Thursday, August 29, 2013

Mother claims district offered family thousands to keep autistic son out of school | news10.net

Mother claims district offered family thousands to keep autistic son out of school | news10.net:

Mother claims district offered family thousands to keep autistic son out of school

YUBA CITY, CA - The mother of a child with severe autism and diabetes said two school districts are violating her son's right to an education.

Heather Houston has been involved in ongoing negotiations with Yuba City Unified School District and Sutter County Superintendent of Schools since last year.

According to Houston, they've discriminated against her son, David Swanson, and refused to follow his individualized education program. They've even barred him from campus with his private duty nurse, despite doctor's orders.

On the first day of school in mid-August, the nurse refused to sign a medical release form, which would allow the district's school nurse to communicate with Swanson's doctor and care for him. Houston said the school denied him and the nurse entry because of the nurse's refusal, even though the waiver reads refusal will not effect the student's education.

PREVIOUS STORY: Mom: School endangers, discriminates against son with autism, diabetes

Houston said school officials are going to extreme lengths, even offering tens of

8-29-13 Wait What?

Wait What?:

Connecticut Teachers: If you think it is bad now….just wait

Arthur Goldstein is a teacher at Francis Lewis High School in Queens, New York where he teaches English language learners. He has a great blog called NYC Educator. Today, Diane Ravitch posted a letter that Arthur Goldstein sent to his colleagues after attending a meeting on New York’s new teacher evaluation system. The system in […]The post Connecticut Teachers: If you think it is bad now….just wa

30 by jonpelto / 1h

Think Bridgeport’s TFA issue is bad, try Windham’s

As reported yesterday and reprinted in today’s Washington Post, thanks to a deal between Paul Vallas and Nate Snow, the Executive Director for the Connecticut Chapter of Teach for America, Bridgeport hired another 31 TFA recruits this week. The contract Vallas signed last spring committed the City of Bridgeport to hire 125 mostly out-of-state TFA […]The post Think Bridgeport’s TFA issue is bad, t

9 by jonpelto / 41min

8-28-13 Wait What?

Wait What?: Bridgeport overlooks trained Connecticut residents to hire 31 new Teach for America recruitsLast Monday night, Paul Vallas, Bridgeport’s faux superintendent of schools revealed that he had hired another 31 Teach for America recruits to staff Bridgeport’s schools this year. Few, if any of the recruits come from Connecticut and none went a Connecticut college or university to become a

by mike simpson / 18h

September Strategies to Foster a Successful Classroom Community — Whole Child Education

September Strategies to Foster a Successful Classroom Community — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

September Strategies to Foster a Successful Classroom Community

August 29, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Post written byRachel Lissy

As a professional development trainer with Ramapo for Children, an organization that provides youth programming and adult training for special needs students, I often offer feedback to teachers regarding their classroom and behavior management. Often, when teachers reflect upon a particularly challenging lesson or stressful period, they will get a faraway look in their eyes and pine for the possibilities of next September. As early as October or November they will rue the structures and expectations they did not put in place from day one. "Next year," they tell me, "things will be different. I won't make the same mistakes."

It's a commonly held notion in schools that the first few weeks of school are essential for developing a successful and positive classroom culture. Although the work of creating a positive classroom culture is never complete and requires relentless effort on the part of teachers, there are specific strategies and practices that, when introduced early in the year, help to foster a culture of learning and classroom community. Here are a few strategies for teachers to consider in anticipation of a new year:

1. DEFINE THE STANDARDS AND PURPOSE OF YOUR COMMUNITY AND SET EXPECTATIONS.

Articulate a vision from day one about the shared purpose of your classroom community. Link this shared purpose (learning new things, becoming critical thinkers, making friends, graduating from high school) to your classroom expectations. You should be able to link your classroom rules and expectations to the shared

8-29-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

My Meeting with Michael Tolley and Shauna Heath

Back at the beginning of the summer, when I was being a real nudge, I was invited to a half-hour meeting with Michael Tolley and Shauna Heath scheduled for today. We had that meeting this morning and it consisted entirely of my questions and their answers. They were gracious and relatively candid. Half an hour isn't much time and I wanted to cover a few topics in great depth.The first thing I aske

by Charlie Mas / 1h

Education News

Some interesting legal rulings have come across my desk.One is from Ed Week that 529 Plan Savings can be used to pay for college courses taken in high school. As long as students are getting college-level credit and are enrolled as students at a college, there is no age requirement about when families can start using savings from their 529 plans, according to Joseph Hurley, founder of Savingforco

by Melissa Westbrook / 7min

Nickelsville to move near Washington Middle School?

The West Seattle Blog is reporting that the Nickelsville homeless camp will be moving to a site at 20th and Jackson which is near Washington Middle School at 21st and Jackson.I'll ask the district about this. Thanks to alert reader Amy.

by Melissa Westbrook / 22min

Executive Committee Meeting Wrap-up

I attended the Executive Committee meeting last week.The minutes from the previous meeting on June 12th were somewhat telling. They reflect some discussion of the new Seattle Teacher Residency program. Michael Tolley noted that it had been assigned to the Audit and Finance Committee and not the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. That's interesting because I would think training teachers woul

by Melissa Westbrook / 6min

Marni Campbell Leaving Seattle Schools

Marni Campbell, Executive Director for the NW, is leaving to become the Executive Director of Instruction and Innovation in Highline School District for Susan Enfield. (Oddly, the notice of her hiring just calls her "Executive Director of Schools" which sounds like a far larger post than for just a region. Probably an oversight.) I don't see this as a big loss for SPS as it seemed that she was

by Melissa Westbrook / 46min

8-28-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools: Not Open for Business September 4th?The district sent out this e-mail to families:The Seattle Education Association (SEA), which represents teachers, rejected the district’s latest contract proposal. They plan to meet again on September 3 to vote on whatever the proposal is at that time. With the start of school on September 4, we are encouraging f

by mike simpson / 10h

Morning Read: School CA Schools Moving Toward Segregation - LA School Report

Morning Read: School CA Schools Moving Toward Segregation - LA School Report:

Morning Read: School CA Schools Moving Toward Segregation

Posted on August 29, 2013 by LA School Report

In shadow of March on DC, schools increasingly segregated in California
Fifty years after the March on Washington, a major challenge facing California and the West in general is increasing segregation of black and Latino students, reviving a debate that Brown v Board of Education was supposed to resolve: whether it is possible to have “separate but equal” schools. Echoing his remarks is a report issued this week by the Economic Policy Institute lamenting the increasing educational isolation of black students nationally. EdSource

Making room for charter students

Editorial: When voters passed Proposition 39 in 2000, they surely had no idea of the headaches it would cause Los Angeles schools. Most Californians probably never even noticed the wording about providing space for charter schools, and if they did, they had little idea of what a charter school was. The chief purpose of the measure was to allow school bonds to pass with 55% of the vote rather than the two-thirds supermajority required up to that point. Schools were falling apart and classrooms were so tightly packed that many campuses operated on year-round, multitrack schedules. By making it easier to pass school bonds, Proposition 39 literally changed the school landscape. LA Times

LAUSD: Students Can’t Take School-Issued iPads Home

The Los Angeles Unified School District’s plan to equip each of its students with an iPad has hit a snag, families too poor to afford a broadband connection. Steve

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

New LAUSD technology panel tackles details of iPad project

Education Headlines

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Stockton USD pays $65,000 over Amato aide firing dispute

Avoiding the potential six-figure cost of going to trial, Stockton Unified has agreed to pay $65,000 to Matt George to settle a lawsuit filed in 2012 by the former second-in-command to controversial ex-Superintendent Tony Amato.

Schools closed all week

Tuolumne County public schools will remain closed at least through Friday due to unhealthy smoke from the Rim Fire, said Tuolumne County Superintendent of Schools Joe Silva.

Madera teachers poised to vote on contract agreement

Madera Unified teachers are getting ready to vote on a proposed contract agreement that's been a political hot potato for more than a year.

Fresno Unified to bring in 2 ex-Sanger district officials to help 14 schools

Fresno Unified is hiring two former top leaders of the Sanger Unified School District to assist 14 Fresno schools that need additional help closing student achievement gaps.

Rialto Unified to be audited by county superintendent of schools

The audit comes in response to the arrest of district accountant Judith Oakes on Aug. 8 on suspicion of burglary, embezzlement and grand theft.

Short lunches can shortchange students

For schools to receive federal reimbursement for lunches, they must serve – not just offer – each student at least a half-cup of fruit or vegetables. Lunches also must include servings of at least two other foods, such as a protein and a grain. The requirement, adopted in the last school year, is part of an effort to serve students healthier foods. And eating those foods takes time – more time than many students have.

Bonsall, Fallbrook districts agree to high school phased opening

The newly created Bonsall Unified School District will open its high school one grade level at a time starting next fall, a decision that was reached in ongoing negotiations with Fallbrook’s high school district.

Dad stole $14,000 from Peninsula parent teacher group, DA says

A father faces jail time for embezzling $14,000 from the parent teacher association at his son's Peninsula elementary school in order to pay his bills, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

New LAUSD technology panel tackles details of iPad project

A day after LAUSD handed out iPads to kids at two of its campuses, the school board’s Technology Committee started its own deep dive into the program that will put a tablet computer in the hands of every student by this time next year.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Ventura schools' cyberbullying policy aims to curtail student clashes

This month the Ventura Unified School Board created a policy for district-affiliated websites and expanded its bullying policy to include social network posts, text messages and photos.

Fillmore school leaders grapple with changes in funding, standards

Superintendent Dr. Alan Nishino expressed to the school board his concerns and frustrations at the implementation of the state’s Local Control Funding Formula, which would give districts with high numbers of low-income students and English learners the most money.

$1.5M on class supplies? Scratch that

Lodi Unified School District officials are apologizing to the public for a typographical error that could have led some to believe that trustees approved a near $1.5 million increase to school site budgets when they meant to approve $150,000.

8-29-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Urban Ed Blog Takes Shot at Peter Cunningham

....people on the other side will respond with public jeers and snickers and will invoke the children in order to marginalize these very real concerns and discredit the people who express them. This is how their kind always responds to criticism and dissent. ... Urban EdOur pal at Urban Education exposes Peter Cunningham, who used to work for Arne Duncan, after he went after Diane Ravitch's new bo

1 by ed notes online / 18min mark as read // save

Fred Smith in DN: One sad measure of Dr. King’s dream

King would not have accepted test scores that only confirm the profound inequities that plague poor kids. Nor would he have blamed teachers for the problem. Rather, he would have let his voice ring out about the need for sound education designed to prepare students to lead fulfilling lives and provide a means for overcoming economic injustices. ... Fred Smith What a day. We got 2 of our published

1 by ed notes online / 18min

8-28-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: Julie Cavanagh Analyzes Teacher Evaluation OptionsIf only our current union leadership could communicate to teachers how best to protect themselves in what is going to be a very challenging and dangerous school year for everybody - students, teachers and administrators - as well as Julie Cavanagh does. ....Perdido Street School blogDecide to get involved: I am convinced the overw

by mike simpson / 12h

The Philadelphia School Crush Saga « City School Stories

The Philadelphia School Crush Saga « City School Stories:

The Philadelphia School Crush Saga

A Teacher’s Point of View

Notes from the Field

Submitted by Joy of Teaching

Over the summer I spent time in doctor’s waiting rooms and began playing the online game sensation “Candy Crush Saga” to whittle away the time. The game is based upon matching three similar colored candy pieces to reach certain goals and advance to higher levels. Although the game is a time consuming distraction, it can also be maddening.

As one advances through the levels the goals become more difficult to reach. Impending obstacles, like growing chocolate, race to swallow up a candy combination that you are carefully planning to make. Well placed time bombs explode if you don’t get to them first by wasting precious moves. It was at some point while playing the Candy Crush Saga game that I realized that the game changes the rules as it moves along. A stripped candy mix that once cleared two columns now only clears one. A wrapped candy that would zap those bombs now misses them by a mile. At times, I have seen the game actually cheat! Candy that should move one way in a well planned move suddenly disappears! I came to the realization that the game will let you win, if and when it is ready to.

Alas, if you do not reach the set goal after five attempts, your game is over for 30 minutes. However, you can pay to play! This is how Candy Crush Saga earns revenue of $633,000 per day. The other day, while making the 76^th attempt at level 139, and mulling over all of the ongoing Philadelphia School District drama, I realized the teachers of the Philadelphia School District are all just playing one big game of Philadelphia School Crush Saga.

This game begins quite similarly in that teachers begin their days trying to differentiate, or match, curriculum to the ever divers combination of students assigned to them. The goals in this game are test scores. If your

- See more at: http://cityschoolstories.com/the-philadelphia-school-crush-saga/#sthash.ukQyzSKo.dpuf

Uncommon Sense to the Core | Lily's Blackboard

Uncommon Sense to the Core | Lily's Blackboard:

Uncommon Sense to the Core

Aug 29th, 2013

by Lily.

I was talking to my neighbor the other day. On the front stoop, she introduced me to her friend who was visiting – a middle-school librarian from Maryland.

I told her I worked with the NEA, and we talked a little shop. I asked, “So what are you doing to get ready for the school year.” She said, “Well, my district is giving us all a lot of in-service on the Common Core Standards. I’m kind of excited about how it could change things. I’m getting all kinds of ideas about how our school library can be used in new ways.”

And so begins the revolution.

I’ll admit it. They had to win me over to the Common Core State Standards. Maybe it’s because it has “standard” in the name, and I can’t help but think of standardized tests – that tail that not only wags the dog, but has become the dog. Hitting your number on a standardized test has become what it means to teach and what it means to learn.

When state governors – Republicans and Democrats – started talking about national standards that would com

NYC Public School Parents: Please contribute to help the final orphaned class at Christopher Columbus HS

NYC Public School Parents: Please contribute to help the final orphaned class at Christopher Columbus HS:

Please contribute to help the final orphaned class at Christopher Columbus HS

credit: GothamSchools

Here is the somber request by an alumnae of Columbus HS in the Bronx to help students in the last graduating class at that school, being phased out by the DOE, receive college counseling and other basic programs that have been denied them by the powers that be, by donating to a fund at thePartnership for Student Advocacy. Be sure to watch the heartbreaking video below with interviews of students at phase out schools -- their futures cut loose by the DOE, right under the invitation to their fundraiser.

Christopher Columbus H.S., in the Bronx, my alma mater, opened in 1938, so the school year beginning in a few days is its 75th anniversary year. Unfortunately, thanks to M. Bloomberg, J. Klein and D. Walcott, the principal significance of this upcoming year for the school is that it will be its last -- despite the almost unanimous statements, opinions and pleas at hearings on the subject from teachers, students, parents, administrators, local elected officials and alums in each of those categories, that the school not be closed and that it deserved to keep going with more assistance from the D.O.E. To say that this feedback fell on deaf ears is an understatement. They stopped admitting entering classes after that (3 years ago), so that there is only the current senior class left.

To make matters worse, the D.O.E. has withdrawn services so that these last remaining senior's are not being provided with college help, enrichment programs and other programs that they should be entitled to, like other high school seniors in the city are.

The program below is, working with the principal, trying to fund raise so that these services can be paid for and provided by outside contractors, so that this senior class will at least get some of what they deserve in their last year, even though interaction with a 9th, 10th and 11th grade won't be part of that.

I realize that many on this list are coping with, or already experienced similar tragedies and travesties at other schools around the city, but if there are Columbus alums/parents on this list who were unaware of this effort to help, or others who might wish to help some kids at a school they have had no connection with, consider getting in touch with the PFSA.

thanks, Richard Barr

From: pfsany@gmail.com
To: info@pfsany.org
Sent: 8/27/2013 10:33:33 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Mary Conway-Spiegel, PFSA & Christopher Columbus HS Invite You To Attend

Partnership For Student Advocacy & Christopher Columbus High School Need your RSVP

September 17, 2013 at 5:30 PM
925 Astor Avenue, Bronx, NY 10469

Please RSVP to pfsany@gmail.com by September 10.

To fund resources and programs for the Last Graduating Class, please make a check out to our fiscal sponsor, Urban Dove, and send it to:
PFSA
252 W 30th Street #5A 
New York, NY 10001
or donate through PayPal at www.pfsany.org/donate

A Point/Counterpoint Approach to Common Core Communication | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

A Point/Counterpoint Approach to Common Core Communication | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

A Point/Counterpoint Approach to Common Core Communication

National School Public Relations Association's picture

By National School Public Relations Association on August 29, 2013

By Jim Dunn, APR, Past President of the National School Public Relations Association(NSPRA)/Current Communication Consultant

The battle lines seem to be drawn concerning Common Core State Standards.
On one side are the likes of media personalities Glenn Beckand Michelle Malkin, billionaires Charles and David Koch, the Republican National Committee, the Tea Party, and a whole bevy of angry people who feel like their country has taken a very wrong turn.
On the other side of the debate, and solidly pro-Common Core, are seventy-plus percent of teachers nationwide, conservative political leaders such as former Republican Governor Jeb Bush, 45 state boards of education, theNational Chamber of Commerce and a horde of bewildered education advocates who thought their country, at last, was going to improve K-12 education.
Boards of education, superintendents and school communications professionals now are caught squarely in the middle of an intense political/ideological battle that could derail years of thoughtful efforts to improve U.S. education. The grassroots consortium of professionals who led the development of Common Core standards – from superintendents to teachers to national education experts – believed they were on track to deliver a K-12 education model that would ensure every United States high school graduate is able to compete with anyone in the world to find a worthy job and/or succeed in college.
More Communication Needed Now
The frustration of those who oppose Common Core is both palpable, and in some cases,

Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, August 29, 2013