Friday, May 2, 2014
How the Creation of Social Justice Caucuses in Unions Is Revitalizing an Aging Labor Movement | Alternet
How the Creation of Social Justice Caucuses in Unions Is Revitalizing an Aging Labor Movement | Alternet:
Welcome the Class of 2014 « The National Teacher Hall of Fame
Current News « The National Teacher Hall of Fame:
Jan Alderson is a 45 year educator focusing on Biology, Anatomy and Physiology from Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas. We welcome you into the National Teachers Hall of Fame!
Gary Koppelman is a 40 year educator of Mathematics, Science and Writing from Blissfield Community Schools in Blissfield, Michigan. We welcome you into National Teachers Hall of Fame!
Welcome the Class of 2014
We would like to welcome the newest inductees into the Hall of Fame. These five educators are what we are all about!!!! Congratulations and Welcome! Follow the links next to their names to see local coverage and images of their announcement ceremonies.
Jan Alderson is a 45 year educator focusing on Biology, Anatomy and Physiology from Shawnee Mission South High School in Overland Park, Kansas. We welcome you into the National Teachers Hall of Fame!
Cynthia Couchman is a 23 year mathematics instructor from Buhler High School, in Buhler, Kansas. We welcome you into the National Teachers Hall of Fame!
Marguerite Izzo is a 26 year educator of ELA and Social Studies from Davison Avenue Intermediate School in Lynbrook, New York. We welcome you into the National Teachers Hall of Fame!
Gary Koppelman is a 40 year educator of Mathematics, Science and Writing from Blissfield Community Schools in Blissfield, Michigan. We welcome you into National Teachers Hall of Fame!
Rebecca Palacios is a 34 year educator of Early Childhood education (retired) in Corpus Christi, TX. We welcome you into the National Teachers Hall of Fame!
“This year was one of the hardest to narrow down to Five.” Said one of the selection committee members. “All of the applications were great.” We would like to congratulate all of our semi-finalist and finalists for their submission and encourage you to try again
5-2-14 The Whole Child Blog — Putting the Child into Whole Child: Give Students Voice to Improve Your Practice — Whole Child Education
Putting the Child into Whole Child: Give Students Voice to Improve Your Practice — Whole Child Education:
Recently I was having a discussion with a colleague who is new to the building. This teacher is confident, self-assured, and has decades of experience more than me. We teach the same children, so we meet frequently for RTI and team meetings. This is the type of teacher that takes pride in being "old school," which roughly translates to a no-nonsense, quiet-equals-learning, behavior-should-have-negative-consequences type of environment. It's the model that many of us grew up with. Although I was able to navigate through this system because I was a so-called "good student," many friends were not particularly successful, with the logical assumption that they were "bad students." This model puts the system itself as the driving force for success, which is disempowering both to educators and to the students alike.
Now, the conversation in question did not go smoothly, especially when I insensitively insisted that the teacher "would not be successful" using this old school approach. Realizing that I was working against my goal, I quickly concluded with a final statement that I paraphrased from a Maya Angelou quote: People don't remember what you say; they remember how you made them feel. It is a statement that I share with staff and students, and for me it is at the foundation of the type of teacher I strive to be. It is also at the core of the safeand supported tenets of the whole child approach.
ASCD's Whole Child Initiative offers a framework that does not consider students to be good or bad, but forces educators to consider students' needs. And what better way to find out than to ask the students themselves? Consider these two examples of how student voice and whole child thinking work together to show improvements on both the classroom and the individual level.
