Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water?

By Nancy Flanagan on May 12, 2014 5:48 PM

OK. The headline was designed to lure readers. But the question remains: Has practice-based teacher leadership come a long way in the last decade--or has the concept become co-opted and marginalized by all the organizations and funders that want to own it? Teacher leadership has been a hot issue for more than two decades, but the dialogue around its definition and mission has clearly shifted.

I asked Mary Tedrow for her take, because we have a long history of wading around in the theory and practice of teacher leadership together. Ten years ago, we co-created the Center for Teacher Leadership's  Teacher as Change Agent course, based on the belief that teachers were experts and in charge, when it came to their classrooms, but very much on the receiving end of policy--for better or worse. We built case studies of garden-variety teachers who succeeded in changing policy--at local and state levels--into the course, because we thought that's where the real leverage occurred. 

We made the assumption that teachers who had good ideas, informed and honed by experience, were best positioned to influence policy. We thought teachers could and should gain control over their own core work: curriculum, instruction, assessment and managing a classroom. We thought teacher leadership, as a movement, was just out of the gate--at the cutting edge of a push to fully professionalize teaching. 

If you had asked me, in 2004, what teacher leadership would look like in 2014, I might have imagined a rising national wave of unique place-based, teacher-created schools, teachers serving as ad hoc policy advisors to senators and governors, teachers sharing innovative curriculum and performance-based assessments of student work using newly available technologies. I certainly would have predicted greater delineation, recognition and utilization of the skills of top-tier, long-term veteran teachers, and a vastly more professional approach to selecting, preparing, mentoring and advancing teacher practice.

Have we sincerely pursued any of those goals, wide-scale? We certainly have more books, more websites, more opinions, more formalized, grant-funded teacher leadership programs. Everybody's involved with a different flavor of "teacher leadership:" Teach Plus. StudentsFirst. Teach for Ten Years After: Is Genuine Teacher Leadership Dead in the Water? - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

UPDATE: What’s Missing in Indiana’s ELA Standards + Chester Finn Is At It Again | Truth in American Education

Chester Finn Is At It Again | Truth in American Education:


What’s Missing in Indiana’s ELA Standards

Below is the report I sent to Governor Pence on April 8, 2014 containing the suggestions of four Indiana high school English teachers and over 20 literary scholars for improving Common Core’s English language arts (ELA) standards (mostly cut-and-pasted into Indiana’s draft #2, which was released on March 14, 2014 by Claire Fiddian-Green, Pence’s education policy advisor, and the Indiana Department

by Sandra Stotsky / 42min 

Chester Finn Is At It Again

Filed in Common Core State Standards by Shane Vander Hart on May 12, 2014 • 0 Comments

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Chester Finn writing at Fordham Institute’s blogcritiques Peggy Noonan’s recent piece in the Wall Street Journal.

Finn writes:

But she’s not right to offer absolutely no alternative—unless, of course, she’s content with American K–12 education the way it is, which I know she isn’t.

And she’s not right to fail to note that the Common Core would have been—at least at this point in time—a sort of ambitious pilot program involving a smallish number of states that were serious about the implementation challenges, until the feds blundered into the middle of it with “incentives” that turned it into a sort of national piñata. (It does, however, remain absolutely voluntary for states, and I will shed no tears when those that don’t really want to put it into conscientious operation in their schools stop pretending that they will.)

And she’s not right to overlook how much of the pushback that she cites comes not from “harried parents,” but from formidable interest groups that really don’t want to change how they’ve always done things, whether or not such change would be good for kids or the country. I have in mind textbook publishers, test-makers, teacher unions, and political opportunists of every sort, lately and most prominently of the “tea party” persuasion, who will do and say anything to take down Obama and everything he’s for.

