Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The NJ pension and benefits bill, that is, via the Asbury Park Press.

For pensions: 7.5% contributions, but there is now a contractual right to the employer's contribution, which I hear from some is an important victory - we'll see. Contracts are broken all of the time; the real question is whether the Legislature will have the stones to tax the wealthy and make pension payments. Are you holding your breath? Didn't think so...

Health Care: Nothing about containing costs - surprise! Boss Norcross probably wouldn't like that, would he? I find it funny (no, not really) that Sweeney can get conservatives to sign on to progressive contributions to health insurance but not to a millionaires' tax. The ramping up is cold comfort, especially since salaries are now effectively capped so they can't be raised to make up the difference. The high-deductible plan is, in effect, gambling - a terrible idea.

My take? Well, the pension stuff was inevitable. But there is no way that any public employee should go along

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble Landsline Winner of New Hampshire Debate

Congressman Kimble Landsline Winner of New Hampshire Debate

by Representative Kimble

[Reprinted from the Oakdale Value Shopper with permission]

54th District Congressman Jack Kimble was the clear winner of last night's Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire despite not being invited to participate. Kimble, who has emerged as a tireless champion of conservative family values, capitalism, and plutocracy is a long shot for the nomination, but that didn't stop him from being the debate's big winner according to overnight tracking polls that showed 73% of viewers felt Kimble was the winner, with 20% preferring Ron Paul, and front-runner Mitt Romney tied for a distant third with Michele Bachmann and Herbert Cain.

Because of a paperwork snafu, Kimble was not invited to the debate so he chose to make the best of the

This Week In Education: Thompson: "No Excuses" Supe Blames Everyone Else

Thompson: "No Excuses" Supe Blames Everyone Else

The Broad Center proclaims that "the superintendent is responsible for the education of every student in the district," and poverty must not be blamed as an "excuse." So, how did the former superintendent of the Broad Academy deal with the data on school violence provided by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s year-long series on the mayhem in the city’s schools? According to published reporters, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman blamed everyone but herself, claiming that "school violence is a national ‘public health problem’ that will require an entire

Education Department Sends Schools Guidance on Gay-Straight Alliance Groups - Poliglot

Education Department Sends Schools Guidance on Gay-Straight Alliance Groups

Posted by Chris Geidner |
June 14, 2011 3:45 PM | Permalink

Today, in a move announced last week, the Department of Education sent a letter to schools around the nation alerting them to their obligations under the Equal Access Act -- specifically as they relate to gay-straight alliances and other similar student organizations.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan wrote that the act "requires public secondary schools to treat all student-initiated groups equally, regardless of the religious, political, philosophical, or other subject matters discussed at their meetings."

Specifically, he wrote, "Its protections apply to groups that address issues relating to LGBT students and matters involving sexual orientation and gender identity, just as they apply to religious and other student groups."

Duncan wrote that the Education Department's general counsel "is issuing a set of legal guidelines affirming the principles that prevent unlawful discrimination against any student-initiated groups. We intend for these guidelines to provide schools with the information and resources they need to help ensure that all students, including LGBT and gender nonconforming students, have a safe place to

This Week In Education: Update: Texas Close To Enacting Parent Trigger Law

Update: Texas Close To Enacting Parent Trigger Law

by Alexander Russo

There are two new articles about parent triggers that have gone live today -- with dramatically different takes. More of a primer on the issue, TIME's Kayla Webley emphasizes the energy, controversy, and frustration behind trigger proposals in her piece, while noting that legislation has been proposed in 14 states and that the Texas version has passed both legislative chambers. EdWeek's Sean Cavanaugh paints much more of a glass half-empty scenario. He notes logistical and political obstacles standing in the way -- underplaying the ferocious political opposition a bit in my opinion (oppenents in California described it as a "lynch mob provision") -- but noting that the newness of the idea plays a part too (which is almost certainly true). What both stories leave out is the reality that, while funded by Walton, Wasserman, and Gates, Parent Revolution and the whole parent trigger idea have been given the cold shoulder by most of the wonky center-

IEA leadership courageously takes on a straw man. « Fred Klonsky's blog

IEA leadership courageously takes on a straw man.

by Fred Klonsky

“‘No’ is not a program,” says the latest posting on the IEA website.

Oh, snap!

That’s a pretty good swipe at whoever was claiming that “no” was a program.

Except nobody was.

I guess when you’ve said “yes” to just about everything, hearing “no” must freak you out.

First of all there is this:

We made major concessions on public employee pensions at the state level last

Schools Matter: Poverty and education: New data

Poverty and education: New data

by skrashen

The US Department of Education assumes that improving teaching is the way to improve the economy. With better teaching, we will have more learning (higher test scores, according to the feds), and this will improve the economy. Martin Luther King said it worked the other way around:

"We are likely to find that the problems of housing and education, instead of preceding the elimination of poverty, will themselves be affected if poverty is first abolished.” (Martin Luther King, 1967, Final Words of Advice).

Evidence supporting the MLK position has been published previously (e.g Zhao, 2009, Baker, 2007). Here is some new data.

Ananat et. al. reported that greater job losses resulted in lower grade 8 NAEP math scores, but results were not significant for grade 4 scores or for reading scores. The effect of job loss on math scores was substantial: Job losses to 1% of a state's population were estimated to lower math scores about 3 points, and large losses

Department of Education Antics « Failing Schools

Department of Education Antics

JUNE 14, 2011

by mariasallee

The bizarre reports, actions, and spin coming out of the US Department of Education these days are starting to churn my stomach. A recent Nation Research Council report suggests that (guess what?), for all of our testing, and investing in testing, students in the United States are not performing significantly better than they were in 2002. Diane Ravitch wrote an Op Ed piece questioning “miracle” results in schools which drew strange criticism by a reporter whodidn’t seem to understand the topic; while in California there was an eerie violation of the 4th

Save Our Schools March & National Call to Action, July 30, 2011

Vouchers and charters not the only school reform solution | The Washington Independent

Vouchers and charters not the only school reform solution

By Mikhail Zinshteyn | 06.14.11 | 2:33 pm

Not all initiatives geared toward improving student performance and school competitiveness have to do with punitive benchmarks and the threat of charters or vouchers plucking pupils and tax dollars away.

Districts can also sponsor change internally, leaning on new interactive media platforms to break outdated modes of learning while preparing students for a future that not only relies on technology for convenience, but demands its understanding to stay competitive globally.

A story in The Iowa Independent, a sister publication of The American Independent,highlights a school district in the Hawkeye State that has dropped textbooks and workbooks for grades six and up in favor of laptops. Van Meter Community Schools has become a model institution, hosting 500 educators and dignitaries as they glean the best approaches to free up learning while upping a student’s knowledge intake.

On a costs basis, relying on high-tech consumer items comes down to $50 per device, saving the schools money on workbooks that were the largest expenditure as it dropped the bound paper and leased roughly $150,000 worth of Apple Macintosh laptop computers and products.

The author of the story, Beth Dalbey, writes the district began mapping its tech-focuseducation approach six years ago over concerns a fast-growing portion of the county would swallow the small school system.

Here is a sample of the story that illustrates some of the advantages to an interactive classroom:

Behind Van Meter’s looking glass, students – or learners, as they’re

solidaridad: Resist the hostile Green Dot takeover of Henry Clay Middle School!

Resist the hostile takeover of Henry Clay Middle School!

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

"The lowest-performing, based on test scores, is the large Green Dot chain." — Los Angeles Times

Under the deceptively called PSC 2.0 process, the Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education decided to give Clay Middle School (a long-existing middle school) to the Green Dot Corporation against the will of that community. It is tantamount to a hostile takeover and continues a corporatization and privatization trend, flouts State Education Code, has completely marginalized parents and community, and was a direct attack on the Board Member who has most stood up against PSC privatization process, the highly regarded Marguerite P. LaMotte.

SAVE HENRY CLAY MIDDLE SCHOOL
Saturday, June 18, 2011 at 11:30am
Imperial Heights Church of the Brethren
1909 W. Imperial Highway, Los Angeles, CA 90047
Special Guest: Congresswoman Maxine Waters, 35th Congressional District

This is a critical moment in the effort to push back against

Wisconsin Day at Netroots Nation | Uppity Wisconsin

Wisconsin Day at Netroots Nation

by Steve Hanson

Thursday is Wisconsin day at Netroots Nation. There will be two Wisconsin-oriented panels, one of which I will be on.

The keynotes and some panels will be live-streamed, and I'll make an attempt at bringing that to you on the site starting Thursday morning.

Wisconsin panels you might be interested in if you are going:

The Wisconsin 14 - the Recall and the impact of National Organizing in Wisconsin - Adam Green, Chris Larson, Levana Layendecker, Daniel Mintz

Bloggers Unite! How the Netroots Rallied in Wisconsin - Melissa Ryan, Blue Cheddar, Steve Hanson, Blaine Rummel, Jesse Russell

Opening Keynote - Russ Feingold

Arne Duncan: We'll Waive Federal Law If You Embrace Our Schools Agenda. Say What? | Crooks and Liars

Arne Duncan: We'll Waive Federal Law If You Embrace Our Schools Agenda. Say What?

11 comments

By Susie Madrak

Now, watch the video and then read this. Because it's important to understand the filter here: The administration really, really wants privatized schools and Arne Duncan, the education secretary, is the head cheerleader -- even though everything he claims about their success is a lie. It makes you wonder exactly what the real agenda is, doesn't it?

Duncan just announced that he's getting ready to waive No Child Left Behind requirements for states if they agree, as the New York Times put it, "to embrace President Obama's education priorities, a formula the administration used last year in its signature education initiative, the Race to the Top grant competition." Frederick Hess writes about it in Education Week:

So, let me get this straight. After barely convincing Congress to keep Race to the Top on life support, [Arne] Duncan is intent on unilaterally pushing his same pet priorities through the back

Will (Or Can) Computers Replace Teachers? « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

Will (Or Can) Computers Replace Teachers?

As I listened to my favorite radio station this morning, the hosts made reference to an article, ”Will teachers be replaced by computers?” The hosts made jokes, but I took this question seriously.

“As long as schools measure performance simply by rote memorization on multiple-choice tests, no teacher can compete with instant access to the world’s information. Unless schools change, more and more teachers will find themselves replaced by computers.”

But that’s the point, we should not measure performance based on rote memorization. As a country, we are always pushing critical thinking. In the classroom, we are all given copies of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and told to encourage higher level thinking. In reality though, we know what we are asked to do, get

Queens Teacher: Rather Interviews Ravitch

Rather Interviews Ravitch

by Queens Teacher

Looking at SB 7 through rose colored glasses. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Looking at SB 7 through rose colored glasses.

by Fred Klonsky

Man, that was a sleazy bunch that surrounded the governor as he signed Senate Bill 7 yesterday.

Gery Chico? Rahm Emanuel?

And standing in the shadows were the corporate bandits from Stand for Children, arms crossed, smiling a shit-eating grin.

Then there was Arne’s senior side-kick, Jo Anderson. And the IEA’s Ken Swanson.

If some in that crowd bumped into you, immediately check your back pocket to see if your wallet is still there.

Senate Bill 7 took away the right to strike from Chicago teachers in any practical sense. It took away tenure and seniority when it comes to reductions in staff. It makes student test scores a basis for teacher employment.

The Chicago Teachers Union leadership put up a little fight when their House of Delegates expressed their dislike

Schools Matter: New Report Offers Withering Critique of MA Plan to Evaluate Teachers Based on MCAS Scores

New Report Offers Withering Critique of MA Plan to Evaluate Teachers Based on MCAS Scores

by Jim Horn

Please share widely:

Flawed Massachusetts Teacher Evaluation Proposal Risks Further Damage to Teaching and Learning

By the Massachusetts Working Group on Teacher Evaluation of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing

Full Report

2 Page Executive Summary

For immediate release, Tuesday, June 14, 2011

NEW REPORT: STATE PROPOSAL WOULD IMPOSE COSTLY TESTING MANDATE AND FAULTY, DAMAGING TEACHER EVALUATION SCHEME

Four Republican Senators Release Details of Budget Demands « State of Emergency

Four Republican Senators Release Details of Budget Demands

by Leonard Feldman

Four Republican State Senators – Tom Berryhill of Modesto, Anthony Cannella of Ceres, Bill Emmerson of Hemet and Tom Harman of Huntington Beach — have released details of the items they say are “must haves” if they are to agree to a budget deal.

The items — tabbed “necessary reforms” — include a cap on state spending, “reform” to public pensions, alternatives to state regulations, and relaxation of California environmental regulations.

California Teachers Association and supporters of schools and other vital services have been seeking four Republican votes — two in the Senate and two in the Assembly – to gain the two-thirds majority needed to extend the state’s temporary taxes and stave of another $5 billion hit to schools that would be part of a $10 billion additional cut in state public services.

The full text of the GOP Senator’s list can be found at http://cssrc.us/pubs/110613_ReformProposalSpecifics.pdf

NCEE Report Focuses on Teachers as Professionals, New Pay Schemes - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

NCEE Report Focuses on Teachers as Professionals, New Pay Schemes

by E.D. Kain

Imagine that becoming a teacher was a lot like becoming a doctor or a lawyer. Only the top students at the best universities could get a spot in competitive teaching programs. And they would spend five to six years becoming a highly trained, highly skilled educator.

If you were lucky enough to make it into one of the highly selective teaching programs you would become a well paid and respected professional. Upon entering the teaching field, you would have the support of veteran teachers in the classroom, but also creative autonomy and the trust of your principal and colleagues. Not only that, but you would be working in a field where you could actually make a difference.

Sounds pretty good, right?

That’s the thrust of the The National Center on Education and the Economy’s new report (pdf) which argues that America needs to emulate other nations like Finland and Singapore by making the teaching profession more prestigious and desirable. This in turn would attract a higher quality labor pool and lead to major improvements

Schools Matter: Why Duncan and the BRT Must Go

Why Duncan and the BRT Must Go

by Jim Horn

Today there are two mainstream non-choices in education politics and policy: Republican corporate control filtered through the reactionary ideology of the Koch Brothers and the John Birch Society, or Democratic corporate control filtered through the neoliberal technocratic ideology of the the Gates and Broad foundations. Both serve the ends of the corporate state/ state corporation and are, by definition, fascist in design and purpose.

We are, in fact, quickly approaching a point when schools will NOT matter in any positive social, cultural, or economic investment sense, a time, in fact, when education will be devoted entirely to preparing workers to compete in the global economy, i. e., working longer for less. This new education model will be be paid for with public dollars that directly feed corporate bottom lines, whether CMOs, EMOs, vouchers, or publicly-funded loans for for-profit edu-ventures.

Teachers, parents, professors, and even some in the media have finally begun to understand this, with the help

The Time is Always Right to Do What is Right « EdVox

The Time is Always Right to Do What is Right

by edvoxny

blog originally posted at The Brock Report

by Zakiyah Ansari

In New York City, the last 10 years of educational reform has consisted of stripping parent and community voice from the system and the belief by Mayor Bloomberg that closing schools is a school reform strategy (more than 100 schools closed under Mayor Bloomberg). This strategy has resulted in the creation of more than 400 new small schools, but they have largely left behind the lowest-performing schools serving the highest-needs communities, predominantly in Black and Latino neighborhoods.

As a mother, advocate and an organizer with Alliance for Quality Education I signed my name to the lawsuit along with AQE, NAACP, UFT, other parents and elected officials because the politics DOE is playing with our children must stop. They claim that they have raised the graduation rates, closed the achievement gap and tout that their policies over the last 9 years have been successful. Yet as a result of Bloomberg’s school reforms the racial achievement gap has widened since 2003 and now white students are twice as likely to read on grade level

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