Poverty and student achievement: Are we comparing the wrong groups?:

Poverty and student achievement: Are we comparing the wrong groups?

Posted by Valerie Strauss on May 9, 2013 at 5:00 am

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 Earlier this week I published a piece by UCLA Professor and author Mike Rose titled, “Leave No Unwealthy Child Behind,” in which he discusses how economic inequality is reflected in educational achievement. Here’s a response from Robert Bligh, former general counsel  of the Nebraska Association of School Boards. Bligh’s research interest involves the efficacy of the school reform efforts promoted by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act since its original adoption in 1965. He served as assistant professor at Doane College and was editor and publisher of the Nebraska School Law Reporter.

By Robert Bligh

I write in response to UCLA Professor. Mike Rose’s “Leave No Unwealthy Child Behind” that was published on “The Answer Sheet.” I want to suggest a somewhat broader view of the problem. No rational person can question the overwhelming relationship between a 

Colleges, universities tighten security for graduation ceremonies

by Valerie Strauss

The Massachusetts university where one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects attended is restricting the number of people who can attend this weekend’s graduation ceremonies as colleges and universities around the country tighten security for commencement in reaction to the … Continue reading →

School district closes before academic year is over

by Valerie Strauss

The tiny Buena Vista School District in Michigan has laid off all but three staffers and is closing down now because it says it can’t afford to operate for the rest of the school year.  Though teachers in the  three-school …Continue reading →

Louisiana Educator: White Still Muddying up the Narrative

Louisiana Educator: White Still Muddying up the Narrative:

White Still Muddying up the Narrative

by Michael Deshotels

On Oct 22 and Oct 25 of 2012, I wrote two posts for this blog about the "adjustment" of VAM by Supeintendent White to accommodate a select group of teachers as South Highlands Elementary, a highly selective magnet school in Shreveport. I pointed out at the time that this rush to fix the VAM for just a few teachers was a purely political maneuver to "take care" of one of Jindal's friends in the legislature.

What I did not have at the time has now been supplied by investigative "genius reporter", Tom Aswell with this recent article in the Louisiana Voice. He has published an actual transcript of conversations between White and Rep. Seabaugh and a State DOE employee where they collectively scheme to fix the VAM just for those teachers!

Here is the most damning part of the conversation between Seabaugh and White:

White expressed exasperation at being a go-between. “There’s a disconnect,” he said. “To be honest, I’m a messenger between you, Chas (BESE President Chas Roemer) and the board. All the while, the 

Education is a Common Good: There Should Be No Losers | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Education is a Common Good: There Should Be No Losers | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Education is a Common Good: There Should Be No Losers

by Tarsi Dunlop

While we live in a market-driven economy, where winning and wealth accumulation are desired outcomes, education advocates on all sides of the political aisle currently assert that public schools are failing our children, especially minorities and low-income students.  Education is a common good; it is the stepping-stone through which students can make something better of their futures. Therefore, we should not be setting up a system to create winners and losers.

Given the reality that we should be educating all children, it may surprise the uninformed observer that the market-based approach is alive and well in the education field – driving a set of reforms that is slowly eroding our public school system and creating an even wider and more troubling achievement gap; ensuring that more affluent students have access to better schools and more resources, while low-income students receive a second-class education. Last week 

Missouri Education Watchdog: More Reports on DESE Common Core Meetings

Missouri Education Watchdog: More Reports on DESE Common Core Meetings:

More Reports on DESE Common Core Meetings

by stlgretchen

Whether or not you agree that people are paranoid about what Common Core will bring to Missouri, it is evident and irrefutable that the meetings were to be facilitated in the same manner.  They were scripted and questions were not answered.

Why would citizens take their time to attend meetings for information they could gather from DESE's website?  Do you think citizens would take their time to attend a meeting if they knew none of their questions would be answered? 

Please sign the witness form for SB210 to be heard in the House on Thursday, May 9.  This bill would 

Privatizing Education in China The Politics eZine – Privatization | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News

Privatizing Education in China The Politics eZine – Privatization | DailyCensored.com - Breaking Censored News, World, Independent, Liberal News:

Privatizing Education in China The Politics eZine – Privatization

by Danny Weil

In this article Samuel Mao tracks the growth of neo-liberal education in China.  Since this time, the criminal syndicate and blood bank for the Washington Post, Kaplan University has made inroads into the country (http://www.kaplan.com/our-programs/higher-education/university-preparation-programs/asia/kaplan-china.aspx) (http://www.kaplanchina.com.cn/).

Kaplan University, as readers know, is one of the largest on-line educational rip-offs in the US and England and it is responsible for putting students into debt purgatory by commodifying and selling  phony degrees that can never be utilized.   This is all possible under no-liberalism, of course.

Owner of the major restrictive voting shares of the Washington Post (the mother organization of Kaplan University and Kaplan Higher Education), Donald Graham, has been the subject of both False Claim suits by the government, accusations of insider trading for his and his families own benefit, huge pay-offs to corporate CEO’s, vaporized college courses, unlicensed radiology and SurgTech programs for 

Daily Kos: "The rebranding of the Republican Party is to a large degree the renaming of intolerance."

Daily Kos: "The rebranding of the Republican Party is to a large degree the renaming of intolerance.":

"The rebranding of the Republican Party is to a large degree the renaming of intolerance."

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

That is the final line of a brilliant column by Charles M. Blow that I discuss in Charles M. Blow gets it right, which because of that very unsexy title is apparently not drawing eyeballs.
This diary points at that.
That diary explores the Blow column and then points you at it.
The KEY thing is, read his column.
PEACE

Charles M. Blow gets it right

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

in a column titled Terms of Art he starts with this biting paragraph:

Many on the political right simply can’t get this diversity thing right — and I deeply doubt that they want to. Theirs is a bone-deep contempt for otherness, a congenital belief in the superiority-inferiority binary, a circle-the-wagons, zero-sum view of progress, prosperity and power.

That one paragraph is so richbone-deep contempt for otherness by itself is worthy -  think of the hashtagging we could do with that!
the zero-sum view of progress, prosperity and power helps us understand why they react so viscerally to any kind of social program to help the less well-off: they consider it as a theft from themselves.
This column has so much more.
I will let you read what he has to say about the now infamous Mr. Richwine, whose bloviations for Heritage Foundation on immigration are the proximate occasion for this particular column.
Blow notes of one phrase that has become infamous

Skill-based. Clever. Or Machiavellian.

He places this in proper context with Romney's "47%,"  John Sununu's attempts to portray Obama as not really American, Paul Ryan blaming the vote in "urban areas" for the Republican 2012 presidential fail, and additional examples from Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, even going back to Reagan and welfare queens, and the first Bush and Atwater using Willie Horton, before writing

But I think you get the picture.The right is constantly invoking class and race as cudgels in our political discussions; they just hide the hand that swings the club.

Ouch!  In more ways than one.There is only one sentence left, and this is an absolute gem:

The rebranding of the Republican Party is to a large degree the renaming of intolerance.

Read the column.Pass it on.
And remember:  The rebranding of the Republican Party is to a large degree the renaming of intolerance.

SI&A Cabinet Report – SBE challenges school accountability measurement, looks for options

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

SBE challenges school accountability measurement, looks for options

By Kimberly Beltran
Thursday, May 09, 2013

California’s State Board of Education raised some major red flags Wednesday over changes being considered to the state’s K-12 school accountability system, leaving in question the next steps for updating the system.

Mike Kirst, board president, even questioned whether a revised API could continue to serve as a viable measuring tool.

“In baseball, you have a batting average, you have a runs-batted-in average, you have an on-base percentage and other measures and you don’t put them all together and say this is the performance index of the hitter – they’re separate things,” Kirst said. “I think we get in trouble when we start mixing apples and oranges and bananas, throw them into a blender and get a single number.”

