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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Diane in the Evening 5-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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




Duncan: In Chicago, I Cut Testing by 50%

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy at a meeting with students in Hartford, Connecticut. The main topic was school security, but at one point a student asked what could be done to cut back on excessive testing.
This was the exchange:
“Student Justin Vega said he feels as if all the time and money spent on standardized testing has compromised 

A True Act of Courage and Integrity

I earlier posted about the 21 teachers who resigned their positions at Weigand Elementary School to protest the ouster of their principal Irma Cobian. That was 21 out of a teaching staff of 22.
Not one of them knows if he or she will have a job next year. Theirs was an act of courage and integrity. They

Parent Activist Says He Was Offered Money to Promote Trigger Law

A parent who supported Parent Revolution’s efforts to turn his school into a charter says the organization promised to pay him. He says he and other parent activists were sent around the country to promote the movie “Won’t Back Down,” which flopped at the box office. One parent leader in Adelanto was hired to work for the

Wondering About Ben Austin

Earlier today, I posted an article in the Los Angeles Times about Parent Revilution forcing the ouster of an excellent principal, Irma Cobian.
I keep thinking about it. I think about the way her staff admired and respected her, how 21 of 22 teachers requested a transfer when she was targeted by the phony Parent Revolution.
Ben Austin is loathsome. He ruined the life and career of a dedicated educator. She was devoted to the children

Were You Invited to This Cool Party?

No? Neither was I.
This was a soirée for the super-rich who support Eva Moskowitz’s charter schools. Those are the miracle schools that claim their students outperform the students in affluent Scarsdale.
Hedge fund manager Daniel S. Loeb was the honoree. He was surrounded by other hedge fund managers. They think they are Robin Hoods. They forget that the real Robin Hood stole from people like them.
Jeb Bush, Florida’s own Robin Hood was there. So was Merryl Tisch, chancellor of the New York Board of Regents. All celebrating Eva’s Success Academies. They are the very epitome of no-excuses, nonunion 


LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 5-25-13 

Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch's blog

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG 
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LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A UTLA Member Speaks Out About His Union’s Hypocrisy by dianerav This comment came from a member of UTLA: “I think we all can celebrate. that Monica Ratliff won that election. The efforts of many UTLA members helped in that effort, and may have played a major role in her election. “It is interesting though, to look at the article at utla.net about Monica’s victory–http://www.utla.net/ratliff “Here is a quote in it from UTLA president Warren Fletcher: “We are overjo... more »

The in box. NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel on Chicago’s school crisis. | Fred Klonsky

The in box. NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel on Chicago’s school crisis. | Fred Klonsky:

The in box. NEA’s Dennis Van Roekel on Chicago’s school crisis.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel.
For weeks now, teachers, parents and community leaders have been protesting Chicago Public Schools’ plan to close 50 schools in what will be the largest single wave of school closures in U.S. history.
The media coverage has been dramatic, but what you see in the eyes of educators who are so adamantly opposed to this plan is the same thing you see in the eyes of educators all across this nation — the innate instinct to protect the children we care about.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to shutter 50 (yes, 50) schools won’t be good for Chicago’s children, especially children of color. The New York Times reports that “in the 100 schools that have closed in Chicago since 2001, 88 percent of the students affected were black.”
Not only is there evidence that all class sizes in the city will increase — some by as much as 40 percent — but 

GRADUATION DECORUM | Teachers Fight Back

GRADUATION DECORUM | Teachers Fight Back:

GRADUATION DECORUM

There seems to be a new movement to end all the raucous behavior at school graduations.  It seems people might finally be fed up with the hooting and hollering from the audience when names are read.  This ridiculous behavior has been going on for years now and rarely has anyone had the nerve to stop the boorish behavior. Just like all other forms of school related discipline, this problem could be handled very simply if school administrators weren’t so afraid to offend anyone, especially parents.
Many years ago at my son’s graduation, the no-nonsense principal of his school became an instant fan of mine.  At the graduation ceremony, several shouts could be heard from the audience after the reading of the very first name on the graduation list. Immediately the principal ran on stage, grabbed the microphone and stated the following; “ladies and gentlemen, please remain silent during the awarding of diplomas. You may applaud once 

Teacher: Walk in My Shoes Before You Criticize | Diane Ravitch's blog

Teacher: Walk in My Shoes Before You Criticize | Diane Ravitch's blog:

