UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, May 3, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Modern School: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown

Education Headlines

Friday, May 3, 2013

Santa Paula school board picks office, meeting location

Santa Paula Unified School District board members moved forward Thursday with plans to convert the current elementary school district office into the unified school district office and also voted to move their meeting location.

Group targets some on CVU school board

A group of disgruntled parents and taxpayers will attempt to recall some members of the Coachella Valley Unified school board, whom they accuse of unjustified spending, destabilizing schools and intimidating critics.

Upland Unified School District faces $9 million deficit

The Upland Unified School District will need to identify $9 million in cuts for the 2013-14 fiscal year budget over the next two months or face insolvency.

Panel schools public on bonds

A panel of four people with different professional backgrounds discussed the challenges, accomplishments and controversies related to school bonds last week in an effort to educate people about the use of billions of dollars in tax money.

Unification details being hammered out in Bonsall

Bonsall is on its way to establishing a new, unified school district, and the process is complex, to say the least, officials say.

Special education: California parents' lawsuit could force expansion of programs

Initiated by dissatisfied Morgan Hill parents, a lawsuit that could vastly expand services for disabled students in California, and greatly increase the costs of educating them, is inching toward trial.

Education chief sees results of extra funds

San Francisco's mayor, the city's schools superintendent and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sat around a big table at Everett Middle School and enthusiastically agreed that a huge infusion of federal money made the previously unpopular, low-performing school much, much better.

Mt. Diablo school board selects former Oakland city attorney as interim general counsel

The Mt. Diablo school board has picked a former Oakland city attorney to temporary replace its ousted general counsel, but the search for an interim superintendent continues.

Cyberbullying: Parents, school officials both search for answers

Most schools, overwhelmed by the ever-changing virtual world, struggle to investigate and remove offensive posts, console victims and encourage parents to keep tabs on their children's online activities.

West Contra Costa school district rejects charter application

West Contra Costa school district trustees Wednesday evening denied a petition for sponsorship from the backers of Caliber Schools for a K-8 charter school.

La Costa Canyon High newspaper fights for journalism curriculum

Megan Mineiro, editor of La Costa Canyon’s school paper, said she believes there’s a connection between the school principal's decision to cancel the school’s journalism class and an editorial in the school paper critical of his decision to fire the school's athletic director. Mineiro said she will appeal the decision to San Dieguito Union High School District's Board tonight.

Frey: Bill aims to help expelled and truant students get back on track

The purpose of a complicated bill aimed at preventing students from languishing in alternative schools became much clearer after the testimony of a former student who got stuck in one.

Fensterwald: California looks to Ontario schools’ reformer for guidance

Michael Fullan may be coming soon to a school district near you. The man credited with transforming the Canadian province of Ontario into one of the world’s most effective school systems is ready to help California do the same.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Linden Unified parents address dysfunction

Parents of Linden Unified students continued to make emotional pleas Wednesday night that the district Board of Trustees relieve Superintendent Michael Gonzales of his duties, extending what has amounted to months of distrust and angst districtwide.

Teachers to vote on contract May 14

After working for nearly two years without one, the 700 members of the Salinas Valley Federation of Teachers will decide the fate of a tentative agreement that was negotiated last week between their union negotiators and district officials.

Report: Galt elementary school district is underfunding retirement

An outside audit has recommended the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District contribute more than $300,000 to its retirement account annually to make up for a lack of funding in years past and plan for future costs.

Modern School: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown

Modern School: Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown:

Robin Hoodwinked by Governor Brown

by Michael Dunn

The Los Angeles Times is referring to California Governor Jerry Brown as a “Robin Hood” for his plan to redistribute resources from “wealthy” suburban school districts to their poorer urban cousins. Brown has characterized himself as a civil rights hero since the poor urban districts serve predominantly low income communities of color, suggesting that inequitable school funding is the primary cause of the achievement gap.

Both the Times and Brown are delusional. Robin Hood robbed rich individuals and gave the spoils directly to poor people so they could feed, clothe and house themselves. Brown’s plan does nothing to reduce poverty and gives no money or resources directly to any poor students or their families.

This is no trivial criticism, as poverty is the number one cause of poor academic achievement. Poor children are far more likely than others to be born with low birth weight or suffer malnutrition or lead poisoning (10% of poor children have dangerous levels of lead in their blood according to the CDC), any of which can impair cognitive development or lead to learning disabilities. They suffer higher levels of stress, which causes the overproduction of the 

Parents! Students! Educators! Community Folks! Let's Start to Build the Alternative to Mayoral Control and Privatization of our Public Schools.

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

Parents! Students! Educators! Community Folks! 

Let's Start to Build the Alternative to Mayoral Control and Privatization of our Public Schools. 

Remember: Mayoral Control Sunsets in June 2015. The NY State legislators can either vote to renew Mayoral Control or vote for a better alternative like the People's Board of Education.

 The Coalition for Public Education invites you, your family and friends to come to our first in a series of public forums where we hear from you about what YOU envision a great public education system would look like.

We also have some "People's Board of Education" ideas we want to share with you.... 

So come out on 

Thursday May 4, 2013!

from 6PM to 8PM

Community Service Society

105 E 22nd Street

(#6 train to 23rd St)

UPDATE: Missouri Education Watchdog: The Delphi Technique Did Not Work at the Lindbergh DESE Meeting. People Were "Mad As Hell and They Were Not Going to Take This Anymore".

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Delphi Technique Did Not Work at the Lindbergh DESE Meeting. People Were "Mad As Hell and They Were Not Going to Take This Anymore".:

Brian Bollman in Cape Girardeau Provides Report of the DESE Delphi Technique in Practice.

by stlgretchen

Announcement:  DESE has indicated it will take questions electronically if you could not make one of the meetings DESE held around the state. Email your question(s) to:

Susan Potter  Communication Coordinator

communications@dese.mo.gov

 

 We will be publishing reports on the various DESE meetings on this blog the next several days.

Thanks to Brian Bollman for his post on the meeting in Cape Girardeau.  From rockinconservative.com andDESE Common Core Meeting / A lesson in controlling the message: 

********************************************************************

I attended the DESE Common Core Meeting at 6:30pm on 05/02/13 in Cape Girardeau, MO at the Career and Technology Center, and what I witnessed was mastery of controlling the message.  Of course, there was no prayer or Pledge of Allegiance; this is the school!  Prayers are forbidden by the Constitution and the Pledge is offensive. (/sarc)

The sound quality was ridiculous, and I have no idea the name of the gentleman that led the event.  He worked through a PowerPoint presentation including videos by educators that could not be understood due to the poor sound.

STL Today Article on DESE Common Core Meeting at Lindbergh School District

by stlgretchen

 

From stltoday and Critics question Common Core education standards at St. Louis County meeting:

It didn’t take long for the crowd packed into a Lindbergh School District meeting room Thursday to become irritated with the woman giving them an overview of the Common Core Standards.
Maureen Clancy-May, an area supervisor with Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, told the crowd of about 150 that the standards were developed by states to better prepare students for the global economy and for college.

“Tell us the truth!” one man yelled from the crowd.

Read more here.

It should be noted the Lindbergh presentation was the only meeting around the state where the crowd refused to 

The Delphi Technique Did Not Work at the Lindbergh DESE Meeting. People Were "Mad As Hell and They Were Not Going to Take This Anymore".

by stlgretchen

This did not happen at the DESE Lindbergh meeting

An overflow crowd (150 people estimate) packed a too small meeting room for DESE's presentation on Common Core.  Here is the press release announcing the statewide meetings for last night.  Apparently citizens were under the impression they would receive answers to their questions about Common Core but this was not DESE's intention.  At the beginning DESE representative Maureen Clancy-May announced DESE would not answer any questions.  Clancy-May stated that she may not even know the answer to many of the questions.  DESE was there to present, break up into discussion groups, gather the questions, reveal the questions to the larger group, then take them back to Jefferson City so the citizens can be informed at some other date.

This is a classic Delphi Technique used to diffuse and control the message as facilitators would ask the question, take the information and then present it to the larger group.  The people who actually ask the 

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center

Best of the Ed Blogs | National Education Policy Center:

The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy

Best of the Ed Blogs

Diane Ravitch

May 3, 2013

Best of the Ed Blogs

Best of the Ed Blogs features a frequently updated selection of interesting and insightful blog posts on education policy. The views expressed by the bloggers on our blog roll are thoughtful, original, and entirely their own. We hope you make Best of the Ed Blogs your first stop for concise takes on today's most important education topics.

The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy

Best of the Ed Blogs

Diane Ravitch

May 3, 2013

Are Grades Utterly Useless?