Kirst’s comments came during an update from California Department of Education staff on its progress to add student growth indicators, other than test scores, to the Academic Performance Index – as required under legislation passed last year. CDE staff is guiding the work in conjunction with a panel of education experts convened to recommend to 

New student testing would use machines for most of the scoring

The Legislature remains undecided about if and when to move to a new testing system based on the common core standards but the new assessments mostly likely to be used are expected to have about 75 percent of the test items machine scored – including a fair number of reading and writing elements.

Jersey Jazzman: What's In a Name? Only Jeb! Bush Knows.

Jersey Jazzman: What's In a Name? Only Jeb! Bush Knows.:

What's In a Name? Only Jeb! Bush Knows.

by Duke

Hanna Skandera is now the head chief of Jeb Bush!'s reformy group, Chiefs For Change. And she's decided to celeberate by snatching up a title that was not conferred on her by law:

Hanna Skandera, one of most controversial figures in state government, has given herself a new title. 

Even without the New Mexico Senate's vote of approval, Skandera is calling herself secretary of public education. 

It would seem a not-so-subtle dig at a Democrat in the Senate who waited two years to schedule Skandera's confirmation hearing, then never held a vote on it. 

Now, publicists in Republican Gov. Susana Martinez's administration and Skandera herself have 

A Hockey Game Breaks Out at PS 154 in the Bronx.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

A Hockey Game Breaks Out at PS 154 in the Bronx

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

We here at SBSB are admitted Trekkies. We have also had a chill go down our collective spines when either Captain Kirk or Captain Picard always take the ultimate responsibility for the actions and decisions of not only their crews, but the second in commands as well.

And that is how it should always be. Just like the Skipper and Gilligan, Ricochet Rabbit and Droop-Along, Sheriff Taylor and Deputy Fife, Gomer and Goober, the Captain and Tennille, Steve Douglas and Uncle Charlie, Colonel Blake and Major Burns, Han Solo and Chewbacca, etc... Get the point?

So should the same theory not be in place in our schools?

Yesterday, was like any other day at PS 154. Out of control as usual. A student that has the run of the school, who we have mentioned under one pseudonym or another on these pages, but for today we will address as Yankel 

The Campaign for College Opportunity :: Working Hard, Left Behind

The Campaign for College Opportunity :: Working Hard, Left Behind:

Working Hard, Left Behind

Education as a pathway from poverty to prosperity for working Californians

Working Hard, Left Behind: Education as a pathway from poverty to prosperity is a new report commissioned by The Campaign for College Opportunity, in partnership with the Women’s Foundation of California and Working Poor Families project.  The report details the economic state of California’s low-income adults and finds that low educational attainment is the one common characteristic of the working poor. 

The report calls this inequity both a social justice and economic imperative. Economic security should not be out of reach for people who are working hard when higher education can be a viable pathway from poverty to prosperity. But there must be a will for reform and investment in the state’s higher education system. If left unaddressed, the state’s future outlook is threatened. 

Download any of the following documents related to the report:

 Full Report   Executive Summary   Infographic   Download Social Media Toolkit 

  Webinar PowerPoint 

The economic state of California's low-income families:

• 1 in 3 of the 4 million working families in California are considered low-income
• Of the 1.87 million low-income families in the state, 73% are a part of the labor force.

• Nearly half are without a high school diploma or GED.

• 60% have no postsecondary education.

• 40% of all children under the age of 18 in California, are in working low-income families.

The pathway to prosperity:

The report considers the following policy and programmatic areas key to a comprehensive strategy to help struggling adults achieve economic prosperity. 

• Adult education and basic skills education

• Community college access and completion

• Federal funding, including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, Workforce Investment Act funds, and Pell Grants

• Financial aid for working adults or non-traditional students

• Student supports, including guidance counseling and orientation through college

• Child care

State working poor lack education opportunities, report says - latimes.com

State working poor lack education opportunities, report says - latimes.com:

State working poor lack education opportunities, report says

by By Carla Rivera

California has the highest number of working poor families in the nation, but the state does an ineffective  job of providing educational opportunities to boost them out of poverty, according to a new report released Wednesday.

The report, Working Hard, Left Behind, found that the state has the largest number of adults without a high school diploma or equivalent and ranks last among states in the percentage of low-income working families in which neither parent has a college education.

And although the state’s older population is among the most well-educated in the nation, younger adults are losing ground, with those ages 25 to 34 ranking 25th among their peers in other states in obtaining a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The report was produced by the nonprofit Campaign for College Opportunity and the Women’s Foundation of California and is based on 2011 U.S. census data.

“What’s really disturbing to see is how many working poor families there are in California and that it’s more than we have imagined,” said Michele Siqueiros, executive director of the college 

Everybody has dreams. I’m asking you to make a donation. | Fred Klonsky

Everybody has dreams. I’m asking you to make a donation. | Fred Klonsky:

Everybody has dreams. I’m asking you to make a donation.

by Fred Klonsky

You rarely have seen me ask for money.

 Once in a while like when a massive human disaster strikes I will do what others do and link to sites where money can be sent.

But today I’m asking you to consider making a donation to The International Dreamers Scholarship Fund.

Take a minute and read about it. 

If you can see your way clear to contribute, that would be a good thing.

Everybody has dreams.  Some people work hard and make their dreams come true.  Other people work hard and through no fault of their own their dreams are crushed.  If you could, wouldn’t you help such a dreamer? By giving to the The International Dreamers Scholarship Fund, you can.

Many undocumented students are just such dreamers. They are young people who were brought to the United States as children without documentation. Now, after years of living here, they want to go to college.  But under federal law, undocumented youth are ineligible for state or federal financial aid.  At International High School at Prospect Heights (IHS@PH) we have seen many of our best and brightest students unable to reach their dream of a college education. Why? Without financial aid they simply can’t afford it.

A group of teachers, staff and friends of IHS@PH are pooling their resources and reaching out to our communities to raise $40,000 by June 1 so we can guarantee a scholarship to at least one worthy student and set the stage for a long-term fund that awards scholarships that make dreams of higher education a reality for high-achieving undocumented students every year.

Donate now to The International Dreamers Scholarship Fund, by going to the North Star Fund web-site, and designating the International Dreamers Scholarship Fund as the recipient of your gift.

The International Dreamers Scholarship Fund is a 501(c)(3) charity administered by the North Star Fund.

Elizabeth Warren: Student Loans Should Have Same Rate Big Banks Get:

Elizabeth Warren: Student Loans Should Have Same Rate Big Banks Get

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled her first bill Wednesday, designed to set student loan interest rates at the same level the Federal Reserve offers to big banks.

With some student loan rates set to double on July 1 -- from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent -- Warren's bill would reduce student loan interest rates to 0.75 percent, opening the Fed's discount window to students.

"Every single day, this country invests in big banks by lending them money at near-zero rates," Warren told The Huffington Post. "We should make the same kind of investment lending money to students, who are trying to get an education."

The freshman senator said she plans to mobilize students -- those most affected by student loans -- to help get the bill through the Senate. "This is about their lives and if they are active in this fight, we can make this change," Warren said.

The Fed justifies loaning money essentially for free to major banks so they can maintain liquidity during emergencies. But Warren noted that student loan debt also 

Jersey Jazzman: Charters = Wal-Mart

Jersey Jazzman: Charters = Wal-Mart:

Charters = Wal-Mart

by Duke

Laura Waters - a local school board president herself - does not want to give local boards veto power over charter schools expanding into their districts. To make her case, she badly mangles a metaphor:

Education Sector notes that school boards “are often hostile to charter schools, which compete with them for students, funds, and prestige,” adding that “state charter laws that allow only local school boards to authorize charters,” with no appeals process, “can result in very few charter schools in that state.” A cynic would say that this is Assemblyman Diegnan’s intention. After all, giving school boards sole authority to grant approval for new local charters is like giving Wal-Mart sole authority to grant approval for new local merchandisers. Taking it one step further -- consigning such approval to a local referendum -- is a political calculus, not an educational one. [emphasis mine]

Let's take a moment to appreciate how Waters has actually flipped the Wal-Mart analogy on its head. Because it's not local school boards that are most like the big box retailer; it's the charter schools.

There's a lot of controversy about the actual effect of Wal-Mart on a local economy, but there's little debate tha

Mapping billionaires and charter schools | Muckety - See the news

Wall Street Loves National Charter Schools Week (Big Profits)

Obama, defying political base, declares National Charter Schools Week | Strange Bedfellows — Politics News - seattlepi.com

Wall Street ♥ charter schools | Muckety - See the news

Buena Vista School District Closed For Third Day; Fired Teachers File For Unemployment

Buena Vista School District Closed For Third Day; Fired Teachers File For Unemployment:

Buena Vista School District Closed For Third Day; Fired Teachers File For Unemployment

by Joy Resmovits

The deathwatch over a tiny school district in Michigan continues as its schools remain closed.

Despite teachers' offers to work for free for at least a week, schools in the Buena Vista School District will remain closed for the third consecutive day Thursday because the district has run out of money. On Monday, the first day of Teacher Appreciation Week, the district laid off everyone except for three staffers, and has stopped paying health benefit claims.

On Wednesday, chaos continued to envelop Buena Vista, a 432-student impoverished, mostly black school district. The school board said it plans to declare a financial emergency. The state and county remained in contact, but still had no plans to help the district.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dan Kildee, a Democratic U.S. House of Representatives member whose district includes Buena Vista, begged the state to step in.

After a school board meeting Tuesday night left parents with more questions than answers, the district posted a series of questions and answers on its website. The district explained that it chose to lay off the teachers 

The school model that's good enough for President Obama and Mayor Emanuel | Ben Joravsky on Politics | Chicago Reader

The school model that's good enough for President Obama and Mayor Emanuel | Ben Joravsky on Politics | Chicago Reader:

The school model that's good enough for President Obama and Mayor Emanuel 

The prestigious University of Chicago Lab Schools respect and reward teachers—so why can't the public schools?

By Ben Joravsky @joravben

University of Chicago Lab Schools parent Barack Obama, graduate Arne Duncan, and parent Rahm Emanuel

AP PHOTO/CHARLES DHARAPAK; AP PHOTO/JACQUELYN MARTIN; AP PHOTO/M. SPENCER GREEN

I recently got a call from a teacher at the University of Chicago Lab Schools who wanted to let me know just how many private school teachers detest the educational policies of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

He caught me off guard, because I'd assumed that people at the school would espouse the get-tough-on-teachers mentality of Mayor Emanuel and his predecessor, Mayor Daley, since both mayors sent their kids there. Not to mention Arne Duncan, President Obama's education secretary, who went to Lab. Or, while we're at it, President Obama, whose kids also attended the school.

But no—it turns out that Lab has a progressive and tolerant attitude toward its teaching staff.

Look, I don't blame any of these parents for sending their kids to Lab. It's one of the highest-achieving schools in the country, in part because it attracts and keeps a dedicated band of outstanding teachers.

And one of the ways the school does it? "We have a pretty good contract," the Lab teacher tells me.

As in a contract with a union—local 2063 of the American Federation of Teachers. The AFT is the same national to which the Chicago Teachers Union belongs.

I think we should pause to appreciate the irony that Mayor Emanuel sends his children to a unionized private school while working overtime to break the public school teachers' union in