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Friday, August 15, 2014

8-15-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":







Video: Teachers Visiting Parents’ Homes In North Carolina
WECT TV6-WECT.com:News, weather If the embed code is not working, you can go to the news site directly to see the video.
“How to develop a strong parent/teacher relationship”
How to develop a strong parent/teacher relationship is an article in a New Jersey newspaper that offers decent advice to both parents and teachers. You might also be interested in The Best Sources Of Parent Engagement Advice For Teachers.
My Best Posts On “Conditional Cash Transfers”
Conditional Cash Transfers are payments made to families to encourage them to do things like go to doctor appointments, and to children for increased school attendance and higher standardized test scores, and have been in the news lately. I’ve published a number of posts about them, and I thought readers might find it helpful if I brought them all together: Politico Asks:”Can You Fight Poverty by
Useful Follow-Up Article On White House Family Engagement Conference
I’ve previously posted about the recent White House conference on family engagement (see “White House Symposium on Transformative Family Engagement” Was Held Today). Carla Thompson from the Kellogg Foundation, who sponsored the conference, just published a piece at The Huffington Post about it. Check out Family Engagement: The Top of Everyone’s Back-to-School Checklist.
Politico Asks:”Can You Fight Poverty by Paying Kids to Go to School?” The Answer Is “No”
I’ve previously published several posts on this blog about the concept of Conditional Cash Transfers, which are basically programs that provide money to low-income families to “incentivize” certain behaviors. As I shared in those previous posts, I’m all for getting more money into the hands of low-income people and, though I think there are more effective ways to combat poverty, who am I to criti
Ridiculous British Policy Of Punishing Parents For Student Vacations Continues — 64,000 Fines Issued
I’ve previously published a number of posts about the ridiculous British policy of punishing parents for taking their students on vacation during the school year. Here are two new resources: Number of parents fined for term-time holidays soars by 70 per cent is from The Telegraph. School holiday fines in England ‘unfair’, say parents is from The BBC.
“More Denver Public School teachers reaching out through home visits”
More Denver Public School teachers reaching out through home visits is the headline of a recent article in the Denver Post. Here’s an excerpt: In the past few years, kindergarten teacher Kori Leaman-Miller can’t think of any student who cried on their first day of school. She hadn’t given it much thought, but officials who are growing home-visit programs in school districts say it may not be accid
“L.A. literacy program unites families, boosts kids’ reading skills”
L.A. literacy program unites families, boosts kids’ reading skills is the headline of an article in today’s Los Angeles Times. Here’s an excerpt: The program, which has operated for nearly 20 years, brings families together for reading lessons, adult education opportunities and parenting techniques. The program aims to provide parents with the skills and knowledge to be successful at school, work
Parent Group Organizes In Chicago
In These Times has just published an article headlined ‘Bad Ass Moms’ Defend Chicago Public Schools. Here’s an excerpt: Though there are a number of parent organizations fighting for educational justice in the city—including Parents 4 Teachers (P4T) and More Than a Score (MTS), whose membership overlaps with BAM’s—BAM concentrates on a breadth of issues rather than advocacy around any one particul
“These Teachers Visit Every Student Before School Starts”
These Teachers Visit Every Student Before School Starts is a nice Ed Week article, including a number of links, about an annual home-visiting program by teachers in Kentucky. You can read more about it here. I’m adding the links to The Best Resources For Learning About Teacher Home Visits.

8-15-14 Hemlock on the Rocks

Hemlock on the Rocks:







WalMart Sends Mixed Messages About Wage Slavery
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Incredibly Irresponsible Rhetoric in Response to LAUSD system glitches from CalWatchDog
http://calwatchdog.com/2014/08/14/lausd-system-does-not-compute/ LAUSD system does not compute | CalWatchDog August 14, 2014 - By John Seiler You'd think a state that's still by far the center of the global computer industry could produce government

Gulen-Linked Schools in Calif. to be Investigated by State | Asbarez Armenian News
http://asbarez.com/125967/gulen-linked-schools-in-calif-to-be-investigated-by-state/comment-page-1/#comment-8016974 Gulen-Linked Schools in Calif. to be Investigated by StateMagnolia Science Academy 6 in Palms is one of the schools cited for financial mismanagement SACRAMENTO, LOS ANGELES—The Joint


Gulen-Linked Schools in Calif. to be Investigated by State | Asbarez Armenian News
http://asbarez.com/125967/gulen-linked-schools-in-calif-to-be-investigated-by-state/ Gulen-Linked Schools in Calif. to be Investigated by StateMagnolia Science Academy 6 in Palms is one of the schools cited for financial mismanagement SACRAMENTO, LOS ANGELES—The Joint Legislative Audit Committee on
5 States With the Worst Public Schools
http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/5-states-with-the-worst-public-schools.html/?a=viewall&ref=OB 5 States With the Worst Public Schools Source: Thinkstock Terms like immigration and health care have really
Close to Home: Disruptive innovation in education | The Press Democrat
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/opinion/2533094-181/close-to-home-disruptive-innovation Close to Home: Disruptive innovation in education | The Press Democrat
Due Process Blues for Brown and Greene who Laments Teaching without Tenure /Ravitch
http://dianeravitch.net/2014/08/15/peter-greene-what-it-means-to-teach-without-tenure/comment-page-1/#comment-2223407Referring to tenure as due process is a very simple yet effective rhetorical concession we should make as comments here confirm. For the public tenure is offensive and for good reason. As we all know, there are bad teachers, administrators and officials. The system is infested with
The War on Education
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/28/1316793/-The-War-on-Education The War on EducationI've been involved in education for over forty years. For most of that I didn't do it for a living but managed to keep at it never the less. It was actually John Holt's How Children Fail that got me involved back in
National Education Association's Lily Eskelsen Garcia on teaching, testing, and fighting back
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/27/1316368/-National-Education-Association-s-Lily-Eskelsen-Garcia-on-teaching-testing-and-fighting-back National Education Association's Lily Eskelsen Garcia on teaching, testing, and fighting back Both major teachers unions, the National Education Association
Teachers union calls for 'improvement' plan for Arne Duncan, but AFT is in Need of Improvements of its own
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/14/1313898/-Teachers-union-calls-for-improvement-plan-for-Arne-Duncan Teachers union calls for 'improvement' plan for Arne Duncan The American Federation of Teachers followed the National Education Association in passing a resolution sharply critical of
Detroit schools emergency manager raises class size to emergency levels
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/07/18/1314775/-Detroit-schools-emergency-manager-raises-class-size-to-emergency-levels Detroit schools emergency manager raises class size to emergency levels As Detroit struggles with bankruptcy, its public schools are struggling, too. They even have their very

Let's Be Honest: We Don't Know How to Make Great Teachers - Education Week Teacher
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/08/11/fp_fryshman_teacher_quality.html?cmp=ENL-TU-NEWS1


LAUSD says it's not subject to state's 'parent trigger' law this year - LA Times
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-parent-trigger-20140815-story.html?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Feducation+%28L.A.+Times+-+Education%29 LAUSD says it's not subject to state's 'parent trigger' law this year


Wal-Mart, Don't Discount the Power of Teachers | MomsRising's Blog
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8-13-14 Hemlock on the Rocks
Hemlock on the Rocks: Eli Broad on Education, DTLA, and Gun Controlby Rene Diedrich / 1h STANDARDIZED : Lies, Money, & Civil Rights: How Testing Is Ruining Public EducationFor decades, standardized testing has been a part of public education. Within the last ten years, however, education reform has promoted even more testing. Test scores, mistakenly viewed as effective assessments of student a




8-15-14 Perdido Street School

Perdido Street School:






No Wonder Andrew Cuomo And Billy Joel Are Friends
From the NY Post:The Piano Man is really The Electronic Keyboard Man.A tipster who peaked under the lid of Billy Joel’s Steinway grand piano tells me there are no strings inside. The 88 ivories are connected to an electronic synthesizer.“The fans don’t know it. They love him and pack the place, but the grand ‘piano’ he has onstage is just a shell with no guts,” said my source.A Joel spokeswoman sa

Why Did NYSUT Endorse The Pro-Charter, Pro-Voucher Jeff Klein?
 From State of Politics:Independent Democratic Conference Leader Jeff Klein on Friday touted his endorsement from the New York State United Teachers union. “I’m honored to have the endorsement of NYSUT, whose membership works hard each and every day on everything from shaping young minds in our public schools to educating adults in our colleges and universities. I’m committed to being a voice for

De Blasio, Farina Full of Shit On Test Scores
The lede of this Eliza Shapiro piece at Capital NY:Mayor Bill de Blasio and schools chancellor Carmen Fariña on Thursday praised the slight improvement in citywide test scores while reiterating their shared ambivalence toward testing in general. At a press conference at the Brooklyn Brownstone School to announce the scores, de Blasio said, "This is a good day for the whole New York City schoo

8-14-14 Perdido Street School
Perdido Street School: NYSED To Release Common Core Test Scores TodayFrom WIVB:BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The tests are over, and soon we will know the outcome of round two of Common Core testing. New York will release the results Thursday. Students took the math and English tests in April. This is the second year of the controversial testing standards. New York students scored lower last year than th

Retired Youngstown Professor Launches Website to Expose Horrors of Ohio School “Reform” | janresseger

Retired Youngstown Professor Launches Website to Expose Horrors of Ohio School “Reform” | janresseger:



Retired Youngstown Professor Launches Website to Expose Horrors of Ohio School “Reform”

This blog will take a three-week, late summer break after today.  Look for a new post on Monday, September 8.  Enjoy the rest of your summer!
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Randy Hoover is a recently retired professor of education at Youngstown State University, right here in rust-belt Ohio, where he has learned from experience about the challenges facing teachers in an economically distressed urban area. Diane Ravitch recently posted Hoover’s introduction to a new website he is launching to expose the misconceptions, fallacies, and lies of today’s school “reform” movement.
Hoover’s description of the experiences of his former students—now teachers—perfectly depicts what teachers here in Cleveland tell me:  “With every new semester, my students expressed greater concern and more confusion about what was happening to them.  They wanted to know why their professional worlds were being so drastically altered for the worse, why they were being singled out as a profession for demonization and ridicule by the media, the public, and both major political parties.  Indeed, some of my students were even beginning to believe the rhetoric of reform.  Sadly, the only explanations they had were the fragmented, shallow propaganda slogans the reformists were peddling in the media…. There was simply no reflective critique, no voices challenging No Child Left Behind and the cascading, anti-teacher, anti-public school mandates gushing from the Ohio legislature and the Ohio Department of Education that were inundating them.”
Hoover captures both the irony and tragedy of how standardized testing and the rating of school districts is playing out in metropolitan areas across the United States these days: “For my students working in high-poverty schools, the isolation and alienation was palpable, with very good, dedicated teachers feeling demoralized and abandoned amid the very public, state-mandated accountability reports showing them to be professionally incompetent.  Equally disturbing were those in the wealthier schools who were starting to become a bit smug because these same accountability reports portrayed them to be professionally excellent.  Neither group understood that teachers in low-performing schools were no more the cause Retired Youngstown Professor Launches Website to Expose Horrors of Ohio School “Reform” | janresseger