Letter to District: For our dedication we are rewarded with this? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Letter to District: For our dedication we are rewarded with this? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Letter to District: For our dedication we are rewarded with this?

by thenotebook on Jun 10 2013 Posted in Latest news

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The School District sent out layoff notices to nearly 3,800 employees last week. The following letter, written to the District, comes from Harvey Scribner, a teacher at Crossroads Accelerated Academy who has been teaching in the District for over four years. He received his pink slip over the weekend. 

Good Morning Sir,

I received my notice Saturday. I got it early in the morning so it could stick in the back of my brain all weekend like a splinter in a finger. I got it on a weekend so I could not clarify any of the points or contact anyone who could, at the very least, let me know what the next steps are. I lost sleep, got sick, and generally let it sink in.

The letter mentions to let someone at the School District of Philadelphia know if you are a veteran. I served honorably for 21 years in the PA National Guard and have deployed twice in service to my country. I am honorably discharged and hold the status of retiree from the army. I also have a rated Disability for Service Connected Injuries. I successfully completed the Troops to Teachers Program and I have been teaching in the District since January of 2009. I started at University City High School, stayed through the change to a Promise Academy, was forced out due to seniority last year, and was site-selected to teach at Crossroads Accelerated Academy at Elverson for this school year. As you know, this is an alternative education school providing critical intervention to students in the Philadelphia School District. 

Daily Kos: Please read one paragraph:

Daily Kos: Please read one paragraph::

Please read one paragraph:

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Let's assume, for the sake of argument, that everything the government has implied about Awlaki is true: He was essentially a general or leading strategist for al-Qaida, and he got what he deserved. But his momentous passage from suburban Virginia to a Shi'ite militant stronghold in northern Yemen, from American to enemy combatant, illustrates what has gone wrong in the entire misguided "war on terror," which is pretty much everything. Nearly everything we have done in the name of fighting terrorism since 2001 has blown back in our faces like piss on a windy beach, turning those who should be allies into enemies and making the whole problem immeasurably worse. We can certainly point fingers at two presidents, a spineless and dysfunctional legislature, and a secretive national-security apparatus free from any significant oversight. But Obama is basically right: We decided to give the government unlimited power - or, at least, didn't decide not to - so we don't get to act shocked when they decide to use it. You pays your money and you takes your chance.

Those words were written by Andrew O'Hehir in Salon.  I read them here at Reader Supported News.Or maybe we only need this sentence: Nearly everything we have done in the name of fighting terrorism since 2001 has blown back in our faces like piss on a windy beach, turning those who should be allies 

Diane in the Evening 6-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

The End of Public Education in Philadelphia?

by dianerav

Will Bunch, Philadelphia journalist, reports rumors that state officials may be planning to privatize all of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia schools tried privatization a decade ago and it didn’t work. But this seems to be the cheapest way to get rid of the Philly problem instead of giving the kids and schools what they need.

Common. Core: Skepticism in the New York Times

by dianerav

Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus wrote an interesting article about the Common Core in Sunday’s New York Times. They don’t usually write about K-12 education, so their perspective is different from that of educators who complain about the speed and secrecy with which th standards became national.
A few tidbits:
“It is the uniformity of the exams and the skills ostensibly linked to them that appeal to the Core’s supporters, like Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Bill and Melinda Gates. They believe that tougher standards, and eventually higher standardized test scores, will make America more competitive in the global brain race. “If we’ve encouraged anything from Washington, it’s for states to set a high bar for what students should know to be able 

New York Advocacy Groups Post Petition to Remove John King

by dianerav

Advocacy groups have posted a petition on change.org calling for the removal of John King as state commissioner.
Parents and educators reject King’s blind faith in high-stakes testing and his determination to evaluate educators based on test scores, despite the absence of evidence for this approach and the certain negative consequences.

The Néw High School: Deja Vu All Over Again

by dianerav

Arne Duncan announced that he plans to hold a national competition for a redesign of the high school. He wants to dangle $300 million (if Congress agrees) for those who come up with the best redesign of the American high school. He is thinking STEM, technology, and other such big ideas.
As I read of this idea, I couldn’t help but remember back to 1991 when the first President Bush assembled smart people like Lamar Alexander as secretary and David Kearns (CEO of Xerox) as deputy secretary. David Kearns created a national competition to design the school of the future. The prize was $50 million (raised in the private 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-10-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

mike simpson at Big Education Ape - 1 hour ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Camins: Two Roads Diverged in a Wood….. by dianerav “Two roads diverged in a wood,” begins one of Robert Frost’s most famous poems. Arthur Camins wrote in 2011 about the fateful choice confronting American education. In 2011, he wrote: “U.S. education is at a transformational moment. The choices we make will determine whether our schools become collaborative and democratic or prescriptive and authoritarian. The policies proposed by the federal government for ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: Video of Saturday's One Voice United Rally for Public Education

NYC Public School Parents: Video of Saturday's One Voice United Rally for Public Education:

Video of Saturday's One Voice United Rally for Public Education

by Leonie Haimson

Video below of the Saturday's huge rally, One Voice  United in Albany.  Highlights: Randi Weingarten at 56 minutes in; Michael Mulgrew at 1:08; student leader Nikhil Goyal at 1: 29.

At 1:35, Tom Chapin and Michael Mark perform their great song, "It's Not on the Test," along with a new song they wrote for the occasion, "One Voice."  (Tom Chapin went to PS 41 in Greenwich Village and Brooklyn Tech; Mark is on his 6th term of the Nyack school board.).

John Nichols of The Nation's gave the keynote address at 2:10; my speech is at 2:30.  Please add your favorites below.

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CTU President Karen Lewis issues statement on CPS’s new “five-year action plan” Chicago Teachers Union | www.ctunet.com

Chicago Teachers Union | www.ctunet.com:

CTU President Karen Lewis issues statement on CPS’s new “five-year action plan”

CHICAGO –Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis released the following statement regarding today’s announcement by the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on its proposed five-year action plan:

“Our schools communities do not lack inspiration, they lack revenue.  It doesn’t matter what new initiatives CPS concocts from year to year if it has no way to appropriately fund them (i.e., the longer school day). Chicago has to break its addiction to tax-breaks and find ways to generate revenue for our schools,” Lewis said. “This so-called five-year plan is once again done in the silo of CPS without any stakeholders at the table. It is still widely driven by testing and a complete lack of democracy.

“It is amazing that CPS’s first impulse, no matter who heads it, is towards an autocratic, top-down approach that people who actually work with kids are expected to implement without the appropriate resources or tools,” she continued. “When will CPS understand that having a ‘plan’ that never includes the voices of parents, students, CPS workers, and a realistic blueprint on how to generate revenue will continue to foster mistrust, alienation and lowered expectations, especially after the tragic closing of 50 schools?”

###

 The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve.  The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois.  For more information please visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com.

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UPDATE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Your Choice

Seattle Schools Community Forum: It's Your Choice:

Board Evaluation, Part Two

by Melissa Westbrook

Blogger is getting wonky so I will start a new thread on it.

Bob Ness, the Alliance's favorite facilitator, is leading the Board conversation on the findings.

What is the goal for this discussion?

Director Carr - commit directionally to some of the recommendations on slides 18 and 22.  (She does not want 

Board Evaluation Work Session

by Melissa Westbrook

I am going to attempt to do some live blogging from the Board's Work Session to evaluate their work.

I had wonder how this might go and I already see some unfamiliar faces sitting in the Board waiting area (they look like consultants) and the facilitiator, Bob Ness, that the Alliance likes to use.

Quite by coincidence (I'm sure), the Alliance released some study they did on "effective" school boards.   I only read the executive summary but didn't see anything particularly new or striking in the work.

The meeting starts in a few minutes so let's see how this goes.

It's Your Choice

from Seattle Schools Community Forum by Melissa Westbrook

Here's what inBloom - the "cloud" student data system that the Gates Foundation is setting up says about students:

Every student is an individual, with unique knowledge, abilities and learning needs. But the technology used in most K-12 schools today can make providing personalized instruction time-consuming and cumbersome for teachers.

Meanwhile, states, districts and educators implementing the Common Core State Standards have set new goals for student learning, and they need effective tools and resources to ensure students meet those goals.

Better, more integrated technology and data analytics can help by painting a more complete picture of student learning and making it easier to find learning materials that match each student’s learning needs. Unfortunately, 

NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE!!! Join students, parents, Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP) Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP)

(71) Hmong Innovating Politics (HIP):

Dear Parents, Teachers, and Community Members!

We are moving FORWARD! We NEED each and every one of you to come out to the press conference and rally to FIGHT to keep our neighborhood schools open. We will file the lawsuit tomorrow, June 11, 2013 in federal court and will hold a press conference and rally in front of the Sacramento Federal Courthouse (501 " I " Street, Sacramento, CA 95814) at 4pm. We NEED to continue to show the School Board Members, the Superintendent, and the Sacramento community that we stand in solidarity in support of our children and families impacted by the school closures.

This press conference will underscore the long-term detrimental impact of the closures on our most vulnerable population – our low-income students of color – and highlight the intentional discrimination and negligence of the Sacramento City Unified School District, particularly on the part of Superintendent Jonathan Raymond and Board Members Darrell Woo, Jeff Cuneo, Patrick Kennedy, and Jay Hansen. We CANNOT simply allow those in power at the school district to DISCRIMINATE against our children and VIOLATE their right to a just and equal public education.

Please join the plaintiffs of the lawsuit – children and parents, Joseph Bonnheim PTA, Maple PTO, and CB Wire PTA – Civil Rights Attorney Mark Merin and HIP (Hmong Innovating Politics) this TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 2013 AT 4PM at the SACRAMENTO FEDERAL COURTHOUSE (501 " I " Street, Sacramento, CA 95814) to support and fight for our students and families affected by the school district’s wrongful actions to violate our children’s constitutional rights!

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AND COME OUT TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE!

Again, thank you so much for your love and support. In solidarity, we can bring justice to our children.

Sincerely,

Hmong Innovating Politics

For more information, please contact Mai Yang Vang at 415.680.4881 or HIP at hmonginnovatingpolitics@gmail.com

Why They’ll Be at the June 12 Rally | Edwize

Why They’ll Be at the June 12 Rally | Edwize:

Why They’ll Be at the June 12 Rally

Jun. 10, 2013
12:08 pm
by W.J. Levay 
No Comments

Filed under:Labor

City employees including sanitation workers, college professors and teachers say how they contribute to the city and why they will be at the Fair Contracts for All Rally at City Hall Park at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 12. “New Yorkers all over need to hear that our unions are united and are fighting together for fair contracts,” says teacher Subrina Cek.

Black community celebrates the legacy of educator and activist Jitu Weusi Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

Black community celebrates the legacy of educator and activist Jitu Weusi

By NAYABA ARINDE Amsterdam News Editor 
Thursday, June 6, 2013 

How did the Black grassroots Nationalist Movement come out to honor Jitu Weusi? With abundance.

At a series of events for what activist and professor Sam Anderson called "one of our 1960s Renaissance Men," friends and supporters came from all over the tristate and as far as Philly.

"Educator, activist, Brother, Baba, friend, comrade and giant—made his transition into Eternal Life, joining his ancestors," said the family, adding, "Come out to honor, celebrate, and remember him!"

Weusi, formerly known as Leslie R. Campbell, was known to be a lover of three big things: his community (Diaspora), community control of focused education and, of course, jazz. The educator, activist, community leader, jazz lover, husband and father has gone, leaving a huge hole that only his tremendous frame could fill. Luckily, between all his work, the creation of the cultural phenomenon the East, and Uhuru Sasa, Weusi has left 

CTC set to weigh in on teacher misconduct bill SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

CTC set to weigh in on teacher misconduct bill
By Kimberly Beltran
Monday, June 10, 2013

AB 449 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, would rewrite the rules implementing  sanctions against school officials who fail to report changes in an employee’s work status while an allegation of misconduct is pending.

This week, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing – which serves as California’s standards board for educator training and professional conduct – will consider the bill and whether to take a position on it.

As currently proposed, the legislation does away with existing criminal penalties for a principal, teacher, employee or school officer who fails to make required reports to the state.

Instead, AB 449 adopts a more narrow criminal sanction for district or county superintendents or charter school administrators who fail to report to the CTC a certificated employee’s change in employment status while an allega

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Back from Portugal. Little has changed.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Back from Portugal. Little has changed.:

Back from Portugal. Little has changed.

by Mike Klonsky

Bacahlau

Well, vacationing in Portugal was nice but it's always great to be back home, sleeping in my own bed and getting back into the swing of things. Also, getting back to work. summer quarter starts next week and someone's got to pay for all that bacalhau and natas.

Glad to see nothing's changed much back home in the past week. Rahm's still the most hated man in town -- even the cops hate him.

Two dead and 17 wounded in weekend shootings. Rham will probably say we're behind last year's schedule and declare another victory in the war on gangs.

The machine still has both ends covered with corrupt union leaders like John Coli, who runs the Teamsters like a 

Shanker Blog » Relationship Counseling

Shanker Blog » Relationship Counseling:

Relationship Counseling

by Matthew Di Carlo

A correlation between two variables measures the strength of the linear relationship between them. Put simply, two variables are positively correlated to the extent that individuals with relatively high or low values on one measure tend to have relatively high or low values on the other, and negatively correlated to the extent that high values on one measure are associated with low values on the other.
Correlations are used frequently in the debate about teacher evaluations. For example, researchers might assess the relationship between classroom observations and value-added measures, which is one of the simpler ways to gather information about the “validity” of one or the other – i.e., whether it is telling us what we want to know. In this case, if teachers with higher observation scores also tend to get higher value-added scores, this might be interpreted as a sign that both are capturing, at least to some extent, “true” teacher performance.
Yet there seems to be a tendency among some advocates and policy makers to get a little overeager when interpreting correlations.
For instance, in education circles, you’ll sometimes hear that principal observations “predict” or “match up with” 