Best of the Ed Blogs

Bill Ferriter

May 3, 2013

“How Can We Develop Creative Thinking & Address Common Core Standards?”

Best of the Ed Blogs

Larry Ferlazzo

May 3, 2013

Are There Lessons from the History of School Reform?

Best of the Ed Blogs

Larry Cuban

May 3, 2013

Defunding the Common Core: Back to the Future

Best of the Ed Blogs

Jack Hassard

May 2, 2013

No One Defends the Status Quo

Best of the Ed Blogs

David B. Cohen

May 2, 2013

What the “Best and Wisest" Parents Want for Their Own Kids...

Best of the Ed Blogs

Mike Klonsky

May 2, 2013

Extreme Common Core Rhetoric Clouds Serious Debate

Best of the Ed Blogs

Susan Ohanian

May 2, 2013

Consumed by Advocacy in the Marketplace of Mendacity

Best of the Ed Blogs

P.L. Thomas

May 2, 2013

Your Daily Debunk

Best of the Ed Blogs

Jersey Jazzman

May 1, 2013

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Education “writers” are kind of annoying, or no? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER

Education “writers” are kind of annoying, or no? – @ THE CHALK FACE knows SCHOOLS MATTER:

Education “writers” are kind of annoying, or no?

by Chalk Face, PhD

I read a fluff piece on the Common Core at Inside Higher Ed. Pretty basic, hits most key players.  I checked the author, just a 2009 journalism graduate. She quotes significantly folks from PARCC, SBAC, and other supporters. Mentions a lot about teacher preparation, but no one actually FROM teacher preparation.

This has been an issue I’ve had for a while with so-called “Education Writers.”There’s actually a group of them, but they have no educators or no one with classroom experience in their midst, on their board or what have you. Unless I missed something.

This goes to a second concern that those in education don’t necessarily have talents in writing, or focus too much on inaccessible academic writing without 

MORNING UPDATE LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-3-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Spread the Word

by dianerav

The public has been sold a bill of goods about what is needed to improve our schools.
We see misinformation on television. We hear it from our leaders in both parties.
It is hard to explain the real issues in our schools when the media bombards the public with the corporate reform narrative.
Once in a while, some insightful journalist breaks through the media blanket.
Here is some good news: I just came across an article posted a while ago by someone who totally gets what is going on.
The author refers to Race to the Top as a “marketing” ploy for failed ideas.
He calls it a “race to the bottom,” tied firmly to Bush’s bad ideas.
It was posted on the popular blog site of Jonathan Turley.
Keep singing.
So will I.

Hey, Kids! Let’s Open a Charter School

by dianerav

What do you do if you head the Connecticut chapter of Teach for America and you long for bigger worlds to conquer?
Simple.
You open a charter school!
The state commissioner is a charter school guy, so he is no problem.
You open in Bridgeport, where the superintendents doe his name by privatizing public schools in New Orleans,
All the right connections and the public’s money. No brainer.

Jersey Jazzman: State Brings in Corporate Chain to Run NJ Charters

by dianerav

Jersey Jazzman has a sharp article about Commissioner Cerf’s decision to turn a local charter school over to a national chain. The chain is expanding thanks to a $9 million federal grant and extra help from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The chain has fewer students who are special education or English language learners, as compared to the local district. It spends more than district schools.
Is this a sustainable model?
Jersey Jazzman concludes:
“To recap: Democracy Prep’s practices includes more spending per pupil, a rigid “no-excuses” culture, high rates of attrition, and segregation by poverty, special need, and English proficiency.
“This is your future, Camden – imposed on you by state-officials and outside CMOs. Don’t even think about fighting back.”

BREAKING NEWS: US to Milwaukee Voucher Schools: Stop Excluding Students with Disabilities

by dianerav

Responding to a complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the U.S. Department of Justice warned voucher schools in Milwaukee to stop excluding, counseling out, or otherwise discriminating against students with disabilities.
“The state cannot, by delegating the education function to private voucher schools, place students beyond the reach of the federal laws that require Wisconsin to eliminate disability discrimination in its administration of public programs,” DOJ officials wrote in the letter to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent 

Robert Shepherd: When Will We Ever Learn?

by dianerav

Robert Shepherd has long experience writing and editing textbooks and assessments. I appreciate his kind comments about my book, written in the 1990s, but also his recognition that “reforms” come and go with regularity. My comment: The current wave of phony reforms is the most destructive in the history of American education.
He writes:
“One of the reasons why I love Diane Ravitch’s brilliant Left Back: A Century of Failed School Reforms is that it 

NY Daily News Reveals Top-Secret State Test

by dianerav

Yesterday I received an email from a reporter from the New York Daily News asking for my reaction to a bootleg copy of the Pearson-made fifth-grade exam for English Language Arts. This is part of the first tests of the Common Core in the state, administered in recent weeks to students in 3rd through 8th grades. Students spent about 90 minutes per day for three days on the ELA tests and repeated the process the next week in math.
I read the passages and the questions based on them. My reaction was that the difficulty level of the passages and the questions was not age-appropriate. Based on test questions I had reviewed for seven years when I was a member of the NAEP board, it seemed to me that the test was pitched at an eighth grade level. The passages 

A Scary Future? The Teaching Machine and Big Data: LINK FIXED

by dianerav

This is a fascinating and rather frightening essay about the quest for a teaching machine.
Philip McRae, the author, looks at the historical search for a machine that would standardize teaching, making it cost-efficient and providing a common curriculum. Then he describes the present-day efforts to aggregate Big Data, discover patterns, and create a platform through which content might be delivered to 100 or 200 students in 

Wayne Gersen: What Obama Could Learn from Vermont

by dianerav

Wayne Gersen has been working in several districts in Vermont. He is impressed by Vermont’s determination not to allow testing to be the be-all and end-all of education. The state is determined not to let NCLB wreck its schools and not to ask for a waiver that would allow Duncan to impose high-stakes testing. If only Obama did what Vermont does!

Good Advice for Bill Gates about Curiosity

by dianerav

This post by Ysette Guevara offers good advice to Bill Gates about curiosity–how it begins, how it grows, how it can be stifled, and why it matters.
Bill recently said in an interview that few children are curious and self-motivated. This blogger was taken aback by Bill’s meager understanding of children and education. Given his background in technology, it is easy to see 

The Witch Doctor Curriculum in Louisiana

by dianerav

Crazy Crawfish explains why the Louisiana legislature decided not to repeal its “Science Education Act,” which permits the teaching of New Earth Creationism in public school science classes. It seems that a member of the legislature was healed by a witch doctor so he blocked efforts to repeal the law.
As Crazy Crawfish points out, it’s not all bad:
“Well, on the plus side, at least now Louisiana can start teaching kids how to be certified witch doctors early on in their public school careers. Since none of ouy kids will understand real biology that might be the best we can 

Sharp Decline in Number Entering Teaching in California

by dianerav

The corporate reform movement has been bashing teachers and public education without let-up for the past several years. The bashing became super-charged after the introduction of Race to the Top in 2009, because it explicitly blames teachers for low test scores despite evidence to the contrary.
The “reformers” claim they want “great teachers” in every classroom, and the way to do it is to fire teachers whose students get low scores, to close schools with low scores, and to deny teachers the right to due process. This is their formula, and they are sticking to it even though no other nation in the world has launched a vendetta 

Diane in the Evening 5-2-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 4 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: The Mess That Is Obama’s Education Policy by dianerav Valerie Strauss does an excellent job of deconstructing the disaster of Obama’s education policy. Remember when candidate Obama in 2008 spoke of hope and change. That kicked many educators to believe that NonChild Left Behind would be ended, tossed into the dustbin of history, where it belongs. Sadly, President Obama built his Race to the Tip right on the flawed foundation of NCLB, and made teaching to the test a necessity. As the for-profit charters prolife... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: School closings: What's $122 million among friends?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: School closings: What's $122 million among friends?:

School closings: What's $122 million among friends?

by Mike Klonsky

Wait! I thought closing 54 schools, mainly in Chicago black community was supposed to save CPS $560 million in "avoided costs" over 10 years (the figure they gave ABC News was $600 million).Of course, I never believed any of that. But that's because I never believe anything coming from Rahm's liar-in-chief, Becky Carroll or school-closing 'crat Todd Babbitz. They were born to lie. 

But now, WBEZ has given me one more reason to disbelieve. When they and Chicago Magazine  began questioning CPS about the numbers, the numbers suddenly changed. CPS now claims the number is $438 million.

Where did the other $122 million go? Rahm's people say they made an “honest mistake” when adding numbers.