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Saturday, November 23, 2019

TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 11/23/19 #REDFORED

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TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 11/23/19 







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POSTS THIS WEEK 11/23/19 


TODAY

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Juneau and HCC Grouping

by Mike Simpson / 17min
Juneau and HCC Grouping A thoughtful reader sent me a couple of links around the issue of grouping for highly capable students. I first want to say - as I have said all along - if the district wants to return all HCC kids to their attendance area schools, that's fine. As long as they do/understand several things: This will NOT work without extensive professional development for all teachers and
Diane Ravitch Red for Ed Celebration

by Mike Simpson / 1h
Diane Ravitch Red for Ed Celebration Please join us in welcoming celebrated author and education historian, Diane Ravitch, to West Virginia! Diane will speak about her new book, Slaying Goliath, and will help us celebrate the two-year anniversary of the 2018 teacher and service personnel strike. The event will take place in Geary Auditorium at the University of Charleston. You don't want to miss
My Kids' School Is a Hellhole, Why in Hell Am I Expected to Send Them Anyway? - Philly's 7th Ward

by Mike Simpson / 1h
MY KIDS’ SCHOOL IS A HELLHOLE, WHY IN HELL AM I EXPECTED TO SEND THEM ANYWAY? It seems that every day there is a new article highlighting the environmental disgrace of Philadelphia’s aging public schools. Lead in the drinking water is reminiscent of Flint but rather unbelievable in the city that was essentially a 19 th century leader in water sanitation. On the surface, aging infrastructure is t
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed There's this phrase - "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" - that I see used quite often when speaking of public education initiatives especially in defense of charter schools. And then, districts, states, the feds plunge on into initiatives, apparently hoping it will all turn out well (see Race to the To
Learning Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 5) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Learning Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 5) June 2017 Reunion We had planned to have a reunion in October 2015 in Palo Alto but Yus took a bad fall and I had a pinched nerve and could not walk. We canceled. In mid-2016, Yus, Dave, Sam, and I began talking about setting another reunion date. I traveled to Pittsburgh in December and spent five days with Yus and Nancy, had dinner with Sam
Randi Weingarten and the UTLA Sanders endorsement. – Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 2h
RANDI WEINGARTEN AND THE UTLA SANDERS ENDORSEMENT One of the many disasters related to the Hillary Clinton run for president – aside from the eventual election of Donald Trump – was the undemocratic way her early endorsement by the two national teacher unions, the NEA and the AFT, was forced down the throats of rank and file union members. The endorsements of Hillary by the NEA and the AFT were
White Billionaires Cannot Buy the Charter School Debate | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 2h
White Billionaires Cannot Buy the Charter School Debate Betsy DeVos is not woke . Bill Gates has not been to the mountaintop . Nor is the Walton Family Foundation concerned with promoting civil rights . So when white billionaires pour cash to charter school lobbying groups – as the Walton’s did Thursday for charter school protestors at an Elizabeth Warren rally – it isn’t exactly convincing. Spe
Bill Gates Pulls Back on His K12 Ed Experimentation | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 2h
Bill Gates Pulls Back on His K12 Ed Experimentation Billionaire Bill Gates likes to experiment with American K12 education. He bankrolled the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and pushed “small schools,” and spent millions on measuring teachers using student test scores . Regarding the failure of Gates-funded education tampering, the January 15, 2019, Fair Observer notes the reality of billion
i-Ready Sells 50-Years-Old Education Failure | tultican

by Mike Simpson / 2h
i-Ready Sells 50-Years-Old Education Failure By Thomas Ultican 11/23/2019 i-Ready sells digital math and English lessons to school districts. It provides diagnostic testing which recommends interventions for struggling students that it then provides. i-Ready’s pedagogy embraces competency based education (CBE) a theory promoted by the US Department of Education and blended learning theory also f
My Breakfast with Ambassador Sondland | The Merrow Report

by Mike Simpson / 3h
My Breakfast with Ambassador Sondland That didn’t happen. I wanted to get you to open the link. Now I hope you will click on this link: https://www.adl.org/news/article/sacha-baron-cohens-keynote-address-at-adls-2019-never-is-now-summit-on-anti-semitism It’s just 24 minutes long, but its message about the unchecked power of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google and ‘The Silicon Six’ is critical. Mo
School Integration is More Than Counting Kids by Race … | Ed In The Apple

by Mike Simpson / 3h
School Integration is More Than Counting Kids by Race … The 14 th Amendment, on its face, appears to remove all barriers to equality under the law for all Americans, emphasize all. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall
The NewDeal for Education: Familiar Common Core and Data Driven Reformers Shifting Education to a Workforce Pipeline. – Missouri Education Watchdog

by Mike Simpson / 3h
The NewDeal for Education: Familiar Common Core and Data Driven Reformers Shifting Education to a Workforce Pipeline Before the roll-out of Common Core, 10 organizations got together in 2005 and created a “nonprofit” whose mission was about collecting and standardizing children’s data. That organization, The Data Quality Campaign , was and is funded by Bill Gates. One of the Data Quality Campaig
NYC Public School Parents: Has the city learned its lesson about not holding early voting in schools, and are their assurances enough? The PTA at PS 116 says no.

by Mike Simpson / 3h
Has the city learned its lesson about not holding early voting in schools, and are their assurances enough? The PTA at PS 116 says no. As discussed on this blog earlier, 33 public schools were selected as early voting centers this fall in NYC, out of a total of 61 voting sites- though there were none selected in Queens and only one public school in the entire rest of the state. One problem is th
Thoughts on #Red for Ed | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 3h
Thoughts on #Red for Ed RED FOR ED RALLY IN INDIANAPOLIS – NOW WHAT? Thousands of teachers, parents, and public education advocates rally in Indianapolis November 19, 2019 How many of the 15,000 – 20,000 Indiana teachers, ESPs, parents, and supporters of public education who rallied at the Capitol on Nov. 19, and the additional thousands who “wore Red for Ed” in their local communities, will fal
THIS WEEK Education Research Report

by Mike Simpson / 4h
Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report New College Scorecard contains program-level debt and earnings data, more inclusive graduation rates by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 13h Thanks to a groundbreaking redesign of the College Scorecard, students can now find customized, accessible, and relevant data on potential debt and earnings based on fields of study (including for 2-year pro
This Week With Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 4h
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 This Week’s “Round-Up” Of Useful Posts & Articles On Ed Policy Issues by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h Here are some recent useful posts and articles on educational policy issues (You might also be intere
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 Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools CLICK HERE TO Pre-order NOW John Merrow: My Breakfast with Ambassador Sondland by dianeravitch / 1h John Merrow had breakfast with Ambassad

YESTERDAY

CURMUDGUCATION: Booker Returns To The Corporate Fold

by Mike Simpson / 23h
Booker Returns To The Corporate Fold On Monday of this week, Cory Booker went full charter school in an op-ed for the New York Time s, a choice that made a little more sense when I looked at my Wednesday e-mail from Whitney Tilson. Whitney Tilson is a successful hedge funder who started Democrats for Education Reform mostly because at that point, Republicans for Education Reform would have been
New Episode! Parenting After Prison – Parenting for Liberation

by Mike Simpson / 1d
New Episode! Parenting After Prison In this week’s podcast, Trina talks with Matthew Arlington, who is currently interning with Parenting for Liberation through his program at California State University Fullerton. Matthew is a father who was formerly incarcerated during the early stages of fatherhood. This episode focuses on the hardships associated with parenting while incarcerated and methods
Announcing the RISE Award for Classified School Employees - ED.gov Blog

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Announcing the RISE Award for Classified School Employees We’re excited to announce the inaugural competition of the Recognizing Inspirational School Employees (RISE) Award to spotlight classified school employee’s outstanding contributions to quality education in the United States. Classified school employees include paraprofessionals, clerical and administrative services, transportation servic
Just Try to Catch Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all Just Try to Catch Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all Will Bunch: Why Bloomberg Cannot Win by dianeravitch / 5min Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has officially entered the Democratic primaries . He will skip the first four primaries and join the race on Super Tuesday, focusing on the states holding t
CURMUDGUCATION: The Waltons Try To Disrupt Elizabeth Warren

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The Waltons Try To Disrupt Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Warren was in Atlanta at Clark Atlanta University to talk to black voters, when the rally was disrupted by a group of charter school supporters , angry about the hard line stance Warren has staked out on the charter school industry. The group of grass roots charter supporters had, they said, "come from all over the country," and if that doesn
CURMUDGUCATION: The One And Only Lesson To Be Learned From NAEP Scores

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The One And Only Lesson To Be Learned From NAEP Scores It has been almost a month since the NAERP scores have dropped, and some folks are still trying to torture some sort of useful insights from the numbers (here's Mike Petrilli at Fordham writing a piece that should be entitled " What to learn about being better a hitting the wrong target "). The world of education is a fuzzy one, with some de
Unequal Access and Denial of Opportunity: the Collateral Damage of Portfolio School Reform | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Unequal Access and Denial of Opportunity: the Collateral Damage of Portfolio School Reform Last week, after New York City’s former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, expressed an interest in running for President, this blog reviewed the history of the school reform scheme he imposed during his three term tenure as mayor . In 2002, he convinced the state legislature to grant him mayoral governance of the
Um, that’s not what Warren actually said about charter schools - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Um, that’s not what Warren actually said about charter schools No, this isn’t about Wednesday night’s debate among the Democratic presidential candidates, which, incidentally, did not have a single substantive discussion about education. The moderators didn’t ask a single question about it, but then again, that’s happened in most of the Democratic debates too this year. This post is about Sen. E
Louisiana’s COMPASS Teacher Eval System Still Down Following Statewide Cyberattack | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Louisiana’s COMPASS Teacher Eval System Still Down Following Statewide Cyberattack On Monday, November 18, 2019 , Louisiana’s state office computer systems experienced a cyberattack. As a precaution, the state shut down those systems, with the expectation that computers in some offices would be back in operation the same day, and others, within days. However, as of this writing (Thursday evening
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Bellevue SD Dumps Check Yourself Mental Health Screener

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Bellevue SD Dumps Check Yourself Mental Health Screener My email to the Board this morning: Dear Directors, (Yes, I know - how can you miss me if I won't go away. Soon.) I just wanted to make you aware of a couple of changes that have come in the use of the Check Yourself mental health screener for middle school students. 1) Bellevue SD has dropped it completely. They are now using this SOS mode
Time to Panic? The NAEP Scores Didn’t Go Up! | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 1d
Time to Panic? The NAEP Scores Didn’t Go Up! The NAEP scores are in and the “reformers,” or as Diane Ravitch has taken to calling them, the “Disrupters” are up in arms because the scores haven’t improved. The disrupters promised all of us that charter schools, testing, vouchers, and other “reforms” would solve the low achievement scores, but as we now can see, that didn’t happen. Perhaps there’s

NOV 21

The Supreme Court Is Considering Forcing You To Fund Religious Education | Americans United for Separation of Church and State

by Mike Simpson / 1d
The Supreme Court Is Considering Forcing You To Fund Religious Education One of the most important things that separation of religion and government does is ensure that Americans are free to give financial support only to the faiths of their choosing – or support none at all. That’s the ideal, anyway. Sadly, the Supreme Court has been drifting away from that principle, and during this term, the
CURMUDGUCATION: Yes And

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Yes And Akil Bello @akilbello Why do I see such a profound lack of “yes and” in education conversations? “YES we can criticize bad data AND advocate for preparing students for the jobs of the future.” “YES we can advocate for abolishing the the tests AND argue to improve education.” 184 11:32 AM - Nov 13, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 37 people are talking about this This tweet (shared with
A Model Of Mismanagement In Sacramento Schools (Opinion) | Sacramento, CA Patch

22by Mike Simpson / 2d
A Model Of Mismanagement In Sacramento Schools (Opinion) COMMENTARY: Sacramento is by no means the only Californian school district in financial and political meltdown. By Dan Walters, (BLAME EVERYTHING ON TEACHERS) Originally published on Monday, November 18 Two years ago, with teachers in Sacramento's school district on the verge of striking, the city's mayor stepped in to mediate a compromise
Education Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 4) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Education Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 4) Parts 1, 2, and 3 trace the arc of my close friendship with a small group of Pittsburghers beginning in the late-1940s. Far beyond the schooling I have had, my friendship with these “buddies” of mine has educated me and made possible my living a full life. Turning Points in the Group’s History Moving from a bunch of teenage boys in high scho
Education Research Report TODAY

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Education Research Report Education Research Report TODAY Most Teachers Access Academic Research, But Few Use It to Inform Practice by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 35min More than nine in 10 educators access academic research about education, but just 16% use it to inform classroom practice, according to new research by the nonprofit Jefferson Education Exchange. Based on surveys of educators from all 5
Louisiana Educator: John White, Common Core, Education Reform, and the Widening Learning Gap

by Mike Simpson / 2d
John White, Common Core, Education Reform, and the Widening Learning Gap Where are we going with Louisiana education for the next 8 years of education reform? How did we get here? The education policy we have been pursuing for the last 10 years was actually created without input from the parents and teachers who are closest to the delivery of education to our children. The present policy of poor
NYC Educator: Al D'Amato, Education Expert

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Al D'Amato, Education Expert Last week I wrote about how the NY Post had yet another article trashing the teachers who've been reassigned. I've read this article a million times. First it was Campbell Brown, on her mission to save the world from the perfidious individuals who teach children. This was covered quite a bit by then-education writer Ben Chapman in the Daily New s. This week former Se
SADNESS IN SEATTLE: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yes, I'm Leaving

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Yes, I'm Leaving Yes, I'm Leaving Some of you might have seen the Board meeting or even been there but others might have heard through the grapevine. I am leaving Seattle and thus ends this blog as it currently is focused. It will likely close after Thanksgiving unless there was some breaking news that I think important for readers to be able to talk about and dis
Houston: HFT Files Lawsuit to Block State Takeover | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Houston: HFT Files Lawsuit to Block State Takeover This is one reason why unions are valuable for teachers and public schools. Unions have the resources to go to the courts to fight capricious actions, like the pending takeover of the Houston Independent School District based on the low test scores of one school. HFT Files Federal Lawsuit over Proposed State Takeover of School District HOUSTON—
Education Matters: Florida's teachers must strike if there is any hope in saving public ed or the profession

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Florida's teachers must strike if there is any hope in saving public ed or the profession Governor Ron DeSantis reveled his education budget and legislative priorities and after looking at them I have come to the conclusion that if we want to save the teaching profession and public education, teachers MUST strike. DeSantis received a lot of fanfare for his proposal to raise teacher starting sala
Worst NAEP Reading 2019 Hot Take of the Week | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Worst NAEP Reading 2019 Hot Take of the Week This is really a hard feat, but Put “Whole Language” on Trial by the King of Know-Nothing edureform Michael J. Petrilli is easily the worst NAEP Reading 2019 Hot Take of the week. Dumb doesn’t get any dumber than this: An equal-opportunity challenge related to shoddy teacher preparation would likely face the same roadblock. Further, there is little, i
CARL J. PETERSEN: Excluding Special Education

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Excluding Special Education Excluding Special Education Charter School shall not request or require submission of a student’s IEP, Section 504 Plan, or any other record or related information prior to admission, participation in any admissions or attendance lottery, or pre-enrollment event or process, or as a condition of admission or enrollment. ” – GHCS Charter 504 and IEP documents are not req

NOV 20

Protecting Our Kids: Why We Need a Commissioner for America’s Children

by Mike Simpson / 2d
Protecting Our Kids: Why We Need a Commissioner for America’s Children When a child cries out for help, whether it is a sick child, an abused child, a hungry child, a homeless child, or a victim of gun violence, adults should listen and most Americans do. Unfortunately, our nation’s policymakers often treat children as merely an afterthought. They have powerful interest groups that are constantl
GUEST POST: How Charter Schools Trick Parents into Thinking They are Private Schools | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 2d
GUEST POST: How Charter Schools Trick Parents into Thinking They are Private Schools By Lisa Lightner If you take a walk through any Costco on a weekend afternoon, you can see that Americans LOVE to get free stuff, no matter how small it is. Why else would we wait in line for a morsel of food that likely has lots of germs on it? Because, it’s FREE. So, what if I offered you the chance to send yo
CURMUDGUCATION: David Osborne Tells The Big Charter Lie

by Mike Simpson / 2d
David Osborne Tells The Big Charter Lie Somewhere on the other side of the Wall Street Journal paywall, David Osborne is bloviating about why charters are swell and Democratic candidates should stop telling "big lies" about them. The WSJ undoubtedly considers this a real stroke of some kind because Osborne is nominally a Democrat, the kind Arne Duncan hugging , Al Gore assisting Democrat who lov
When testing trumps teaching, the students suffer - Hartford Courant

by Mike Simpson / 3d
When testing trumps teaching, the students suffer In August, the nightmares start. Every teacher experiences the excitement, worry and sometimes dread as the first day of school approaches. It's a combination of Christmas Eve and April 14. Like most teachers, I spent the majority of my summer carefully crafting lesson plans. I spent weeks reading new books to add to my course and worked particul
Charter School Advocates Repulsed by Empowered Teachers | Dissident Voice

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Charter School Advocates Repulsed by Empowered Teachers Workers produce all the wealth of society. Unions have been around for generations and exist to protect the rights of workers. Currently, 90%—93% of privately operated non-profit and for-profit charter schools across the country have no teacher unions, whereas about 90% of public school teachers are unionized. One of the claims to fame of d
AFT Michigan wins order against conservative’s group – Valliant News

by Mike Simpson / 3d
AFT Michigan wins order against conservative’s group A Wayne County judge has ordered a nonprofit touted as probing fraud and corruption through undercover reporting to stop releasing information related to the state arm of the American Federation of Teachers that the union claims was obtained illegally. AFT Michigan in Detroit’s Third Circuit Court Thursday seeking action against , which is led
Let's talk about school segregation, let's talk about real estate. - SF PUBLIC SCHOOL MOM

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Let’s talk about school segregation, let’s talk about real estate. An update on the SFUSD Enrollment conversation Last night I participated in a great discussion last night at the Ad Hoc Student Assignment Committee, Board of Education Commissioners continued to explore ways to revise our school enrollment system. Shoutout to district staff for putting together a thoughtful presentation and for
Why 15,000 Indiana Teachers Just Walked Off the Job

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Why 15,000 Indiana Teachers Just Walked Off the Job After making waves in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kentucky, North Carolina and beyond, the Red for Ed movement has now spread to Indiana. Fed up with disinvestment in public schools and disrespect for their profession, teachers from across the Hoosier State are converging in Indianapolis today to hold lawmakers accountable and demand chan
School Secretary’s Sense of Pride Captures the Spirit of ESP Day

by Mike Simpson / 3d
School Secretary’s Sense of Pride Captures the Spirit of ESP Day In September of 1977, Jimmy Carter was President of the United States and the cost of a gallon of regular gas was $0.62. The top song on the charts was “Best of My Love” by The Emotions and the first episode of the long-running hit TV show Love Boat aired on ABC. It was also the start of a new school year and a new job for Mrs. Nil
Charter Schools Undermine the Public Schools Which Serve the Very Children Cory Booker Worries About | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Charter Schools Undermine the Public Schools Which Serve the Very Children Cory Booker Worries About On Monday, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker published a column in the NY Times to announce his support for charter schools. I’ll give Booker credit for being honest. Until now, as an active candidate for the Democratic nomination for President, Booker has tried to hedge this issue, even though supp
The Right Moment … | GFBrandenburg's Blog

by Mike Simpson / 3d
The Right Moment … (A guest blog by Peter MacPherson on the need to revert to democratic local control of schools in Washington, DC.) By Peter MacPherson The right moment. A crucial sense of timing has long been viewed as the key to successful human endeavors. Advertising keeps reminding us that it’s crucial to have the erectile-dysfunction drug Cialis on hand when the right moment strikes, othe
Updates on Student Privacy, Class Size Data, and Upcoming CEC Presentations | Class Size Matters Updates on Student Privacy, Class Size Data, and Upcoming CEC Presentations | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Updates on Student Privacy, Class Size Data, and Upcoming CEC Presentations | Class Size Matters Updates on Student Privacy, Class Size Data, and Upcoming CEC Presentations 1.On Nov. 5, the Wall Street Journal published an excellent article about the College Board’s egregious practice of selling student data, showing that an important reason colleges purchase the data is to increase their rejecti
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Charter Drains Public Schools, Now Wants To Absorb Them

by Mike Simpson / 3d
PA: Charter Drains Public Schools, Now Wants To Absorb Them his week the Philadelphia Enquirer ran the story of a charter operator that wants to take over all of a district's public elementary schools. This is perhaps a logical next step in a district that has been steadily and methodically starved over the past decade. Once you've sucked out the blood and consumed the flesh, what is there left

NOV 19

Louisiana Federation for Children: Out-of-State Money Buys 26 Out of 30 Seats | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Louisiana Federation for Children: Out-of-State Money Buys 26 Out of 30 Seats Anyone who doubts that ueber-wealthy ed reformers are purchasing elections in other states need only consider this November 10, 2019, campaign finance report for the Louisiana Federation for Children (LFC) Action Fund PAC. Even so, as one quickly realizes when following ed reform money, the connections readily become n
Fighting the misinformation pandemic: Here’s help teaching students to distinguish real news from what’s fake - The Washington Post

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Fighting the misinformation pandemic: Here’s help teaching students to distinguish real news from what’s fake If you don’t know what the News Literacy Project is and does, it’s time you do. Founded over a decade ago by Alan Miller, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at the Los Angeles Times, the News Literacy Project aims to do something that schools everywhere should be doing: teaching students
Houston Federation of Teachers files lawsuit over state takeover of HISD | FOX 26 Houston

by Mike Simpson / 3d
Houston Federation of Teachers files lawsuit over state takeover of HISD HOUSTON - The Houston Federation of Teachers filed a federal lawsuit in Austin on Tuesday, saying the proposed state takeover of the Houston ISD is "unconstitutional under U.S. and Texas law because it disenfranchises and discriminates against people based on race and national origin." "Gov. Greg Abbott and Education Commis
Pennsylvania: Low-Performing Charter School Demands Charter Takeover of Elementary Schools in Entire School District | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Pennsylvania: Low-Performing Charter School Demands Charter Takeover of Elementary Schools in Entire School District One charter school in the Chester-Upland district in Pennsylvania enrolls 60% of the district’s elementary schools. It is owned by one of the richest men in the state, a lawyer who was Republican Tom Corbett’s biggest campaign donor. That charter school, the Chester Community Char
NYC Public School Parents: Is it accurate to say that charter schools are the "boogeymen" of progressive Democrats, as Corey Booker and some reporters claim?

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Is it accurate to say that charter schools are the "boogeymen" of progressive Democrats, as Corey Booker and some reporters claim? In a NY Times oped this week, Senator Corey Booker argued that the expansion of charter schools had a positive role in improving Newark’s school system and by extension, nationwide. In the process, he described charters as "boogeymen" for other Democratic politicians
NYSAPE Update Data Privacy - NYS ALLIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION

by Mike Simpson / 4d
NYSAPE Update Data Privacy - NYS ALLIES FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION Dear NYSAPE Friends, Thanks to the advocacy of you and hundreds of other parents , we convinced the NY State Education Department not to revise the student privacy regulations so that the College Board and the ACT could continue selling student data. NYSED has now posted the regulations for a third round of comments, due Dec. 9. If you
Education Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 3) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Education Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 3) Parts 1 and 2 of this series describe the origin of a group of teenage friends in Pittsburgh (PA) in the late-1940s. It is also a story of my education outside of schools I attended in living a full life with people I loved. Deciding to Stay Together The idea of a group of close friends who worked at staying together did not emerge among us
It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... A VERY BUSY DAY | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A Look Back: New Study Finds That Specific Ninth-Grade Intervention Very Effective & It’s Remarkably Similar To What We Do At Our School by Larry Ferlazzo / 4h I’m beginning to republish posts that made it onto my A LOOK BACK: 2019’S BEST POSTS FROM THIS BLOG – PART TWO list. Kunnasberg / Pixabay The
Pushout: Documentary Explores Why Black Girls are Punished More at School | NewBlackMan (in Exile)

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Pushout: Documentary Explores Why Black Girls are Punished More at School 'Research shows black girls are much more likely to be punished in school than white girls. As part of our School Matters series, we spoke to a 13-year-old who says she was dragged outside and left in the cold by her teacher in the second grade. Author and producer Monique W. Morris talks with CBS This Morning 's Jericka D
The Federal Government Collects Data on How Often Schools Seclude Children. The Numbers Don’t Add Up. — ProPublica

by Mike Simpson / 4d
The Federal Government Collects Data on How Often Schools Seclude Children. The Numbers Don’t Add Up. Even though school districts are required to report their use of seclusion and restraint to the U.S. Department of Education, it can be difficult for parents to see the full picture. This investigation is a collaboration between ProPublica Illinois and the Chicago Tribune. ProPublica Illinois is
Research, the Media, and the Market: A Cautionary Tale | radical eyes for equity

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Research, the Media, and the Market: A Cautionary Tale Reporting in The New York Times , Gina Kolata offers a compelling lede: The findings of a large federal study on bypass surgeries and stents call into question the medical care provided to tens of thousands of heart disease patients with blocked coronary arteries, scientists reported at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association on
Michigan: State Takeover of Detroit Schools was a “Costly Mistake” | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Michigan: State Takeover of Detroit Schools was a “Costly Mistake” Koby Levin of Chalkbeat reports that a study of the state takeover of Detroit’s public schools–which lasted for 15 years–was “a costly mistake.” The state was supposed to solve intractable problems that elected school officials in Detroit could not. It made things worse, according to a newly released report on the 15 years during
Education Law Prof Blog

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Democratic Plans to Boost School Funding Don't Pander to Teachers--They Seek an Important Goal This Nation Has Never Before Attempted Derek W. Black , University of South Carolina With few exceptions, the various Democratic plans for public education share a common theme: more funding, less privatizing. Candidates Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders have promised to dramatically increase
CURMUDGUCATION: PA: Vouchers Are One Step Closer To Ugly Reality

by Mike Simpson / 4d
PA: Vouchers Are One Step Closer To Ugly Reality HB 1800 , the bill intended to pilot vouchers in Pennsylvania, made it out of committee today . The vote was 13-12, with two GOP representatives (Rosemary Brown and Meghan Schroeder) voting no. The precipitating excuse for this bill is the school system of Harrisburg, a system that has suffered from financial mismanagement and so was put in financ
Seattle Schools Community Forum: A Lot of Seattle Special Education News

by Mike Simpson / 4d
A Lot of Seattle Special Education News Via Facebook: If your student identifies as 2e, please note and if you can help share that there is: 2e meeting tonight (Monday Night) at Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Liliana Sacarin will be the parent speaker tonight discussing Tomatis & Audio Therapy. Additionally for anyone who wishes to come there is a S eattle Special Education PTSA Meeting Tuesday night
WHEN BILLIONAIRES BUY YOUR SCHOOL BOARD: Caught in a Venn Diagram in “Progressive” West Hollywood

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Caught in a Venn Diagram in “Progressive” West Hollywood Caught in a Venn Diagram in “Progressive” West Hollywood Today I experienced something that felt like a car accident but instead of getting hurt in a vehicle I crashed into the center of a Venn diagram. I landed in the zone where public education, naivete and privilege all come together and form a very ugly picture. What makes it worse is t

NOV 18

Red for Ed Action Day: Teacher pay driving thousands to Statehouse

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Red for Ed Action Day: Teacher pay driving thousands to Statehouse - Half of Indiana’s public school students will be out of classrooms Tuesday while thousands of teachers from across the state rally at the Statehouse to demand better pay. It’s an unprecedented move from Indiana’s teachers, who have spent the last several years watching their counterparts in other states and cities striking, wal
Peter Greene: Can Rich Content Improve Education?

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Can Rich Content Improve Education? Can Rich Content Improve Education? Modern high-stakes testing really kicked into gear with No Child Left Behind, and then got another huge boost with the advent of Common Core. All through that era, teachers pushed back against the fracturing of reading instruction , the idea that reading is a suite of discrete skills that can be taught independent of any part
CURMUDGUCATION: Pondiscio: Success Academy Is Better And Worse Than You Think

by Mike Simpson / 4d
Pondiscio: Success Academy Is Better And Worse Than You Think Robert Pondiscio is a senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a thinky tank steeped in conservative ed reform and staunch advocates of school choice, so one might expect that his book about Success Academy, the famous/infamous charter chain in New York City would be something of a puff piece, one more example of founder Eva
Gov. Wolf calls for constraints on Pennsylvania charter schools at school administrator meeting | News | mdjonline.com

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Gov. Wolf calls for constraints on Pennsylvania charter schools at school administrator meeting Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf said Friday that the state’s charter and cyber charter schools are overfunded at the expense of traditional public schools and largely immune from public scrutiny – accusations that he intends to address through what he calls a “charter school accountability plan.” Speaking
What is a teacher? Tennessee lawmakers call for specific definition, cite ambiguity with pay raises | Chattanooga Times Free Press

by Mike Simpson / 5d
What is a teacher? Tennessee lawmakers call for specific definition, cite ambiguity with pay raises Throughout Hamilton County's contentious debate this year over public education funding and whether or not Hamilton County Schools or its teachers deserve more funding, one question has continuously been asked by elected officials, state lawmakers and taxpayers — who exactly is a teacher? And who
Australian Study: Is Digital Literacy Undercutting Literacy? | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Australian Study: Is Digital Literacy Undercutting Literacy? A newly released study in Australia raises questions about whether digital literacy is actually undermining children’s ability and interest in reading. A Four Corners investigation has found there are growing fears among education experts that screen time is contributing to a generation of skim readers with poor literacy, who may strug
Should all remedial classes in college be eliminated?

by Mike Simpson / 5d
States are testing unproven ways to eliminate remedial ed — on their students Florida study argues for restoring placement tests but lowering pass scores Community colleges and nonselective universities that enroll everyone are at a crossroads. Helping less-prepared students make the jump to college-level work is a big part of their mission. In recent history, roughly half of first-year college
Yes, Something Stinks about the State Takeover of the Houston Independent School District | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Yes, Something Stinks about the State Takeover of the Houston Independent School District A trio of activists on behalf of public schools wrote a blistering critique of the pending state takeover of the Houston Independent School District , based on the failure of ONE high school that has an unusually high proportion of students who are poor and have disabilities. Zeph Capo is president of the H
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Timeline for Decisions on HCC Dismantle

by Mike Simpson / 5d
Timeline for Decisions on HCC Dismantle Update : Here's wording from a parent group coalescing around the topic of revision of HCC. We need to continue to make our case, and press the Directors directly on our points. In our letter, we asked for two things: that the Directors decouple the discussion of the HCC program and the Technology Access Foundation, to be considered separately on their own
OPINION: A diverse teaching force helps black male students succeed

by Mike Simpson / 5d
TEACHER VOICE: The black men who proved that a student like me could be a teacher like them Three ways we can begin to reimagine, reinvent the U.S. teaching force I became a teacher because of the influence and mentorship of Mr. Murray and Mr. Simms, two elementary-school teachers in Detroit. They were excellent and ensured that I engaged in learning every day. They persevered when at first I di
Ruth Asawa. Anni Albers. Black Mountain College and recovering progressive education history. – Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 5d
RUTH ASAWA. ANNI ALBERS. BLACK MOUNTAIN COLLEGE AND RECOVERING PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION HISTORY Two recent exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago included women who had spent time at Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Weaving Beyond the Bauhaus features the work of woman textile artists from the German art school, founded by Walter Gropius, that that existed from 1919 to 1933 when it was s
An Urgent Issue in Troubled Times: Building the Will to Support Public Education | janresseger

by Mike Simpson / 5d
An Urgent Issue in Troubled Times: Building the Will to Support Public Education For this blog, I’ve been tracking the explosion of new vouchers in Ohio, a similar expansion of the cost of school vouchers in Wisconsin, the proposed closure of the storied Collinwood High School by Cleveland’s mayoral-appointed school board, and the protracted negotiations in Lorain, Ohio to get rid of the state’s
FL teacher speaks: Ed Tech & the dystopia of individualized learning | The Edvocate Blog

by Mike Simpson / 5d
FL teacher speaks: Ed Tech & the dystopia of individualized learning Editor’s note: This post was submitted by a veteran Florida teacher whose identity must be protected for obvious reasons but whose insight, knowledge and willingness to speak out is heroic in these times. Here’s to the truth that must be told and the insiders who step up to tell it. Here’s to this teacher for sounding the alarm
Our Own Practice | The Jose Vilson

by Mike Simpson / 5d
OUR OWN PRACTICE This weekend, Colin Kaepernick practiced in front of NFL scouts. One version of the practice story is that the ball seemed to float out of his hands as if carried by pigeon and dropped off to his pro athlete friends for short and long yardage. The more complicated story is that Kaepernick dismissed the heavily anticipated practice quickly arranged by the NFL and assembled his ow

NOV 17

What is #TooFarLeft? - YouTube

by Mike Simpson / 5d
What is #TooFarLeft? I get it when wingnuts like Tucker Carlson or Anne Coulter cry about the “radical left.” It’s their job. They get paid $millions to do it. But when the man who swept into office on big hopes of transformational change tell an audience, “Persuadable independents or even moderate Republicans [whatever that is] are not driven by the same views that are reflected on certain left
In DeVos-Trump Era of Alternative Facts, Belief in Flat Earth Grows | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
In DeVos-Trump Era of Alternative Facts, Belief in Flat Earth Grows If all facts are subjective and dependent on religious and personal views, there is no such thing as fact, truth, objectivity or science. Ohio’s dumb Republican-controlled legislature isn’t on the verge of passing a law that puts religious belief and science on the same plane. So it is not surprising that believers in a Flat Ear
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Parents Surrender: Is That Juneau's Message?

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Parents Surrender: Is That Juneau's Message? In the past, many superintendents have used the term "laser-focused" but Superintendent Denise Juneau is about the only one who really walks the talk on that term. But I see signs that there seems to be a parallel, less articulated agenda with the Superintendent and the Strategic Plan. Let's examine the evidence. This is what she says at the Strategic
CATCH UP WITH CURMUDGUCATION + ICYMI: Soup Party Day Edition (11/17)

by Mike Simpson / 6d
CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Soup Party Day Edition (11/17) Soup Party Day Edition My nephew and his wife are hosting a big soup party today, which I'm pretty sure is a first for me. Kids these days. In the meantime, here an assortment of reading material from the week. Remember-- share the stuff that really speaks to you. That's how bloggers become rich and famous- okay, well, not actually. But it is
Pittsburgh Mayor’s Tantrum About School Finances Proves He Doesn’t Understand Education or Equity | gadflyonthewallblog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Pittsburgh Mayor’s Tantrum About School Finances Proves He Doesn’t Understand Education or Equity Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is steaming mad and he doesn’t care who knows it. On Tuesday he raved that Pittsburgh Public Schools’ finances should be taken over by the state – the same fate the city had suffered during its own economic troubles from 2004-18. The reason Peduto thinks the school shoul
Education Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 2) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Education Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 2) This is a five-part story of a long friendship in which I learned a lot about life outside of the schooling I received. See Part 1 for why I connect my friendships with an education that goes beyond schooling. How We Began Our origins are familiar, if not common. A group of urban teenagers, first and second generation Americans from homes of
CURMUDGUCATION: FL: Yet Another Bad Plan To Not Increase Teacher Pay

by Mike Simpson / 6d
FL: Yet Another Bad Plan To Not Increase Teacher Pay So previously there was the Best and the Brightest program, which awarded teacher bonuses based on student test scores and the teacher's own SAT scores. From high school. It had a variety of problems (above and beyond the basic boneheadedness of the idea) and the new governor, Ron DeSantis found it "confusing." Yes, you can still buy swampland
EdAction in Congress November 17, 2019 - Education Votes

by Mike Simpson / 6d
EdAction in Congress November 17, 2019 NEA members urge Supreme Court to preserve DACA NEA members Vicente Rodriguez and Karina Alvarez addressed the crowd gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court as the justices heard oral arguments on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) on Nov 12. “We love this country. It’s the only country we’ve known,” Rodriguez said. “We’re asking the court to
Open enrollment leads to segregation at Sacramento CA school | The Sacramento Bee

by Mike Simpson / 6d
A Nobel Prize winner graduated from this Sacramento school. Why it’s now being left behind The neighborhood where Jon and Jen Schwedler are raising a family, nestled between Fair Oaks Boulevard and the American River, is a suburban oasis. Large ranch-style homes, some with palm trees in the yards, line the quiet side streets. Parts of the neighborhood are a short walk from riverfront trails and
This Week New Black Man (In Exile)

by Mike Simpson / 6d
NewBlackMan (in Exile) How Disco Changed Sex in America by Mark Anthony Neal / 16h 'When you hear the word Disco, it might bring to mind the sound of cheesy manufactured dance music or images of John Travolta on the dance floor in Saturday Night Fever — but Disco was more than that. In fact, it was radical. Disco clubs arose out of gay subculture and its sound, which came to be dominated by fema
Little Rock schools and segregation + 50. – Fred Klonsky

by Mike Simpson / 6d
LITTLE ROCK SCHOOLS AND SEGREGATION + 50 Teachers in the Little Rock School District, the location of one of the most famous desegregation battles in the U.S., went on one-day strike Thursday. Union flyer for last Thursday’s one-day strike in Little Rock. The Arkansas state board of education directly controls the Little Rock School District, and has done so since 2015. State officials justified
Listen to this – 2019 #2 | Live Long and Prosper

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Listen to this – 2019 #2 Meaningful quotes… RED FOR ED IN INDIANA On November 19th, thousands of teachers across Indiana will converge on the state capital in Indianapolis, or gather in their local communities to draw attention to the lack of government support for public education in Indiana. Indiana teachers, through the Indiana State Teachers Association, sponsors of the event, have several p
Eric Blanc: Why Little Rock Teachers Went on Strike | Diane Ravitch's blog

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Eric Blanc: Why Little Rock Teachers Went on Strike If you want to understand what is happening in the Little Rock school District today, read Eric Blanc’s article. Eric Blanc has covered every one of the teachers’ strikes since the West Virginia strike in the spring of 2018. Now he is in Little Rock, where he interviewed teachers who went on strike yesterday to protest the State Board of Educat
NYC Educator: On Writing, and Writing Recommendations

by Mike Simpson / 6d
On Writing, and Writing Recommendations Unlike some of my colleagues, I don't write many recommendations. It's not that I don't want to--it's that I'm not frequently asked. This is largely because I teach beginning English language learners. Most of them are freshmen when they come to me, and three years later they have other teachers and other priorities. It's too bad, because I'm pretty good a
John Bel Edwards Wins Second Term as Louisiana Governor | deutsch29

by Mike Simpson / 6d
John Bel Edwards Wins Second Term as Louisiana Governor Democrat John Bel Edwards wins a second term as governor in deep-red, Republican Louisiana. With 100% of precincts reporting, Edwards has 51.3% of the vote. President Trump visited Louisiana three times in recent weeks to campaign for Republican gubernatorial challenger, Eddie Rispone. As of this writing, Trump has been silent on Twitter re
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Feedback from Work Group on K-12 State Funding

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Feedback from Work Group on K-12 State Funding From Neal Morton at the Seattle Times via Twitter - interesting reading: At the final meeting of a state work group charged with telling lawmakers how to fix K-12 formulas that pay for the adults working in school. Editor's note: when there's link to entire report, I'll put it up. It's due December 1. And as a reminder of how many students it takes

NOV 16



Top Posts This Week 11/16/19 #Redfored

by Mike Simpson / 6d
Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 11/16/19 The real story of New Orleans and its charter schools - The Washington Post HFT Criticizes TEA Takeover of HISD | Houston Press #redfored #questionsformorath #hisdproud 
Big Education Ape


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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Juneau and HCC Grouping

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Juneau and HCC Grouping

Juneau and HCC Grouping

 A thoughtful reader sent me a couple of links around the issue of grouping for highly capable students.

I first want to say - as I have said all along - if the district wants to return all HCC kids to their attendance area schools, that's fine.  As long as they do/understand several things:


  • This will NOT work without extensive professional development for all teachers and principals. 
  • That means money and resources.  Nearly every school would need some kind of area in the building with resources that teachers could read from and examine in order to do the differentiation that is needed. What money do they have for this work?
  • I can almost guarantee they will need to bring back "Walk to Math."  Again, money and space.
  • The district would have to make crystal-clear to all teachers and principals - you WILL do this work, no exceptions.  Because this is a legal obligation and no extra worksheet or reading an higher-level book will do to meet that obligation. I have absolutely no doubt that if the district does not carry out this new way of services for HCC with fidelity, that they will get sued (and the parent will win).
  • From the district's own way of thinking, there is likely to be at least two self-contained cohorts, one north and one south, for the true outliers in HCC.  Question is, what will be the standards to be in CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Juneau and HCC Grouping

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Diane Ravitch Red for Ed Celebration

Diane Ravitch Red for Ed Celebration

Diane Ravitch Red for Ed Celebration
Please join us in welcoming celebrated author and education historian, Diane Ravitch, to West Virginia!

Diane will speak about her new book, Slaying Goliath, and will help us celebrate the two-year anniversary of the 2018 teacher and service personnel strike.

The event will take place in Geary Auditorium at the University of Charleston. You don't want to miss this!

Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America's Public Schools

Big Education Ape: KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/11/keep-up-catch-up-with-diane-ravitchs_23.html

Diane Ravitch Red for Ed Celebration
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My Kids' School Is a Hellhole, Why in Hell Am I Expected to Send Them Anyway? - Philly's 7th Ward

My Kids' School Is a Hellhole, Why in Hell Am I Expected to Send Them Anyway? - Philly's 7th Ward

MY KIDS’ SCHOOL IS A HELLHOLE, WHY IN HELL AM I EXPECTED TO SEND THEM ANYWAY?


It seems that every day there is a new article highlighting the environmental disgrace of Philadelphia’s aging public schools. Lead in the drinking water is reminiscent of Flint but rather unbelievable in the city that was essentially a 19th century leader in water sanitation. 
On the surface, aging infrastructure is the culprit. The drinking water is clean however it travels through lead pipes so contaminated water comes out of the faucet. The Philadelphia Water Department stands by its water quality so the onerous task is on our city, state, and school district to address what is perceived to be an insurmountable task of upgrading plumbing fixtures, particularly given the lead paint, asbestos, and mold remediation that is needed in schools throughout the district. 
While the efforts of the Green Futures Health Schools committee fostered the 2016-17 installation of “hydration stations” in SDP schools, partly to comply with the National School Lunch program protocols; this has clearly, and inexplicably, not been extended to charters occupying SDP buildings. 
On the heels of the Civil Rights Movement, the environmental movement ushered in legislation about water quality, toxics, and other pollutants in the 1970s. While these protections are currently being unraveled for the sake of profit; the hazards to human health remain. 
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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed

Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed


 There's this phrase - "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good" - that I see used quite often when speaking of public education initiatives especially in defense of charter schools.  And then, districts, states, the feds plunge on into initiatives, apparently hoping it will all turn out well (see Race to the Top, remember that one?).

This issue, restorative justice, is a very good example. "We've got to do something" -  because student discipline is so skewed towards two groups of students - Special Education students and Black students is the cry from many in leadership.  But the work, the actual work, falls to those in the trenches.

There is an excellent, first-person narrative on this topic from Education Week by a veteran teacher, Allison Fried, on this subject.

If You Won't Do Restorative Justice Right, Don't Do It
My former school tried its best at restorative justice. But we needed more than good intentions 
Last fall, I was physically attacked by a student while helping another teacher in their classroom. This was my fourth documented assault at my middle school, and I gave my two-month notice shortly thereafter. Teachers cannot teach, and students cannot learn, in an unsafe school.

Limiting suspension-worthy offenses and passing around a stuffed animal are no substitute for a well-run restorative justice program. Our toolbox was empty. I never had a restorative conversation with the student who physically attacked me. 
The Research

A 2018 study by Matthew Steinberg of the University of Pennsylvania and Johanna Lacoe at Mathematica Policy Research highlights several crucial CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Restorative Justice: Like Most Education Measure, It Needs Resources to Succeed


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Learning Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 5) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Learning Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 5) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Learning Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 5)
June 2017 Reunion
We had planned to have a reunion in October 2015 in Palo Alto but Yus took a bad fall and I had a pinched nerve and could not walk. We canceled. In mid-2016, Yus, Dave, Sam, and I began talking about setting another reunion date. I traveled to Pittsburgh in December and spent five days with Yus and Nancy, had dinner with Sam and Hannah, and attended a Sunday morning book club discussion of a new graphic novel. Yus and I talked a lot about a possible reunion in Palo Alto in the spring.
Those discussions continued after I returned home but became more than talk when Yus’s son Bruce volunteered to go with Yus and Sam on the trip to help his Dad negotiate the walking in airports and around my home. Had Bruce not decided to join his Dad, the reunion would not have occurred.
And that brings me to another AK reunion of octogenarians taking place in Palo Alto in June 2017.  
And what a four days and nights it was! The time we were together consisted of long conversations around meals at home and in restaurants (my daughter Janice joined us one evening), taking walks in the neighborhood and at a nearby park, sitting on the patio sunning ourselves as we conversed and in the living room in one-on-one discussions about family, friends, politics, and life in general as AKers. Bruce, the youngest of all of us, walked with us and joined in these discussions. Once a day, Yus, Sam , and I would use my phone to do FaceTime with Dave in LA to see one another and talk.
Talk about losses from both age and disease in what we can physically do—one of us is on a walker, another has a pacemaker, another uses a cane—and dealing with the emotions accompanying such losses wove in and out of our CONTINUE READING: Learning Through Friendship: One Man’s Story (Part 5) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
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Randi Weingarten and the UTLA Sanders endorsement. – Fred Klonsky

Randi Weingarten and the UTLA Sanders endorsement. – Fred Klonsky

RANDI WEINGARTEN AND THE UTLA SANDERS ENDORSEMENT


One of the many disasters related to the Hillary Clinton run for president – aside from the eventual election of Donald Trump – was the undemocratic way her early endorsement by the two national teacher unions, the NEA and the AFT, was forced down the throats of rank and file union members.
The endorsements of Hillary by the NEA and the AFT were made early in the primary campaign when Bernie Sanders was Hillary’s only opponent.
They were no-strings endorsements. Nothing was demanded from Hillary in return, even though Sanders’ record on education issues like charter schools was much stronger than Clinton’s.
The main argument made by the union leadership was her electability.
The eventual result demonstrated the fallacy of the electability argument. Electability continues to be used by union leaders as we saw in the early endorsement of Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Toni Preckwinkle for Chicago Mayor by the CTU. Preckwinkle was eventually soundly defeated by Mayor Lori Lighfoot six months ago.
Electable or not, the electabilty argument is used to conceal the undemocratic CONTINUE READING: Randi Weingarten and the UTLA Sanders endorsement. – Fred Klonsky
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White Billionaires Cannot Buy the Charter School Debate | gadflyonthewallblog

White Billionaires Cannot Buy the Charter School Debate | gadflyonthewallblog

White Billionaires Cannot Buy the Charter School Debate


So when white billionaires pour cash to charter school lobbying groups – as the Walton’s did Thursday for charter school protestors at an Elizabeth Warren rally – it isn’t exactly convincing.

Speaking at the historically black college Clark Atlanta University, Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for President in 2020, was interrupted by audience members chanting charter school slogans.

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Bill Gates Pulls Back on His K12 Ed Experimentation | deutsch29

Bill Gates Pulls Back on His K12 Ed Experimentation | deutsch29

Bill Gates Pulls Back on His K12 Ed Experimentation
Billionaire Bill Gates likes to experiment with American K12 education.
Regarding the failure of Gates-funded education tampering, the January 15, 2019, Fair Observer notes the reality of billionaire removal from any consequences related to its purchased folly:
Because of its wealth, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has no need to apologize for its past mistakes or to feel concerned about its next round of mistakes. The article in The Washington Post sums up the foundation’s historical failures. After so many disappointing results, accompanied by the foundation’s roundly expressed indifference to the negative effects on teachers and learners or on the coherence of public educational policy, we may legitimately ask: Why does it persist in its folly?
Why persist?
Because wealth thinks it knows. Because education entities (both traditional and market-based) continue to take Gates money. Because there exists no mechanism for billionaires to be fined twice the amount of the comprehensive cost of their arrogance-initiated foolishness.
Gates sees its education efforts as (ahem) successful, though there is no confetti-laced celebration here. The message is more muted, though it is certainly no CONTINUE READING: Bill Gates Pulls Back on His K12 Ed Experimentation | deutsch29
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i-Ready Sells 50-Years-Old Education Failure | tultican

i-Ready Sells 50-Years-Old Education Failure | tultican

i-Ready Sells 50-Years-Old Education Failure
By Thomas Ultican 11/23/2019
i-Ready sells digital math and English lessons to school districts. It provides diagnostic testing which recommends interventions for struggling students that it then provides. i-Ready’s pedagogy embraces competency based education (CBE) a theory promoted by the US Department of Education and blended learning theory also financially supported by the federal government. CBE is the latest name for an education theory that failed in both the 1970’s and 1990’s. Blended learning theory is an experiment with almost no research supporting it but lots of research pointing to its health risks. Students dislike i-Ready.
June 2018, I wrote “i-Ready Magnificent Marketing Terrible Teaching.” It received decent traffic for the first four days, but strangely the traffic never slowed. This year, it is my most accessed article averaging over 700 hits per month.

Curriculum Associates and Bad Education Philosophy

The Massachusetts based company Curriculum Associates (CA) distributes i-Ready and its related testing services. When founded in 1969, it was providing worksheets in support of Mastery Learning curriculum which is similar to today’s CBE. They are the same failed theories delivered by different mediums. CBE and Mastery Learning theory also go by many other names including outcome based education; performance based education; standards based education; high performance learning; transformational education and break-the-mold schools, among others.
In 1956, Benjamin Bloom and his collaborators developed what almost all teachers in America know as “Bloom’s Taxonomy.” The taxonomy was originally conceived as a method for identifying the learning objectives that test questions CONTINUE READING: i-Ready Sells 50-Years-Old Education Failure | tultican
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My Breakfast with Ambassador Sondland | The Merrow Report

My Breakfast with Ambassador Sondland | The Merrow Report

My Breakfast with Ambassador Sondland
That didn’t happen. I wanted to get you to open the link.  Now I hope you will click on this link: https://www.adl.org/news/article/sacha-baron-cohens-keynote-address-at-adls-2019-never-is-now-summit-on-anti-semitism
It’s just 24 minutes long, but its message about the unchecked power of Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google and ‘The Silicon Six’ is critical. Moreover, he tells us what can be done.
By  the way, since this speech, Mark Zuckerberg has had a private meal with Donald Trump!
Thanks..
John

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School Integration is More Than Counting Kids by Race … | Ed In The Apple

School Integration is More Than Counting Kids by Race … | Ed In The Apple

School Integration is More Than Counting Kids by Race …
The 14th Amendment, on its face, appears to remove all barriers to equality under the law for all Americans, emphasize all.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
 For almost a hundred years the constitutionally guaranteed rights of Afro-Americans were abrogated at the highest levels. Supreme Court decision after decision shredded the guarantees of the 14th Amendment (See Lawrence Goldstone, Inherently Unequal: The Betrayal of Equal Rights by the Supreme Court, 2011). In Plessy v Ferguson (1896) the court held,
“The object of the [14th] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either.”
 For decades as established by the stare decsis, (precedent), “separate but equal” was the law of the land.
Finally, in 1954 the Court reversed Plessy in a unanimous decision,
We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of “separate but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. Therefore, we hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom CONTINUE READING: School Integration is More Than Counting Kids by Race … | Ed In The Apple

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The NewDeal for Education: Familiar Common Core and Data Driven Reformers Shifting Education to a Workforce Pipeline. – Missouri Education Watchdog

The NewDeal for Education: Familiar Common Core and Data Driven Reformers Shifting Education to a Workforce Pipeline. – Missouri Education Watchdog

The NewDeal for Education: Familiar Common Core and Data Driven Reformers Shifting Education to a Workforce Pipeline


Before the roll-out of Common Core, 10 organizations got together in 2005 and created a “nonprofit” whose mission was about collecting and  standardizing children’s data. That organization, The Data Quality Campaign, was and is funded by Bill Gates. One of the Data Quality Campaign’s founding partners was the Alliance for Excellent Education, All4Ed.
All4Ed today announced their partnership in the NewDeal for Education with a network of partners including HP, Gates, Markle, Jobs for the Future, Aspen Institute, Joyce Foundation, Third Way,  Center for American Progress, and “180 carefully-selected state and local officials below the level of Governor, from 47 states”.  What’s this NewDeal about?  Well, read it for yourself, but we see:  School-to-Work pipeline, Workforce pathways, Workforce databadges,  Social Impact Investment and shifting education from children learning knowledge to children being trained to fill the economic needs of a global workforce.  It echoes Betsy DeVos and the Swiss workforce model that she signed us up for.  You should ask your state and local officials what the NewDeal means for your school.
Here’s an excerpt from the November 22, 2019 NewDeal for Education announcement.
“On Thursday, the NewDEAL Forum and All4Ed launched a joint effort to develop and implement a state and local policy agenda to prepare students for college and careers. The NewDEAL Forum Education Policy Group will leverage the expertise of public and non-profit leaders to identify effective solutions to graduate more students on-track for success in the workplace. The NewDEAL is a network of 181 pro-growth, progressive state and local officeholders below the level of the Governor in 47 states. The NewDEAL Forum supports these rising leaders by  CONTINUE READING: The NewDeal for Education: Familiar Common Core and Data Driven Reformers Shifting Education to a Workforce Pipeline. – Missouri Education Watchdog
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NYC Public School Parents: Has the city learned its lesson about not holding early voting in schools, and are their assurances enough? The PTA at PS 116 says no.

NYC Public School Parents: Has the city learned its lesson about not holding early voting in schools, and are their assurances enough? The PTA at PS 116 says no.

Has the city learned its lesson about not holding early voting in schools, and are their assurances enough? The PTA at PS 116 says no.


As discussed on this blog earlier, 33 public schools were selected as early voting centers this fall in NYC, out of a total of 61 voting sites- though there were none selected in Queens and only one public school in the entire rest of the state.  One problem is that state election law allows other buildings to opt out from being a poll site, but does not give public schools the same authority.

Another problem was the fact that for some reason, the city proposed 168 schools out of a total of 222 potential sites to the Board of Elections earlier this year.

Putting early voting sites in schools caused serious security concerns as well as the loss of lunchrooms, auditoriums and gyms in many schools for a full school week. According to Brigid Bergin of Gothamist, there will be four elections in New York City next year.  If early voting continues to be held in schools, this would cause a total of 20 days in which these conditions would prevail, including during one week when schools are required to administer the state tests.

Because of the widespread criticisms of many parents and concerns expressed by principals about the risks and disruption caused by early voting in schools, the Mayor has apparently learned a lesson, and now city officials say that they will make an effort to see that no school is an early voting venue in the future, according to Gothamist/WNYC:

““We’ve heard from parents, we’ve heard from principals and we think there is a better way,” Ayirini Fonseca-Sabune, the city’s Chief Democracy Officer....If you look at the borough of Queens, no schools were used for early voting... We see cultural institutions, we see community centers, we see CUNY. Those are the institutions that should be used for early voting,” she added.

But this is not good enough for many parents, including those at PS 116.  Though they support early voting in general, their children suffered through the first round of early voting this year, and they want schools legally barred from being identified as early voting sites altogether.

Below is the testimony of Erica Rand Silverman, the PTA president of PS 116, given at a joint Assembly/Senate hearing on early voting on November 20. If you'd like to learn more and/or join the campaign to end early voting in NYC public schools, you can email their PTA at ps116ptamembership@gmail.com


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NYC Public School Parents: Has the city learned its lesson about not holding early voting in schools, and are their assurances enough? The PTA at PS 116 says no.
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Thoughts on #Red for Ed | Live Long and Prosper

Thoughts on #Red for Ed | Live Long and Prosper

Thoughts on #Red for Ed



RED FOR ED RALLY IN INDIANAPOLIS – NOW WHAT?
Thousands of teachers, parents, and public education advocates rally in Indianapolis
November 19, 2019 
How many of the 15,000 – 20,000 Indiana teachers, ESPs, parents, and supporters of public education who rallied at the Capitol on Nov. 19, and the additional thousands who “wore Red for Ed” in their local communities, will fall back into the pattern of voting for the supermajority candidates who brought public school teachers, and public schools…
  • the loss of seniority and lessening the value of experience or advanced degrees on salary schedules
  • declining salaries (when adjusted for inflation)
  • the loss of the right to collective bargain things like class size, prep time, and supervision
  • the loss of due process
  • the overuse and misuse of standardized testing
  • the diversion of public education funds to charter and voucher schools
  • teacher evaluations and school grades based on test scores
  • and, beginning in 2020, Governor-appointed majority (8 out of 10) on the state school board as well as a Governor-appointed state superintendent of public instruction.
THIS STATE REALLY HATES PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS
The current make-up of the state government is blatantly disrespectful of public CONTINUE READING: Thoughts on #Red for Ed | Live Long and Prosper

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