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Tuesday, May 4, 2021

THE TOP BANANA: TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Tuesday, May 4, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edreform

Big Education Ape

THE TOP BANANA
TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES 





Are NYC Teacher Retiree Health Plan Benefits in Jeopardy? | Ed In The Apple - https://wp.me/p2zCG-2Rd via @edintheapple


NYC Educator: UFT Executive Board May 3, 2021--Mulgrew Says Joe's Medicare Not Coming to UFT - http://nyceducator.com/2021/05/uft-executive-board-may-3-2021-mulgrew.html

2021 Taste of CA Challenge Grant Recipients - Nutrition (CA Dept of Education) - https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/tastecachlnggrntrcpts2021.asp

Education Research Report: Reviews Examine the Effectiveness of Interventions Designed to Improve School Environments - http://educationresearchreport.blogspot.com/


Point of Order: What we learned from a year of disruption to public education in Texas https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/04/texas-public-education-podcast/

NOLA Public Schools COVID-19 cases rise; 305 people quarantining https://thelensnola.org/2021/05/03/nola-public-schools-covid-19-rise-305-people-quarantining/

Bill and Melinda Gates’s divorce could rock the world of charity https://www.vox.com/recode/22418060/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-foundation-charity

WATCH: ‘Creepy’ anti-maskers get brutally mocked as they protest outside California school http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/MIno49oQ_dg/

Florida principal under investigation for beating 6-year-old with wooden paddle for breaking $50 computer part http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheRawStory/~3/BzJ6kP1dw0A/


LAUSD reopens playgrounds, but even swings and slides are complicated amid COVID-19 http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/XIQm_Up3zeA/lausd-reopens-school-playgrounds-with-covid-19-restrictions

We're Raising Future Grownups — We Have To Talk To Our Kids About Police Killings https://www.momsrising.org/blog/were-raising-future-grownups-%E2%80%94-we-have-to-talk-to-our-kids-about-police-killings

Celebrating Bilingualism, Using MomsRising Bilingual Education Page https://www.momsrising.org/blog/celebrating-bilingualism-using-momsrising-bilingual-education-page



Florida Principal Under Investigation for Paddling 6-Year-Old Student, Authorities Say https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/us/student-paddled-florida-central-elementary-school.html

Meet the Man Now at the Center of the Debate Over Student Debt https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/03/us/richard-cordray-federal-student-aid.html

Extend the school year? Teachers say no, parents say meh. LAUSD retreats from its plan http://feeds.latimes.com/~r/lanowblog/~3/EP9gybUt6o0/lausd-may-drop-plan-extend-school-year-amid-opposition


FDA Reportedly Set To Approve Pfizer Vaccine For 12- To 15-Year-Olds https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pfizer-vaccine-12-15-year-olds_n_6090ae6ae4b0ccb91c355f5a

Student Tells The Bidens What She Was Really Doing During Zoom Classes https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-jill-biden-yorktown-elementary-zoom-classes_l_60905f22e4b0ccb91c350a30

OPINION: Profits grew while students were hurt by a law intended to protect them https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-profits-grew-while-students-were-hurt-by-a-law-intended-to-protect-them/

Seven school districts have bond proposals for May 11 special election https://nondoc.com/2021/05/04/may-11-special-election-school-bonds/ via @nondocmedia

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice: A Few Thoughts About Classroom Technology Then and Now | National Education Policy Center - https://nepc.colorado.edu/node/10888 on @NEPCtweet

U.S. Department of Education Announces Richard Cordray as Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid | U.S. Department of Education - https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/us-department-education-announces-richard-cordray-chief-operating-officer-federal-student-aid


Online Quran Education in USA and UK https://www.laprogressive.com/online-quran-education/

Black Parents Say Remote Learning Gives Them And Their Kids Relief From Racism https://www.theroot.com/black-parents-say-remote-learning-gives-them-and-their-1846819492

Honoring Teachers’ Commitment to Continual Improvement through Collaboration - ED.gov Blog - https://blog.ed.gov/?p=29800

Fewer options likely next school year for Louisiana students learning virtually from home | Education | theadvocate.com - https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_c5439116-aab2-11eb-8df6-abb4dd109d44.html#new_tab by @https://www.twitter.com/Charles_Lussier on @theadvocatebr


N.J. coach, teacher arrested at school, charged with making threats to influence tenure vote - pennlive.com - https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/04/nj-coach-teacher-arrested-at-school-charged-with-making-threats-to-influence-tenure-vote.html#new_tab on @pennlive

Despite federal order, Texas parents struggle to win services for dyslexic students - https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/education/article/Despite-federal-order-Texas-parents-struggle-to-16142558.php#new_tab on @houstonchron


Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson stepping down, part of wave of exits in district leadership ranks https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/3/22417343/chicago-schools-chief-janice-jackson-to-step-down via @ChalkbeatCHI


Tennessee lawmakers advance bill to ban critical race theory instruction in public schools - Chalkbeat Tennessee - https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/3/22417419/tennessee-lawmakers-advance-bill-to-ban-critical-race-theory-instruction-in-public-schools#new_tab on chalkbeat

Cardona Says He Expects All Schools Will Open This Fall | Education News | US News - https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2021-05-03/cardona-says-he-expects-all-schools-will-open-this-fall#new_tab on @USNews

MPS budget proposal expands programs while enrollment declines - https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2021/05/04/mps-budget-proposal-expands-programs-while-enrollment-declines/4927099001/#new_tab via @journalsentinel

CPS CEO Janice Jackson lets loose about CTU: ‘Right now, the politics in education are ugly’ - Chicago Sun-Times - https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2021/5/3/22418053/cps-ceo-janice-jackson-ctu-teachers-union-labor-negotiations-strike-public-schools#new_tab

Texas lawmakers see civics bills as a rejection of ‘woke’ philosophies. Educators say they would have a chilling effect - https://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/05/04/texas-lawmakers-see-civics-bills-as-a-rejection-of-woke-philosophies-educators-say-they-would-have-a-chilling-effect/#new_tab via @dallasnews


Hundreds of thousands of California students won’t take statewide standardized tests this spring http://edsource.org/?page_id=654123 via @edsource





Big Education Ape: Student Appreciation Week | Teacher in a strange land - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/student-appreciation-week-teacher-in.html




Shawgi Tell: Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing | Dissident Voice
by Mike Simpson / 18min
Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing | Dissident Voice Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing Over the years, as more problems with charter schools have been exposed, analyzed, and critiqued, more people have come to see the need for opposing them and for defending public education and the public interest. Criticism and rejection of these privately-operated schools
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks
by Mike Simpson / 18min
Brent Jones Speaks Here is the first public statement from new superintendent, Brent Jones. As statements go, it’s about what you would expect but some editing might have helped. One key item - he does not say schools will reopen in their buildings in September. He just vaguely talks about “prepare for fall.” Also of interest is the fill-in form to contact him available at the district’s website
Teacher Tom: What the White House Should Know About Preschool
by Mike Simpson / 18min
What the White House Should Know About Preschool The current administration is proposing universal free preschool in the US. People keep asking me what I think about it. I support publicly funded early childhood education, but frankly, I'm worried. In my lifetime, policymakers and elected representatives, no matter where they stand on the political spectrum, have always been wrong about educatio
Please send a letter on the need to lower class size to your State Senator today! and other updates | Class Size Matters
by Mike Simpson / 18min
and other updates | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes Please send a letter on the need to lower class size to your State Senator today! and other updates Please send a letter today to your State Senators by clicking here, urging them to sign onto S.6296 , the bill introduced by Sen. Robert Jackson, to update and renew NYC’s commitment to lower
A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 #tBATs
by Mike Simpson / 18min
Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-
Charles Siler: A Former Privatizer Changes Sides | Diane Ravitch's blog
by Mike Simpson / 2h
Charles Siler: A Former Privatizer Changes Sides Charles Siler had excellent credentials to work in the privatization movement. In this article, he explains why he switched sides. To learn more about Charles Siler, watch this video in which I interviewed him. Confessions of a Former Privatizer Why I Don’t Want to Eradicate Public Schools Anymore I spent years working to privatize public schools.
The Classroom as a “Gritty” Place for Engineers and Plumbers (Matthew Evans) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
by Mike Simpson / 2h
The Classroom as a “Gritty” Place for Engineers and Plumbers (Matthew Evans) Matthews Evans is headtea c her of a Gloucestershire secondary school in southwest England and author of Leaders with Substance: An Antidote to Leadership. The issue of researchers–engineers who study and design projects to solve schooling problems–having a difficult time in getting practitioners–plumbers who get in and
NYC Public School Parents: How do you think NYC should spend $8 billion to improve our schools? Make your voice heard!
by Mike Simpson / 2h
How do you think NYC should spend $8 billion to improve our schools? Make your voice heard! Class Size Matters is holding our annual Parent Action Conference on Sat. May 22 from 11 AM – 1 PM with NYC Kids PAC, to gain input from parents, teachers and others on how NYC should invest the $8 billion in additional state and federal funds our schools are due to receive in the next two to three years.
Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change
by Mike Simpson / 2h
Advanced Learning to Change The Seattle School Board and the district are poised to change the Advanced Learning program in a major way. Interestingly, the BAR (Board Action Report) on this change has a fairly bland title - Rename and Amend Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning . I am NOT advocating for anyone to write to the Board because this was a done deal a long time ago. The distri
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END – Dad Gone Wild
by Mike Simpson / 2h
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END “One of the hardest things in life to learn are which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.” ― Oprah Winfrey The 2021 version of the Tennessee General Assembly is slowly coming to a close. But whether it will close with a whimper or a bang is yet to be determined. Two bills slated for discussion this week could send it either way . First up, is a bill th
MICHELLE GOLDBERG | Why the Right Loves Public School Culture Wars - The New York Times
by Mike Simpson / 2h
Opinion | Why the Right Loves Public School Culture Wars - The New York Times Why the Right Loves Public School Culture Wars There is a quote from Ralph Reed that I often return to when trying to understand how the right builds political power. “I would rather have a thousand school board members than one president and no school board members,” the former leader of the Christian Coalition said in

YESTERDAY


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Student Appreciation Week | Teacher in a strange land

Student Appreciation Week | Teacher in a strange land
Student Appreciation Week



So here we are, once again ‘celebrating’ Teacher Appreciation Week, with all the teachers saying—no, no, don’t get me a $10 Starbucks card or (better yet) a $50 bottle of champagne. Instead, write me a sincere note of gratitude. Here, write it on my Facebook page. Feel free to embellish.

We all have that box of thank-you notes. And yes, we re-read them periodically. And hats off to all the folks who bluntly say If you really appreciated teachers, you would…. pay them and let them sit in on decision-making, for starters.

But sometimes, I feel like the Grinch Who Stole Teacher Appreciation Week– seriously, what we actually need is a Teacher Appreciation Decade, during which we encourage promising young people to pursue professional education training, craft a new conception of teacher compensation, and look to other nations for guidance on how to build a select teacher workforce,  valuing diversity and creativity above all.

We just returned home from a couple of weeks away, and at the bottom of our mail tote was a TIME magazine with this cover:  ‘The Lost Year: How the pandemic changed a generation of students.’ The article is much less inflammatory than that title—it’s about high school seniors, and the difficulty they’re having taking the CONTINUE READING: Student Appreciation Week | Teacher in a strange land

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Shawgi Tell: Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing | Dissident Voice

Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing | Dissident Voice
Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing



Over the years, as more problems with charter schools have been exposed, analyzed, and critiqued, more people have come to see the need for opposing them and for defending public education and the public interest. Criticism and rejection of these privately-operated schools has become more mainstream in recent years and it is safe to say that opposition to charter schools will keep growing so long as neoliberals and privatizers impose more charter schools on society.

Public school boards and many different education advocacy groups, along with more legislators, former charter school teachers, many public school teachers, countless teacher educators and teacher education students, teacher unions, and myriad rights and justice groups are just some of the forces that are increasingly speaking out and taking action against charter schools. Many others have also heard of charter schools, and even with little or no investigation, they tend to approach charter schools with some skepticism. The days when charter schools were blindly embraced and investigation was deemed unnecessary are gradually fading. More people are doing their homework and learning about the numerous problems these segregated contract schools create.

Recent Actions

In April 2021, the Buffalo Public School Board voted to close two Buffalo charter schools that have been failing for years. There is also a legal push to pass a moratorium on charter schools for the next three years in the city. And in the past year even the New York State legislature has also become a little CONTINUE READING: Public Opposition to Charter Schools Steadily Growing | Dissident Voice

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks
Brent Jones Speaks


Here is the first public statement from new superintendent, Brent Jones. As statements go, it’s about what you would expect but some editing might have helped. 

One key item - he does not say schools will reopen in their buildings in September. He just vaguely talks about “prepare for fall.” 

Also of interest is the fill-in form to contact him available at the district’s website.

Dear Seattle Public Schools Families: 
 
It’s a privilege to return to Seattle Public Schools as the interim superintendent. As I came to work this morning, it felt like coming home. 
 
I have spent more than half my life in SPS. I started at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and graduated from Franklin High School – go Quakers! Most recently, I served as the district’s chief of equity, partnerships, and engagement and helped lead creation and adoption of the district’s bold strategic plan, Seattle Excellence. The five-year plan is laser focused on supporting students of color who are furthest away from educational justice. Unlike past plans, Seattle Excellence acknowledges that until our district changes systems and disrupts legacies of racism, we can’t fulfill the promise of a high-quality, world-class education – an education that every student deserves. I am also a parent of a graduating SPS senior. 
 
My commitment to SPS is personal.
 
Our city’s public schools need to offer students and their families the very best – rigorous learning, a deep commitment to educational justice, innovation, and a clear CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Brent Jones Speaks
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Teacher Tom: What the White House Should Know About Preschool

Teacher Tom: What the White House Should Know About Preschool
What the White House Should Know About Preschool




The current administration is proposing universal free preschool in the US. People keep asking me what I think about it. I support publicly funded early childhood education, but frankly, I'm worried. In my lifetime, policymakers and elected representatives, no matter where they stand on the political spectrum, have always been wrong about education. Sadly, it appears to be one of our only true bipartisan issues: to be wrong about what our children need. I'm worried because history tells us that they will not listen to educators. I'm worried because they will say they want children to grow up to be successful, without having any idea what that means. I'm worried because they will listen to deep-pocket corporate education "reformers" who are more interested in a greasy buck than the future of young children. I'm worried that the current regime of academic testing and grading and ranking and judging will be foisted upon our youngest citizens. 


Back in the 80's I held the position of communications manager at the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce where I kept my hair short (even sporting a flat top for a time) and wore suits with large shoulders and lots of extra fabric. About a year or so into the job, my assistant manager found a CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: What the White House Should Know About Preschool
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Please send a letter on the need to lower class size to your State Senator today! and other updates | Class Size Matters

Please send a letter on the need to lower class size to your State Senator today! and other updates | Class Size Matters and other updates | A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes
Please send a letter on the need to lower class size to your State Senator today! and other updates



Please send a letter today to your State Senators by clicking here, urging them to sign onto S.6296, the bill introduced by Sen. Robert Jackson, to update and renew NYC’s commitment to lower class size in all grades – especially now since we’re due to get full Foundation funding from the state. As of today, it’s already signed onto by eight other Senators from both parties– Senators Brad Hoylman, Julia Salazar, Jose Serrano, Brian Benjamin, Andrew Gournades, Zellnor Myrie, Andrew Lanza, and Jessica Ramos! Much thanks to all of them and Robert Jackson for their support.

2. NYC is due to receive more than $8 billion in additional state and federal funds over the next two to three years. We would like your input on how the money should be spent, to help us structure our discussions at our upcoming May 22 Parent Action Conference, co-sponsored with NYC Kids PAC. Please take this five-minute survey to rank your priorities.

3. Then, if you have time, read this this wonderful Daily News oped by Regent Kathleen Cashin, about how smaller classes utterly transformed the schools she led in Brooklyn and Queens, when she was a Regional superintendent. And check out my latest Talk out of School podcast with Danny Dromm, former teacher and current head of the City Council Finance committee, who explains why he has made class size reduction a priority to fight for in the city budget for next year.

4. Finally, (and I know I’m asking a lot); it’s my birthday tomorrow and it would be great if you could give to Class Size Matters to mark the occasion. We couldn’t hold our regular annual fundraiser for the last two years because of the pandemic; I really on your support to keep advocating for NYC children and their right to receive a quality education. Please give here if you can afford it.

But remember to send a letter to your State Senator about class size first; it’s free!

thanks so much, Leonie

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Charles Siler: A Former Privatizer Changes Sides | Diane Ravitch's blog

Charles Siler: A Former Privatizer Changes Sides | Diane Ravitch's blog
Charles Siler: A Former Privatizer Changes Sides




Charles Siler had excellent credentials to work in the privatization movement. In this article, he explains why he switched sides. To learn more about Charles Siler, watch this video in which I interviewed him.

Confessions of a Former Privatizer Why I Don’t Want to Eradicate Public Schools Anymore

I spent years working to privatize public schools. I realized that I was wrong, and am now proud to call myself a public education advocate.

By Charles Siler

Nearly all my life I believed public schools were obstacles to success, achievement, and social mobility for individuals and our society as a whole. And it wasn’t just schools. This was my belief about nearly all government activity. I saw government agencies as little more than hives of self-serving bureaucrats looking for ways to CONTINUE READING:  Charles Siler: A Former Privatizer Changes Sides | Diane Ravitch's blog

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The Classroom as a “Gritty” Place for Engineers and Plumbers (Matthew Evans) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

The Classroom as a “Gritty” Place for Engineers and Plumbers (Matthew Evans) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
The Classroom as a “Gritty” Place for Engineers and Plumbers (Matthew Evans)



Matthews Evans is headteacher of a Gloucestershire secondary school in southwest England and author of Leaders with Substance: An Antidote to Leadership. The issue of researchers–engineers who study and design projects to solve schooling problems–having a difficult time in getting practitioners–plumbers who get in and around pipes and drains–to put their findings into daily practice has been a perennial issue in the U.S. Many U.S. policymakers call it an “implementation” problem. According to Evans it is more complicated than just “implementation” as he describes the divide between teachers and researchers in the United Kingdom.

This post comes from his blog, theeducontrarian. It appeared April 25, 2021. I have lightly edited Evans’ post For the full text and references please go to the above link.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that cognitive science has, and will continue to have, a fairly limited impact on educational standards.

It is not that I reject the findings of this branch of psychology (although many of the studies, we are beginning to realise, may fail to replicate), or that I think we should turn our backs on the discipline. On the contrary: we should glean all we can from this, and other disciplines, which offer something to our understanding of education. My concern is that the implementation of cognitive science – or indeed any research in social psychology – is problematic.

There are many reasons why the application of knowledge from research, or theory, to the classroom is difficult. I will explore just one of these reasons here, which is the problem of the particular.

Access to water

The economist Esther Deflo tells the story of the effort to bring clean water to homes in Tangier in 2007. The firm responsible for this effort spent considerable amounts of money building a large network of pipes and installing taps and CONTINUE READING: The Classroom as a “Gritty” Place for Engineers and Plumbers (Matthew Evans) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

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NYC Public School Parents: How do you think NYC should spend $8 billion to improve our schools? Make your voice heard!

NYC Public School Parents: How do you think NYC should spend $8 billion to improve our schools? Make your voice heard!
How do you think NYC should spend $8 billion to improve our schools? Make your voice heard!


Class Size Matters is holding our annual Parent Action Conference on Sat. May 22 from 11 AM – 1 PM with NYC Kids PAC, to gain input from parents, teachers and others on how NYC should invest the $8 billion in additional state and federal funds our schools are due to receive in the next two to three years.

Please sign up here, and we”ll send you the Zoom link shortly before the event.

Then take our three-minute survey to express your spending priorities; whose results we will present at the conference.

NYC Public School Parents: How do you think NYC should spend $8 billion to improve our schools? Make your voice heard!

Sign the petition now!


Please use the additional state and federal funds to provide our kids with the smaller classes they will need next year!
Target: NYC Mayor de Blasio and the City Council

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Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change
Advanced Learning to Change


The Seattle School Board and the district are poised to change the Advanced Learning program in a major way. Interestingly, the BAR (Board Action Report) on this change has a fairly bland title - Rename and Amend Highly Capable Services and Advanced Learning.

I am NOT advocating for anyone to write to the Board because this was a done deal a long time ago. 

The district is going to have a new enactment of Highly Capable Services (kicking out the wording “Advanced Learning”) and having “building-based services” in General Education classrooms rather than separate cohort groupings. There may or may not be other eligible students in the class. There is a carve-out for “upper edge” students. (See below.)


To note, the wording “highly capable” comes from the state and it is a state mandate that comes to districts complete with funding for transportation.  


The district plans to enact this new programming over the next six years, to school year 2026-2027. They are currently piloting the program at one elementary school. Students in the current program will stay with their cohort until then 2026-2027. 


The district is paying at least three consultants to plan how to enact the new HCC. 


The district claims that the current program is “inaccessible” without explaining why. In the past, some schools with minority majority CONTINUE READING: Seattle Schools Community Forum: Advanced Learning to Change

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ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END – Dad Gone Wild

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END – Dad Gone Wild
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END


“One of the hardest things in life to learn are which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn.”
― Oprah Winfrey

 

The 2021 version of the Tennessee General Assembly is slowly coming to a close. But whether it will close with a whimper or a bang is yet to be determined. Two bills slated for discussion this week could send it either way.

First up, is a bill that would lay out a pathway for those schools currently in the state’s Achievement School District to exit. Per Chalkbeat TN,

One pathway would allow higher-performing charter schools to transfer out of the Achievement School District and — instead of returning to their local school systems as originally planned — seek a home with Tennessee’s new charter school commission.

We should employ a little clarity here, “high-performing” is a bit of a misnomer. There are no “high-performing” schools in the ASD. There are schools that have made some small gains, but as educator Gary Rubenstein points out, “Of the 30 schools they nearly all stayed in the bottom 5% except a few that catapulted into the bottom 10%.” Maybe you have a different definition of “high-performing” but that doesn’t fit mine.

To be fair, and I always hate these conversations because they cast students, families, and teachers in an unfair light, there has been a great deal of effort invested by stakeholders in trying to make this poorly conceived idea work. Unfortunately, they were unable to overcome the policy’s inherent shortcomings. Taking glee from its failure is just as bad as sitting in your mansion in CONTINUE READING: ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END – Dad Gone Wild

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