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, June 10, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

A.J. Duffy, still-feisty former teachers union chief, retires

Education Headlines

Monday, June 10, 2013

'Satellite' lunch program to grow

Thirty-one Fresno Unified elementary schools will soon replace their hot-meal programs with pre-packaged breakfasts and lunches, a plan the district says could save costs. Cafeteria workers argue the plan violates employee contracts.

San Juan superintendent seen as bully, reformer

Glynn Thompson's defenders say he is a change agent and that some administrators just didn't like that he was shaking things up, demanding that principals in the 47,000-student district get more involved in shaping classroom instruction. His critics, including former administrators, counter that Thompson is mean-spirited, a bully who unfairly retaliated against people who challenged his authority.

South County grand jury transcripts posted

U-T Watchdog presents here several volumes of grand jury transcripts from secret proceedings in November and December leading up to hundreds of corruption charges against 15 officials and contractors in South County school districts.

A.J. Duffy, still-feisty former teachers union chief, retires

His career in education ends after two years at Phoenix High, working with students who need a second chance. He said he could relate.

Castro Valley schools overpaid retired teachers with Medicare benefit

Some retired teachers were shocked this month to find that a Medicare benefit paid for by the school district for years was illegal.

Brentwood principal transferring to district office after handling of child abuse allegations is probed

A school principal whose handling of child abuse allegations was being investigated by the school district will be leaving her post and taking a job in the district office, the Brentwood school district said Saturday.

Frey: Elk Grove program brings stability, sense of normalcy to foster you

Shuffled from home to home and school to school, often with no one to turn to for guidance and support, foster youth can end up feeling isolated, alienated and without purpose. A simple but effective program at Elk Grove Unified is helping to restore a sense of normalcy and stability to the lives of foster students, allowing them to connect to their school and community.

Separating fact from fiction about Common Core education standards

A backlash against the Common Core educational standards for grade school has hit the radio talk shows and Internet blogs in recent weeks. But what are they, and what will they do?

Inglewood schools' slide steepens despite state takeover

Many in Inglewood thought the city's struggling school district had been handed a lifeline last year when the state Department of Education took the reins, hiring new leaders and infusing the school system with $55 million in emergency loans to get it back on track. But in the nine months since the state takeover, the district's slide has gotten worse.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Standard superintendent leaving for Panama-Buena Vista

The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District has tentatively chosen Standard School District Superintendent Kevin Silberberg to take over the position being vacated by retiring Superintendent Kip Hearron.

MORENO VALLEY: Residents challenge school board member’s appointment

A petition was filed to remove the Moreno Valley school board member appointed to replace Mike Rios. Residents are seeking to void the appointment of Gary Baugh and force an election. They have about 2,000 signatures and believe they need about 1,500.

Deputy Mayor Joan Sullivan named CEO of Partnership for LA Shools

Joan Sullivan, the education deputy to outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has been named CEO of the 22-campus Partnership for Los Angles Schools, officials said Wednesday.

Pawns of Industrialists and Financiers: Anti-Democracy Movement Gripping Education? | Cloaking Inequity

Pawns of Industrialists and Financiers: Anti-Democracy Movement Gripping Education? | Cloaking Inequity:

Pawns of Industrialists and Financiers: Anti-Democracy Movement Gripping Education?

Cloaking Inequity is back! I am now stateside from a hiatus to attend meetings at the Brazilian Senate in Brasilia. I am addicted to pão de queijo. A few photos from the signing of a new collaborative agreement Brazil and the University of Texas at Austin.

Speaking of the Senate… As young children, Americans are inculcated with an admiration of democracy— a “manifest destiny” to see democratic systems spread throughout the world. However, observing recent educational policy, it appears democracy is a good idea, except when it isn’t.

I started thinking about the anti-democratic forces invading public policy when I read an editorial published in a Michigan newspaper that argued that the power to elect U.S. Senators should given back to politicians in state legislatures— as originally stipulated in the Constitution.

This movement away from a direct democracy is in my view anti-democratic and worrisome. Why? A bit of history from the U.S. Senate Website. As you are probably well aware, the U.S. has not always directly elected Senators:

Voters have elected their senators in the privacy of the voting booth since 1913. The framers of the Constitution, however, did not intend senators to be elected in this way, and included in Article I, section 3, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the