With A Brooklyn Accent: Tom Porton's Parting Shot: Why One of the Bronx's Most Brilliant Teachers Decided to Retire

With A Brooklyn Accent: Tom Porton's Parting Shot: Why One of the Bronx's Most Brilliant Teachers Decided to Retire:

Tom Porton's Parting Shot: Why One of the Bronx's Most Brilliant Teachers Decided to Retire

To all my friends and supporters:... It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I will be retiring from the New York City Department of Education on February 1, 2016.

Looking back on 47 years in education (46 in the James Monroe building), I see a mosaic of thousands of faces…students, parents, colleagues. I have so many great memories of those years, from the excitement of the classroom, to the applause for shows I directed, to the impact of my many school and community projects. My heart is filled with so many great relationships that came from those years…so many of which I maintain even to the present day.

It is because of the joy I feel when I think of my teaching career that I have such mixed emotions about retiring. And yet, as this new year began and I took inventory of my daily routine, I realized there was a need to make a change in my professional life.

First and foremost, I do not feel that I have the same impact on young people that I have had in the past. The reason I continued teaching at Monroe for so many years was the fact that I really thought I was making a difference in the lives of my students, not only in the classroom, but especially through my work in school and community activities. It was that energy and excitement of creating and working with motivated, committed young people that kept me young and vital.

However, beginning this school year, my opportunities for continuing that impact have been lessened to the point where each day has become a struggle. For over 35 years, I began each day with my Leadership class, where I was able to create a core of 40-50 students who would facilitate a wide variety of school and community events in the Monroe Campus. Now, with that class programmed away by the current administration, making those events continue becomes harder and harder. I realized this during the past several months where I struggled to continue such projects as the Blood Drive, the Thanksgiving Community Dinner, the World AIDS Day commemoration, and 

With A Brooklyn Accent: Tom Porton's Parting Shot: Why One of the Bronx's Most Brilliant Teachers Decided to Retire:

Thinking Big: How to Expand Democratic Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Thinking Big: How to Expand Democratic Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Thinking Big: How to Expand Democratic Schools

Deborah Meier continues her conversation with Harry Boyte. To read their full exchange, please visit here.

Dear Harry and friends,

Three things have come together—your pre-Christmas letter being the clincher. 

My recent medical problems involving when and on whom certain new experimental procedures can be used has led me into thinking about the degree of autonomy doctors should have, and by extension teachers, and going one step further, ordinary citizens!

Listening to the political debates led me to think about the underlying assumptions regarding top-down vs. bottom-up initiatives. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders represent a different take on this. But we are none of us consistent—and for probably good reasons. The desire for a strong, powerful leader probably lurks in the hearts of many a staunch Democrat.

Then as I reread your letter and its description of the remarkable work in Columbia, I'm reminded of how I stuck closely to single-school "reform" vs. systemic reform. For most of the first 40 years of work in public education I focused on what could be done in a school setting to further democratic concepts. I didn't think it possible to expand much further in the climate I worked. Schools couldn't lead the revolution; and in the words of a famous socialist, "You cannot build socialism in a single country." In short, my aims were modest. Maybe too modest.

Still, I was deeply committed to the idea that schooling had a huge impact on its citizen-members. I explored the limits in the three schools I was most involved with—one school at a time. I put my oar into widening our own autonomies—with or without permission—and building networks of like-minded school people.

I was occasionally pushed to think bigger by the readings of others—like Seymour Sarason and Vito Perrone, Lillian Weber and Ted Sizer. The first try was to transform a non-zoned large high school into many small Coalition K-12 schools. It worked!

By luck (named Ted Sizer) the Annenberg Institute offered me a chance to consider a far larger project in the 1990s. We put together a coalition, not always like-minded, with a plan to expand to 150 K-6, 7-12 schools. We rested our hopes on the idea of changing the odds in favor of schools with far greater autonomy and the power of networks to sustain the work while also providing feedback and accountability. I depended on Linda Darling-Hammond, then at Columbia, and Tom Sobol, then-chief of New York City's public system, to find ways these could be accountable to/with publicly elected authorities! They did some pioneering work in this direction—work now lost. 

What did they know in Colombia that we hadn't yet acknowledged that has given them such staying power?

Most of those schools still are hanging on. Perhaps by creating a coalition between the mom-and-pop charters and progressive-minded public schools seeking greater autonomy we might come up with a set of basic principles of democratic accountability alongside with sufficient autonomy to build onto this past work before it's lost.

We may need to learn from other fields. This morning I read a piece by Adam Gopnik in the November 30 issue of The New Yorker called "Spooked," with the subhead, "What do we learn about science from a controversy in physics?" One particular lesson is about the nature of "evidence" in science vs. "evidence" in education. They are, as I read in Gopnik, not as far apart as we think, not because we aren't tough or rigorous enough as educators, but because even in science "evidence" is no simple yes/no matter. 

I also discovered a piece called "Public Accountability for Charter Schools," published in 2014 by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, that I hadn't read! Everyone Thinking Big: How to Expand Democratic Schools - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Public Education Advocates Stall School Takeovers - NEA Today

Public Education Advocates Stall School Takeovers - NEA Today:

Public Education Advocates Stall School Takeovers

In late November, students, parents, educators, and community members in Milwaukee, Wis. took a step toward victory when Amy Mizialko, a special education teacher and vice president of the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association (MTEA), urged Chris Abele, the city’s county executive, to commit to only one school takeover—which he did! Mizialko relentlessly asked, “Will you say tonight that you’re one and done?” (see video below) Abele plans to acquire one empty school building and convert it to a private Pre-K charter school. Mizialko wanted assurance that he would not take possession of other empty buildings and “bleed more population and dollars” from Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS).

“I’m not going to take away a school. I’ll do whatever I can to try to help MPS,” Abele said. Abele gave a firm “yes” to only taking one school.

The takeover plan was passed in July 2015 as part of the Wisconsin budget and mirrors similar efforts in Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee, which usurp local control as a way to transform struggling schools. Some of these strategies include charter conversion, indiscriminate staff and leadership removal, or school closures.

A recent report on school takeovers by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and the Southern Education Foundation stated that “These state takeover districts have failed to consistently improve student outcomes, and failed to engage (and invest) communities and educators in any kind of visionary transformation that is needed in our public schools. Without such investment, even initial academic results will falter.”

A Tipping Point

The Wisconsin law transfers control to the county executive’s handpicked commissioner, Dr. Demond Means, superintendent of Mequon-Thiensville, to be the Public Education Advocates Stall School Takeovers - NEA Today:

Debt-laden Detroit schools need state help -study - Yahoo News

Debt-laden Detroit schools need state help -study - Yahoo News:

Debt-laden Detroit schools need state help -study

Jan 6 (Reuters) - Detroit's public school district is drowning under $3.5 billion of debt and needs to be rescued by the state of Michigan, according to a report by a nonprofit public affairs group released on Wednesday.

The Citizens Research Council of Michigan said debt payments by the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) are consuming revenue required to fund education services. The findings increase pressure on state lawmakers, who have been reluctant to pass a financial fix for Michigan's biggest school system.

"For the current year, 40 percent of the district's per-pupil funding will have to go towards repaying past cash-flow borrowings; borrowings that supported education provided to previous DPS students," the report said.

Despite being under state oversight since 2009, the district continues to struggle financially due to falling enrollment and hefty pension and debt obligations.

The city of Detroit exited the biggest-ever municipal bankruptcy in December 2014. A report in November by school officials, including state-appointed Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, said that unlike Detroit, a bankruptcy by DPS would be harmful because it would shift liabilities for pensions and bonds onto the state and potentially other local governments.

"Given the sheer size of the debt, there is no way of escaping the fact that state lawmakers are going to have to address the financial situation," Craig Thiel, the council's senior research associate, said in a statement.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder's proposal to create a new district responsible for operations, while the current district would be charged with eliminating a budget deficit projected to hit $515 million in June, stalled in the legislature.

DPS spokeswoman Michelle Zdrodowski said the district expects to run out of cash in April and that the emergency manager has taken steps to address fiscal woes, including restructuring central office operations.

Snyder's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DPS's debt load includes $1.7 billion of bonds backed by a dedicated property tax levy, $1.3 billion in unfunded pension and retiree healthcare liabilities, and $463 million of debt paid with operating revenue, according to a breakdown by the research council.

(Reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Matthew Lewis)Debt-laden Detroit schools need state help -study - Yahoo News: 

A primer on the damaging movement to privatize public schools - The Washington Post

A primer on the damaging movement to privatize public schools - The Washington Post:

A primer on the damaging movement to privatize public schools

Marion Brady is a veteran educator who has long argued that public education needs a paradigm shift. Brady says schools need a complete transformation in what and how students learn — not the Common Core State Standards, standardized tests and other elements of corporate-influenced school reform. Here’s his latest piece, on efforts by some reformers to privatize America’s public school system, which many see as the most important civic institution in the country.

What is school privatization? It is part of a larger campaign to diminish public institutions by contracting out to the private, for-profit sector jobs and responsibilities of the public sector. School vouchers and charter schools run by for-profit companies are seen as part of the school privatization movement, which critics say will ultimately undermine the country’s democracy.

By Marion Brady

When, about 30 years ago, corporate interests began their highly organized, well-funded effort to privatize public education, you wouldn’t have read or heard about it. They didn’t want to trigger the debate that such a radical change in an important institution warranted.

If, like most pundits and politicians, you’ve supported that campaign, it’s likely you’ve been snookered. Here’s a quick overview of the snookering process.

The pitch

Talking Points: (a) Standardized testing proves America’s schools are poor. (b) Other countries are eating our lunch. (c) Teachers deserve most of the blame. (d) The lazy ones need to be forced out by performance evaluations. (e) The dumb ones need scripts to read or “canned standards” telling them exactly what to teach. (f) The experienced ones are too set in their ways to change and should be replaced by fresh Five-Week-Wonders from Teach for America. (Bonus: Replacing experienced teachers saves a ton of money.) (g) Public (“government”) schools are a step down the slippery slope to socialism.

Tactics

Education establishment resistance to privatization is inevitable, so (a) avoid it as long as possible by blurring the lines between “public” and “private.” (b) Push school choice, vouchers, tax write-offs, tax credits, school-business partnerships, profit-driven charter chains. (c) When resistance comes, crank up fear with the, “They’re eating our lunch!” message. (d) Contribute generously to all potential resisters—academic publications, professional organizations, unions, and school support groups such as PTA. (e) Create fake A primer on the damaging movement to privatize public schools - The Washington Post:

To the 1 percent pouring millions into charter schools: How about improving the schools that the vast majority of students actually attend? - Salon.com

To the 1 percent pouring millions into charter schools: How about improving the schools that the vast majority of students actually attend? - Salon.com:

To the 1 percent pouring millions into charter schools: How about improving the schools that the vast majority of students actually attend?
If we really want to improve education for all, we must address income inequality. Charter schools are no cure-all

Obscured by the rancor of the school reform debate is this fact: Socio-economic status is the most relevant determinant of student success in school.

It is not a coincidence that the so-called decline of the American public school system has coincided with the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.  According to a 2014 Pew Research Center report, the wealth disparity between upper-income and middle-income families is at a record high. Upper-income families are nearly seven times wealthier than middle-income ones, compared to 3.4 times richer in 1983. Upper-income family wealth is nearly 70 times that of the country’s lower-income families, also the widest wealth gap between these families in 30 years.

As the income disparity has increased, so has the educational achievement gap. According to Sean F. Reardon, professor of education and sociology at Stanford University, the gap for children from high- and low-income families is at an all-time high—roughly 30 to 40 percent larger among children born in 2001 than among those born 25 years earlier. With 22 percent of children in the U.S. living in poverty, this country’s 27th-place PISA ranking—the worldwide study that measures K-12 academic performance—simply cannot be compared to a country like Finland, which ranks 12th and, at 5.3 percent, has the second-lowest child poverty rate in the world.

So, why are wealthy school reform funders so squarely focused on identifying teachers and their unions as the cause of public education’s decline and advancing charter schools as the best solution?

Charter schools will never be the answer to improving education for all. It is simply not scaleable. And yet titans of industry such as Bill Gates, Eli Broad and the Walton family, and billionaires such as John Paulson who earlier this year gave $8.5 million to New York’s Success Academy charter school system, are pouring their millions into support for charter schools—millions that will not, incidentally, be invested in improving the schools that the vast majority of U.S. students attend: traditional public schools.

Can it be a coincidence that those who have benefited most from the last 50 years of steadily increasing income inequality—the top 10 percent–support an education solution that hinges on denigrating public school teachers, dismantling unions and denying that income inequality is the underlying condition at the root of the problem?

The most generous explanation for this phenomenon says that the wealthiest among us are motivated to support charter schools purely out of ideology. They are operating under deeply held beliefs that a school system run by the government smothers innovation and that teachers unions inhibit a free market system that, if allowed to operate, would result in better teachers and child outcomes. In addition, these philanthropists believe that public education has become so hidebound that meaningful change within the system is no longer possible, and that fresh ideas and To the 1 percent pouring millions into charter schools: How about improving the schools that the vast majority of students actually attend? - Salon.com:

Big Education Ape: Why Wal-Mart family foundation is spending $1 billion on charter schools - CSMonitor http://bit.ly/1OCnFAG

Why Wal-Mart family foundation is spending $1 billion on charter schools - CSMonitor

Why Wal-Mart family foundation is spending $1 billion on charter schools - CSMonitor.com:

Why Wal-Mart family foundation is spending $1 billion on charter schools
The Walton Family Foundation has already spent $385 million to help start charter schools in poor communities.

LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — A foundation run by the heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton said Thursday it will spend $1 billion over the next five years to improve public education by backing new charter schools and helping programs already up and running.

The foundation has spent more than $1 billion on K-12 education over the past 20 years, including $385 million to help start charter schools in poor communities. The new money will be spent in places where the foundation already has ties — creating new schools and developing "pipelines of talent," said Marc Sternberg, a former high school principal who directs education philanthropy for the Walton Family Foundation.

"People in poverty need high-performing schools," Sternberg said. "Our goal is that all families ... have better schools. To be the rising tide to lift all boats."

Recommended: 1912 eighth grade exam: Could you make it to high school in 1912?

The foundation said that, after analyzing its previous work, it's clear that students and their families should have more options, such as at charter schools, and that it should be easier for families to learn about them.

"This means creating enrollment platforms, equitable transportation access, fair funding and readily accessible, current information on schools and student performance for families and other(s)," a report by the foundation said.

Charter schools were first created in Minnesota in 1992, touted as a way to promote innovation in public schools. Many of the schools that are privately run but receive public funding specialize in science, math or the arts; hold classes in nontraditional settings; and heavily involve parents. The Walton Family Foundation is involved in schools in about two dozen states.

But not all charter schools are success stories. In Arkansas, for instance, four charter schools were listed in September among 46 schools with consistently poor results on standardized tests.

"We know that not every charter school fulfills its promise," the foundation report said. "On balance, however, it is clear that most charter schools have a positive impact on student learning."

Kim Anderson, the senior director of the Center for Advocacy and Research at the National Education Association, the nation's largest teachers union, said charter schools have mixed results and suggested the foundation could give money to public school districts directly.

"What returns have we all seen as a society?" she asked. "A billion dollars would provide a tremendous amount of services to a number of school districts around the country. Eyeglasses. Hearing exams. It is not as though we have things in the (traditional) public school systems that don't need to be improved."

The Walton foundation has funded charter schools since 1997 and says its start-up grants to 2,110 schools account for about a quarter of all charter schools nationally.

Some of the new funding will go to researchers who track successes and Why Wal-Mart family foundation is spending $1 billion on charter schools - CSMonitor.com:

Sacramento News & Review - Run, Roger, Run! SN&R’s CEO urges Roger Dickinson to enter city council race - Greenlight - Opinions - January 7, 2016

Sacramento News & Review - Run, Roger, Run! SN&R’s CEO urges Roger Dickinson to enter city council race - Greenlight - Opinions - January 7, 2016:

Run, Roger, Run! SN&R’s CEO urges Roger Dickinson to enter city council race

He may not be running, but he should be

Please join me in supporting former Sacramento County Supervisor and former member of the California state Assembly Roger Dickinson in his race for Sacramento City Council. (Jeff vonKaenel is the president, CEO and majority owner of the News & Review newspapers in Sacramento, Chico and Reno. )

There is just one problem: Roger is not running for city council.

I have never spoken with him about running for city council. However, I am writing this column because I believe that Sacramento would be a better place with Roger on the council. Here is why:

We in Sacramento are moving out of the Kevin Johnson era and into the (hopefully) Darrell Steinberg era of city government. This new era will be marked by regional cooperation instead of noncooperation, government transformation instead of public relations. And I anticipate that we will be able to more effectively solve critical issues.

We face challenges with homelessness, transportation and economic growth, and we need to develop community-wide programs that reform our criminal justice system and expand the region’s mental-health programs. I anticipate improvements, in part because we will have a new and very experienced mayor. But regional cooperation will require more than just changes in the city government.

In Sacramento, our biggest regional county, we already have new leadership. With the addition of Patrick Kennedy to the board of supervisors, which already includes Phil Serna and Don Nottoli, we have a working majority of knowledgeable, progressive board members. They have already been making an impact.

We’ve seen other impressive regional changes. The new president of Sacramento State, Robert Nelsen; the new CEO of Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council, Barry Broome; and the new President and CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, Peter Tateishi, are all moving their organizationSacramento News & Review - Run, Roger, Run! SN&R’s CEO urges Roger Dickinson to enter city council race - Greenlight - Opinions - January 7, 2016:

Reinventing Angelique

From struggling single mom to mayoral candidate, can Councilwoman Angelique Ashby distance herself from K.J. and become Sacramento’s next mayor?

The Starbucks on Ninth and I streets bustles with a morning rush of potential voters: the businesswoman who talks too fast and laughs too loud, the guy who takes one look at the snaking line and gulps “nope,” the young professional whose friend lends her cash for a beverage, the homeless man with a scraggly beard who keeps rising to offer his seat. Regular folks. Constituents. Everyday Sacramentans.

The candidate walking past outside will need their support if she wants to become the next mayor of Sacramento. And by all accounts, District 1 Councilwoman Angelique Ashby really, really wants the job.

“I’m poised to step in right now. There’s no learning curve for me,” she said, a not-so-veiled dig at her main rival, Darrell Steinberg, a onetime councilman who served most recently at the state Capitol. “I don’t have to figure out who’s in charge of what in the city or who’s been working on what.

“I’m a day-one-ready mayor.”

Ashby’s rise from a broke, 20-year-old single mom to a 40-year-old mayoral candidate is the stuff of stump-speech gold. But not many outside her Natomas-centered district, where Ashby evolved from a well-liked community activist to a well-liked elected representative, know it.

Her campaign is an opportunity to redress that, as well as to extract herself from the long and complicated shadow of Mayor Kevin Johnson, with whom she was closely aligned until his star imploded over resurfaced sexual-misconduct allegations. And until Ashby pre-empted K.J.’s announcement that he wasn’t going to run again with her own mayoral bid.

Others contend that Ashby is rewriting the past out of convenience, and because she can.

“I get the sense that she is trying to distance herself from the mayor, but there is a record,” said Heather Fargo, Johnson’s predecessor and a Steinberg supporter. “Because she’s not that known citywide, I think Reinventing Angelique

California governor to propose increased funding for education | Reuters

California governor to propose increased funding for education | Reuters:

California governor to propose increased funding for education

California Governor Edmund ''Jerry'' Brown attends a meeting during the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, December 5, 2015.

REUTERS/STEPHANE MAHE

California Governor Jerry Brown on Thursday is set to propose a budget that increases public spending in areas including education, the latest indication of the most populous U.S. state's rebound from years of economic doldrums.

Brown, a Democrat, will release a budget plan at the State Capitol Thursday morning that is expected to top $115 billion in spending from what is known as the general fund, the money appropriated by the legislature and approved by the governor each year. The expected spending increase for the fiscal year beginning July 2016 reflects unexpectedly higher revenues at the end of 2015.

The 77-year-old, who also served as governor from 1975 to 1983, has been notoriously tight-fisted since returning to office in 2011, reining in the state's liberal Democratic majority lawmakers to build a rainy-day fund and hold down expenses after facing down a $27 billion budget deficit.

H.D. Palmer, the governor's spokesman on financial issues, confirmed on Wednesday that Brown would propose spending more on education and other issues. However, he declined to specify what those other areas might include.

Palmer said Brown would also address spending on health care and the state's crumbling infrastructure on Thursday but added that the fiscally moderate Democrat would continue to chart a prudent course.

Last year, the state's final budget reached a total of $168 billion, of which about $115 billion was general fund spending controlled by the legislature and governor.

Since voters in 2012 approved a temporary tax increase that allowed the state to cover its budget gap and restore some social services, California's finances have stabilized.

Brown has been willing to restore some of the deep cuts made during the financial crisis to social services, health care, education and other programs.

But his fiscal caution has left many advocates for the poor and disabled angry, and frustrated some of his fellow Democrats in the legislature.

One area likely to gain scrutiny on Thursday is funding to help people with disabilities, California governor to propose increased funding for education | Reuters:

Sen. Bernie Sanders said he opposes privately run charter schools

Bernie Sanders LIVE - Newmarket Town Hall - YouTube:

From Politico

 NO CANDIDATE LEFT BEHIND: At a recent town hall event in New Hampshire, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said he opposes privately run charter schools. He said, “If we are going to have a strong democracy and be competitive globally, we need the best educated people in the world. And I believe in public education — I went to public schools my whole life. So I think rather than give tax breaks to billionaires, I think we invest in teachers and we invest in public education.” (h/t Diane Ravitch) Watch the video: (Sanders’ comments start around the 1-hour, 48-minute mark.) http://bit.ly/1JYENv6.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2016/01/first-look-does-guidance-go-too-far-bernie-sanders-rejects-privately-run-charters-new-year-new-edu-quality-counts-212052#ixzz3wZYoNlCY

Chicago Teachers Union Joins Demand for Rahm Emanuel, Anita Alvarez To Resign - Working In These Times

Chicago Teachers Union Joins Demand for Rahm Emanuel, Anita Alvarez To Resign - Working In These Times:

Chicago Teachers Union Joins Demand for Rahm Emanuel, Anita Alvarez To Resign

The Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates, the union's member-led governing body, voted tonight to demand the resignations of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and State's Attorney Anita Alvarez in the wake of the Laquan McDonald scandal, which has roiled the city for nearly two months and led to the resignations of multiple city officials, including Chicago police superintendent Garry McCarthy.

"Both Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez and Mayor Rahm Emanuel orchestrated and intentionally delayed the release" of multiple videos showing police killings of African Americans, the statement reads, "apparently for their own political gains in order to secure victory in their 2015 re-election bids. ... The only way to restore this trust is with their resignations."

The statement goes on: 

[T]he CTU support[s] demands that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez resign immediately from public office forthe unconscionable delay of their governmental institutions in addressing Laquan McDonald's killing and other issues of excessive, unwarranted, unjustified, and lethal police force in the City of Chicago.

The move is unprecedented: The CTU has never before called for a sitting mayor to resign.

McDonald was a 17-year-old African-American boy who was shot 16 times by Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer Jason Van Dyke in October 2014. CPD squad car dash cameras captured footage of the shooting which contradicted the department's early statements saying McDonald had been shot as he lunged at police with a knife, but the city fought to suppress the footage for over a year as Mayor Emanuel sought reelection—leading to accusations that Mayor Emanuel and the city had engaged in a cover-up.

In December 2015, the CTU also passed a resolution calling to endorse a Civilian Police Accountability Council (CPAC), Chicago Teachers Union Joins Demand for Rahm Emanuel, Anita Alvarez To Resign - Working In These Times:

Ed Notes Online: Ding, Dong, Tisch Ends 2 Decades of Destruction as Regent - Memo from NYSAPE

Ed Notes Online: Ding, Dong, Tisch Ends 2 Decades of Destruction as Regent - Memo from NYSAPE:

Ding, Dong, Tisch Ends 2 Decades of Destruction as Regent - Memo from NYSAPE

http://www.nysape.org/nysape-pr-board-regent-candidates.html

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 6, 2016

More information contact:
Lisa Rudley (917) 414-9190; nys.allies@gmail.com
Jessica McNair (315)-368-7550; themcnairfamily@gmail.com
NYS Allies for Public Education (NYSAPE) www.nysape.org

Two Vacant Seats on the NYS Board of Regents - Candidates Needed

Chancellor Tisch & Vice Chancellor Bottar are both stepping down from the Board of Regents, after serving on the Board for twenty years. It was during Tisch’s term as Chancellor and Bottar’s term as Vice Chancellor that the students of New York State suffered the damaging effects of the failed Regents' Reform Agenda, which included the implementation of the flawed Common Core standards and modules, and an increased focus on high-stakes testing, including a disastrous new teacher evaluation system based on student test scores.

Both also supported the dangerous NY Education Department plan to share a wealth of personal student data with inBloom Inc. without parent notification or consent, which was eventually blocked by an act of the Legislature.

Now, the statewide coalition New York State Allies for Public Education and Opt Out Central NY are calling on candidates to apply for these seats, including one at large candidate to replace Tisch and one from Judicial District V, Bottar’s current seat, which covers Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga & Oswego Counties. Applications are due by mid-January; click here for more information.

“Under the leadership of Chancellor Tisch and Vice Chancellor Bottar, we have seen a myopic focus on high stakes tests, massive collection of personal and sensitive information about children and families, and the theft of local control from elected school boards,” said Lisa Rudley, NYSAPE founding member and Westchester County public school parent.

In response to the Regents’ failed test-centric agenda, Central New York school districts within Judicial District V had some of the highest opt out rates from the state exams, signaling the public’s discontent with the Regents' test and punish agenda.  For example, the 2015 state math tests were refused by 77% of students in New York Mills, 73% in Sauquoit, and 70% in Whitesboro.

“Parents are rightfully concerned with the negative effects of the test and punish agenda ushered in under the watch of Chancellor Merryl Tisch and Vice Chancellor Bottar and they are refusing to participate in a system that they feel is unfit for their children,” said Jessica McNair, Opt Out CNY co-founder, Oneida County public school parent and educator.  “Until and unless we obtain a Board of Regents representative who is responsive to the experience and input of parents and other stakeholders, and the Board as a whole changes course, parents will continue to opt out of high stakes assessments at both the state and local levels to protect their children and their public schools.”

“Parents want state leaders to support their children’s schools, not set them up for failure and threaten them with a state takeover.  Both Regents Tisch and Bottar failed to act in the best interest of students, and ignored the concerns repeatedly brought forth to them by the constituents they are supposed to serve,” said Tonya Wilson, Onondaga County public school parent.

There are no specific qualifications to serve as Regent, but New Yorkers should be represented by Regents who understand that the path the majority on the Board is currently pursuing is punitive.  New Regent board members should offer positive, research-based child-centric solutions instead.  Click here to apply to become a Regent and/or be endorsed by NYSAPE and Opt Out CNY.

NYSAPE, a grassroots organization with over 50 parent and educator groups across the state are calling on parents to continue to opt out by refusing high-stakes testing starting on the first days of school. Go to http://www.nysape.org/resources.html for more details on the how to be part of #OptOutNY201

 ###

Leonie Haimson

Executive Director
Class Size Matters

124 Waverly Pl.

New York, NY 10011
phone: 212-529-3539
leonie@classsizematters.org

leoniehaimson@gmail.com 

Follow on twitter @leoniehaimson

Make a tax-deductible contribution to Class Size Matters 

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Ed Notes Online: Ding, Dong, Tisch Ends 2 Decades of Destruction as Regent - Memo from NYSAPE:

Christie as federal prosecutor: Part One–FBI agents as props carrying empty boxes of “evidence” | Bob Braun's Ledger

Christie as federal prosecutor: Part One–FBI agents as props carrying empty boxes of “evidence” | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Christie as federal prosecutor: Part One–FBI agents as props carrying empty boxes of “evidence”

They say it all: Pictures of FBI agents hauling what media outlets in 2009 called “boxes of evidence” away from the home and office of former New Jersey Assembly Speaker Joseph Doria (D-Hudson). The pictures are all anyone—especially Republican voters in New Hampshire—need to know about the personal and professional integrity of presidential candidate Chris Christie. Well, there is one thing more: they need to know those boxes were empty—because the whole raid on Doria’s home and office,  part of a what was termed a “massive crackdown on corruption” was pure theatre, pure fiction, pure lies, pure politics.

Christie’s tenure as US Attorney for New Jersey, the chief federal prosecutor,  was nothing less than a corruption of a fundamental American value—that the extraordinary powers of the criminal justice system should never be exploited for personal , political gain.

He used his years as US Attorney to pave his way to the New Jersey governorship and now Christie is running for president. He has tried to resuscitate his failing campaign by exploiting the fear provoked by terrorism in Paris and San Bernadino. He has tried to enthrall at least some people in New Hampshire with his contentions that he alone has actually fought terrorism as a federal prosecutor—indeed, he has said, he prosecuted “two of the most important terrorism cases in the world.”

He is lying. The two cases Christie describes were not terrorist conspiracies at all but FBI stings. Entrapment by any moral definition.   Pure theatre.  Pure fiction.  Pure lies.  Pure politics.

But the people of New Hampshire and, maybe the people of the country—God protect the nation if he wins the nomination—need to understand more about his tenure as federal prosecutor before they vote. And that brings us back to the Christie as federal prosecutor: Part One–FBI agents as props carrying empty boxes of “evidence” | Bob Braun's Ledger:

Report gives children’s services in California more low grades than high ones | EdSource

Report gives children’s services in California more low grades than high ones | EdSource:

Report gives children's services in California more low grades than high ones

FERMIN LEAL/EDSOURCE TODAY

Aimee Perez, left, dresses as a doctor as she gives a check-up to Chelsea Conway during their preschool class at Land School in Westminster, Calif. Preschool education received a grade of B- in the 2016 California Children's Report Card.

California earned poor marks for several services it provides for the well-being of children, including those dealing with trauma, abuse and other mental and behavioral challenges, according to a report issued Wednesday by the advocacy organization Children Now.

The 2016 “California Children’s Report Card” also gave low marks to state services for infant and toddler care, teacher training and evaluation, obesity prevention and nutrition, and foster youth education. The state got highest marks for providing health coverage to children under the Affordable Care Act, as well as relatively high ones in other areas such as linking the high school curriculum to career pathways, introducing Common Core academic standards and Next Generation Science Standards, after-school and summer learning, and targeting state funds at children with the highest needs.

he report card, released annually for more than two decades, issued letter grades (A through F) for how the state is doing in 31 key education, health and child welfare areas that are aimed at the neediest student populations. The goal is to encourage state lawmakers and educators to increase investments in these areas.

The grades are not based on any standardized assessments, but reflect the views of the organization based on its interpretation of data and reports from a wide range of sources.

“California is a wealthy state, with more assets than most to devote to its children’s well-being,” the report said. “It’s time to put more of our resources to work for kids, by investing in quality programs to help lift them out of poverty and set them on the road to success.”

Nearly half of the state’s 9 million children come from poor or low-income families. Yet many don’t have comprehensive access to services that canReport gives children’s services in California more low grades than high ones | EdSource:

Some districts exempt students in special ed from vaccination law

CREDIT: JANE MEREDITH ADAMS/EDSOURCE TODA

California now has one of the strictest vaccination laws in the country, but ambiguity in its wording has left school districts deciding on their own whether to grant special education students a de facto exemption.

The California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Education have not yet issued guidance on how to apply the vaccination law to special education students. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students who qualify for special education services, such as speech therapy or small group instruction, must receive those services. Failure to comply leaves districts vulnerable to lawsuits from parents.

At the same time, beginning July 1, the state law will require all kindergarten, transitional kindergarten and 7th-grade students to be vaccinated against 10 communicable diseases before they are allowed to attend school, unless they have a medical condition that makes them unable to do so. Under the new law, parents can no longer refuse to vaccinate their children in public or private schools and child care centers based on their personal beliefs.Some districts exempt students in special ed from vaccination law

solidaridad: School choice, it's the new apartheid. Proposition 39 illustrated!

solidaridad: School choice, it's the new apartheid. Proposition 39 illustrated!:

School choice, it's the new apartheid. Proposition 39 illustrated!

From the Communities & Families Resisting Proposition 39 Charter Colocations group on Facebook. The photograph is from a LAUSD public school with a Proposition 39 charter colocation on its campus. The privately managed charter corporation, with its extra funds donated by right-wing plutocrats, has resources to provide arts and other activities for students that public school students are denied. Here a performance at the charter school in which the children listen to a song about loving everyone—while the public school children look on through a chain link fence.

School choice, it's the new apartheid. Proposition 39 is the tacit reinstitution of Plessy v. Ferguson. Join the struggle to end the lucrative charter industry and return education to the realm of public commons governed by the public.solidaridad: School choice, it's the new apartheid. Proposition 39 illustrated!:

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Relay Graduate School of Education: A Policy Brief

Schools Matter: Guest Post: Relay Graduate School of Education: A Policy Brief:

Guest Post: Relay Graduate School of Education: A Policy Brief

Posted by the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools on January 6, 2016 
This year the Philadelphia School District used training videos on classroom management from The Relay Graduate School of Education as part of its New Teacher orientation. The principals of Blaine and Kelley Elementary School (recent turnaround schools) are enrolled in Relay’s principal training program.

Relay Graduate School of Education is a teacher/principal training program based in New York and founded by people who had little experience or training in education. The school has opened a Philadelphia/Camden branch and has a partnership with Mastery Charter in the Philadelphia region. Since it appears to be extending its reach inside the Philadelphia School District we felt the need to explore Relay’s history and influence.

Kate Peterson, a graduate student at Arcadia University, has looked into Relay’s founders and programs. Her findings are posted below. We want to thank Kate for her thorough research and for allowing us to post it.


Relay Graduate School of Education Policy Brief

by Kate Peterson
January 2, 2016

Relay Graduate School of Education is a stand-alone school based in New York City. It began as Teacher U in 2007, when Dave Levin, co-founder of KIPP Public Charter Schools, and Norman Atkins, co-founder of Uncommon Schools, decided to develop a program that would supply their charter schools and others with high-quality teachers, which they deemed as scarce. They partnered with the founder of Achievement First, Dacia Toll, to create their program. Receiving $10 million from Larry Schools Matter: Guest Post: Relay Graduate School of Education: A Policy Brief: