7-9-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice Guy

Wait What?:

Wait What? All Week

Charter School company collapse continues

Andrea Comer, the former COO of Jumoke/FUSE charter school company has resigned her position on the State Board of Education, while the Bridgeport Board of Education prepares to end ties with Jumoke/FUSE, the charter school company that was given a lucrative no-bid contract to run Bridgeport’s Dunbar Elementary School thanks to Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy’s […] The post Charter School company col

by jonpelto / 9min 

Why won’t UConn simply tell the truth?

According to today’s Hartford Courant, the University of Connecticut has returned the public stage, again, to claim that no taxpayer or student funds were used to pay for Hillary Clinton’s $251,000 speaking fee, for Governor Dannel “Dan” Malloy’s trip to Switzerland and China or for the 7,000 square foot house that the UConn Foundation bought […] The post Why won’t UConn simply tell the truth? app

9 by jonpelto / 2h 

7-8-14 Wait What? - Jonathan Pelto: Gubernatorial Candidate and A Really Nice GuyWait What?: Wait What? All WeekHartford Courant – Is Pelto A Spoiler In Race For Governor?From the Hartford Courant comes their latest – a clear-cut, concise and to-the-point editorial; Is Pelto A Spoiler In Race For Governor? Former state representative and political consultant Jonathan Pelto has been a burr under the saddle of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ever since the first Democratic governor in 20

by mike simpson / 6h 

7-9-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

New Glitch in Downtown School in old Federal Reserve Building

From Publicola (partial):Last month, federal agencies rejected an application from a coalition of homeless advocates to convert the old Federal Reserve building at 1015 2nd Ave. in downtown Seattle into a comprehensive homeless services center. But homeless advocates like Tristia Bauman "believe that the application was denied…in contravention of federal law” and are calling on the agencies t

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

Banda asks Duncan to allow SPS Waiver

From Superintendent Banda:Dear Seattle Public Schools community,Over the last several years we have made great strides in ensuring our students graduate ready for success in college, career and life. However, much work remains to ensure that each and every student has the academic and community supports they need to be successful learners in school and beyond.In order to best serve our students an

by Melissa Westbrook / 8min 

Awkward and Odd; Green Dot Comes to Town

As I previously reported, Green Dot has submitted a letter of intent to the Charter Commission to open their second Puget Sound region charter school this time in "south Seattle."  A couple of readers alerted me that Green Dot had two open houses this week, one in the SW and one in the SE, to meet parents.  I attended the SE one held at the Boys and Girls Club on MLK, Jr. Way tonight. It

by Melissa Westbrook / 8h 

7-8-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: The History of Board PrioritiesAt the most recent Board Retreat, the Deputy Superintendent, Charles Wright, told the Board, in a rather elaborate fashion, that if the Board added a bell time switch to the list of Board priorities, it would have a severe impact on the staff's work. Nearly every department would bear part of the burden and nearly every current initia

by mike simpson / 5h 

7-9-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter:

The State Board of Ed, the Uneducated Educated, and the Unelected

By Doug Martin Despite letter after letter and a strong physical presence in support of our democratically elected supt. of public instruction, the Pence/state board/CECI trio today set the ball in motion to steal more power from Glenda Ritz to carry on the billionaires' corporate-theocratic agenda I detail in my book Hoosier School Heist. The whole attack against Glenda Ritz is, in essence,  an a

by Doug Martin / 29min 

Teachers' Rights Smashed at Another Charter Chain Gang

by Jim Horn / 14min

A Teacher's Take on Common Core

From Labor Notes:. . . .There’s debate among teachers about the idea of replacing the status quo, state standards, with national ones. But the implementation has been roundly unpopular.Forty-five states and the District of Columbia have adopted the national standards, which cover English and math. Students will be tested on them every year, kindergarten through 12th grade.Lessons at all grade leve

by Jim Horn / 1h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

The input that matters most

Sent to the Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2014Joshua Lipshutz ("The legal road map to better schools," July 8) points out that "...the easiest inputs to measure are not necessarily those that matter most to student learning." Vergara judge used one that doesn't matter: Teacher quality as measured by gains on standardized tests.  A number of studies have shown that rating teacher

by skrashen / 8h 

7-8-14 Schools Matter All Week

Schools Matter: Duncan's Latest Party Balloon Just Got Popped in TennesseeWhen NAEP reported in May that Tennessee high school seniors finish next to last in NAEP proficieny in the latest testing derby (just behind West Virginia), it took some of the glory from the earlier report on NAEP scores for grades 4 & 8 that Kevin Huffman and his band of TFA lawyers plastered on every available wall sp

by mike simpson / 6h 

7-9-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL:

I’ll Be Interviewed Online About My Student Motivation Books At 10:50 AM (PST) On Thursday

  The Reform Symposium Free Online Conference (RSCON) is going to be doing a series of live interviews with authors in a Google Hangout tomorrow, Thursday, and I’m scheduled for 10:50 AM Pacific Time to discuss my series of books on student motivation. You can see the interview here as well as see the line-up of other authors participating. Viewers will be able to participate in a chatboard to c

by Larry Ferlazzo / 53min 

Perhaps My Last Listing Of New Resources For This Year’s World Cup

© 2010 Capture Of Dreams, Flickr | CC-BY-ND | via Wylio Here are what are perhaps the final additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The 2014 World Cup In Brazil: ESPN has a phenomenal site for the World Cup called World Cup Essentials. Life in Brazil – during – the World Cup, in Pictures is from Vox. So You Think You Can Flop? is a fun Washington Post interactive.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 53min 

A New Tool For Creating Email Newsletters From Wix

© 2011 FontShop, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio The ability to create an email newsletter can come in handy for bloggers, teachers and other writers. and I share a number of free tools that let you make them easily at The Best Applications For Creating Free Email Newsletters. Now Wix, the popular website-creating tool, has announced a new feature they call Shout Out that lets you send one out. It appe

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13min hide  //  save

The Best Resources For Learning About Balanced Literacy & The “Reading Wars”

© 2011 Official U.S. Navy Page, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio The so-called “reading wars” on how best to teach literacy are back in the news with the recent announcement that “balanced literacy” is back on the approved list for New York City schools to use. It should come as no surprise to readers that I’m a big supporter of Lucy Calkins and the balanced literacy approach, as my recent tweet demonst

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13min 

Watch This Video & Complete The Sentence: “This Is An Allegory For_______”

We’ve all seen dogs barking at each other through fences. But I doubt you’ve ever seen them do this…. If you feel like it, leave a comment completing this sentence: “This is an allegory for…….” And if the video doesn’t come through on an RSS Readers — believe me, it’s worth clicking through to see it.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 20min 

Video: Donald Duck On Self-Control

I’ve previously shared the videos Sesame Street has done this year promoting the virtue of self-control. They’re pretty creative and entertaining. I just learned that Walt Disney apparently had similar ideas in 1938, and put out this cartoon of Donald Duck teaching and learning about self-control — in his own unique way:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 6h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Two Fun Links To Learn About The World’s Cultures

Here are two new additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The World’s Different Cultures: The McDonald’s meals abroad that may come as a surprise... is actually pretty interesting and is from The Daily Mail. And here’s an infographic sharing the national flowers of many countries:

by Larry Ferlazzo / 7h 

“The New Yorker” Makes All Articles Available For Free Until November

The New Yorker, my favorite magazine, has just announced that they will eliminate their online paywall and make everything available for three months beginning on July 21st. At the end of that period they will unveil a revised paywall. Right now, they make about a third of their articles available for free each week. It’s good news for the short-term and bad news for the long-term. I’ve been a s

by Larry Ferlazzo / 8h

7-8-14 Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL, & EF

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… | …For Teaching ELL, ESL, & EFL: Useful Article: “How to Read Education Data Without Jumping to Conclusions”How to Read Education Data Without Jumping to Conclusions is a good article in The Atlantic by Jessica Lahey & Tim Lahey. I’m adding it to The Best Resources For Understanding How To Interpret Education Research. Here’s an excerpt:by Larry Ferlaz

by mike simpson / 6h 

7-9-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

About the radio show

Join Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar 

LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST 

on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. 

Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. 

You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursday at 7PM EST.

Visit the @ the Chalk Face radio main page for more information on the show and syndication.

An (Unofficial) DCPS Feeder Patterns & School ESEA Classification

Originally posted on EdCentrist:?

1 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 1h 

Ignoring the Job Market (and How We Do Are Jobs) When Studying Teachers’ Job Satisfaction

“Estimating the Effects of No Child Left Behind on Teachers and Their Work Environments and Job Attitudes,” by Jason Grissom et. al., uses NCES polling data from 1993-94 to 1999-2000 to 2003-04 to 2007-08. It begins by reviewing and challenging “anecdotal” evidence from great journalists and education writers. As I explained previously, I believe the […]

2 by John Thompson / 59min 

New York Magazine Writer Thinks Ravitch Will “Make” Unions “Go Republican”

I just finished writing a post about American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten’s allegiance to the Democratic Party above all else, and what link do I open up next? That of a New York Magazine article by Jonathan Chait, entitled, Teachers Unions Turn Against Democrats. Now that’s funny. Apparently Chait is upset that the two political parties are not […]

9 by deutsch29 / 8h 

7-8-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: About the radio showJoin Drs. Shaun Johnson and Tim Slekar LIVE Sundays at 6PM EST and Wednesdays at 7PM EST on Blog Talk Radio for progressive, pro-public education talk radio. Call in to speak live with Tim and Shaun during the show, (805) 727-7111. You can also listen to our Monday "Sunday-Replay" at 7PM EST, and re-broadcasts of the archives every Tuesday and Thursd

by mike simpson / 7h 

7-9-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:

Cuomo Is Full Of Shit

On Monday, Sheriff Andy Cuomo said this about the looming possibility of a LIRR strike because the MTA and the LIRR unions can't come to a contract agreement:“It’s actually Congress that can end a strike and impose a settlement one way or the other,” he said. “So right now it seems that Congress is pivotal to what happens here, and from what I read in the newspapers it’s going to depend on what Co

by reality-based edu... / 3min 

MTA Looks To Get Congress Involved In MTA/LIRR Unions Dispute

From the NY Post:The MTA’s negotiations with unions representing LIRR workers broke down Tuesday afternoon, 12 days before hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders would be left stranded by a strike.With the walkout looming, MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast penned a letter to US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner asking them to say what

by reality-based edu... / 1h hide  //  save

YESTERDAY

Vallone Scholarship Back For CUNY Students

This is great news:Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and a slew of elected officials announced today the restoration of the CUNY Merit-Based Scholarship Program, formerly known as the Peter Vallone scholarship. In the new city budget, the City Council allocated $11.1 million into the program that will provide merit-based scholarships to New York City high school student graduates who are able

by reality-based edu... / 10h 

7-8-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School: How Is This Tweet Harassment?The Daily News:Two city parents who signed onto a suit to end teacher tenure in New York State say they’re being harassed by an educator who backs the protection.Mona Davids and Sam Pirozzolo of the New York City Parents Union say they were targeted by teacher Francesco Portelos in a Sunday tweet.“U need your protection removed so if you see a di

by mike simpson / 7h