Seeing eye to eye | Connected Principals

Seeing eye to eye | Connected Principals:

Seeing eye to eye

by Justin Tarte

Yesterday I had the opportunity to have a great discussion with one of the teachers at my school. We started this conversation during his conference period, and the discussion continued for about an hour after school ended.

Our discussion covered several different topics that are typically considered to be the “sacred cows” of educational discussions. Throughout this conversation we both brought up many good points, and the conversation definitely caused me to reflect and think about my educational beliefs and the way I approach my job as an Educator.

Perhaps the most important part of this experience was that there were a couple

Places for Healing: Schools as Community Centers « Cooperative Catalyst

Places for Healing: Schools as Community Centers « Cooperative Catalyst:

Places for Healing: Schools as Community Centers

POSTED BY DARETHESCHOOL ⋅ SEPTEMBER 10, 2011 ⋅ LEAVE A COMMENT

“ Nothing in this universe exists alone. Every drop of water, every human being, all creatures in the web of life and all ideas in the web of knowledge are part of an immense, evolving, dynamic whole as old, and as young , as the universe itself.”

-Symbiosis 1982

Schools are institutions of so much possibility, a place for developing young minds for better or for worse. During my interview with Marquett , http://wp.me/p1IwKs-1s he spoke a great deal about the way many charter schools in low-income communities of color have taken the stance of isolation. Many of them attempt to create an island of their own, acting as a fortress in the community. Taking such a stance speaks a hidden language to students and community members that articulates the following:

1. Your community isn’t good enough. Yes we are preparing you to be scholars and we want you to be college bound however, you must leave your community behind. If you do not separate yourself from your community, you will be failures just like the rest of them.

2. Your community is a deficit. Why would our school be a part of it? It has no assets to give. Our institution has the knowledge and the power. Nothing of value can be discovered outside of it.

3. Your community does not understand: Most of its members are uneducated and impoverished anyway. They will resent academic advancement along with the institution that provides it.

The Cheerful Teacher -Staying Away from the Dark Side! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!

The Cheerful Teacher -Staying Away from the Dark Side! « Diary of a Public School Teacher!:

The Cheerful Teacher -Staying Away from the Dark Side!

by Oldschoolteach

I am ashamed to write this. Not I am ashamed, ” but secretly I am grinning maliciously inside”, ashamed, I am really ashamed that I behaved in this manner a long, long, time, ago. But its part of my story, so I will share it.

Back in the 80′s, we had a teacher in our school who was always smiling. She smiled morning, noon, and night, and she got on my last nerves! I always wondered why she was so cheerful, didn’t she realize how annoying she was? Didn’t she realize that people had problems? So, to put an end to her everlasting cheerfulness, a colleague and I decided we were going to “get her.” We were in the grade below her, and we decided we were going to put the worst kids in her class, and force her to stop being so cheerful. Well, our plan didn’t work, she still smiled, and she continued to annoy me until she moved out of the

Blue Jersey:: Monmouth Poll Recap: Going Forward

Blue Jersey:: Monmouth Poll Recap: Going Forward:

Monmouth Poll Recap: Going Forward by: DSWright Sat Sep 10, 2011 at 03:00:00 PM EDT

It has been almost three weeks since Monmouth University/NJ Press Media put out the poll on "Education Reform." The response to the poll, particularly the use of the headline "New Jersey Supports Education Reforms: Public Likes Merit Pay, Limited Tenure, Vouchers, Charter Schools." in the press release has been decidedly negative from those in the education community who have seen it and those who study the issue. No one has even, to this moment, offered a detailed defense of the poll. The headline was an unfortunate way to frame the poll for two reasons: 1. It misleads policymakers and media that "education reform" has broad support. 2. The poll itself proved that headline to be false. At the time I wrote a full breakdown of the poll, noting how poorly and in some cases downright misleading many of the questions asked to respondents were. And how, based on the polls own numbers, the ma

Engaging Parents In School… - Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?

Engaging Parents In School… - Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?:

Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?

by Larry Ferlazzo

Ron Clark, the acclaimed teacher and author, wrote a CNN commentary this week titled What teachers really want to tell parents.

I hope any teacher reading it ends up following the opposite of some of the advice he gives:

And if you really want to help your children be successful, stop making excuses for them. I was talking with a parent and her son about his summer reading assignments. He told me he hadn’t started, and I let him know I was extremely disappointed because school starts in two weeks. His mother chimed in and told me that it had been a horrible summer for them because of family issues they’d been through in July. I said I was so sorry, but I couldn’t help but point out that the assignments were given in May.