Teacher: Walk in My Shoes Before You Criticize

 Enough! She is responding to Lisa Myer’s “A Teacher’s Letter to America.” By the way, that post went viral. It has been read by more than 30,000 people on this site alone and posted on Facebook more than 10,000 times.
Whenever an article appears about schools or teaching, the comments that follow are often rants against both. Whence comes this rage? Why do so many people blame their teachers for whatever ails them? It doesn’t help that Race to the Top pushes the idea that teachers–not students–are the sole source of students’ test scores. If you don’t like the quality of schools, blame the teachers, not those in charge who control the resources.
This teacher says, as should we all, Enough! She is responding to Lisa Myer’s “A Teacher’s Letter to America.” By the way, that post went viral. It has been read by more than 30,000 people on this site alone and posted on Facebook more than 10,000 times.
“Lisa, I thought your post was very well written and certainly expressed how I’ve been feeling after 29 years of teaching. After reading many of the comments responding to your post, I find it very interesting that people who

Parent Revolution Forces Out Excellent Principal

The billionaire-funded Parent Revolution flexed its muscle and got enough parent signatures to force theresignation of a highly effective principal.
Please read the story.
This is the principal who was ousted by Parent Revolution:
“Third-grade teacher Kate Lewis said Irma Cobian is the best principal she’s had in nine years at Weigand Avenue Elementary School in Watts.
“Joseph Shamel called Cobian a “godsend” who has used her mastery of special education to show him how to

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH ALL WEEK LONG Diane Ravitch's blog 5-25-13 

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Diane Ravitch's blog

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LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 5-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] A UTLA Member Speaks Out About His Union’s Hypocrisy by dianerav This comment came from a member of UTLA: “I think we all can celebrate. that Monica Ratliff won that election. The efforts of many UTLA members helped in that effort, and may have played a major role in her election. “It is interesting though, to look at the article at utla.net about Monica’s victory–http://www.utla.net/ratliff “Here is a quote in it from UTLA president Warren Fletcher: “We are overjo... more »

Dogs for Excellence | EduShyster

Dogs for Excellence | EduShyster:

Dogs for Excellence

The fortune that billionaire heiress Leona Helmsley left to the dogs is now funding education reform groups.
When last we encountered billionaire hotel heiress Leona Helmsley, she had ascended to the great hotel in the sky, leaving $12 million to her beloved Maltese, Trouble. In fact Helmsely loved dogs so much that she left the bulk of her for fortune, now valued at between $5-$8 billion to the care and welfare of dogs. So you might be surprised to learn that these days Mrs. Helmsley’s vast fortune isn’t going to pamper pooches at all but to—drum roll please—reform our education system. That’s right Toto. You’re on your own while the Leona M. and Harry B. Charitable Trust writes checks to the tune of millions to groups like the Stand for Children Leadership 

Louisiana voucher students score almost 30 points below average on LEAP tests | NOLA.com

Louisiana voucher students score almost 30 points below average on LEAP tests | NOLA.com:

Louisiana voucher students score almost 30 points below average on LEAP tests
upperroom_bible_church_academy_vouchers.jpg
Voucher students at the Upperroom Bible Church Academy in November 2008. The school is prohibited from accepting new students in fall 2013 due to its current students' low performance on standardized tests. (Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)


As Gov. Bobby Jindal tries again to fund his controversial school voucher program, new test scores indicate that many of the current students educated with public money in private schools are not thriving. Or at least they aren't yet.
Released Wednesday, LEAP scores for third- through eighth-graders show only 40 percent of voucher students scored at or above grade level this past spring. The state average for all students was 69 percent.
For accountability purposes, students attending private schools at taxpayer expense take the same standardized tests as their peers in public schools. In 2011, when the voucher program operated only in New Orleans, students averaged 33 percent proficiency.
Now seven schools in Jefferson and Orleans parishes have results so low -- less than 25 

LATEST VOUCHERS NEWS

Why Minnesota governor vetoed Teach For America funding

Why Minnesota governor vetoed Teach For America funding:


Why Minnesota governor vetoed Teach For America funding


Gov. Mark Dayton ( By MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel)
Gov. Mark Dayton ( By MPR Photo/Nikki Tundel)
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton just vetoed a line item inserted into the state’s higher education legislation that would have given $1.5 million to Teach For America over two years. This is what he said in an explanatory letter to the legislature:
Teach for America (TFA) is a well-established, national program with revenues totaling $270 million for fiscal Year 2011 (its most recent annual report). With total  expenses of $219 million, TFA’s net assets increased by over  $50 million and now total over $350 million. With those financial resources available, it is not clear why a $1.5 million grant from the State of Minnesota is required to continue or expand the organization’s work here.
That’s a good question, and it should be put to the states that support the program; there are or soon will be about 15, the Star Tribune reported.
Dayton was a teacher and social worker before he entered politics, so it may be that he has some insight into why so many teachers and education activists object to Teach For 

