Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/2/15

CORPORATE ED REFORM

No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community Schools | WeArePCAPS

No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community Schools | WeArePCAPS: No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community SchoolsThe School District, once again, is embarking on a new round of school closures and privatization. This, in spite of clear evidence that these policies have not produced the desired educational results and in the face of broad opposition fro

by mike simpson / 2h 

CURMUDGUCATION: The Future for Duncan and King

CURMUDGUCATION: The Future for Duncan and King: The Future for Duncan and KingLet me join the sixty gazillion people who will have something to say about the news from the US Education Department. I'll make my comments in the form of predictions.Duncan will spend his last couple of months doing what he's been doing for years-- making statements that sound pretty good, connecting them to terrible p

by mike simpson / 2h 

Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomes - The Washington Post

Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomes - The Washington Post: Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomesJerome Watkins and his wife, Nicole Jones-Watkins, discuss the upcoming school year expectations for their son, Xavier Ferrell, 9, with Stanton Elementary teachers, Melissa Bryant and Samantha Antunez during a parent-teacher home-vi

by mike simpson / 2h 

The Education Secretary's Greatest Hits : NPR Ed : NPR

Education Secretary Arne Duncan To Step Down : NPR Ed : NPR: Education Secretary Arne Duncan To Step DownAfter nearly seven years in office, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will step down in December. The former head of Chicago Public Schools came to Washington back in 2009 with his friend — a newly-elected President Obama.Duncan's tenure was remarkable for two reasons:First, he got a lot done. A

by mike simpson / 3h 

What did Arne Duncan do for California schools? - LA Times

What did Arne Duncan do for California schools? - LA Times: What did Arne Duncan do for California schools?Arne Duncan, who on Friday was reported to be stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Education in December, had a sometimes stormy relationship with California, despite its status as a stronghold of support for Democrats and the Obama administration.An early conflict was the state’s effort to sec

by mike simpson / 3h 

School threats on social media a serious concern

School threats on social media a serious concern: School threats on social media a serious concernJust a day after Salinas police investigated a social media post referencing a school shooting, tragedy unfolded during a deadly mass shooting at a college campus in Oregon.Fortunately, Salinas police determined that there was no danger posed by the threat, specifically a Twitter post of graffiti refe

by mike simpson / 4h 

Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified case - LA Times

Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified case - LA Times: Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified caseCompton Unified student Kimberly Cervantes, center, photographed in May 2015, is part of a lawsuit seeking disability protections for students suffering from the effects of trauma. Behind her are attorney Annie Hudson-Price

by mike simpson / 4h 

Cashing In On Special-Needs Kids | The Progressive

Cashing In On Special-Needs Kids | The Progressive: Cashing In On Special-Needs KidsRaising a child with autism requires extra vigilance. Just ask Minneapolis parent Marcia Haugstad. Her son, Noah, has an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and is beginning high school this fall after many difficult years as a Minneapolis public school student. Once, as a kindergartener, Noah panicked in his regula

by mike simpson / 4h 

What Arne Duncan’s Replacement did to N.Y. schools - The Washington Post

What Arne Duncan’s new senior adviser did to N.Y. schools - The Washington Post: What Arne Duncan’s new senior adviser did to N.Y. schoolsJohn King is leaving his job as commissioner of New York State schools commissioner to become a senior adviser to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, with the “roles and responsibilities of the deputy secretary,” according to the Education Department, which is

by mike simpson / 4h 

U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resign | EdSource

U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resign | EdSource: U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resignU.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who clashed frequently with California education officials on a range of K-12 education policy issues, announced that he will resign his position in December.He will be succeeded by former New York Education Commi

by mike simpson / 5h 

Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracy | I AM AN EDUCATOR

Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracy | I AM AN EDUCATOR: Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracyArne Duncan has been one of the most destructive forces to public education in the history of our country.Duncan was appointe

by mike simpson / 5h 

A Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on Ed | Cloaking Inequity

A Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on Ed | Cloaking Inequity: A Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on EdSo what happens when a President chooses a basketball buddy as Secretary of Education? Really, Obama… what did you expect when you chose a non-educator, non-expert to lead American education? A leader who left Chicago in shamble

by mike simpson / 5h 

Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy? : Blog of the Century

Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy? : Blog of the Century: Members-only Unions: Can They Help Revitalize Workplace Democracy?On July 10, 2014, when the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 42 was officially announced, many Americans were introduced for the first time to an old labor practice: members-only unions.1Local 42 was formed at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga,

by mike simpson / 5h 

Louisiana Educator: White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative Again

Louisiana Educator: White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative Again: White's Team Trying to Muddy up the Narrative AgainBeaking News!I just got an email from one of the state newspapers questioning why our citizen group was asking for information that was pre-mature. The reporter questioned why we were asking for PARCC data when BESE had not yet approved the PARCC cut scores? Wouldn't it be be

by mike simpson / 6h 

New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down? - The Hechinger Report

New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down? - The Hechinger Report: New York was Common Core’s stronghold. What happens if the state backs down?en Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York, announced that the Common Core wasn’t working and that he would commission a committee to overhaul the state’s “Common Core system,” the governor became the first Democr

by mike simpson / 6h 

Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yet | Seattle Education

Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yet | Seattle Education: Six months and counting. No Common Core Standards SBAC test results yetRemember the Common Core SBAC test that was given to students in Seattle during the month of April and May, the test that was sooo important for students to take, the test that certain school administrators threatened, coerced and embar

by mike simpson / 6h 

Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretary - The Washington Post

Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretary - The Washington Post: Text of Arne Duncan’s note to his staff about resigning as education secretaryThe following is a text of an internal e-mail Duncan sent to his staff on Friday, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post:Subject line: An inspiring new leader for our extraordinary teamDear colleagues,I’m wr

by mike simpson / 6h 

If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successor - The Washington Post

If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successor - The Washington Post: If you thought Arne Duncan was controversial, meet his successorNow that Education Secretary Arne Duncan has decided to step down in December, the U.S. Department of Education will be headed by John King. And if you thought Duncan was controversial, meet his successor.King was the New York State education commi

by mike simpson / 6h 

John B. King Jr in for Arne Duncan Relegated Duties of Acting Secretary of Education -- Biography

John B. King, Jr., Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education -- Biography: John B. King, Jr., Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education — Biography Versión en españolJohn B. King, Jr. is the Senior Advisor Delegated Duties of Deputy Secretary of Education, a position he assumed in January 2015. In appointing him, Secretary Arne Duncan called Dr. King &

by mike simpson / 6h 

The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on Children

The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on Children: The Trouble with “Disruption” and its Effect on ChildrenDisruption has become a popular buzzword in regard to schooling. Education reformers like to say disruption is a good thing—like shaking up a kaleidoscope to get a pretty picture. Never mind that those beautiful little pebbles in the kaleidoscope are real children. Nor is it with certa

by mike simpson / 7h 

AP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down

AP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping down: AP sources: Education Secretary Arne Duncan stepping downWASHINGTON (AP) — Education Secretary Arne Duncan, one of the longest-serving members of President Barack Obama's Cabinet, will step down in December, officials said Friday.In an email to his staff, Duncan said he's returning to Chicago to live with his family. He said he isn't sure

by mike simpson / 7h 

More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016 - Wait What?

More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016 - Wait What?: More on the Big Changes with the SAT and why juniors should take the old SAT at least once before March 2016As reported in yesterday’s Wait, What? Post,“Current 11th graders are strongly encouraged to take the CURRENT SAT before the NEW SAT comes out in March.  Colleges will c

by mike simpson / 8h 

New Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day Three | VAMboozled!

New Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day Three | VAMboozled!: New Mexico’s Teacher Evaluation Lawsuit: Day ThreeAs per my last post about the second day in court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, I was purposefully ambiguous about one of the two articles written in The Santa Fe New Mexican regarding my testimony. The first article titled, “Experts differ on test-based evaluations at NM hearing,” I felt

by mike simpson / 8h 

Schools Matter: Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for Expansion

Schools Matter: Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for Expansion: Nashville Charters' Mind-Boggling Appeal for ExpansionIn August the Nashville Metro School Board voted down further "no excuses" charter expansion.School board members based their votes on 1) the dehumanizing and brutal regimen of the total compliance charters that is ostensibly aimed to improve student "charact

by mike simpson / 8h 

EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schools - Scenarios USAScenarios USA

EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schools - Scenarios USAScenarios USA: EduColor Advocates for Children of Color in Public Schoolsvia http://www.theblackhomeschool.com/This year marks the 10th anniversary of when I started writing online. As a teacher, there were a lot of reasons that I wanted to expand my classroom to be inclusive of a broader world: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if

by mike simpson / 8h 

"Golden" Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?

"Golden" Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?: “Golden” Granada Hills Charter High School: Scofflaws When It Comes to California Ed Code?By Carl Petersen. “I am a former candidate for the District 3 seat on the LAUSD School Board, founder of Change The LAUSDand member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council. Opinions are my own.”“Per GHCHS

by mike simpson / 9h 

CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, NEA

CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, NEA: Dammit, NEAThe national leadership of the NEA today is one step closer to ramming the endorsement of Hillary Clinton down its members throats.Steven Singer zeroed in on the maximum-irony quote from NEA president Lily Eskelsen-Garcia:“We are what Democracy looks like.”With those words, Lily Eskelsen Garcia took the reigns of the National Education Association (NEA) as P

by mike simpson / 9h 

Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne Duncan | janresseger

Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne Duncan | janresseger: Ohio’s Failure to Oversee Charters and Youngstown Takeover Are Connected, Funded by Arne DuncanTwo important things relating to education happened in Columbus in June, right before the Ohio legislature went on summer break.  The legislature did fast-track a bill to take over the public sc

by mike simpson / 9h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.: Duncan's grand charter give-away. Feeding the beast.Arne Duncan has turned the D.O.E. into little more than a feeding trough for even the most corrupt and unaccountable charter school operators. His latest gift of $157M to charter privateers comes virtually accountability-free. The most stunning part is that Dunca

by mike simpson / 9h 

Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The Problem | PopularResistance.Org

Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The Problem | PopularResistance.Org: Root Of The Education Crisis: Teachers Were Never The ProblemGoogle the phrase “education crisis” and you’ll be hit with a glut of articles, blog posts and think tank reports claiming the entire American school system is facing an emergency. Much of this agitprop additionally asserts that teachers unions are the

by mike simpson / 10h 

The most common reasons students drop out of high school are heartbreaking - Yahoo News

The most common reasons students drop out of high school are heartbreaking - Yahoo News: The most common reasons students drop out of high school are heartbreakingEven if it feels boring or irrelevant, just staying in school almost guarantees you'll end up in a better place than if you dropped out.Unfortunately, according to a recent report from America's Promise Alliance, those factors rank among

by mike simpson / 10h 

Bernie Sanders, Not Hillary Clinton, Deserves Union Endorsements | Ben Spielberg

Bernie Sanders, Not Hillary Clinton, Deserves Union Endorsements | Ben Spielberg: Bernie Sanders, Not Hillary Clinton, Deserves Union EndorsementsThe National Education Association (the union to which I used to belong) isconsidering an early endorsement of Hillary Clinton. This decision, like the American Federation of Teachers' endorsement of Clinton on July 11, would be a huge mistake.One reason

by mike simpson / 10h 

Education Reform is Anti-American | Steve Nelson

Education Reform is Anti-American | Steve Nelson: Education Reform is Anti-AmericanIn the name of American exceptionalism, the institutions that have actually made us exceptional are under attack. The irony is heartbreaking.Education reform is one major battleground and the terms of engagement have been largely distorted. "Reformers" would have you believe that the movement is about chil

by mike simpson / 10h 

Broad's support of Clinton raising concerns within teacher unions - LA School Report

Broad's support of Clinton raising concerns within teacher unions - LA School Report:Broad’s support of Clinton raising concerns within teacher unionsHillary Clinton and Eli Broad on Jan. 20, 2009 at the inauguration ball of President Barack Obama.With his massive plan to enroll half of all LA Unified’s students into charter schools, billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad is threatening major disrup

by mike simpson / 10h 

YESTERDAY

A Handful of NEA Leaders Have Taken Another Step Toward Endorsing Hillary Clinton Despite Member Outcry | gadflyonthewallblog

A Handful of NEA Leaders Have Taken Another Step Toward Endorsing Hillary Clinton Despite Member Outcry | gadflyonthewallblog: A Handful of NEA Leaders Have Taken Another Step Toward Endorsing Hillary Clinton Despite Member Outcry“We are what Democracy looks like.”With those words, Lily Eskelsen Garcia took the reigns of the National Education Association (NEA) as President in 2014.A little more t

by mike simpson / 19h 

Seattle Schools Community Forum: School Shootings Since Newtown

Seattle Schools Community Forum: School Shootings Since Newtown: School Shootings Since NewtownHere, 142 of them. The idiot today? TOLD people online he was going to do this and got advice on how to do it.  (Pick a class with girls; they won't fight back.) What happened to "see something, say something?" Oh wait, that's for foreign, not domestic, terrorists (and that's what these guys ar

by mike simpson / 19h 

Our Justice Is Complicated | The Jose Vilson

Our Justice Is Complicated | The Jose Vilson: Our Justice Is ComplicatedFor some reason, my Pocket app has been full of idiosyncratic profile pieces. This Fader one of Drake. This POLITICO one of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. This New York Times obitdedicated to teacher-turned-community activist Terry Rosenbaum. This Esquire bit on the old new Mark Zuckerberg.So when La Galeria Magazine publ

by mike simpson / 19h 

Broad and Walton Contribute a Combined $650,000 to Upcoming Louisiana BESE Election | deutsch29

Broad and Walton Contribute a Combined $650,000 to Upcoming Louisiana BESE Election | deutsch29: Broad and Walton Contribute a Combined $650,000 to Upcoming Louisiana BESE ElectionBillionaires Eli Broad and Alice and Jim Walton have contributed a combined $650,000 to Baton Rouge businessman Lane Grigsby’s PAC, Empower Louisiana, so that Grigsby might use it to try to retain a corporate-reform-bent

by mike simpson / 20h 

Bernie and Hillary on Charters | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bernie and Hillary on Charters | Diane Ravitch's blog: Bernie and Hillary on ChartersCharters kill unions. Ninety percent of charters are nonunion. Their sponsors want it that way..Personally, I am completely opposed to for-profit charter schools. I think they are an abomination. I believe that every cent paid by taxpayers should be dedicated to the needs of children and their teachers, and not a

by mike simpson / 21h 

The Costs of Our Teachers Opting Out | John Ewing

The Costs of Our Teachers Opting Out | John Ewing: The Costs of Our Teachers Opting OutAs another school year gets underway, the public receives its annual dose of hand wringing about the state of American education. In the past few weeks, we have read about massive "failures" as districts and states report scores from last year's tests, about the rise of the opt-out movement, about pare

by mike simpson / 21h 

Louisiana Legislators, BESE Members, Citizens File a Public Records Request for PARCC(ish) Raw Scores | deutsch29

Louisiana Legislators, BESE Members, Citizens File a Public Records Request for PARCC(ish) Raw Scores | deutsch29: Louisiana Legislators, BESE Members, Citizens File a Public Records Request for PARCC(ish) Raw ScoresLa. Superintendent John WhiteThe following public records request was delivered to Louisiana State Superintendent John White both by messenger and by email at around 3:30 p.m. on Thurs

by mike simpson / 22h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 10/1/15

CORPORATE ED REFORMOhio Congressman questions Arne Duncan’s $32 million charter grant - The Washington PostOhio Congressman questions Arne Duncan’s $32 million charter grant - The Washington Post: Ohio Congressman questions Arne Duncan’s $32 million charter grantRep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) had an unusual reaction to news that the U.S. Department of Education was giving his state a $32 million grant: He

by mike simpson / 23h 

No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community Schools | WeArePCAPS

No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community Schools | WeArePCAPS:

No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community Schools

The School District, once again, is embarking on a new round of school closures and privatization. This, in spite of clear evidence that these policies have not produced the desired educational results and in the face of broad opposition from the public.

The decision to hand over three elementary schools to charter companies continues its Renaissance charter initiative in spite of evidence that this program has failed to deliver the promised gains. An internal study by the District found that the majority of charter operators had not met their performance goals. At two schools, Bluford and Douglas, the District chose not to renew Universal and Young Scholars, respectively as operators.

The continuation of the Renaissance initiative ignores the verdict parents delivered last Spring when they overwhelmingly voted against charter conversion of Munoz-Marin and Steel Elementary. This time parents will not have a choice. The privatization agenda of the District was also a factor in the recent referendum on the SRC which endorsed a call for abolishing that body in favor of local control.

The Renaissance program also contributes to the District’s financial woes, costing about 4,000 dollars per student in the form of stranded costs.

What about community schools?

While the District’s latest initiative includes what it characterizes as innovative projects, it ignores an alternative that has a strong track record of success. Community schools, schools that seek to address the deficits created by poverty and systemic racism, have boosted graduation rates and dramatically narrowed the racial achievement gap in Cincinnati. New York and Baltimore are both investing heavily in community schools and in our state Lancaster, Allentown and Bethlehem have important initiatives along these lines.

Community schools can be the schools our children deserve…schools with wrap around social services, engaging curriculum, positive school discipline and deep and authentic partnerships with parents, staff, students and the surrounding neighborhood. There is growing support for this idea from parents and educators. Mayoral candidate Jim Kenny has endorsed our call for 25 new community schools over his term. Council President Darryl Clarke is also developing a community schools initiative.

PCAPS first raised the idea of community schools during the fight over school closures No More School Closures and Charter Takeovers…Time for Community Schools | WeArePCAPS:

CURMUDGUCATION: The Future for Duncan and King

CURMUDGUCATION: The Future for Duncan and King:

The Future for Duncan and King

Let me join the sixty gazillion people who will have something to say about the news from the US Education Department. I'll make my comments in the form of predictions.

Duncan will spend his last couple of months doing what he's been doing for years-- making statements that sound pretty good, connecting them to terrible policies, and generally being ignored by Congress.

Some people will be really excited that he is leaving. These will be the same people who felt certain that Duncan was some sort of rogue agent, sneaking off to implement terrible policies behind the President's back, instead of the President's Guy, a cabinet bro who did just what Obama wanted him to. There have been fewer and fewer of these people over the years, but they still exist, and they still think that when Duncan leaves USED, things will get better. These folks should try investing in Floridian swampland.

Everyone east of the Mississippi who has been paying attention will express horror that former New York state ed chief John King had been names Duncan's replacement. In terms of policy, these two are cut from the same cloth. King loves him some Big Standardized Tests, test-based teacher evaluations, Common Core, and a whole world of privatization via barely-regulated charters. King has a hell of a personal story, from which he has failed to learn some critical lessons (a teacher changed his life, and he would like to install a system that would strap such a teacher to a giant CURMUDGUCATION: The Future for Duncan and King:

Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomes - The Washington Post

Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomes - The Washington Post:

Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomes

Jerome Watkins and his wife, Nicole Jones-Watkins, discuss the upcoming school year expectations for their son, Xavier Ferrell, 9, with Stanton Elementary teachers, Melissa Bryant and Samantha Antunez during a parent-teacher home-visit in 2013. (Amanda Voisard/For The Washington Post)

Students whose teachers visited them at home to build relationships with their families were less likely to miss school, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University.

Researchers also found that students who took part in a home visiting program were more likely to read on grade level and that their teachers received higher marks on some parts of their teacher evaluations.

The study included 4,700 students at 12 elementary schools or education campuses that took part in a family engagement program run by the District-based Flamboyan Foundation during the 2013-2014 school year.

“We’ve always known anecdotally and emotionally that home visiting helps families connect to teachers, but now we know home visits are increasing attendance,” said Kristin Ehrgood, president and board chair for the foundation.

[District officials turn to home visits to boost schools]

Over time, research has shown that children whose parents are involved in their educations tend to have better attendance, grades, graduation rates, and other outcomes. But there is far less research about whether schools can make a difference in supporting greater engagement among families, said Steven B. Sheldon, a research scientist with the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnership who led the study.

“The question is, can we encourage and support those who are less engaged to be more engaged?” he said.

The Flamboyan Foundation, which funded the study, trains and pays teachers to conduct home visits designed to build trust between school and home. The goal is to make parents partners in their children’s academic growth and performance.

The report shows the effects of an effort that is gaining traction in the District. The foundation first piloted the program in 2011-2012 with five schools and expanded last year to partner with 27 traditional and charter schools.

Now about a quarter of teachers at D.C. Public Schools have been trained in the approach, and the school system has plans to significantly increase the Home visiting linked to lower school truancy and better reading outcomes - The Washington Post:

The Education Secretary's Greatest Hits : NPR Ed : NPR

Education Secretary Arne Duncan To Step Down : NPR Ed : NPR:

Education Secretary Arne Duncan To Step Down

After nearly seven years in office, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will step down in December. The former head of Chicago Public Schools came to Washington back in 2009 with his friend — a newly-elected President Obama.

Duncan's tenure was remarkable for two reasons:

First, he got a lot done. A lot. The list is long, so, for the purposes of this short post, let's focus on perhaps the biggest thing he did, which was also one of the first things he did. In the summer of 2009, Duncan made this grand pronouncement:

"For states, for district leaders, for unions, for businesses and for nonprofits, the Race to the Top is the equivalent of education reform's moonshot."

RTTT was a giant pot of stimulus money — more than four billion dollars' worth — offered to beleaguered states soon after the Great Recession. Duncan used it to entice them to make sometimes-controversial changes in the classroom. At the top of that list: adopting new, common standards and evaluating teachers.

Rick Hess is director of education policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, and he says it was clear from the start that Duncan wanted to use his bully pulpit to push some big ideas.

"Duncan's biggest legacy is that he dramatically increased the role of the U.S. Department of Education in the nation's schools," Hess says.

When states clamored for relief from the Bush Administration's No Child Left Behind law, Duncan was there, offering waivers — again, in return for implementing his big ideas.

Arne Duncan was also a champion of charter schools and a believer in the power of testing to reveal inequality in America's classrooms. At the higher ed level, he oversaw an expansion of Pell Grants, cut banks out of the federal student loan business, and cracked down on for-profit colleges.

The other remarkable thing about Duncan's tenure isn't one of those ideas but how he fought for them all. Hess says Duncan wasn't afraid to butt heads, even if it meant making enemies out of Republicans and traditional allies alike.

"He tackled issues that are difficult for a Democrat — especially a Chicago Democrat to tackle," Hess says.

Duncan's support for testing and teacher evaluation systems infuriated the nation's teachers' unions, which repeatedly called for him to step down.

Why is he leaving now? In a word: family. Duncan told staffers in an e-mail that he wants to return to Chicago to be with his wife and two kids.

This afternoon, the President tapped Duncan's deputy, John King Junior, to succeed him as Secretary. King is former education commissioner for New York state. There, on a smaller stage, he fought many of the same, bruising battles that Duncan did.

The Education Secretary's Greatest Hits

It's been decades since an education secretary had as high a national political profile as the long-serving Arne Duncan, who famously accompanied President Obama from Chicago and even more famously likes to shoot hoops with the president.

Supporters note that Duncan has advocated passionately for narrowing the opportunity and achievement gaps in American's public schools, ending the "school to prison pipeline" and boosting pay for teachers who serve in high-poverty schools.

He has spoken eloquently about the inequities in the system of funding of the nation's schools based on property taxes. As Duncan put it this week at the National Press Club:

"In far too many places the children of the wealthy get dramatically more spent on them than the children of the poor."

But the former pro ball player (in Australia) has also presided over one of the most contentious, partisan periods in education policy of the last several decades, and critics say his own personality has never placed him far above the fray.

"Some of Duncan's battles he can wear proudly because he was fighting hard fights," says Rick Hess of the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, "But some I think were the product of his own tendency to dismiss those who had good faith disagreements."

Here's a look at some of Duncan's wins, scores and losses over the past seven years.

K-12

Digging In On High-Stakes Testing

The push for standardized tests predated Duncan. President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind back in 2002, creating a system of federal consequences for states, districts and schools whose students failed to make "adequate yearly progress" on annual tests. The law stated that all students everywhere must score "proficient" by 2014.

Duncan's Race To The Top initiative in 2009 provided incentives to states for tying test scores to teacher evaluations, further raising the stakes on high-stakes tests in a way that was destined to offend teachers' unions.

At the same time, beginning in 2011, with the No Child law well overdue for reauthorization, the administration began granting individual waivers to states to provide flexibility on testing targets that were proving impossible to reach.

High-stakes testing coincided with modest gains on math scores, and relative gains by some minority groups. In combination with the Common Core, testing has also become a focal point of teacher and parent protests nationwide, with some students, notably in New York State, "opting out."

Duncan called the law "tired" and "prescriptive" and stated in 2014 that testing issues were "sucking the oxygen out of the room" in schools.

But he defended annual testing, even as some critics were blaming tests for a wide range of unintended consequences, ranging from narrowing of the curriculum to the en masse closure of urban neighborhood schools to cheating scandals as seen in Atlanta.

The law is now (finally) up for reauthorization and both the House and Senate versions of the bill keep the annual testing requirements in place.

"White Suburban Moms" And The Common Core

Race To The Top, signed into law as part of the federal stimulus package after the 2008 financial crash, was structured cleverly as a competitive grant.

States got points for, among other things, adopting new, higher academic standards. In this way, Duncan and Obama were able to push 45 states initially to adopt what became the Common Core State Standards — before they were even written and without making them an explicit federal policy.

But despite initial bipartisanship, Duncan's advocacy of the Common Core crashed into Washington's current atmosphere of bitter partisanship and the long-standing distrust of a strong federal role in local education.

One of several anti-Duncan Facebook groups popped up: MAD, Mothers Against Duncan. And Duncan was sometimes his own worst enemy, PR-wise.

He famously said that opposition to Common Core and mastering standards in core areas of reading and math had become "a rallying cry for fringe groups."

At an otherwise sleepy state school superintendents meeting in 2013, Duncan suggested that opposition to the new reading and math guidelines was mostly from white mothers whose kids are facing tougher standards and tougher tests.

"And it's fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from sort of white suburban moms," Duncan said, "who, all of a sudden, their child isn't as brilliant as they thought they were, their schools aren't quite as good as they thought they were. And that's pretty scary." The sound bite now appears on Duncan's Wikipedia page.

Duncan apologized for his "clumsy" remarks, but for some it underscored what they saw as Washington's dismissive, arrogant approach to critics of the state standards.

Opponents, including Republican presidential hopefuls, began referring to the Common Core as "Obamacore" in a fledgling effort to link the standards debate with the fight over the president's controversial health-care legislation.

That was the moment, "when I knew that the debate was shifting into the larger context in Washington that was all about seeking partisan advantage," says Stanford University professor Thomas Dee, who heads the school's Center for Education Policy Analysis.

The charged rhetoric often drowned out teachers' legitimate concerns about how to put Common Core into action inside the classroom, Dee says. "It is such a heavy lift to ask the nation's teachers to reinvent their teaching practices around these standards."

The ongoing debate over the standards, in many ways, shows the limitations of the federal role reform in America's highly decentralized education system.

Teacher Evaluations

The nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, called on Duncan to resign in 2014, charging that he had undermined educators by linking teacher evaluations and school ratings to student test scores.

States that received federal waivers for No Child Left Behind provisions had to include teacher evaluations as part of the deal. Duncan had access to some federal stimulus money that he shifted to school district consortia to expand performance-based evaluations. Did it help improve learning and teaching? The results, so far, are a mixed bag.

Research by Stanford's Thomas Dee suggests that one place it is working is in the Washington, D.C., public schools. "Their teacher-evaluation system has helped drive an entire district turnaround," he argues.

But some districts cashed the federal check and made largely cosmetic changes. Many districts had to return millions in federal funds for not meeting the requirement that they get union buy-in for teacher evaluations.

"I'm not sure Duncan could have done much more on this than he did from his perch," he says. Bottom line for Dee: "Arne has been one of the most influential secretarys in Education Secretary Arne Duncan To Step Down : NPR Ed : NPR:

What did Arne Duncan do for California schools? - LA Times

What did Arne Duncan do for California schools? - LA Times:

What did Arne Duncan do for California schools?

Arne Duncan, who on Friday was reported to be stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Education in December, had a sometimes stormy relationship with California, despite its status as a stronghold of support for Democrats and the Obama administration.

An early conflict was the state’s effort to secure grants through Duncan’s signature Race to the Top effort. States competed for the funds based on their willingness to pursue reforms favored by the U.S. Department of Education. The sticking point for California was that states had to agree to a teacher evaluation system based, in part, on measures such as student standardized test scores. In addition, state teachers unions had to sign on to a state’s application.

Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a moderate Republican, supported the requirements, but could not secure agreement from teachers unions. The state’s application was downgraded as a result and other states got the money.

Other elements of Duncan’s push for major policy change included increasing the number of charter schools. Charters are independently managed and exempt from some rules that govern traditional public campuses. Duncan also promoted aggressive school “turnarounds,” which meant, in many places, replacing the entire staff at a school or closing a traditional school, with its union-represented workforce, and replacing it with a charter school.

Duncan’s department had a huge influence in shaping education policy because it used department grants to fill a vacuum left by Congress, whose members could not agree on education policies.

Both support and criticism for Duncan’s actions crossed party lines. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney opined that he’d be willing to keep Duncan on the job in a Republican White House. Meanwhile, Duncan's staunchest critics included teachers unions, a critical Democratic constituency.

California Gov. Jerry Brown came into office as an ally of teachers unions and a skeptic of many reforms he regarded as faddish and unproven. His administration resisted federal conditions for certain grants and refused to bend when Duncan wanted the state to continue using old state standardized tests until new ones were ready. In that resistance, Brown was joined by majorities in the state Legislature and by Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who also had political support from teachers unions.What did Arne Duncan do for California schools? - LA Times:

School threats on social media a serious concern

School threats on social media a serious concern:

School threats on social media a serious concern

Just a day after Salinas police investigated a social media post referencing a school shooting, tragedy unfolded during a deadly mass shooting at a college campus in Oregon.

Fortunately, Salinas police determined that there was no danger posed by the threat, specifically a Twitter post of graffiti referencing a school shooting, put up by a 14-year-old Salinas High School student.

When officers arrived to the campus early Wednesday, school administrators had already identified the student and held him in the office. A search of the student’s property and home turned up no additional evidence, and the student claimed to not have been responsible for the graffiti, according to Salinas police.

After an extensive investigation that included interviews of staff and students, it was determined that there was no further threat to the school. The 14-year-old student was taken to juvenile hall on suspicion of terrorist threats.

While social media posts threatening schools are not very common in the area, authorities take any and all of them very seriously, said Salinas Police Deputy Chief Terry Gerhardstein.

“With social media, people become so impulsive in putting out information. No matter how bad it is, they don’t think about how bad it is. They don’t think about terror it puts in people’s minds, they don’t think about law enforcement’s response later on,” Gerhardstein said.

When a threat is reported to authorities, they immediately work on locating the person who posted the threat and investigate to see if the person who made the threat had the means and ability to carry it out.

While many believe that social media postings can be posted anonymously, authorities can track down the origin of threatening posts, even through social media sites like Yik Yak, which advertise themselves as a place to post anonymously.

Depending on the situation and whether the source of the social media threat has been located, a school campus may be locked down as authorities apply significant School threats on social media a serious concern:

Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified case - LA Times

Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified case - LA Times:

Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified case

Compton Unified student Kimberly Cervantes, center, photographed in May 2015, is part of a lawsuit seeking disability protections for students suffering from the effects of trauma. Behind her are attorney Annie Hudson-Price, left, and attorney Kathryn Eidmann. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Students who have experienced trauma could be eligible for some of the same protections as students with disabilities based on the effects of that trauma, according to a ruling by a federal judge Tuesday.

But the degrees, types and effects of trauma that would trigger such protections have yet to be determined.

The procedural rulings from Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald came in response to alawsuit filed on behalf of five students and three teachers in the Compton Unified School District that aimed to establish “complex trauma” as a type of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Representing the plaintiffs, Los Angeles-based pro bono firm Public Counsel presented the judge with research showing that exposure to trauma can hurt a student’s ability to learn, much in the same way as other impairments.

Public Counsel wanted the suit to be a class-action case on behalf of students whose learning opportunities suffered in response to trauma, the ruling said. The suit described the case of a boy who was separated from his siblings as he was shuffled through a series of foster homes and ultimately “spent two months of homelessness sleeping on the roof of his Effects of trauma could constitute disability, judge rules in Compton Unified case - LA Times:

Cashing In On Special-Needs Kids | The Progressive

Cashing In On Special-Needs Kids | The Progressive:

Cashing In On Special-Needs Kids

Raising a child with autism requires extra vigilance. Just ask Minneapolis parent Marcia Haugstad. Her son, Noah, has an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and is beginning high school this fall after many difficult years as a Minneapolis public school student. Once, as a kindergartener, Noah panicked in his regular education classroom and bolted out the door. He was about to set foot in a busy nearby street when a teacher happened to see him, just in time.

Then, in fourth grade, Noah told his mom about the classroom “superbullies” who were teasing him. With inadequate support from teachers and specialists, Noah began lashing out, scratching other kids, and refusing to leave the house in the morning. For the first time in his life, he had to be physically restrained by a teacher.

He even became suicidal. Haugstad vividly recalls Noah telling her, in great detail, how he planned to kill himself by tying a belt around his neck.

Mental health problems are a companion to autism, Haugstad says, because kids like Noah are often very aware that they are different, and don’t fit in. Unpredictable and sometimes violent meltdowns are characteristic of “high-functioning” autistic kids; after the episode fades, the child is often awash in a sea of remorse.

It takes a careful hand to guide a child like Noah, and that’s what Haugstad eventually found for him, through the Minneapolis public schools’ highly regarded citywide autism program. The district has offered this intensive program for the last twenty years, as Minnesota’s autism population has steadily grown, particularly among the state’s white and Somali residents.

In this program, which parents say has provided crucial access to like-minded peers, kids with autism can spend time in both mainstream and special education classrooms.

After Noah’s violent and suicidal episodes as a fourth grader, Haugstad contacted the school

- See more at: http://www.progressive.org/news/2015/10/188342/cashing-special-needs-kids#sthash.YCZAPly8.dpuf

What Arne Duncan’s Replacement did to N.Y. schools - The Washington Post

What Arne Duncan’s new senior adviser did to N.Y. schools - The Washington Post:

What Arne Duncan’s new senior adviser did to N.Y. schools

John King is leaving his job as commissioner of New York State schools commissioner to become a senior adviser to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, with the “roles and responsibilities of the deputy secretary,” according to the Education Department, which issued a statement giving King high praise for his work in New York. Some in New York think otherwise. Here’s a piece by award-winning Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in New York, who was named New York’s 2013 High School Principal of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and in 2010, tapped as the 2010 New York State Outstanding Educator by the School Administrators Association of New York State. Burris has been exposing on this blog King’s troubling record in implementing school reform program in New York. You can read some of her other word here and here and here.

By Carol Burris

“Just like 60,000 children in NY, John King has opted-out.” So tweeted Kevin Glynn, the quick witted, co-founder of Lace to the Top. Glynn, like many New York parents and teachers, was pleased by the news of Commissioner King’s resignation. Leonie Haimson, the director of Class Size Matters, referred to John King as “the most unpopular commissioner in the history of NY State.”

One of the strongest critiques of King, however, came from the editorial boardof The Journal News of the Lower Hudson Valley. Their op-ed entitled, “Commissioner King’s Tone Deaf Legacy” describes the commissioner’s pattern of disregard for the opinions of those with whom he disagreed.

Others praised John King. Fans included Chancellor Merryl Tisch, Regent Bennett and representatives of so-called reform groups, such as the Democrats for Education Reform (DFER). In an email to The New York Times, DFER Executive Director Joe Williams complimented King by saying that “even white suburbanites would thank him [King] someday”[1], thus continuing the stereotyping of Common Core critics, which began with Arne Duncan’s “white suburban mom” remark in 2013.

There have been rumors for months that King was selectively applying to positions, as well as rumors that he was being pressured by Andrew Cuomo to leave. He is, as Andy Smarick notes, one of an ever growing number of “reform” chief state officers who are exiting the stage. What matters for New York students, however, is not why John King is leaving, but rather the legacy he leaves behind.

John King was the third commissioner to work for Merryl Tisch since she became chancellor in 2009. He replaced David Steiner, who made a hasty, surprise exit after less than two years in office. Deputy Commissioner King was quickly appointed to the position without a search.

John King was optimistic that great things would happen under his watch. Inan Education Next article, which gives a fairy tale account of Steiner’s tenure, What Arne Duncan’s new senior adviser did to N.Y. schools - The Washington Post:

U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resign | EdSource

U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resign | EdSource:

U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resign

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who clashed frequently with California education officials on a range of K-12 education policy issues, announced that he will resign his position in December.

He will be succeeded by former New York Education Commissioner John King Jr., who was appointed deputy secretary of education under Duncan in January. President Barack Obama is expected to make an announcement to that effect at 12:30 p.m. California Time. 

Duncan is the longest-serving member of Obama’s cabinet. In an email sent to his staff this morning, Duncan said “as a comparatively small team, often under challenging conditions and timelines, our staff has continued to offer example after example of dedication beyond the call of duty.”

The administration and California education leaders found common ground on some major reforms, most notably on implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

However, one of the major points of disagreement was the administration’s insistence on linking teacher evaluations to test scores. The requirement was one of the conditions that the department imposed on states seeking a waiver from penalties of the No Child Left Behind law. California is only one of seven states not to have received a waiver. Gov. Jerry Brown said that Duncan had no authority to impose requirements for teacher evaluations under the NCLB law, and submitted California’s waiver application without the teacher evaluation component.

“History will show that compared to some secretaries of education, Duncan had a significant impact on national and state public policy,” State Board of Education President Michael Kirst said Friday. “But a number of his policies did not fit well with the specific context in California.”

When the Obama administration rejected California’s first application for a waiver in 2012, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said, “It is disappointing that our state’s request – which enjoyed such strong support from parents, teachers, administrators, and education advocates across California – has been rejected.”

Duncan started giving state waivers from NCLB in 2011, after a deeply divided Congress could not agree on changes to reauthorize the law. That remains the case, and so the law, formally known as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, limps along as written in 2002 with flaws that both Republicans and Democrats agree should be fixed, although they disagree over how to do so.

With the resignation of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, it seems even less likely that a bipartisan majority will be able to agree on a rewrite of the law before Obama leaves office.

However, while rejecting California’s application for a statewide waiver, eight California school districts, which formed the California Office to U.S. education secretary who clashed often with California to resign | EdSource:

Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracy | I AM AN EDUCATOR

Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracy | I AM AN EDUCATOR:

Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracy

Arne Duncan has been one of the most destructive forces to public education in the history of our country.

Duncan was appointed by President Obama as the Secretary of Education, but his real role has been “testocracy tsar”–as his signature policies of Race to the Top and Common Core have been singularly focused on promoting high-stakes, standardized test and punish policies in service of the privatization and charterization of the public schools.  Duncan’s initiatives have been designed to reduce the intellectual and emotional process of teaching and learning to a single score that can be used to close schools, fire teachers, stop students from graduating, and siphon more and more money out of the public schools towards privatized charter operators.

For that reason, I hope you will raise a toast with me this evening–let’s say at 6pm Pacific time, and make it a collective action–at Duncan’s announcement today that he will step down from his post.

To be sure, the proposed replacement for Duncan, John King, will only serve as a new testocracy tsar with a proven track record of supporting corporate education reform.  Still, it’s worth marking the departure of Duncan, someone who’s policies have hurt so many children, as we continue planning to do away with the testocracy all together.

During the summer of 2010, several other educators and I obtained an in person meeting with Education Secretary Duncan Steps Down!: Raise a toast with me this evening, and let’s drink to downfall of the whole testocracy | I AM AN EDUCATOR:

A Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on Ed | Cloaking Inequity

A Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on Ed | Cloaking Inequity:

A Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on Ed

So what happens when a President chooses a basketball buddy as Secretary of Education? Really, Obama… what did you expect when you chose a non-educator, non-expert to lead American education? A leader who left Chicago in shambles, whose school “turnarounds” didn’t work. Disappointed by his latest inanity at the Mom Congress, I have selected ten quotes from Arne Duncan’s reign as Secretary for a top ten.



It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary,” Duncan said. “You’ve bet your house and where you live and everything on, ‘My child’s going to be prepared.’ That can be a punch in the gut. Source

Really Arne? You are going to attack the independent/swing female voters the Democratic party needs in coming elections? Over Common Core? You realize that TAMSA kicked policymakers’ a___ in Texas for similar antiquated and disingenuous thinking about high-stakes testing?



The vast majority who drop out of high school drop out not because it’s too hard but because it’s too easy. Source

Talk to students Arne. They will tell you that high-stakes testing is discouraging. They will tell you that class after class of test-prep is dull. See all of Cloaking Inequity’s posts on dropout here.



I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina. Source

Reformers ideas in New Orleans have been a failure. It’s just that simpleA Top Ten of @ArneDuncan Inanity: Obama’s Basketball Buddy Drops Ball on Ed | Cloaking Inequity: