Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/20/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP 

CORPORATE ED REFORM

What Debate? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

What Debate? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice: What Debate? The marketing campaign to FIX No Child Left Behind began back in January withannouncements that there would be debate.A draft of the Every Child Ready for College or Career Act of 2015 was released and many newspapers and education associations picked up the story including the American Educational Research Association.“The draft bill

by mike simpson / 2h 

NPE Announces Location for 2016 Conference – The Network For Public Education

NPE Announces Location for 2016 Conference – The Network For Public Education: NPE Announces Location for 2016 ConferenceThe Network for Public Education is thrilled to announce the location for our 3rd Annual National Conference. On April 16 and 17, 2016 public education advocates from across the country will gather in Raleigh, North Carolina.We chose Raleigh to highlight the tremendous activist

by mike simpson / 3h 

'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School Funding - NEA Today

'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School Funding - NEA Today: 'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School FundingThis article is the first in a NEA Today series that explores obstacles to education that create an opportunity gap for disadvantaged students. With the number of children living in low-income families reaching record highs, these issues

by mike simpson / 3h 

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Yet More Influence of Money

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Yet More Influence of Money:Yet More Influence of MoneyThe Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights just keeps on pushing standardized testing. Two articles in particular are troubling. This one from Vox, and this one fromInternational Business Times (IBT). Both highlight the lobbying by big civil and disability rights groups for Congress to mainta

by mike simpson / 4h 

Hunches Gone Wrong: Time for the Gates Foundation to Reconsider Approach to Education - Living in Dialogue

Hunches Gone Wrong: Time for the Gates Foundation to Reconsider Approach to Education - Living in Dialogue: Hunches Gone Wrong: Time for the Gates Foundation to Reconsider Approach to EducationBy John Thompson.The New York Times’s Nicholas Kristof, in “Bill and Melinda Gates’s Pillow Talk,” writes: “It has been 15 years since Bill and Melinda Gates created what is now the largest foundation in the

by mike simpson / 4h 

Amid an Arizona Ban on Mexican American Studies, Teachers Across the U.S. Are Campaigning for Culturally Relevant Education - The Atlantic

Amid an Arizona Ban on Mexican American Studies, Teachers Across the U.S. Are Campaigning for Culturally Relevant Education - The Atlantic: How One Law Banning Ethnic Studies Led to Its RiseLegislators in Arizona decided to prohibit a culturally relevant course, so teachers pushed back and started a nationwide movement.Ethnic Studies Now CoalitionThe irony is that if Arizona lawmakers had never sq

by mike simpson / 6h 

Poverty is about not having enough money. So don’t blame schools for it | Education | The Guardian

Poverty is about not having enough money. So don’t blame schools for it | Education | The Guardian: Poverty is about not having enough money. So don’t blame schools for itIf the government is going to start using education data to hide child poverty, schools must find a way to highlight ithere is a joke in the film Brassed Off that goes like this: God’s assistant is creating people. He turns to Go

by mike simpson / 6h 

Solving the Cheating Problem | Taking Note

Solving the Cheating Problem | Taking Note: Solving the Cheating ProblemBecause America is committed to testing every child in every subject in order to make sure teachers are doing a good job, the number of high-stakes tests is increasing, and that means that we have to act boldly to eliminate cheating, which, coincidentally, also has been increasing.Some background is in order: We have a cheatin

by mike simpson / 7h 

Ohio Regulator Favors Politically Connected Charter School Sponsors, Resigns When Exposed | janresseger

Ohio Regulator Favors Politically Connected Charter School Sponsors, Resigns When Exposed | janresseger: Ohio Regulator Favors Politically Connected Charter School Sponsors, Resigns When ExposedThings unraveled pretty quickly last week for David Hansen, the director of school choice at the Ohio Department of Education.  On Tuesday, the State Board of Education, dominated by appointees of Republica

by mike simpson / 7h 

CURMUDGUCATION: The Terrible Choice

CURMUDGUCATION: The Terrible Choice: The Terrible ChoiceFor much of our history, Americans have operated under a simple premise-- we will educate other people's children.Educating your own offspring is an old idea; human beings have done it for most of history. This has had many implications. You can't teach your own children things you don't know. If you're not wealthy (or even wealthy-ish), you

by mike simpson / 7h 

With A Brooklyn Accent: Color Blind = Tone Deaf. A Message to Bernie Sanders from Jane DeNeefe

With A Brooklyn Accent: Color Blind = Tone Deaf. A Message to Bernie Sanders from Jane DeNeefe: Color Blind = Tone Deaf. A Message to Bernie Sanders from Jane DeNeefeI am on the ground in Alabama, an author of two books about the civil rights movement and co-director of an African American history project--  and I can attest, Bernie is losing black support that was already flimsy--I'd give him a C

by mike simpson / 7h 

Welcome new PAA Board member Khem Irby! | Parents Across America

Welcome new PAA Board member Khem Irby! | Parents Across America: Welcome new PAA Board member Khem Irby! The results are in and Khem Irby, Pamela Grundy and Julie Woestehoff have been elected to the PAA Board for 2-year terms.Pam and Julie are returning Board members but Khem is new to the Board, though not to parent advocacy.Khem Irby is a leading parent activist/advocate in her NYC hometown, an

by mike simpson / 7h 

Cerf about to throw school workers into the streets | Bob Braun's Ledger

Cerf about to throw school workers into the streets | Bob Braun's Ledger: Cerf about to throw school workers into the streetsThis is a nation that doesn’t simply tolerate felonious behavior by its wealthiest entrepreneurs–it rewards it.  If you are rich enough and powerful enough, you can get away with nearly sinking the American economy and be forgiven–and even given a raise. However, if you are

by mike simpson / 7h 

The Science Of Grading Teachers Gets High Marks | FiveThirtyEight

The Science Of Grading Teachers Gets High Marks | FiveThirtyEight: The Science Of Grading Teachers Gets High MarksIs evaluating teachers an exact science? Many people — including many teachers and their unions — believe current methods are often too subjective and open to abuse and misinterpretation. But new tools for measuring teacher effectiveness have become more sophisticated in recent years,

by mike simpson / 8h 

Data Collection on 49 Million Students Going To Drive “Equity” » Missouri Education Watchdog

Data Collection on 49 Million Students Going To Drive “Equity” » Missouri Education Watchdog: Data Collection on 49 Million Students Going To Drive “Equity”The mainstream press is FINALLY starting to pick up on the disconcerting uptick in federal  data collection. TheNew York Post published an article on 7-19-15 documenting the various ways the federal government plans to socially engineer our liv

by mike simpson / 8h 

GOP candidates join testing opt-out movement - Maggie Severns - POLITICO

GOP candidates join testing opt-out movement - Maggie Severns - POLITICO: GOP candidates join testing opt-out movementConservative presidential hopefuls in the Senate are trying to keep their talking points on education trendy.Republican presidential hopefuls in the Senate have joined the fast-growing movement encouraging students to opt out of the standardized tests that have become a part of eve

by mike simpson / 9h 

Florida Board of Education prepares to set teacher evaluation standards | Tampa Bay Times

Florida Board of Education prepares to set teacher evaluation standards | Tampa Bay Times: Florida Board of Education prepares to set teacher evaluation standardsSince adopting the much challenged value-added model for rating teacher performance, Florida has allowed local school districts to assign evaluation performance levels to teachers based in part on local definitions.That's about to change.

by mike simpson / 9h 

Backpacks Full of Cash | EduShyster

Backpacks Full of Cash | EduShyster: Backpacks Full of CashI talk to Nevada Succeeds’ Seth Rau about the Silver State’s new Education Savings Account experiment…EduShyster: Thanks to Nevada’s bold new*universal choice* program, I’ve got exactly $5700 in my backpack. Now I need you to help me choose what choice to choose. Should I go traditional, private, high-performing charter school seat, virtua

by mike simpson / 9h 

L.A. district continues to persecute one of the nation’s best teachers - The Washington Post

L.A. district continues to persecute one of the nation’s best teachers - The Washington Post: L.A. district continues to persecute one of the nation’s best teachersFifth-grade teacher Rafe Esquith’s worst nightmare began March 19, during a puzzling meeting in his principal’s office. Hobart Boulevard Elementary School’s principal indicated something had happened, but Esquith says that he was told h

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/19/15

SPECIAL NITE CAP CORPORATE ED REFORMThe Senate Debate on Lee’s Opt Out Amendment | deutsch29The Senate Debate on Lee’s Opt Out Amendment | deutsch29: The Senate Debate on Lee’s Opt Out AmendmentIn the House version of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, the Student Success Act (SSA), parental opt-out is written into the legislation, bypassing any state

by mike simpson / 23h 

What Debate? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice

What Debate? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:

What Debate? 

The marketing campaign to FIX No Child Left Behind began back in January withannouncements that there would be debate.

A draft of the Every Child Ready for College or Career Act of 2015 was released and many newspapers and education associations picked up the story including the American Educational Research Association.

“The draft bill contains several provisions related to research. If enacted, the bill would task the Institute of Education Sciences with evaluating Title I activities. In addition, state plans submitted to the Department of Education would be approved unless the department presented“substantial high-quality education research” that demonstrated that a plan would be ineffective or inappropriate. The bill does not define high-quality education research.

Alexander has made it clear that he hopes to have a substantial discussion about ESEA.”

Discussion? Debate? Both are important and citizens should have been included to help shape and direct the debate about “fixing” the law. After-all, we were the ones who were subjected to the consequences of bad ideas being passed by congress and signed into law, in this case, by then President Bush. And there was never an official parental complaint process!

But instead of the anticipated discussion, Senator Alexander immediately directed “the debate” to the topic of Testing and Accountability while avoiding the topic of national What Debate? - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:

NPE Announces Location for 2016 Conference – The Network For Public Education

NPE Announces Location for 2016 Conference – The Network For Public Education:

NPE Announces Location for 2016 Conference

The Network for Public Education is thrilled to announce the location for our 3rd Annual National Conference. On April 16 and 17, 2016 public education advocates from across the country will gather in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We chose Raleigh to highlight the tremendous activist movement that is flourishing in North Carolina. No one exemplifies that movement better than the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, who will be the conference keynote speaker. Rev. Barber is the current president of the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, the National NAACP chair of the Legislative Political Action Committee, and the founder of Moral Mondays.

You can read about the history of Moral Mondays in this great piece in the Nation.

The Moral Monday protests transformed North Carolina politics in 2013, building a multiracial, multi-issue movement centered around social justice such as the South hadn’t seen since the 1960s. “We have come to say to the extremists, who ignore the common good and have chosen the low road, your actions have worked in reverse,” said Reverend William Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP and the leader of the Moral Monday movement, in his boisterous keynote speech. “You may have thought you were going to discourage us, but instead you have encouraged us. The more you push us back, the more we will fight to go forward. The more you try to oppress us, the more you will inspire us.”

Rev. Barber’s activism is not limited to North Carolina, either. He is fast becoming a powerful national advocate for public education. This is readily apparent in his recent blog post for The Hill, where he calls on Congress to “fix the high stakes testing regime that has failed.” Make sure to read his post and share it widely. Here is an excerpt:

When Congress enacted the ESEA in 1965, everyone knew education opportunities for black children were radically unequal to the opportunities for white students. Now, 50 years later, these gaps persist and are widening–despite the law’s promise to level the playing field for the nation’s most vulnerable students.

The last time Congress reauthorized ESEA, they and President George W. Bush established high-stakes testing, labeling, and policies that punish schools if kids flunked the tests. Tests don’t teach. Nurturing creative adults who know how to draw out individual children are what education is about. We don’t send our kids to school to become skilled test takers. We pay our taxes and send our kids to public schools because we need future corporate CEOs, cardiologists and aerodynamic engineers, university presidents and school principals, urban planners and architects. Our sons and daughters can’t reach these heights when accountability in our education system hinges on standardized test scores, not cultivating intellectual opportunity—the real measure of education.  Standardized tests can tell us only so much. Educators know that annual multi-dimensional assessments that tell us whether a child is falling behind, whether she or he needs intervention and support the school can’t provide, or if a youngster is on track to graduate are the tools they need—not a single number.

Congress has a chance to fix the high stakes testing regime that has failed. Congress has the chance to deliver on its promise of educational opportunities for all students, especially the nation’s most vulnerable ones, which is the purpose of ESEA. Congress has the chance to repair the breach caused by sins and systems of slavery and segregation.

NPE President Diane Ravitch recently called Rev. Barber “a major national figure in the civil rights movement.” She implored readers of her blog to come to Raleigh and “hear his eloquent plea for justice and decency in our time.”               

Please mark your calendar now to join us in Raleigh to share in Rev. Barber’s poignant message. #NPE16NC promises to be yet another inspiring event.NPE Announces Location for 2016 Conference – The Network For Public Education:

'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School Funding - NEA Today

'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School Funding - NEA Today:

'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School Funding

This article is the first in a NEA Today series that explores obstacles to education that create an opportunity gap for disadvantaged students. With the number of children living in low-income families reaching record highs, these issues are affecting more communities across America and the public schools that serve them.

_____________________________________________

In a kindergarten classroom at Riverside Elementary School in Reading, Pa., one of the 5-year-olds seated cross-legged on the rug is so eager to be called on it looks as if his arm is being pulled from above. His teacher, Lori Sherman, has just read them a book about the rainforest and asked if anyone remembers the word for the characteristic that allows animals to blend into their surroundings.

Finally, his name is called.

“Mosiah?” “Camouflage!” he says through a smile.

In a trailer at nearby 12th and Marion Elementary School, a fourth grader who knows the difference between prime and composite numbers nearly topples her chair backwards in her enthusiastic bid to give the answer.

Happy moments like these occur every day in U.S. public schools. But they are even more heartening when witnessed against the bleak backdrop of Reading, where students and educators confront barriers to learning every day—some exacerbated by the gross underfunding of their schools, others the result of it.

Reading is one of the nation’s poorest cities. It’s also one of the most poorly funded school districts in America. Like students in disadvantaged communities across the nation—who are disproportionately students of color—kids in Reading suffer from a school finance policy that does not come close to providing them with education resources on par with those of their wealthier peers.

Tour Reading’s 19 schools and you’ll see mostly aging buildings with broken floor tiles, leaky ceilings sprouting patches of mold, students crammed into too-small classrooms, and feral cats squatting under classroom trailers. One high school has a room full of broken microscopes, and no money to repair them. One large-group instruction room is completely off limits after a broken pipe left it spattered with sewage. The drama teacher now conducts class in the hallway.

But even more detrimental is what you don’t see.

Reading School District lost 200 educators, including 120 education support professionals in 2011 – 2012 when statewide education funding plummeted by $1.1 billion under then-Gov. Tom Corbett. Incredibly, the cuts were four times greater in Pennsylvania’s 50 poorest districts ($532 per student) than in the state’s wealthiest districts ($113 per student).

In practical terms, those cuts left Riverside Elementary’s Ms. Sherman with a class of more than 30 kinder- garteners and no aide. Many of her colleagues also saw their class sizes balloon, reducing precious one-on-one time that is essential for disadvantaged children.

Mosiah doesn’t have art, gym, or music and there is only one 15-minute recess that is largely spent getting outside and lining up to go back in. There’s no longer a separate kindergarten class focused on meeting special needs among his 'These Kids Are Just Pawns': The Rising Toll of Inequitable School Funding - NEA Today:

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Yet More Influence of Money

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Yet More Influence of Money:

Yet More Influence of Money

The Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights just keeps on pushing standardized testing. Two articles in particular are troubling. This one from Vox, and this one fromInternational Business Times (IBT). Both highlight the lobbying by big civil and disability rights groups for Congress to maintain high stakes testing in an effort to close achievement gaps of poor, minority, and disabled students. 

It's a noble thought that, in practice, is a disaster for those groups. I know I sound like a broken record, but please, someone, anyone, show me the data that demonstrates the closing of those gaps. Show me how tests given to students who have NEVER seen the material on the tests demonstrate anything worthwhile. Anything! Please. 

I recognize the place from which these civil and disability rights groups argue. That pre-ESEA, or IDEA, the people they represent were left out. Districts we not obliged to educate them. I'd like to think that in 2015 the thought of not educating someone in this country is utterly abhorrent. There are better ways to demonstrate growth, progress, achievement, rather than issuing poorly designed standardized tests and narrowing curriculum for the sole purpose of taking those tests. I don't care where you live in the US, that's exactly what's happened -- all in the name of "college and career ready," a term that no one has bothered to define, but, heck, it sure sounds good. 

The other day, Steven Singer noted on his blog that many of the civil rights groups had been asking for relief from standardized testing as late as last October. Now they want it. Politics and money are tricky, I guess. 

Once again, I've been obliged to go poking through the Gates, Broad, and Walton Foundations' websites and 990's looking for grants provided to the groups that signed on to not one, but two, press releases from The Leadership Conference in the last week. There were a couple of new faces on these two lists. 

I have written about the money here, here, and here. The money from just these three foundations is staggering.  

Here is the list from the 14th July 2105 Leadership Conference advocacy letter to the US Senate.

	Gates	Walton	Broad
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights	$2,930,868	----	----
Alliance for Education Excellence	$17,740,140	----	-----
American Association of University Women	----	----	-

Education Lessons From A Sparkly District: Yet More Influence of Money: