Teachers and public schools are under attack worldwide. Really? | Reclaim Reform

Teachers and public schools are under attack worldwide. Really? | Reclaim Reform:

Teachers and public schools are under attack worldwide. Really?

Posted on October 9, 2013by Ken Previti

Teachers in every American city, county and state tell of being in the front lines of the attacks on public schools and public school teachers.

They are correct, and they are wrong. Unlike the bubble tests teachers are forced to administer, real issues are complex and require fuller explanations that support the reasoning behind the answer.

Reasoning: Teachers in the front lines see the gross unfairness of “no excuses” foisted upon their students who are expected to function like data machines regardless of realities such as hunger, illness, disabilities and stress – lots of stress. Teachers see the theft (underfunding) from public schools as politicians hand hundreds of millions of dollars to the corporate interests who donate to the reelection campaigns of those same politicians. Tax incentives, juicy government contracts for corporate charters, insane amounts handed to testing companies for high stakes tests that cannot be examined by students, parents, teachers or administrators who are not even allowed to question the politically determined failure rates, and the debasement of teachers as scapegoats.

Reasoning: It is not happening in their districts or even in America alone. Teachers in the 

Does Wisconsin Want Out-of-State Companies Running Schools with Public Dollars? | Uppity Wisconsin

Does Wisconsin Want Out-of-State Companies Running Schools with Public Dollars? | Uppity Wisconsin:

Does Wisconsin Want Out-of-State Companies Running Schools with Public Dollars?

Submitted by Sen. K. Vinehout on Wed, 10/09/2013 - 3:44pm

Do we want to encourage out-of-state companies to run local schools with tax dollars? This is the objective of a bill before the Senate Education Committee.

Katy Venskus of San Jose based Rocketship Education recently explained the objective of a bill to expand charter schools was “attracting high quality national operators.”

Folks often think of charter schools as a kind of magnet school – a specialized school the local school board creates to serve students with a special interest. For example a Montessori School uses a certain approach to teach young children. The school is created by the school board and operates under a contract or charter.

Charter school advocates who attended a recent Education Committee hearing explained school boards should be required to expand charter schools when the charter performs 10% better. (Better than what was unclear.)

Should Wisconsin allow charter schools authorized by a school board to multiply without the active decision of a local school board? Should universities, tech colleges, CESAs and other entities create public charter schools run by private companies?

Private companies already run some public schools in Milwaukee. Proponents want to expand this statewide. “Wisconsin’s process for out-of-state operators is very difficult to navigate,” testified Ms. Venskus from Rocketship 

 

Parents Mobilize Against Rocketship Charter Expansion in San Jose, Home of Their 1st Charter | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Parents Mobilize Against Rocketship Charter Expansion in San Jose, Home of Their 1st Charter | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!: Parents Mobilize Against Rocketship Charter Expansion in San Jose, Home of Their 1st CharterFiled under: Rocketship — millerlf @ 1:13 pm Go to the following web page to observe the efforts of the community where Rocketship started its first charter school. Hund

by mike simpson / 4h 

The Network For Public Education | NPE Endorses José Lara for El Rancho School Board

The Network For Public Education | NPE Endorses José Lara for El Rancho School Board:

NPE Endorses José Lara for El Rancho School Board

admin October 9, 2013 NPE Endorsements

The Network for Public Education, a national group fighting to preserve and strengthen public schools, has endorsed an educator and father of public school students, José Lara, for El Rancho School Board. The general election will take place on November 5th.

José Lara brings to the race a profound understanding of his community and a perspective on education that comes from spending the last decade as a classroom teacher. He is a recognized leader in the fight for the rights of students as the California Teachers Association presented him the Cesar E. Chavez Human Rights Award for his advocacy efforts.

Important to the Network for Public Education is the fact that José Lara has made central to his campaign the promotion of strong community schools. He supports the education of the whole child through the arts, music, sports programs, libraries, and health and human services. Like NPE, José opposes the current overuse of standardized tests and advocates for a more sensible method of assessment of students and teachers.

The Network for Public Education is pleased to endorse José Lara for El Rancho School Board and we encourage those who care about public education to do the same. For more information visit http://www.votejoselara.com.

NPE Endorses Bill Hodges for Douglas County School Board, CO

admin October 9, 2013 NPE Endorsements

The Network for Public Education, a national group fighting to preserve and strengthen public schools, has endorsed Bill Hodges for Douglas County School Board, a district that has experienced some of the most aggressive corporate reforms in the United States. The general election will be November 5th.

Bill Hodges brings a wealth of institutional knowledge to this pivotal race.  He was an assistant superintendent of Human Resources in the Douglas County district for nearly a decade.  He also served as Vice Chairman of the Governor’s Teacher Quality Commission.  He has had a front-row seat to watch the present Board of Education turn over public education to private entities.

Key to NPE’s endorsement is the fact that Bill Hodges understand the hidden agendas of those who have forced harmful reforms on the Douglas County Schools. Hodges said, “If this School Board were better connected to the community, they wouldn’t have needed approximately $190,000 for a public relations campaign.”

The Network for Public Education is pleased to endorse Bill Hodges for Douglas County School Board and we encourage those who care about public education to do the same. For more information, visit http://hodgesfordcschools.com.

The Flipped Class: Myths vs. Reality - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

The Flipped Class: Myths vs. Reality - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:

The Flipped Class: Myths vs. Reality

Editor's Note:  On the heels of our viral posts in over 100 countries about the flipped classroom earlier this year (links below), we asked Jon Bergmann if he could share some of the feedback he was receiving in light of the notable interest about this topic.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect since he was about to leave for a conference about you-guessed-it, the flipped class.  Here is Part 1 of our three part series The Daily Riff.  See Part 2 and 3 links below.

                                                                        - C.J. Westerberg

The Flipped Class:
What it is and What it is Not

by Jon Bergmann, Jerry Overmyer and Brett Wilie

There has been a lot of interest in the flipped classroom.  This past week the Flipped Class Conference occurred at Woodland Park High School in Woodland Park Colorado and during the pre-conference a team of flipped teachers got together to write a three-part article about the nature of the Flipped Class.  This first article is an attempt to define what the Flipped Class is and what it is NOT.

The traditional definition of a flipped class is:

• Where videos take the place of direct instruction
• This then allows students to get individual time in class to work with their teacher on key learning activities.
• It is called the flipped class because what used to be classwork (the "lecture" is done at home via teacher-created videos and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is 

The Flipped Class Manifest

"The Flipped Classroom is an intentional shift of content which in turn helps move students back to the center of learning" rather than the products of schooling." Continue Reading at The Daily Riff

86 by CJ Westerberg / 54min 

NYC Educator: Should We Change Our Name?

NYC Educator: Should We Change Our Name?:

Should We Change Our Name?

Here at GothamCharterSchools we're in a quandary. Since our Rise and Shine is all about Moskowitz, and since every day we write multiple stories about the Moskowitz Charter Schools, should we change our name to MoskowitzCharterSchools? After all, we've covered not only planning the rally, thinking about the rally, and the rally itself, but we're also planning extensive post-rally coverage.

On the other hand, we've got extensive coverage of the UFT contract, Just the other day we did a story about what Shael Suransky and John King think should be in it. Now some publications would ask teachers what they want in a new contract, but here at GothamCharterSchools we don't mess around with such nonsense. We're all about reforminess, and the reformier the reforminess, the better. Personally, I simply adore the fragrance of fresh reforminess in the morning.

Naturally, we were thrilled when candidate Joe Lhota got out there and told the children they didn't have to go to school if they were out marching for reforminess. And if that loser de Blasio were talking reforminess, we'd cover him too. In any case, we didn't bother asking either one of them what they wanted in the UFT contract, because that would be just like 

Mass School Closures Are "Shock Doctrine" for Education | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity

Mass School Closures Are "Shock Doctrine" for Education | National Opportunity to Learn Campaign | Education Reform for Equity and Opportunity:

Mass School Closures Are "Shock Doctrine" for Education

Posted on: Wednesday October 9th, 2013

When 9-year-old Asean Johnson gave his now-famous, fiery speech last spring at a rally to protest the mass closure of 49 Chicago public schools, he drew enough national attention that his school, at least, was spared.

In the months since, Johnson has become one of the most recognizable faces in a growing grassroots movement to end school closures. A recent article in Rethinking Schools perfectly lays out the devastating impact these closures have on students and communities, and highlights the local and national groups (many of them OTL allies) that are organizing to protect and support their public schools.

School closures are the "shock doctrine" of the education world, with real or manufactured crises used as justification to undermine and dismantle public institutions. In a recent OTL Campaign's infographic, we debunked some of those justifications to show that closures don't result in students enrolling in better schools and never generate the savings officials say they will. Instead, closures are they result of years of underfunding and a concerted push to turn public schools over to private charter school operators.

"Every year this brutal cycle becomes more familiar: Close public schools, replace with privatized charters, fire unionized teachers, replace with Teach for America or other low-wage temporary options, transfer funds and resources from public to private control, manufacture crisis then use it to impose policies that would otherwise meet stiff democratic opposition. As Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said last spring: 'Closing schools is not an education plan. It is a scorched earth policy.'”

Parents, students and teachers are fighting back. Groups like Journey for Justice, the Philadelphia Student Union, and the Urban Youth Collaborative are organizing in their communities and 

Stotsky Calls For Abolishment of Florida DOE | Truth in American Education

Stotsky Calls For Abolishment of Florida DOE | Truth in American Education:

Stotsky Calls For Abolishment of Florida DOE

Filed in Common Core State Standards, Education at State Level by Shane Vander Hart on October 9, 2013• 0 Comments

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Sandra Stotsky, former Senior Associate Commissioner of Education in Massachusetts and Professor Emerita at the University of Arkansas, released a statement concerning the upcoming summit called by Florida Governor Rick Scott concerning the Common Core State Standards.

Stotsky also served on the Common Core validation committee for the English-Language Arts standards and refused to sign off on them.

Here is her full statement below:

I have been invited by parent groups in Florida to comment on Common Core’s English language arts standards using the format that Interim Commissioner Pamela Stewart chose to give them.  Although Governor Scott requested meetings at which parents could express their concerns, she deliberately chose a method that in effect prevents discussion and an open forum.  By telling parents that they can comment only one by one, and only on the particular standards in Common Core, in a 3-hour period of time, she is in effect spitting in 

Forum on Understanding Common Core in Peoria, IL

Illinois Citizens for Better Education is sponsoring a Forum on Understanding Common Core on Saturday, November 9, 2013 in Peoria, IL.  The featured speaker will be Shane Vander Hart from Truth in American Education and American Principles Project.  The doors open at 9:30am, the program will start at 10:00a and ends at 12:30p.Education reform is taking place across Illinois, yet we have only heard

17 by truthed / 55min mark as read  //

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Lying like a rug: Concept Schools

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Lying like a rug: Concept Schools:

Lying like a rug: Concept Schools

Since Concept Schools is willing to lie to Americans about its very fundamental connection to the Gulen Movement’s (GM) larger school network, then what else is it lying about and why should Americans trust anything it claims?

Despite the GM’s best efforts to stay under the radar, each day a few more Americans are becoming aware of its presence here. As followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who has been living on a secluded compound in rural Pennsylvania since the late 1990s, GM members have been busy building up their enormous network of schools around the world, among which are more than 140 publicly-funded charter schools operating in 26 of the United States.  

However, most American taxpayers still have no idea that they are funding this secretive and highly controversial group’s US set of schools. The GM has been able to take advantage of what Diane Ravitch calls a"Reign of Error," This is the current education reform effort that is driving to privatize the US public school system (she discusses Gulen charter schools on page 166). As the American Foreign Policy Council’s report (“Fethullah Gulen Movement”) explains:

"The charter school experiment has resulted in the United States being the only country in the world where the Gülen Movement has been able to establish schools fully funded 

10-9-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Education "Spring" is Already Here

Remember the uprising in Egypt (that really started in Tunisia) called the Arab Spring?We have just such a movement happening - Education Spring - that is traveling across America and nobody is waiting for Spring. Exhibit A: the uprising against testing in Buffalo, New York (and I believe the courageous action by the Garfield High staff has triggered this "we can change this" attitude th

by Melissa Westbrook / 22min 

Growth Boundary Fallout and Infighting

A heartfelt message from David Elliot , principal at Queen Anne Elementary expressing some anguish for a situation out of his control.   I was aware of the unhappiness at Coe over their tight quarters AND that there was some advocacy for QA Elementary's   geozone to change to include more neighborhood students but it looks like it went a step farther.I feel this is an important part of the discuss

by Melissa Westbrook / 13min 

Seattle School Board Executive Committee

No time to do a complete write-up to several major items of note:It appears that some changing are coming to EOCs for algebra and geometry.  It looks like there will be some sort of comprehensive exam coming in the next four years.  Michael Tolley reported this as coming from OSPI and that he had had a meeting with high school principals.  Most seem on-board but a few felt there was too much testi

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

10-8-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Seattle Schools Community Forum:GET Program - Now Back on TrackRemember how Senator Rodney Tom was telling everyone who would listen what a bad idea it was for the state to continue the GET program (buying prepaid units of college tuition)?   He said, "We don't need to be in that business."  And the Legislature was thinking of getting rid of it despite it

by mike simpson / 6h 

Jesse Hagopian nails it on Education Nation | Seattle Education

Jesse Hagopian nails it on Education Nation | Seattle Education:

Jesse Hagopian nails it on Education Nation

Brian Williams, the host of Education Nation, the ed reform infomercial brought to you by Gates & Co., asked Jesse Hagopian during the Teacher Town Hall, “You’re not against testing are you?” Jesse responded in a kick *** way that had the audience cheering.

As Jesse stated on his blog, “I was very happy to be able to help inject a serious debate on a national level about the corrosive nature of standardized testing on public education and the many important alternative ways to assess student learning that promote the kind of critical thinking education our nation so desperately needs.”

You go Jesse!

Posted by Dora Taylor

The bottom line on SAT scores in one chart:

The bottom line on SAT scores in one chart

By Valerie Strauss, Published: October 9 at 1:52 pmE-mail the writer

Here, in one chart, is pretty much everything you need to know about who does and doesn’t perform well on the SAT. Kids from the wealthiest families do the best, and the kids from the poorest families do the worst. This pattern applies to virtually every high-stakes standardized test that is given to kids.

The chart, which shows national average SAT scores by income band for students in the high school class of 2013,  was done by the non-profit National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as FairTest, which is dedicated to ending the misuse of standardized tests.

				Critical Reading		Math		Writing		Total
$ 0 -  $20,000				435		462		429		1326
$20,000 – $40,000				465		482		455		1402
$40,000 – $60,000				487		500		474		1461
$60,000 – $80,000				500		511		486		1497
$80,000 – $100,000				512		524		499		1535
$100,000 – $120,000				522		536		511		1569
$120,000 – $140,000				526		540		515		1581
$140,000 – $160,000				533		548		523		1604
$160,000 – $200,000				539		555		531		1625
More than  $200,000				565		586		563		1714
Calculated by FairTest from: College Board, College-Bound Seniors 2013: Total Group Profile Report
and College-Bound Seniors 2006: Total Group Profile Report