Big Education Ape

Sunday, August 16, 2015

There’s one education reform proven to work on a national scale, so why aren’t we trying it? - The Hechinger Report

There’s one education reform proven to work on a national scale, so why aren’t we trying it? - The Hechinger Report:

There’s one education reform proven to work on a national scale, so why aren’t we trying it?

In the fight over how to close the racial achievement gap in education, you rarely hear about the only policy that’s ever worked on a national scale: desegregation.

Reformers push school choice and tougher teacher evaluations. Unions demand higher pay and more focus on out-of-school problems like poverty. But desegregation is perhaps the biggest success story in the history of American education.

During the 1980s, when desegregation was in full effect – with forced busing in some cities and less dramatic strategies elsewhere – the black-white achievement gap on the National Assessment for Educational Progress shrunk faster than it ever has before or since.

When black students went to schools with white ones, they were able to access good teachers, principals and guidance counselors, updated textbooks and more advanced classes. Desegregation broke up concentrated poverty in segregated schools that had been forced to educate the toughest kids with the fewest resources.

With these new opportunities – including access to the social and career networks white kids took for granted – research found that black students not only did better on tests, they earned higher degrees and got better jobs. White students, meanwhile, didn’t suffer any negative consequences from attending integrated schools – and studies found they became more open-minded and less prejudiced.

So, with New York City public school students returning Wednesday, the question is: Why isn’t more being done to bring students of different races together in the most racially and ethnically diverse city in the country, one where the public schools have had little success closing a huge racial achievement gap?

Schools Matter: Pence Funded by Oregon’s Charter School Libertarian

Schools Matter: Pence Funded by Oregon’s Charter School Libertarian:

Pence Funded by Oregon’s Charter School Libertarian

By Doug Martin, Author of Hoosier School Heist

(Doug Martin is up for the Best Local Political Activist of the Year Award. Please go to NUVO and vote for him today and every day until August 21.)

The school privatizers are tossing money at Mike Pence right and left. The governor cashed in on a$25,000 contribution on June 4 from John D. Bryan in Lake Oswego, OR.

As I reveal in my book Hoosier School Heist, Bryan is the millionaire charter school/voucher champion who helped finance Walmart-Amway’s American Federation for Children in 2010 and 2011, a front-group which has funneled millions of dollars into Indiana and other states to buy Republicans to pass anti-public school laws. Last year, Bryan gave $50,000 to the Walmart-Amway backed Hoosiers for Quality Education.

Not only is Bryan pro-charter school, as former director of the Georgia Gulf Corporation, a plastics and petrochemical maker now operating under the name Axiall, he is also an anti-climate change promoter.

A past leadership board member of the Koch Brothers-affiliated Club for Growth and a Scott Walker donor, Bryan has handed at least $201,000 to the Indiana Republican Campaign Committee since 2006. Over the years, Bryan has gifted Pence $145,000.

Koch Brothers group reveals Oregon fundraising connections | OregonLive.com http://bit.ly/1J9uF14

The Challenge Foundation has given money to at least 182 charter schools nationwide, as of my book’s writing. I have a whole section in Hoosier School Heist on Bryan’s Challenge Foundation and the Avondale Meadows School in Indianapolis, when it went by the name Challenge Foundation Academy. Charter schools headed by the Challenge Foundation are rampant across the country, at least one with serious religious Right leanings.

Bryan has brilliantly combined the Religious Right with the Corporate Right. He has bought out African Americans and is fond of the national anthem. He likes former Indianapolis’ Democratic mayor Bart Peterson, too, who first allowed him into Indiana in the first place.

(Doug Martin is up for the Best Local Political Activist of the Year Award. Please go to NUVO and vote for him today and every day until August 21.) Schools Matter: Pence Funded by Oregon’s Charter School Libertarian:

Get Hoosier School Heist in Paperback

Hoosier School Heist On FaceBook

How States Rank on High-School Graduation Rates - The Atlantic

Nevada vs. Arizona: Despite an All-Time-High National Graduation Rate, Dropout Factories and Achievement Gaps Persist in Some States - The Atlantic:

How States Rank on High-School Graduation Rates

Nationwide, the percentage of students getting their diplomas is at an all-time high. But while some states have made incredible strides, others have struggled to keep up.

More students are graduating from high school than ever before, and that number could rise again with this year’s seniors.

The national graduation rate for the 2012-13 school year was 81 percent, which was up from 80 percent the year before and 79 percent the year before that, according to the U.S. Department of Education. This sort of growth is possible as a result of the huge improvements in the numbers of black and Latinos getting their diplomas. But it’s also due to specific state improvements.

If this trend continues, the national graduation rate could reach 90 percent by 2020, according to a report from Civic Enterprises and Johns Hopkins University, which is part of a coalition that’s spearheading the initiative to meet that goal. But stagnation in certain states could keep the national average down.

National Journal ranked and graded the states based on how their graduation rates changed between 2011 and 2013.

MOST IMPROVED STATES:

1) Nevada

2011: 62 percent

2013: 71 percent

Grade: A

Despite having a graduation rate well below the national average at 71 percent, the state has improved drastically from its 62-percent graduation rate in 2011. Part of that growth is due to the 11.4-point increase in Latino graduation rates over the three-year period.

2) Alabama

2011: 72 percent

2013: 80 percent

Grade: A-

Alabama is on track toward reaching a 90-percent graduation rate in the coming years, boosted by improvements among its large black enrollment. The gap between black and white graduation rates was narrowed by 5 percentage points between 2011 and 2013.

3) New Mexico

2011: 63 percent

2013: 70 percent

Grade: A-

The graduation rate among Latinos in the state rose 9 percentage points over the three-year period. Considering that Latinos comprise 57 percent of enrollment, that gain was a boost for the state’s overall numbers. Poverty remains a difficult issue for the state. Around half of its students live in high-poverty areas, well above the national average of 20 percent. The overall graduation rate is still low, at 70 percent.

4) Utah

2011: 76 percent

2013: 83 percent

Grade: B+

Part of the growth in Utah is due to the 13.4 percentage-point rise in Latino graduation rates between 2011 and 2013. The state already has an above-Nevada vs. Arizona: Despite an All-Time-High National Graduation Rate, Dropout Factories and Achievement Gaps Persist in Some States - The Atlantic:

District riven by religious favoritism claims gets monitor - Yahoo News

District riven by religious favoritism claims gets monitor - Yahoo News:

District riven by religious favoritism claims gets monitor

SUFFERN, N.Y. (AP) — When his fifth-grade son struggled with a question on primary colors posed by the TV show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader," David Curry saw just how bad things have gotten in the troubled East Ramapo school district.

Divided for a decade between the ultra-Orthodox Jews who control the school board — but don't send their children to public schools — and parents who say their children are the victims of unfair budget cuts, East Ramapo has seen meetings degenerate into shouting matches and a federal lawsuit brought against the district.

Now a former New York City public schools chancellor has been appointed by the state to examine claims of parents like Curry, who have demanded state intervention in a district they say is failing to serve their children.

"Not only did he not know the answer, he didn't know what a primary color was," Curry said. "But then he hasn't had any art classes in third or fourth grade."

Curry said his daughter, a high school student, has suffered from cuts to extracurricular programs.

"She would have been on the track team, junior varsity, but we don't have junior varsity anymore," he said.

Parents blame the board for deep cuts in teachers and programs for the mostly black and Hispanic children who attend the public schools, saying the board favors the private yeshivas the bulk of the district's children attend. The board blames state funding — in particular a funding formula they say isn't favorable to the district — for the problems.

On Thursday, the state appointed former city schools chancellor Dennis Walcott to study the district's finances, watch to see if the board is breaking state law and make recommendations to Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia.

Curry said the appointment has a chance to be a step forward, but there was plenty of frustration and skepticism among the hundreds of others who attended the announcement. The meeting was occasionally disrupted with boos and shouts calling for federal intervention.

Besides arts teachers and half the sports program, the board has chopped many guidance counselors, social workers and advanced placement courses and slashed kindergarten to half a day, parents complain.

Many parents noted that the state had failed to take action after a report ordered up last year concluded board members' concern for Jewish children "blinded them to the needs of the entire community," and called for a monitor who could veto board actions. But the state Legislature failed to pass a bill that would have done so.

Steve White, who went through the East Ramapo schools himself and sent two children through, said, "We need action. We've had monitors and reports before and it hasn't resulted in any real change for the children."

Walcott said that in addition to board meetings and PTA meetings, he'll be going to "barber shops, beauty parlors, hanging out on corners, talking to people" to find out more about the schools' problems and the community's deep divisions.

But Walcott won't be able to countermand board actions, unseat a board member or even attend the board's executive sessions unless he's invited.

Board President Yehuda Weissmandl said he would help Walcott any way he can, but said he didn't know if that would include inviting him to executive sessions.

The board has maintained that a state aid formula hurts East Ramapo because of the district's high proportion of private school students: about 24,000 in private school and about 9,000 in public school. The formula considers only public school enrollment when it divides the value of taxable property by the number of students.

Walcott suggested he and his experts will find ways to sniff out the workings of the district 25 miles north of New York City.

"We know when something's not right," he said. "We know when something stinks."

Walcott said they would make unannounced visits to classrooms and school board meetings. And he said he would talk to schoolchildren, too.

"Students give the honest answer about what's going on," he said.

Elia said she expects a report from Walcott in December.

Veterans of the district war expressed hope and some reservations.

Oscar Cohen, education chairman of the Spring Valley chapter of the NAACP, wondered how District riven by religious favoritism claims gets monitor - Yahoo News:

Op-ed: Teach for America stumbles because its teachers aren't prepared | The Salt Lake Tribune

Op-ed: Teach for America stumbles because its teachers aren't prepared | The Salt Lake Tribune:

Op-ed: Teach for America stumbles because its teachers aren’t prepared

Teach for America is celebrating its 25th anniversary, but, for the second time in two years, its recruitment numbers are down. The program, which handpicks college graduates to teach in high-need schools, has been so popular that 18 percent of the graduating class at Yale applied in 2010. So what happened?

To explain the decline, Teach for America's co-CEOs point to the improving economy, a broader decline in applications to teacher preparation programs and an "increasingly polarized public conversation around education" and "polarization around TFA." However, this assessment overlooks another important factor: criticism and pushback from Teach for America alumni like me who felt ill-prepared to be classroom teachers.

Over the past few years, much of the criticism from alumni has come in the form of articles and blog posts with titles like "Why I did TFA and why you shouldn't" and "How I Joined Teach for America—and Got Sued for $20 Million." A piece titled "I Quit Teach for America" went viral online, and even The Onion has chimed in with satiric takes on the savior mentality of some TFA teachers. More recently, this alumni resistance has become more organized, with TFA alumni holding conferences to discuss ways to resist Teach for America and even publishing a book of counter-narratives about their experiences in the program.

Like many former TFA "corps members," my critique of the organization grew out of some difficult first months at a high-need middle school in New York in 2007. Though I completed Teach for America's five-week training and lesson planned over the summer, my first week in the classroom left me feeling overwhelmed and ill prepared. Unsurprisingly, my liberal arts degree hadn't provided the slightest idea how to meet the learning or behavioral needs of my bilingual special education students, and the TFA training only provided basics like lesson planning and classroom management. My inexperience, coupled with the impossible daily task of learning to teach multiple unfamiliar subjects literally "on the job," made me feel demoralized and incompetent.

One evening, as my head nodded on the subway, I summed up my feelings in a notebook, scribbling: "I am failing every day."

Although I eventually achieved success as a classroom teacher, I only fully realized how unprepared I was when I became a teacher educator in traditional teacher education programs at the University of Texas and at BYU. Instead of learning science or language arts concepts the day before teaching them as I had previously done, my new education students took several content area courses and learned to appreciate the nuances of teaching different subjects. Similarly, if they wanted to specialize in bilingual or special education, my undergraduate students received focused training in things like language acquisition and learning theory before setting foot in a classroom.

By contrast, entering teaching through TFA meant that I only received an in-depth training in these topics through graduate school courses taken during nights and weekends over my first two years in the classroom. The differences between my TFA training and the preparation of my undergraduate education students made two things uncomfortably clear: 1) that my former middle schoolers deserved someone who was fully trained on the first day of school and 2) in 2007, that person was not me.

Teach for America justifies its short training program in part by pointing to the high demand and high approval rating that their corps members receive from principals. However, citing a demand from chronically understaffed and under-resourced schools seems disingenuous. Students in high-need schools need a sense of continuity, and an ongoing cycle of short-term TFA teachers creates a culture of high turnover in a profession Op-ed: Teach for America stumbles because its teachers aren't prepared | The Salt Lake Tribune:

Sacramento City Council has inconsistent record of sexual harassment training | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento City Council has inconsistent record of sexual harassment training | The Sacramento Bee:

Sacramento City Council has inconsistent record of sexual harassment training

A state bill signed into law in 2004 requires that employers in California with more than 50 workers give sexual harassment prevention training to all supervisors every two years. The law – Assembly Bill 1825 – was inspired by groping allegations made against former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during the 2003 recall campaign; Schwarzenegger signed the bill.

While legislators at the state Capitol and their staffers are required to take anti-harassment training every two years, there appears to be some discrepancy over whether elected officials at the local level are doing the same.

At Sacramento City Hall, for example, some council members either haven’t taken sexual harassment prevention training offered by the city or haven’t taken a course in several years. Other council members said they received training from their private employers. City Attorney James Sanchez has told council members they are not required to undergo training, but that he strongly recommends that they do.

In a memo to council members sent in November 2013, Sanchez told the City Council that “elected officials are not generally considered employees of the city and therefore are not required to complete the training.”

“However, all electeds supervise employees on behalf of the city,” the memo continued. “This office strongly recommends that all electeds receive the training required under AB 1825. The fact that training was received would put the city and the elected in a better position to argue that the city had taken reasonable steps necessary to prevent and correct harassment and discrimination.”

The city’s policy will likely be strengthened in the weeks ahead after Mayor Kevin Johnson told his colleagues in an email Friday that he’s recommending every member of the council take harassment prevention training by the end of September. Johnson said he would also ask the city attorney to explore making the training a requirement in the future.

“While the training isn’t mandatory, I believe strongly that everyone should complete the training course,” the mayor wrote.

Johnson and Councilman Allen Warren have been named in sexual harassment claims this year. In May, Johnson was named in a claim made by a former staff aide to City Manager John Shirey. Johnson denied the allegations and the claim was later found to be unsubstantiated by both the city attorney and an outside law firm that specializes in labor law.

Then, on July 31, a former staffer in Warren’s office filed a claim alleging the councilman threatened to fire her if she ended their sexual relationship. The city attorney is investigating the claim, which Warren has denied.

Just three council members were included in a list of elected officials who have undergone training offered by the city. That list, compiled by the City Clerk’s Office, was obtained by The Sacramento Bee through the Public Records Act.

Council members Warren, Jeff Harris and Rick Jennings have taken city-sponsored training since last year, records show. Harris and Jennings took the training this year and Warren took the course in August 2014.

Council members not in the city’s records for training include Councilman Steve Hansen, who asked the city auditor Tuesday to review the city’s sexual harassment policies. Hansen said he took the training through his former private employer, biotech firm Genentech. He said he could not recall the exact date of the training, but said it was “probably in 2013.”

Training received through another employer qualifies under the state law.

I BELIEVE STRONGLY THAT EVERYONE SHOULD COMPLETE THE TRAINING COURSE.

Mayor Kevin Johnson

“I’m glad to see the mayor stepping up and trying to lead in making sure we have a safe work environment,” Hansen said. “People are finally pulling their heads out of the sand and acknowledging we can do better.”

Councilman Larry Carr – elected last year – was also not in the city clerk’s records. However, Carr said he took the course on Friday after he was notified by The Bee he wasn’t on record for doing so. Before Friday, Carr said he wasn’t aware the city offered the training.

Johnson’s spokesman, Ben Sosenko, said the mayor took a training course early in his first term; Johnson was first elected in 2008. City records only go back to 2012 and the exact date of Johnson’s training session was not available. Sosenko said the mayor will undergo training again before the end of next month.

Councilwoman Angelique Ashby said she took a course soon after she was first elected in 2010. She said Friday she was planning to take the training again this year.

Councilman Jay Schenirer said he took the training course “a couple months ago” through Capitol Impact, the education policy organization he helps run. Councilman Eric Guerra, a staffer in the state Capitol, said he took the training recently through that job, but is also signed up to take the training through the city later this month.

Jane Brunner, who served on the Oakland City Council for 16 years and is an attorneySacramento City Council has inconsistent record of sexual harassment training | The Sacramento Bee:

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/the-public-eye/article31207577.html#storylink=cpy

Big Education Ape: Sacramento Integrity Project | Open Governenment Ordinance http://bit.ly/1ItEqtE

Big Education Ape: Sacramento Democratic Party calls for ethics reform in wake of scandals | The Sacramento Bee http://bit.ly/1UoVaYf

Big Education Ape: Marcos Breton - KJ Is It Time For Bromance Relationship Counselling | The Sacramento Beehttp://bit.ly/1IObKNt

Big Education Ape: Sexual harassment claims become the norm at Sacramento City Hall http://bit.ly/1ItsGrd

Big Education Ape: Sacramento Democratic Party calls for ethics reform in wake of scandals | The Sacramento Bee http://bit.ly/1UoVaYf

Education summit to gauge Kasich | The Columbus Dispatch

Education summit to gauge Kasich | The Columbus Dispatch:

Education summit to gauge Kasich

Gov. John Kasich is taking part in an education summit this week in New Hampshire with several other Republican presidential candidates, and he should have plenty to say.

Former NBC and CNN journalist Campbell Brown said the idea behind Wednesday’s event is to go in-depth with the candidates — in individual question-and-answer sessions lasting 30-45 minutes — on an issue that virtually all voters agree is important but often is given short shrift.

“None of us want to hear talking points, and we’ve made that clear to the candidates,” said Brown, co-founder and editor-in-chief of debate sponsor The Seventy Four (named for the 74 million school-aged children in America), a nonprofit news site that covers education reform across the country.

“My expectation about the summit is that there will be some playing to the crowd. My goal is to get past that and get to talk in-depth about the issues,” she said.

Brown said she is aware of the controversy over the Ohio Education Department’s now-departed school-choice administrator, who quit after it was revealed he was scrubbing charter-school evaluations to make them look better.

She also knows that Kasich has dismissed calls for an independent investigation of the official, David Hansen, the husband of Kasich’s presidential campaign manager, Beth Hansen, and said it could be a campaign issue.

“If the governor believes in promoting charters, then you have a responsibility to address failures in the system,” Brown said. “Otherwise, it will hurt the entire effort.”

Also scheduled to appear are former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, California businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. Bush and Kasich are virtually deadlocked in the latest New Hampshire GOP poll, behind businessman Donald Trump, who isn’t appearing.

Where Kasich stands on key education issues:

Charter schools

Kasich and a GOP-dominated legislature have greatly expanded school choice. More than

$1 billion in state money flows to charter schools, which enroll a record 120,000 students.

And the number of available school vouchers — state funding that allows students to attend private, mostly religiously backed schools — has leaped from 14,000 to 60,000, although as of Monday, fewer than 29,000 applications for EdChoice scholarships had been submitted.

Still, Greg Harris of StudentsFirst said, “In Ohio now, no child is forced to go to a failing school. That’s pretty substantial.”

Ohio’s laws regarding charter-school operations and oversight have been criticized both here and nationally for allowing bad schools to remain open while requiring too little transparency and accountability.

Kasich acknowledged the problem in late 2014, promising to put reforms in his budget bill.

“We strongly support options regardless of a family’s economic background, but they have to be quality options. He’s been very serious about that,” Harris said.

But GOP lawmakers stripped Kasich’s charter reforms out of the budget and instead worked on a separate bill. They didn’t finish it before the summer break, meaning another school year will go by without reforms.

“We are wasting so much money on failing charter schools right now,” said Keary McCarthy, president of the liberal Innovation Ohio.

McCarthy said Kasich has been saying the right things regarding charter-school reform, but he hasn’t pressed lawmakers to act. The former Democratic legislative staffer noted that when the administration wanted a controversial plan in June to allow a takeover of Youngstown schools, it passed both chambers in one day.

Many critics say the millions in campaign contributions from charter-Education summit to gauge Kasich | The Columbus Dispatch:

Saturday, August 15, 2015

The Teacher Shortage - The New York Times

The Teacher Shortage - The New York Times:

The Teacher Shortage

Educators cite low pay, lack of respect and support, and high-stakes tests as causes.

To the Editor: Re “Across Country, a Scramble Is On to Find Teachers” (front page, Aug. 10):

We applaud you for shining a light on the economic forces that helped create the national teacher shortage: low pay, higher student loan debt and recession-linked layoffs. But if you ask teachers why young people are shunning the profession, and why so many abandon it after just a few years, you’ll get an earful.

We have always asked teachers to be a combination of Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Mom and Dad. Now, we judge them by a faulty, narrow measure — one standardized test in English and one in math — and then blame them for not being saviors. Teachers are used to the pressure cooker but are stressed out because they aren’t getting the support, resources, time and respect they need to do their jobs.

Educators have been hit with a barrage of new mandates but given little or no support or training to make them work. Think of the debacle in New York: testing kids on content covered under the new Common Core standards before giving teachers the time, curriculum or latitude to actually teach that content, and then using those tests as the basis of teachers’ evaluations.

Thanks to our test-and-punish fixation, high-stakes test prep has eclipsed teaching and learning and is sucking the creativity and joy out of classrooms. New and seasoned teachers want careers that allow them to make a difference, grow and effect change. Sadly, for too many, the profession today appears not to offer these essentials.

Nationally, we must get our priorities straight and do what’s necessary to recruit, support and retain great teachers — in good economic times and bad.

RANDI WEINGARTEN

President, American Federation of Teachers

Washington

To the Editor: I am an elementary school teacher. I love working with children. I considered my vocation constructive, honorable and a necessary part of building our democracy. While I would like to be paid better, I have taught for 20 years despite being poorly paid. And while I would like to be able to use the bathroom when I need it and have uninterrupted lunch breaks, lack thereof has not prompted me to seek another career. It’s not even being the scapegoat for so many social problems or continually set up to fail that make me want to leave. I can, however, tell you why I don’t want to teach anymore.

I am unable to see individual children as data points as required by the corporate reform movement. We are being forced to subject students to an inordinate number of tests that do not enhance their learning or childhood. These tests provide profit for corporations, and the results are used to ruin teachers. Children are collateral damage.

I do not like my professional value to be determined in a profoundly unfair manner through standardized tests and through observations by people whom I do not respect or trust.

I know I have made a difference for thousands of children. It breaks my heart to seek employment outside of what I consider my calling, but I cannot stay in a system that is motivated by money, not by what’s best for kids.

URSULA ANN KELLY

Corrales, N.M.

To the Editor: Gov. Chris Christie says he wants to punch the teachers’ union in the face. Time magazine publishes a cover story about efforts to make it easier to fire teachers. And yet The New York Times sees The Teacher Shortage - The New York Times:

The strange case of Newark’s vanishing principal. Who just reappeared. | Bob Braun's Ledger

The strange case of Newark’s vanishing principal. Who just reappeared. | Bob Braun's Ledger:

The strange case of Newark’s vanishing principal. Who just reappeared.

Nothing more dramatically shows the contempt the state-operated school district obviously feels for the residents of Newark than the way its leaders–first Cami Anderson and now Christopher Cerf–keep parents uninformed about even dramatic changes in their schools. Consider the strange case of H. Grady James, the on-again, off-again, vanishing principal of the Hawthorne Avenue School. Who has now reappeared.

James, by all accounts a successful principal at Hawthorne, didn’t show up for work one day last March–itself an odd occurrence for a man who rarely missed a day and usually was the first one at school in the early morning hours. But then the mystery really deepened because James didn’t show up for a second day. Or a third. Or a fourth….

Spoiler alert–James did finally show up last week to attend the annual principals’ leadership institute run by the state-operated school district and is now back as principal of the Hawthorne Avenue School. Or what’s left of it.

“There’s never been an explanation,” said a teacher at Hawthorne who asked for anonymity because, well, school employees have a habit of disappearing. Especially if, like James, they have committed the infraction of being known.

H. Grady James, he's back. — H. Grady James, he’s back.

Ok, so we all know that the state-operated school district, under Anderson as well as Cerf, doesn’t comment on what it calls “personnel” issues. But this goes quite a ways beyond that.

Imagine a suburban school–oh, let’s just pull one out of the air for the sake of argument–like the Hartshorn Elementary School in Short Hills. Fine school. But imagine the stir if Mr. Ken Frattini, its principal, suddenly disappeared and never returned–and nobody but nobody The strange case of Newark’s vanishing principal. Who just reappeared. | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: FTC Seeks Public Comment on Parental Consent for Children's Online Privacy

Seattle Schools Community Forum: FTC Seeks Public Comment on Parental Consent for Children's Online Privacy:

FTC Seeks Public Comment on Parental Consent for Children's Online Privacy

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking public comment on a proposed verifiable parental consent method that Riyo has submitted for Commission approval under the agency’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule.

Under the rule, online sites and services directed at children must obtain permission from a child’s parents before collecting personal information from that child. The rule lays out a number of acceptable methods for gaining parental consent, but also includes a provision allowing interested parties to submit new verifiable parental consent methods to the Commission for approval.

In a Federal Register notice to be published shortly, the FTC is seeking public comment about the proposed Riyo verifiable parental consent method including whether the proposed method is already covered by existing methods under the rule and whether it meets the rule’s requirement that it be reasonably calculated to ensure that the person providing the consent is actually the child’s parent. The Commission also seeks comment on whether the program poses a risk to consumers’ information and whether that risk is outweighed by the benefits of the program. The comment period will last until Sept. 3, 2015.

Notice from the FTC.

To file comments.

How this might work:

Riyo’s method: “Face Match to Verified Photo Identification” (FMVPI)

Riyo would verify parental consent by using facial recognition technology to compare a parent’s face to a verified photo ID (this is based on a process that is already in use). First the parent takes a picture of their photo ID with their phone’s camera or webcam and it is authenticated. Then the parent is directed to take a picture of his or her own face. The two images are compared. They also use something called “Liveness Detection” which will detect whether the person is living by identifying slight facial movements (prevents a child trying to take a photo of a static image). https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/attachments/press-releases/ftc-seeks-public-comment-riyo-proposal-parental-verification-method-under-coppa-rule/150731riyoapplication.pdf

This "Riyo" policy is of questionable use. From an e-mail that a concerned parent sent in:

A video describes "Face Match to Verified Photo Identification" Seattle Schools Community Forum: FTC Seeks Public Comment on Parental Consent for Children's Online Privacy:

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