Choosing Democracy: Willful Defiance ?

Choosing Democracy: Willful Defiance ?:

Willful Defiance ?

Talk It Out: A Community Conversation to Fix School Discipline (a short play based on real life stories about school discipline in Sacramento County).  

Catch WILLFUL on Cable TV! All cablecasts will be on Comcast/Surewest Channel 17 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, Pacific Daylight/Standard Time, unless otherwise specified. If you don't have those services, it can also be viewed at www.accesssacramento.org, at the times listed below.

Sunday, July 28th @ 7:00pm
Monday, July 29th @ 11:00am
Tuesday, July 30th @ 3:00am
Friday, August 2nd @ 7:00pm
Saturday, August 3rd @ 11:00am
Sunday, August 4th @ 3:00am

Tuesday, August 6th @ 10:00pm
Wednesday, August 7th @ 2:00pm
Thursday, August 8th @ 6:00am

Sunday, August 11th @ 10:00pm
Monday, August 12th @ 2:00pm
Tuesday, August 13th @ 6:00am

Walking the Labyrinth of the Corporate-Owned-Common Core | United Opt Out National

Walking the Labyrinth of the Corporate-Owned-Common Core | United Opt Out National:

WALKING THE LABYRINTH OF THE CORPORATE-OWNED-COMMON CORE

7-26-13 Wait, What? - Working to educate, persuade and mobilize through "perceptive and acerbic" observations about Connecticut Government and Politics

Wait, What? - Working to educate, persuade and mobilize through "perceptive and acerbic" observations about Connecticut Government and Politics:

Newsflash: Supreme Court Justice Andrew McDonald recuses himself from Lopez v. Vallas case

Categories: Andrew McDonald Bridgeport Malloy Paul VallasTags: Andrew McDonaldBridgeportMalloyPaul VallasNews Update: “Thursday it was announced the State Supreme Court would reinstate a stay allowing Paul Vallas to continue in his job as the city’s schools superintendent pending an appeal of his qualifications to hold the position in Connecticut.” “According to a court spokesperson, the followin

by jonpelto / 1h 

Adamowski, Pryor and State Department of Education violate Connecticut Law on Windham Turnaround Plan…

Categories: Malloy State Board of Education State Representative Susan Johnson State Senator Don Williams Stefan Pryor Steven Adamowski WindhamTags: MalloyState Board of EducationState Representative Susan JohnsonState Senator Don WilliamsStefan PryorSteven AdamowskiWindhamThe fundamental principle is pretty simple.  We are a nation of laws and when a law requires certain actions, failure to foll

by jonpelto / 19min   

Supreme Court leaves Vallas in place during appeal process… (updated with statement from plaintiffs) - Wait, What?

Supreme Court leaves Vallas in place during appeal process… (updated with statement from plaintiffs) - Wait, What?: Supreme Court leaves Vallas in place during appeal process… (updated with statement from plaintiffs)  Last Friday lawyers for Paul Vallas filed a brief arguing why Paul Vallas should stay “on the job” during the Supreme Court’s review of Judge Bellis’ ruling that Vallas cannot serv

by mike simpson / 10h 

Action Alert: Parent Trigger Conference Call | Seattle Education

Action Alert: Parent Trigger Conference Call | Seattle Education:

Action Alert: Parent Trigger Conference Call

Parents to Rep. George Miller: To celebrate “National Parents Day,”
please listen to parents!

Parents Across America, a network of grassroots parents and parent
groups across the U.S., has learned that Rep George Miller, ranking
Democratic member of the House education committee, is holding a
teleconference today to celebrate the July 28th National Parents Day.

The teleconference is taking place today, July 26, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.
EST

Toll-free U.S. dial-in #:866-952-1907

Conference Call: National Parents Day; Password: Parents

The teleconference is clearly designed to promote parent trigger laws;
Rep. Miller’s guest for the teleconference is Ben Austin, head of Parent
Revolution, a group generously funded by corporate reform supporters
including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Walton
Foundation. No one from Parents Across America was invited to
participate in this event.

Parent Revolution has been exposed for paying so-called parent activists
to promote the disastrous “Won’t Back Down” movie and to go around the
U.S. testifying about the parent trigger.

Although Parents Across America strongly supports true parent
empowerment, we oppose the parent trigger process. While the parent
trigger allows parents to voice discontent with a school, it gives them
no opportunity to choose among more positive reforms, and fails to
promote the best practices for parent involvement from the ground up. In
addition, the process creates huge potential for abuse, disruption and
divisiveness to school communities. The push for parent trigger laws
across the U.S. raises deep concerns. As with other deceptively
simple-sounding solutions, this law is likely to cause more problems
than it solves.

Parents Across America instead supports a process in which parents are
authentically involved at the ground level in developing strategies for
improvement. These strategies might include smaller classes, more parent
involvement, or other reforms that have been proven to work and are
aligned with the individual needs of the school and its students.
PAA’s recommendations

We urge lawmakers to oppose proposals like the Parent Trigger that would
exploit parents’ legitimate concerns in order to hand public property
over to private hands.

Please also see PAA’s position paper, “The Empowerment Parents Want: The
LSC Model for School Reform.”

For more detail, please see our position paper, “Parents Across America
on the Parent Trigger.”

Parents to Rep. George Miller: To celebrate “National Parents Day,” please listen to parents!

Parents to Rep. George Miller: To celebrate “National Parents Day,”
please listen to parents! 

Parents Across America, a network of grassroots parents and parent
groups across the U.S., has learned that Rep George Miller, ranking
Democratic member of the House education committee, is holding a
teleconference today to celebrate the July 28th National Parents Day.

The teleconference is taking place today, July 26, 2013, at 1:00 p.m.
EST

Toll-free U.S. dial-in #:866-952-1907 

Conference Call: National Parents Day; Password: Parents

The teleconference is clearly designed to promote parent trigger laws;
Rep. Miller's guest for the teleconference is Ben Austin, head of Parent
Revolution, a group generously funded by corporate reform supporters
including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Walton
Foundation. No one from Parents Across America was invited to
participate in this event. 

Parent Revolution has been exposed for paying so-called parent activists
to promote the disastrous “Won’t Back Down” movie and to go around the
U.S. testifying about the parent trigger. 

Although Parents Across America strongly supports true parent
empowerment, we oppose the parent trigger process. While the parent
trigger allows parents to voice discontent with a school, it gives them
no opportunity to choose among more positive reforms, and fails to
promote the best practices for parent involvement from the ground up. In
addition, the process creates huge potential for abuse, disruption and
divisiveness to school communities. The push for parent trigger laws
across the U.S. raises deep concerns. As with other deceptively
simple-sounding solutions, this law is likely to cause more problems
than it solves.

Parents Across America instead supports a process in which parents are
authentically involved at the ground level in developing strategies for
improvement. These strategies might include smaller classes, more parent
involvement, or other reforms that have been proven to work and are
aligned with the individual needs of the school and its students.
PAA’s recommendations

We urge lawmakers to oppose proposals like the Parent Trigger that would
exploit parents’ legitimate concerns in order to hand public property
over to private hands. 

Please also see PAA’s position paper, “The Empowerment Parents Want: The
LSC Model for School Reform.”

For more detail, please see our position paper, “Parents Across America
on the Parent Trigger.”

Digital content bill one step from governor’s desk SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Digital content bill one step from governor’s desk
By Tom Chorneau
Friday, July 26, 2013

A two-year effort to pass legislation requiring textbook publishers to make available digital versions of their content appears to be one step from the governor’s desk.

AB 133 by Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, would mandate digital formats be made by any publisher or instructional materials manufacturer that submits a printed textbook for adoption by the California State Board of Education or governing board of a local school district.

Supported by an array of key education groups including the Association of California School Administrators, the bill has also picked up the backing of the Association of American Publishers as well as groups representing students with disabilities, including the California Council for the Blind.

The bill passed off the Assembly floor in May without dissent and won passage from the state Senate – also without opposition – just before the Legislature broke for summer recess earlier this month.

Amendments made in the Senate, however, require that the bill return once more to the Assembly – but expectations 

7-26-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Attended the @educationgadfly event on #optorcop yesterday. Nice people, here’s my rant

Here’s a link to video of the event at the Fordham Institute on a debate about opting out of test-based accountability in education reform. I’ll have to watch the video to see if my question/comment was recorded. I’m still kicking myself because I feel like I botched it. I was a little nervous and my […]

by Chalk Face, PhD / 1min 

7-25-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: Congress Set to Profit from Student Loan Rates Determined by Wall Street SwindlersIf you ever wonder how the Feds are going to pay for the new era of non-risk corporate welfare farming, charter schools, preschools, for-profit college subsidies, military contractors, corporate welfare spy firms, etc., Congress has a plan.  One drop in that national cash reserve for

by mike simpson / 3h 

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, July 26, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

#ASKARNE What'sup? with SEC. 1118. PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT in the New ESEA?

Education Headlines

Friday, July 26, 2013

List of needs piling up at Scotts Valley schools

All four schools of Scotts Valley Unified School District are currently being assessed by a team of architects and engineers to point out the district's most immediate needs, though none is considered worse off than the 74-year-old middle school.

Late night school board protest cause of concern for teens

They came bearing signs, posters and hand-written speeches, more than 40 Valley High School students ready for an exercise in democracy: Addressing the Santa Ana Unified School Board in the hope of saving the jobs of two beloved teachers.

Adams: ‘Run, hide, fight’ new mantra for schools in post-Newtown environment

Traditional school safety techniques had students huddling in locked classrooms and waiting for rescue if danger approached during school hours. But tragic lessons in Newtown, Conn., and Columbine, Colo., have given rise to new recommendations from the U.S. Department of Education for keeping students safe: Run away and hide, they say. Or if you have to, fight.

San Jose school district paid teachers, administrators more than required

Even in tight budget years, the Alum Rock Union School District paid many of its teachers and administrators more than required by its contracts and rules, a practice that in 10 years has cost more than $1 million.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Columbia Elementary School board answers grand jury

Columbia Union School District trustees and Superintendent John Pendley approved a response to the 2013 Tuolumne County Grand Jury report Tuesday that indicated they agree with most of the report's findings.

Lucia Mar's end to some adult courses shocks some

Lucia Mar officials have eliminated all of the fee-based courses offered through its adult education program - forcing South County residents who had taken classes such as yoga and cooking to search for them elsewhere.

Arcadia district reaches settlement in transgender rights case

The Arcadia Unified School District unanimously approved a settlement agreement with the U.S. government after the Department of Justice launched an investigation into allegations the district discriminated against a transgender student.

The Fight Ahead | EduShyster

The Fight Ahead | EduShyster:

The Fight Ahead

 What we should be talking about when we talk about Teach for America

Teachers and students protest the closure of 50 public schools in Chicago. Teach for America increasingly drives the policies behind such school closures.

Unless you’ve been under a rock, you’ve no doubt noticed that the debate about Teach for America has ratcheted up considerably in recent weeks. Here’s the quick and dirty version: urban districts are closing dozens of schools and laying off teachers, even as they’re bringing in new Teach for America recruits. When news began to spread that a popular Chicago teacher had been laid off (the news delivered by his mother, no less), the back-and-forth reached a boiling point. How was it right for the Chicago Public Schools to axe a well-regarded teacher, one of 2000 let go, while expanding the number of TFA corps members, who’ll be entering the city’s schools this fall after just five weeks of training?

It’s a heated and emotional discussion but it 

An Open Letter to Badass Supporter of Public Education Jon Stewart | teacherbiz

An Open Letter to Badass Supporter of Public Education Jon Stewart | teacherbiz:

An Open Letter to Badass Supporter of Public Education Jon Stewart

Dear Mr. Stewart,

You were a badass when The Jon Stewart Show was the second highest rated show on MTV—right behind Beavis and Butthead.

You were a badass when you made appearances on Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, American Dad, Spin City, NewsRadio, and that episode of The Nanny–but you were a super badass when you sang “Songs” with the Sesame Street characters on Elmopalooza.

You were a badass in a bunch of movies, but especially Death to Smoochy.  (Lol.)

You were a badass when you hosted the Oscars and the Grammys, despite being “deloused” and strip-searched before your monologue during one of them.

You are a badass for producing and directing Rosewater; and, of course, you are a daily badass on The Daily Show.

But most importantly, you are a total badass because you consistently support and defend teachers against critics who call them lazy, greedy, and overpaid–and against reformers like Michelle Rhee who seek 

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BAT!

Badass Teachers Association

This is for every teacher who refuses to be blamed for the failure of our society to erase poverty and inequality, and refuses to accept assessments, tests and evaluations imposed by those who have contempt for real teaching and learning.

Badass Teachers Association

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER@BADASSTEACHERSA

Thunderclap: Stand with Chicago Teachers

Thunderclap: Stand with Chicago Teachers:

Stand with Chicago Teachers

“Rahm shouldnt layoff 3K+ experienced educators & spend $1.6M to hire #TFA novices. Kids deserve better #StopCPSCuts http://thndr.it/19g7nK4”

Join AFT in sharing this message together at the same time - automatically.

SUPPORT WITH

TWITTER

 FACEBOOK

Invite friends to this campaign.

You will allow Thunderclap to share this message once on your behalf, along with other supporters.
If the goal is not reached, no message will be shared.

Children deserve a rich and meaningful school experience. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has pushed for draconian budget cuts that will eliminate many of the essential services children need.

Last week, Chicago Public Schools announced plans to lay off more than 3,000 teachers and school staff. This will mean larger class size, fewer classroom aides, and fewer enriching classes like art and music. 

But while the mayor is laying off these experienced educators, he's given a $1.6 million contract to Teach For America to bring in inexperienced teachers. That's a misuse of funds and doesn't help kids.

You can read more about the cuts and the contract here: http://www.suntimes.com/21411000-761/cps-calls-teachers-mom-to-tell-him-hes-getting-laid-off.htm
l

Migration Information Source - Limited English Proficient Population of the United States

Migration Information Source - Limited English Proficient Population of the United States:

Limited English Proficient Population of the United States

By Monica Whatley and Jeanne Batalova
Migration Policy Institute 

Click here for a larger version of map.

Related Articles: •Limited English Proficient Workers and the Workforce Investment Act: Challenges and Opportunities •Shaping Citizenship Policies to Strengthen Immigrant Integration •Immigration in the United States: New Economic, Social, Political Landscapes with Legislative Reform on the Horizon

July 2013

In 2011, there were 25.3 million Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals, both foreign-born and US-born, residing in the United States. Over the past 20 years, the LEP share of the total US population has grown from close to 6 percent in 1990 to about 9 percent in 2011. The total number of LEP individuals has grown by 81 percent since 1990, and has established a relatively large presence in California, Texas, and New York.

As a group, the LEP population in the United States is less educated and more likely to live below the federal poverty line than the overall US population. LEP individuals are slightly more concentrated in the working ages and are comprised of a relatively small share of children. Employed LEP men in 2011 were more likely to work in construction, extraction, and transportation occupations than English-proficient men, while employed LEP women were more likely to work in service and personal care occupations than English-proficient women.

Many immigrants in the United States come from non-English-speaking countries and thus 

With ‘Parent Trigger’ laws on the ropes, three overhauled schools reopen in Los Angeles | Hechinger Report

With ‘Parent Trigger’ laws on the ropes, three overhauled schools reopen in Los Angeles | Hechinger Report:

With ‘Parent Trigger’ laws on the ropes, three overhauled schools reopen in Los Angeles

By Natasha Lindstrom

This story also appeared at:

LOS ANGELES—When classes resume in Southern California in the coming weeks, three public schools will be the first in the nation to reopen under new management spurred by a controversial education law dubbed the “parent trigger.”

Parent Esmeralda Chacon is excited that 24th Street Elementary, just west of downtown Los Angeles, is bringing back a pre-kindergarten program and partnering with a local charter school operator. Parent Llury Garcia at Weigand Elementary in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles—where the principal has been ousted and 21 teachers subsequently asked for transfers—hopes her 8-year-old daughter will become a better reader. And Cynthia Ramirez expects to have more say in setting discipline policy and curriculum at her fourth-grade son’s school, Desert Trails Preparatory Academy in the desert town of Adelanto, now that it has been taken over by a small nonprofit charter operator .

At Weigand Elementary School in Los Angeles, 61 percent of parents signed a petition to replace the school’s principal under California’s controversial “parent trigger” law. (Photo courtesy Parent Revolution/Derrick Alan Everett)

These parents helped lead the so-called “parent unions” that ran campaigns to overhaul their children’s respective schools with guidance and financial backing from Parent Revolution, a Los Angeles nonprofit formed to promote California’s Parent Empowerment Act. Known as the parent trigger law, the legislation allows a majority of parents at an underperforming school to force major changes ranging from replacing the principal and half the staff to ceding control to a charter operator.

When the law was passed in 2010, Former California State Sen. Gloria Romero, its author, compared it to the civil rights movement five decades before, and envisioned bipartisan support for parent trigger laws spreading to state legislatures across the nation. The 2012 Hollywood movie “Won’t Back Down” aimed to build legislative momentum, but the box office flop only seemed to draw more 

What we can learn from the Udacity/San Jose MOOC debacle

Cisco-sponsored promotional video on the Udacity/SJSU partnership As most people in ed-tech circles have heard by now, a much-touted MOOC experiment has ended in embarrassment. In January, Udacity, a for-profit founded by Google and Stanford employee Sebastian Thrun to create customized online college-level video-based courses, announced that it would partner with San Jose State University to off

by Anya Kamenetz / 10min

Metro school board’s Frogge decries deep-pocketed national ‘reform’ movement | In Session

Metro school board’s Frogge decries deep-pocketed national ‘reform’ movement | In Session:

Metro school board’s Frogge decries deep-pocketed national ‘reform’ movement

Students, parents and the future of public schools are up against a well-funded national “reform” machine that ultimately hurts the children it purports to want to help, according to Metro school board member Amy Frogge.

Frogge, elected to her West Nashville seat last year, has emerged as the board’s leading  counter voice to charter school proponents and other reformers in her short time in public office.

In a pointed post on her Facebook page, she writes of  “an evolution in her thinking” on the problems that plague the school district — too many standardized tests, a “culture of fear” among school personnel and unhappy teachers and administrators.

“Over the course of a year in office, I have come to put a name on these problems, and that name is the national ‘reform’ movement,” she writes, adding that most parents don’t realize 

The Educated Reporter: Follow-Up Friday: Sequester Hits Defense Department Schools, New Algorithm Might Help Schools ID Potential Dropouts

The Educated Reporter: Follow-Up Friday: Sequester Hits Defense Department Schools, New Algorithm Might Help Schools ID Potential Dropouts:

Follow-Up Friday: Sequester Hits Defense Department Schools, New Algorithm Might Help Schools ID Potential Dropouts

Remember sequestration? The impact of the forced federal budget cuts on public schools been shoved to the back burner amid heated debate over the future of theCommon Core State Standards, early childhood education, and last-minute Senate compromise on student loan rates. But as Nirvi Shah writes for Politico, sequestration will mean a shorter academic year for about 84,000 students in Department of Defense-run schools on military bases. (You can read the full storyhere.)

“It means that the children of the military forces are going to lose a full five days of school over the children who are receiving a regular public education. That is such a disservice to our military personnel,” said Michael Priser, president of the Federal Education Association, told Politco. 

**

The Hechinger Report's Jill Barshay has a fascinating post on a researcher's efforts to identify potential high school dropouts as early as the first grade, giving