Diane in the Evening 6-19-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

G.F. Brandenburg Transcribes Gary’s Wit

by dianerav

I am still waiting for Gary Rubinstein to post his brilliant and funny speech last night at the Skinny awards in Néw York City. These awards are conferred by Class Size Matters, the city’s leading voice for public education.
Fortunately, that great blogger G. F. Brandenburg transcribed Gary’s remarks here.
It is, as you will see, a hilarious riff on corporate reform rhetoric. The audience loved it. He hit the target.
Blogger Alexander Russo interpreted Gary’s remarks to mean that bloggers are the charter schools of the media. So he tweeted. But there is a big difference. The mainstream media, which Gary satirizes, are not

An Amazing Website: Teachers’ Letters to Bill Gates

by dianerav

This is an astonishingly moving and candid website where teachers write a personal letter to Bill Gates, explaining how his ideas and policies have influenced their lives and classrooms.
Add your own experience if Bill Gates has changed your life too.

Publisher Is Not a Funder of Pro-Voucher PennCAN

by dianerav

Here is a correction I just received.
Please read the article, especially the correction at the end, which says:
Correction: We initially reported that Robert J. Hall, publisher at Interstate General Media, parent company of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, and Philly.com, was a PennCAN funder. The PennCAN funder appears to be a different Robert. J. Hall. We apologize for the error.

Breaking News: Secret Penn. Poll funded by Pro-Voucher Group PennCAN

by dianerav

An earlier post described a secret GOP poll that acknowledges Governor Corbett’s weakness and recommends that he could gain popularity by attacking the Philadelphia teachers’ union. The strategy is that he can portray himself as a “leader” and “reformer” trying to solve the Philadelphia fiscal disaster by blaming the union.
New documents

Secret Poll Urges Pa. Governor to Attack Philly Union to Improve His Image

by dianerav

A secret poll conducted on behalf of the Pennsylvania Republican Party found that Governor Tom Corbett is highly unpopular and likely to lose to his Democratic challenger.
Corbett’s biggest vulnerability is on education issues, which voters of both parties consider important. The poll recommends that the governor can improve his image on education issues by attacking the teachers’ unions.
Sixty-three percent of voters across the state disapprove of Corbett’s handling of education issues.
Most voters recognize that the problems of Philadelphia’s schools cannot be solved by Philadelphia alone.

Latest News from the National Alliance for Charter Schools

by dianerav

I thought readers might be interested in reading the latest update from the National Alliance from Public Charter Schools. As you will see, they are about to have a big national conference. The newsletter comes from Nina Rees. Nina has a long history as a reformer: she worked as a domestic policy advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney where she was involved in crafting No Child Left Behind and worked in the U.S. Department of Education during George W. Bush’s administration.
Dear Friends,
With June marking the kickoff for this year’s National Charter Schools Conference, we are excited to see many 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 6-19-13 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] Mark NAISON on the New BTA: Yes, You Too Can Join by dianerav Several people wrote to say that membership in the highly distinguished Badass Teachers Association was closed, that they applied and were turned down. This seemed unlikely to me, given the group’s desire to spread, so I contacted its founder Mark NAISON and asked him if there was a glitch. I also asked him if he could create a website for those who are not on Facebook. Here is his response (for some... more »

NYC Educator: King Reformy John Makes Yet Another Brilliant Discovery

NYC Educator: King Reformy John Makes Yet Another Brilliant Discovery:

King Reformy John Makes Yet Another Brilliant Discovery

I've got a little better handle on why King Reformy John decreed that city teachers need to hit 15 of 20 to be effective, while the state says it's only 9. A more informed UFT source tells me it has to do with conversion charts. While this sounds kind of nuts, it has to do with hitting a target. For example, if you hit your target, 60%, in King's Park or Gainesville NY, you get 3 points.

However, if you hit your target, again 60%, in NYC,  you get 13 points. Hitting these targets gets you out of ineffective and up to developing. As for what you have to get 60% of, I have no idea. As for how you get that 60%, I also have no idea.

King John, being the brilliant thinker he is, has determined there's no need to test the system that doesn't exist and which absolutely no one understands. So we, the teachers of New York City, are taking a long walk into a blind turn, with no idea where it leads.

I've heard teachers criticized for not having an aim on the board. I've heard teachers criticized for meandering and not staying on topic. And of course, I've heard teachers criticized for having no apparent lesson plan. It appears to me that King Reformy John, despite his impressive one year of public school teaching experience, has failed to plan. Now I suppose I might wander out on some December morn in a bathing suit and hope for warm weather, but that would likely be detrimental to my health.