Now, that’s the way to model empathy….

We are educated professionals who work with kids every day and often see your child in a different light than you

9/11- ten years later, the work still matters

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » 9/11- ten years later, the work still matters:

9/11- ten years later, the work still matters

by admin

When I first heard about the attack on the World Trade Center, I had just walked into the E. Jackson Street office of the School Leadership Cooperative, a group that coordinated meetings, events, and other projects for groups that supported local school councils (LSCs).

The Coop’s executive director, Andy Wade, told me that there had been a hijacking and that Chicago was a potential target. It was about 9:30 central time and we knew very little more than that, but there was a sense that something terrible was happening.

We went into our meeting anyway. The people in the room were some of the best, smartest, most trustworthy

An Urban Teacher's Education: Back on the West Coast

An Urban Teacher's Education: Back on the West Coast:

Back on the West Coast

by James Boutin

After scrounging for job offers for weeks (and nearly prepared to move to South America), I finally stumbled into four interviews in the first week of August. Two in Oakland and two in the Seattle area.

In the end, I accepted a job in the Highline School District, which is just barely south of Seattle. The school I work at sits right next to the Sea-Tac airport. I chose this school because I was excited by their decision-making model (consensus), its small staff and student body (a similar organization to the school I worked at in the Bronx), its relationship with the Coalition for Essential Schools, and my familiarity with the student population (the student body is very similar to the group of students I taught with when I worked at Renton High School, also just south of Seattle, between 2007-2009). We serve among the most diverse communities in the United States (and are very near the most diverse zip code in the US). My students' backgrounds include Mexican, Cambodian, Vietnamese, Somalian, Samoan, Eritrean, West African (mostly Liberian), Turkish, Bosnian, and a few blacks and whites whose families have been in the States for some time.

A few things have struck me about my current school thus far. First, this is the first time I've entered a district

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Free Screening of Michael Moore's "CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY"

SACRAMENTO PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: Free Screening of Michael Moore's "CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY":

Free Screening of Michael Moore's "CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY"

Dear Friends,

We hope you can join the Sacramento Progressive Alliance and our friends, the Mother Lode Progressives, tonight for a potluck social and a free screening of Michael Moore's brilliant film, Capitalism: A Love Story, under the stars on Cameron Park Lake tonight. Details are below. All are welcome. RSVP's are much appreciated, as seating is limited. See you at the movies!

Peace & Solidarity,
Paul B

WHAT: Free Screening of Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story & Potluck Social

WHEN: Tonight (Saturday, 9/10), 6:30pm (Social Hour); 7:30pm (Film)

WHERE: Leisa & Paul's House, 3025A Cambridge Rd., Cameron Park 95682 (Cambridge exit off 50, 2 miles north, house on the right, bottom of driveway)

Junk Food Trucks Undercut Healthy School Lunch Rules - The Bay Citizen

Junk Food Trucks Undercut Healthy School Lunch Rules - The Bay Citizen:

Junk Food Trucks Undercut Healthy School Lunch Rules

Why eat a veggie burger when you can get Hot Cheetos just down the street?

Noah Berger for The Bay Citizen

Novato High School senior Audrey Romero, center, and sophomore Priscilla Figueroa, right, eat ice cream from a vending truck outside their school on Tuesday

NOVATO — On Tuesday afternoon, Edgar Cardenas, 16, stood on the curb outside Novato High School buying his lunch from a food truck that was peddling ice cream, candy, soft drinks and chips.

For $3.50, Edgar, a sophomore, purchased a bag of Hot Cheetos, a can of Coca-Cola and a package of Airheads Xtremes candy.

In the school cafeteria, the menu included a chicken sandwich with roasted potatoes or a

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/13dTg)

Beyond 9/11 – Love Not Fear « MomsRising Blog

Beyond 9/11 – Love Not Fear « MomsRising Blog:

Beyond 9/11 – Love Not Fear

Posted September 10th, 2011 by Homa Tavangar

The age difference between my oldest child and youngest is ten years. The daughter who was in third grade on September 11, 2001 started her first year of college last week, and the “baby” is now at the same school, sitting in the exact same elementary classroom as her big sister did on 9/11/01. I resisted writing about the tenth anniversary of 9/11 – there’s already much opinion criss-crossing the airwaves, and there have been so many other tragedies – genocide in Rwanda, recovery in New Orleans and Haiti, famine in Somalia, tsunami aftermath in Asia, contempt for human rights in Iran – that also deserve attention or outrage.

