8-14-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

Robert Rendo: #optout graphic to share widely.

by Timothy D. Slekar / 9min 

TEA Challenges Huffman/Haslam Plan to Tie Licensure to Value-Addled Test Scores

You have to take the 18 minutes to view this news conference announcement in order to appreciate the profound unfairness of using VAM for ANY high stakes decision. For more context, detailed discussion, and a survey of the mountain of research studies, buy the book.

by Jim Horn / 21min 

New Media, New Public Intellectuals | the becoming radical

New Media, New Public Intellectuals | the becoming radical.

by plthomasedd / 5min 

8-13-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: Paul Toner, MA TURNcoat, Leads Charge for Common Core and PARCCLawyer, corporate stooge, and MTA President, Paul Toner has sold teachers down the river in Massachusetts with support for test score based teacher evaluations, more segregated corporate reform schools, and now the Common Core testing delivery system. Toner has a propaganda piece at the MTA site that on

by mike simpson / 21h 

New Media, New Public Intellectuals | the becoming radical

New Media, New Public Intellectuals | the becoming radical:

New Media, New Public Intellectuals

Posted on August 14, 2013 by plthomasedd

At the beginning of January 2010, I received an email prompting me to watch a video of Diane Ravitch making a speech. My knee-jerk reaction was to delete the email because I had long rejected Ravitch’s work, associating her with the standards/testing movement and a traditional view of literacy that I firmly refuted.

Instead I clicked the link and was quickly puzzled, wondering who this Diane Ravitch was and what had happened to the Ravitch I had walked out on at a National Council of Teachers of English session several years before. Ravitch’s talk was so compelling I sought out her email, sent her an apology, and within the hour received a reply.

Diane and I exchanged a few emails; she was gracious and open about her recent change in stances related to public education reform (all detailed in her popular and influential book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education). This event has since grown into a virtual friendship and collegiality that I would have never predicted, but the intervening years have also revealed more than Ravitch’s new positions on accountability and preserving the promise of public education. Those months and years have also highlighted the role of the new media (Twitter, 

Is CPS starving? | '63 Boycott

Is CPS starving? | '63 Boycott:

Is CPS starving?

This entry was posted in Blog, Today's Struggles on August 9, 2013 by '63 Boycott.

In an op-ed piece for the Chicago Sun-Times calling for a citywide school boycott, CPS teacher Timothy Meegan outlines the strategy behind privatizing public schools.  The goal:  return on investment.  Read Meegan’s powerful argument in its entirety below:

On Wednesday July 24, I was physically removed from a Chicago Board of Education meeting after I waited four hours to speak for two minutes. I timed it at two minutes and five seconds, but I was not allowed to finish. While board member Henry Bienen nodded off, I tried to say what I had to say:

“…and now we are faced with budget cuts so severe that the remaining schools are left wondering how they will function at all? What the Sun-Times declares a conspiracy theory [editorial, July 21] is self-evident to me — that our schools are being starved into failure in order to justify mass privatization. Fifty schools closed and over 20 new charter schools. Three thousand layoffs and $1.6 million to bring in Teach for America novices. Another $20 million on an academy for principals. All connected, along with the CEO of CPS, to the Broad Foundation.”

The Broad Foundation also finances Teach for America and the principal academy in use in CPS, called SUPES. Teach for America places new college graduates in inner-city classrooms for two years with a mere five weeks of classroom training. I expect some will replace the professional career service teachers CPS laid off. CPS funds these two programs as well, to the combined

- See more at: http://63boycott.kartemquin.com/blog/todays-struggles/is-cps-starving/#sthash.uJKZRGIN.dpuf

Empowering Australia's Children Today through Positive Education — Whole Child Education

Empowering Australia's Children Today through Positive Education — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Empowering Australia’s Children Today through Positive Education

August 14, 2013 by Andrew Monk

Initially based upon the principals of positive psychology, the positive education approach has much in common with a whole child approach to education and is contributing to the paradigm shift that is accentuating the non-academic variables of children's education for successful student outcomes.

Positive education is an approach of improving the well-being of children in schools through implicit and explicit programs. Although this approach as an idea is essentially not something that many find ground-breaking or contemporary, what is has done is brought into light an opportunity for school leaders to initiate a response to the problems associated with physical, social, emotional, and mental well-being of both staff and students. This response is becoming collaborative amongst like-minded schools and a wave of interest is moving across schools in Australia to implement programs outside of traditional academic circles and attends to the whole-child.

From its more modern conception in 1998, positive psychology had been described by leaders in the field such as Christopher Peterson, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Martin Seligman as the study of what goes right in life, from birth to death and all in between. Rather than remedying the ills that decrease the opportunity of human flourishing, it is focused upon the good in life and the ways in which we can accentuate them. Psychology as a scientific field has a limited reach to the general population in comparison to a school, which places education systems as one the most suitable environments to teach students the skills and practices of living a flourishing life. There are quite a few sub-sections of positive education such as building resilience, 

Susan Ohanian: 28 questions about the Common Core

Susan Ohanian: 28 questions about the Common Core:

Ohanian: 28 questions about the Common Core

Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Susan Ohanian of Charlotte, a longtime teacher and author of 25 books on education policy and practice. Her website is at www.susanohanian.org.

Author’s note: North Carolina Lt. Gov. Daniel J. Forest wrote an open letter to the state’s chief education officer, asking 67 questions about the Common Core State Standards. That letter provoked my own open letter to Vermont leaders who make critical decisions about educating our children. Every Vermonter has a stake in their answers.

Dear Gov. Shumlin, Secretary Vilaseca, members of the State Board of Education, and members of the House and Senate Committees on Education:

The Common Core State Standards

1. In an August 2010 press release, Education Secretary Armando Vilaseca stated that Vermont had been “actively involved in the development and review of these new Common Core State Standards (CCSS).”

• Please provide the names of these Vermonters “actively involved” in this CCSS development; include minutes and materials.

• Please forward all CCSS-related correspondence between the Vermont State Education Agency, the governor, and members of the Vermont Legislature between January 2009 and June 2010.

2. Did the secretary, the State Board of Education and members of the legislative education committees examine dissenting views before adopting the CCSS?

• Please provide a list of individuals, groups, associations providing reasons for NOT pursuing CCSS.

3. Can you point to pedagogical research supporting the following CCSS directives (offered as tiny examples of inappropriate mandates)?

- See more at: http://vtdigger.org/2013/08/13/ohanian-28-questions-about-the-common-core/#sthash.g0dsmf1g.dpuf

Take a chance, be yourself | InterACT

Take a chance, be yourself | InterACT:

Take a chance, be yourself

AUGUST 14, 2013

tags: advice, EdWeek, new teachers, professional identity

by David B. Cohen

Six years ago almost to the day, before I started blogging, I wrote an article in EdWeek Teacher, aimed at new teachers and offering advice on establishing your professional identity. This is certainly the right time of year to be looking back at it, and I’m glad to say I wouldn’t change a thing. Here are some excerpts from the original article; add your own advice in the comments!

Although the students and the classroom are your top priorities, it’s never too early to think carefully about how early experiences in your career can help you establish a professional identity—about how you can collaborate with others and engage in the profession. Here are some hints to help you think about and establish a professional identity.

First, find your allies. Whether they are teachers, custodians, secretaries, parents, librarians, aides, coaches, or counselors, these are the people who want to help you succeed with students. You’ll hear this advice from others who quite rightly want you to recognize how these people contribute to your effectiveness in the classroom. But, besides helping you in your teaching, true allies will start motivating you and validating your efforts, even beyond what you might think you deserve. Consider what a vote of confidence does for your students, and give yourself permission to actively seek out the same for yourself.

… Maximize the time you spend with people who recognize your brilliance while still pushing you to question and reflect. Find allies who are modeling a professional community and who support 

Oh, How Pinteresting!, Say hello to Teachers on Pinterest!

Oh, How Pinteresting!, Say hello to Teachers on Pinterest!:

Say hello to Teachers on Pinterest!

We’re thrilled to announce an effort to support a community of creative, inspiring and hard-working people who make a difference to millions of kids everyday—teachers! We’ve teamed up with some brilliant elementary school teachers to launch Teachers on Pinterest, a hub where you’ll find everything from lesson plans for different grades, to classroom decorating ideas, and topics like fun with phonics. We’re also excited to work together with Edutopia—an online resource for educators—to build out the education-focused community on Pinterest.

Tons of teachers are discovering and sharing ideas on Pinterest. In fact, more than 500,000 education-related ideas are pinned each day. And, according to an annual survey by Edutopia, Pinterest is in the top five of professional development websites for teachers.

As we get started, we’re focusing on elementary school teachers, but we’ll only keep growing as more teachers get involved.

Look who’s pinning! Here are some of the star teachers we’ve teamed up with:

Preschool: Deborah of Teach Preschool

Kindergarten: Maria of Kinder-Craze

1st grade: Melissa of Seusstastic Classroom Inspirations

2nd grade: Megan of Almost a Third Grader

3rd grade: Stephanie of 3rd Grade Thoughts

4th grade: Charity of Organized Classroom

5th grade: Mandy of Teaching with Simplicity

6th grade: John of Educator’s Life

Art: Donna

Classroom decor: Melanie of Schoolgirl Style

Classroom management: Patti of Tales from a 4th (and 5th) Grade Teacher

Home school: Jennifer of Home Grown Hearts Academy

Literacy: Jennifer of Hello Literacy

Math: Courtney of Mrs. Andersen’s Classroom

Science: Jenaya of Lesson Plan Diva

Also, check out Edutopia on Pinterest for more inspirational ideas!

If you’re a teacher, here’s how you can join us:

—Follow Teachers on Pinterest and start pinning from the boards! You can also comment and mention your colleagues on pins to start conversations.

—Send a pin! Find helpful pins and send them to fellow teachers.

—Share this blog post with your colleagues if you think they’ll be interested in teaching resources.

—Let us know how you’re using Pinterest in the classroom. We’d love to hear how we can make your experience even better. Sound off in the comments below, or share your experiences with us here. Please note that while we’ll read everything, we won’t be able to get back to every person. We appreciate you taking the time to give us feedback!

We’ll keep you posted with more updates in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, happy back to school pinning!

—Mithya Srinivasan, PR Associate, Currently obsessed with pinning to words

Feds instruct Huntsville to ignore Alabama Accountability Act | al.com

Feds instruct Huntsville to ignore Alabama Accountability Act | al.com:

Feds instruct Huntsville to ignore Alabama Accountability Act

Despite Alabama law allowing all students to flee “failing” schools, Huntsville will not allow hundreds of requested transfers.

“Under the Alabama Accountability Act,” said Superintendent Casey Wardynski, “we don’t have to do any.”

In fact, district officials say Huntsville will grant just eight Accountability Act transfers this year, or one fewer than the number of “failing” schools in the city.

That’s all the system has space for, say school officials, after handling federal transfers. 

Specifically, the U.S. Department of Justice and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund this summer instructed Huntsville to ignore the transfer requirements of the Alabama Accountability Act in favor of federal transfers based on race.

And that has created problems, said Laurie McCaulley, president of the school board.

“We have a lot of parents who bought into the Alabama Accountability Act, and thought they had guaranteed rights that don’t exist,” said McCaulley.

The 2013 Alabama law, passed by GOP lawmakers with little input from educators, 

UPDATE: FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, August 14, 2013

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Flirting with Disaster? 
Capitol Weekly: Senate leader’s online education bill draws fire*

Education Headlines

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Angry parents storm Panama-Buena Vista meeting over transgender law, vendor contract

More than 100 people crowded into the normally quiet bimonthly meeting of the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District's board meeting Tuesday -- the first since Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new law mandating that public schools allow transgendered students to use restrooms and play on sex-segregated sports teams with the gender they identify with -- and they made their voices heard.

Kern High School District settles whistleblower lawsuit

The Kern High School District has settled with two former employees who had alleged they were wrongfully terminated after calling attention to contracts they said were shady.

San Bernardino City USD opens five new campuses this school year

In addition to easing crowding at existing campuses, the new schools also allow students to attend class closer to home – often close enough that the district no longer has to bus them.

North County schools look to bond for its future

Officials in the North Monterey County Unified School District are banking on voters to approve a multimillion-dollar bond to make needed repairs, erect new buildings and pay for the upgrades in technology to help students prepare for jobs in the 21st century.

Monterey school district to switch health care insurance plans to battle soaring costs

In an effort to tackle soaring health care premiums, trustees with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District approved plans to drop medical insurance through the state Public Employees' Retirement System and join California's Valued Trust instead.

Nurses unhappy with diabetic ruling

Local school nurses are not happy with the California Supreme Court’s ruling Monday to allow trained but unlicensed employees to administer insulin to diabetic students if a nurse is unavailable, claiming it will be a disservice to fragile students.

Upland school board approves concessions, hears good news on budget

The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees has approved a money saving agreement with the Upland chapter of the California School Employees Association that includes about $1.2 million in concessions.

Rialto Unified accountant accused of embezzlement resigns

The accountant accused of embezzling from Rialto Unified School District has resigned, according to a district official.

New school year began this week, earlier than ever

What was once a rite of autumn has become a rite of summer instead: School started up for the year at Colton Joint Unified on Thursday, and classes will begin across the Inland Empire this month, rather than after Labor Day, the once-traditional start to a new school year.

LAUSD starts new school year with more security, new curriculum

More than 600,000 Los Angeles Unified School District students returned to class Tuesday after summer break and were greeted with enhanced security measures, new disciplinary rules and expanded health services.

Charter partnership gives L.A. Unified school new name and outlook

As students returned to schools across Los Angeles on Tuesday, the pupils at 24th Street Elementary came back to a history lesson triggered by their parents. In an unprecedented partnership, the L.A. Unified School District has joined forces with Crown Prep, an outside charter operator, to run the persistently low-performing campus south of downtown.

Head Start limiting enrollment, cutting programs as sequester kicks in

Hundreds of children across the state will be shut out of preschool in September as the federal sequestration cuts to Head Start take effect.

Pupil privacy, bond oversight bills among those signed by governor SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources

SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources:

Pupil privacy, bond oversight bills among those signed by governor
By Kimberly Beltran
Wednesday, August 14, 2013

While Gov. Jerry Brown’s signing of landmark transgender bill grabbed the news spotlight this week, there were several other education-related bills that also got his approval.

Among them, decrees that:

·       Require a timely response to audit questions from a citizen’s oversight committee charged with monitoring bond spending;

·       Authorize local school boards or county superintendents to establish an alternative work schedule for school police departments if agreed to as part of the labor negotiations;

·       Require renaming the school employee termination hearing process, as well as the required paperwork forms;

·       Amend California law to clarify when a school district may grant access to pupil records to an agency caseworker or other representative of a state or local child welfare agency that has legal responsibility for the care and protection of the student.

SB 581, authored by Sen. Mark Wyland, R-Escondido, requires a district board to provide to its citizen’s oversight committee a response to all findings or questions raised about performance and financial audits of school facilities 

Evidence Matters: U.S. Education Department Finalizes EDGAR Rules - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Evidence Matters: U.S. Education Department Finalizes EDGAR Rules - Politics K-12 - Education Week:

Evidence Matters: U.S. Education Department Finalizes EDGAR Rules

By Michele McNeil on August 14, 2013 11:11 AM

EDGAR Rules at the U.S. Education Department 

There's this very important, but very wonky, thing called EDGAR that spells out the rules under which the U.S. Department of Education operates.

And the "Education Department General Administrative Regulations" have just undergone a pretty substantial change.

Back in January, I told you about how the governmentwide push to introduce more evidence into decisionmaking was reaching into the Education Department, which was already embracing the importance of evidence as part of its Investing in Innovation grant program. To institutionalize these practices, the department was seeking to amend EDGAR to accomplish two main goals: reward projects that already have established a research-based track record of success, and encourage grant winners to produce rigorous evidence detailing the extent to which their project does—or does not—work.

Yesterday, the new rules became final, with only minor, technical changes.

"It now enables the department to integrate the use of evidence into the discretionary grant process in a way that makes it clear what they mean when they say evidence," said Michele McLaughlin, the president of the Knowledge Alliance, a national association of research groups based in Washington."It could be a big step toward infusing evidence in how grants are awarded."

These new rules will serve as an umbrella over all the department's competitive programs, potentially governing more than $2 billion in grants. They will not apply to large, hallmark grants—such as Title I—that are given to states under a formula set by law.

However, in perhaps a foreshadowing of things to come, the White House late last month issued a memo to all agency heads on how to further advance an evidence and innovation agenda. The memo recommends that small slices of formula-grant programs (which would include Title I and special education grants) could be set aside for states to award 

8-14-13 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:

Forget what we said; forget the law; Malloy and Pryor lie their way through another meeting

Categories: Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) Malloy Standardized Testing Stefan PryorTags: CMTMalloyStandardized TestsStefan PryorLast year Governor Malloy said that he didn’t mind teaching to the test as long as the test scores improved…  Today, with 2014 gubernatorial election 14 months away, Malloy told a statewide meeting of Connecticut superintendents, “We don’t want to be any more test-bound

3 by jonpelto / 3min 

Education Commissioner Pryor hires accounting firm to “validate” accuracy of standardized test scores?

Categories: Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) Malloy Standardized Testing Stefan Pryor Teacher EvaluationsTags: CMTMalloyStandardized TestingStefan PryorTeacher EvaluationIn the midst of the excitement yesterday about the results of this year’s Connecticut Mastery Test scores came the strange report that Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, Stefan Pryor, and the State Department of Education had hire

17 by jonpelto / 19min 

8-13-13 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: America’s Most Un-American Tradition: Racial ProfilingCategories: Connecticut Community Party Connecticut General Assembly Malloy Racial ProfilingTags: Connecticut Community PartyConnecticut General AssemblyMalloyRacial ProfilingA court decision in New Yo

by mike simpson / 43min