How can we take Chester Finn seriously when he still claims that the Common Core State Standards are voluntary for the states.  How about telling Indiana that?  Also does anyone see the irony in him pointing out how the “feds blundered into the middle of (Common Core)” when at the same time criticizing Tea Party folks who will “do and say anything to take down Obama.”  So Chester Finn Is At It Again | Truth in American Education:

5-12-13 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION:

Edutopia Serves Up Grits (With Maple Syrup)

If you have been looking for ways to grittify your classroom, edutopia has you covered with a new addition to its "Research Made Relevant" series (and while I guess I understand what their point is, but I have mixed feelings because nobody is out there explaining how to make water wet-- if the research is relevant, why would we have to "make" it anything. So maybe what they mea

by Peter Greene / 3min 

5-11-13 Curmudgucation

CURMUDGUCATION: Mixing With PoliticsThere's a great line, usually attributed to Rev Gene Carlson of Wichita, about religious getting involved in politics:When you mix religion and politics, you get politics.His point was that while you may think that political power gives you leverage you need to engineer the social changes you want (in Carlson's case, conservative Christian changes), politics alw

by mike simpson / 54min 

Rocketship program is a model for inequality in education opportunity | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

Rocketship program is a model for inequality in education opportunity | Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

Rocketship program is a model for inequality in education opportunity

By Gordon Lafer May 10, 2014 Sixty years ago this month, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kan. The ruling rejected the concept of separate schools for students of different races and demanded true equal opportunity in education for all students, regardless of race, ethnicity or income. Since then, Milwaukee and many

by millerlf / 5min 

Sixty years after Brown decision, a new Jim Crow doctrine is rising

By James Hall and Barbara Miner May 10, 2014 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel It is time to fulfill the promise of Brown vs. Board of Education — the most important Supreme Court decision of the 20th century. Sixty years ago, on May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Equally important, the court’s decision overturned the Jim

by millerlf / 8min hide  //  save

MPS Graduation Rates

MPS graduation rates are improving By Gregory Thornton May 10, 2014 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel MPS graduation rates are increasing; it just takes some students longer. In just a few weeks, thousands of students will begin graduating from Milwaukee Public Schools. It begins with a trickle in late May with three graduations — Reagan College Preparatory, Rufus King International and Community high

by millerlf / 13min 

REPORT: Fraudulent Charter Schools Responsible for $100M in Taxpayer Losses Across 15 States

  A new study from Integrity in Education claims “fraudulent charter operators in 15 states are responsible for losing, misusing or wasting over $100 million in taxpayer money.” The report — “Charter School Vulnerabilities to Waste, Fraud And Abuse” — was a combined effort of the Center for Popular Democracy and Integrity in Education, and echoes the findings of the Inspector General of the U.S. D

by millerlf / 19min 

America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty program - Salon.com

America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty program - Salon.com:

America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty program

Here's what's behind the claim that education is the panacea to inequality -- and why it has the answer all wrong

 Arne Duncan (Credit: AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)

If you’ve followed the education reform debate in this country, the Finland story should be familiar by now. Almost as if engaged in an elaborate troll, Finland has apparently organized its educational system in exactly the opposite way as the reform movement here claims is necessary. The reformers say we need longer school days, but the Finns have short ones. The reformers say we need extensive standardized testing, but the Finns have almost none. The reformers say we need to keep a close leash on teachers, but the Finns give their teachers considerable freedom. Despite all of these pedagogical mistakes, the Finns consistently find themselves at the top of the international education scoreboard.

Normally, the suggested lesson of the Finland story is that the education reformers’ proposals are at minimum unnecessary and perhaps even counterproductive. Whether this lesson actually falls out of the Finland story is the subject of hotly contested arguments that are insufferably boring. However, flying under the radar of these Finland debates is a much less contestable and interesting lesson: Education cannot deliver economic equality.

If ever there was an opportunity to show that education can fix inequality and poverty, Finland is it. The children come into its education system with the lowest poverty rates in the world. In addition to its overall excellence, Finland’s education system is also extremely egalitarian in the way that it instructs its pupils. There are almost no private schools, college is free, and an ethos of total inclusion seems to reign. It is the closest thing to the liberal education utopia as you will probably ever find.

Despite all of this, Finnish economic inequality and poverty is still quite high, at least when you look at the market distribution of income. In 2010, Finland’s market poverty rate (defined as those with incomes below 50 percent of the median income) was 32.2 percent. By comparison, the United States’ market poverty was actually lower at 28.4 percent. When it comes to overall inequality, Finland’s Gini coefficient in 2010 was 0.479. This was only slightly lower than the America’s dangerous education myth: Why it isn’t the best anti-poverty program - Salon.com:

5-12-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Lost Decade

Here's something that happens when you move: you handle all of your stuff and you have to ask yourself if you should keep it, sell it, gift it, or toss it. You handle ALL of your stuff. For me, that meant a lot of handouts that I have received from Seattle Public Schools at meetings over the past fourteen years.Among these documents were a number of supposedly important decisions the District had

by Charlie Mas / 11min 

WSJ Story on RttT Outcomes

There was a story in the Wall Street Journal on May 3 about Race to the Top grants that casts them in a rather dim light. A number of grant winners did not actually move forward with the promised reforms and a number of the reforms did not actually provide any positive outcomes.Surprise, surprise, surprise.A lot of this might be just the usual government incompetence and the hit-or-miss range of r

by Charlie Mas / 6min 

5-10-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:Seattle Schools Community ForumLouis C.K. and Common CoreThe blowback from the comedian Louis C.K. and his tweets about Common Core are useful in pointing out some fundamental issues with Common Core.These are issues that ALL public school parents have a right to weigh in on both as taxpayers AND as parents investing their children into public education.  And that,

by mike simpson / 58min 

5-12-14 The Whole Child Blog — Not Worried About the EOG

Not Worried About the EOG — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Not Worried About the EOG

May 12, 2014 by Steven Weber

Across the United States, students have started test prep. Students march through test packet after test packet with the goal of increasing test scores on a standardized test. In North Carolina, all elementary schools administer the End-of-Grade (EOG) Test. The test is a standardized test which measures how well students understand grade level standards.

What are the standards?

• North Carolina Essential Standards
• Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics

A Whole Child Approach

At Hillsborough Elementary School (HES), our staff remains committed to teaching the whole child. A whole child approach to education means each staff member will focus on ensuring that each child is healthy, safe,engaged, supported, and challenged.

Our school's approach to assessment is through the use of common formative assessments. Common formative assessments are created by grade level teams or by teams of teachers from across Orange County Schools and inform teaching and learning. In order to assess skills and understandings, classroom teachers may assign a project, have a class seminar or debate, ask students to demonstrate a skill, visit the HES Nature Trail for a science experiment, ask students to complete a project in a collaborative team, or develop an online assessment. We believe in Assessment FOR Learning, which means that the teacher and the student both learn from the assessment.

Life is a matter of trial and error, not multiple choice tests. Our staff focus on creating assessments which are student-friendly and which help the student monitor his or her own growth. Parents are always welcome to speak with their child's teacher about assessment. Assessment is not viewed as a series of tests or hoops to jump through. Our state administers EOG Tests in grades 3–5, but the focus at HES is on student understanding, not on test prep. Teachers provide multiple opportunities for learning, and the instruction is aligned to the standards adopted by the North Carolina Board of Education.

Our goal is to teach for understanding and to prepare students for the next level. We view success as each student being well prepared for any assessment, not just a multiple choice test. You won't hear about a Test Not Worried About the EOG — Whole Child Education:

5-10-14 THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:THE WHOLE WEEK @ The Whole Child Blog Insights on Professional Learning: ReimaginedThe best teachers never stop learning. They know there's always room for improvement, and they're eager to find new ways to guide their students' learning. But the sit-and-get model of professional development in which teachers listen to an expert expound on best practice

by mike simpson / 39min 

5-12-14 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):

West Adams parents rally for a new charter, and it may pay off

Students and their parents rally for a new charter school Sometimes it takes a rally to get things done. Nearly 200 parents and their children from Bright Star Stella and Bright Star Secondary gathered on Saturday to campaign for a new charter school in West Adams. The families have identified an abandoned facility that they want turned into a new school that would house all of the students under

1 25min 

Where shame is policy: Inside LAUSD’s ‘teacher jail’

Via The Nation | By JoAnn Wypijewski  Iris Stevenson hurt no child, seduced no teenager, abused no student at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles. This is what her supporters say in rallying outrage that this exemplary teacher has languished for months in the gulag of administrative detention known as “teacher jail”: she doesn’t belong there. And she doesn’t. Days before being removed from her mus

2min hide  //  save

In LAT, community groups press LAUSD to help high-need students

More than 40 education and community groups signed a full-page ad that ran in today’s Los Angeles Times, urging the LA Unified school board to provide more support for high needs students in the up-coming budget. The ad appears a day before a board meeting when issues of the budget will be a large part of the conversation. In “An Open Letter to the LAUSD School Board,” the groups who form the coal

3 17min hide  //  save

Ratliff has a plan for more school custodians but fewer police

Monica Ratliff Anyone attending a recent LA Unified School Board meeting has heard Monica Ratliff talk about “providing a safe and inclusive learning environment for all students” by boosting the district’s custodial staff. Tomorrow she’ll lay out her plan for doing it. Item No. 47 on another loooooong agenda, represents Ratliff’s attempt to hire 108 new full-time custodial employees by cutting th

2 by Vanessa Romo / 47min 

Morning Read: Trial run of CA’s online exams a bumpy ride

State’s new computerized exam tryout plagued by glitches New state standardized exams, given for the first time on computers this spring, really have been a test. But not always a test of math and English. Students had trouble logging on; then many were logged off, sometimes for inactivity while they read lengthy passages. Some devices froze or didn’t save answers. Slow connections caused students

2 47min 

5-10-14 This Week in 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):LAUSD’s Marshall High School wins online decathlonJohn Marshall High School LA Unified has claimed a second victory in a major academic competition. Marshall High School won the 2014 U.S. Academic Decathlon Online competition, scoring 39,461 out of a possible 48,000 points. The win follows El Camino Real C

by mike simpson / 41min 

Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveled - NY Daily News

Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveled - NY Daily News:

Conflicts of interest are the norm at some charter schools, where questionable spending has been unraveled

At the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls, the school board in July met without informing parents and voted to hire a new business manager ... who happened to be a member of the board. Months later, the business manager was terminated 'for cause' in connection to the misuse of a school credit card.

At some New York City charter schools, conflicts of interest are a way of life.

In July, the board of trustees at the Bronx Global Learning Institute for Girls met after school shut down for the summer without informing parents and voted to hire a new business manager. The new manager was a member of the board, records show.

Within a few months, questions arose about the manager’s potential misuse of a school credit card, according to minutes of the board’s meetings obtained by the Daily News.

At a Dec. 18 meeting, board trustee Yolanda LaGuerre, who was absent when the board hired the manager, made an unsuccessful motion to refer the credit card matter to law enforcement. The board then voted to terminate the manager “for cause,” but the credit card matter remained a secret.

LaGuerre declined to discuss the matter last week. Board Chairwoman Alana Barran did not return calls. All of the school’s board meetings are listed on Bronx Global’s website except one — the July meeting where the board hired one of its own.

Some charters have a particularly cozy relationship with the company they pay to manage their schools. Sometimes employees of these firms even sit on the school boards that approve their contracts.

In the Bronx, for example, a nonprofit management firm called Lighthouse Academies runs three schools — Bronx Lighthouse, Bronx Lighthouse College Prep and Metropolitan Lighthouse.

A Lighthouse executive sits on the board of these schools, and the boards

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/conflicts-interest-brewing-charter-schools-article-1.1788466#ixzz31WMVS0oH

A glance at expenses at the Bronx Lighthouse school, where the board of trustees includes an executive from the firm that manages the school.

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS