Photos: Ohio is Jazzed About #StopCommonCore | Truth in American Education

Photos: Ohio is Jazzed About #StopCommonCore | Truth in American Education:

Photos: Ohio is Jazzed About #StopCommonCore

by Shane Vander Hart

Ohio had some informational meetings about the Common Core at three different locations throughout the state.  Ohioans Against Common Core has an update here.  Between 850-1000 attended.  The photos below are from Jamie Gass of the Pioneer Institute who was one of the speakers.

The speakers for these events were:

Cincinnati – held April 12th held at the Anderson Twp. Center.  Hosted by Anderson.

• Emmett McGroarty – American Principles Project – Executive Director, Preserve Innocence Project
• Joy Pullmann – Heartland Institute – Research Fellow, Education; Managing Editor, School Reform News
• Jamie Gass – Pioneer Institute for Public Policy – Director, Center for School Reform
• Heather Crossin – Hoosiers Against Common Core – Co-founder, education policy activist

Columbus – Debate style format. Panelists include supporters and opponents. Held on Saturday, April 13th at 

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE's Failed Charter Office

Jersey Jazzman: NJDOE's Failed Charter Office:

NJDOE's Failed Charter Office

by Duke

In the name of "choice," the NJDOE granted a charter last year to the Newark-based 100 Legacy Academy Charter School. Enormously pleased with themselves, the Christie Administration and the NJDOE nearly dislocated their shoulders from patting themselves on the back so vigorously:

Demonstrating the Christie Administration’s strong support for increasing the number of high-quality school options for New Jersey students, the Department today approved 9 charter schools to open in September, bringing the total number of charter schools in New Jersey to 86. In addition, the Department continues to improve oversight and accountability for charter schools by instituting new Performance Frameworks that will set clear expectations for charter school performance and will serve 

Mother Crusader: Newark And Irvington Kids Stuck In Cerf's Charter Revolving Door

Mother Crusader: Newark And Irvington Kids Stuck In Cerf's Charter Revolving Door:

Newark And Irvington Kids Stuck In Cerf's Charter Revolving Door

by darciecima

Today John Mooney wrote about the revocation of 100 Legacy Academy's charter.  It can't be stressed enough that this charter was just opened in September.  This is the schools FIRST year of operation.  While I will concede that the charter was granted before Cerf became commissioner, the rest of the decisions to open this charter rest squarely on his shoulders. He could have avoided this at multiple turns.

I guarantee the spin on this will be about how how accountable this DOE is for shutting this school down, but a truly accountable DOE would never have let this happen in the first place. 

If you can stomach the schmaltz, watch this video produced by the founders of the charter. And if you wonder why parents chose charters over public schools, just remember this video.  More often than not parents are sold empty promises.

Popout

Interestingly, when this charter was approved the New Jersey Charter School Association (NACSA)  tried to sell that there was an increasing demand statewide for charters, and NACSA CEO Carlos Perez and his buddies at Jaffe Communications tried to spin the approvals into a need for multiple authorizers in the state.

Perez said the continued growth of charter schools points to the need for legislation to increase the number of charter school authorizers. Currently, only the state Department of Education can authorize a charter, but proposed legislation supported by the NJCSA would allow universities to approve and oversee charter schools.

“As we grow into a mature sector, multiple authorizers are needed to meet the growing demand to open new charters,” Perez said. “We think 

Keep goin' kids, the Commissioner is gonna get 
this right aaannny day now, don't you worry...

NYC Educator: Will Union Help You When You Sue Over a Bad Evaluation?

NYC Educator: Will Union Help You When You Sue Over a Bad Evaluation?:

Will Union Help You When You Sue Over a Bad Evaluation?

by NYC Educator

Teacher Ken has a great piece about the awful Florida evaluation system. Apparently, a teacher of the year was rated unsatisfactory. One more rating like that and she'll be putting on a Mickey Mouse costume for 8 bucks an hour. And the NEA, as well as the Florida Education Association, are parties in a lawsuit with 7 teachers. Apparently, they're all great teachers, hooked by the VAM monster.

Value-added comes to NYC next year. If the intrepid UFT leadership can't come to an agreement on a junk science system with Mayor Bloomberg and his minions, reformy John King will get to impose one on us. Will it be awful? Or will it be even worse than awful? Well, with Common Core coming down the pike and the expectation of 30% lower grades, it could even be worse than that.

Now of course teachers receiving bad ratings for no good reason could sue in NY too. However, given that the 

State Democrats decide who's a REAL Democrat - latimes.com

State Democrats decide who's a REAL Democrat - latimes.com:

State Democrats decide who's a REAL Democrat

By Karin Klein

April 16, 2013, 5:30 a.m.

Real Democrats don’t back school reform, apparently. Or maybe the message is that Democrats don’t let Democrats shake up the school scene. In any case, real Democrats clearly aren’t allowed to disagree with the California Teachers Assn.

It’s more than a little disturbing to read that the California Democratic Party voted to condemn groups that lobby for major change in the schools, such as Democrats for Education Reform, and called them fronts for Republicans.

I’m a frequent critic of what I see as excesses of the reform movement — its failure to demand as much of charter schools as it does of public schools, or to keep them from “counseling out” students who don’t make their numbers look good. Its relentless focus on test results and tendency to want them to be a huge factor in teacher evaluations even though that’s not borne out by any evidence. Its apparent desire to make firing teachers as easy as stepping on ants.

But let’s get it straight — even though there is a definite push within the movement to squash unions, there’s also a sincere desire to help children, especially low-income students of color. And yes, much of the money backing the reform movement and thus the many reform nonprofits comes from corporations, but who else was willing to put some financial backing into opposing the very well-heeled unions, which until recently were the only moneyed force in town? In this case, the unions that are in danger of being squashed are also the unions that have bucked any changes that might make schools more accountable.

For all the talk by the California Teachers Assn. and its political allies, how well were disadvantaged students doing before reform? What was the CTA doing for them? Yes, it lobbied for more money, and schools do need more money; unfortunately, it didn’t lobby for that money to be spent in effective ways that would have to prove their educational worth.

Then there was Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson — a Democrat in a supposedly nonpartisan position who received heavy campaign support from the CTA -- taking on Democrats for Education Reform and implying that such people don’t deserve to describe themselves as Democrats. "In my book, you're not a reformer

Former state Sen. Gloria Romero, now California director of Democrats for Education Reform. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press / April 15, 2013)

The Business of American Business Is Education | Ideas & Innovations | Smithsonian Magazine

The Business of American Business Is Education | Ideas & Innovations | Smithsonian Magazine:

The Business of American Business Is Education

From corporate donations to workplace restrictions, what’s taught in the classroom has always been influenced by American industry

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• By Dana Goldstein
• Smithsonian.com, April 15, 2013, Subscribe

 

Industrialist Andrew Carnegie (front row, center) financially supported the Tuskegee Institute and its faculty members, pictured here. Carnegie lauded the efforts of Booker T. Washington, who opened the school in 1881, shown here with his wife Margaret next to the businessman. (Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Divison) 

If you ask American leaders about the overall goal of the nation’s education system, you’d likely get a broad set of answers: to prepare young people for the workforce; to close racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps; to create informed citizens ready to participate in popular democracy. Other western nations, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, provide their public schools with a national curriculum, roughly equalized budgets and government-produced exams. In contrast, the defining feature of American education is its localism; we have no shared curriculum, large funding disparities and little national agreement about what the purposes of schooling should be.

The absence of centralization leaves space for business leaders and philanthropists to define and fund what they see as priorities in education reform. Today, a broad coalition of standardized test and textbook manufacturers; mega-philanthropists like Bill and Melinda Gates and Eli Broad; and CEOs passionate about school reform, like Mark Zuckerberg, coalesce around an agenda that includes implementing Common Core academic standards and tying teacher evaluation, job security, and pay to students’ test scores. The underlying idea is that extraordinary teachers, with high standards for all students, can prepare every child to attend and succeed in college, regardless of a student’s socioeconomic disadvantages.

This goal—what the Gates Foundation refers to as “college-ready education for all”—represents a sea change from the traditional outlook American business leaders brought to school reform: one that sought to sort students and select only a few for higher-education, while sending the rest to the

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ideas-innovations/The-Business-of-American-Business-Is-Education-203028241.html#ixzz2Qf5z1sLv 
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

UPDATE: 2012-13 Academic Achievement Award Recipients - Academic Achievement Awards (CA Dept of Education)

2012-13 Academic Achievement Award Recipients - Academic Achievement Awards (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces 2012-13
Title I Academic Achievement Award Schools

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that 56 California public schools with sustained progress in academic improvement among low-income students have been chosen for the 2012-13 Title I Academic Achievement Award.

"These schools serve students facing real challenges, and they've risen to meet them through hard work and dedication," Torlakson said. "It is inspiring to see their students achieve more in the classroom today so they can enjoy more opportunity in the years to come."

The Title I Academic Achievement Award is given only to schools receiving federal Title I funds as authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title I, the single largest federal educational program for K-12 public education, assists schools in meeting the educational needs of students living at or below the poverty line. Of the more than 9,900 schools in California, more than 6,000 of them participate in the Title I program.

The criteria to qualify for the Title I award have become more rigorous in recent years. To receive this distinction, the school must demonstrate that all students are making significant progress toward proficiency on California's academic content standards. Additionally, the school's socioeconomically disadvantaged students must have doubled the achievement targets set for them for two consecutive years.

The National Title I Association also presents each year two National Title I Distinguished School Awards per state. The awards are given to one Academic Achievement Award winning school that has demonstrated exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years and to one Academic Achievement Award winning school that made the most progress in closing the achievement gap between student groups.

To learn more about Title I awards, please visit the California Department of Education (CDE) Web page at: Academic Achievement Awards.

The CDE acknowledges the financial contributions of Comcast, Wells Fargo, the California State Lottery, the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, the California Building Industry Association, the California School Boards Association, and Lozano Smith, which will make possible the regional 2013 California school awards ceremonies recognizing theCalifornia Distinguished Schools, the Title I Academic Achievement Award Schools, and California's nominees for the National Blue Ribbon Schools.

2012-13 Academic Achievement Award Recipients

Schools honored with the Title I Academic Achievement Award for 2012-13.

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County	District	School
Alameda	Fremont Unified	J. Haley Durham Elementary
El Dorado	SBC - Aspire Public Schools	Aspire Titan Academy
Fresno	Clovis Unified	Lincoln Elementary
Fresno	Fowler Unified	Marshall Elementary
Fresno	Sanger Unified	Fairmont Elementary
Fresno	Selma Unified	Andrew Jackson Elementary
Fresno	Selma Unified	James Garfield Elementary
Fresno	Central Unified	James K. Polk Elementary
Fresno	Riverdale Joint Unified	Fipps Primary
Humboldt	Arcata Elementary	Sunny Brae Middle
Kern	Greenfield Union	W. A. Kendrick Elementary
Los Angeles	Azusa Unified	Victor F. Hodge Elementary
Los Angeles	Covina-Valley Unified	Barranca Elementary
Los Angeles	Culver City Unified	Linwood E. Howe Elementary
Los Angeles	Garvey Elementary	Dewey Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles	Glendale Unified	Anderson W. Clark Magnet High
Los Angeles	Glendale Unified	Balboa Elementary
Los Angeles	Hawthorne	Hawthorne Math and Science Academy
Los Angeles	Lawndale Elementary	Environmental Charter High
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	N.E.W. Academy of Science and Arts
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Charles White Elementary
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Orthopedic Hospital
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Daniel Pearl Journalism & Communications
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Broadway Elementary
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Chapman Elementary
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	One Hundred Fifty-Sixth Street Elementary
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Vintage Math/Science/Technology Magnet
Los Angeles	Newhall	Dr. J. Michael McGrath Elementary
Los Angeles	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	Julia B. Morrison Elementary
Los Angeles	Paramount Unified	Alondra Middle
Los Angeles	Saugus Union	Rio Vista Elementary
Los Angeles	West Covina Unified	Merced Elementary
Los Angeles	West Covina Unified	San Jose Charter Academy
Los Angeles	Hacienda la Puente Unified	Los Altos Elementary
Los Angeles	Alhambra Unified	Park Elementary
Merced	Atwater Elementary	Mitchell Elementary
Orange	Centralia Elementary	Centralia Elementary
Orange	Garden Grove Unified	A. J. Cook Elementary
Orange	Garden Grove Unified	Linton T. Simmons Elementary
Orange	Santa Ana Unified	Middle College High
Orange	Santa Ana Unified	John Muir Fundamental Elementary
Riverside	Hemet Unified	Idyllwild
Riverside	Jurupa Unified	Stone Avenue Elementary
Sacramento	River Delta Joint Unified	Isleton Elementary
Sacramento	Sacramento City Unified	Aspire Capitol Heights Academy
San Bernardino	Fontana Unified	Dorothy Grant Elementary
San Bernardino	Redlands Unified	Mentone Elementary
San Bernardino	Victor Valley Union High	University Preparatory
San Diego	Chula Vista Elementary	Lauderbach (J. Calvin) Elementary
San Diego	San Diego Unified	Kearny International Business
San Diego	San Diego Unified	King-Chavez Primary Academy
San Francisco	San Francisco Unified	Chin (John Yehall) Elementary
San Mateo	Jefferson Elementary	Susan B. Anthony Elementary
Santa Clara	Milpitas Unified	William Burnett Elementary
Siskiyou	Butteville Union Elementary	Butteville Elementary
Siskiyou	Scott Valley Unified	Etna Elementary

April 2013 Information Memoranda

Background information and updates on issues of interest to the State Board Members.

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Periodically, the State Board Members may receive information memoranda from State Board staff and the California Department of Education. The information memoranda may include background information, updates on issues of interest to the State Board Members, and reports on a variety of educational topics.

• California High School Exit Examination: Results from the 2011–12 Waiver Data Collection for Students with Disabilities (DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
• California English Language Development Test: Transitioning to the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
• Program Improvement Year 3 Corrective Action: Analysis of 2011–12 End-of-Year Evidence of Progress of Local Educational Agency Plan Implementation (DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
• State Legislative and Budget Update, Including, but not Limited to, Information on the 2013–14 Legislative Session(DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
  • Review of Governor’s Budget Proposal for 2013–14 (DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
• Migrant Education Program State Parent Advisory Council Report for 2011–12 (PDF; 6MB; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
• Assembly Bill 790 Linked Learning Pilot Program (DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)
• Summer Meal Waivers (DOC; Posted 16-Apr-2013)

Diane in the Evening 4-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

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

Poor ALEC! Someone Disagrees with Their Radical Agenda

by dianerav

ALEC has operated in the background since 1973, funded by major corporations who want to advance a corporate-friendly agenda into state legislatures. Some 2,000 state legislators belong to ALEC and attend its posh conferences, where they hobnob with corporate lobbyists.
ALEC suffered a PR setback when Trayvon Martin was killed last year in Florida by a man who invoked ALEC’s “stand your ground” law. The bad publicity caused some 40 corporations to abandon ALEC.
It has written draft legislation for vouchers, charters, cyber charters, ending teacher tenure, ending collective

LA Times Defends Wall Street Hedge Fund Reformers

by dianerav

Last weekend the California Democratic Party passed a resolution that forthrightly criticized corporate education reform, including high-stakes testing and privatization. The resolution specifically singled out Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst and the Wall Street hedge fund managers’ Democrats for Education Reform as organizations that are fronts for corporate interests and Republicans.
But this upset the Los Angeles Times editorial board, which is known for its contempt for teachers’ unions. The 

John White’s Budget Tricks in Louisiana

by dianerav

John White is pulling some fast tricks with public school funding in Louisiana. Fortunately the state has smart bloggers who protect the public interest and blow the whistle.
There is no end to White and Jindal’s efforts to transfer public dollars into private hands. He wants to eliminate arequirement that high schools have one guidance counselor for every 450 students. He says they can hire private 

Who Is Paying to Privatize Public Schools in Los Angeles?

by dianerav

Howard Blume has an excellent article in the Los Angeles Times describing the corporate money that poured into the recent Los Angeles school board race.
He never quite pins down why all these moguls and titans want to control the LA school board, but he provides a useful dance card of the corporate reform movement.
Among their causes: privately managed charter schools; evaluating teachers by test scores; fighting the union; 

Will Public Education Survive in Wisconsin?

by dianerav

Public education is at risk in several states, where extremists want to tear it up and replace it with privatization.
One of the states where the privatizers are in charge is Wiscondin, where Governor Scott Walker hopes to demolish public education.
To get a sense of what is happening in Wisconsin, read this article. Written by a teacher, it challenges syndicated columnist George Will for joining the wrecking crew and spreading false tales about the public schools, spread by unreliable sources.
This tide of hostility directed at a democratic institution is bizarre. It is not conservative to destroy one of the pillars of our free society.

Roundup: Indiana Legislation to Smash Public Schools, Lower Standards

by dianerav

Indiana legislators have passed so much anti-public school legislation this year that they are feeling “reform fatigue.”
Of course, they expanded the state voucher program. That way, as many children as possible can escape going to a community school, even if they are in kindergarten. The good news is that 10 Republican senators voted 

CTU: District Leadership Abandoned Struggling Schools in Chicago

by dianerav

The Chicago Teachers Union reports that the system leadership starved the schools it wanted to close, depriving them of the resources and personnel they needed to succeed. Those at the top should be held accountable when schools fail. It doesn’t happen accidentally. They are responsible.
New Report Cites Past Disinvestment By CPS in
Schools Targeted for Closure
A history of trauma and neglect exposed in “A Tale of Two Schools: The Human Story Behind Destructive School Actions in Chicago”
CHICAGO—The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) issued report examining the upheaval at two elementary schools 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 4-16-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all

coopmike48 at Big Education Ape - 3 hours ago

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: [image: Click on picture to Listen to Diane Ravitch] Problems with Common Core Tests by dianerav Technical issues plague the tests. Not ready for prime time. An 8th Grader Writes a Test Question: Hilarious! by dianerav An 8th grade student in New York State wrote a brilliant parody of the state ELA exam. Please read it. It is very funny. It does leave you wondering why students are so much wiser than state education officials. How to Prepare Children for Common Core Failure by dianerav This is a parody but it is... more »

Principals: Reach Beyond the Walls of Your School — Whole Child Education

Principals: Reach Beyond the Walls of Your School — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Principals: Reach Beyond the Walls of Your School

April 16, 2013 by Ken Endris

For the past five years, Fouke (Ark.) Elementary School has witnessed academic improvement in all six grade levels, K–5. Attendance has also improved over the same time period. These accomplishments have not happened by accident, instead they are the results of the hard work by staff, students, and families. Not I as principal, not one teacher, or not one program alone is responsible for these successes. Instead it is creating a collaborative and positive learning environment for all our stakeholders.

To achieve our essential goals, our school has adopted from the Arkansas Leadership Academy and developed the following five areas where there is spread, depth, ownership, and sustainability.

Creating and Living the Mission, Vision, and Core Beliefs

At Fouke Elementary, our vision, mission, and core beliefs were developed, revised and, modeled everyday by having all stakeholders involved in their adoption. Our core beliefs have become the foundation of the cultural change that moved our school from good to great. The five core beliefs are:

1. Everyone and everything matters.
2. Learn, lead, and achieve.
3. Own it.
4. Whatever it takes.
5. Zero negativity.

When our parents were interviewed by a site visit team on March 11, 2013, the parents were unanimous in 

PCAPS plans its next steps | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

PCAPS plans its next steps | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

PCAPS plans its next steps

by Ron Whitehorne

The Philadelphia Coalition Advocating for Public Schools will hold a general assembly on Wednesday, April 17 to launch new campaigns around school funding, charter school accountability, and community schools.
The coalition, formed a year ago, has grown to include 15 labor and community-based organizations, embracing school staff, parents, students, and neighborhood activists.
Over the last year, PCAPS developed an alternative to the School Reform Commission's blueprint inspired by the Boston Consulting Group. Called “Excellent Schools for All Children,” the 40-page document drew on surveys of community stakeholders as well as research-based best practices. The plan rejected the SRC’s austerity-focused argument and called for a fight to base funding on a reordering of priorities, closing tax loopholes for corporations, and an equitable formula for allocating state revenue.

read more