8-26-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

The in box. Glen Brown in the Springfield Journal-Register.

My friend and blogger Glen Brown writes to the Springfield Journal-Register: It is a matter of public interest when current policymakers attempt to rob public employees of their Constitutionally guaranteed contracts, for punishing and victimizing public employees through a breach of contract instead of addressing the state’s inadequate revenue system and underfunding of the public pensions is a f

1 by Fred Klonsky / 2h 

We Are One rejects latest pension plan.

We Are One Illinois Statement on Conference Committee Outline The statement below is attributable to the We Are One Illinois union coalition: “Published reports suggest the legislative conference committee on pension reform is ready to rehash the same unfair, unconstitutional attacks on retirement security. “Particularly harmful is the committee’s threat to delay and sharply reduce the cost-of-liv

by Fred Klonsky / 0min 

First day of school, Chicago-style. Under guard.

  H/T Matt Farmer. The Tribune photo of police escorting kids to school on Day One was taken by Chris Walker.  

3 by Fred Klonsky / 2h 

Chicago’s Asean Johnson at the March on Washington.

1 by Fred Klonsky / 1min 

Will IEA and We Are One bargain or fall in line on a gubernatorial endorsement?

  State Senator Kwame Raoul. There has been a lot of speculation about whether Senator Kwame Raoul will throw it in to the Democratic Party gubernatorial primary against Bill Daley and Squeezy. Rich Miller thinks Raoul could win it.  Polling shows neither Daley or Quinn has a lock. Raoul is a popular politician with powerful support in Chicago’s Black community. Daley? Not so much. He’s never run

2 by Fred Klonsky / 26min 

Life in Rahm’s Chicago. First day of school.

by Fred Klonsky / 1min mark as read  //  save

They cannot save anything when it comes to the pension debt. The bill must be paid.

Jim Broadway, Springfield observer and publisher of the authoritative Illinois School Policy Updates, takes the Illinois media to task for reprinting of the Gang of Ten’s pension nonsense without making use of a journalistic critical eye. In my opinion, the journalistic critical eye has been surgically removed from all but a handful of Illinois – and most specifically Chicago – reporters. Rumors o

by Fred Klonsky / 7min 

8-25-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: An exchange. Bonuses to principals.Fred, One of these principals is a good friend of mine. She works seven days a week to make sure that her students are successful. We both worked as teachers in CPS and we earned our Type 75s together. She was a phenomenal reading teacher too. To label all of these p

by mike simpson / 7h 

May Budget Revise: Oliver Twist vs. Great Expectations | California Progress Report

May Budget Revise: Oliver Twist vs. Great Expectations | California Progress Report:

May Budget Revise: Oliver Twist vs. Great Expectations

Posted on 26 August 2013

By Sheila Kuehl

In Charles Dickens' early and dark novel, Oliver Twist, an orphan is condemned to the poorhouse and forced to labor for an undertaker. He escapes to London only to be recruited into a gang of child pickpockets. The book presents an unrelenting view of poverty and the social ills that come with it. Dickens' much later novel, Great Expectations, in contrast, sets out a more hopeful view of what could happen if a poor orphan got a little help, set a course for himself, and chose good over evil. The new proposed budget presented by the Governor to the Legislature in May, after April tax revenues were tallied, generally dubbed "The May Revise", presented the same sort of choices for the Governor and the Legislature, with the choice greatly dependent on whose revenue projections would gain acceptance.

In January of this year, after years of budget agony, the state experienced the first bump in revenue in recent history: $4 billion dollars more than expected in the month of January, alone. The influx of new taxes continued throughout the next few months, such that revenues by the end of April were expected to accrue at least $4.6 billion over the Governor's January expectations.

The question facing decision makers in the May Revision of the budget: how to allocate the extra cash. The answer from Gov. Brown: I want to make sure there's nothing for you to allocate--we're really still in poverty, so damp down those great expectations. In fact, he insisted, to the bewilderment of onlookers, on reducing those expectations.

