by the father of the 28-year-old intellectually disabled daughter who wrote, “Amid Stark State Cuts, A Father’s Plea: Who Will Care for Katie?”; the Monday paper featured a photo-op of Governor Dannel Malloy in his hometown of Stamford celebrating a grant for [...] *(Read more...)*

Has it come to this…?

jonpelto at Wait, What? - 13 minutes ago

Categories: - Budget Cuts - Human Services - Malloy - State Budget - Taxes Tags: Budget cutsGeneral AssemblyHuman ServicesMalloyState BudgetTaxes Over the weekend, there was a heart-wrenching commentary piece in the Hartford Courant that was written by the father of a 28-year-old intellectually disabled daughter. His daughter’s name is Katie and he wrote, “She lives at home with my wife, Donna and me. She is the love of our lives and we embrace the gifts [...] *(Read more...)*

Vallas Gets Illegal 3 year contract on 5 to 4 vote

jonpelto at Wait, What? - 4 hours ago

Categories: - Bridgeport - Education Reform - Malloy - Mayor Bill Finch - Paul Vallas - Stefan Pryor Tags: BridgeportEducation ReformMalloyMayor Bill FinchPaul VallasStefan Pryor The Bridgeport Board of Education, with Mayor Bill Finch, Faux “Deputy Mayor for Education” Joshua Thompson, Finch’s Chief of Staff Adam Wood and Pryor’s chief of Staff Adam Goldbarb in attendance, voted 5 to 4 to make Paul Vallas Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools, instead of Acting Superintendent, and give him a three-year contract. Last legislative [...] *(Read more...)*

Bridgeport Board of Education votes 5-4 for illegal contract for Paul Vallas

jonpelto at Wait, What? - 11 hours ago

Categories: - Bridgeport - Malloy - Mayor Bill Finch - Paul Vallas - Stefan Pryor Tags: BridgeportMalloyMayor Bill FinchPaul VallasStefan Pryor Full report in the coming days, but with Mayor Finch, his faux Deputy Mayor for Education, his chief of staff and Commissioner Pryor’s chief of staff looking on, the Bridgeport Board of Education voted for an illegal contract that not only backs Commissioner Pryor into a corner but leaves Vallas twisting in the wind. It [...] *(Read more...)*

It gets worse….

jonpelto at Wait, What? - 20 hours ago

Categories: - Achievement First/ConnCAN - Bridgeport - Charter Schools - Education Reform - Ethics - Malloy - Mayor Bill Finch - Paul Vallas - Stefan Pryor Tags: Achievement FirstBridgeportCharter SchoolsEthicsMalloyPaul VallasStefan Pryor One of the votes in favor of extending Paul Vallas’ contract as Superintendent of Bridgeport Schools tonight will certainly be Democrat Reverend Kenneth Moales, Jr. Unlike the spectacular “It Gets Better Project” which communicates to youth around the world that it gets better, and seeks to create and inspir... more »

Vallas Gets Illegal 3 year contract on 5 to 4 vote

by jonpelto

The Bridgeport Board of Education, with Mayor Bill Finch, Faux “Deputy Mayor for Education” Joshua Thompson, Finch’s Chief of Staff Adam Wood and Pryor’s chief of Staff Adam Goldbarb in attendance, voted 5 to 4 to make Paul Vallas Bridgeport’s Superintendent of Schools, instead of Acting Superintendent, and give him a three-year contract.

Last legislative session, Governor Malloy’s Education Reform bill included a special provision to allow Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor to waive Vallas’ lack of proper credentials under limited circumstances.  The contract approved last night by the 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Vallas pulls a fast one in Bridgeport

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Vallas pulls a fast one in Bridgeport:

Vallas pulls a fast one in Bridgeport

by Mike Klonsky

Vallas

They pulled a fast one in Bridgeport last night. At a "special" meeting of the board, called to head off any further debate, school privatizer/profiteer Paul Vallas was handed a new 3-year contract. The 5-4 vote came just days after the Connecticut Working Families Party mounted an all-out campaign to derail a contract extension for Vallas. Board members Maria Pereira, Sauda Baraka and John Bagley, all members of WFP, voted against the extension, along with Democrat Bobby Simmons.

"This is just one more example of Bridgeport politicians undermining democracy,” said Andre Baker, a Bridgeport City Councilor. “This is an ongoing process with an important outcome and calling a special meeting at the last minute is a blatant attempt to keep parents and citizens out of the process." 

Former State Senator Ed Gomes, who represented Bridgeport, said "as soon as questions were raised about 

Jersey Jazzman: Another Day; Another Reformy Smear!

Jersey Jazzman: Another Day; Another Reformy Smear!:

Another Day; Another Reformy Smear!

by Duke

Good mroning, America! So, what are you going to do today for our nation's children?

Me, I'll be destroying American society by indoctrinating the tykes in socialist rhetoric from my cushy, union-protected, ultra-high-paid job-for-life as a public school teacher!

But maybe you'll spend your day nobly saving the kids from lazy and evil teachers like me! You'll be promoting excellence and accountability by suing protectors of the status quo for talking to their town councilperson...

or lurking around a protector of the status quo's parking lot with a camera...

or taping a protector of the status quo without her knowledge, but with the approval of a powerful governor...

or trying - and miserably failing - to entrap a protector of the status quo by lying to him about who you are...

or repeatedly using quotes presented with no context to make people think a protector of the status quo has said something outrageous...

or following a protector of the status quo around with a recorder and then feeding her words to the press for a hit 

'Blackboard Wars': Oprah's Education Reality Show Reveals Reform Isn't Always Students-First | Education on GOOD

'Blackboard Wars': Oprah's Education Reality Show Reveals Reform Isn't Always Students-First | Education on GOOD:

'Blackboard Wars': Oprah's Education Reality Show Reveals Reform Isn't Always Students-First

As an educator in New Orleans, I've been asked dozens of times, "What do you think of Blackboard Wars," the documentary series featured on Oprah's OWN Network about troubled John McDonough High school.
My first and most enduring reaction to Blackboard Wars is fatigue. I'm simply tired of New Orleans education reform, the spectacle. This is not because the series is not well produced. Without a doubt, Blackboard Wars is gripping television. The show has everything you want in television: an engaging protagonist with a fatal flaw (Principal Dr. Thompson), a damsel in distress (Ms. Cobb), people needing salvation (students), high stakes, community unrest, and love.
Viewers can't look away from the high-flying drama at John Mac, which can be found in schools throughout the 

REALITY, NOT THEORY, WHY LAUSD IS HIRING SUBSTITUTES - Perdaily.com

REALITY, NOT THEORY, WHY LAUSD IS HIRING SUBSTITUTES - Perdaily.com:

REALITY, NOT THEORY, WHY LAUSD IS HIRING SUBSTITUTES

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

L.A. Subs website has several posts under the title: "Theory Why LAUSD Is Hiring." There is no theory as to why the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is hiring substitute teachers- it's a financially motivated reality. They are hiring lots of subs to take the place of top of the salary scale teachers like many of you that they got rid of, because it's much cheaper with subs than with veteran teachers at the top of the salary scale with full benefits- this is no theory. It is also much easier to monitor substitute teachers as they approach the 100 days necessary to get them medical benefits in any given year and cut them off, 

March 14th: Colorado Students Stand Up for Education | United Opt Out National

March 14th: Colorado Students Stand Up for Education | United Opt Out National:

March 14th: Colorado Students Stand Up for Education

admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago

March 4th, 2013 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WHAT : Students standing up for our education WHEN : March 14th, 2013 from 11am – 2:30pm WHERE : West Steps of the Colorado State Capitol On February 23rd, students gathered to discuss what … MORE

Bess Altwerger: Why I am Coming to Occupy the Dept. of Ed. in DC

admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago

How could I NOT come to Occupy the DOE in DC? At this pivotal moment in history when failure to act will mean the virtual collapse of public education there is nothing more important for any of us to do … MORE

Ruth Rodriguez: Why I am Occupying the Dept. of Ed. in DC

admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago

Hi Soldiers of this War, I’m returning to Occupy to lend my voice with my co-soldiers in the war against our children and community; as Rose Sanders so passionately stated, “This is the worst war fought on American soil, not … MORE

Ruth Powers Silverberg: Why I am Coming to Occupy the Dept. of Ed. in DC

admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago

I occupy because I believe that the cure for HIV and the Middle East crisis and hunger are now or already were in the minds of our children and when someone told them to be quiet they were. I occupy … MORE