REVIEW: Teach For America and the Struggle for Urban School Reform, Crawford-Garrett | the becoming radical

REVIEW: Teach For America and the Struggle for Urban School Reform, Crawford-Garrett | the becoming radical:

REVIEW: Teach For America and the Struggle for Urban School Reform, Crawford-Garrett

Posted on June 19, 2013 by plthomasedd

In her Chapter 3 for Becoming and Being a Teacher, Katherine Crawford-Garrett (University of New Mexico) “trace[d] the experiences of one cohort of first-year TFA corps members teaching in Philadelphia during the 2010-2011 school year at a time when the School District faced intense pressure to reform” (p. 27).

This chapter is a examination of several tensions related to Teach for America (TFA), teacher education, teacher agency, and urban education. Her new book from Peter Lang USA, Teach For America and the Struggle for Urban School Reform: Searching for Agency in an Era of Standardization, presents an extended critical analysis of those same experiences.

While TFA research, advocacy, and commentary offer various degrees of soaring rhetoric and harsh condemnation, Crawford-Garrett’s work reminds me of the powerful and effective look at one TFA corp member in New Orleans detailed in Sara Carr’s Hope Against Hope. Crawford-Garret, like Carr, seeks important 

Republicans' No Child Left Behind Bill Passes House Committee, Moving Away From Bush's Vision

Republicans' No Child Left Behind Bill Passes House Committee, Moving Away From Bush's Vision:

Republicans' No Child Left Behind Bill Passes House Committee, Moving Away From Bush's Vision

by Joy Resmovits

The House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday passed the Student Success Act, chairman Rep. John Kline's (R-Minn.) rewrite of the No Child Left Behind Act with a 23-16 vote along party lines.

"Our students deserve more than a short-term fix," Kline said. "They deserve a better law."

Kline's bill goes further than any No Child Left Behind reauthorization attempt in recent years, moving far afield from George W. Bush's 2001 education brainchild by dramatically reducing the federal government's role in America's schools. Kline has eschewed federally prescribed performance goals, a shift for which groups ranging from education advocates to the Chamber of Commerce have attacked him. Kline says preserving the requirement that states must report student test scores by ethnicity, language ability and socioeconomic status is accountability enough, since it empowers parents.

Kline said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has told him to expect a floor vote in July. While it's possible the bill could pass the House, it is unclear how it would be conferenced with a competing Senate bill.

The Senate voted last week to advance a wildly different version of the reauthorization, written by Sen. Tom 

Mother Crusader: Education Bloggers; Filling The Education Journalism Void

Mother Crusader: Education Bloggers; Filling The Education Journalism Void:

Education Bloggers; Filling The Education Journalism Void

by darciecima

I was fortunate to spend last night in the company of some amazing people, including the incomparable NYC teacher bloggers Gary Rubinstein and Arthur Goldstein, at the Class Size Matters 5th Annual Skinny Awards. 

If you have not checked out their work, please do. They are both tireless public education advocates, using their blogs to bring attention to issues ignored by the ever dwindling corps of mainstream education reporters.

Gary wrote and delivered, as Diane Ravitch described it on her own blog, an "hysterical spoof... to describe the terrible crisis stalking the land: mediocre education journalism"  

Watch for yourself. 

Popout

Those of us engaged in this movement have no big financial backers. We blog, organize and lobby in an attempt 

Oregon Save Our Schools: Six Million Dollar Plan (and Counting)...

Oregon Save Our Schools: Six Million Dollar Plan (and Counting)...:

Six Million Dollar Plan (and Counting)...

by Oregon SOS

Times are tough.  Money is tight.  Teachers are losing jobs.  Programs such as music, PE, art, and library are being eliminated.  Class sizes are ballooning.   

Suddenly, you have six million dollars!   

What would you spend it on?  Smaller class sizes?  A music, library teacher, or counselor for your school of 500?  No, that would be too obvious.  Let’s think outside of the box and away from the classroom….miles away.  

Instead, you think what could be better than a room full of adults who dream up new policies, programs, and job duties that will cost just about six million dollars…for starters? 

What?  That doesn’t sound like pure genius?

Well, that is exactly part of the plan put forth by the state as one of their corporate education reforms.  In June 

Throughout Summer: Reflect, Refresh, Recharge — Whole Child Education

Throughout Summer: Reflect, Refresh, Recharge — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Throughout Summer: Reflect, Refresh, Recharge

June 19, 2013 by Klea Scharberg

Summer for educators is often a time to look back on the past year—and look forward to the coming one. What worked, what didn't, and what will you change? Educating the whole child and planning for comprehensive, sustainable school improvement requires us to be "whole educators" who take the time to recharge, reflect, and reinvigorate. Where should we put our effort? What aspects of a whole child approach to education is most critical to us right now?

Wherever your school or district sits along the continuum from implementation of a whole child approach to sustainability and changing the school culture, there are things we all can do to solidify and enhance a whole child approach to education in our settings. Join us throughout June and July as we highlight steps others have taken, successes that have been achieved, and lessons learned. Take this time to reflect on where you are, refresh your ideas, and recharge your batteries.

The Whole Child Podcast

Download the Whole Child Podcast next week for a discussion on how educators can reflect on the past school year, refresh their passion for teaching, and plan for next year.

The Whole Child Blog

Check out the Whole Child Blog for contributions from experts and practitioners in the field; whole child partners; and ASCD staff, who will share free resources, provide examples, and answer your questions. Be sure to leave your questions, ideas, and stories in the comments.

Social Networking

Connect (if you haven't already) with the Whole Child Initiative on Facebook and Twitter and be part of changing the conversation about the importance of a whole child approach to education with more than 18,000 people from around the globe.

25,000 Sign Declaration Calling For A New Direction In Education Policy

25,000 Sign Declaration Calling For A New Direction In Education Policy:

25,000 Sign Declaration Calling For A New Direction In Education Policy

by Jeff Bryant

As a populist wave of discontent with top-down education mandates continues to sweep the country, more than 25,000 concerned citizens have coalesced behind an Education Declaration to Rebuild America.

If you haven’t already, show your support for the Declaration here. And be sure to keep up with the progressive movement for public education by subscribing to the EON weekly e-newsletter here.

A Declaration With Broad Support

Released last week by the Education Opportunity Network, in conjunction with theOpportunity to Learn Campaign and the Institute for America’s Future, the Declaration received widespread attention from national and local outlets.

Reporting from her blog at The Washington Post, Valerie Strauss wrote, “The document offers a progressive approach to school reform that includes ensuring that teachers are 

In New York's Mayoral Race, Who Will the Teachers' Union Endorse? - Dana Goldstein

In New York's Mayoral Race, Who Will the Teachers' Union Endorse? - Dana Goldstein:

In New York's Mayoral Race, Who Will the Teachers' Union Endorse?

by Dana Goldstein

This evening, the United Federation of Teachers, the nation's largest teachers' union, will endorse a candidate for mayor of New York City. Most close observers believe the pick will be either Bill Thompson or Bill de Blasio. Thompson is the former city controllor and former head of the now defunct Board of Education, which was abolished when Mike Bloomberg gained mayoral control of the city's schools. In 2009, Thompson shocked New York politicos when he came within just a few points of defeating Mayor Mike Bloomberg in his bid for a third term. Yesterday, Thompson was endorsed by the principals' union, and he had already won the support of Randi Weingarten, the president of the national American Federation of Teachers, to which the city UFT belongs. Bill de Blasio is the current city public advocate and a former member of a Brooklyn community school district board -- another body abolished by mayoral control. He is running generally to the left of the rest of the field, and has already received a major union endorsement from SEIU 1199. (The candidate with a modest lead in the polls, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, has been booed at UFT events, and is seen as overly aligned with union foe Mike Bloomberg.)
On education, Thompson and de Blasio have staked out many similar positions. Both are in favor of continuing mayoral control, but with checks and balances from a more independent Panel for Education Policy. Both 

CA officials dispute national teacher quality study’s findings SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

CA officials dispute national teacher quality study’s findings

 A study calling more than three-quarters of the nation’s teacher colleges ‘mediocre at best’ is flawed and fails in its mission to fairly evaluate their quality, according to the chair of California’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the state’s superintendent of public instruction.

The report, released Tuesday by the non-profit National Council on Teacher Quality, rated 608 institutions using a four-star system and found that 78 percent earned two or fewer stars, “ratings that connote, at best, mediocrity,” wrote the authors.

The study, which includes a “consumer alert” warning for programs earning less than one star, has been both praised and panned across the nation. In California – where 34 of the 71 evaluated elementary teacher preparation programs received the warning – education officials were quick to respond.

“While the report appropriately focuses on the importance of teacher education, it does not, unfortunately, accurately reflect the work of teacher education programs in California or nationally,” Stanford professor Linda Darling-Hammond, chair of the CTC and considered among the nation’s leading authorities on pedagogy and instructional policy, said in a 

The Missionary Position | EduShyster

The Missionary Position | EduShyster:

The Missionary Position

by edushyster2012

n. pl. mis·sion·ar·ies

1. One who is sent on a mission, especially one sent to do religious or charitable work in a territory or foreign country.

2. People from one culture who travel to another culture to share their religious beliefs.

3. One who attempts to persuade or convert others to a particular program, doctrine, or set of principles; a propagandist.

4. Young teachers, often from wealthy communities, who have been dispatched to an urban school system in 

The art of reading political polling: Headlines aside, latest poll is VERY bad news for Malloy - Wait, What?

The art of reading political polling: Headlines aside, latest poll is VERY bad news for Malloy - Wait, What?:

The art of reading political polling: Headlines aside, latest poll is VERY bad news for Malloy

by jonpelto

A quick sweep of this morning’s news headline reveals the following:

CT Mirror  headline: First 2014 poll shows Malloy trailing Foley by 3 points

CT Newsjunkie headline: Poll: Foley Beats Malloy By 3 Points

Hartford Courant headline:  Latest Poll: GOP’s Tom Foley Leads Gov. Malloy, 43 Percent To 40 Percent

All three statements are “true” but none of them accurately report the key information contained in this public opinion survey.

At this point in the 2014 gubernatorial election one number rises above all others.  It is called the “re-elect” percent. It tells candidates, campaign managers and political 

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, June 19, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

EdSource: Critical report on teacher preparation programs sparks debate

Education Headlines

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Principal to oversee Tracy district expansion

The Jefferson Elementary School District in Tracy has selected a new superintendent. The Board of Trustees is expected to approve the hiring of longtime Jefferson Elementary School Principal James Bridges at tonight's meeting.

Monterey Peninsula USD budget approved

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District trustees late Monday approved a $58 million spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that they'll have to revise again in six weeks.

Lodi Unified School District employees request restoration of salaries

With Lodi Unified School District employees enjoying the news that the district stands to gain an estimated $28 million in Proposition 30 funds, union representatives asked the board of trustees on Tuesday to restore some of the wages employees gave up during the recession.

Upland Unified School District employees protest against proposed cuts

Upland Unified School District employees Tuesday marched from the district office on Euclid Avenue to Upland Elementary School bringing public attention to looming cuts in compensation.

Funding increase for Coachella Valley schools not clear

All three desert school districts will see boosted funding if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a compromise budget bill, but the magnitude of the these budget increases are difficult to estimate.

Group vows to continue recall effort against Coachella Valley Unified board

The Coachella Valley Unified school board briefly emptied a public board meeting Tuesday night after bubbling tension sparked a shouting match between a union representative, a former board member and disgruntled parents who hope to recall the current school board.

Chico school district to benefit from new state budget

The state Legislature has approved a budget that will add an estimated $3.2 million to Chico Unified School District's budget for 2013-2014 fiscal year.

Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson's pay perks to end

A year and a half after lawmakers made sweeping changes to the way government executives are compensated, Fresno Unified School District's superintendent will likely see a cut to his contractual perks, including yearly salary increases.

Panorama City school to be named after Michelle Obama

With a focus on the healthy-eating agenda advocated by the first lady, a year-old elementary school in Panorama City was named Tuesday in honor of Michelle Obama.

Saugus school board removes controversial member Stephen Winkler for living outside district

The Saugus Union School Board has removed board member Stephen Winkler for living outside the district -- without addressing allegations that he is a Nazi sympathizer.

Oakland teachers approve contract

The school district teacher's union approved a new contract that gives them a 1.5 percent raise and a one-time payment of 2.35 percent based on their salary.

Contra Costa County grand jury finds disparities in school solar projects

School districts throughout Contra Costa County have turned to solar energy to reduce utility costs and generate revenues through credits or rebates. But in a recently released report, the Contra Costa County grand jury found a wide disparity in how districts approached projects, estimated costs and savings, planned for future expenses, monitored production and reported the costs and savings to the public.

EdSource: Critical report on teacher preparation programs sparks debate

California’s teacher training programs were excoriated as among the worst in a nation of poor-quality programs in a report released Tuesday, immediately sparking a debate about the validity of the report’s methodology and findings.

L.A. school board OKs $30 million for Apple iPads

Apple Inc. won a $30-million contract Tuesday from the L.A. Unified School District, paving the way for the company to provide every student with an iPad in the nation's second-largest school system.

LAUSD board passes $6.2 billion budget

The Los Angeles Unified school board passed a $6.2 billion budget for 2013-14 on Tuesday, the first time in five years that deep cuts and gut-wrenching layoffs haven't been part of the financial plan.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Oxnard teacher negotiations bog down on health benefits

The Oxnard School District and its teachers are negotiating their 2012-13 contract, and retiree health benefits continue to be the sticking point.

Horizon Charter School faces board vote amid complaints

The fate of Horizon Charter School and its 2,700 students is in the hands of Western Placer Unified's school board after allegations of fiscal mismanagement and complaints from parents.

Capo Unified prepares for influx of students

A new campus serving kindergartners through eighth-graders is likely to be the first school built by the Capistrano Unified School District to accommodate students growing up in Rancho Mission Viejo, a large housing development under construction east of Ladera Ranch and San Juan Capistrano.

Ed Notes Online: Video: Great NYC Bloggers Honored at Class Size Matters Skinny Awards

Ed Notes Online: Video: Great NYC Bloggers Honored at Class Size Matters Skinny Awards:

Video: Great NYC Bloggers Honored at Class Size Matters Skinny Awards

For too many years Americans have had no choice but to suffer with ineffective reporters accountable to nobody .... blogs are the charter schools of the education reporting - minus of course the cheating and embezzlement .... 

Gary Rubinstein at Skinny Awards dinner, June 18, 2013

The huge turnout at last night's 5th annual Skinny Awards dinner for Leonie Haimson's Class Size Matters is an indication of how important the work Leonie does has become. Parent and teacher activists from New York City and beyond cheered the efforts of Leonie and her two blogger honorees, Francis Lewis HS chapter leader Arthur Goldstein (NYC Educator) - who inspired my blogging efforts - and Stuyvesant HS teacher Gary Rubinstein (Gary Rubinstein's Blog), a more recent convert to educational activism through blogging.

I got to sit with the fabulous ladies (and Fred Smith) of Change the Stakes. This is one crew I want to parteeee with and being District 6 (Washington Hts) based they invited me to join them in post CEC6 celebratory events where I am sure I will have trouble finding the A train for the 2 day trip back to Rockaway. (NEXT CTS MEETING: JUNE 28 - CUNY). Robert Jackon, running for  Manhattan borough president (I would vote for him if I lived there) showed up later after I had put the camera away -- the CTS D. 6 crew are BIG fans of his so he was right in his element.

Below is the entire half hour plus of comments from Diane Ravitch and Patrick Sullivan along with Leonie's introduction of the honorees and an explanation of why she named the awards the "skinny" awards.

I extracted a 2 minute segment of Gary's speech in a separate must watch video of his satire on the state of education reporting -- he better bring a food taster to the next Gotham Schools party.


Gary Rubinstein Satirizes Education Reporting at Skinny Awards 2013 from Grassroots Education Movement on Vimeo.

And here is the full monte - a fun half hour of viewing -- excuse the waiters getting in the way and some of my usual shaky video -- thanks to Prudence Hill for forcing me to use her tripod.





AFTERBURN:
I made sure to chat with Leonie's husband, Michael Oppenheimer, a famous environmental scientist who I invited out to Rockaway before it disappears under the sea --- he is not optimistic for the long-term prospects for my ability to avoid having a salt-water swimming pool in my house.

Eduwonky » Blog Archive » Are Arne Duncan And Randi Weingarten Running Just As Fast As They Can?

Eduwonky » Blog Archive » Are Arne Duncan And Randi Weingarten Running Just As Fast As They Can?:

Are Arne Duncan And Randi Weingarten Running Just As Fast As They Can?

It’s starting to look like Tommy James and the Shondells might be the new theme music over at the Department of Education. Federal elementary and secondary education policy, already a barely cohesive mess because of the Administration’s waiver program, just got even more complicated.  Yesterday Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced that – if they apply for a waiver from their existing waiver – states can delay consequences for their new teacher evaluation systems until the 2016-2017 school year. He also announced a sensible step to avoid double-testing of students during the transition from existing assessments to new ones as part of Common Core implementation.  Although critics are understandably jumping all over them for the waiver waivers, the Administration’s plan is not entirely indefensible because it’s aimed at a real issue. But it is quite problematic. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
- This is a big political win for AFT President Randi Weingarten.  It’s not her moratorium per se but it’s awfully close and does hit the pause button on the issue that matters most to her members.  And while state chiefs like Tony Bennett in Florida are already saying they won’t apply for a waiver waiver, many chiefs are going to face a lot of political pressure to do so.  As you might expect there was a lot of behind the scenes back and forth on this and some state leaders worried this step would pull the rug out from under them.  The Department is hoping that the September 30 deadline