Top Posts This Week 5/18/19 #REDFORED #CTA

Big Education Ape

Top Posts This Week 5/18/19 

Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board

California: A Time for Action!!!! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* | deutsch29

NYC Educator: Betsy and Me

CURMUDGUCATION: Parenting Is All About Losing

Gates Foundation Launches Major Higher Ed Initiative | Education News | US News

Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess!

CURMUDGUCATION: Why The Big Standardized Test Is Useless For Teachers

THIS WEEK Education Research Report

To promote success in schools, focus on teacher well-being

Top Posts This Month 5/18/19

CURMUDGUCATION: Another Free Market Lesson

Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board

Choosing Democracy: The Schools are Underfunded

THIS WEEK Education Research Report

CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: May Day Edition (5/5)

CURMUDGUCATION: Charter Lessons From Democracy Prep

CURMUDGUCATION: Obstacles To Building Better Writers

Hostile, Divisive Political Climate Ensnaring U.S. Schools - NEA Today

Diane Ravitch’s Education “Wisdom and Wit” is Critical at this Time

NEA - State Charter Statutes

Posts This Week 5/18/19

NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 36min

NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 | Diane Ravitch's blog NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 If you live in or near New York City, this is the one event you cannot miss. You will meet heroes of the Resistance. The dinner on June 19 is a joyous occasion where great people who care passionately about better education for all children meet, drink, and di

John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 36min

John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog John Thompson On Deeper Learning John Thompson is a historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma who blogs frequently. Reading In Search of Deeper Learning: the Quest to Remake the American High School , by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine, is like reading the Mueller report. Special prosecutor Robert Mueller compiled a thoroughly researched narrative

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students – Age of Awareness – Medium

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students – Age of Awareness – Medium Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students “ The District has not received payments from Community Preparatory Academy for the months of January 2017 through June 2017, which total to $82,240.97 currently owed to the District. ” - LAUSD Charter School Division The LAUSD School Board took the rare step of considering the

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2h

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! Capital & Main interviewed Jackie Goldberg about her views, her vision, her hopes for the future. My heart sang and my brain hummed as I read her inspiring words. Reading Jackie’s words was like eating comfort food. I kept saying to myself, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Read the interview and you will see wh

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO

by Mike Simpson / 2h

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Friday that students who lack the means to attend the school of their choice enjoy as much freedom as those in East Germany had under communist rule. In remarks to the conservative Young America’s Foundation, DeVos recalled

Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward BLACK FOLKS, STOP CHASING WHITE INTEGRATION. IT’S NOT THE SUREST PATH TO BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT We, as a nation, are chasing the wrong things. From Boston to Birmingham, we have seen the ferocious and virulent reaction of white people to the thought of integration. From throwi

Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits Do As We Say, Not As We Do For as long as I can remember, education has been accused of being stuck in the stone age and resistant to change. You can’t spend a day on the socials without someone lamenting that schools haven’t adapted to the new world and still operate like 20th-century factories. One way out of our morass, these critics say, is for educ

Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools CNN says that Senator Bernie Sanders will deliver a major address on education on Saturday. He will call for a flat ban on for-profit charters. He supports the NAACP’s call for a moratorium on new charters. Most important is this: The Vermont indepen

This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL by Larry Ferlazzo / 23h BiljaST / Pixabay Five years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL

THIS WEEK Education Research Report

by Mike Simpson / 3h

Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report Disruptive Behavior Is on the Rise by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d EAB conducted a survey of nearly 1,900 elementary school teachers, administrators, and staff, to better understand the scope of the problem and how they are responding to it. Responses from multiple stakeholders outlined several important trends: 1. Teachers and administrat

KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG | A site to discuss better education for all

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all John Thompson On Deeper Learning 48 by dianeravitch / 42min John Thompson is a historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma who blogs frequently. Reading In Search of Deeper Learning: the Quest to Remake the American High School , by Jal Mehta and S

YESTERDAY

Jackie Goldberg Explains the Coming War to Save Public Education | Capital & Main

by Mike Simpson / 23h

Jackie Goldberg Explains the Coming War to Save Public Education | Capital & Main Jackie Goldberg Explains the Coming War to Save Public Education After winning a Los Angeles school board seat, Goldberg speaks about charter schools, money and what it means to fight the good fight. Jackie Goldberg has spent her life fighting for students. From 1983 to 1991, she served on the Los Angeles Unified Sc

CURMUDGUCATION: Diane Ravitch's New Book: Scholarship, Activism and History

by Mike Simpson / 1d

CURMUDGUCATION: Diane Ravitch's New Book: Scholarship, Activism and History Diane Ravitch's New Book: Scholarship, Activism and History Diane Ravitch was the first major voice of the resistance to the modern corporate "reform" of education, in part because of her newsworthy turn from the reform ideas and peers she had previously embraced. An education historian, she has laid out the problems with

Report: Many Schools Lack Funds to Protect LGBTQ Students | Capital & Main

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Report: Many Schools Lack Funds to Protect LGBTQ Students | Capital & Main Report: Many Schools Lack Funds to Protect LGBTQ Students The most discouraging finding of a report on LGBTQ students may be that only 130 of California’s 343 unified school districts responded to the survey. “Learning Curves” is a weekly roundup of news items, profiles and dish about the intersection of education and ineq

Larry Ferlazzo's VERY BUSY Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Larry Ferlazzo's VERY BUSY Websites of the Day... Around The Web In ESL/EFL/ELL by Larry Ferlazzo / 2h BiljaST / Pixabay Five years ago I began this regular feature where I share a few posts and resources from around the Web related to ESL/EFL or to language in general that have caught my attention. Yo

Survey by Charter School Supporters Shows Broad Public Opposition to Charter Schools | Dissident Voice

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Survey by Charter School Supporters Shows Broad Public Opposition to Charter Schools | Dissident Voice Survey by Charter School Supporters Shows Broad Public Opposition to Charter Schools A May 2019 report of a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 Presidential voters conducted late spring of last year shows that broad public opposition to charter schools persists. 1 About half of all those polled

Gov. Newsom proposes tighter rules on charter school enrollment | EdSource

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Gov. Newsom proposes tighter rules on charter school enrollment | EdSource Gov. Newsom proposes tighter rules on charter school enrollment California charter schools must be open to all students, with no exceptions. tate law already requires that a charter school admit any student who applies. In his May budget revision, Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to tighten the language banning discriminatio

Outrage Over Sick Teachers Paying for Their Own Substitutes Sparks Calls for Reform | The California Report | KQED News

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Outrage Over Sick Teachers Paying for Their Own Substitutes Sparks Calls for Reform | The California Report | KQED News Outrage Over Sick Teachers Paying for Their Own Substitutes Sparks Calls for Reform Heather Burns at Martin Elementary School in South San Francisco, where she now teaches third grade. Burns was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016, and said she had to return to her previous sch

Sac City Unified OKs Budget Dodges Teachers Strike

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Sacramento City Unified School District dodges teachers strike Sacramento City Unified School District dodges teachers strike SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —The Sacramento City Unified School District has avoided a teachers strike that was originally planned for next week. In announcing that the one-day, May 22 strike would not happen, Sacramento City Teachers Association President David Fisher said

Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess!

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess! Are School Playgrounds Still Empty? Animals Get More Recess! Parents in Florida and Tennessee and many other states have fought for recess. Sometimes children in elementary school get 20-minute breaks once a day if they’re lucky. Children should get several recess breaks each day! We should be looking at the benefit of school recess bre

Southern Education Foundation Reports on Budget Proposals | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Southern Education Foundation Reports on Budget Proposals | Diane Ravitch's blog Southern Education Foundation Reports on Budget Proposals The Southern Education Foundation posted a very handy analysis of the education budgets of southern states. Florida’s budget is a big win for Jeb Bush and Betsy Devos. Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed a small increase in funding for K-12 public schools (abou

School Segregation in America 65 Years after “Brown v. Board of Education” | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 1d

School Segregation in America 65 Years after “Brown v. Board of Education” | janresseger School Segregation in America 65 Years after “Brown v. Board of Education” Today, May 17, 2019 is the 65th birthday of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education . Marking the anniversary is the publication of a new report from the Civil Rights Project at UCLA on the state of racial integr

NYC Educator: Betsy and Me

by Mike Simpson / 1d

NYC Educator: Betsy and Me Betsy and Me by special guest Mindy Rosier A few weeks ago, a little birdy informed me that Ms. Betsy DeVos herself would be traveling to NYC. After looking into this tip, it turned out that she would be receiving an award from the dreadful Manhattan Institute on May 1st, May Day, at Cipriani’s on 42nd Street. As a lifelong New Yorker & a veteran special education teach

The Hype of “Transforming” Teaching and Learning | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 1d

The Hype of “Transforming” Teaching and Learning | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice The Hype of “Transforming” Teaching and Learning Three years ago, I published this post. I didn’t expect anything much to happen with the over-use of the word “transform” and nothing did. The word continues to be used both seriously and casually without much scrutiny. So here is that post again.

CURMUDGUCATION: Miracle School's Secret Sauce

by Mike Simpson / 1d

CURMUDGUCATION: Miracle School's Secret Sauce Miracle School's Secret Sauce Here's news of yet another miraculous charter school. Can we look closely and see what the secret of their success might be. Southland College Prep School in Chicagoland had 100% of its mostly-Black graduating class accepted to college. It's the sixth straight year for this achievement, and it's been covered widely in the

NYC Public School Parents: We win! The Chancellor withdraws the proposal to close PS 25; let's hope as its enrollment grows, he keeps its class sizes small

by Mike Simpson / 1d

NYC Public School Parents: We win! The Chancellor withdraws the proposal to close PS 25; let's hope as its enrollment grows, he keeps its class sizes small We win! The Chancellor withdraws the proposal to close PS 25; let's hope as its enrollment grows, he keeps its class sizes small Today we won our fight to keep PS 25 open! DOE had tried to close the school last year, despite the fact that it i

Education is a hot topic for some candidates in the Democratic presidential field — and potential trouble for others - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Education is a hot topic for some candidates in the Democratic presidential field — and potential trouble for others - The Washington Post Education is a hot topic for some candidates in the Democratic presidential field — and potential trouble for others One promised to spend $315 billion to raise teachers’ pay. Another vowed to hire a former public school teacher as U.S. education secretary. A

MAY 16

Gates Foundation Launches Major Higher Ed Initiative | Education News | US News

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Gates Foundation Launches Major Higher Ed Initiative | Education News | US News Gates Foundation Asks: Is College Worth It? The philanthropic group plans to spend the next year studying the question to guide its upcoming investments. THE BILL AND MELINDA Gates Foundation, the philanthropic and sometimes controversial group whose funding has influenced major education policy decisions in the U.S.,

Jackie Goldberg’s win changes LAUSD equation for unions, charters and Beutner - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Jackie Goldberg’s win changes LAUSD equation for unions, charters and Beutner - Los Angeles Times Jackie Goldberg’s win changes LAUSD equation for unions, charters and Beutner Jackie Goldberg began her first day after winning election to the L.A. school board making an appearance with schools Supt. Austin Beutner, all smiles and talking about a unified vision to fix the troubled school district.

CURMUDGUCATION: Why The Big Standardized Test Is Useless For Teachers

by Mike Simpson / 2d

CURMUDGUCATION: Why The Big Standardized Test Is Useless For Teachers Why The Big Standardized Test Is Useless For Teachers In schools throughout the country, it is testing season--time for students to take the Big Standardized Test (the PARCC, SBA, or your state's alternative). This ritual really blossomed way back in the days of No Child Left Behind, but after all these years, teachers are most

Avenue to the Stars: What an Elite Private School Teaches about the Future of For-Profit Education – Have You Heard

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Avenue to the Stars: What an Elite Private School Teaches about the Future of For-Profit Education – Have You Heard Avenue to the Stars: What an Elite Private School Teaches about the Future of For-Profit Education High-end for-profit private schools are a growing segment of the education ‘marketplace.’ In this episode, we’re joined by Mike Levy, former curriculum director at Avenues World School

Charter School Support Fades: U.S. House Appropriators Seek to Cut $40 Million from Charter Schools Program | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Charter School Support Fades: U.S. House Appropriators Seek to Cut $40 Million from Charter Schools Program | janresseger Charter School Support Fades: U.S. House Appropriators Seek to Cut $40 Million from Charter Schools Program Last week, the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, a body now dominated by Democrats, sent forward to the floor of the House an education appr

Cynthia Liu: After Jackie Goldberg’s Win, How to Keep Momentum Going | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Cynthia Liu: After Jackie Goldberg’s Win, How to Keep Momentum Going | Diane Ravitch's blog Cynthia Liu: After Jackie Goldberg’s Win, How to Keep Momentum Going Cynthia Liu, a journalist in California, writes: With public education champion Jackie Goldberg’s win on the LAUSD school board seat, it’s time for public school advocates to keep the momentum surging! Update on charter accountability bil

Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* | deutsch29 Testing with a Side of *Not Much Else* Standardized testing is claiming squatter’s rights on increasingly more of the school year, with the greatest intrusion occurring in the spring. Our school has been in the height of spring testing asphyxia for a month now. This means that teaching and learning take the far-back seat to survivial as class sch

NYC Public School Parents: How our loss in court today ironically provided evidence of how shallow de Blasio's education policies have been

by Mike Simpson / 2d

NYC Public School Parents: How our loss in court today ironically provided evidence of how shallow de Blasio's education policies have been How our loss in court today ironically provided evidence of how shallow de Blasio's education policies have been Today at the NY Supreme Court, a hearing was held on our lawsuit vs the redactions of 2015 City Hall decision memo which discussed and memorialize

Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not In The State That Paid TFA A Finder’s Fee Of $90K Per Recruit Anymore | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not In The State That Paid TFA A Finder’s Fee Of $90K Per Recruit Anymore | Gary Rubinstein's Blog Toto, I Have A Feeling We’re Not In The State That Paid TFA A Finder’s Fee Of $90K Per Recruit Anymore A few days ago I wrote about how Texas pays TFA $5.5 million for 400 recruits, or about $15,000 per recruit. Yesterday I wrote about how Ohio paid $2 million to TFA for

Public Education Statewide Day of Action / SCTA Strike! Choosing Democracy

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Choosing Democracy Public Education Statewide Day of Action / SCTA Strike! Sacramento DSA will welcome DSA members from all over California on May 22 for a statewide day of action to demand the public education California students deserve! Together, we will join educators, parents, students, and community members to demand the full funding of our public schools, common-sense charter school accoun

Banned in the U.S.A.: The Right’s Assault on Other Women | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Banned in the U.S.A.: The Right’s Assault on Other Women | radical eyes for equity Banned in the U.S.A.: The Right’s Assault on Other Women “Ordinary, said Aunt Lydia, is what you are used to,” retells Offred in Part II, Chapter 6, of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale . “This may not seem ordinary to you now, but after a time it will. It will become ordinary” (p. 33). Readers have just been i

Jeb Bush’s A+ Education Reform is a Reform Disaster | tultican

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Jeb Bush’s A+ Education Reform is a Reform Disaster | tultican Jeb Bush’s A+ Education Reform is a Reform Disaster By T. Ultican 5/15/2019 In his 1998 gubernatorial campaign Jeb Bush proposed his A+ Education Reform. This March, Sue M. Legg, Ph.D. produced a paper that studies the results twenty years later. Professor Legg observed, “It is critically important to recognize whose interests are bei

Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! | Class Size Matters Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! | Class Size Matters

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! | Class Size Matters Update on our Skinny award dinner, class size, court hearings, privacy violations and more! 1. Save the date! On Wednesday June 19 we will hold our annual Skinny award dinner at Casa La Femme on 140 Charles St. The honorees will be Attorney General Tish James for her steadfast and cour

MAY 15

The Voters Have Spoken (Again). Is the LAUSD Listening?

by Mike Simpson / 2d

The Voters Have Spoken (Again). Is the LAUSD Listening? The Voters Have Spoken (Again). Is the LAUSD Listening? It has been 296 days since Ref Rodriguez pleaded guilty to felony charges and was forced from the Board District 5 seat . During this time, students in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board District 5 have had no representation. Considering the fact that their former board m

CURMUDGUCATION: OH: State Ed Board Joins Takeover Law Opposition

by Mike Simpson / 3d

CURMUDGUCATION: OH: State Ed Board Joins Takeover Law Opposition OH: State Ed Board Joins Takeover Law Opposition HB 70 is an Ohio law that strips a school district and its elected school board of all their power and hands it, via an academic distress board, to one person-- a super-powered CEO. The law was rammed through the legislature in less than 12 hours under the direction of then-Governor K

It’s All About Growth | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 3d

It’s All About Growth | Live Long and Prosper It’s All About Growth LOSING One of my favorite bloggers, Peter Greene, is on his second set of children…his older children are in their thirties and he is the father of twin babies. It’s normal, I think, that we look back at our lives with a certain amount of nostalgia and Greene does this in a beautiful and thoughtful way in his post, Parenting Is A

The Teachers' Revolt And The Fight For Social Equality | PopularResistance.Org

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Teachers' Revolt And The Fight For Social Equality | PopularResistance.Org THE TEACHERS’ REVOLT AND THE FIGHT FOR SOCIAL EQUALITY Like teachers across the US, educators in Detroit are angered over stagnant real income and the indifference of corporate-controlled politicians who will not provide adequate resources to address the needs of our students. Three years ago, Detroit teachers were the

Jackie Goldberg returns to L.A. school board with resounding election win - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Jackie Goldberg returns to L.A. school board with resounding election win - Los Angeles Times Jackie Goldberg returns to L.A. school board with resounding election win Jackie Goldberg, a veteran politician and educator who served on the Los Angeles school board three decades ago, will once again have a voice in the nation’s second-largest school district after a resounding win Tuesday for a seat

Andrea Gabor: Will One of the Nation’s Most Innovative Districts Survive a Change in Leadership? | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Andrea Gabor: Will One of the Nation’s Most Innovative Districts Survive a Change in Leadership? | Diane Ravitch's blog Andrea Gabor: Will One of the Nation’s Most Innovative Districts Survive a Change in Leadership? In her book, After the Education Wars: How Smart Schools Upend the Business of Reform, Andrea Gabor identified school districts and educators who exemplified a truly forward-thinking

Shady Exit of Youngstown’s Appointed School CEO Exemplifies the Failure of Ohio School Takeover Law | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Shady Exit of Youngstown’s Appointed School CEO Exemplifies the Failure of Ohio School Takeover Law | janresseger Shady Exit of Youngstown’s Appointed School CEO Exemplifies the Failure of Ohio School Takeover Law The future of Ohio’s state takeovers of so called “failing” school districts rests with the Ohio Senate. On May 1, 2019, by an astounding bipartisan margin of 83/12, the Ohio House pass

In these times, trolls pushing extremist views underscore the need for critical thought | The Edvocate Blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

In these times, trolls pushing extremist views underscore the need for critical thought | The Edvocate Blog In these times, trolls pushing extremist views underscore the need for critical thought This is a season of extreme gaslighting where everyone from politicians to internet trolls are tripping over themselves to use psychological means to manipulate us into questioning our own sanity. This w

What’s Round On The End And “High” In The Middle? Ohio’s $20K Finder’s Fee For Each TFA Corps Member. | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

What’s Round On The End And “High” In The Middle? Ohio’s $20K Finder’s Fee For Each TFA Corps Member. | Gary Rubinstein's Blog What’s Round On The End And “High” In The Middle? Ohio’s $20K Finder’s Fee For Each TFA Corps Member. Yesterday I reported that Texas pays TFA $5.5 million a year for 400 new recruits. I speculated that TFA probably has similar arrangements in other states. Today I learne

Let’s Hear it FOR Betsy DeVos! | The Merrow Report

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Let’s Hear it FOR Betsy DeVos! | The Merrow Report Let’s Hear it FOR Betsy DeVos! Full disclosure: Although I have never met or interviewed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, I am a huge fan. In fact, the closest I have been to her was at the Education Writers Association’s annual conference in Baltimore recently. Sitting maybe 75 feet from her, I was dazzled as I watched her hold off some tough qu

Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests | gadflyonthewallblog Pittsburgh School Board Candidate Anna Batista Takes Big Money From Special Interests “Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” -George Washington Anna Batista , a corporate consultant at Highstreet Consulting running for Pittsburgh School Board, is taking thousands of dollars

The Enduring Influence of the National Reading Panel (and the “D” Word) | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Enduring Influence of the National Reading Panel (and the “D” Word) | radical eyes for equity The Enduring Influence of the National Reading Panel (and the “D” Word) What do the National Reading Panel (NRP) report (2000), A Nation at Risk (1983), and the seminal “word gap” study by Hart and Risley (1992/1995) have in common? First, each of these has become a recurring citation in mainstream m

Jackie Wins!!!

by Mike Simpson / 3d

JACKIE WINS!!!

MAY 14

The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education by Robert D. Skeels :: SSRN

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education by Robert D. Skeels :: SSRN The Non-Profit Industrial Complex's Role in Imposing Neoliberalism on Public Education 6 Pages Posted: 14 May 2019 Robert D. Skeels Peoples College of Law Date Written: March 5, 2015 Abstract Essay explores the Non-Profit Industrial Complex’s (NPIC) substantive role in imposing neoli

The PBS NewsHour/Education Week Report About Dyslexia: Biased & Short on Facts

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The PBS NewsHour/Education Week Report About Dyslexia: Biased & Short on Facts The PBS NewsHour/Education Week Report About Dyslexia: Biased & Short on Facts Schools must provide adequate reading programs and reading remediation for students who need more assistance. But the recent report on dyslexia recommending intensive phonics for all children by the PBS News Hour, through Education Week, is

CURMUDGUCATION: Success Academy Violates Student Privacy (Again)

by Mike Simpson / 3d

CURMUDGUCATION: Success Academy Violates Student Privacy (Again) Success Academy Violates Student Privacy (Again) In a way, I can almost sympathize with Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy. Schools can find themselves in a real bind at times. A student can go to the media (social or traditional) and tell a story of how he was repeatedly hauled into the principal's office and disciplined because he

JEFF BRYANT: Why charter school proponents have lost many of the Democrats who once supported them | Salon.com

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Why charter school proponents have lost many of the Democrats who once supported them | Salon.com Why charter school proponents have lost many of the Democrats who once supported them For years, support for charter schools has been the norm in the Democratic Party. No longer T he politics of charter schools have changed, and bipartisan support for these publicly funded, privately controlled schoo

Black girls are criminalized at alarming rates. Here's how to fix that

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Black girls are criminalized at alarming rates. Here's how to fix that What can be done to stop the criminalization of black girls? Rebuild the system Black girls are being criminalized at alarming rates. Experts say there are ways to make sure that doesn't happen. I tivere Enaohwo is a college sophomore, majoring in criminal justice at Texas Southern University, with designs on law school. Her m

NYC Public School Parents: Inordinate delays in US Dept of Education response to FERPA complaints lead to more blatant violations of student privacy by Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy

by Mike Simpson / 4d

NYC Public School Parents: Inordinate delays in US Dept of Education response to FERPA complaints lead to more blatant violations of student privacy by Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy Inordinate delays in US Dept of Education response to FERPA complaints lead to more blatant violations of student privacy by Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy On May 4, 2019 , the NY Daily News ran an article abou

Ravitch and Burris to West Virginia: Don’t Be Fooled, Say “NO” to Charters and Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Ravitch and Burris to West Virginia: Don’t Be Fooled, Say “NO” to Charters and Vouchers | Diane Ravitch's blog Ravitch and Burris to West Virginia: Don’t Be Fooled, Say “NO” to Charters and Vouchers When West Virginia teachers went out on strike in 2018, setting off a national wave of teachers’ strikes, one of their core demands was “no charter schools.” Governor Jim Justice promised that he woul

Ohio House Budget Fails to Increase Base Funding for 82 Percent of School Districts Now Capped or On Guarantee | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Ohio House Budget Fails to Increase Base Funding for 82 Percent of School Districts Now Capped or On Guarantee | janresseger Ohio House Budget Fails to Increase Base Funding for 82 Percent of School Districts Now Capped or On Guarantee The headline on Jim Siegel’s Columbus Dispatch article on March 19 proclaimed, “ DeWine budget sets stage for Ohio House’s sweeping school funding revamp .” For th

Great Moments in Teaching: When It Had to Be You (Education Realist) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Great Moments in Teaching: When It Had to Be You (Education Realist) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice Great Moments in Teaching: When It Had to Be You (Education Realist) This post comes from the blog Education Realist . While I usually avoid postings from anonymous authors, this full time math teacher who writes under the pseudonym of Education Realist is someone I have come

The New, But Not Necessarily Improved, Tennessee ASD | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d

The New, But Not Necessarily Improved, Tennessee ASD | Gary Rubinstein's Blog The New, But Not Necessarily Improved, Tennessee ASD Of all the failed experiments conducted on families and children by the modern education reformers, perhaps the biggest failure is Tennessee’s Achievement School District (ASD). Started in 2011 by TFAer and YES Prep Charter chain founder Chris Barbic, hired by then Te

Thurmond Asks Parties to Negotiate to Avoid Strike - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Thurmond Asks Parties to Negotiate to Avoid Strike - Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education) State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Calls All Parties to Negotiate to Avoid Strike at Sacramento City Unified SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond is working quickly to avoid a potential teachers’ strike at the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) and to help the district

MAY 13

CURMUDGUCATION: DFER Tries To Swing A Primary

by Mike Simpson / 4d

CURMUDGUCATION: DFER Tries To Swing A Primary DFER Tries To Swing A Primary We live in interesting times. So many folks are sure they know what "most people" think or "most people" want, but it's hard for anybody to have a clue because the great American industry is the business of trying to sell a particular opinion. Even when the Russians mess with us, their disinformation campaigns focus not o

Basis charter school's rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny | Education | theadvocate.com

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Basis charter school's rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny | Education | theadvocate.com Basis charter school's rapid growth among affluent families in Baton Rouge prompts scrutiny Just nine months after opening its first school, BASIS.ed has won approval to open a second campus in Louisiana’s Capital City. The new school will allow the Arizona-based charter schoo

California: A Time for Action!!!! | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d

California: A Time for Action!!!! | Diane Ravitch's blog California: A Time for Action!!!! There are three important California assembly bills AB 1505, AB 1506, and AB 1507 designed to help clean up the charter school mess. 1507 will be going up for a vote by the full assembly TODAY, Monday, May 13. This bill would forbid charters from being placed in school districts that do not want them by oth

The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose to Civil Rights - Center for American Progress

by Mike Simpson / 5d

The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose to Civil Rights - Center for American Progress The Danger Private School Voucher Programs Pose to Civil Rights Download the PDF here. Since Betsy DeVos became the secretary of the U.S. Department of Education, she has continued to push for a federally funded private school voucher program. These programs currently exist in 29 states and provide stat

‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools - The New York Times

by Mike Simpson / 5d

‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools - The New York Times ‘It’s Like the Wild West’: Sexual Assault Victims Struggle in K-12 Schools WINCHESTER, Va. — Nausea had consumed her as her attacker pinned her arms down at a park, forced her first kiss upon her, and tried to take off her pants at the tender age of 14, and nausea resurfaced every time she saw him in t

Gov’s revised budget aims even more at special education :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Gov’s revised budget aims even more at special education :: K-12 Daily :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet Gov’s revised budget aims even more at special education (Calif.) Gov. Gavin Newsom’s revised May budget doubled down on his proposal to improve special education by providing schools millions more in state support. In his January spending plan, Newsom earmarked $57

Two elections affecting L.A. schools make for strange bedfellows - Los Angeles Times

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Two elections affecting L.A. schools make for strange bedfellows - Los Angeles Times Two elections affecting L.A. schools make for strange bedfellows Two pivotal, looming elections are a study in contradictions for the Los Angeles Unified School District. In one contest, two powerful unions have become heated rivals; in the other, they’ve remained best of friends. In one election, philanthropist

Texas Taxpayers Pay Teach For America $22M from 2018 – 2021, None of Which Is for TFA Teacher Salaries | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Texas Taxpayers Pay Teach For America $22M from 2018 – 2021, None of Which Is for TFA Teacher Salaries | deutsch29 Texas Taxpayers Pay Teach For America $22M from 2018 – 2021, None of Which Is for TFA Teacher Salaries On May 11, 2019, Teach for America (TFA) alum and New York math teacher, Gary Rubinstein, posted a piece about the money Texas taxpayers spend to keep TFA in their state. Rubinstein

Parent-empowerment voucher could irreparably harm public schools | | The Edvocate Blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Parent-empowerment voucher could irreparably harm public schools | | The Edvocate Blog Parent-empowerment voucher could irreparably harm public schools The new “parent empowerment” voucher, passed during Florida’s 2019 legislative session, is a calculated gateway to universal vouchers which are often linked by reformers to the end of brick and mortar public education as we know it. The victory la

CURMUDGUCATION: Parenting Is All About Losing

by Mike Simpson / 5d

CURMUDGUCATION: Parenting Is All About Losing Parenting Is All About Losing As I've been immersed again in the world of children's music, I'm struck by how much of it is sad. Not "when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall sad," but a kind of melancholic ache behind the music itself. I think it's the losing. My wife asked me the other day, "Is it always like this?" We had turned around and had o

MAY 12

Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board Why This Teacher Needs Jackie Goldberg on the School Board As I wind up my 24 th year of teaching in Los Angeles classrooms , I pause to think of my past lives in different schools and neighborhoods. While presenting to students in Finland I always included a slide of past eras of my life such as growing up in the Eastside, college and ad

Mother’s Day 2019: Moms Want Their Children To Be Safe at School!

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Mother’s Day 2019: Moms Want Their Children To Be Safe at School! Mother’s Day 2019: Moms Want Their Children To Be Safe at School! If mothers could have anything they wanted for Mother’s Day, they would say I want my child to be safe. I want them to be safe at school! Here’s why they worry they aren’t. The NRA After Sandy Hook, most of us thought the NRA would scale back its rigid position about

Sunday, May 5, 2019 CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: + ICYMI: Do You Feel Appreciated Now Edition

by Mike Simpson / 6d

CURMUDGUCATION Do You Feel Appreciated Now Edition So, teachers, did this week do it for you? Here are some pieces to read while you bask in the warm glow. A Bridge Too Far Wow. Florida Senator Tom Lee (R) is a long time supporter of charters, but during this last round of legislative baloney he stood up to say "enough." Accountabaloney reports some of his speech and it is rough and honest and no

Episode 28: “Black Mama Day Bail Out” Tiara Moore – Parenting for Liberation

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Episode 28: “Black Mama Day Bail Out” Tiara Moore – Parenting for Liberation Episode 28: “Black Mama Day Bail Out” Tiara Moore In honor of Mama’s Day, and to raise awareness of the Black Mama Bailout initiative, Parenting for Liberation spoke with Tiara Moore and mother of 5, an activist, and mama who was bailed out by the Black Mama Day Bailout initiative. In our conversation, Tiara reflects on

Texas Pays TFA $5.5 Million A Year For 400 Recruits | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Texas Pays TFA $5.5 Million A Year For 400 Recruits | Gary Rubinstein's Blog Texas Pays TFA $5.5 Million A Year For 400 Recruits The title of this post says it all. I’ve learned that for the past 2 years Texas taxpayers have been subsidizing TFA about $6 million a year and that for the next two years, through 2021, they are scheduled to receive $5.5 million a year. You can see the official docume

MAY 11

Top Posts This Week 5/11/19 #REDFORED #CTA #VOTEJackieGoldberg

by Mike Simpson / 7d

Top Posts This Week 5/11/19 # VOTEJackieGoldberg CURMUDGUCATION: Another Free Market Lesson CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: May Day Edition (5/5) CURMUDGUCATION: Obstacles To Building Better Writers Diane Ravitch’s Education “Wisdom and Wit” is Critical at this Time 

CURMUDGUCATION: Bernie Addresses Education-- And It Doesn't Suck

CURMUDGUCATION: Bernie Addresses Education-- And It Doesn't Suck

Bernie Addresses Education-- And It Doesn't Suck

The big headline on Friday was that Bernie Sanders was going to call for a ban on for-profit charters, and if the story had stopped there, I would be unimpressed. Hillary Clinton managed to condemn for-profits, and while that's a nice low-hanging fruit for politicians to grab, regular readers of this blog know that a non-profit charter is usually just a for-profit charter with a good money laundering system.

The good news, however, is that the story didn't end there. In fact, some of the other details in the coverage were far more encouraging than the headline.

We can get the best look at Bernie's education platform by simply going to his website. I know!! A major political candidate with an actual education page in their site. It's called "A Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education," and while I suggest you take a look, let me hit the highlights for you.

The introduction isn't great. The world has changed so education must, too. The damned PISA test rankings. We should lead the world in college degrees. So far I'm unimpressed. But he also notes that K-12 has become re-segregated, and that has had bad effects for non-wealthy non-white students. Then there's free college. And making teaching attractive again.

Now we're down to the bullet items.

1. Combating racial discrimination and school segregation.

The USED Office of Civil Rights needs to be back in business. More non-white school teachers are needed. End the disparate discipline of Black students, and end the school-to-prison pipeline.

That means increasing funding for community-driven de-segregation strategies. Triple Title I funding. Fund expanded teacher training programs at HBCU.

2. End the Unaccountable Profit-Motive of Charter Schools

The language here is much stronger than that which was reported. Noting that charters had roots in CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Bernie Addresses Education-- And It Doesn't Suck

NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 | Diane Ravitch's blog

NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 | Diane Ravitch's blog

NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19

If you live in or near New York City, this is the one event you cannot miss. You will meet heroes of the Resistance. The dinner on June 19 is a joyous occasion where great people who care passionately about better education for all children meet, drink, and dine, o behalf of Class Size Matters, the organization founded by Leonie Haimson to fight for smaller classes, higher funding, Student Privacy, and less emphasis on testing.

The honorees are super. Tish James, The recently elected Attorney General of the State of New York, is a champion of public schools. She is also a key figure in demanding public accountability from the Trump Administration, drug manufacturers, and many others.

The event will also honor NYC Kids PAC, an organization that truly puts the interests of children first (unlike others who tried to co-opt the title).

Here is the information you need to order tickets.

Save the date! On Wednesday June 19 we will hold our annual Skinny award dinner at Casa La Femme on 140 Charles St. The honorees will be Attorney General Tish James for her steadfast and courageous leadership in supporting public school students and parents over many years; and NYC Kids PAC, the only political action committee that rates candidates on their positions on public education. Please reserve your ticket now — for a delicious three course dinner with wine and great company besides!

Join me at the Skinny Awards!

Why the Skinny Awards? Because they are the opposite of the Broad Awards! At the Skinny Awards, people are honored for supporting public schools, not privatization. And unlike the Broad Awards, the honorees get a plastic engraved doodad, not a six-figure check.

NYC: Join Me to Celebrate “Class Size Matters” On June 19 | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog

John Thompson On Deeper Learning

John Thompson is a historian and retired teacher in Oklahoma who blogs frequently.

Reading In Search of Deeper Learning: the Quest to Remake the American High School, by Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine, is like reading the Mueller report. Special prosecutor Robert Mueller compiled a thoroughly researched narrative documenting the Donald Trump’s impeachment-worthy misbehavior and law-breaking but he did not indict the President. Mehta and Fine do the education version of making the case that school reform failed, but they don’t explicitly indict the Billionaires Boys Club for their role in driving deeper learning out of schools.

http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674988392

My only complaint with Mehta and Fine’s narrative is that it charges the “command and control,” compliance-driven model that is antithetical to modern thinking,” imposed over the last century, without naming the names of corporate reformers who doubled down on socio-engineering an even more odious school culture during the 21^stcentury. 

The methodology of Deeper Learning and its findings would seem to provide a final verdict that corporate school reform, like previous top-down reforms, has been a disaster, so maybe I’m being unfair. Mehta and Fine study the most successful schools, that are disproportionately charters, and ask whether they offer deeper, more meaningful learning. They find that even the best of them succumbed to the inherent flaws in the test-driven, competition-driven model. For instance, a top charter, “No Excuses High,” could not fix the behaviorist, controlling essence of their model, and produced a CONTINUE READING: John Thompson On Deeper Learning | Diane Ravitch's blog

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students – Age of Awareness – Medium

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students – Age of Awareness – Medium

Stealing Scarce Education Funds From Students

“The District has not received payments from Community Preparatory Academy for the months of January 2017 through June 2017, which total to $82,240.97 currently owed to the District.”

- LAUSD Charter School Division

The LAUSD School Board took the rare step of considering the denial of a charter school’s renewal during their April 2, 2019, “special” meeting. In reviewing the hundreds of pages of documents supporting this recommendation, it was clear that the Community Preparatory Academy (CPA) has been in trouble since it was opened five years ago. During public comment I summarized the worst of their offenses for the Board:

In recognition of Autism Awareness Day, I would like to point out that 6.87% of the students at this charter have disabilities. The resident schools median is 12.43%. This discrepancy is a systematic problem throughout the LAUSD.

The Charter School Division is recommending denial now, but the problems are not new. This charter was originally approved in 2014 and has had a net deficit since the 2014–15 fiscal year. It’s ending Fund Balance last year was ($820,303).

That deficit not only affects the students who go to this charter, but it also takes 

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog

Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman!

Capital & Main interviewed Jackie Goldberg about her views, her vision, her hopes for the future. My heart sang and my brain hummed as I read her inspiring words.  

Reading Jackie’s words was like eating comfort food. I kept saying to myself, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Read the interview and you will see what I mean.

Jackie knows we are in the middle of a war to save public education. She knows that there is big money determined to kill it. She knows that the hope for the future of our democracy depends in having a well-funded public school system that provides genuine opportunity to all children.

And she is prepared to go to the mat, in Los Angeles and in Sacramento, to get the funding that public schools need and to get the financial accountability that charter schools need.

I am reminded of the first time I met Jackie. It was December 6, 2018. I had heard about her for years as an iconic figure but our paths had never crossed.

Over the past several years, the billionaires were buying seats on the LAUSD and things were looking bleak. I kept hearing about this dynamo Jackie Goldberg, the only one who could turn things around. She was the Cy Young pitcher in the bullpen, the one held in reserve until the ninth inning.

Last December, I went to Los Angeles to receive an CONTINUE READING: Jackie Goldberg: Why I Love This Woman! | Diane Ravitch's blog

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Friday that students who lack the means to attend the school of their choice enjoy as much freedom as those in East Germany had under communist rule.

In remarks to the conservative Young America’s Foundation, DeVos recalled her own travels decades ago in which she saw the stark differences between “tyranny and freedom” in East and West Germany. And she lauded President Ronald Reagan’s “purpose and principle” in fighting successfully to tear down the Berlin Wall.

“While that wall was reduced to rubble, there’s another kind of wall that needs tearing down today,” DeVos said at the gathering at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, Calif. “This wall is just as old and just as devastating to those who — through no fault of their own — happen to live on the wrong side.”

DeVos said she was describing a figurative wall in the United States that “separates wealthy, powerful or well-connected students from those who aren’t wealthy, powerful or well-connected.”

Families who aren’t wealthy “have about as much education freedom in America today as East Germans had freedom to do anything back then,” she said.

DeVos continued the metaphor further, seemingly drawing a parallel between unions and the “evil empire,” a label that Reagan used to describe the Soviet Union.

“Too many students are up against another ‘empire’ — governments, unions, associations of this and organizations of that,” DeVos said. “It’s an education cabal that protects the status quo at the expense of just about everyone else.”

DeVos has been urging Congress to pass a $5 billion plan to create a new federal tax credit to expand scholarships to help families pay for attending the school of their choice, including private schools.

DeVos equates lack of school choice with communist East Germany - POLITICO

Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward

Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward

BLACK FOLKS, STOP CHASING WHITE INTEGRATION. IT’S NOT THE SUREST PATH TO BLACK STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

We, as a nation, are chasing the wrong things. From Boston to Birmingham, we have seen the ferocious and virulent reaction of white people to the thought of integration. From throwing bricks at school buses full of black kids being bused into lily-white schools to entire school districts either being shut down or wholly seceding to maintain the racial imbalance, we have seen how integration is met.

Let’s stop playing the game. All black schools aren’t damaging to kids; it’s anti-blackness that is proven to be perniciously harmful to kids. As Malcolm X said, “You can’t hate the roots of a tree and not hate the tree.”

Let’s stop ignoring the fact that all-white schools have far more resources than all-black schools, which leads to a deficit in resources for millions of black children. Integration won’t fix a mindset that says it is better for the public dollars to be skewed toward white children at the expense of black children.

AS KWAME TURE REMARKED, “WE WERE NEVER FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT TO INTEGRATE, WE WERE FIGHTING AGAINST WHITE SUPREMACY.”

Let’s recognize that the false cry that integration is the only way for black kids to achieve is belied by the fact that the perspectives of white parents in the North or the South are often not all that different. Even today in 2019, many white parents’ views closely mirror those of President Dwight D. Eisenhower when he said racist white folks “…are not bad people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big black bucks.” He made the remark to Chief Justice Earl Warren in February 1954, not long after Warren had presided over that CONTINUE READING: Black Folks, Stop Chasing White Integration. It’s Not the Surest Path to Black Student Achievement - Philly's 7th Ward

Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits

Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits

Do As We Say, Not As We Do

For as long as I can remember, education has been accused of being stuck in the stone age and resistant to change. You can’t spend a day on the socials without someone lamenting that schools haven’t adapted to the new world and still operate like 20th-century factories. One way out of our morass, these critics say, is for education to work more like medicine. We should be more scientific, and only do things that have been proven effective through rigorous research.

As teachers, we’ve been inundated with this message. A cottage industry has grown up around studying and reporting on what works in education. Whole libraries have been written. Our evaluations are mostly based on whether and how well we implement research-based practices in our classrooms, with principals ticking them off on checklists. It’s no longer acceptable to use the instructional methods our teachers used with us. Professional development focuses on recent research. Educators shame each other on Twitter over what they perceive to be dated and harmful teaching methods. My school has a poster of John Hattie’s effect sizes hanging – of all places – in the teachers’ lounge; we can’t even escape the guy when we’re eating. There’s a What Works Clearinghouse and the Education Endowment Foundation Toolkit, two resources whose sole purpose is to provide educators with evidence of effective practices.

The message is clear: Teachers make a big difference, and it’s what CONTINUE READING: Do As We Say, Not As We Do - Teacher Habits

Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools

CNN says that Senator Bernie Sanders will deliver a major address on education on Saturday. 

He will call for a flat ban on for-profit charters.

He supports the NAACP’s call for a moratorium on new charters.

Most important is this:

The Vermont independent also will call for a moratorium on the funding of all public charter school expansion until a national audit on the schools has been completed. Additionally, Sanders will promise to halt the use of public funds to underwrite all new charter schools if he is elected president.

That would mean elimination of the federal charter slush fund, which has wasted nearly $1 billion on schools that never opened or that closed soon after opening. This program, called the Charter Schools Program, was initiated in 1994 to spur innovation. It is currently funded at $440 million a year. Secretary DeVos used the CSP  to give $89 million to KIPP, which is already amply funded by the Waltons, Gates, and other billionaires and is not a needy recipient. She also has given $225 million to IDEA, part of which will be applied to opening 20 charters in El Paso.

If Senator Sanders means to eliminate CSP, that’s a very good step forward.

Every other Democratic candidate should be asked what they will do about the federal charter slush fund.Bernie Sanders Calls for Tough Restrictions on Charter Schools | Diane Ravitch's blog

Citing Harm to Public Education, Bernie Sanders Calls for Ban on For-Profit Charter Schools

"Charter schools are led by unaccountable, private bodies, and their growth has drained funding from the public school system."

Ahead of the official introduction of his sweeping education platform in South Carolina this coming weekend, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday became the first 2020 presidential candidate to call for a national ban on for-profit charter schools.

"Charter schools are led by unaccountable, private bodies, and their growth has drained funding from the public school system," Sanders tweeted. "When we are in the White House we will ban for-profit charter schools."

Charter schools are led by unaccountable, private bodies, and their growth has drained funding from the public school system. When we are in the White House we will ban for-profit charter schools. https://t.co/LGY3ZaWiVm

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 17, 2019

Sanders's support for banning for-profit charters comes as President Donald Trump's Department of Education—under the leadership of billionaire Betsy DeVos—is pushing for the expansion of charter schools nationwide.

"We need more of them, not fewer," DeVos said of the schools during a congressional hearing earlier this year.

According to CNN—which got an advanced look at Sanders's plan before its official release—the senator's platform will also include a moratorium on federal funding for all public charter schools until a "national audit on the schools has been completed."

CNN reported that the senator will also propose:

• Mandating that charter schools comply with the same oversight requirements as public schools;
• Mandating that at least half of all charter school boards are teachers and parents;
• Disclosing student attrition rates, non-public funding sources, financial interests and other relevant data;
• Matching employment practices at charters with neighboring district schools, including standards set by collective bargaining agreements and restrictions on exorbitant CEO pay;
• Supporting the efforts of charter school teachers to unionize and bringing charter schools to the negotiating table.

"As president I will stand with groups like the NAACP and put a moratorium on federal CONTINUE READING: Citing Harm to Public Education, Bernie Sanders Calls for Ban on For-Profit Charter Schools