Friday, June 3, 2011

"Please Stop!": The 5 Dumbest Tropes in the EdReform Debate - Ed Thoughts

"Please Stop!": The 5 Dumbest Tropes in the EdReform Debate

By Sabrina on October 28, 2010 1:36 PM| 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

I'm a big fan of Allie Brosh's comic blog, Hyperbole and a Half. As I engage with different people working in the school reform arena, I often encounter people who disagree with me. That's OK. But I'm also, and often, blindsided by crazy statements that make me want to scream,

and have all of the nonsense just reverse course or melt away. Trying to improve schools and society is hard enough, without the additional burden of stupid rhetoric that clouds the real issues, confuses the public, and makes it difficult to advance comprehensive solutions.

In the interest of retiring some nonsense statements once and for all (and relieving the tension in my head so I can be useful to society instead of descending into asneaky hate spiral), here are five such phrases that make even highly-educated, powerful people look and sound incredibly stupid. Don't let this happen to you!

1. "You're defending a failed system/the status quo."

Kimble's Corner: The Newest Member of Our Family -- Ayn Reagan Kimble

The Newest Member of Our Family -- Ayn Reagan Kimble

by Representative Kimble

I am very pleased to announce that after a very exhaustive search that took us to over two dozen states and 40 orphanages, we have adopted a new daughter. Seven year old Ayn Reagan Kimble is just the type of daughter we have always wanted and despite her young age is a gifted singer, equestrian, and a winner of several toddler beauty pageants. Just like a Kimble, she's got the fire of competition in her belly already.

Through the talent portion of the search, several orphans were bottle-necked at the top of the standings, but Ayn distinguished herself when she was able to explain how the 1964 Presidential, though a loss for the Republicans, was a watershed moment for the conservative movement in this country.

Kerry deserves much of the credit for locating this beautiful girl who we have named Ayn. While I was in Washington, Kerry took the lead in our

4LAKids - CLINTON MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS PROTEST THEIR FORCED REMOVAL FROM CAMPUS

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: CLINTON MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS PROTEST THEIR FORCED REMOVAL FROM CAMPUS

CLINTON MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHERS PROTEST THEIR FORCED REMOVAL FROM CAMPUS

BY HOWARD BLUME, LA TIMES/LA NOW | HTTP://LAT.MS/MRXEOU

Photo: Teachers and students protest outside Clinton Middle School. Credit: Marcella Smith.

June 2, 2011 | 11:09 pm - A group of teachers and students at Clinton Middle School held a protest before classes Thursday over plans to replace most of the faculty before next fall.

Clinton Middle School, south of downtown Los Angeles, has suffered from low academic performance since it opened five years ago. About 6% of its students are proficient in English, about 12% in math.

The Los Angeles Unified School District responded this spring by declaring that the school’s entire staff would have to reinterview for their jobs. Unlike some other forced makeovers, the Clinton decision drew little or no outside notice, nor did district officials call attention to it.

Half-a-dozen teachers and about 25 students participated in the demonstration. Organizers said numerous teachers were too intimidated about their future job prospects to take part. Teachers displaced from Clinton are supposed to have jobs elsewhere, but local hiring committees or

The 10 Poorest School Districts in America | Ecology of Education

May 18, 2011 | 0 Comments

The 10 Poorest School Districts in America

Written by Carol Brown on May 18, 2011

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School districts across America are struggling to keep it all together, as teachers, parents and students want access to competitive technology and arts and college prep programs, while government budgets and local funding are wiped out. Certain parts of the country have it especially rough, from border towns to Indian reservations to coal mining communities — districts that have been passed over for decades before the latest economic downturn. The following school districts were chosen to be highlighted here because of their unique plights, and to represent a broad perspective of the experiences underserved districts are going through. Despite virtual schools, free lunch programs, and government prizes, these districts are far from recovery.

Dupree School District 64-2, South Dakota: Located in Ziebach County — the poorest county in America as of December 2010, Dupree, South Dakota’s school district has just three schools — an elementary school, junior high, and high school. Less than 300 students are enrolled in all three schools (total) on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation. According to the U.S. Census, 62% of the county population lives in poverty, and nearly half of the population is under the age of 18.
Brownsville Independent School District, Brownsville, TX: In October 2008, this school district got a major boost — a $1 million academic progress award from The Broad Prize for Urban Education. Graduating Brownsville seniors got the prize money to use as scholarships for college, a worthwhile way to divvy up the money, but one that didn’t help existing teachers or students still struggling. Considered one of the poorest school districts in the country, Brownsville is located just over one mile from the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. Nearly 98% of 50,000 students are Hispanic, and just under half are still learning English. And an AP article published on Houston’s ABC TV station website noted that the “surrounding Cameron County had the highest poverty rate for a county of its size in the country at 34.7 percent.”
Shannon County School District, Batesland, South Dakota: One of the poorest school districts in the country is also one of the most stressed and depressed. In December 2010, the U.S. Department of Education’s

In court, UFT and NAACP ask for immediate halt to closure plans | GothamSchools

In court, UFT and NAACP ask for immediate halt to closure plans

by Geoffrey Decker

UFT President Michael Mulgrew speaks at an NAACP rally Friday morning. The organizations are the primary plaintiffs on a lawsuit against the Department of Education.

Seeking to force an immediately halt to the city’s plans to close 22 schools and co-locate another 18 charter schools, the teachers union and the NAACP filed a temporary restraining order against the Department of Education on Thursday.

The court request would force the plans to end whether or not a judge rules in favor of the original lawsuit challenging the city’s plans. That lawsuit, filed by the United Federation of Teachers and the NAACP last month, argues that the closures and co-locations create an unequal allocation of resources.

City school officials immediately criticized the attempted restraining order, describing a colliding impact that they said would target thousands of high school students.

Last year, when another lawsuit by the teachers union and the NAACP forced the city to reverse its plans to close struggling schools, the city delayed matching students to high schools until the outcome of the suit was clear. This year, the city has already matched students to high schools. It’s not obvious what would happen to

ASCD Inservice: Are Early Primary States Distorting National Ed. Policy?

Are Early Primary States Distorting National Ed. Policy?

Early primary voters—in New Hampshire, Iowa, Nevada, and South Carolina—have up to five times the influence of Super Tuesday voters on picking candidates who will run for president, according to new research from economists Brian Knight and Nathan Schiff. The New York Times covered this study in David Leonhardt's "One Person, One Vote? Not Exactly."

In an NPR interview, Michele Norris asks, "How do these early states influence or distort political debate and even national policy? Do these relatively rural states drown out issues important to urban voters?" (Listen to the whole interview.)

Education is one of the big issues that often gets neglected in presidential campaigns (and in national policy in general), and this may be due to the enormous influence of New Hampshire and Iowa—relatively rural states with older

Orange Sweater Caucus « Fred Klonsky's blog

Orange Sweater Caucus

by Fred Klonsky

What with IEA President Ken Swanson showing his hand to Ty Fahner and the membership even before the secret summer meetings begin, it is time for IEA members to join together and say no to any reborn SB512 in any form.

No reduction in benefits. No increase in costs. No three tiers.

There’s a Facebook group: The Orange Sweater Caucus. You can join and post.

The Orange Sweater symbolizes that you have to be visible to be heard.

Charter Schools Challenged In St. Louis, California, Georgia

Charter School Backlash?

by The Huffington Post News Team

A St. Louis school board member challenging the city's charter schools on a legal technicality knows his claims may not go far -- but that hasn't stopped him from fighting.

"I'm not trying to close these schools down," Chad Beffa told The Huffington Post. "I just want to stop the inefficiencies of this mess in the city of St. Louis.

Beffa thinks charter schools, which are publicly funded but can be privately run, have harmed his city's public schools by wasting their money. So last Friday, he sent a note to St. Louis' charter-school proponents saying that the city's recent population loss, as indicated by new census data, makes the operation of charter schools illegal.

As reported by the St. Louis Beacon, Beffa's letter cited Missouri State Law 160.400, which states charter schools are only eligible to open in "a metropolitan school district or in an urban school district containing most or all of a city with a population greater than 350,000 inhabitants." The law already restricted Missouri charter

LAUSD IS ONLY A COG IN THE WHEEL THAT SILENCES DISSENT (LAUSD ES SOLO UN DIENTE EN LA RUEDA QUE DISENSO SILENCIOS) - Perdaily.com

LAUSD IS ONLY A COG IN THE WHEEL THAT SILENCES DISSENT (LAUSD ES SOLO UN DIENTE EN LA RUEDA QUE DISENSO SILENCIOS)

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

(For a national view of public education reform see the end of this blog post)

It is a difficult thing to say - and it would seem from what I read - a difficult thing to comprehend, but there is very little that can be done within the existing power structure at both the state and federal level. Having said this, you must understand that I am not "so negative," as I have been labeled, but rather a realist who would like to act in a way that is likely to REQUIRE a response from the corrupt power structure that presently ignores us at no cost to themselves.

You can file an action with Public Employees Review Board and the likely result with be that you will lose...two years from now in an action decided by the same type of political appointees that are as much in the pocket of LAUSD as is the California Teacher Credentialing, where 43% of the employees are afraid for their jobs if they report the nepotism and corruption that is rampant in these and other state and federal agencies.

You can demand that LAUSD, UTLA, and other corrupt entities treat you in a manner the complies with law and

Schools Matter: A comment on Ravitch's NY Times article: School Miracles, Slow Learners and Access to Books

A comment on Ravitch's NY Times article: School Miracles, Slow Learners and Access to Books

by skrashen

First-class investigative reporting by Diane Ravitch revealed that when schools seem to have overcome poverty and have achieved "stunning results," it is usually "the result of statistical legerdemain," and that "the only miracle at these schools was a triumph of public relations." (Waiting for a School Miracle,http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/opinion/01ravitch.html).

The media and politicians are slow learners (see eg Jonathan Alter's remarks on Ravitch's column. Alter focuses on two small details but ignores the other cases, past and present; http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-03/don-t-believe-critics-education-reform-works-jonathan-alter.html). Gerald Bracey regularly reported cases like this years ago, and I contributed an analysis as well. We both concluded that there were very very few cases in which schools in high-poverty areas achieved high scores on tests.

Individual cases of overcoming poverty are rare as well. When individuals do succeed despite poverty, they often

5th grader’s essay: High-stakes tests lead to stress, not learning - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

5th grader’s essay: High-stakes tests lead to stress, not learning

by Valerie Strauss

One voice given short shrift in the loud (and unfortunately increasingly shrill) education debate is that of kids. You know, the people who actually have to take all the standardized tests that are (again, unfortunately) at the center of modern school reform.

With the blogosphere screaming with claims by adults that standardized test-based reform is improving student achievement, here is the work of a child who tells a different story. It’s important to listen.

Read full article >>

Michelle Rhee's advocacy group opens shop in Sacramento - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Michelle Rhee's advocacy group opens shop in Sacramento

By Laurel Rosenhall
lrosenhall@sacbee.com

Published: Friday, Jun. 3, 2011 - 1:22 pm

Last Modified: Friday, Jun. 3, 2011 - 1:27 pm

StudentsFirst, the advocacy group launched by former Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, opened shop in Sacramento this week.

Rhee and about 10 staffers are temporarily working out of offices owned by St. HOPE, the organization started by Rhee's fiancé, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. StudentsFirst plans to move into permanent offices on K Street in September, a spokeswoman said.

Rhee became a polarizing national figure as the head of public schools in Washington D.C., where she closed two dozen campuses, fired hundreds of teachers and allowed TV cameras to follow her as she battled teacher unions and canned principals. She left the job after her boss, Mayor Adrian Fenty, was voted out of office in September.

In December, Rhee launched StudentsFirst with a goal of raising $1 billion to support candidates and influence education policy at the local and state levels. Since then the group has pushed for

As Gates Foundation Grows, Critics Question Methods : NPR

As Gates Foundation Grows, Critics Question Methods

by WENDY KAUFMAN

About a thousand people joined Bill and Melinda Gates Thursday night to celebrate the opening of the foundation's new campus in Seattle.

"You know when you work on a project like this you start with a goal," Melinda Gates said. "And at the end of the day, this campus is about us having an impact on the world for the people we serve, whether they are in Bangladesh or in Boston or in Botswana or Nigeria."

The foundation spends most of its money on global health, with sizable sums going to global development and efforts to improve public schools in the U.S.

In order to keep its tax-exempt status, the foundation has to give away about $3 billion a year. Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, says the foundation's influence goes far beyond that.

Taking Over?

"They're influencing governments in lots of different ways — and

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan's Alter boy spearheads personal assault on Ravitch

Duncan's Alter boy spearheads personal assault on Ravitch

by Mike Klonsky

Arne Duncan, President Barack Obama’s normally mild- mannered education secretary, has finally had enough. “Diane Ravitch is in denial and she is insulting all of the hardworking teachers, principals and students all across the country who are proving her wrong every day,” he said when I asked about Ravitch this week. -- Jonathan Alter

Diane Ravitch is right on point with her critique of corporate-style school reform and with her exposes of so-called "turnaround miracles."

How do I know she's hitting the mark? Arne Duncan is using the full power of the DOE's overstaffed and over-budgeted PR department to launch personal attacks on Diane. Even during the Bush administration, when hack journalists like Armstrong Williams were paid big bucks to promote No Child Left Behind, I can't recall former secretaries of ed using willing writers to launch such vicious personal vendettas against individual critical educators.

Duncan's version of Williams (paid or unpaid) is know-nothing edu-hack writer Jonathan Alter, blogging for Bloomberg (how perfect!). Alter has proven himself the perfect lap dog for Duncan and Bill Gates. If either of them

Ch-Ch-Changes - Dana Goldstein

Ch-Ch-Changes

by Dana Goldstein

Last August I left my full-time job as an associate editor at The Daily Beast to accept a Spencer Fellowship in education journalism at Columbia University. Through the Spencer program, I was able to pursue a series oflong-form on-the-ground reporting projects, culminating in my book proposal on the political history of teaching in America, which I'm currently finishing up. I was also able to enroll in Sam Freedman's absolutely transformational book-writing seminar.

As this academic year draws to a close, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Sam, the Spencer Foundation, and all the great folks who mentored me at Columbia, especially LynNell Hancock and Nick Lemann. Each one helped me grow as a reporter, writer, and analyst of education issues. I also learned so much from my Spencer Fellow colleagues, veteran journalists Greg Toppo and Sarah Carr, both of whom are working on fascinating book projects of their own.

My big news is that for the coming year, I have two new institutional relationships I'm really excited about. The Nation Institute has awarded me a Puffin Foundation writing fellowship and even lured me out of my tiny studio

solidaridad: Naomi Klein on Democracy vs. Neoliberalism (or how charter schools and corporate edreform got their foothold)

Naomi Klein on Democracy vs. Neoliberalism (or how charter schools and corporate edreform got their foothold)

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

[Click here if you can't view this video]

NYC Public School Parents: In defense of Diane Ravitch (not that she needs it!)

In defense of Diane Ravitch (not that she needs it!)

by Leonie Haimson

Today, Jonathan Alter of Newsweek let loose an attack on Diane Ravitch for her recent oped in the NY Times, in which she pointed out how the claims made many of the charter advocates of "miracle schools " are often based on inflated or distorted data.

Last night, Diane won the Moynihan award, given annually by the American Academy of Political and Social Science to outstanding civic leaders who "champion the use of evidence and informed judgment in the policy process. " She richly deserves this award for standing up to the corporate reformers and venture philanthropists who consistently distort data to suit their own ideological biases.

Below is my response to the Alter column; I also reprint comments sent him directly or submitted online by NYC parent Jennifer Freeman, celebrated education reformer Debbie Meier, education advocate Robert Skeels, and Nancy Flanagan, a former teacher who writes a column in EdWeek.

If you'd like to send your own comment, you can email Jonathan at alterjonathan@gmail.com and/or submit them online.

______

Jonathan: What you call "beefing up accountability and standards" is what others call high-stakes testing. In

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Institutional Memory

Institutional Memory

by Charlie Mas

I have been active in Seattle Public Schools at the district level for ten years now. When I look at the current District leadership, I see a lot of newbies.

Director DeBell has been on the board for five years, but most of the board directors have only been there for three years. Two of them have only one year of experience.

The interim superintendent is not only new in the job, but still pretty new to Seattle Public Schools. She's been with the District for about two years. The Assistant Superintendents are also either new to the District (interim CFO, Mr. Treat) or new to district-level positions (Ms. McEvoy, Dr. Thompson). Of the Executive Directors of Schools, only Mr. Brockman has been with the District for long. Mr. Tolley has been here for only two years and the other three are brand new to the District. The Communications Director is also brand new to the District.

I'm not questioning any of these people's qualifications or experience in general, but the fact remains that they do not have any first-hand knowledge of the District's history. They have no institutional memory. That has consequences. That's a liability.

The institutional memory of the District isn't in the staff. It is held in the activists: Chris Jackins, Mel Westbrook,

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