When More Leads To Less

In the proposed January budget, the Administration had projected personal income growth of about 4.3% over that of 2012-13. However, the Governor reduced that projection in the May Revise to a growth factor of only 2.2%. The Governor explained this change by saying that he had failed to take account of the expiration of the payroll tax reduction, as well as the continuing lack of a federal budget, which would deeply affect the state.

The May Revise also accrued Prop 30 (the new tax measures) revenues to the year that tax liabilities were incurred, rather than the current year (2012-2013 at the time of the May 

LA Unified students have never known high school without metal detectors | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC

LA Unified students have never known high school without metal detectors | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC:

LA Unified students have never known high school without metal detectors

Jed Kim | August 26th, 2013, 6:33am

Jed Kim

Staff members at Gardena High School use handheld metal detectors in random weapon checks of students.

On January 21, 1993, Demetrius Rice was shot at Fairfax High School when a gun hidden away in a classmate's backpack accidentally fired. The bullet passed through another student before striking 16-year-old Rice, and killing him. 

"It was a boom that you never forget," said David Tokofsky, a former Los Angeles Unified School District teacher and board member who as at Fairfax that day. “The first thought you came to was some joking kid throwing an M-80 firecracker in a trash can. You didn’t think that a gun was in the school.”

That incident led the district to begin performing random weapon screenings using metal detectors. 

Twenty years later. Metal detectors are still in schools.

LA Unified requires that all of its secondary schools perform daily random screenings using the devices.

Students streamed into Gardena High School last Tuesday morning, just minutes before the bell. School dean Daron Andrade and a campus aide stopped random students and inspected the contents of their backpacks before scanning them with handheld detectors.

Gardena faced scrutiny in 2011, after a gun that a student brought onto campus 

8-26-13 Missouri Education Watchdog

Missouri Education Watchdog:

Common Core Silence. NSPRA's "Local Communication" is One-Directional and Undocumented.

Is NSPRA's "informational writing" actually fiction? We recently wrote about a Pearson funded school public relations association (National School Public Relations Association, NSPRA) promoting a counter-point sheet to discredit anti-common core research.  The counter-point document, Common Core Needs More Local Communication Now!  was written by Mr. Jim Dunn in Missouri, a former education

2 by stlgretchen / 13min 

8-24-13 Missouri Education Watchdog

Missouri Education Watchdog: No Federal Role In Education? Really?Government officials like to promise the voters everything because it looks good on paper and sounds good around election time. But are these guys ever going to think about the logistics of how these promises would have to be handled to come true? If you listen to what Charlie Rangle and President Obama said this week regarding educ

by mike simpson / 8h 

No Child Left Behind waivers are causing the private tutoring industry to implode | Deseret News

No Child Left Behind waivers are causing the private tutoring industry to implode | Deseret News:

No Child Left Behind waivers are causing the private tutoring industry to implode

The private tutoring industry exploded in the United States under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. But as states lined up for federal waivers that ease some of the law’s requirements, that boom has turned into a bust.

Education Week newsmagazine reported this week that the number of private tutoring businesses dropped by about 50 percent over the past several years as 40 states and the District of Columbia have been granted NCLB waivers from the U.S. Department of Education.

The waivers allow schools serving high populations of needy students to skirt the law’s mandate that they use 20 percent of their federal Title I funds for after-school tutoring and transportation for school choice, the story said. With federal dollars increasingly going toward other purposes, for-profit tutoring providers have had to find new revenues or close down.

Troubled industry

Education Week’s analysis showed that among states that have received NCLB waivers, very few included supplemental education — after-school tutoring — in their waiver plans. Across the nation, states have found it difficult to provide adequate oversight to for-profit tutoring companies, the story said.

“Low participation rates, questions regarding the 

America’s kids need a better education law - The Washington Post

America’s kids need a better education law - The Washington Post:

America’s kids need a better education law

By Arne Duncan, Published: August 25

Arne Duncan is U.S. secretary of education.

The nation’s most sweeping education law — the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, better known as No Child Left Behind — is outmoded and broken. Congress has gone home for its summer recess without passing a responsible replacement.

That’s too bad. America deserves a better law.

At the heart of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is a promise: to set a high bar for all students and to protect the most vulnerable. Success in that effort will be measured in the opportunities for our nation’s children, in a time when a solid education is the surest path to a middle-class life. Tight global economic competition means that jobs will go where the skills are. Raising student performance could not be more urgent.

No Child Left Behind has given the country transparency about the progress of at-risk students. But its inflexible accountability provisions have become an obstacle to progress and have focused schools too much on a single test score. NCLB is six years overdue for an update, and nearly all agree that it should be replaced with a law that gives systems and educators greater freedom while continuing to fulfill the law’s original promise.

The vision of American education that President Obama and I share starts in the classroom — with fully engaged students, creative and inspiring teachers, and the support and resources needed to get every child prepared for college and career. Students in our poorest communities should enjoy learning opportunities like those in our wealthiest communities. Zip code, race, disability and family income should not limit students’ opportunities or 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-26-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Charter Advocate Seeks to Oust Tom Torklakson

California State Superintendent of Schools Tom Torlakson is one of the best education leaders. As an experienced classroom teacher, he knows what teachers and students need. As a veteran of the Merchant Marine, he has a steady hand on the tiller. As a former legislator, he knows how to work with the legislature. He had the wisdom and foresight to avoid Tace to the Top, knowing that a “win” would c

by dianerav / 5min 

This Is a Great TV Special about Bipartisan Greed in DC

I saw Bill Moyers interview Mark Leibovich last night, and I was riveted to the screen. I began to understand that the privatization of public education is part of a much larger corruption in our politics. The power of greed is a mighty force. Once let loose on our schools, it will monetize the children. Please watch this when you have a free hour. You will be appalled and informed. And you will b

by dianerav / 1min 

Kris Neilson on Michelle Rhee: Teachers’ Best Friend?

You will definitely want to read Kris Neilson’s description of Michelle Rhee’s upcoming tour, where she will dialogue with teachers about how to have a great teacher in every classroom. Rhee will hold “teacher town halls” in Birmingham, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. You won’t want to miss the chance to engage in candid dialogue with one of America’s most famous reformers, who will tell you how sh

by dianerav / 11min 

Bruce Baker: Madness in Philadelphia and Tennessee

Bruce Baker brilliantly explains how absurd the reformy policies are in both Philadelphia and Tennessee. In Philadelphia, teachers are being blamed for a massive deficit that was in fact caused by historic state budget cuts. In Tennessee, the reform plan is to tie teachers’ licenses to test scores, even though only 1/3 teach tested subjects. Baker explains: “The true reformy brilliance here is tha

by dianerav / 16min 

Charlotte Danielson Says….DON’T DO IT!

This came from a New Jersey administrator who heard Charlotte Danielson speak about how to use her rubric: “At the NJAFPA Conference on May 29, Charlotte Danielson (creator of the Danielson Frameworks for Teaching evaluation system that so many states and districts have adopted) said in her keynote: “Using standardized test scores to assess teachers is indefensible.” Very strong words, considering

10 by dianerav / 1h 

Diane in the Evening 8-25-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: Teachers Are Not Robots: Let Me Inspire AgainA teacher wrote this comment about school “reform”: One thing I loved about teaching when I first began, 24 years ago, was the degree of inspiration and creativity I could bring to my lesson plans. It made teaching and being a teacher exciting for me. My excitement was the motivation, it

by mike simpson / 3h 

NYC Educator: Measures of Student Learning

NYC Educator: Measures of Student Learning:

Measures of Student Learning

As per Reformy John King's mandated junk science plan, a committee in my school needs to determine which local measures we will use to determine 20% of teacher ratings. I was not able to attend the first few meetings, but I'm informed that measures will include comparisons of how students performed on last year's Regents exams with this year's Regents exams. There are also measures like comparing Regents exams to AP exams.

Music teachers will be judged on Social Studies exams, I'm told. Every single example I was given makes no sense at all. How on earth can, for example, you compare a student's progress on two distinct courses and determine anything whatsoever? Yet these, I'm told, are growth measures.

I went to the DA the day we were to vote on the NYC junk science plan. Mulgrew told us that growth measures were reasonable. In any class, he said, you ought to be able to move kids from point A, wherever they began, to point B, someplace that showed some progress. While I've seen no research to that effect, and while there are certainly factors outside my control that would impede or prevent it, I'm willing to entertain such notions. For one thing, I have no choice. Under the law negotiated by the UFT, Reformy John may do whatever he wishes.

However, the measures I've heard about do not even meet that standard. They measure how students did in other subjects with how they do in mine. That's absurd on its face.

My colleagues who've gone to these meetings report that it was a matter of trying to choose the least awful of a 

The Educated Reporter: Resources for Reporters: EWA's Story Starters, Guides, and the New Glossary of Education Reform

The Educated Reporter: Resources for Reporters: EWA's Story Starters, Guides, and the New Glossary of Education Reform:

Resources for Reporters: EWA's Story Starters, Guides, and the New Glossary of Education Reform

Back-to-school kicks in to high gear this week for many education reporters, so it's a good time for a reminder about the EWA resources available to help you get up to speed on the hot topics, refresh your skills, and even add some new ones to your toolbox:

• Our series of Reporter Guides tackling topics interviewing children, making the most of your campus visits, and reading a district's budget. 

• If you're looking for ideas on deadline, head for EWA's Story Starters website. You'll find background information on topics ranging from classroom technology to school safety, in addition to suggested sources, related organizations, and recent research.

• We also have the brand-new Glossary of Education Reform for Journalists, which will help you with everything from accelerated learning to whole-school transformation.

And don't forget to save the date for upcoming in-person events, which includes our

8-26-13 The Answer Sheet Parents: Why we won’t look at our daughter’s test scores

The Answer Sheet:

Common Core tests widen achievement gap in New York

Here’s the latest post from award-winning Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in New York, who for more than a year on this blog has chronicled test-driven reform in her state (here, and here and here and here, … Continue reading →    

9 by Valerie Strauss / 1h mark as read  //  save

Parents: Why we won’t look at our daughter’s test scores

When New York State gave new Common Core-aligned standardized tests to students a few months ago, a number of parents decided to “opt out” because they don’t believe the test results mean anything. Here’s a related post, by Liz Rosenberg, … Continue reading →    

13 by Valerie Strauss / 3h 

First Day of School: Talking Back to Harry Wong - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

First Day of School: Talking Back to Harry Wong - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

First Day of School: Talking Back to Harry Wong

By Nancy Flanagan on August 26, 2013 7:42 AM

I can remember clearly the hour I stopped laying down the law--the rules, guidelines and procedures--on the first day of school. At our faculty meeting the previous day, my middle school principal said, "If I stop in your room tomorrow while I'm making the rounds, I want to see you reading the students your classroom rules. I want to see them posted on the wall and kids writing them down." He suggested we give our pupils a quiz over our classroom routines, stressing the cost of non-compliance, making kids' scores on that quiz their first grade of the year.

And for many years I did just that. The principal ran a tight ship--too tight for some parents' liking, in fact--but it was a good place to teach. I am pretty sure that was not the result of our annual Day of Rules, but because it was a small community full of two-parent families who cared deeply about their kids' education.

I hated spending Day One on procedures and systems. The first couple of classes weren't bad, as kids' curiosity and first-day good behavior kept them listening. But after lunch? I tried to think how I'd personally feel about spending six consecutive hours listening to rules, guidelines, procedures and the consequences that would rain down if I stepped over the line. Some teachers made their students practice procedures: putting their rules quiz in a special 

In the news: Philly’s budget crisis goes national, Parents United co-founder a commenter on Gallup poll, more! | Parents United for Public Education:

In the news: Philly’s budget crisis goes national, Parents United co-founder a commenter on Gallup poll, more! | Parents United for Public Education

Posted on August 26, 2013 by PARENTSUNITEDPHILALeave a comment

Philadelphia’s budget crisis makes national news

Philadelphia’s budget crisis made the front page of the New York Times under the headline “A City borrows so its schools open on time.” The story featured the voices of Parents United members Tomika Anglin, Leslie Tyler, and Helen Gym. An accompanying photo essay highlighted a town hall on education at Mother Bethel A.M.E..  Mark Tyler, pastor of Mother Bethel A.M.E. and a leader of P.O.W.E.R. – a 41 member interfaith coalition, is featured in photos along with Mark and Leslie’s two daughters, Madison and Sharon.  Helen Gym was the New York Times ”Quote of the Day” with this piece:

“The concept is just jaw-dropping,” said Helen Gym, who has three children in the city’s public schools. “Nobody is talking about what it takes to get a child educated. It’s just about what the lowest number is needed to get the bare minimum. That’s what we’re talking about here: the deliberate starvation of one of the nation’s biggest school districts.”

Philadelphia also was the subject of a significant piece at Salon.com and theWashington Post Answer Sheet.  Salon’s piece “Indescribably insane: A public school system from hell” was a no-holds barred takedown of Governor Tom Corbett’s purposeful and relentless underfunding of public school districts 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES:

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

"My best meeting with him was off stage, away from the lights at a private table in a steakhouse." -- J.C. Brizard 

CPS grandmother Irene Robinson

"This is safe passage? No, this is murder city," Robinson said, shaking her head. -- Aljazeera

 Ex-Marine  Col. Tom Tyrell

There are obvious differences between closing 50 schools and starting a new country or fighting terrorism. But there are also similarities. "Surge teams are available." -- WBEZ

 J.C. Brizard

“We severely underestimated the ability of the Chicago Teachers Union to lead a massive grassroots campaign against our administration... It takes a ton of inner strength to watch 4,000+ people in red shirts outside of your window protesting while a very heavy police presence looked on." -- Flypaper 

Dave Zirin

The people at this march are the face of resistance to what Dr. King called the 

Advocating for All Children: An Interview with PTA President Otha Thornton | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Advocating for All Children: An Interview with PTA President Otha Thornton | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Advocating for All Children: An Interview with PTA President Otha Thornton

By Anne O'Brien on August 26, 2013

When you think of the PTA, you might think of parents getting together to put on a fall carnival or bake cookies for teacher appreciation week. And while the National PTA does encourage teacher appreciation (and has a great Pinterest board dedicated to the topic), the organization is about so much more.
The overall purpose of the PTA is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children. The national organization prides itself on being a powerful voice for children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education, working in cooperation with many national education, health, safety and child advocacy groups and federal agencies on behalf of every child.
Otha Thornton was installed as President of the National PTA in June 2013, making history as the first African-American male to lead the organization. He recently took the time to tell us about himself and his views on education, as well as how the PTA is gearing up to address the challenges facing public education.
Public School Insights (PSI): It’s been widely noted that you are the first African American male president in the National PTA’s history. What do you think is the significance of that?
Thornton: It demonstrates that PTA, as an Association, transcends race. The founders did not 

School bullying prevention efforts falling short, state audit says | EdSource Today

School bullying prevention efforts falling short, state audit says | EdSource Today:

School bullying prevention efforts falling short, state audit says

August 26th, 2013 | 1 Comment | 
By Jane Meredith Adams

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Photo from Flickr under Creative Commons license

Responding to concerns that schools should do more to stop bullying, a new state audit found that most schools do not track whether their anti-bullying programs have made campuses any safer and that schools are inconsistent in how they record and resolve bullying incidents.

Oversight and guidance from the California Department of Education has been insufficient, the audit said, noting the department went four years without noticing that it was not monitoring schools to ensure they were addressing student complaints, as required by law. At the same time, funding has been cut for statewide surveys on student safety, making it more difficult to determine students’ experiences with bullying.

On the plus side, the audit, released Tuesday by State Auditor Elaine Howle, did find that the vast majority of California schools have anti-bullying programs in place and have provided staff training in how to prevent bullying, discrimination, harassment and intimidation.

Still, one advocate said the audit confirms that much