Pam Zich: Why I am Coming to Occupy the Dept. of Ed. in DC

admin at United Opt Out National - 1 hour ago

I am coming to D.C. to report on the mockery high-stakes testing has made of individualized education for children with special needs. I will describe some of the bizarre practices taking place as educators attempt to mass produce passing test scores from a segment … MORE

Special Late Nite Cap UPDATE 3-4-13 #SOSCHAT #EDCHAT #P2

Nite Cap UPDATE

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

sequester

Wealth Inequality in America [Video]

by Edit Barry

This is why every American who makes a middle class living should care about millionaires’ and billionaires’ dabbling in education reform. Why sequestration is hogwash. Why anyone who tells you there is no money for school buildings or public school teachers or health care or medical benefits is full of it. There is more than enough to go around.
Commence reality check.
Popout

Walmart Foundation vs. Walton Foundation

by dianerav

Earlier today when I posted about President Obama’s decision to name the Sylvia Mathews Burwell, CEO of the Walmart Foundation, to become the head of the Office of Management and Budget, I made the error of identifying her as CEO of the Walton Family Foundation. It was obviously a mistake, and readers quickly called my attention to it. I made the change at once. I didn’t realize that the Walton billionaires have two different foundations. In addition, members of the family give a lot of money to political campaigns for candidates and issues, always on the same side of the political spectrum.
The Walton Family Foundation has given $158 million for each of the

Reminder: My Ed Week Webinar Is Tomorrow (Tuesday)

by Larry Ferlazzo

Developing Intrinsic Motivation in Students
Teacher Larry Ferlazzo and principal Chris Wejr will provide background and actionable strategies for creating conditions in classrooms and schools that inspire students to take greater ownership of their learning and futures. Register.
March 5, 2013 at 4pm ET
Motivating students to engage fully with their schoolwork is a perennial challenge for educators. What’s more, many time-honored motivational tactics, such as offering incentives or rewards for specific outcomes, tend to produce only short-term effects-and sometimes backfire completely. This webinar provides teaching strategies to sustain students’ levels of interest and effort.
Our expert guests-teacher and author Larry Ferlazzo and principal Chris Wejr-will provide background and actionable strategies for creating conditions in classrooms and schools that inspire students to take greater ownership of their learning and futures. Among the topics they will address are relationship-building, collaborative learning, praise strategies, opportunity-based instruction, and meaningful communication of expectations. They’ll also respond to viewers’ questions on specific challenges and problem-areas concerning motivation. Registrants will also receive an exclusive discount offer for Ferlazzo’s newest book: Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation.

Lumina Foundation pushing privatization of education in Mexico

by Danny Weil

An interesting report out of Mexico concerning corruption charges against the head of the Mexican teacher’s union has appeared at Al Jazeera.  The report, found [...] The post Lumina Foundation pushing privatization of education in Mexico appeared first on DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored...

Space Coast, Florida and Chicago: 50 years later, school (closing) discrimination becomes an issue

by kenpreviti

The people on the Space Coast, home of Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, are faced with the issue of school discrimination and civil rights issues. Black and white supporters stood together as an attorney announced that one mother and one grandmother were seeking an injunction to stop the Brevard County School District from closing specific schools.
Yes, one mother and one grandmother.
Parents must lead and demand. Without that, the children become victims.
 Stop means stop.
Stop means stop. No means no. Even in the land of Tea Party Governor Rick Scott, previously the CEO of a healthcare corporation that was fined over $1 billion for defrauding Medicare. Even with this super-majority republican state legislature someone must yell, “STOP!”

I See You, I Got You, & I Love You

by Dave Meister

Cross posted at: PHSdirectorBLOG
What happens when 75 adults and 300 teenagers “lower the waterline” and let others really know them?  What is the affect of bullies telling their victims they are sorry in front of a large crowd of their peers?  How do students react when they find out that many of their school peers have experienced some horrible emotional situations?  What is it like for students when their teachers, school administrators, school board members, and other community members share true stories about their lives and shed a tear or two?  What is the affect of six hours of laughing, dancing, listening, crying, hugging, and caring for people in ways never thought of before?  CULTURE CHANGE!  The building of empathy and understanding. The realization that we are all so much more alike than different.  The awareness of what we say, do with and to others has a major effect that can be both life affirming or devastating.
I have said before, many times, that our students don’t care what we know until they know we care.  We have tried very hard to build school community and trust here the past several years in an effort to improve school performance.  I think we may have really turned a corner this past week.  We shut down the bell system, slowed down the prescribed learning and perhaps learned the most important lesson of all; We all matter!  I hope what 

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

Engaging Parents In School… » This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter:

This Week’s #PTchat On Twitter

by Larry Ferlazzo

Guest Post by Joe Mazza

everythingesl.net

This week on #PTchat we will be sharing strategies on how to involve the diverse families of English language learners (ELL) in order to foster the partnership between the home and school. 

@JudieHaynes

Schools must constantly seek ways to improve the communication with ELL families and recognize how it parallels with the communication with non-ELL families.  How are schools reaching out to their ELL families?  Are traditional parental involvement approaches appropriate for ELL families?  

ESL Advocate and author of several books including The Essential Guide for Educating Beginning English Learners will join us this Wednesday at 9pm EDT on #PTchat to discuss how schools can effectively engage ELL families using both traditional and non-traditional approaches to increase family engagement.  Please join us!

Guest Post By John Thompson: The Texas Standardized Test Revolt | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

Guest Post By John Thompson: The Texas Standardized Test Revolt | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

Guest Post By John Thompson: The Texas Standardized Test Revolt

by Larry Ferlazzo

School “reformers” complain that the Garfield High School teachers’ boycott of testing, and the protests by teachers, parents, and students in Georgia, New York, and Massachusetts, are bringing the backlash against bubble-in accountability to a “crescendo.” Perhaps the best education news is that 818 Texas school districts oppose the educational malpractice encouraged by standardized testing. On February 23, I joined thousands of Texans in the Save Texas Schools rally in Austin.
For decades, many top Oklahoma teachers fled to the better schools south of the Red River. An increasing number of them became trapped in the Texas testing mania and returned with horror stories. But, recently, Oklahoma adopted an “accountability” regime that is just as bad, even though we do not have nearly as much money to mitigate the damage. And, two years ago the Texas legislature cut public schools by $5.4 billion, even as they are sending $1.2 billion to overseas testing companies. This means that the Lone Star State also faces the worst of both worlds.
Former Education Commissioner Robert Scott told the crowd that continued testing is not like the tail “wagging 

Are school closings the new urban renewal? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Are school closings the new urban renewal? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Are school closings the new urban renewal?

by thenotebook

by Elaine Simon
Recent analyses show that most students from schools recommended for closing in Philadelphia would not end up in better-performing schools. They are likely to wind up in schools much like the ones they were in before, as a recent study by Research for Action shows.
Most of the displaced students will not benefit academically from the closings as planned. In addition, they would have to travel a distance outside their neighborhoods, because the closings would create education deserts in areas of the city with the highest concentration of minority and low-income residents.
Disturbingly, this scenario echoes the urban renewal of the mid-20th century. Just as urban renewal decimated neighborhoods and dispersed the mostly poor and minority residents without benefiting them, the school-closings agenda of the current wave of school reform probably will lead to the same outcomes.
read more

Charter schools ‘undemocratic’ – @ the chalk face

Charter schools ‘undemocratic’ – @ the chalk face:

Charter schools ‘undemocratic’

by Activism in paradise - Voices from down under

As part of the New Zealand government’s mindless rush to show like minded governments that they too can implement GERM without rhyme or reason, the process of establishing charter schools is underway, in as undemocratic a fashion as it is possible to imagine in the New Zealand environment. Public and expert opinion is being, and will continue to be, totally disregarded in this process. Sadly, this mindset isn’t just restricted to education, and as a result any concept of true democracy is diminishing by the day.

Recently Massey University Professor John O’Neill wrote an opinion piece for the New Zealand Herald newspaper, in an attempt to counteract the main stream media’s lack of attention to the issues around charter schools. John has kindly agreed for this article to be published on this blog. Readers will, I am sure, notice some familiar themes appearing in the New Zealand context.
Allan
——————–
Charter schools ‘undemocratic’
The Education Amendment Bill before Parliament’s Education and Science Select Committee provides for a new type of public private partnership (PPP) school in New Zealand. The Government has gone to considerable lengths to trumpet New Zealand’s first PPP to build and maintain school buildings at Hobsonville Point. It is, however, a lot quieter about the far more radical changes that its Bill proposes for school governance, funding, accountability and teaching quality in its other PPP model.