Physical education should be a ‘core’ subject: Institute of Medicine

educatingA new report by the prestigious Institute of Medicine says that the U.S. Education Department should designate physical education as a core subject, just like math and English, to help confront a “pandemic” of physical inactivity that has contributed to a critical national health challenge.
The report, titled “Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School,” says that even though quality physical education has been shown to be beneficial to students, it has become increasingly difficult for schools to provide it. The authors cite as obstacles budget cuts — which have resulted in teacher layoffs and a lack of equipment and other resources — as well as policy pressures that have led schools to increase classroom time for standardized test preparation.
Nearly half (44 percent) of school administrators report cutting significant amounts of time from physical education, arts, and recess to increase time in reading and mathematics since passage of the No Child Left Behind legislation in 2001. These challenges have been cited as the reasons why the percentage of schools offering physical education daily or at least 3 days each week declined dramatically in U.S. 

Piden que FBI investigue incendio en la guardería ABC - Univision Noticias

Piden que FBI investigue incendio en la guardería ABC - Univision Noticias:


Piden que FBI investigue incendio en la guardería ABC


A cuatro años del incendio que afectó la guardería ABC en el estado de Sonora, donde fallecieron 49 niños y otros 70 sufrieron heridas, los padres de las víctimas buscarán que sea el Buró Federal de Investigaciones (FBI) el que investigue el caso y una corte federal de EEUU emita un fallo contra los responsables, según indicó el periódico El Norte en su edición digital.
Esto debido a que dos de los menores que resultaron lesionados tienen doble nacionalidad, mexicana y estadounidense, por lo que el grupo Manos Unidas radicará en los próximos días una demanda en una corte federal de Estados Unidos, donde pondrán a disposición del FBI todo el expediente que tienen ya las autoridades mexicanas y que aún no han resuelto, indicó el representante legal de dicho grupo, Gabriel Alvarado Serrano.
"De un momento a otro se va a abrir un caso en una corte federal de Estados Unidos por algunos niños méxico-americanos que nacieron allá y como aquí todavía no se responde por sus lesiones, entonces ya el FBI tendrá conocimiento de todo el expediente del caso de los niños que sufrieron quemaduras", explicó Alvarado Serrano.
"Se va a abrir una investigación, se le va a dar un seguimiento completo a todo lo que ya existía, tanto por niños lesionados como por niños fallecidos, y las nuevas revelaciones que se han encontrado, de todo va a tener


Más en Univision.com: http://noticias.univision.com/mexico/noticias/article/2013-05-24/incendio-guarderia-abc-investigacion-fbi#ixzz2UJp2IwW4




FBI asked to investigate fire at the ABC child care


ABC Nursery, count tragedy
Manos Unidas group filed in the coming days a lawsuit in U.S. federal court.
- NOTIMEX

VIDEO:  ABC Childcare Parents demand justice - Univision
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VIDEO:  Investigation after fire at nursery - Univision
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VIDEO:  Parents of victims of kindergarten ABC dete ... - Univision
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VIDEO:  The testimony of ABC daycare ... - Univision.com
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Four years after the fire that damaged the ABC daycare in the state of Sonora, which killed 49 children and another 70 were injured, the parents of the victims seek to be the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate the case and a court U.S. federal enter a judgment against those responsible, said the newspaper El Norte in its online edition.
This is because two of the children who were injured have dual nationality, Mexican and American, so the group Manos filed in the coming days a lawsuit in U.S. federal court, where FBI made available to the entire record that Mexican authorities already have and have not yet been resolved, according to the legal representative of the group, Gabriel Alvarado Serrano.
"From one moment to another is going to open a case in a U.S. federal court by some Mexico-American children were born there and as I have still not answered for their injuries, and the FBI will then knowledge of the entire record For children who suffered burns, "said Alvarado Serrano.
"It will open an investigation, you are going to give a


Más en Univision.com: http://noticias.univision.com/mexico/noticias/article/2013-05-24/incendio-guarderia-abc-investigacion-fbi#ixzz2UJotI2NN


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Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky

Saturday coffee. | Fred Klonsky:

Saturday coffee.

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This morning Chicago is gray with a damp chill.
Rain? Maybe.
A year ago on Memorial Day weekend it was Chicago hot and muggy.
We were throwing a retirement bash at the Mike James and Katy Hogan’s Red Line Tap. 
Great party.
The kids came in from Brooklyn.
A couple hundred of my dearest and closest friends showed up.
Even a couple of former administrators dropped by.
Hummus and turkey sliders flowed like wine.
Wine flowed like wine.
Matt Farmer and Steve Doyle played a couple of sets of rock and roll. I got to sing backup to their version of The Weight.
And my colleagues in the Carpenter Ukulele Society performed a set as well.