Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/23/17

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/23/17

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Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” | radical eyes for equity

CURMUDGUCATION: Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things

by mike simpson / 1h

CURMUDGUCATION: Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things : Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things Forbes has some super-duper insights to offer about education, courtesy of Omri Ben-Sahar and Carl E. Schneider. If you don't recognize those names from the world of education, that's because Ben-Sahar is a "law professor at the University of Chicago, the editor of a leading academic journal, and a global expert on contract l

DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan. | deutsch29

by mike simpson / 2h

DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan. | deutsch29 : DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan The US Department of Education website needs updating– comically so. If one clicks on the link, “An Overview of the US Department of Education,” and follows the link, “What is the US Department of Education?,” one finds a page that has not been updated since

Schools Matter: NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools

by mike simpson / 4h

Schools Matter: NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools : NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools Every year American public school educators send approximately a billion and a half dollars to the National Education Association and over half that amount to the American Federation of Teachers. The NEA’s latest policy statement on charter schools should make every teacher wonder why she is send

Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment | News OK

by mike simpson / 5h

Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment | News OK : Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment Oklahoma charter schools are not allowed to base enrollment decisions on a student's past academic performance, income level or the abilities of their parents. However, on their applications, several charter schools in the state require parents to exp

These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos

by mike simpson / 5h

These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos : These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos Reprinted with permission from AlterNet . Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has recently drawn criticism for lending an ear to men’s rights groups and individuals advocating for the rights of those accused of rape, causing worry that the secretary of edu

Florida legislators funding charter school expansion profit from industry | Miami Herald

by mike simpson / 6h

Florida legislators funding charter school expansion profit from industry | Miami Herald : Some of your legislators are profiting at the expense of public education Florida’s broad ethics laws are a joke. If they weren’t, they would protect Floridians from legislators who profit from the charter-school industry in private life and have been actively involved in pushing — and successfully passing

A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement | Diane Ravitch's blog

by mike simpson / 6h

A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement | Diane Ravitch's blog : A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement This very important post was written for this blog by Jim Scheurich on behalf of himself, Gayle Cosby, and Nathanial Williams, who are identif

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition + Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

by mike simpson / 7h

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition (7/23) : ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition (7/23) I don't have a lot for you this week, but what's here is, as we say, cherce. A Detailed Critique of a PBS Run Education Documentary PBS has seen fit for $ome rea$on to run an advertorial for school privatization. Carol Burris and Diane Ravitch here provide a detailed rebuttal. You'll want this for that din

Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” | radical eyes for equity

by mike simpson / 7h

Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” | radical eyes for equity : Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” In his stand-up comedy days, Steve Martin had a routine about a TV evangelist. This character had, he believed, stumbled across the perfect TV evangelist sale: He announced that he had spoken to God and God had assured him he was the only person God was speaking to—so viewers should not lis

Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin - Wait What?

by mike simpson / 7h

Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin - Wait What? : Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin In her latest blog post, educator and education advocate Ann Cronin reports on Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy and his administration’s loyalty to the charter school industry and their latest attack on public education. Cronin writes; On July 19, 2017, the une

Eli Broad tapped Senior L.A. Unified official to lead Inglewood schools - LA Times

by mike simpson / 7h

Senior L.A. Unified official tapped to lead Inglewood schools - LA Times : Senior L.A. Unified official tapped to lead Inglewood schools The state has picked a senior Los Angeles schools administrator, Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, to lead the troubled Inglewood Unified School District. The Inglewood school system , which is located just east of Los Angeles International Airport, has long struggl

The Future Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

by mike simpson / 7h

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all : The Future Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all Jeff Bryant: How Are Public School Parents Like Criminals? by dianeravitch / 6min Jeff Bryant is doing an article about the St. Louis public schools. As he has delved into the issues, he learned how the state of Missouri has underfunded the schools for yea

NYC Educator: A Lesson for Neil deGrasse Tyson

by mike simpson / 8h

NYC Educator: A Lesson for Neil deGrasse Tyson : A Lesson for Neil deGrasse Tyson I've had great respect for Neil deGrasse Tyson ever since the first time I saw him on Bill Maher's show. I mean, here's a guy, smarter than me, smarter than you, an astrophysicist, an acknowledged expert in his field, speaking the unvarnished truth. Climate change is science, and science is real. Disagreeing with it

NEWS FLASH: FOUNDING FATHERS USE NEW TECHNOLOGY | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

by mike simpson / 8h

NEWS FLASH: FOUNDING FATHERS USE NEW TECHNOLOGY | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing : NEWS FLASH: FOUNDING FATHERS USE NEW TECHNOLOGY Members of both major political parties attacking each other. Fake News. Name-calling. Wild tweeting? Today’s world? Of course, but it is not the first time in our history. Any informed and well-read turn of the 19th century citizen could have easily either been e

Please take five minutes to help stop the privatization of NY schools! | Class Size Matters

by mike simpson / 8h

Please take five minutes to help stop the privatization of NY schools! | Class Size Matters | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes : Please take five minutes to help stop the privatization of NY schools! Only a few days are left in the NY legislative term, and the NY State Senate leadership and now Gov. Cuomo are pushing a deal to exchange the ext

CHATT TOWN, BIG EASY TRIPS AND WHAT’S THAT STAND FOR? « Dad Gone Wild

by mike simpson / 9h

CHATT TOWN, BIG EASY TRIPS AND WHAT’S THAT STAND FOR? « Dad Gone Wild : CHATT TOWN, BIG EASY TRIPS AND WHAT’S THAT STAND FOR? I must apologize for this this installment being late. Dad had to take a catering gig yesterday that translated to a 5:30 AM to 2pm work day and a new appreciation for people who work in the service industry on a regular basis. Y’all work hard. As always, we have a lot of

YESTERDAY

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/22/17

by mike simpson / 23h

Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/22/17 Featured Post Florida’s education system — the one Betsy DeVos cites as a model — is in chaos - The Washington Post Elizabeth Hovde: Meet the gender unicorn, parents | 

Top Posts This Week

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  Teachers to march against Trump’s education agenda - The Washington Post
• 

  Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Infomercial for Personalized Learning Implementation and Effects | RAND
• 

  Teacher Pay Penalty Driving Educators Away From Profession
• 

  Fulton offered top teachers $20,000 to transfer to struggling schools. Did it work? | Get Schooled
• 

  Florida’s education system — the one Betsy DeVos cites as a model — is in chaos - The Washington Post
• 

  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/16/17
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  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/17/17
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  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/22/17
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  Weingarten on David vs. Goliath Battle in Education - YouTube
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  Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 7/21/17

CURMUDGUCATION: Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things

CURMUDGUCATION: Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things:

Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things

Forbes has some super-duper insights to offer about education, courtesy of Omri Ben-Sahar and Carl E. Schneider. If you don't recognize those names from the world of education, that's because Ben-Sahar is a "law professor at the University of Chicago, the editor of a leading academic journal, and a global expert on contract law and consumer market regulation" and Schneider is "the Chauncey Stillman Professor for Ethics, Morality, and the Practice of Law and is a Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Law School." In other words, one more set of experts who are public education amateurs.

With its title, "Teacher Certification Makes Public School Education Worse, Not Better" announces its intention to be outrageous, and it does not disappoint. It's a short article, but it squeezes in 18 dumb things. Let's count them of:

1) Who does not believe that education is vital, that it is crucial to personal success, economic prosperity, and social mobility?

According to several pieces of research, social mobility is stalled in this country. Educational inequity is more appropriately viewed as a symptom, but for some folks, portraying education as the cure-all for our current rampant inequity uses schools as a convenient whipping boy and lets every other creator of inequity off the hook. Meanwhile, what does the data show about the rich and successful folks of this country-- are they CURMUDGUCATION: Forbes Says 18 Dumb Things:

DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan. | deutsch29

DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan. | deutsch29:

DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan

The US Department of Education website needs updating– comically so.

If one clicks on the link, “An Overview of the US Department of Education,” and follows the link, “What is the US Department of Education?,” one finds a page that has not been updated since September 2010– and which cites student enrollment from 2007-08.

The page entitled, “The Federal Role in Education,” (located under “Mission,”) does include a link to Trump’s FY2018 budget requests for education. And also under the heading of “Mission,” the site also notes the supposed role of the US Secretary of Education:

 …The Secretary and the Department play a leadership role in the ongoing national dialogue over how to improve the results of our education system for all students. This involves such activities as raising national and community awareness of the education challenges confronting the Nation, disseminating the latest discoveries on what works in teaching and learning, and helping communities work out solutions to difficult educational issues.

As recently noted in July 2017 in Vanity Fair, the current US ed sec, Betsy DeVos, prefers not to engage in dialogues about education as her Department refuses requests from journalists, often simply ignoring such requests, and she refuses to do interviews with the press and declines to speak at organizations where one might well expect the press to be represented, such as the Education Writers Association. Moreover, her times to make herself available to the press tend to be brief, unannounced ahead of time, and in obscure locations.

Instead, DeVos prefers to speak via formal speech, and in her formal speeches, she is DeVos’ “Message from the Secretary” Link Features… Arne Duncan. | deutsch29:

Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment | News OK

Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment | News OK:

Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment

Oklahoma charter schools are not allowed to base enrollment decisions on a student's past academic performance, income level or the abilities of their parents.

However, on their applications, several charter schools in the state require parents to explain their child's academic abilities in detail, pledge a commitment to volunteer at the school or have the student submit an essay.

In an analysis of applications for the state's 29 charter schools, The Oklahoman found some asked for nothing more than a student's name and contact information.

However, some applications require a recommendation from a teacher, ask for details on a student's discipline history or if they have received special education services.

Charter schools, which are taxpayer funded but are given greater flexibility than traditional public schools, are required by state law to hold a lottery for open seats when demand is greater than space.

Oklahoma law prevents charter schools from limiting admissions based on ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, proficiency in the English language, measures of achievement, aptitude or athletic ability.

Because student demographics and abilities are not to be considered in enrollment decisions, asking for those details on an application could violate Oklahoma law, said Brad Clark, general counsel to the State Board of Education.

"Parents could potentially consider detailed enrollment application questions discriminatory and a deterrent to underprivileged children who might wish to apply Oklahoma charter school applications could be barrier to enrollment | News OK:

These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos

These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos:

These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos

Reprinted with permission from AlterNet.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has recently drawn criticism for lending an ear to men’s rights groups and individuals advocating for the rights of those accused of rape, causing worry that the secretary of education may roll back Obama-era guidelines on how colleges should handle sexual assault.

Among those speaking out in alarm are 20 Democratic attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia who collectively wrote a letter to DeVos on Wednesday demanding she keep the Obama administration’s Title IX guidelines on sexual assault in place, according to Buzzfeed News. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who organized the letter, told Buzzfeed News that the 20 attorneys general were “prepared to take legal action” to protect Title IX and rape victims.

“The 20 AGs who signed that letter were putting Secretary DeVos on notice that we support the current regulations, and if she rolls them back, then she will have us to deal with further,” Shapiro said. “We’ll see what actions she takes. What I can tell you is we are committed to ensuring these protections stay in place. And if need be, we’ll take legal action to try and protect victims.”

In the letter, the state attorneys general ask DeVos to keep in place the guidelines outlined in the 2011 “Dear Colleague” letter affirming that sexual assault is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX. The letter also demands that DeVos does not rescind a 2014 document expanding on the 2011 directives issued by the White House campus rape task force.

“While we recognize that there is a great deal more that can be These Top Prosecutors Are Threatening Legal Action Against Betsy DeVos:

Schools Matter: NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools

Schools Matter: NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools:

NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools

Every year American public school educators send approximately a billion and a half dollars to the National Education Association and over half that amount to the American Federation of Teachers.  The NEA’s latest policy statement on charter schools should make every teacher wonder why she is sending in those hundreds of hard-earned dollars every year to help NEA and AFT misleaders to put a stake in the heart of public schools. 

The corporate lawyers who write NEA policy have been dissembling, dodging, and weaving for a long time on the subject of charter schools. With this new policy statement, it is clear that that has not changed.  

What has changed is the mass of qualifiers that NEA has added, ostensibly to earn the organization’s continued blessing for charter schools.  If, however, the corporate governing bodies do not abide by NEA’s list of wishes, then that could trigger an NEA response that must have the charter industry quaking at the thought:

Unless both the basic safeguards and process detailed above are met, no charter school should be authorized and NEA will support state and local moratoriums on further charter authorizations in the school district.

Now mind you, this does not mean that NEA headquarters will do anything or even threaten anything on its on if the Schools Matter: NEA Continues Support for Charter Schools:

Florida legislators funding charter school expansion profit from industry | Miami Herald

Florida legislators funding charter school expansion profit from industry | Miami Herald:

Some of your legislators are profiting at the expense of public education

Florida’s broad ethics laws are a joke.

If they weren’t, they would protect Floridians from legislators who profit from the charter-school industry in private life and have been actively involved in pushing — and successfully passing — legislation to fund for-profit private schools at the expense of public education.

Some lawmakers earn a paycheck tied to charter schools.

One of them is Rep. Manny Diaz, the Hialeah Republican who collects a six-figure salary as chief operating officer of the charter Doral College and sits on the Education Committee and the K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee.

Some lawmakers have close relatives who are founders of charter schools.

One of them is the powerful House Speaker, Richard Corcoran, the Land O’Lakes Republican whose wife founded a charter school in Pasco County that stands to benefit from legislation. He was in Miami Wednesday preaching the gospel of charter schools as “building beautiful minds.”

Other lawmakers are founders themselves or have ties to foundations or business entities connected to charter schools.

One of them is Rep. Michael Bileca, the Miami Republican who chairs the House Education Committee and is listed as executive director of the foundation that funds True North Classical Academy, attended by the children of another legislator. Bileca is also a school founder.

These three legislators were chief architects in the passage of a $419 million education bill that takes away millions of dollars from public schools to expand the charter-school industry in Florida at taxpayer expense.

They crafted the most important parts of education bill HB 7069 in secret, acting in possible violation of the open government laws the Legislature is perennially seeking to weaken. There was no debate allowed and educators all across the state were left without a voice in the process.

It’s no wonder it all went down in the dark. It’s a clear conflict of interest for members of the Florida Legislature who have a stake in charter schools to vote to fund and expand them. Their votes weaken the competition: public schools.

This issue has nothing to do with being pro or against school choice. It’s about the abuse of Florida legislators funding charter school expansion profit from industry | Miami Herald:

A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement | Diane Ravitch's blog

A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement | Diane Ravitch's blog:

A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement

This very important post was written for this blog by Jim Scheurich on behalf of himself, Gayle Cosby, and Nathanial Williams, who are identified in the text. They are experienced in the school politics of Indianapolis, a city whose school system is being systematically dismantled and privatized. They have been active in the fight against what they call the DPE (Destroy Public Education) model in their city. Their experience and insights are extremely informative, especially their recognition that the DPE movement is not limited to Indianapolis; it has gone national. Indianapolis is only one of its targets. The business community, civic leaders, political leaders, DFER, the Mind Trust, and Stand for Children have joined together to Destroy Public Education. As they attack democratic institutions, they falsely claim that “it is all about the kids” and they claim they are advancing civil rights. Instead, it is about money and power and gentrification. As the paper points out, it used to be possible to run for the IPS school board with less than $5,000. Since the DPE crowd arrived, it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to try for a seat on the local school board. Consequently, the DPE crowd has bought control of IPS.

Think National, Fight Local:

Fighting a National Neoliberal “Destroy Public Education” Model at the Local Level

Jim Scheurich, Gayle Cosby, and Nathanial Williams
Indianapolis, Indiana, Community & University Activists

The three of us have been collaboratively fighting the national neoliberal “Destroy Public Education” (DPE) model in Indianapolis, Indiana, for several years (we dislike calling it a “reform” model given the generally positive connotations of that word that obscure the truth about these efforts).

Gayle was an Indianapolis Public School (IPS) school board member from 2012-2016. She was initially funded to win her board seat by the local DPE initiative in 2012, but she soon realized what they were up to and turned into a vocal critic, publically speaking and organizing against them. Also, she is now an Urban Education Studies (UES) second year doctoral student at Indiana University – Indianapolis (IUPUI). Nathanial “Nate” A MUST READ! Think National, Fight Local: The Story of Indianapolis and the DPE (Destroy Public Education) Movement | Diane Ravitch's blog:

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition + Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition (7/23):

ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition (7/23)

 I don't have a lot for you this week, but what's here is, as we say, cherce.  


A Detailed Critique of a PBS Run Education Documentary

PBS has seen fit for $ome rea$on to run an advertorial for school privatization. Carol Burris and Diane Ravitch here provide a detailed rebuttal. You'll want this for that dinner when your brother-in-law opens with, "Hey, I saw this thing on PBS that says you all suck."

Teacher Tests Test Teachers

Rachel Cohen with a great piece about how VAM and its ilk are increasingly coming under well-deserved attack.

On Common Terminology and Teaching Writing

Paul Thomas takes a look at writing instruction and the importance of shared terminology.

Why Teachers Need To See Themselves as Experts

Jose Luis Vilson on one of my pet peeves-- the teacherly tendency to be all humble and yield the mantle of expert to folks who don't deserve it. 

The Deep Irony in Betsy DeVos First Speech on Special Education

This will be the ongoing mystery of DeVos as ed secretary-- does she know she contradicts herself, or does she just not care.

The Many Ways We Are Deprofessionalizing Teaching

Do you read Nancy Flanagan every week? You should. Here she is looking at just how badly, widely and deeply folks are chipping away at the teaching profession.

Want To Kill Your Economy? 

Not strictly an education piece, but a clear look at how MBAs who are takers rather than makers have been blowing a hole in the economy. At a minimum this is a good piece to keep in mind every time someone starts talking about approaching education like a business.

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Hot and Sticky Edition (7/23):

The Economist Doesn't Do Their Homework

6by Peter Greene / 3h

The Economist decided to offer its own special view of the newest wave of ed tech this week, and it's just further proof that when economists try to talk about education, it carries all the authority of Justin Bieber explaining quantum physics. It would not be worth the bother, except that this continued phenomenon of people who don't know education explaining education to other people who don't k

YESTERDAY

Dear E: Time Management

7by Peter Greene / 14h

Dear E: As the calendar clicks closer to your departure for your first teaching job, I'm going to continue with my offerings of Useful Things To Know. It's been a while since I was a first year teacher, but I've certainly watched plenty start out 

Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION

Big Education Ape: Catch up with CURMUDGUCATION - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2017/07/catch-up-with-curmudgucation_22.html

Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” | radical eyes for equity

Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” | radical eyes for equity:

Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap”

In his stand-up comedy days, Steve Martin had a routine about a TV evangelist. This character had, he believed, stumbled across the perfect TV evangelist sale: He announced that he had spoken to God and God had assured him he was the only person God was speaking to—so viewers should not listen to any other TV evangelist who claimed to know the word of God.

Yes, this was a stinging satire of religion, but at its core, Martin is unmasking the scam grounded in claims too good to be true—the “miracle” claim.

Writing in support of South Carolina’s Read to Succeed legislation, Oran P. Smith makes this claim:

Read to Succeed was indeed a success in Florida. Since the year before the retention policy came into effect, the percentage of Florida students scoring low enough to qualify for retention has fallen by 40 percent. More Florida children are learning how to read during the developmentally critical period. The students at the bottom proved the biggest winners from Florida’s no-nonsense reforms.

Setting aside that the Florida policy is actually Just Read, Florida! (Read to Succeed is SC’s version), reading policies based on standards, high-stakes testing, and grade retention (very much a Florida model) are a subset of the Florida “miracle” scam driven by Jeb Bush—a set of policies grounded in rhetoric and ideology but regularly refuted by careful analysis.

Between leaving office as governor of Florida and running for president, in Florida Education Reform: “It’s a Trap” | radical eyes for equity:

Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin - Wait What?

Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin - Wait What?:

Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin

In her latest blog post, educator and education advocate Ann Cronin reports on Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy and his administration’s loyalty to the charter school industry and their latest attack on public education.

Cronin writes;

On July 19, 2017, the unelected, governor-appointed Connecticut State Board of Education approved 504 additional seats in state charter schools for next year, with 154 of those seats going to Capital Preparatory Harbor School in Bridgeport.

GO FIGURE:

Connecticut is in a budget crisis with every expense being monitored, yet new charter school seats, which cost the state $11,000 each, are being initiated. The cost will be more than $5.5 million.

PLUS

The new seats will cost the beleaguered and impoverished Bridgeport Public Schools money it cannot afford and will strip them of much needed resources. The Bridgeport Board of Education unanimously voted against the expansion plan because the cost of adding grades to Capital Prep Harbor School requires the Bridgeport Public Schools to pay additional costs for transportation and other services at an additional location.

PLUS

The expansion plan for Capital Prep Harbor School, approved by the State Something Is Rotten In The State Of Connecticut by Ann Cronin - Wait What?:

Eli Broad tapped Senior L.A. Unified official to lead Inglewood schools - LA Times

Senior L.A. Unified official tapped to lead Inglewood schools - LA Times:

Senior L.A. Unified official tapped to lead Inglewood schools

The state has picked a senior Los Angeles schools administrator, Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, to lead the troubled Inglewood Unified School District.

The Inglewood school system, which is located just east of Los Angeles International Airport, has long struggled with low academic achievement and declining enrollment, including the last five years under state control.

Meléndez was named Thursday by state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who also asserted that Inglewood has been making progress recently.

“Thelma Meléndez has a strong combination of leadership skills and experience managing school districts,” Torlakson said in a statement. “She will continue the district’s positive momentum.”

Meléndez, 59, has been serving as head of the Office of Educational Services in the L.A. Unified School District. She was also superintendent of Pomona Unified and Santa Ana Unified, and she served as assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama.

Before joining L.A. Unified, she worked as the top education advisor to Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“The Inglewood school community has the ingredients for greatness, and it will be an honor to lead the district into the next phase of progress for all students,” Meléndez said. “I am eager and ready to roll up my sleeves to get to work.”

Meléndez will have plenty to take on.

According to state test results, 29% of Inglewood students are proficient or better in English, up from 26% the prior year. Only 16% are proficient in math, although that is up from 14% the prior year.

The district of 12,570 students is 58% Latino and 39% black. About 3 in 10 students are learning English and nearly 8 in 10 are part of low-income households.

The state took over Inglewood Unified in 2012, as a condition of an emergency loan Senior L.A. Unified official tapped to lead Inglewood schools - LA Times: