Media Mobilizing Project Video On Week of Resistance | WeArePCAPS

Media Mobilizing Project Video On Week of Resistance | WeArePCAPS:

Media Mobilizing Project Video On Week of Resistance

Schools Not Prisons Action at Gubernatorial Debate

Next week the campaign to elect a Governor committed to education continues with a  a Schools, Not Prisons action outside the radio debate between Governor Corbett and challenger Tom Wolf.   We are joining with Decarcerate PA, ACT-Up and others at the KYW studio, 1555 Hamilton Street, at 7:30 PM.   Join on the facebook event page Governor Corbett at the sametime he slashed a billion dollars from t

11 by wearepcaps / 54min 

Proposition 1B: Someone needs to get their story straight | Seattle Education

Proposition 1B: Someone needs to get their story straight | Seattle Education:

Proposition 1B: Someone needs to get their story straight

Someone told me that during the endorsement proceedings at the Metropolitan Democratic Club of Seattle held on September 24th, Councilmember Tim Burgess stated that students in his Preschool for All program would not be assessed using a “bubble test”.

The week before, someone on the Levy Oversight Committee who is pro-1B, stated in an endorsement meeting that I attended as an Education Committee member with the League of Women Voters (LWV), that there would be one test given at the end of the school year, a standardized state test, to evaluate the students and the program. The name of the test was not specified.

Which is it, or is it either?

I’m still standing by my prediction that preschoolers will be tested just as they have been in another preschool program that is being overseen by the Levy Oversight Committee. See #1 in the 11 Reasons why Seattle’s Preschool for all Proposition 1B is a bad idea post.

By the way, according to the proponent of 1B who spoke to the LWV Seattle Education Proposition 1B: Someone needs to get their story straight | Seattle Education:

9-26-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":

“Florida PTA Urges State to Make Changes to School Accountability System”

Florida PTA Urges State to Make Changes to School Accountability System is the headline of an Ed Week post. Here’s an excerpt: The Florida PTA issued a press release this week asking lawmakers and state Department of Education officials for the following: Proper field-testing and test development in areas that mirror Florida’s diverse demographics; A suspension of school letter grades until perfo

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 21min 

“How Districts Can Lay the Groundwork for Lasting Family Engagement”

How Districts Can Lay the Groundwork for Lasting Family Engagement is a new report from SEDL, which generally puts out some decent resources. Here’s how it describes its report: Family engagement in a student’s education can lead to improved student academic achievement, attendance, and behavior. Yet many districts and schools still struggle to form strong partnerships with the families they serve

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7min hide  //  save

Three New Resources On Parent-Teacher Conferences

I’m adding these new resources to The Best Resources On Parent/Teacher Conferences: Why Students Should Take the Lead in Parent-Teacher Conferences is from MindShift. Supporting Ongoing, Constructive, and Meaningful Conversations About Student’s Progress is from The Harvard Family Research Project. Parent Night: Declaring Students’ Independence is from Middleweb (not exactly on conferences, but cl

2 by Larry Ferlazzo / 7min 

9-23-14 Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": Georgia School Board Member Won’t Let A Bad Idea Die: No Grad Tickets For Parents If They Don’t Come To Open HouseEarlier in the year, I posted a news report about a Georgia School Board member who wanted to ban parents from their children’s high school graduation. It appears he has now refined his idea a bit further: “I th

by mike simpson / 20min 

In cheating, principals cited intense pressure to raise scores | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

In cheating, principals cited intense pressure to raise scores | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

In cheating, principals cited intense pressure to raise scores

By Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks on Sep 26, 2014 04:05 PM

COMMENTS (0)PRINT

Early in the morning, before anyone else arrived, former Communications Technical High School principal Barbara McCreery would sit in her office and redo some of her students' standardize test booklets – 15 at a time, she admits, with an answer key in hand.

McCreery details this in a grand jury report released this week by Pennslyvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, as she and former Bok Technical High School principal Arthur "Larry" Melton were arrested on charges of forgery and tampering with public records.

Bok and Comm Tech are among the 11 tier one schools under state investigation. A 2011 state forensic analysis found evidence that an improbably high number of wrong-to-right erasures on tests at 89 schools statewide.

In separate reports, both principals said schools were under intense pressure to raise scores following federal, state and District edicts that ramped up accountability measures. McCreery called the expectations "unrealistic."

Schools that didn't meet testing goals, would be in danger of closure.

"I can say that there was extraordinary pressure during that period of time for students to make extraordinary gains," said Robert McGrogan, leader of the Philadelphia chapter of the Commonwealth Association of School Administrators (CASA).

McGrogan says those pressures have tamped down over the years, but points out that during the budget crisis, principals now face a new set of impossible strictures.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

#Commoncore Falling Apart in Missouri | Missouri Education Watchdog

#Commoncore Falling Apart in Missouri | Missouri Education Watchdog:

#Commoncore Falling Apart in Missouri

inShare

(click on graphic to enlarge)

Missouri schools are starting to experience with what early implementing Common Core states like New York and Kentucky found out about Common Core two years ago: it’s not higher or better.  Look what was was shared from a rural Missouri school:

Proponents will say it’s an implementation issue.  That explanation falls flat as another parent from a different district contacted me to let me know that parent classes will be held so ‘parents can help their children with their math homework’.

The difficulty with math by children and adults doesn’t sound like an implementation problem; that sounds like  convoluted ways of solving math problems now necessitates parent classes so trainers can teach parents (many of them college educated) how to understand math problems.  DESE, other state agencies and education reformers can insist it’s all the fault of the teachers and districts for not understanding the implementation process, but common sense tells parents that’s just PR nonsense.  One mom reports  these ‘classes’ are also taking place in Nevada.

If you are invited to one of these ‘classes’, ask your superintendent who is leading the class, the trainer’s employer and if the district used money to pay this trainer to conduct the class.  Determine if the trainer is a district or state employee.  Ask where the trainer received his/her training to teach math strategies to parents. Ask if the #Commoncore Falling Apart in Missouri | Missouri Education Watchdog:

9-26-14 All NEW Living in Dialogue - Rebel-lion by Columbine Rebels Brings Student Walk-Outs to South Jeffco

Home - Living in Dialogue:

Long Shadow Report: Strong Schools Require Strong Communities

By Paul Horton. An important new study, The Long Shadow: Family Background, Disadvantaged Urban Youth, and the Transition to Adulthood by Karl Alexander, Doris Entwisle, and Linda Olson, casts doubt on the current policy push to starve neighborhood public schools and fund charter schools that are not connected to supportive communities. The 2014 Russell Sage Foundation study emphasizes that it doe

7 by Anthony Cody / 13min hide  //  save

Rebel-lion by Columbine Rebels Brings Student Walk-Outs to South Jeffco

By Paula Noonan.  The Rebels — students from Columbine High School — headed to adjacent Clement Park at 10:30am yesterday to protest the Jefferson County (Jeffco), Colorado, school board’s anti-Advanced Placement/US History resolution.  The Rebels, the George Washington kind from the American Revolution, got lots of car honks from supportive Jeffco citizens. Asked whether their teachers “put them

8 by Anthony Cody / 1h 

9-25-14 All NEW Living in Dialogue - A Response to Marc Tucker: Can We Win the Struggle For Democracy When Big Money Writes Public Education Policy?

Home - Living in Dialogue: A Response to Marc Tucker: Can We Win the Struggle For Democracy When Big Money Writes Public Education Policy?By Denny Taylor. I have read with interest the dialogue between Marc Tucker, Diane Ravitch, Anthony Cody, and Yong Zhao on the establishment of an American test-based public education accountability system. Forty years of research on the impact of political stru

1 by mike simpson / 19h 

People Protest Unprecedented Plan To Privatize All Public Schools In York | PopularResistance.Org

People Protest Unprecedented Plan To Privatize All Public Schools In York | PopularResistance.Org:

People Protest Unprecedented Plan To Privatize All Public Schools In York

RESIST! EDUCATION, PRIVATIZATION, STUDENT ACTIVISM, STUDENT PROTEST 

By Staff, www.PopularResistance.org
September 26th, 2014

Select LanguageAfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalayMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianNepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSwahiliSwedishTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu

  Powered by Translate

Above: Protest against public school privatization. Above and all photos from Flickr.

York, PA is considering a plan to turn some or all of its schools into charter schools, also known as privatized schools fund ed by the public. An all-charter school switch would be unprecedented in the nation. Seven providers submitted proposals to the school district this summer and has been narrowed down to two operators. The Community Education Council will rank each proposal and present them to the school board. David Meckley, the district’s Chief Recovery Officer, says he will make a recommendation on how to proceed by October.

York students, educators and families are fighting against the plan by politicians to completely privatize York City public schools. Those involved with the rally included the employee unions, the York NAACP, and York Concerned Clergy.  

The Rev. Aaron Willford, a former member of the city school board, told YDR.com “The main message is to say no to those who (want) to charterize schools,” adding that children shouldn’t be “guinea pigs.” They held a rally protesting privatization on Sept. 17, 2014 and again on Sept. 24, 2014.

YDR.com reports: “Some at the rally questioned the track records of the two operators being considered and decried the idea of bringing in for-profit companies to run schools.”  Nikiyah Perry, a senior at William Penn Senior High School, said ‘They say charters are here to give you choice, but if you take away the public school option what choice do you have?”

YDR.com reports “The two operators being considered — Charter Schools USA and Mosaica Education — appeared at a Community Education Council meeting. Beforehand, community members marched at a rally organized by the York NAACP, a group of concerned clergy and district employees.

Related Posts:

• Obama Approves PA Plan To Privatize And Eliminate Medicaid September 6, 2014
• Latest Plan To Privatize Post Office Hits Unexpected Obstacle August 14, 2014
• Public Pressure Stops Plan To Ship Crude Oil Through Hudson Bay August 17, 2014
• Plans Finalized for People’s Climate March In New York City September 21, 2014
• Hundreds Of Thousands Turn Out For People’s Climate March In New September 21, 2014

People Protest Unprecedented Plan To Privatize All Public Schools In York | PopularResistance.Org:

Choosing Democracy: Tuck hedges on Proposition 30 school funding extension

Choosing Democracy: Tuck hedges on Proposition 30 school funding extension:

Tuck hedges on Proposition 30 school funding extension

from the Sacramento Bee.  By Alexei Koseff

Published: Thursday, Sep. 25, 2014 - 10:50 pm

State schools chief challenger Marshall Tuck would be open to extending Proposition 30, the temporary school funding tax hike passed by California voters in 2012, but only if it’s tied to other changes to the state’s public education system.

“If you just do the money piece, it’s actually not a great use of taxpayer money,” he said following a speech to the Sacramento Press Club on Thursday.

Tom Torlakson

The initiative has generated billions for education funding by imposing a quarter-cent sales tax increase through 2016 and raising the income tax rate for California’s highest earners through 2018. Tuck said that money was essential for schools coming out of the tremendous budget cuts of the recession, but would not be enough to improve the low national rankings of the state’s public schools.

“We need more funding,” he told the press club, but “we’ve got to prove that we can use that money well” before the state asks the public for more.

Incumbent Tom Torlakson has already called for an  extension of the tax hikes and considers passage of the measure one of the signature accomplishments of his first term.

“We’re not using the money well now,” he added, suggesting that California give school districts more flexibility on how they direct the funding into classrooms and increase accountability for how it is spent. He did not have a specific idea of changes he would want to tie to extending Proposition 30.

Incumbent Tom Torlakson has already called for an  extension of the tax hikes and considers passage of the measure one of the signature accomplishments of his first term.

“Every option has to be on the table when it comes to providing the resources that our schools need, and that has been Tom's mantra since he took office,” Torlakson campaign spokesman Paul Hefner said.

“Marshall Tuck was missing in action when schools were in desperate financial straits,” Hefner added, referring to the Proposition 30 campaign. “When we need everyone working together to convey that the way our schools can improve is by investing in them, it’s a little disappointing” that Tuck is criticizing the work others did.Choosing Democracy: Tuck hedges on Proposition 30 school funding extension:

Cali Education Headlines 9-26-14 – California School Information Services

Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team | CSIS – California School Information Services:

Education Headlines

• West Covina Unified superintendent Debra Kaplan to retire at end of the year

  West Covina Unified School District Superintendent Debra Kaplan announced Thursday she will retire from the district at the end of December.

   September 26, 2014

• Parents lobby to preserve Citrus Heights elementary schools

  Parents at two Citrus Heights elementary schools rallied this week against the potential relocation of their children as a way to accommodate Sylvan Middle School students.

   September 26, 2014

• San Ysidro teachers step closer to strike

  The San Ysidro teachers union has rejected a state fact finder’s recommendations to settle its labor dispute with the San Ysidro School District. The release of the report sets the stage for teachers to strike, or for the school board to impose conditions — though an agreement might still be possible.

   September 26, 2014

• Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against Antioch special-needs school

  A judge dismissed a lawsuit against an Antioch special-needs school Wednesday and ordered the plaintiff, who alleged school employees improperly restrained her 7-year-old son, to file a new complaint.

   September 26, 2014

• L.A. Unified oversight panel rejects $42 million for computers

  The Los Angeles school district’s bond oversight panel rejected a move Thursday by officials to spend an additional $42 million on new computers, including purchases under a controversial — and recently suspended — technology contract.

   September 26, 2014

• Crenshaw principal says teachers’ dismissals not tied to union activity

  The principal of Crenshaw High School testified in a hearing Thursday that 12 former teachers who allege they were targeted and removed because of their union activism were let go from the campus for a variety of other reasons, including subpar instruction.

   September 26, 2014

Read more headlines

Note: FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.