Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/23/16

CORPORATE ED REFORM

Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2nd - Wait What?

Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2nd - Wait What?:Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2ndThanks to Governor Dannel Malloy and the Connecticut General Assembly, high school juniors attending Connecticut public schools are being told that they MUST take the NEW SAT during the sc

by mike simpson / 17min 

Roberts: Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?

Roberts: Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?: Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?The Arizona Legislature marched forth Monday in its ongoing, unending quest to dismantle Arizona's public schools.The Senate voted 17-13 to approve a bill that would dramatically expand the number of students eligible to get taxpayer funding to go to private schools.Senate Bill 1279

by mike simpson / 2h 

CURMUDGUCATION: More Bad Poverty News

CURMUDGUCATION: More Bad Poverty News:More Bad Poverty NewsWe have seen versions of these findings before, but one more study drives home the point again-- education does not erase the economics of your family of origin.This particular study is written up by Brad Hershbein over at Brookings, and the findings are short, simple, and important.While some folks accept that a person from a rich family

by mike simpson / 4h 

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conference - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conference - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform: ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conferenceWe are providing some pertinent links to the ESSA  (Every Student Succeeds Act) to assist conference participants in following conference work and conversations (in person or via livestream). P

by mike simpson / 4h 

Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go... - Lily's Blackboard

Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go... - Lily's Blackboard: Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go... It is here! It is here! Let’s give a cheer! It is finally here!With apologies to Dr. Seuss (and to those who aren’t fans of exclamation points), I had to go there. It’s time for one of our most beloved events of the year: NEA’s Read Across America, our celebration of reading and t

by mike simpson / 4h 

Market "Reform" Is Destroying Public Education - Linkis.com

Market "Reform" Is Destroying Public Education - Linkis.com: Market "Reform" Is Destroying Public EducationLatoya and Jalesa, both 26, grew up on the west side of Chicago, attending Calhoun Public School during the day and stepping across the street to Marillac Social Center for after-school programs. They lived in a tough neighborhood. Latoya said the summer gunshots came as o

by mike simpson / 6h 

.@DavidCBerliner hosts 2015 Bunkum Award – Cloaking Inequity

.@DavidCBerliner hosts 2015 Bunkum Award – Cloaking Inequity: .@DavidCBerliner hosts 2015 Bunkum Award I am honored to be a National Education Policy Center fellow. One of the most exciting and incredible things that they do is the Bunkum Awards! It’s the annual salute to the worst education think tank work in the United States. They write:With the Oscar celebration next week, and the Emmys and Pu

by mike simpson / 7h 

Annual Financial Data - Financial (CA Dept of Education)

Annual Financial Data - Financial (CA Dept of Education): Annual Financial DataUnaudited year-end data in downloadable, self-extracting files (i.e., SACS, J-200). Each year, California's kindergarten through grade twelve (K–12) school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and joint powers agencies, all commonly known as local educational agencies (LEAs), submit annual financial

by mike simpson / 7h 

Senate Will Consider Confirming John King, but He’s Unlikely to Repair Arne Duncan’s Damage | janresseger

Senate Will Consider Confirming John King, but He’s Unlikely to Repair Arne Duncan’s Damage | janresseger: Senate Will Consider Confirming John King, but He’s Unlikely to Repair Arne Duncan’s DamageThe word was that John King would remain an acting U.S. Secretary of Education for the remainder of President Barack Obama’s administration.  In January, Lyndsey Layton reported for the Washington Post,

by mike simpson / 7h 

Superintendent got A Piece of the Action Charter School Kick Back| SanDiegoUnionTribune.com

Superintendent got charter commission | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com: Superintendent got portion of charter revenueSteve Van Zant’s contract included charter stipend he charter schools that Steve Van Zant ushered in while at the helm of the Mountain Empire Unified School District paid off in multiple ways to the former superintendent, while setting the stage for animosity and litigation that would lin

by mike simpson / 8h 

More Than 200 Compton School Teachers Call in Sick | NBC Southern California

More Than 200 Compton School Teachers Call in Sick | NBC Southern California: More Than 200 Compton School Teachers Call in SickSome 200 Compton Unified School District teachers called in sick as contract negotiations continued between the teachers and the district. John Cádiz Klemack reports for the NBC4 News at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016. (Published Monday, Feb. 22, 2016)More than 200 Compt

by mike simpson / 8h 

Malloy proposes plan to punish your neighbors if you opt your child out of the Common Core SBAC testing fiasco - Wait What?

Malloy proposes plan to punish your neighbors if you opt your child out of the Common Core SBAC testing fiasco - Wait What?: Malloy proposes plan to punish your neighbors if you opt your child out of the Common Core SBAC testing fiasco It should be impossible to believe that any Connecticut public official would propose a plan to punish your neighbors if you opt your child out of the unfair, inapp

by mike simpson / 8h 

Unions concerned with Pearson investments. | Fred Klonsky

Unions concerned with Pearson investments. | Fred Klonsky: Unions concerned with Pearson investments.  The impact of opt out and the movement against high-stakes testing has been impressive when it comes to Pearson’s bottom line.The British publication Professional Pensions reports that Pearson, a UK-based company that controls much of the U.S. school testing business, has lost 42% of is share val

by mike simpson / 8h 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: We pahked the cah...

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: We pahked the cah...: We pahked the cah... We visited Hahvahd yesterday, only to find Chicago students tearing it up academically and politically, as expected.First, we went over to the Law School where dozens of students have been occupying the Wasserstein Lounge,trying to create a learning environment more relevant and safe for students of color. Occupiers I talked

by mike simpson / 8h 

Who won the education ‘award’ nobody wants to receive? - The Washington Post

Who won the education ‘award’ nobody wants to receive? - The Washington Post: Who won the education ‘award’ nobody wants to receive?There are education awards and then there are education awards.In the first category — those that people in education don’t generally mind winning — we could put the $1 million Global Teacher Prize, given by the Varkey Foundation, the philanthropic arm of GEMS Educati

by mike simpson / 8h 

Why the Roots of Police Violence Lead Back to Segregated Schools - Yahoo News

Why the Roots of Police Violence Lead Back to Segregated Schools - Yahoo News: Why the Roots of Police Violence Lead Back to Segregated SchoolsWhy the Roots of Police Violence Lead Back to Segregated Schools Integrated public schools have long been touted as a key to boosting the achievement of disadvantaged students. Yet at a time when experts and analysts confirm the nation’s public schools are

by mike simpson / 9h 

L.A. Charters Miss Enrollment Targets by 14,600. So What? - On California - Education Week

L.A. Charters Miss Enrollment Targets by 14,600. So What? - On California - Education Week: L.A. Charters Miss Enrollment Targets by 14,600. So What? In the midst of another skirmish in the L.A. Charter School War, new data obtained from the Los Angeles Unified School District show charter school enrollment is 14,620 lower than the charter operators projected in their petitions to operate those sc

by mike simpson / 9h 

Report: State must adopt guidelines for parent engagement in schools | EdSource

Report: State must adopt guidelines for parent engagement in schools | EdSource: Report: State must adopt guidelines for parent engagement in schoolsCalifornia has established parent involvement as one of eight priority areas that local educators must focus on, but school districts have a long way to go to make that involvement “authentic” and “meaningful,” according to a new report.The report, is

by mike simpson / 9h 

Study says charter schools spend more than twice the amount that traditional public school on administration expenses - Tucson News Now

Study says charter schools spend more on administration expenses - Tucson News Now: Study says charter schools spend more on administration expensesTucson News NowPHOENIX (CBS5) -A report set for release Tuesday concludes that charter schools in Arizona spend more than twice the amount that traditional public school districts spend on administrative expenses.The report, authored by Arizonans for C

by mike simpson / 9h 

Research: Louisiana's School Voucher Program Harms Student Performance - US News

Research: Louisiana's School Voucher Program Harms Student Performance - US News: Evidence Mounts Against Louisiana Voucher ProgramMore research shows the Bayou State's voucher program harms students' academic performance.Louisiana's private school voucher program – the fifth-largest in the country – is having a negative impact on students who use the vouchers to enroll in private school, a mounti

by mike simpson / 9h 

ACT's College and Career Readiness Standards

ACT's College and Career Readiness Standards: ACT's College and Career Readiness Standards On February 11, 2016, the Fordham Institute published its idea of a report on how well a number of assessments align with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Here is a bit of what Fordham Institute wrote about ACT:ACT Aspire and MCAS both did well regarding the quality of their items and the depth of kno

by mike simpson / 9h 

Bill and Melinda Gates explain their charitable priorities for the coming year | The Economist

Bill and Melinda Gates explain their charitable priorities for the coming year | The Economist: Bill and Melinda Gates explain their charitable priorities for the coming yearUp, up and awaySINCE 2009 Bill Gates has written an annual open letter setting out priorities for the charitable foundation he leads with his wife, Melinda. Some have highlighted specific causes: the first picked out reducing

by mike simpson / 9h 

YESTERDAY

Why U.S. states earn poor marks on public ed support - The Hechinger Report

Why U.S. states earn poor marks on public ed support - The Hechinger Report: Why U.S. states earn poor marks on public ed supportA look at new legislation, and the report that shows there are no ‘silver bullets’ to improve schools The recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can provide a new opportunity for states to engage in initiatives to strengthen their public schools.After th

1 by mike simpson / 19h 

Louisiana’s middle class finally gets a glimpse of what NOLA parents and students go through - The Hechinger Report

Louisiana’s middle class finally gets a glimpse of what NOLA parents and students go through - The Hechinger Report: Louisiana’s middle class finally gets a glimpse of what NOLA parents and students go throughWhy higher education is not a luxuryStudents at Edna Carr High School in New Orleans celebrate graduation. Photo: Andre PerryGov. John Bel Edwards sent chills down the spines of Louisiana stu

1 by mike simpson / 19h hide  //  save

Student data being stored and swapped among many agencies | KTVB.COM

Student data being stored and swapped among many agencies | KTVB.COM:Student data being stored and swapped among many agenciesBOISE - How would you feel if you found your child was being tracked from the minute you registered them for kindergarten, until they enter the work force? Idaho has several agreements that allow and require them to do just that.Many parents don't realize that their student

1 by mike simpson / 23h 

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 2/22/16

CORPORATE ED REFORMThe Hypocrisy of OUR Teacher Union Leadership Bragging about Hillary Clinton in Nevada – The Testing GamesThe Hypocrisy of OUR Teacher Union Leadership Bragging about Hillary Clinton in Nevada – The Testing Games: The Hypocrisy of OUR Teacher Union Leadership Bragging about Hillary Clinton in Nevada So, I see our president,  Randi Weingarten, president of our 1.6-million member

31 by mike simpson / 23h

Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2nd - Wait What?

Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2nd - Wait What?:
Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2nd

Thanks to Governor Dannel Malloy and the Connecticut General Assembly, high school juniors attending Connecticut public schools are being told that they MUST take the NEW SAT during the school day on March 2, 2016.

Considering that the NEW SAT isn’t even aligned to Connecticut’s graduation requirements or high school curricula and that the new version of the SAT won’t even be statistically validated on a national level until after Connecticut’s 11th graders take the test, Connecticut’s elected officials have done nothing other than turn our students into guinea pigs for the $1 Billion standardized testing industry.

But of course, that is what the corporate education reform industry is demanding.

42,000 Connecticut students taking a faulty test, all at the expense of Connecticut taxpayers!

The truth is that after realizing that student grades are a better indicator of college readiness than standardized tests, hundreds and hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States are dropping the requirement that students even provide an SAT score with their application.

And as for the mandate, although Malloy’s Commissioner of Education continues to claim that high school juniors “MUST” take the discriminatory NEW SAT, like the SBAC testing scheme for grades 3-8, there is no federal or state law, regulation or legal policy that prevents students and parents from opting out of the test nor is there any law that allows Criticism of the NEW SAT grows as Connecticut’s 11th grades are told they MUST take it on March 2nd - Wait What?:

CURMUDGUCATION: More Bad Poverty News

CURMUDGUCATION: More Bad Poverty News:
More Bad Poverty News

We have seen versions of these findings before, but one more study drives home the point again-- education does not erase the economics of your family of origin.

This particular study is written up by Brad Hershbein over at Brookings, and the findings are short, simple, and important.

While some folks accept that a person from a rich family and a person from a somewhat-less-rich family won't be put on a level playing field by a college degree, they'll at least enjoy the same sort of boost from that education. But Hershbein's research says, no, that's not how it works. This chart spells it out--

(FPL is Federal Poverty Level)

In other words, a BA helps rich kids get way richer, while a BA helps poor kids get only just a little bit less not-poor.

As I said, this is not exactly news. A Johns Hopkins study over twenty-five years in Baltimorecemented the importance of family-of-origin. Robert Putnam wrote an entire book about how CURMUDGUCATION: More Bad Poverty News:

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conference - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conference - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform:

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conference

We are providing some pertinent links to the ESSA  (Every Student Succeeds Act) to assist conference participants in following conference work and conversations (in person or via livestream). Please see our complete schedule here.

The entire text of the ESSA can be read at congress.gov.

ESSA Title 1 Part A Section 1005 State Plans

ESSA Title 1 Part A Section 1006 Local educational agency plans

ESSA Title 1 Part A Section 1010 Parent and family engagement

ESSA Title 1 PART B Section 1201 State assessment grants

ESSA Title II Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High-Quality Teachers, Principals, or other School Leaders (this section includes Section 2001 – 2213)

ESSA Title III Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students

ESSA Title IV 21st Century Schools Section 4001 through 4112 (includes PART A Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants)

ESSA Title IV 21st Century Schools Part B 21st Century Community Learning Centers (section 4201 to 4206)

ESSA Title IV 21st Century Schools Part C Expanding Opportunity Through Quality Charter Schools (Section 4301 to 4311)

ESSA Title IV 21st Century Schools Part D Magnet Schools Assistance

ESSA Title IV 21st Century Schools Part E – Family Engagement in Education Programs

ESSA Title IV 21st Century Schools Part F National Activities

 ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) sections for #uoo16philly conference - UNITED OPT OUT: The Movement to End Corporate Education Reform:

Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go... - Lily's Blackboard

Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go... - Lily's Blackboard:

Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go...



 It is here! It is here! Let’s give a cheer! It is finally here!

With apologies to Dr. Seuss (and to those who aren’t fans of exclamation points), I had to go there. It’s time for one of our most beloved events of the year: NEA’s Read Across America, our celebration of reading and the birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.

Our featured Dr. Seuss book this year is What Pet Should I Get? But you can focus on whatever book(s) you’d like, as long as our students get excited about reading.

From February 26 through March 4, NEA leaders will travel to schools in six cities, providing resources to schools in need and honoring Dr. Seuss. This is the 19th year of what I think of as our “literacy party.”

NEA's Read Across AmericaFollow On

What Pet is based on a manuscript discovered among Geisel’s belongings in 2013, more than 20 years after his death. The manuscript was painstakingly reconstructed by his longtime designer and art director, and the original illustrations and text are believed to date to at least 1962. 

The story is about two kids searching for the perfect pet on a deadline. As with all Dr. Seuss books, the rhymes and simple language help get across complex notions in a fun way. In this case, it’s the challenge of making a decision when there are lots of options and not much time:

 Oh, boy!

It is something

to make a mind up.

Dr. Seuss offers a treasure trove of books for students of all ages – from beginners who love his playful rhymes and fantastical drawings, to older readers who gain insights on such subjects as environmental stewardship. But as we know, there are lots of good reads out there that will inspire and enrich our students. NEA’s website can help you find them. 

To help spread the joy of reading, NEA’s Read Across America and the NEA Foundation are making 100 $1,000 awards to public schools serving economically disadvantaged students.  The grants were made possible by a contribution from The Weinstein Company and Walden Media. You can apply for a grant until April 29 to purchase a variety of diverse books and reading materials for your school’s library. Recipients will be announced by June 15 on the foundation’s website. 

But on March 2, we’re taking some time to celebrate the wonderful world created by Geisel. The NEA Read Across America website offers plenty of planning tips, downloadable materials, and other resources.

Some educators will be wearing Cat in the Hat suits to mark the occasion. But if costumes aren’t your thing, not to worry. There are many ways to celebrate Read Across America Day on March 2, and countless ways to share the fun and joy of reading every single day. Please share your celebration on social media by tagging photos and updates with the hashtag #readacrossamerica. Happy reading!Read Across America: Oh, the Places You'll Go... - Lily's Blackboard:

Roberts: Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?

Roberts: Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?:

Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?

The Arizona Legislature marched forth Monday in its ongoing, unending quest to dismantle Arizona's public schools.

The Senate voted 17-13 to approve a bill that would dramatically expand the number of students eligible to get taxpayer funding to go to private schools.

Senate Bill 1279 phases in vouchers for all students over the next few years until 2020, when every one of Arizona’s 1.1 million public school students could get state funding to attend private school.

Those hallelujahs you hear? Those are the parents in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley who've been planning to send their kids to schools like Phoenix Country Day or Rancho Solano, learning now that taxpayers will now pick up a portion of the tab.

VALDEZ: Get the pitchforks - vouchers are coming

ROBB: Expand vouchers, nix the tax credits

The Republican-led Legislature has long schemed for ways to divert money to private schools in the name of parental choice. But our leaders  ran into a bit of trouble in 2009 when the state Supreme Court declared Arizona's voucher program an unconstitutional use of public funds on private or religious schools.

Thus was born the Empowerment Scholarship Account. Basically, the state loads tax money onto a debit card and hands it to you, the parent, to spend as you wish provided it's used to educate or get therapy for your child, either now or post high school.

ESAs began in 2011 as a narrowly-focused program, allowing children with serious disabilities to attend private school using public funds. It was a decent thing to do for a small group of children whose needs the public schools couldn't or wouldn't meet.

Then, the program was expanded to the children of active-duty military members and to children in foster care. Then to certain kindergartners and to children attending public schools that received a D or an F rating from the state – because heaven forbid we actually fix our failing schools. Then to Native American students who live on reservations.

Currently, about 2,200 children have ESAs.

Should taxpayers fund private education?

Republicans want to expand the program so that every Arizona child is eligible for a taxpayer-supplied private-school education. Assuming, that is, that every Arizona child’s parents could afford to pay the difference between what the state would provide and the actual cost of a private-school education. Assuming, too, that they are the sort of kid a private school would want.

Arizona taxpayers still will have to provide public schools for the have-nots – the kids whose parents are too poor to send them elsewhere or too otherwise occupied to worry overmuch about where and whether their kids are getting an education.

The suckers, we'll call them.

For years, the Legislature has been sucking money out of the public schools. Arizona public education has endured some of the nation’s deepest cuts to public education.

Total spending on K-12 education was $412 less per student in 2014 than it was in 2009, according to a report last year by the Arizona auditor general. And that's in a state where our $7,500 in per-student operational spending already trails the national average by about 42 percent – or more than $3,000 per student.

That’s not counting the money they siphon away via tuition tax credits for private schools and now by approval of a full-blown voucher program.

Supporters of the expansion plan say current limits on ESAs make it too difficult to score a voucher.

Opponents say expansion would decimate the public school system, robbing an already starved system of badly needed funds.

Which is, of course, the point.Roberts: Why does the Arizona Legislature hate public schools?: