Wednesday, March 18, 2015

You be the judge. This post will discuss the highlights— or perhaps lowlights— of the Democrats For Education Reform (DFERs), a very powerful Wall Street funded organization who some say are seeking to profit from public education. The Seattle Education blog argued,

Democrats for Education Reform is a political action committee supported largely by hedge fund managers favoring charter schools, merit-pay tied to test scores, high-stakes testing, school choice (including vouchers and tuition tax credits in some cases), mayoral control, and alternative teacher preparation programs.

Jeff Bryant reported on the framing that the DFERs prefer,

In an interview featured on the website of a conservative D.C.-based think tank, [Marc Porter Magee] has stated his intentions of “breaking up the old ways of thinking in the Democratic Party … by asking: How could we solve conservative problems with liberal means, and liberal problems with conservative means?”

On their website the DFERs tell us that,

We support policies which stimulate the creation of new, accountable public schools and which simultaneously close down failing schools

We support mechanisms that allow parents to select excellent schools for their children, and where education dollars follow each child to their school.

We support governance structures which hold leaders responsible, while giving them the tools to effectuate change. We believe in empowering mayors to lead urban school districts, so that they can be held accountable by the electorate.

We support policies that allow school principals and their school communities to select their teams of educators, holding them accountable for student performance but allowing them flexibility to exercise sound, professional judgment.

We support clearly-articulated national standards and expectations for core subject areas, while allowing states and local districts to determine how best to make sure that all students are reaching those standards.

Fairly innocuous— none of that sounds controversial on its face. But are they actually wolves in sheep’s clothing?

So who are the DFERs? You be the judge.

In this post I will run through a recent timeline of events and coverage of the DFERs.

2007: The Daily Kos reported,

The loudest voices were those of a new organization calling themselves Democrats for Education reform (DFER), led by young extremely wealthy hedge fund operators from New York City. In the May 31, 2007 issue of New York Sun there was a report about one of the first victories of DFER: “A money manager recently sent an e-mail to some partners, congratulating them on an investment of $1 million that yielded an estimated $400 million. The
You be the Judge: Are the @DFER_News Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing? | Cloaking Inequity:

Cuomo, Corporate Reformers Take Aim at Experienced Educators | The Indypendent

Cuomo, Corporate Reformers Take Aim at Experienced Educators | The Indypendent:

Cuomo, Corporate Reformers Take Aim at Experienced Educators

Brooklyn elementary school teacher Michelle Baptiste got in trouble with her principal when she used her after-school hours to meet with families of troubled children instead of entering her students’ standardized test results into an Excel spreadsheet. Photo: Alex Ellefson

When discussing how to improve public education, Governor Andrew Cuomo likes to complain about how difficult it is to fire “bad teachers” and the need to reduce job security for classroom educators. He is not alone in this. The Partnership for Educational Justice, a well-funded nonprofit fronted by former CNN host Campbell Brown, is pursuing a lawsuit in a Staten Island court that seeks to scrap teacher tenure protections. Both New York City tabloids, meanwhile, never miss a chance to promote a lurid teacher sex scandal and then denounce the teachers union for protecting the right of the accused to a fair hearing.

But what if the real teaching crisis in New York is not the inability to get rid of bad teachers, but the failure to keep experienced and highly capable teachers and allow them to do their jobs?

Take Michelle Baptiste. A teacher at an elementary school in Flatbush, Brooklyn, with 22 years of experience, Baptiste, 47, has watched with dismay in recent years as standardized testing has taken on an increasingly central role in her classroom. Long gone are the early years of her career when she was allowed to creatively respond to her mostly Black and Latino students’ needs and interests and teach them culturally relevant lessons.

Starting in third grade, students at Baptiste’s school are deluged with a battery of federal and state tests, periodic assessment tests, practice tests to be taken in preparation for the real tests and field tests that are carried out to help test manufacturers develop questions for future tests. In addition to preparing lesson plans and grading homework and tests, teachers are expected to log their students’ various test results into Excel spreadsheets.

When Baptiste was slow to fill in a spreadsheet for a test she administered in the fall of 2012, she says her principal put a letter in her personnel file and later gave her an Unsatisfactory (or “U”) rating on an observation report.

Baptiste told The Indypendent she had been too busy meeting during after-school hours with the families of troubled children in her class — including some who did not have stable housing — to keep on schedule with entering data, which she described as “garbage.” Still, she recognizes her actions put her career in peril.

“If you get enough of these letters in your file, you can be brought up on charges of incompetence and you can lose your livelihood,” said Baptiste. She has switched to teaching second grade, where students are tested less frequently.

Principals From Hell

For Angela — a Brooklyn middle school teacher of more than 10 years who did not wish to be identified by her real name because she feared retaliation — work became hellish when her school’s inexperienced young principal took to berating both students and teachers in the school’s hallways for their allegedly poor performances.

“She would tell teachers they didn’t know what they were doing, and then turn to students letting them know they were going to get someone ‘better,’” Angela said. The constant abuse, she added, drove many of the school’s teachers to psychological collapse and even suicidal thoughts. She later transferred to another school.

Teacher anxiety and stress became widespread during the administration of business mogul-turned-mayor Michael Bloomberg. Principals were freed from traditional oversight by district superintendents and elevated to CEO-like Cuomo, Corporate Reformers Take Aim at Experienced Educators | The Indypendent:

Performing feats of ledgermain - LeftMN

Performing feats of ledgermain - LeftMN:

Performing feats of ledgermain

There’s a big difference between a teacher’s rating on a flawed and invalid evaluation system and her “performance.” Just don’t try and tell that to local media.

Three years ago the Washington, DC based education reform lobbying outfit called 50CAN, along with its wholly-owned Minnesota subsidiary called MinnCAN, came up with an ingenious new plan to pressurize and weaken teachers’ unions: They began a movement to brand their movement’s attacks on public school teachers as the simple proposition of evaluating teachers on their “performance,” versus current practices of evaluating teachers by their seniority, educational achievement, and classroom observations.

The attack wasn’t grounded in research or logic; instead, the organizations used public polling on the subject, purporting to measure public sentiment on teacher retention decisions by pitting teacher seniority versus “performance.” It was a clever, if dishonest tactic, since polling can obscure on the ground realities. Just because the public believes something to be true doesn’t make it true.

Thus if an well-funded organization with deep political connections is actively trying to deceive the public on matters of public import a deceptive poll can be a very effective tool for changing public policy. The real trick of the matter is to convince media and opinion leaders to accept the framing of the issue, no matter how illogical and counter-intuitive the premise.

Normally one would expect those crucial audiences to see through such blatant attempts at propaganda. After all, journalists are social scientists who are supposed to be trained to recognize attempts at public opinion manipulation. Unfortunately media organizations of today have been denuded of experienced reporters, and the money thrown around by movements such as that of the education reformers have turned organizations and people who in other contexts might have been counted on to shed light on sophisticated propaganda campaigns into grifters – people whose careers are predicated on not seeing through the data-induced fog.

But today the fabulists at 50CAN must be giving themselves high-fives – and deservedly so – as media organizations, politicians Performing feats of ledgermain - LeftMN:

Beware of AstroTurf Ed Reformers

Astroturf lobbying refers to political organizations or campaigns that appear to be made up of grassroots activists but are actually organized and run by corporate interests seeking to further their own agendas. Such groups are often typified by innocent-sounding names that have been chosen specifically to disguise the group's true backers

Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public

Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public:

Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting

“There are few things more dangerous than propaganda disguised as journalism,” reads one conclusion from a study by SUNY Buffalo State professor Dr. Andrea B. Nikischer, who has delved into the past year of reporting on education by the Buffalo News.

If we extrapolated her findings—and borrow the phrase quoted above—we could conclude that there are in fact few things more dangerous than the News’s education reporting.

“Propaganda and Policy: An Investigation into Alleged Anti-Teacher’s Union and Pro-Charter School Bias in the Buffalo News” is the title of Dr. Nikischer’s report, which takes a deep look into the reporting done by the News with regard to charter schools and Buffalo Public Schools.

The study demonstrates that two distinct stories are being told: The first gives readers an uncritical look at charter schools, promoting them as the answer to the perceived failure of the city’s so-called failing public schools, while the second gives an overwhelmingly negative portrayal of Buffalo Public Schools, along with their teachers and union.

“As Buffalo has only one traditional newspaper, and virtually no other mainstream media sources in the county provide detailed coverage of the Buffalo Public Schools or school reform, the power of articles published on these issues is immense,” notes Dr. Nikischer, an assistant professor at Buff State’s Adult Education Department.

Public school supporters have been critical of the News’s coverage, which has, they believe, unfairly and loudly echoed the agenda of Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Buffalo Board of Education majority, and the nationwide school privatization and high-stake testing movements. Now, for the first time, they can point to a qualitative study to back these claims.

To undertake the study, Dr. Nikischer evaluated News articles published from October 1, 2013 to November 30, 2014. All articles—190 in total—were culled from the paper’s regularly published articles, SchoolZone blog posts, and opinion pieces. Each article was coded in three respects: 1) for content and tone (What is the article about? What is the tone—positive, negative or neutral?); 2) for general themes; and 3) whether to include the article in the study or not. The idea is to compare large sets of data and draw general conclusions based on the tone and content of the articles. Disqualified articles were those outside of the researchers’ ken and which had no relevance to the themes undertaken.Study Reveals Bias in Buffalo News Education Reporting | The Public:

Clark County Schools head raises concern about charter school racial balance | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Clark County Schools head raises concern about charter school racial balance | Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Clark County Schools head raises concern about charter school racial balance

By FRANCIS McCABE
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Clark County charter schools, where white students account for 66 percent of enrollment, don’t reflect the valley’s student demographics and are on the path to resegregation, public school superintendent Pat Skorkowsky told business leaders on Tuesday.

The superintendent of the nation’s fifth-largest school system made the statement during NewsFeed, a series of breakfast forums aimed at igniting conversations about important community issues sponsored by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce.

Skorkowsky was joined in a panel discussion at the Four Seasons by Kati Haycock, president of the nonprofit Education Trust, and Allison Serafin, vice president of the Nevada State Board of Education.

The discussion, moderated by Review-Journal senior editorial writer and columnist Glenn Cook, covered several topics in education, including Gov. Brian Sandoval’s $20 million proposal to expand charter schools in Nevada. The initiative would require $20 million in matching funds from a newly forming charter school organization.

“I want to make sure that every parent has a choice and right now that’s not always the option,” with charter schools, Skorkowsky said. “Where the charters are opening up, it’s not in the areas where disadvantaged children have that choice anymore. Sixty-six percent of the charter school population is Caucasian in this county, that’s resegregating our schools to a certain extent.”

Skorkowsky added later that he’s concerned that all schools, including charters, should reflect the community’s demographics. A commitment must be made by charters to not just build schools in the “suburban ring” but to disadvantaged kids “who need it the most,” he said.

In the Clark County School District, white students make up about 28 percent of the population — or about 87,000 students. Latino student enrollment is at 45 percent, or about 143,000 students.

At least 14 of the more than 350 schools Skorkowsky oversees reported having an enrollment that was 66 percent or more Caucasian in 2013-14, according to accountability reports. Those public schools tend to be in rural and suburban parts of the county.

Haycock, who runs a national nonprofit advocacy group that promotes high academic achievement with special emphasis on low-income and minority students, said parents assume charter schools provide higher quality education, even though objective data says the quality of education is the same as in public schools.

Just as some public schools are great and others do damage, the same is true for charter schools,Clark County Schools head raises concern about charter school racial balance | Las Vegas Review-Journal:

After Divisive Start, Use of 'Parent Trigger' Law Matures - Education Week

After Divisive Start, Use of 'Parent Trigger' Law Matures - Education Week:

After Divisive Start, Use of 'Parent Trigger' Law Matures

Strategies Aim to Broaden Influence of Contentious Statute

Los Angeles

Five years after California parents gained the power to initiate major changes at failing schools, advocates of the state's controversial parent-trigger law are expanding their strategies to broaden its influence.

Former State Sen. Gloria Romero, the law's author, founded a nonprofit last year to educate parents about the California Parent Empowerment Act. Even as Ms. Romero launched her initiative, another group of parent-trigger-campaign veterans had already started working to develop a more collaborative approach to turning around troubled schools.

The two startups point to disparate directions California's maturing parent-trigger law may take. They could include more contentious parent-led efforts, like the one currently underway with Ms. Romero's guidance at Palm Lane Elementary School in Anaheim. The law may also continue to become part of a multi-layered strategy to empower poor, minority communities in their pursuit of educational justice.

At the same time, California's experience so far has motivated only a few states to follow its lead in adopting a parent-trigger law as a model for school overhauls: Six states have adopted parent-trigger inspired laws since 2010. This year lawmakers in six more states are considering parent-trigger legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Amendments proposed to laws in California andTexas this year would increase the number eligible schools.

The California Parent Empowerment Act allows parents whose children attend chronically low-performing schools to force districts to enact sweeping education reforms that range from hiring a new principal and replacing staff to transforming the school into a charter. Parents must garner support by petition from 50 percent of students' parents, plus one, to set the law in motion.

Most of the handful of schools where parents have used the law serve predominantly Hispanic and African-American students from low-income families, explained Alfonso Flores, the chief executive officer of the Excellent Educational Solutions, a private consulting firm founded by former parent-trigger community organizers. However, he said education reformers' egos, in some cases, can muddy debates and lose sight of those critical societal pressures.

"Parents just want to feel like their child has a shot at the American Dream," Mr. Flores said. "They don't give a hoot about the politics."

Meanwhile, Parent Revolution, a nonprofit created to support parents choosing to use the parent-trigger law, is seeking new leadership after longtime executive director Ben Austin resigned late last year. Parent Revolution, which has drawn the ire of critics who see it as divisive, self-promoting, and yielding few tangible results, rebuffs detractors' assessments of the group, and remains undeterred that the parent-trigger law is a viable education reform tool.

"We've always said that we're trying to spread a movement, not an organization," Gabe Rose, Parent Revolution's chief strategy officer, said during an interview at the group's downtown Los Angeles office, where the décor is inspired by Silicon Valley technology firms. "We desperately want more parent organizations and other allies to pick up this work."

'Wild West'

But parents living outside of California haven't shown much appetite to take the parent-trigger plunge.

In fact, a spokeswoman for the National PTA, the nation's largest parent-advocacy organization, said the Alexandria, Va.-based group does not have an official position on the law.

So far, nationally, only one school, Desert Trails Elementary School in Adelanto, Calif., has been transformed into a charter while another six schools in the state have used the parent-trigger law in some way to secure changes on their campuses.

Ms. Romero said lawmakers often overlook the importance of monitoring how a law is implemented. "If you don't know the law, you can't use the law," she added.

Ohio's parent-trigger pilot program in Columbus may have fallen victim to After Divisive Start, Use of 'Parent Trigger' Law Matures - Education Week:

Is Alexander Russo "Working the Refs" on Common Core Protest Coverage? - Living in Dialogue

Is Alexander Russo "Working the Refs" on Common Core Protest Coverage? - Living in Dialogue:

Is Alexander Russo "Working the Refs" on Common Core Protest Coverage?

By Anthony Cody.

Education blogger Alexander Russo has offered an analysis of recent education journalism in a piece entitled “Common problems with Common Core reporting.” Russo hosts a blog called This Week in Education, sponsored by Scholastic corporation.

Russo reached out to me for input as he was researching the piece, but my perspective does not appear there. Here is Russo’s thesis:

…so far, at least, much of the media’s coverage of this spring’s Common Core testing rollout has been guilty of over-emphasizing the extent of the conflict, speculating dire consequences based on little information, and over-relying on anecdotes and activists’ claims rather than digging for a broader sampling of verified numbers. The real story—that the rollout of these new, more challenging tests is proceeding surprisingly well—could be getting lost.

To make his case, Russo focused first on a recent report by veteran journalist John Merrow, focused on the opt out movement. Russo writes:

There are a few problems with the news segment. The opening footage showing Newark students protesting the local school board suggests that the new tests are a main concern of the protesters, when all previous reports have them rallying primarily against Christie-appointed Newark school superintendent Cami Anderson. Eleven of the 12 states that “dropped” the official Common Core tests have developed their own similar assessments, according to right-leaning think tanker Mike Petrilli. And—perhaps most problematic—the piece speculates about the future of the entire endeavor based on vague assertions about parents opting out without any hard numbers.

As I mentioned, Russo reached out to me for my thoughts, and here is what I shared with him.

I disagree in two regards. In the first place, it is the job of a journalist to look for the kinks in the system, the signs of disruption. In that regard, the reporters who are reporting on these things are doing their jobs. In the second place, this is a shift in public attitudes and behaviors that could spell real trouble for high stakes tests,
Is Alexander Russo "Working the Refs" on Common Core Protest Coverage? - Living in Dialogue:

Alexander Russo Speaks for Scholastic Corporation?

Alexander Russo High Priest of

Corporate Ed Reform (self appointed)

TPERN Requests TEA Clarify Pearson Monitoring of Students’ Social Media – Texas Parents' Educational Rights Network

TPERN Requests TEA Clarify Pearson Monitoring of Students’ Social Media – Texas Parents' Educational Rights Network:

TPERN Requests TEA Clarify Pearson Monitoring of Students’ Social Media

Amidst numerous reports of Pearson Education monitoring the internet and social media postings of students taking assessments in the northeastern United States, TPERN has requested that Commissioner Williams disclose to Texas parents the extent to which Pearson is contracted to monitor the social media postings of Texas students. A copy of our letter is below:

March 18, 2015

Dear Commissioner Williams:

Recent news items from New Jersey and Maryland have confirmed that Pearson Education engages in active monitoring of social media accounts of students who take Pearson created standardized assessments.(Link). Pearson Education proudly asserts the importance of its review of the social media posts of minors in the name of test security and protection of intellectual property rights. (Link). At the same time, however, it appears to have prevailed upon its software vendor to remove any reference to their work together from the vendor’s website. (Link). This dissonance between its public stance and private actions is concerning. It is unclear to what extent Pearson engages in social media monitoring of children in Texas. However, from its public statements in regard to New Jersey and Maryland, there seems to be little doubt that Pearson does or intends to monitor Texas students online social media postings.

In that regard, the Texas Parents’ Educational Rights Network respectfully requests that the Commissioner or his designee answer the following questions for Texas parents:

(1) To what extent does Pearson Education monitor the social media postings of Texas students? Is social media monitoring a part of the Pearson contract? If so, how much do Texas taxpayers pay Pearson to review the internet postings of Texas students?

(2) What restrictions are placed on Pearson Education’s use of data derived from social media monitoring of Texas students, both as to data that may trigger further action in the name of test security, but also data that does not raise any alerts, but is nonetheless captured and reviewed by Pearson? In what document may those restrictions, if any, be found?

(3) What notice, if any, is provided to Texas parents and students that their social media postings may be monitored by Pearson or the TEA? In what documents may any such notices be found?

(4) What safeguards does Pearson Education have in place to assure that its staff that reviews social media postings of minors does not misuse this information for private and/or improper purposes? There is no doubt that contact via social media is a primary grooming tool for child predators. How does Pearson screen its employees to assure that those employees permitted to review the social media posting of children are not risks to child safety? Does Pearson’s monitoring software separate content from identity, such that no one person can obtain information that might enable this information to be used privately for threatening or grooming purposes? What written policies does Pearson have in place regarding private usage of this information by its employees and how are those policies enforced?

It is a sad truth of our modern age that technology has enabled child predators to approach and groom victims in relative anonymity. It is a further truth that predators gravitate to work which enables them contact with potential victims. Any business which engages in the monitoring of social media of minors must be aware of these risks and proactively address them. Texas parents deserve to know what steps Pearson has taken to assure the safety of Texas students whose internet activity is being actively monitored.

With the first STAAR administrations of 2015 forthcoming, your timely response to this inquiry would be appreciated.

Sincerely,

R. Scott Placek
Chairman
Texas Parents’ Educational Rights Network

Of particular interest to TPERN is what safeguards are in place to assure that no Pearson employee misuses the data obtained to solicit or otherwise approach a minor student. This risk is inherent in any position that provides regular access to children or their personal information. Discussion of child protection has been sadly missing from the debate of Pearson’s monitoring of minors on social media. We will update you with any response received.TPERN Requests TEA Clarify Pearson Monitoring of Students’ Social Media – Texas Parents' Educational Rights Network:

TPERN Requests TEA Clarify Pearson Monitoring of Students’ Social Media – Texas Parents' Educational Rights Network:

The Other Side of Corporate Education Reform in Sacramento: BRIAN HEAP KCRA 3 Anchor/Reporter

KCRA 3 Anchor/Reporter | News Team - KCRA Home:

BRIAN HEAP

KCRA 3 Anchor/Reporter

Brian joined the KCRA 3 news team in September of 2014. He co-anchors the weekend evening newscasts with Kathy Park and reports three nights a week.

Brian is originally from San Diego and is thrilled to be back in California after spending the past 13 years working for television stations in other states.

Brian’s career has taken him from the forests of Bend, Oregon to the great plains of Wichita, Kansas, where he spent five years as an anchor and investigative reporter at KWCH-TV. He also had stops in Memphis and El Paso along the way. During his career, Brian has earned Associated Press Broadcasters awards for his investigative and spot news reporting.

His reporting has also been featured on national news during coverage of devastating tornadoes, high profile murder trials, and the homecoming of American POWs. Wherever there’s a story, you’ll find him ready tell it.

Brian graduated from the San Diego State University School of Communication. He is married with two beautiful daughters. He is a football fanatic and roots (often futilely) for his beloved hometown Chargers.

When he’s not working, Brian enjoys playing golf and dreams of someday breaking 85.

Connect with Brian Heap:

@KCRABrianHeap bheap@hearst.com

STORIES BY BRIAN HEAP

Who's grading your kids' assessment test?

California will spend nearly $240 million in three years to administer and score its new standardized test, the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress.

KCRA 3 Investigation: Who's grading your kids?

As California rolls out a new state assessment test, it might surprise you that many responsible for scoring the test don't have a background in education.

Lawmakers grill California courts over audit

A normally uneventful meeting at the California state Capitol became a grilling session as leaders of the state court system answered to accusations of mismanagement and questionable spending.

Lawmakers scrutinize California courts over spending

Lawmakers are looking at how California's court system is spending its money.

More parents exercise right to skip standardized tests

California launched its newest student testing program Tuesday.

More California parents exercising right to skip standardized tests

Superintendent of Instruction Tom Torlakson made the announcement at Sutter Middle School in Sacramento, flanked by several educators.

Data shows hate crimes on the decline in California

Recent incidents of swastikas popping up in Northern California prompted activists to rally at the state Capitol on Monday.

Data shows hate crime numbers are on the decline in California

KCRA 3's investigative unit looks at how the numbers of hate crimes add up in our area.

Marine vet receives heroes welcome, new home in Loomis

Marine veteran and double-amputee, Cpl. Joshua Hotaling, received a heroes welcome and a brand new home in Loomis from Homes For Our Troops.

Stockton schools defends use of Prop 30 funds

The Stockton Teachers Association accuses the Stockton Unified School District of putting taxpayer money into slush funds rather than into the classroom.

All stories by Brian Heap