Example 1
In the beginning of this school year, the majority of my 8th grade first period reading class was sitting with their heads down. There are two quick assumptions that a teacher can make: One is that the kids don't care about school; the other is that the teacher and/or content actually is that boring. The old school of thought would assume the first, placing the responsibility of learning on the learner. The second is something that many Putting the Child into Whole Child: Give Students Voice to Improve Your Practice — Whole Child Education:
5-1-14 The Whole Child Blog — The Educator's Essentials — Whole Child Education
The Educator's Essentials — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGThe Educator’s EssentialsMay 1, 2014 by Klea ScharbergIn this era of school reform, turnaround, and educational change, it is easy to overlook the basics of why we educate and what we want for our children. Usually when we talk about "getting back to the basics," the conversation is student-focused, if not always stud
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Gated communities for children of privilege
Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Gated communities for children of privilege:
Tepid Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) who walks a middle ground in the City Council, won't go that Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Gated communities for children of privilege:
Gated communities for children of privilege
 |
| Ald. Pat Dowell |
Dowell is not about to use such divisive language. She just wants results. -- Sun-Times reporter Fran SpielmanJulie Woestehoff, executive director of PURE, is a straight shooter. She's quoted in PE&O, letting us know that since CPS leaders vacated the Consent Decree, the city's selective enrollment schools have been turned into “gated communities for children of privilege,” with soaring white enrollment. Remember, these schools were originally created under the deseg agreement as one way to combat years of racial segregation in city schools.
Tepid Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) who walks a middle ground in the City Council, won't go that Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Gated communities for children of privilege:
Myths of Technology Series: “Don’t Talk To Strangers” | Connected Principals
Myths of Technology Series: “Don’t Talk To Strangers” | Connected Principals:
Myths of Technology Series: “Don’t Talk To Strangers”
by George Couros • • 0 Comments
Steel Parents Say No to Turning their school over to Charter Company | WeArePCAPS
Steel Parents Say No to Turning their school over to Charter Company | WeArePCAPS:
This was a great victory for the parents, staff and Nicetown community members who value their neighborhood school and don’t want to see it sold off to a charter company. It was also a victory for the movement against school privatization and austerity in our city. Parents voted for Steel by a better than two to one margin for Steel in spite of a relentless campaign by Mastery than included paid staff canvassing the neighborhood for weeks, the efforts of the Charter School office to prejudice the outcome, and the undeniable reality that Mastery schools are at this point in time better resourced than Philadelphia public schools.
Steel Parents Say No to Turning their school over to Charter Company
This was a great victory for the parents, staff and Nicetown community members who value their neighborhood school and don’t want to see it sold off to a charter company. It was also a victory for the movement against school privatization and austerity in our city. Parents voted for Steel by a better than two to one margin for Steel in spite of a relentless campaign by Mastery than included paid staff canvassing the neighborhood for weeks, the efforts of the Charter School office to prejudice the outcome, and the undeniable reality that Mastery schools are at this point in time better resourced than Philadelphia public schools.The parents voted the way they did because they value the teachers and administration that have decades of experience and demonstrated commitment to Steel families. It also reflects the continued sentiment of working class families in favor of neighborhood public schools. Most people, if given a choice, favor investing resources in these schools and Steel Parents Say No to Turning their school over to Charter Company | WeArePCAPS:
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-2-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:
Sb 1174: Senate Panel Moves Bill To Restore Multilingual K-12 Classrooms
Ab215: Teacher Dismissal Bill Unanimously Supported By Senate Ed Committee
Allegations+Revelations About Miramonte Child Abuse Continue
PLAN TO USE ‘NEED INDEX’ TO GO BEFORE LAUSD BOARD + far more than 2¢ from a 4LAKids reader
Sb 1174: Senate Panel Moves Bill To Restore Multilingual K-12 Classrooms
by Kimberly Beltran | SI&A Cabinet Report :: http://bit.ly/1nRILOP MAY 01, 2014 (Calif.) :: A bill that would repeal the core tenets of a 15-year-old ban on the use of bilingual education in the state’s K-12 school system cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday – passing out of the Senate Education Committee, where it was lauded as being both necessary and overdue. SB 1174 by Sen.
Ab215: Teacher Dismissal Bill Unanimously Supported By Senate Ed Committee
By Theresa Harrington, Contra Costa Times/San Jose Mercury News | http://bit.ly/R8TwPg 5/01/2014 7:16:03 PM PDT | SACRAMENTO :: The Senate Education Committee has given its unanimous support to AB215 by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, which would streamline the teacher discipline and dismissal appeal process. The bill would expedite and prioritize cases of egregious misconduct, those
Allegations+Revelations About Miramonte Child Abuse Continue
Allegations in Miramonte molestation case grow by Howard Blume | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1pXSJAj Former Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt, right, appears in L.A. County Superior Court with attorney Manny Medrano last year. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times / November 15, 2013) May 1, 2014, 6:20 p.m. :: Previously
PLAN TO USE ‘NEED INDEX’ TO GO BEFORE LAUSD BOARD + far more than 2¢ from a 4LAKids reader
by LA School Report | http://bit.ly/Si8Qdl Posted on May 1, 2014 12:17 pm :: In a surprise move, LA Unified school board will consider a resolution that supports the use of an alternative formula, known as the “Student Need Index,” in deciding how to distribute school funds throughout the district. LA School Report has learned that Monica Garcia and Board President Richard Vladovic have agreed
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 5-1-14
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: DISTRICT 1 CANDIDATES FORUM | Thursday, May 1 | 7:00PM | Hamilton High School2014 Community Town Hall Meeting: LAUSD School Board Candidate Forum A public Q&A about the future of our schools For the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), this is a time of unprecedented changes and challenges. Public debate continues over testing and core curri
ACT – The Ultimate Gatekeeper | Missouri Education Watchdog
ACT – The Ultimate Gatekeeper | Missouri Education Watchdog:
Any good business person knows the importance of risk management. A lot of risk management involves shifting liability, for high risk things that must be done, to someone else. A simplistic example is skyscraper window cleaning. The windows must be cleaned, but as building management you don’t want to put your regular cleaning crew out there. Too much risk and not enough training. So naturally you outsource that kind of job to a company that specializes in taking on the risk of hanging off buildings multiple stories in the air to clean windows. Their people are typically faster, specifically trained in the task, do a better job and are highly insured for injury. Businesses look for opportunities to shift that liability where ever they can, including in the human resources department. And lucky for businesses there is someone out there to take on the risk of new hires.
ACT – The Ultimate Gatekeeper
Any good business person knows the importance of risk management. A lot of risk management involves shifting liability, for high risk things that must be done, to someone else. A simplistic example is skyscraper window cleaning. The windows must be cleaned, but as building management you don’t want to put your regular cleaning crew out there. Too much risk and not enough training. So naturally you outsource that kind of job to a company that specializes in taking on the risk of hanging off buildings multiple stories in the air to clean windows. Their people are typically faster, specifically trained in the task, do a better job and are highly insured for injury. Businesses look for opportunities to shift that liability where ever they can, including in the human resources department. And lucky for businesses there is someone out there to take on the risk of new hires.Check out the state Certified Work Ready Communities (CWRC) initiative powered by the ACT® National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC TM). The initiative was launched in December 2011. Missouri, Oregon and South Carolina were in the first round of participating states. Participants are “leveraging the NCRC to measure and close the skills gap — and building common frameworks that link, align and match their workforce development efforts.”
ACT knows that “making a bad hire can be incredibly expensive, costing you training time and expense, not to mention lost productivity.” They are ready to step in and take on that risk with their special certification program. ACT does this by offering “a suite of assessments and certifications that measure an individual’s foundational workplace skills such as math, reading and locating – skills required for a majority of today’s jobs.”
Makes sense. We all know ACT’s prowess at assessments with its college entrance exams. Those exams, interestingly started out in 1959 as a competitor to the SAT reasoning test and ACT – The Ultimate Gatekeeper | Missouri Education Watchdog:
NYC Public School Parents: Please join us Tuesday & speak out against new law requiring NYC give charter schools preference for space!
NYC Public School Parents: Please join us Tuesday & speak out against new law requiring NYC give charter schools preference for space!:
Please distribute to all parents!
Please join us Tuesday & speak out against new law requiring NYC give charter schools preference for space!
Please distribute to all parents!
Parents and elected officials are holding a press conference Tuesday May 6 at Tweed to speak out against the new state law that gives any new and/or expanding charter free space either in our public school buildings or in private space paid for by the city .
Meanwhile, many thousands of NYC public school students are sitting in vastly overcrowded schools, subjected to excessive class sizes, in trailers or on waiting lists for their zoned schools, with an underfunded capital plan. This is one of the worst charter giveaways ever passed into law, and will create even more inequitable conditions in our city going forward.
Meanwhile, Eva Moskowitz charter chain, Success Academy, raised more than $7.5 million in one night, from Jeb Bush and her Wall St. buddies, while claiming she could not afford to rent her own space. Instead, the DOE is being forced to rent three parochial schools for her, and pay for renovations to suit her specifications. Here is yet another shameless ruse in which Success Academy is planning to make big sums off the stock trades of their billionaire supporters.
Clearly the charter lobby wants to drain as much resources and space from the public schools in order to destabilize and further overcrowd the system, or else they would pay for space themselves.
A flyer for our press conference is posted here: http://tinyurl.com/qy3mlaf Please invite your City Council members and other elected officials to attend as well.
Hearings follow the press conference at 10 AM at City Hall on the lack of charter accountability, including their egregious practice of suspending and pushing out large numbers of high need students.
Naison EduNews 5/3/14 - Camp Philos - YouTube
Naison EduNews 5/3/14 - Camp Philos - YouTube:
Naison EduNews 5/3/14 - Camp Philos
May 4th weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is sponsoring a "Philosophers Camp on Education Reform". Mark Naison, Professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham and co-founder of Badass Teachers Association comments on THE NEWS!
Naison EduNews 5/3/14 - Camp Philos
May 4th weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is sponsoring a "Philosophers Camp on Education Reform". Mark Naison, Professor of African American Studies and History at Fordham and co-founder of Badass Teachers Association comments on THE NEWS!
5-2-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):
Morning Read: LAT endorses Tuck for state public education chief
Parents, with some help, offer views on LAUSD spending plan
It was “pencils down” day yesterday, for the members of the Parent Advisory Committee, who completed their first opportunity to weigh in on LA Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan, the so-called LCAP required of Gov. Jerry Brown‘s new Local Control Funding Formula. The 47 parents and guardians selected to give feedback, have had two weeks to “live with” Superintendent John Deasy’s propo
After mixup, West Valley charters facing anxiety over bills
A bureaucratic mistake at LA Unified has led to a degree of anxiety among affiliated charter schools in the West Valley, which will begin paying for classroom basics they had previously gotten for free from the district. A lack of oversight and confusion among several departments with little experience in understanding how affiliated charter school should operate, including school operations, scho
LA Unified says it followed the law in handling abuse reports
Mark Berndt, teacher accused of abusing children In the face of reports that Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt molested many more children than previously known, according to an LA County Sheriff’s investigation, LA Unified today said it followed prescribed legal regulations in dealing with reports of the allegations. The sheriff’s report included the assertion that the school distri
McKenna riding decades of experience into District 1 race
George McKenna Third in a series of profiles of candidates for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat. At 73 years old and now retired as an LAUSD administrator and principal, George McKenna shows no signs of slowing down. With more than 35 years under his belt, serving in multiple roles in eight different schools in several districts, including principal at George Washington Preparatory High Sc
Morning Read: LAT endorses Tuck for state public education chief
Marshall Tuck for state superintendent of public instruction Opinion: Torlakson has been an able administrator, and after years as a state legislator, his relationships in Sacramento give him some influence on lawmaking. He deserves praise for his role in the state’s smooth implementation of the Common Core curriculum standards. But he has not brought much vision or leadership to his role. The big
5-1-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: LAUSD budget aims at helping foster childrenLAUSD foster kids to get more help from school social workers Los Angeles Unified’s plan to help some of its most troubled students — foster kids — calls for creating a corps of social workers and manning 17 centers in poverty-stricken neighborhood
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