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Saturday, March 14, 2015

Chuy announces more details on his budget plan today! | WGN-TV ‪#‎Chuy2015‬ ‪#‎imwithchuy‬

Mayoral candidates offer details on budget plans | WGN-TV:



Chuy announces more details on his budget plan today!





 CHICAGO — Chicago mayoral candidate Jesus “Chuy” Garcia spelled out his plan to handle the city’s budget crisis while paying for programs he’s pushing on the campaign trail.

Both Garcia and Mayor Rahm Emanuel have been short on details about how to pay for city services in the face of a growing budget deficit.
In television ads, Emanuel has implied Garcia would raise taxes to balance the budget.
Garcia held a news conference Friday morning to give details on cutting the deficit and generating more revenue.
Garcia told reporters he can save millions with better collaboration among the city’s taxing four bodies.
Mayor Emanuel’s campaign released a statement about Garcia’s budget plans.
It says, in part: “After four months of studying for the final exam, Chuy Garcia is telling Chicago voters he will hand in his homework after graduation. Today’s stonewalling says zero about what Chuy would do to fund pensions and the budget, or where he would find new revenue.”

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Troubled public schools starving, not failing

Troubled public schools starving, not failing:



NY's schools aren't failing; they're starving






 In 2006, New York's highest court found that the state was underfunding schools so badly that many couldn't provide the minimum education required by the state Constitution. As a result, the state was required to fund an additional $5 billion to schools so that our schools could offer children a basic education.

But the state has never provided anywhere near the basic aid, called "foundation aid," that is legally due. (A lawsuit challenging New York's failure to pay foundation aid has been underway for several years.) Making matters worse, when the recession hit, the state tapped other funds that were due to schools and redirected them to cover the state's own shortfall, a formula called the "Gap Elimination Adjustment." Five years later, our schools are still being deniedthese GEA funds – even though the recession has ended and the state is running a multi-billion dollar surplus.
As a result, class sizes in underserved schools continue to be excessive and teacher support remains minimal. Textbooks and technology investments, after-school homework clubs, social workers, summer school and more, are all in short supply. Understandably, test scores and graduation rates remain low, as many districts struggle just to get by on what they have.
Failing schools?
The "2015 State of NY's Failing Schools" report, recently issued by the governor's office, calls out 178 New York districts for their low statistics – and yet makes no mention of the state's underfunding and the direct role it has played in keeping challenged districts from succeeding. To the contrary, the report promotes the minor increases the state has given. To appreciate the audacity of the state's spin, consider the Mount Vernon school district. The report points out that Mount Vernon now receives roughly $11.5 million more in state aid than it did five years ago. But the report makes no mention that the state still owes Mount Vernon more than double that amount!
It is plain that the districts in this report never stood a chance to improve. They didn't have and they still don't have the funds legally owed to them to provide a bare minimum education. These schools aren't failing; the state is failing.
Cuomo's solution
Sadly, Gov. Andrew Cuomo now attempts to capitalize on this situation to urge his draconian solution: turn over control of these districts to state-appointed receivers. This means that local boards of education and superintendents would be replaced by outside individuals or corporate entities. The receiver would make decisions on budget, class sizes, staffing, sports, arts, services, investments in technology, busing, aides, etc. Receivers would not be elected by or accountable to the local district residents, Troubled public schools starving, not failing:
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Curmudgucation Digest - View From the Cheap Seats - Education Week Teacher

Curmudgucation Digest (February 8) - View From the Cheap Seats - Education Week Teacher:



Curmudgucation Digest 

By Peter Greene on February 8, 2015 2:33 PM
This week, more rumblings about ESEA, more sales pitching for testing, and more dwindling effectiveness for a $12 million wonder.
Thumbnail image for desktop 001.JPG
CAP tries to tell Senator Alexander that he's letting down parents, but their arguments are weak sauce.
The continuing tale of how the USED isn't really interested in shutting down Corinthian College's shenanigans
Mike Petrilli offered some gotcha questions to use on GOP pols who deny the Common Core. I tried them out on myself (just in case I want to run for something).
Almost testing time, and word comes from Maine that their SBA tests are still a mess.
FEE declares that we are about to be overrun by costly children and high-maintenance geezers. So obviously the solution is more School Choice.
Can text complexity really exist in a vacuum?
Education Post has turned out to be nothing but a $12 million troll. And not a very effective one at that.
Another failed attempt to argue for annual standardized testing.
I sat down to take an entire PARCC practice test, and I live blogged it. Probably not going to do that again any time soon.
Too many reformster arguments feature the same gaping hole.
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The Badass Teachers Association Calls on the U.S. Department of Justice to Investigate Pearson Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:



The Badass Teachers Association Calls on the U.S. Department of Justice to Investigate Pearson





This week’s scandal about Pearson spying on children and their social media activity to determine if testing security was breached shows us that Pearson has no qualms in stealing the sanctity of childhood. Gone are the days in which a child’s life can be that of a private citizen.  The idea that Pearson feels it must corral and control what our children put on social media is a corruption, greed, and injustice sandwich.  Sorry Pearson we are not eating it.

Here is a strong and direct warning from the teachers and parents of the Badass Teachers Association – You messed up and you messed up BIG.  Due to your attempt to continue to buy up and control American education you have committed perhaps the most disgusting act any one could commit – you have used our children to further your agenda in a light that is so transparent.  America values  its children’s privacy and respects their ability to be private citizens.

To place limitations upon a child’s ability to be a private citizen brings us a step closer to the Orwellian society that may have been more prophetic than even George Orwell himself realized. A veiled threat made through the communication of the state department of education informing the school of the issuance of a Priority 1 Alert for a test item breach AFTER school hours, while the child is a private citizen is, as the kids would say, creepy. Even though there was no picture of the test item and no attempt at cheating, the tweet was done, by the child, as a private citizen. With the questioning by many around the nation that has been done about the appropriateness of Common Core and PARCC related materials, this can be seen as an attempt by Pearson to merely silence that questioning by attempting to limit the exposure of their test items. However, the cloud of secrecy that envelops Pearson tests is not thick enough to hide just how wrong it is.

The fact that Pearson already had well-laid out plans that included the contracting of a social media watchdog company to monitor student discussions on social media speaks to the validity and reliability of this test in the first place. If their product was a true educational tool with a valid purpose the need for such procedures would not have even arisen. Pearson is being faced with a strong uprising over their control of the educational marketplace.  Pearson’s control of this market should not even exist in the first place as private companies seek to profit from our children and from public education. A national test refusal movement so massive would not have even begun if Pearson, and others, were not engaged in educational malpractice tactics that are harmful to our children and to their schools.  We would like to strongly  state, again, that all parents refuse their children from Pearson testing.

As parents and teachers that have a duty to protect our children and safeguard their right to being private citizens, we are outraged at the over reach that Pearson has been allowed.  It is an overbearing reach that has even been condoned by New Jersey's department of education. As parents and teachers we demand that the United States Department of Justice investigate  the facts and practices that Pearson is employing to monitor and control the actions of our children, that is not only in clear violation of their rights, but also a transgression against their childhood.    
Badass Teachers Association:

Please email the U.S Department of Justice and demand they investigate this matter AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
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Garcia wins backing of key union group over Emanuel - Chicago Tribune ‪#‎Chuy2015‬ ‪#‎imwithchuy‬

Garcia wins backing of key union group over Emanuel - Chicago Tribune:

Garcia wins backing of key union group over Emanuel




Chicago mayoral challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia won the endorsement of a major Illinois organized labor group on Saturday, backing that's likely to bring more campaign cash and ground troops.

Service Employee International Union state council leaders will formally announce the endorsement on Sunday, when they'll also talk details on campaign contributions and volunteers, said Jerry Morrison, spokesman for SEIU Local 1.

"We usually play to win in politics, and it will be significant," Morrison said.

Garcia, speaking at the downtown St. Patrick's Day parade, welcomed the support.

"I'm delighted to have their endorsement. It means a lot of people and hopefully additional resources. I'm very enthusiastic," he said.

The vote to endorse Garcia over Mayor Rahm Emanuel was not unanimous, with SEIU Local 73 leaders backing Emanuel, Morrison said. That local, which represent some city workers, backed Emanuel's plan to overhaul city worker and laborer pensions plans. The pension changes were enacted by the state, but now face legal challenges. Emanuel has described it as a road map for dealing with other underfunded city pension plans.

Matt Brandon, secretary treasurer of Local 73, said he urged the state council to remain neutral in the April 7 runoff, as it had done inGarcia wins backing of key union group over Emanuel - Chicago Tribune:


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Outrage in Manteca: Teacher Suspended for Hugging Autistic Student Must be Reinstated | ForceChange

Teacher Suspended for Hugging Autistic Student Must be Reinstated | ForceChange:


Big Education Ape Editor (Mike Simpson): I have known Leo for over 10 years. This is so very WRONG! Leo is the most loving and caring person that can be imagined. He spends many hours advocating for children and for public education. Please consider sending your support for Leo in this matter, the kids need him! 

Teacher Suspended for Hugging Autistic Student Must be Reinstated

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From Leo's FaceBook page
"Thanks to all the petition signers and supportive commenters. The newest challenge is that CPS has directed Gio's mom to cease all contact between myself and her son under threat of removal for neglect.
This is because I am 'under investigation - though not by CPS. Crazy! Especially since we are approaching 60 days with no tentative dates for completion of the MUSD and MPD investigations. Something is wrong with this process and it is not the parent/teacher solidarity!
Through our advocacy at the County Board of Supervisors and elsewhere we have been able to have the 'child safety plan' modified to 'allowing', though contrary to CPS recommendation, my tutoring and visits in her presence. The threat of removal for noncompliance remains. So much for respecting a mother's judgment and child needs!
Now Terry has to cover the morning child care so that Sharon can work. This had been my role until later each day when Terry was rested enough to share in the service of caregiving. We are trying to get a compromise to let Sharon bring Gio to our home so that Terry can have my help as she adjusts to the new reality of living with IBC.
It takes a village but apparently this is not embraced by our local CPS, MUSD & MPD. Waiting for the 'Family City' to show up smile emoticon Realistically it will probably be an arrest warrant showing up to justify the excessive investment of police and CPS resources. Thankfully we will then be finally in a true presumption of innocence environment. This is all so sad frown emoticon

635598268523698402-635598008650225835-teacher
(Photo: Tim Daly, KXTV-Sacramento)


Target: Jason Messer, Superintendent at Manteca Unified School District
Goal: Reinstate teacher suspended for hugging a special needs student.
A special education teacher has been suspended and barred from being near children after he granted an autistic child’s request for a hug. Leo Bennett-Cauchon, a teacher for 16 years, hugged and picked up an 8-year-old autistic boy at the boy’s request, as he was trained to do. The school district was notified of the act, and called police in to investigate what they have called “possible inappropriate behavior.”
Autism spectrum disorders are immensely varied and complex, and each affected child needs a different kind of care. While some do not like to be touched, others need the sensation of physical stimulation and human contact to calm them. As special needs children are likely to be away from their parents for extended lengths of time at school, it is perfectly reasonable that they may need this contact from a teacher.
Leo Bennett-Cauchon was educated specifically in understanding and addressing the needs of developmentally disabled children. By suspending him, the school is not only punishing Bennett-Cauchon, but his students as well, who need the stability and structure a familiar teacher can provide. Even the child’s mother supports the way the teacher handled her son, and believes he should be reinstated immediately.
Accusing this special needs teacher of inappropriate conduct is ridiculous, and could be detrimental to the way this teacher handles students in the future. By suspending him, the school is showing no regard for the special needs of mentally challenged students. Sign the petition below to demand that the school immediately reinstate this teacher as well as apologize for the trumped-up allegations of misconduct, which have the power to ruin his entire career.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Mr. Jason Messer,
Leo Bennett-Cauchon, a special needs teacher for 16 years, was recently suspended for hugging an autistic child when the child asked for a hug. Bennett was specially trained to deal with special needs children, who sometimes need human contact to calm themselves.
Not only was the teacher suspended for hugging the child, but the school district decided to involve the police despite the child’s mother asserting that Bennett dealt with her child appropriately. These trumped-up allegations are not only ridiculous, but could even end the teacher’s career.
By suspending Bennett, the school district has shown disregard for the well-being of its special needs students, who need the stability of a regular teacher, and sometimes, physical contact. We, the undersigned, demand that the school district apologize for suspending Bennett for simply doing his job, and that he is immediately allowed to return to work.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Cynthia_M._Parkhill via Creative Commons

Autism teacher protests removal for hugging





A special education teacher for 16 years is protesting the move by Manteca, Calif. school officials to put him on paid leave, barred from being near children.
Leo Bennett-Cauchon said he was just doing what was best for a severely autistic 8-year old when he made contact with the child in early February.
"I've been trained, if a student asks for a hug, you give a hug. I admit completely that I hugged him and let him sit in my lap when he said 'sit.' I picked him up when he said 'up.' This is a child that needs that physical contact," Bennett-Cauchon said.
He's been holding a sign outside the school district office that says "Let me teach. Bring back joy."
Clark Burke, a representative for the school district, says it's making sure it follows through with both its legal and moral obligations to protect students.
Police in this Northern California town said Tuesday they're investigating the possibility there were "repeated acts of inappropriate behavior" and "there could be multiple victims."
The mother of the 8-year-old boy said she supports how the teacher dealt with her son, but Bennett-Cauchon will be off the job while the incident is investigated by police and the school district. The police investigation is expected to last up to four weeks.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/02/18/autism-teacher-removal-hugging-california/23601933/



Leo Bennett-Cauchon: Special Education Teacher Suspended For Hugging Autistic Child Who Asked For A Hug


image: http://cdn.inquisitr.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Leo-Bennett-Cauchon-665x385.jpg
Leo Bennett-Cauchon: Special Education Teacher Suspended For Hugging Autistic Child Who Asked For A Hug


Leo Bennett-Cauchon has been a special education teacher for the past 16 years working with students who have severe disabilities, but the well-liked educator is now out of a job after giving a hug to an autistic 8-year-old who reached out to hug him.
Bennett-Cauchon was suspended by the Manteca, California, school district and put on leave, also barring him from being near children.
But Leo Bennet-Cauchon said he didn’t do anything wrong.
“I’ve been trained, if a student asks for a hug, you give a hug. I admit completely that I hugged him and let him sit in my lap when he said ‘sit.’ I picked him up when he said ‘up.’ This is a child that needs that physical contact,” Bennett-Cauchon said.
The school even turned the case over to the Manteca Police Department, who are looking into whether there were “repeated acts of inappropriate behavior.” Police said they are concerned “there could be multiple victims.”
But Leo Bennett-Cauchon said there’s a good reason. Many of the kids he teaches are homeless or in the foster system, and often they just need a hug.
Many parents are in Leo’s corner, including the parents of the boy.
“He has my full support,” Sharon Anaya said. “That’s why I felt that this should have remained at a school district level investigation, rather than involving police.”
This is not the only case of a controversial teacher suspension to make headlines in recent week’s. Back in December, a teacher in Oklahoma was suspended for reading his class a Benjamin Franklin quote that read: “In the dark, all cats are gray.”
The quote, taken from one of Franklin’s letters titled by historians “Advice to a Young Man on Choosing a Mistress,” was meant to illustrate that the founding father was still just a man, and a flawed one at that. But the quote’s sexual undertones attracted the attention of the district, who suspended the teacher.
Meanwhile, Leo Bennett-Cauchon has taken his protest directly to the district, standing outside the administrative offices with a sign that read,”Let me teach. Bring back joy.” Police said their investigation will take up to four weeks.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1852350/leo-bennett-cauchon-special-education-teacher-suspended-for-hugging-autistic-child-who-asked-for-a-hug/#s3ZBPIpCCKkjlccj.99
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Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession? - Living in Dialogue

Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession? - Living in Dialogue:



Dialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession?





 By Anthony Cody.

(Originally posted here, July 23, 2012. This essay is also included in my book, The Educator and the Oligarch, a Teacher Challenges the Gates Foundation.)
In the summer of 2012  I traveled to Seattle and spent most of the day meeting with leaders of the Gates Foundation, discussing their work around education reform. I have been critical of the impact their agenda has had, but they expressed an interest in opening up a dialogue. This blog post was the first in a series of exchanges that  explored some of the key issues in education. I am re-posting, as these issues remain central to the ongoing debate over how to improve our schools.
In the weeks that followed we got into some nitty gritty issues, such as what it means to “measure” teacher effectiveness? What is the role of poverty in relationship to education reform? What is the purpose of a k-12 education? And what role should the drive for profit play in our schools? But as our starting point, we are took a narrower focus, and tackled something a bit more concrete. This first exchange will focus on these questions: How can educators create a strong professional culture in our schools? How do we build the teaching profession?
The Gates Foundation has presented effective teaching as the focus of its education work for the past few years. Unfortunately much of the reform work of the past few years has focused on the negative side of the teacher-effectiveness equation. Reports like “The Widget Effect” have built up the idea that American schools are places where nobody is ever fired. Films like “Waiting for Superman” have reinforced the concept that due process for teachers means we have “jobs for life.” The Gates Foundation, I believe, has actively promoted these ideas, and in 2010, Bill Gates stated on Oprah that if we could get rid of bad teachers, “our schools would shoot from the bottom of these (international) rankings to the top.”
But there seems to be a growing awareness that real growth will not come from this strategy of rooting out the bottom 5 percent of performers. We will need to do some heavy lifting to reverse some of theDialogue With the Gates Foundation: How Do We Build the Teaching Profession? - Living in Dialogue: 
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House Bill 2048: Re-segregation through legislation | Seattle Education

House Bill 2048: Re-segregation through legislation | Seattle Education:



House Bill 2048: Re-segregation through legislation


Mother and Daughter at U.S. Supreme Court
Apartheid (… an Afrikaans word meaning “the state of being apart”, literally “apart-hood”) was a system of racial segregation in South Africa enforced through legislation…
I feel very strongly about this bill because my dad had no other choice but to live in the Central District when he was growing up in Seattle because of a city covenant that did not allow African-Americans to live outside of a boundary determined by the city. That meant little opportunity for my dad to grow beyond that border. He was fortunate enough to have a high school coach, at Franklin High School, who saw his talent and with his coach’s help, my dad, Brice Taylor, was one of the first three African-American students to attend the University of Southern California even against the wishes of the college president, but that’s another story.
My dad went on to become the First All American at USC in football and that opened doors for him. Not everyone had that kind of opportunity. That’s why, what I term the Apartheid Bill, hits home for me. Some people find fault in my use of the term “Apartheid” but that is how I perceive it, through my lens.
The Seattle Public School system reverted back to neighborhood schools from an all-city draw, when students could select the school or program they wanted to attend, not long ago which re-segregated our schools. Then with transportation cuts, it became even more difficult for students to attend special programs outside of their neighborhoods.
Now, Representatives Sharon Tomiko Santos and Eric Pettigrew want to split the city in half along racial lines again, through legislation, into two separate school districts, separate but not equal. This is why politicians should not determine education policy. Either they don’t know enough to make an informed decision or they are following through on a donor’s agenda.
Case in point, House Bill 2048.
The bill, which is very vague, proposes to cut the district in half. I believe the bill is House Bill 2048: Re-segregation through legislation | Seattle Education:
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Guess What: Pearson Monitoring on PARCC tests is at the End of the Internet (Disappeared Page)

Page not found « Social Media Management (SMMS) | Tracx:


Disappeared Page

Pearson Streamlines Social Media Listening and Monitoring on PARCC tests With Tracx



Tracx 404 error

From one Ape to Another: I FOUND IT!

Pearson Streamlines Social Media Listening and Monitoring on PARCC tests With Tracx

Pearson Streamlines Social Media Listening and Monitoring With Tracx:

Pearson Streamlines Social Media Listening and Monitoring With Tracx

Big Education Ape: BREAKING: Pearson, NJ, spying on social media of students taking PARCC tests | Bob Braun's Ledgerhttp://bit.ly/1BCz9Ol

Media preview

Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, providing educational materials and services and business information through the Financial Times Group. Pearson serves learners of all ages around the globe, employing 41,000 people in more than 70 countries. Social media plays a business critical role across all of Pearson’s major businesses: PreK-12, Higher Education, Professional and Assessment, as well as from a corporate perspective.

Problem

With organizationally and globally distributed teams, Pearson employees were using dozens of different social media toolsand services. Their primary tool, Radian6, was difficult to use, limited in terms of how many topics they were able to track and very expensive. Providing meaningful measurement across Pearson was challenging and an incredibly manual and time-consuming process. Pearson was seeking a social listening and analytics platform that could be utilized across all its business units and able to scale to support its global businesses.

Solution

After doing a thorough review of social media listening and analytics tools, Pearson chose Tracx for three primary reasons.
1. Usability: 
which refers not only to the clean intuitive user interface of the Tracx platform but also to the ease of getting data and reports needed.
2. Customer Service: 
with a dedicated client services team on tap to not only get the Pearson team up and running but available to help however needed on an ongoing basis.
3. Value: 
since Tracx does not charge additional fees based on the number of user profiles or owned media accounts, both are included and unlimited with Tracx. Pearson uses Tracx daily for social listening and monitoring across all its lines of business.
Today, Pearson uses Tracx to arm nearly 40 employees to do their own social research and reporting and continues to add additional users and geographies every month.

Results

Tracx enabled Pearson to increase organizational efficiencies and cut costs by reducing the number of social tools being used throughout the organization. Tracx has assisted with governance issues including enterprise workflows to ensure appropriate teams are communicated with, as well as approval chains and processes are followed. In addition, Tracx has empowered a wider number of people within the Pearson organization to self-serve social listening, analytics and reporting reducing the pressure on the online marketing group to be the sole provider of this knowledge and reporting.

Pearson Streamlines Social Media Listening and Monitoring With Tracx: 

Big Education Ape: Companies cash in on Common Core despite controversy http://bit.ly/1Ah00v6

Common Core's contract winners

Rank
Vendor
Project awards 2010-2014
1Pearson27
2Houghton Mifflin Harcourt20
3Staff Development Workshops16
4Scholastic14
5Catapult Learning11
6McGraw-Hill9
7Pivot Learning Partners9
8AP Ventures8
9Action Learning Systems7
10Solution Tree7
Source: Onvia database of awards, based on key words related to "common core"

Bob Braun's Ledger
 Big Education Ape: UPDATE: Pearson, NJ, spying on social media of students taking PARCC tests | Bob Braun's Ledger http://bit.ly/1BCz9Ol


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