Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gov. Snyder's privatization mess in Muskegon Hts.

Schooling in the Ownership Society: Gov. Snyder's privatization mess in Muskegon Hts.:

Gov. Snyder's privatization mess in Muskegon Hts.

by Mike Klonsky

What's left of Muskegon Heights Public Schools.

Remember last year when Michigan's wing-nut Gov. Rick Snyder used his fascist powers to privatize the town and schools of Muskegon Heights?  First he replaced the elected city government with a hand-picked business czar, Don Weatherspoon. Then, Czar Weatherspoon decided to turn the entire public school system over to a 

NYC Educator: Spare the Cane, and Enable

NYC Educator: Spare the Cane, and Enable:

Spare the Cane, and Enable

by NYC Educator

About five years ago, I was asked to cover the class of an AP. It was a wondrous thing coming in from the trailers to a classroom full of computers, something I'd rarely seen. The kids were mostly doing something or other on them, and I mostly let them do it.

One boy kept listening to music on his iPod. I asked him to put it away, and he did. I carried on, doing whatever I was doing, while the kids carried on doing whatever they were doing. But a few minutes later, there was the same boy, listening to the same iPad. I explained to him that if the principal walked in, it would be me getting in trouble if I allowed him to listen to it, and he put it away again.

But five minutes later, he was wearing it again. The hell 

Georgia among states with more non-teaching personnel than teachers. But does it matter? | Get Schooled

Georgia among states with more non-teaching personnel than teachers. But does it matter? | Get Schooled:

Georgia among states with more non-teaching personnel than teachers. But does it matter?

by Maureen Downey

The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice released a report today on which states have more non-teaching personnel than teachers, and Georgia is among the them. The study was done by Ben Scafidi, a one-time education adviser to Gov. Sonny Perdue and now an economics professor at Georgia College & State University.
I am not sure what to make of the findings as the 21 states cited in the report represent a range of student achievement. So, it’s not clear to me that the ratio of non-teaching personnel to classroom teachers correlates with how well kids do in school.
For example, the list includes both Minnesota, a historically high performing state, and Mississippi, a historically

Sen. Jason Carter: We have not tackled any real education issues this legislative session

by Maureen Downey

A frustrated State Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, took to the Senate well to protest the indifference of the Legislature to the serious education problems facing Georgia, including school funding. Twenty-four days into the legislative session, Carter complained that the first education bill being considered by the Senate was one requiring schools dedicate a week to students learning and reciting the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. While saying he would support “Freedom Week,” Carter said, “We also have to face our problems.” Take a look at his speech.

L.A. Unified, other school districts seek new measures of success - latimes.com

L.A. Unified, other school districts seek new measures of success - latimes.com:

L.A. Unified, other school districts seek new measures of success

Nine California school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, will apply to the U.S. Department of Education for relief from rules that, over time, have labeled most schools that receive federal funds as failing, officials announced Thursday.
In exchange, the districts pledged to adopt a broader system of measures that officials said would lead to better outcomes for students.
“We are not seeking this waiver in any way, shape or form … to escape accountability,” said L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy. Instead, he pledged “a new and more robust system,” one that is “built on the right drivers.”
“We’re ready to be held to a much higher standard,” Deasy said.
Under rules established during the George W. Bush administration, nearly all students in schools that receive federal funds must test at grade level or better in math and English by 2014. Schools not meeting aggressive 

Please Don’t Call Me Coach | Taking Note

Please Don’t Call Me Coach | Taking Note:

Please Don’t Call Me Coach

by John Merrow

If I were still teaching, I don’t think I would want people calling me “Coach.”

Referring to teachers as Coaches has been in vogue for the last dozen years or so. Instead of being “Sages on the Stage,” teachers became “Guides on the Side.” Better yet, they were “Coaches” who brought out the best in their students. “Coach” was understood to be a high compliment, a term of great respect. It carried the message that this particular teacher understood individual differences among his or her students and had the skills to bring out the best in each kid. That was then…..

Times have changed, and, if I were still teaching, I don’t think I would want people calling me “Coach.”

Here’s why: the bottom line mentality is increasingly in charge in public education, with 25 states (and counting) judging teachers according to their students’ test scores. That’s a key provision of the federal government’s “Race to the Top” program as well.

This bottom line philosophy is built on the concept of winners and losers, profit and loss. In education 

UPDATE: If they get a pension bill, will the courts find it legal. Not for current retirees. | Fred Klonsky

If they get a pension bill, will the courts find it legal. Not for current retirees. | Fred Klonsky:

For a graduated tax and for a pension killer too. That won’t work.

by Fred Klonsky

Is it that I’m never satisfied.
Or is it that my mother didn’t raise a fool?
At a recent pension town hall in Wilmette I challenged Senator Dan Biss to sign on as co- sponsor of HJRCA2. The bill would place a constitutional amendment on the 2014 ballot creating a progressive income tax.
Representative Robyn Gabel was challenged to do the same thing.
They said they would. And they have.
So why isn’t this good enough?
Both Senator Biss and Representative Gabel are also sponsors of bills that cut constitutionally guaranteed

If they get a pension bill, will the courts find it legal. Not for current retirees.

by Fred Klonsky

The Supremes.
I just came back from the luncheon of the North Lake Shore Illinois Retired Teachers Association up in Des Plaines.
I sat at the table with Bob Lyons, one of the trustees of the Teacher Retirement System.
Lyons was the featured speaker.
The tone of his speech was generally optimistic. At least for those currently retired teachers. And that was who was in the room.
“It doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do,” Lyons warned.
But he was hesitant to guess what the legislature might do. And in Illinois, that is a sound approach.
He handed out the latest memorandum from the

What is Madigan up to? Discuss.

by Fred Klonsky

When I asked somebody with more experience in the weird inner workings of Springfield about today’s four votes on pension bills, his answer was, “I guess we’ll see.”
Illinois Democratic Party Boss Michael Madigan threw everything at the wall today to see what would stick.
Nothing did.
A House bill that would raise the retirement age of public employees to 67 got one vote. The Speaker’s.
A House bill that would raise employee contributions to 5% got 3 votes. Nekritz, Jefferson and The Speaker.
A House bill that would eliminate all COLAs got five votes. Hurley, Jefferson, Nekritz, Zalewski and The Speaker.
Most Republicans did not vote.
What is Madigan up to?
What do you think?
Discuss.

IEA Retired members. Look for your NEA RA ballot around March 22nd.

by Fred Klonsky

I’m on the ballot for delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly in Atlanta this summer.
They go out in the mail around March 22nd and must be received in Springfield by April 24th.
Feel free to let your IEA Retired friends know. I’ll remind you again.

Welfare for the rich? Private school tax credit programs expanding:

Welfare for the rich? Private school tax credit programs expanding

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 28, 2013 at 4:14 pm

(By Daniel Acker – BLOOMBERG)

At a time when government budgets at all levels are under enormous strain, families and businesses are struggling and federal agencies are facing dramatic across-the-board spending cuts, you would think lawmakers would be careful about spending public money. So it may surprise you to learn that in a growing number of states, legislators are setting aside public money to pay for private school tuition — and rich people are benefiting.

It’s a school choice option known as tuition tax credits (or private school tax credits or student tax credits or scholarship tax credits and a few other things too.) Whatever they are called, these tax credits are essentially alternatives to vouchers, which give public funds to families so their kids can attend private schools.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there were 14 tuition tax credit programs in 11 states as of last fall, and there are now bills in some legislatures to expand to other states, such as in Mississippi. Virginia passed one last year, and a tax credit program in Georgia that “won” an award for being exceedingly wasteful may be expanded.

In some places they are structured to get around state constitutional prohibitions against using public dollars for religious schools. And in many instances, the schools that qualify to 

Trustees try to save Oakland's embattled American Indian Model Schools from losing charter - Inside Bay Area

Trustees try to save Oakland's embattled American Indian Model Schools from losing charter - Inside Bay Area:

Trustees try to save Oakland's embattled American Indian Model Schools from losing charter

By Angela Woodall Oakland Tribune

Posted:   02/27/2013 08:56:38 PM PST

Updated:   02/28/2013 07:57:54 AM PST

OAKLAND -- Oakland's embattled American Indian Model Schools may have pulled back from the brink of closure by cutting ties with the controversial founder Ben Chavis, who was accused of improperly channeling millions of dollars to himself and his wife.

The AIM Schools board gave Chavis notice on Jan. 12 that he could no longer have a role in running the institution, a demand made by district officials who concluded last fall that the organization failed to protect against corrupt fiscal practices.

The final decision to revoke the charter is in the hands of the Oakland school board, which will make a decision on March 20.

The AIM Schools board appointed former OUSD trustee Sylvester Hodges as interim

FILE - Ben Chavis, founder of the American Indian Public Charter School, listens to the deliberations of the Oakland Unified School District Board, April 4, 2012 in Oakland, Calif. (D. Ross Cameron/Staff) (D. Ross Cameron/Staff Archives)

director.

Chavis is forbidden from contacting faculty or staff except as a parent of children enrolled in the award-winning but controversial institution. All contracts involving Chavis have been suspended or eliminated. However, he still owns the 171 19th Street building, which houses one of three AIM Schools.

Now the board is scrambling to find alternative locations.

"This is not an easy task," AIM Schools Trustee Toni Cook said Wednesday.

The investigation began in response to a whistle-blower complaint of fraud. State auditors spent months examining the charter organization's records. A report issued in June cited evidence that Chavis and and his wife, Marsha Amador used public funds for the schools to enrich

themselves.

Auditors found $3.8 million in questionable expenditures, rife with conflicts of interest, from construction contracts and lease agreements to mandatory summer programs going to Chavis' companies -- all while Amador handled the books. At one point, Chavis served on the governing board while he was 

Oakland school board votes to eliminate adult education

By Serena Valdez Oakland Tribune

Posted:   02/27/2013 10:11:08 PM PST

Updated:   02/27/2013 10:11:09 PM PST

OAKLAND -- The Oakland school board voted 5-1 Wednesday to approve eliminating or reducing full service programs like adult education, which will affect hundreds of students and employees.

Although Gov. Jerry Brown's budget plan, which will shift adult education programs from K-12 schools to community colleges, is not finalized, the board needed to vote Wednesday to comply with a California Education Code. The code requires that employees whose positions may be eliminated or reduced must be notified by such changes by March 15 for the 2013-2014 school year.

Board President David Kakishiba voted to discontinue adult education programs in the school district, "in the context that we are looking to build back adult education, Family Literacy Programs and GED services in this city whether it's in OUSD or Peralta Colleges or in a contract with OUSD."

Board member Roseann Torres cast the lone "no" vote.

The district will save $1 million in costs for all teachers, administrative positions and teaching by eliminating adult 

Parent Voices – Weekly Legislative Fax 2-27-13 | Parents Across America

Parent Voices – Weekly Legislative Fax 2-27-13 | Parents Across America:

Parent Voices – Weekly Legislative Fax 2-27-13

by pureparents

Here’s the fax update PAA sent to the Congressional education committee members this week. Please share it with your Congressmen and Senators!

No sequestration cuts to effective education programs!

The story: Looming cuts to education

Congress needs no reminder of the major story of the week concerning education (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/25/education-budget-cuts_n_1703442.html) and other vital programs that keep our nation strong.

Three federal programs critical to education across the country — Title I funds for poor students, state grants for special education and the Head Start public pre-school program — would lose $2.7 billion over 10 years, the report predicted. As many as 15,000 teachers and aides could lose their jobs, and 10,000 special education workers could be laid off.

Schools are already under enormous pressure to succeed. Our children and their schools need more resources, including smaller class sizes, not less.

PAA’s position:

PAA believes that resources do matter, especially when invested in programs that have been proven to work. We support the expansion of sensible, research-based reforms such as pre-K programs, full-day Kindergarten, small classes, parent involvement, strong, experienced teachers, a well-rounded curriculum and evaluation systems that go beyond test scores.

PAA’s recommendation:

PAA supports saving money by cutting ineffective and damaging programs like Race to the Top, massive new testing systems to support the Common Core, and further expansion of charter schools. We oppose cuts that harm the neediest children and communities, including cuts to Head Start and special education, or cuts that would raise class size.

For more detail, please see PAA’s fact sheet, “Research showing NCLB doesn’t work and PAA positions do,” http://parentsacrossamerica.org/research-showing-nclb-doesnt-work-and-paa-positions-do/

Contact us at info@parentsacrossamerica.org

For more information please visit us online at www.parentsacrossamerica.org

- See more at: http://parentsacrossamerica.org/parent-voices-weekly-legislative-fax-2-27-13/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=parent-voices-weekly-legislative-fax-2-27-13#sthash.ffUv6hls.dpuf

LAUSD- IF CHARTERS DON'T WORK, JUST LIE AND SAY THEY DO - Perdaily.com

LAUSD- IF CHARTERS DON'T WORK, JUST LIE AND SAY THEY DO - Perdaily.com:

LAUSD- IF CHARTERS DON'T WORK, JUST LIE AND SAY THEY DO

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

Professor Diane Ravitch calls it "the dominant narrative." The incessant litany in the media that says the only things wrong with public education are bad teachers and not enough charge schools. Nazi Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels called this same kind of dominant narrative the big lie :

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

What good public education is about is truth. Not a single truth, but the individual 

Diane in the Evening 2-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all:

Democrats Outraged in Alabama as GOP Passes Tax Credit Bill

by dianerav

Democrats were in a state of fury in Alabama as the legislature swiftly passed a bill to give tax credits to corporations and individuals so that students in “failing schools” can attend private schools with public money.
“Republicans heralded it as a historic day for education and life-altering for children stuck in poorly performing schools. But tempers boiled over as Democrats called the maneuver “sleaziness” and a “bait and switch.”"
On the other side of the aisle:
Rep. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, as she was leaving the House chamber threw her hands over her head and 

A Teacher Writes New Book about the Corporate Reform Movement

by dianerav

One of the readers of this blog, experienced teacher Brian Ford, has written a new book. It seems to encapsulate the major themes of today’s privatization movement.
Respect for Teachers and the Rhetoric Gap:
How Research on Teaching and Schools is
Laying the Ground for New Business Models in Education
(A New Economy Story about the State of the Union)
Author: Brian Ford
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Summary of Book
For the last 30 years we have been in the midst of a paradox. In the discourse on education reform, national attention in the US has focused on how to improve the education system as a means to keep the US from slipping in international economic competition. It the end we may have actually done the opposite – made the US less competitive economically, with a system that has gotten worse at its core, in its philosophical tenets 

Who Owns This School?

by dianerav

A charter school in Sarasota, Florida, is in court over a simple question: who owns the school?
The for-profit corporation Imagine Schools says it owns the school. The board of the charter fired Imagine and says the board owns the school.
The board didn’t like paying Imagine nearly $1 million a year for its services.
Charter operators around the nation will watch to find out: Who owns this school?

A Brief Video Explains Why VAM in Louisiana is a Sham

by dianerav

This video was created by Herbert Bassett.
Herb Bassett is a Louisiana music teacher who also holds a math minor. His principal asked him in October to investigate Louisiana’s school performance scores. Since then, Herb has also done work to explain and expose Louisiana’s value added modeling (VAM),
The teacher evaluation model in Louisiana is based overwhelmingly on student test scores. A single year rating of Ineffective can get a teacher fired.
This is wrong. Those imposing this punitive and inaccurate approach should be held accountable for their errors and for demoralizing the state’s teachers.

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 2-28-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 2 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] How Do You Fight Back Without Getting Fired? by dianerav This reader asks the question of the day, which is the title of this post. If you are doing a job you want to do but are required to do what you know is wrong, what do you do? One answer: join with others who agree with you. Find others teachers who feel the same. Join with parents. Alone you are powerless and vulnerable. Learn about any organized opposition to educational malpractice in your community, re... more »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: They're whistling Dixie again

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: They're whistling Dixie again:

They're whistling Dixie again

by Mike Klonsky

Have they really put Jim Crow behind them?

Now the segregationists and Dixie T-Party types believe they have enough backing in the Supreme Court to roll back all or many of the gains made during the Civil Right Movement. They're probably right.

Even as a new statue of Rosa Parks is unveiled in the Capitol rotunda in D.C., the foul aroma of Alabama's Jim Crow laws is wafting through the same building. There's a new move afoot to overturn important provisions in the 1965 Voting Rights Bill that forced states like Alabama to end their denial of equal voting rights to African-Americans.

Shelby County, Alabama, is contending that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Bill  is unfair to its residents and other jurisdictions that it requires to obtain federal pre-clearance before changing their voting laws.

UPDATE: Mathematica Study Reveals KIPP Cures Cancer! – @ the chalk face

Mathematica Study Reveals KIPP Cures Cancer! – @ the chalk face:

Article I authored available #openaccess in the journal Workplace #highered

by Chalk Face, PhD

workplace

You can access the article here from the journal’s website. It’s going to be one of a few others in an upcoming print edition. Basically, it recalls my first year or so as someone who has increased efforts in direct advocacy for public schools. It has been challenging in many ways and the article flushes out some realities to a lot of fictions.
I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to share.

Mathematica Study Reveals KIPP Cures Cancer!

by plthomasedd

No it doesn’t. [1]
But the Press Release, filled with italicized boldface reminded me of the Sniffling Accountant episode of Seinfeldin which Elaine champions the exclamation point.
Among the dramatic claims of “x months of additional learning growth,” I felt there was an underlying sense of “Methinks they doth protest too much”: “KIPP’s gains are not the result of ‘teaching to the test.’“
And while KIPP benefits regardless of how accurate the report is about their accomplishments—because KIPP and other “choice” charters are compelled to pursue branding and the media will report often and inaccurately based on the Mathematica press release and almost none at all on the reviews to follow—I have stated repeatedly that the outcomes and data-fetish surrounding KIPP cannot justify for me the “no excuses” policies that also characterized the charter chain.
“No excuses” policies are often called a “new” paternalism, as David Whitman explains in an article praising “no excuses” schools in Education Next:

By paternalistic I mean that each of the six schools is a highly prescriptive institution that teaches 

Maybe the good stuff is forgotten sometimes.

by Chalk Face, PhD

Popout
Have you seen this video? Kind of nice.

Unlimited outside money - Spreadsheets - Los Angeles Times

Unlimited outside money - Spreadsheets - Los Angeles Times:

SPREADSHEET

Unlimited outside money

RELATED ITEMS

• Story: Labor pours millions into L.A. races

Nearly $4.1 mil­lion has been spent by out­side groups on the Los Angeles may­or­al, city at­tor­ney, City Coun­cil and city con­trol­ler races. Un­like dona­tions giv­en dir­ectly to can­did­ates, there are no lim­its on how much these groups can spend. Here’s a look at the in­de­pend­ent ex­pendit­ures to date, in sup­port and in op­pos­i­tion, ac­cord­ing to re­ports filed with the Los Angeles City Eth­ics Com­mis­sion.

Published: 

Feb. 27, 2013

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Name	Position	Candidate	Date	Payee	Description	Amount
Working Californians to Elect Wendy Greuel for Mayor 2013, supported by labor unions and business	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 21, 2013	Sadler Strategic Media, Inc.	Television Buy	$745,000.00
Working Californians to Elect Wendy Greuel for Mayor 2013, supported by labor unions and business	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 13, 2013	Sadler Strategic Media, Inc.	Television Buy	$525,000.00
Better Way LA PAC to Support Kevin James for Mayor, 2013	Support	Kevin James, mayor	Feb. 13, 2013	Smart Media Group, LLC	Media Buy	$350,900.00
California Law and Order Independent Expenditure Committee Sponsored by the Los Angeles Police Protective League	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 8, 2013	The Campaign Group, Inc.	Television buy and production	$305,000.00
Los Angeles Police Protective League PAC	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 20, 2013	The Campaign Group, Inc.	Television & Radio Ads	$245,000.00
Working Californians to Elect Wendy Greuel for Mayor 2013, supported by labor unions and business	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 8, 2013	Sadler Strategic Media, Inc.	Television Buy	$200,000.00
Better Way LA PAC to Support Kevin James for Mayor, 2013	Support	Kevin James, mayor	Feb. 25, 2013	Smart Media Group, LLC	Extension of Media Buy for communication that began airing February 15	$147,835.00
Feliciano Serrano M.D., Inc.	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 22, 2013	NBC	Television Broadcast - Commercial Spots	$91,600.00
Working Californians to Elect Wendy Greuel for Mayor 2013, supported by labor unions and business	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 14, 2013	Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates, Inc.	Polling	$52,750.00
United Firefighters Of Los Angeles City Local Union #112	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 23, 2013	The Campaign Group	Radio Advertisement	$50,000.00
Working Californians to Elect Wendy Greuel for Mayor 2013, supported by labor unions and business	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 1, 2013	Creekside Advertising	Creation and placement of billboards and bulletins	$50,000.00
Committee to Elect Curren Price for City Council 2013, Sponsored by Service Employees International Union United Long Term Care Workers	Support	Curren Price, CD9	Feb. 11, 2013	African American Voter Registration, Education, Participation Project	Field Program	$46,864.00
Better Way LA PAC to Support Kevin James for Mayor, 2013	Support	Kevin James, mayor	Jan. 22, 2013	Connect Strategic Communications	Website startup costs and media buy	$35,000.00
Feliciano Serrano M.D., Inc.	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 22, 2013	KVEA	Television Broadcast - Commercial Spots	$30,030.00
Working Californians, Supported by Labor Unions and Business	Support	Curren Price, CD9	Feb. 19, 2013	Creekside Advertising	Billboards	$30,000.00
Feliciano Serrano M.D., Inc.	Support	Wendy Greuel, mayor	Feb. 22, 2013	Time Warner	Cable Television - Spots	$30,000.00
Better Way LA PAC to Support Kevin James for Mayor, 2013	Support	Kevin James, mayor	Jan. 17, 2013	Strategic Perception, Inc.	Video production and post-production	$28,697.00
California