Just the Facts, Ma’am | EduShyster

Just the Facts, Ma’am | EduShyster:

Just the Facts, Ma’am

STATE AUDITOR SUZANNE BUMP PERFORMS AN AUDIT OF HER AUDIT

I sit down with Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump (which is a lot more exciting than it sounds…)

EduShyster: First of all, allow me to congratulate you. You took the top spot in a category that I like to call *most read audit by people who have never read an audit before.* I’m talking, of course, about youraudit of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), specifically, their oversight of the state’s charter schools. What did you find?

Suzanne Bump: What we found was that DESE was using subjective standards, that there wasn’t an even application of standards when they were, say, renewing the charters of schools. We looked to try and determine whether the data they were putting out relative to student demographics was accurate, whether waitlists were accurate. This is information that guides DESE’s policy making and we found it to be unreliable because the state never verifies it. Data reliability testing is the first thing you do in auditing. You can’t reach proper conclusions if we can’t rely upon the data and we found that we couldn’t rely upon the data. That’s a warning to DESE that they shouldn’t be either. 

EduShyster: I think I can explain what happened. Charter schools are laboratories of innovation, as unique as snowflakes, so of course it wouldn’t make sense to apply a uniform standard to them. Am I onto something here?

Bump: If they’re failing to meet certain standards, then the penalties should be the same no matter what the institution is. Or there should at least be explanations as to why that’s not the case. The schools should all be treated the same way and they’re not, and there’s no explanation given. Different schools would be given a pass on certain deficiencies. Other schools would be directed to take specific actions. There would be conditions attached to some charters that you would think would be applied to others that had committed the same transgressions.

EduShyster: I want to ask you specifically about the charter school waiting list, as it figures prominently in your audit and is the centerpiece of a campaign to lift the state’s cap on charter schools. In fact, if I’m not mistaken, the waiting list has been Just the Facts, Ma’am | EduShyster:

A Premature Celebration in DC | The Merrow Report

A Premature Celebration in DC | The Merrow Report:

A Premature Celebration in DC

Why Is Washington Celebrating Kaya Henderson’s Five Year Anniversary?

Last month Kaya Henderson celebrated her fifth anniversary as Chancellor of the public schools in Washington, DC.  Five years at the helm of an urban district is a milestone that few big city superintendents achieve, and she has been praised for hanging in and for calming down the storm created by Michelle Rhee, whose 3+ year reign was marked by numerous controversies, included the massive scandal sometimes called “Erasergate,” when USA Today investigative reporters found that thousands of student answers were changed–and almost always from ‘wrong’ to ‘right.’

The Washington Post, a consistent cheerleader for Henderson and her controversial predecessor, celebrated Henderson’s anniversary with a largely laudatory article that included praise from two members of Washington’s education establishment, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the long time Executive Director of the Great City Schools, Michael Casserly.  The latter called Henderson “one of the most effective and popular school leaders any place in the country.”  As the Post put it, “Unlike her predecessor, whose turbulent style and top-down approach made A Premature Celebration in DC | The Merrow Report:

Want to know why CTU members will vote to strike? Here’s why. | Fred Klonsky

Want to know why CTU members will vote to strike? Here’s why. | Fred Klonsky:

Want to know why CTU members will vote to strike? Here’s why.

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union will be voting on strike authorization over the next three days.

Many have taken to social media to explain their reasons for voting yes.

CTU members are invited to send me their video to my comment section and I will add them to this post.

Read more Want to know why CTU members will vote to strike? Here’s why. | Fred Klonsky:

Illinois Budget Crisis Threatens to Slash $480 Million from Chicago Schools Mid-Year | janresseger

Illinois Budget Crisis Threatens to Slash $480 Million from Chicago Schools Mid-Year | janresseger:

Illinois Budget Crisis Threatens to Slash $480 Million from Chicago Schools Mid-Year

Chicago teachers are voting this week to authorize a strike, though it wouldn’t occur any time prior to March 2016. Catalyst Chicago quotes Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union, explaining, “We don’t want a strike; we’d like to have a settled contract.” But the contract negotiations have dragged on and on and have been complicated by the budget crisis in Illinois, one of two states that, by mid-December, lacks a state budget.

Valerie Strauss in the Washington Post reports: “The union’s contract with the city expired last summer, and talks have been deadlocked.”  Here is how Catalyst describes some of the impasse: “The district says the CTU is asking for an additional $1.3 billion in spending it can’t afford.”  “Among the union’s contract proposals: enforceable lower class sizes; full-day free preschool for low-income 3-and 4-year-olds; more community schools; fewer standardized tests; an end to school closings and charter expansions; and a minimum $15 hourly salary for all CPS employees.”

The Chicago Tribune presents the demands from the school district’s point of view: “According to the district, CTU wants more than 1,000 new school nurses, psychologists and social workers; hundreds of counselors and case managers; a 3 percent salary increase; and pay for snow days.  The district also asserts it would have to hire more than 5,000 teachers to accommodate a union demand to shrink classroom sizes.”  Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union responds that the board of education, “has rejected every demand to improve conditions in our schools and asked for a contract that amounts to $653 million in cuts, not counting the staff cuts.”

This is not merely a teachers’ contract dispute. Underneath the financial problems in 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Feds are in town to save Rahm, not to bury him

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Feds are in town to save Rahm, not to bury him:

Feds are in town to save Rahm, not to bury him

Asked specifically if the probe will be expanded to examine City Hall or the Cook County State's Attorney's office, Lynch said the investigation will focus on misconduct "within the police department."

"The Department of Justice is coming in," Emanuel said. "We welcome it, accept it and need it. It's in our self-interests as a city." -- Tribune

Boy, that was easy. Three days earlier, Rahm had made clear that he didn't didn'twant no stink'n feds sticking their noses into his business. Now he's breathing a sigh of relief that Lynch has promised "not focus on individuals" but rather to "improve the system."

Rahm had no choice but to face reality after a come-to-Jesus meeting with party and White House heavies. His approval rating is now at an all-time low of 18%. To put that in perspective, that's lower than the 20% Gov. Rauner, the most hated pol in Chicago, polled last fall. As I recall, Mayor Daley was down to 31% in 2010, when he declared his intention not to seek a seventh term, clearing the way for Emanuel to take over.

Yes, Obama's cavalry is coming in to supposedly clean-up Rahm's racist and corrupt police department. The FBI has already been in town for months, trying to clean-up Rahm's no-bid-contract scandal at CPS. When is the last time you heard Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Feds are in town to save Rahm, not to bury him:

Final reauthorization bill leaves out ‘readiness’ goals :: SI&A Cabinet Report

Final reauthorization bill leaves out ‘readiness’ goals :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Final reauthorization bill leaves out ‘readiness’ goals

(District of Columbia) In what may prove the single largest showing of bipartisanship during the entire two terms of the Obama administration, Congress is poised to approve a sweeping rewrite of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

In a procedural move to cut off further debate, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly agreed to bring the Every Student Succeeds Act back for a final vote today.

If so, President Barack Obama has signaled that he will sign it perhaps before the end of the week.

Although both Obama and his Education Secretary Arne Duncan are cheering the bill’s passage, there are number of key elements in the legislation that run counter to long-held presidential policies.

One significant departure is its lack of focus on creating students who are “college and career ready,” a term closely associated with the Obama administration and the architects of the Common Core State Standards.

The term itself isn’t even in the final version, David DeSchryver, senior vice president and co-director of Whiteboard Advisors, a D.C.-based education consulting firm, noted in an analysis released last week.

“Rather, this bill asks states and districts to take a holistic approach to student learning,” DeSchryver said.

For example, he explained, under the new bill school districts will be required to explain how they are implementing “a well-rounded program of instruction,” how they are targeting at-risk students and how they are planning to improve the overall academic status of a school.

“This is a big departure from the current No Child Left Behind Act,” DeSchryver said. “NCLB asked states and districts to focus their efforts on interventions for students in Title I schools that were failing or at risk of failing the state's academic achievement standards, as measured by annual assessments.

“This bill, in contrast, seeks to ensure that all children receive a high-quality education and that schools close student achievement gaps,”’ he said. “There is a broader concept of student learning at play here, and that means that there will be a broader meaning of what costs are allowable under the program.”

The concept of college and career readiness has been a key goal of virtually every education initiative sponsored by Obama’s White House – including Race to the Top, the NCLB waivers as well as Investing in Innovation and School Improvement Grants.

Although the administration was not involved in the development of Common Core, Obama and Duncan were big supporters and attempted to encourage states to adopt the nationalized curriculum standards and make college and career readiness conditions for getting federal support for some programs.

An early version of the compromise legislation retained the readiness goals and it is unclear why Final reauthorization bill leaves out ‘readiness’ goals :: SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet:

Schools Matter: The Compelling Research on Diversity

Schools Matter: The Compelling Research on Diversity:

The Compelling Research on Diversity

SCOTUS is about to hear the Fisher v. University of Texas appeal, and the American Educational Research Association has just released a press kit to help the public understand the issues involved in supporting policy to assure diversity in schools, whether college or kindergarten.

Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin II

Research Supporting the Compelling Interest in Diversity

 

Angelo Ancheta, J.D., M.P.A. 

One of the key questions that the U.S. Supreme Court may address in Fisher v. University of Texas is whether the University’s interest in promoting student body diversity is a compelling governmental interest. In Grutter v. Bollinger(2003), the Court held that the interest in student body diversity is indeed compelling, and cited multiple sources, including scientific research findings, to support its ruling. The Court reaffirmed Grutter’s holding in the first Fisher v. University of Texas appeal, but the plaintiff has continued to argue that the University’s interest is not compelling. In particular, the plaintiff has proposed that promoting diversity among minority students (e.g., admitting African American students from different socioeconomic backgrounds) is unconstitutional. Nonetheless, research on the benefits of diversity remains strongly supportive of the University’s diversity interest, including promoting “intra-racial diversity.” To support the compelling interest in diversity, the AERA et al. amicus brief focuses on multiple lines of research, highlighting literature that has been published since the first Fisher litigation: 

1. EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OF DIVERSITY 
Research continues to show that student body diversity leads to important educational benefits. Among these benefits are: 

•   Improvements in Intergroup Contact and Increased Cross-Racial Interaction 
  •   Racially diverse educational settings are effective in reducing prejudice by 
    promoting greater intergroup contact—both informally and in classroom settings—as well as encouraging friendship across group lines (e.g., Chang et al., 2006; Denson & Chang, 2015; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). 
  •   Meta-analyses (studies compiling and summarizing findings from several previous studies) show that positive intergroup contact reduces prejudice and that greater intergroup contact is associated with lower levels of prejudice (e.g., Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2008). 
•   Improvements in Cognitive Abilities, Critical Thinking Skills, and Self-Confidence 

 Student body diversity promotes improvements in students’ cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, because students’ exposure to 
individuals different from themselves (as well as to novel ideas and situations arising from exposure) challenges their thinking and leads to cognitive growth (e.g., Antonio et al., 2004; Hurtado, 2005; Luo & Jamieson-Drake, 2009; Bowman, 2010).

 Greater Civic Engagement Diverse learning experiences also promote improvements in civic engagement, 
including civic attitudes toward democratic participation, civic behaviors such as participating in community activities, and intentions to participate in civic activities (e.g., Bowman, 2011). 
 Gains in Pluralistic Orientation Diversity leads to gains in “pluralistic orientation,” a metric tied to capacities for 
thinking and social interaction that enable students to engage in cooperative behavior, to manage controversial issues, and to develop a high regard for others’ beliefs and backgrounds (Engberg & Hurtado, 2011). 

 Improved Classroom Environments Classroom learning is improved in diverse environments. For example, a survey 
of over 500 students from the University of Michigan revealed that most respondents were engaged in positive interactions with students from different racial backgrounds, and that (a) greater diversity in the student body leads to increased classroom diversity and improved learning; (b) classroom diversity results in open minds and engaging classroom conversations; and (c) more structural diversity leads to greater participation by minority students and less tokenism (Deo, 2011). 

 Improved Intergroup Dialogues Recent research has also documented the necessity of diverse environments in 
promoting intergroup dialogues in designated classes. One nationwide study of over 1,400 students found gains in students’ insights into how members of other groups perceived the world and increases in thoughtfulness about the underpinnings of Schools Matter: The Compelling Research on Diversity:

Nearly 1,000 North Side high schoolers skip school lunch | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

Nearly 1,000 North Side high schoolers skip school lunch | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago:

High Schoolers Get CPS’ Attention with Website and Lunch Boycott

More than 80 percent of Roosevelt High School students boycotted school lunch Monday to protest school food. Many ate granola, yogurt and fruit donated by supporters.

(WBEZ/Monica Eng)

Monday morning Roosevelt High School students and their teacher Tim Meegan unloaded thousands of bags of granola donated to support their lunch boycott.

Nearly a thousand students skipped school lunch at Roosevelt High School on the North Side Monday.

It was part of their larger project (which includes a petition and website) to change food in Chicago Public Schools-- food they consider unhealthy and unappetizing.

Their civics teacher Tim Meegan said that 143 boycotted on Thursday and 437 (more than a third of students) boycotted on Friday, according to lunch staff counts. Monday that number blew up to 952 (or more than 80 percent of students), Meegan said late Monday afternoon.

It was harder for the teacher to check progress Monday morning when I visited the school. That’s because he was outside with students unloading 10,000 bags of puffed rice granola donated by health group Mercola.com.

It joined a shipment of organic fruit and yogurt from Chicago’s Dill Pickle Co-Op.

“This way we’re well-stocked in case the kids need to continue the boycott,” Meegan said, carrying boxes from a massive white truck.

The boxes were going into the school to be handed out to boycotting students.  

Meegan said that, in addition to the food donations, “We’ve gotten messages of support from teachers, students and administrators at different school districts, [and]  food justice groups from all over the country.”

But the teacher and his students have also gotten push back. Last week CPS Nutrition Services head, Leslie Fowler, wrote to them asking for a meeting, but also implying that their boycott could cost the Roosevelt lunch staff pay.

"Lunchroom staff are paid on a sliding scale based on meals served,” confirmed CPS spokesperson Emily Bittner in an email to WBEZ, “and their pay will be reduced for the next school year if a large number of meals are lost.”

Louise Babbs who’s a lunch worker and organizer for the CPS lunch workers union, Unite Local One, however, sent this statement:

"CPS lunch ladies are paid by the hour, and our members will faithfully report to work regardless because the kids come first. We've been fighting for good fresh food for years, and we support any efforts on the part of students to do the same."

WBEZ is continuing to investigate the question of commissions for lunch workers based on the number of meals taken.

Meegan accused the district’s food service company Aramark  of trying undermine the boycott Nearly 1,000 North Side high schoolers skip school lunch | WBEZ 91.5 Chicago:

2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook

Publications:

2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook

December 2015

The 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook is our ninth annual Yearbook report. Comprised of a National Summary and State-specific reports for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, this 52 volume Yearbook provides a 360-degree analysis of every state law, rule and regulation that shapes the teaching profession—from teacher preparation, licensing and evaluation to compensation, professional development and dismissal policy.

Download the full National Summary here. To read the Press Release for the National Summary or for a specific state, please visit our newsroom here. 

Related documents

• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Executive Summary
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Alabama
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Alaska
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Arizona
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Arkansas
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: California
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Colorado
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Connecticut
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Delaware
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: District of Columbia
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Florida
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Georgia
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Hawaii
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Idaho
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Illinois
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Indiana
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Iowa
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Kansas
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Kentucky
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Louisiana
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Maine
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Maryland
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Massachusetts
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Michigan
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Minnesota
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Mississippi
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Missouri
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Montana
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Nebraska
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Nevada
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: New Hampshire
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: New Jersey
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: New Mexico
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: New York
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: North Carolina
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: North Dakota
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Ohio
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Oklahoma
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Oregon
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Pennsylvania
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Rhode Island
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: South Carolina
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: South Dakota
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Tennessee
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Texas
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Utah
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Vermont
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Virginia
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Washington
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: West Virginia
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Wisconsin
• 2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook: Wyoming

Publications:

State Privatization and Destruction of Public Education Analysis: Rankings & Profiles - NACSA

State Policy Analysis: Rankings & Profiles - NACSA:

State Privatization and Destruction of Public Education Analysis: Rankings & Profiles - NACSA

State Policy Analysis: Rankings & Profiles - NACSA:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: About Three Days

Seattle Schools Community Forum: About Three Days:
About Three Days

I've been talking a lot about charter schools lately and both Charlie and I have been speculating what will happen to them due to the Supreme Court's final ruling that the Washington State charter law is unconstitutional.  But I did have an epiphany this morning as the thunder woke me up. 

(I'll again state - I'm not a lawyer but I think the issue has been made clear by the Court.) 

It's really just three days left that charter schools in the state of Washington will exist as charter schools.  How do I know this?

One, Monday the 14th is the likely cut-off date for state funding for the schools themselves AND their authorizers.  (I think I understand that the charters have enough state money to finish their December school month.) If a charter school has no state funding and no state oversight, under the current charter law, it'snot a charter school. And, to boot, there is no charter law left.

Two, the Supreme Court struck down the ENTIRE law.  There's a new video out by state senator Joe Fain where he explains the Supreme Court decision.  To his credit, he gets it mostly right but then, at the end, glibly tries to explain how the legislature can "fix" it. 

In the video, he explains that the Court could have ruled on the case and separated out the funding issue while still allowing the rest of the law to stand.But they didn't. They said no to the whole thing because (I think) they believed that if the funding isn't there, nothing else could stand either. 

That is the crux of the situation. 


Now the students surely do need educational services.  What the charters - allof them apparently, according to the Charter Commission's Executive Director, Joshua Halsey - are choosing is to guide their students to an ALE program yet to be set up in Mary Walker School District.  MWSD will get the state funding Seattle Schools Community Forum: About Three Days:

CURMUDGUCATION: TeachStrong Gathers More Anti-Teacher Moss

CURMUDGUCATION: TeachStrong Gathers More Anti-Teacher Moss:
TeachStrong Gathers More Anti-Teacher Moss

Just a few weeks ago, TeachStrong burst upon the scene, declaring itself ready to lift up the teaching profession with its nine steps of teacher swellness.

TS represented an odd assortment of groups, apparently led by the Center for American Progress and including such strange bedfellows as NEA and TFA, AFT and EducationPost. What could these groups answer together? How should we train teachers? Do we love public schools? In fact the whole thing had a random, cobbled-together look right up to the point that any observer asked, "Which of you groups would like to back Hillary Clinton for President" at which point a new spirit of unanimity entered the room.

Well, it's only getting weirder. CAP announced that ten more groups have signed on, including DFER and Education Reform Now (two arms of the same nominally-Dem reformy octopus), the Albert Shanker Institute,  and the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

DFER is the most surprising entry, as DFER and their head honcho Whitney Tilson have not been subtle in their belief that teachers generally suck more than ever before and that evil, stinky teachers unions are a huge obstacle to making schools great. (You can find both ideas in this slide show and peppered throughout Tilson's blog). 

Remember that scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier where Cap is in an elevator, and as it stops at each floor, it fills up with more and more people who are there to kick his ass? I wonder if CURMUDGUCATION: TeachStrong Gathers More Anti-Teacher Moss: