Lawmakers Demand Accountability for Funds Earmarked for Disadvantaged Students | Ogo Okoye-Johnson

Lawmakers Demand Accountability for Funds Earmarked for Disadvantaged Students | Ogo Okoye-Johnson

Lawmakers Demand Accountability for Funds Earmarked for Disadvantaged Students

On January 6, 2020, Assemblywomen Shirley Weber of San Diego and Sharon Quirk-Silva of Fullerton introduced Assembly Bills 1834 and 1835 as a result of the California State Audit that revealed that the funds earmarked for disadvantaged students for the purpose of closing the achievement gap under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) are not being used for these students as intended. Both bills will correct two deficiencies of the LCFF recommended by the audit.

Assembly Bill 1834 “would require the State Department of Education to develop, on or before January 1, 2021, a tracking mechanism for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to use to report the types of services on which they spend their supplemental and concentration grant funds. The bill would require each local educational agency, commencing July 1, 2021, to annually report to the department the types of services on which it spends its supplemental and concentration grant funds using the tracking mechanism developed by the department.”

Assembly Bill 1835 would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school to identify unspent supplemental and concentration grant funds by annually reconciling and reporting to the department its estimated and actual CONTINUE READING: Lawmakers Demand Accountability for Funds Earmarked for Disadvantaged Students | Ogo Okoye-Johnson

CARL J. PETERSEN: LAUSD Candidate Profile: Lydia Gutierrez + Tanya Franklin

LAUSD Candidate Profile: Lydia Gutierrez

LAUSD Candidate Profile: Lydia Gutierrez

I am a strong supporter of meeting the needs of Special Needs students and finding the best environment for their educational success.”– Lydia Gutierrez

The last time Lydia Gutierrez ran for this seat, she unexpectedly forced incumbent Vladovic into a runoff. In the general election, the fiercely independent candidate earned the distinction of being opposed by both the charter school industry and UTLA. She still managed to win 43.7% of the vote. She is an underdog who should not be underestimated.

Gutierrez is a 2nd-grade teacher in Long Beach Unified School District and serves as the California Teachers Association co-chair of the State Legislative Committee for Adult, Alternative, and Career Technical Education. She also served for seven years as an elected member of the Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council.

Since she is running as “a strong advocate for parent voices to be CONTINUE READING: LAUSD Candidate Profile: Lydia Gutierrez

LAUSD Candidate Profile: Tanya Franklin

The current board meeting time prevents the board, Superintendent and their staff to observe and learn with school staff during the most common adult learning time across our district.”
– Tanya Franklin

Like current Board Member Nick Melvoin, Tanya Franklin was displaced from the classroom as a result of the Great Recession and ended up in law school. It was during this time that she became associated with the Partnership for LA Schools, an organization that was “the brainchild of former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa”. Two-time State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate, Marshall Tuck, was its first CEO. Franklin still works for the partnership, focusing “on restorative justice, social-emotional learning and teacher CONTINUE READING: LAUSD Candidate Profile: Tanya Franklin

BESE Special Meeting Includes Process for Selecting La.’s Next Superintendent | deutsch29

BESE Special Meeting Includes Process for Selecting La.’s Next Superintendent | deutsch29

BESE Special Meeting Includes Process for Selecting La.’s Next Superintendent

On January 16, 2020, Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) held a special meeting, which included the swearing in of the 2020 BESE members; election of officers, and discussion of how to proceed with hiring Louisiana’s next state superintendent. (See video below.)

The BESE president is Sandy Holloway; vice president is Tony Davis, and secretary-treasurer is Kira Orange-Jones (which might prompt her to address her chronic absence from 38 percent of BESE meetings last term).

Regarding the process for selecting the next superintendent, Holloway proposed the following:

The Board president will establish a work group made up of four BESE members, including a work group chair, which shall serve as the nominating and screening committee, regarding the minimum qualifications and process relevant to the appointment of the state superintendent and will inform the BESE executive director of the nominees no later than January 27th. The work group will meet to develop a process for the selection of an appointment of the state superintendent. The process will be presented to the Board at the January 28th or 29th meeting for the Board’s consideration.

So, the governor apparently will not be submitting his recommendation for BESE to vote on. Instead, BESE will form a committee to nominate, offer info on minimum qualifications (which I hope includes at least five years as a classroom teacher; experience as a district superintendent, and a preference for in-state CONTINUE READING: BESE Special Meeting Includes Process for Selecting La.’s Next Superintendent | deutsch29

The Life And Death Of The Terrible Education Reform Movement | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

The Life And Death Of The Terrible Education Reform Movement | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

The Life And Death Of The Terrible Education Reform Movement

I’ve often thought, over these past eight years of following the politics of education, that one day this saga will make a great book.  What I didn’t expect was that that one day would be today.

In ‘Slaying Goliath: The Passionate Resistance to Privatization and the Fight to Save America’s Public Schools’ (Knopf 2020, $27.95), education historian Diane Ravitch does the thing that she is best in the country at — taking a complex period of history in education and finding a way to turn it into a story with twists and turns worthy of great literature.

This book is like a sequel not to ‘Reign Of Error’ (2013) or even ‘The Death And Life Of The Great American School System’ (2010), but instead to the first book I had ever read by her, ‘Left Back: A Century Of Failed School Reforms’ (2000).  In that book, as she does in this one, Ravitch methodically weaves her way through the people and events that shaped the conflicts of education policy.  She is a master of brevity and I, as a pretty verbose blogger, marvel at how she can tell the story of such complex issues like the opt-out movement or the Massachusetts charter school ballot issue in just a few pages each.  It’s like watching one of those artists who with a few simple seeming strokes of a pencil captures the essence CONTINUE READING: The Life And Death Of The Terrible Education Reform Movement | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

NYC Public School Parents: Rally for smaller classes at City Hall on Wed. Jan. 29 at 12 noon!

NYC Public School Parents: Rally for smaller classes at City Hall on Wed. Jan. 29 at 12 noon!

Rally for smaller classes at City Hall on Wed. Jan. 29 at 12 noon!

Please join Class Size Matters and NYC Kids Pac to rally for smaller classes on Wed. January 29 in front of City Hall at noon; with City Council hearings focused on the class size issue to follow, starting at 1 PM.

The rally and hearings are an ideal opportunity for parents and teachers let the Mayor and the Council know that there can be no equity or excellence for NYC kids until the city lowers class sizes, which are 15-30% larger in our public schools than in the rest of the state.

We will be urging them to provide dedicated funding in next year's budget specifically to hire extra teachers to reduce class size, starting first in the lower grades and in struggling schools.
Class sizes have risen sharply since 2007 in every part of the city, and this year there were more than 275,000 students in classes of 30 or more.

Please come to our rally and stay for the hearings afterwards to show your support. If you'd like to testify and would like talking points, we have posted them here.   We also have more information about class size trends citywide, as well as data specific to your district here.

Email us info@classsizematters.org if you'd like to speak at the rally or testify at the hearings. 

NYC Public School Parents: Rally for smaller classes at City Hall on Wed. Jan. 29 at 12 noon!

Misunderstanding Prayer, Religion, and Public Education Again and Again | radical eyes for equity

Misunderstanding Prayer, Religion, and Public Education Again and Again | radical eyes for equity

Misunderstanding Prayer, Religion, and Public Education Again and Again

Poet e.e. cummings understood a foundational combination of approaches common in U.S. politicians; his satirical political speech as poem begins: “‘next to of course god america i/ love you.’”

Patriotism and religiosity are effective political rhetorical strategies, but they also should be red flags to anyone concerned about their nation or their religion (or lack there of).

Current POTUS Trump has matched the buffoonery of cummings’ cartoonish politician, and in keeping with that theater, Trump has grabbed some low-hanging fruit by once again igniting the prayer in public school debate.

The tension between prayer/religion and public spaces such as schools has a long and complicated history. But since the early 1960s, one fact has existed that almost everyone who joins this debate misunderstands or misrepresents: All adults and students in public schools are free to pray, or not, and all types of religious texts can be read and assigned as literature (but not to proselytize).

Here is what people misunderstand: The Supreme Court ruled against coercion by the state in terms of religious practices. The ruling is not about anyone being religious or not, anyone practicing religion or not, but about the role of the state in coercion of religious belief and practice.

In other words, anyone who is religious should welcome this clarification CONTINUE READING: Misunderstanding Prayer, Religion, and Public Education Again and Again | radical eyes for equity

Schott Foundation Names Edgar Villanueva as Senior Vice President | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Schott Foundation Names Edgar Villanueva as Senior Vice President | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Schott Foundation Names Edgar Villanueva as Senior Vice President

The Schott Foundation started 2020 by announcing that Edgar Villanueva will become the foundation’s Senior Vice President of Programs and Advocacy.

In making the announcement, Schott President & CEO John H. Jackson said, “Several years ago, I had the pleasure of welcoming Edgar to the Schott family. Today, I am ecstatic about the opportunity to enhance Edgar’s role within Schott and to work with him as a valued colleague and partner in the journey to ensure that communities and grassroots organizations have the resources, power and voice necessary to ensure that all students have an opportunity to learn and thrive. We share a common vision and intensity for achieving that goal.”

Edgar is the author of the acclaimed book, Decolonizing Wealth, and has played a critical leadership role at the Schott Foundation and across the philanthropic sector. He leads Schott’s program team, building collaborations with grantees and among philanthropic partners that empower and strengthen the grassroots movement for education justice. Looking ahead to the challenges of 2020 and beyond, he said, "I'm thrilled to lead in an organization that deeply reflects my values and my vision for philanthropic justice. Schott’s bold approach is saving lives every day because at the center of our work are those who are most impacted by historical and systemic racism."

______________________

Founded in 1991, the Schott Foundation is a national public fund serving as a bridge between philanthropic partners and advocates to build education justice movements to provide all students an opportunity to learn.

Schott Foundation Names Edgar Villanueva as Senior Vice President | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Educators march in Tallahassee to demand investment in public schools - Education Votes

Educators march in Tallahassee to demand investment in public schools - Education Votes

Educators march in Tallahassee to demand investment in public schools

By Amanda Menas

Across Florida, more than 20,000 educators, parents, students, and allies rallied at the state capitol in Tallahassee on Tuesday to protest years of decline in school funding. Educators were threatened by the state Department of Education and district superintendents with expulsion, union de-certification, and loss of license for participating, but turned out nonetheless to support their students.

The educators are protesting inadequate funding of Florida’s public education system, and the serious teacher shortage that has left more than 3,500 teaching vacancies across the state.

“We have seen more than a decade of disinvestment in public education in this state, and that has to stop,” said Fedrick Ingram, president of the Florida Education Association.

Anita Carson, an FEA member and educator in the Polk County School District, carried a sign that read, “FLDOE tried to scare us! Polk County threatened to fire us! Nevertheless we persisted.” Nearly one-quarter of educators from her school district took personal days to attend the rally, despite threats to their jobs. Carson said she had to attend the rally to advocate for her students in high-poverty neighborhoods. She said, “I didn’t plan to leave teaching. I didn’t plan to leave the Polk County School District and after today I might not get to be a teacher anymore, but I’m still here.”

Carson continued, “Every student deserves a school that is amazing. If we aren’t doing everything we can to fund our schools, then we are doing wrong by them.” Her goal was to share with legislators a vision for public schools that goes beyond simply filling vacancies to recruit and retain highly qualified educators with restore full school funding that meets CONTINUE READING: Educators march in Tallahassee to demand investment in public schools - Education Votes

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

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

It's Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... A VERY BUSY DAY

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

REL Answered My Ed Research Question & They Can Answer Yours, Too

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

terimakasih0 / Pixabay Regional Educational Laboratories are publicly-supported organizations that do educational research and, as I’ve shared in the past, will do free research for educators who have specific questions (see Send An Ed-Related Research Question To One Of The Regional Educational Laboratories – And They’ll Answer It! ). I’ve also previously-shared some research they did for me on

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including some Web 2.0 apps. You might also be interested in THE BEST ED TECH RESOURCES OF 2019 – PART TWO , as well as checking out all my edtech resources . Here are this

New National Geographic Video: “Volcanoes 101”

21by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

Pexels / Pixabay I’m adding this new video from National Geographic to The Best Sites For Learning About Volcanoes :

New Video From NASA: “An Introduction to the James Webb Space Telescope Mission”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

WikiImages / Pixabay NASA is supposed to launch the often-delayed James Webb Space Telescope in about a year, and released this video today talking about it. You might also be interested in what it’s replacing at The Best Sites To Learn About The Hubble Telescope .

A Look Back: “What Does It Mean To Be A Good Citizen?”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 12h

I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from over the years. You can see the entire collection here . One of my New York Times posts for English Language Learners several years ago was titled “What Does It Mean To Be A Good Citizen?” (note that The Times is having difficulties with older links and if you get an error message, just refr

Three Videos Explaining What Might Happen In The Impeachment Trial

by Larry Ferlazzo / 14h

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST TEACHING & LEARNING RESOURCES ABOUT IMPEACHMENT :

BBC Two-Minute “Explainer” Series

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

TheOtherKev / Pixabay I have links to a number of short video “Explainer” series from various news outlets at The Best Online “Explainer” Tools For Current Events, including ones from the BBC. Today, though, I discovered what appears to be yet another series that the BBC does – ones whose descriptions end with the words “…in two minutes.” You can find them all here . This is their latest:

A Look Back: “Getting students to engage — not just comply”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

I thought that new – and veteran – readers might find it interesting if I began sharing my best posts from over the years. You can see the entire collection here . Getting students to engage — not just comply is a piece I wrote for The 

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