However, like many Americans, I can’t get shake the memory of 9/11 – not only do I remember it every day, twice a day, when the digital clock reads 9:11, but it’s changed me. I changed careers because of 9/11. From a business consultant to a writer and

Read more: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/beyond-911-love-not-fear/#ixzz1XZbADooY

Modern School: Let Them Drown: A Case For Corporate Euthanasia

Modern School: Let Them Drown: A Case For Corporate Euthanasia:

Let Them Drown: A Case For Corporate Euthanasia

by Michael Dunn

Three years after raping taxpayers to the tune of $4.6 trillion to bail out Wall Street, under the lie that it would help the economy and housing market recover, both are still in the dumps. Thebursting of the housing bubble caused $6 trillion in lost wealth so far, and an additional $2 trillion is still expected. As a consequence, working and middle class homeowners saw the bulk of their wealth disappear overnight and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel.

The wealthy and their politician allies argued that extended tax breaks for the richest Americans and their corporations would create jobs, yet millions of Americans are still out of work. They also said that if we did not bail out the banks and automakers, that it would worsen unemployment. Yet the UAW signed concessions with the automakers that resulted not only in layoffs, but declining pay and benefits for those who were lucky enough to keep their jobs, while

Saturday coffee + Old school « Fred Klonsky's blog

Saturday coffee. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Saturday coffee.

by Fred Klonsky

With about 37 weeks to go I’m definitely hitting my stride. In the zone, teaching-wise.

After 27 years, I knew I’d finally get it right.

Except for yesterday when kids painting with acrylics on large plastic sheets, which would later be turned into a huge inflated bubble 100 feet long, started mixing different colors with abandon. This turned into what became an unimaginable shade of puke. And then it got on the linoleum floor and then got stepped into and dozens of

Old school.

by Fred Klonsky

The Zombies.

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Duncan provides another “HUH?” moment

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Duncan provides another “HUH?” moment:

Duncan provides another “HUH?” moment

by admin

Fed Ed Head Arne Duncan has a knack for running from his own track record as Chicago Public Schools CEO and making some idiotic statements while he trying to score edu-political points.

Yesterday, while visiting our fair city, he came out in favor of Mayor Emanuel’s longer school day plan, saying that it has been a “badge of shame” for CPS. Then he made this claim, according to the Chicago Sun-Times -

Extending the school day and year is “absolutely … something I wish we could have done’’ under his leadership, Duncan said. But, he said, during that time — from 2001 to early 2009 — “the

Education and the Cult of Efficiency | Lefty Parent

Education and the Cult of Efficiency | Lefty Parent:

Education and the Cult of Efficiency

by Cooper Zale

This is the title of a book by Raymond Callahan first published in 1962, but brought to my attention in the suggested reading list in radical educator John Taylor Gatto‘s book, The Underground History of American Education. Callahan’s book focuses on the history of the public education system in the U.S. in the first three decades of the 20th century, and his premise that, the system was transformed into a business-industrial model which one could argue continues to this day. Perhaps we have seen a resurgence of that business-industrial model in recent decades with curriculum standardization,

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?”

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - “Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?”:

“Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking?” Jeez, What Was Ron Clark Thinking? is a new post at my other blog, Engaging Parents In School. It’s about a recent ill-advised commentary on teachers and parents that acclaimed author and teacher Ron Clark wrote for CNN this past week.

A Few More Very Interesting 9/11 Resources Here are yet again a few more very interesting 9/11 resources I’m adding to The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11. Because that list is getting to be so large, I’m going to start being even more selective than I usually am for inclusion there: ...

Even More On 9/11 Here are even more additions to The Best Sites To Help Teach About 9/11: Ten years later: A lasting impact on the world is an interactive from The Associated Press. 9/11 – the comic book 9/11 timeline: The story of the day is from the BBC. 9/11: ...

No Friction Homework « Cooperative Catalyst

No Friction Homework « Cooperative Catalyst:

No Friction Homework

by Kirsten Olson

Yes We Can

When my children were about 11, 9, and 7 (I have twins so that’s four kids), the kids would arrive home after school, bus exhaust announcing their appearance. They’d walk up the driveway wearily, their shoulders weighed down by backpacks filled with textbooks, notebooks and most especially, reams and reams of worksheets of homework. Sometimes, on crisp autumn days they’d fling off their backpacks before they’d even walked a few steps, their burdens flying out in low arcs on the lawn and landing with a thud. Remorselessly earthbound, the frayed canvas objects refused to go airborne. I’d stand looking at the detritus of school, washed up by the tides of

Sacramento City Unified School District eConnection Newsletter

Sacramento City Unified School District:

SCUSD.EDU PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST SEPTEMBER 9, 2011

District Calendar of Events School Lunch Menus SCUSD Kicks Off School Year with Breakfast Event Pencils? Check. Paper? Check. Yogurt and fresh fruit? Check! To emphasize the link between healthy eating and student academic success, SCUSD sponsored a free breakfast for Peter Burnett Elementary School families on Tuesday - the first day of the new school year. More than 200 children and their parents enjoyed fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs and pancakes served by SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond, Board of Education President Gustavo Arroyo and Board Vice President Patrick Kennedy. Mayor Kevin Johnson and City Councilman Kevin McCarty also attended the event. Mayor Johnson encouraged children to be nice, work hard and go to college. Principal Manuel Huezo thanked Peter Burnett's community partners, including Old Soul bakery, which has "adopted" the campus and pleged to work with Reading Partners to improve literacy at the schools. This year, SCUSD plans to raise awareness of its federally sponsored breakfast program and increase the number of children who eat breakfast at school. Thirty-four campuses are offering free breakfasts for every student. Nearly 14,000 students in SCUSD will have access to healthy morning meals every day at these sites. First Day Sacramento Goes Back to School! Kids and families were welcomed back to school - or welcomed to school for the first time - by celebrations throughout the district. This is the fourth year SCUSD has sponsored "Sacramento Goes Back to School," an effort to make every campus welcoming and friendly on the first day of school. Click here for a slide show of various first-day celebrations. First Day Photos New Sports Complex for the Titans An opening ceremony will be held later this month for Luther Burbank High School's new $6.9 million sports complex, which includes a new state-of-the-art turf playing field, track, scoreboard, bleachers for 25,000, classrooms, restrooms and a concession stand. The complex is being paid for through a facilities construction bond passed by voters in 2003. The complex also includes an innovative rainwater capturing system that will be used to reclaim water for use in landscaping. The Titans are scheduled to play their first home football game in several years on the field on September 23 against the Hiram Johnson Warriors. SCUSD Expands Its Language Immersion Programs Two new language immersion programs opened this week in SCUSD schools: a Mandarin Chinese class at William Land Elementary School and a Hmong immersion class - the first of its kind in California - at Susan B. Anthony Elementary School. The expansion of immersion programs is part of SCUSD's commitment to graduating high-achieving, bilingual and bicultural students ready for college and careers in the future global job marketplace. In a language immersion class, students in kindergarten are taught primarily in the target language, such as Spanish, Hmong and Chinese. As students progress through the grades, they are taught less in the target language and more in English. Years of research shows that students in language immersion programs are more successful at school, scoring higher on standardized tests given only in English than their counterparts. SCUSD Welcomes New Principals Over the summer, several new principals were hired to head SCUSD campuses. They come from varying backgrounds, but all share one thing in common: They are enthusiastic and eager to lead! Please join us in welcoming: · Carolyn Olsen, Earl Warren Elementary School · Thu Le Doan, Elder Creek Elementary School · Torie England, Isador Cohen Elementary School · Angela Novotny, John Sloat Elementary School · Tiffany Smith-Simmons, Mark Hopkins Elementary School · Evelyn Baffico, John Cabrillo Elementary School · Garrett Kirkland, Albert Einstein Middle School · Temeca Richardson, John Still Middle School · Rachel Lane (Interim Principal), Nicholas Elementary School Also, four administrators who served on an interim basis last year have returned to those campuses as principals: · Michael Kast, A.M. Winn Elementary School · Kelley Odipo, Parkway Elementary School · Andrea Egan, Phoebe Hearst Elementary School · Norm Tanaka, Matsuyama Elementary School Congratulations! Watch Our Back-to-School TV Special! Enrollment Center Check out segments from SCUSD's Back-to-School cable television special on our YouTube page. Clips provide information on our new Enrollment and Family Resource Center, the state's whooping cough booster (Tdap) requirement, Linked Learning, Early Kinder, Project Green and O.W. Erlewine's new Integrated Thematic Instruction (ITI) program.