‘LaPolitics’: Various groups poised to play in BESE races - Baton Rouge Business Report

‘LaPolitics’: Various groups poised to play in BESE races - Baton Rouge Business Report:

‘LaPolitics’: Various groups poised to play in BESE races

Click Here to Follow Flip BESE on Facebook 

LEE P.BARRIOS FOR BESE 1 Web Site

JASON FRANCE FOR BESE 6 Web Site

MIKE KREAMER FOR BESE 7 Web Site

The elections for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education around the state could become expensive if the slate of so-called reform candidates from 2011 face serious challenges this go around. The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry estimates that 47% of its total election budget, which stands today at $675,000 but will grow, will be dedicated to BESE races only.

“We spent $30,000 in 2007, around $305,000 in 2011 and it’s looking like we’ll reach that level again soon for the current BESE races,” says Brian Landry, LABI vice president of political action.

At stake are the reform seats secured last cycle and the eight-vote bloc needed to keep—or remove—Education Superintendent John White next term. The reform group on the 11-member board has overhauled teacher tenure, boosted charter schools and championed private school vouchers.

Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana Republican Party played a big role in underwriting the election of those reform members in 2011. But Common Core, on which the reform members and White (in favor) and Jindal (against) are split, has also splintered the party and now neither are playing in the races. “We haven’t endorsed anyone in the races and most are Republican versus Republican. So as of now, no,” says state GOP Executive Director Jason Doré when asked whether the party would get involved.

—So who is picking up the slack? In addition to LABI, there’s the Alliance for Better Classrooms PAC, organized by businessman Lane Grigsby and directed by Dan Juneau, LABI’s former president. Juneau says he’ll have a better handle on just how active the races will be after qualifying, but he expects ABC to raise money in the high six figures or maybe even the low seven figures.

Empower Louisiana, on whose board Grigsby sits, may be the only super PAC in the field on the pro-reform side. While union groups from outside Louisiana aren’t showing much interest, opting instead to attack on the school board level, several national groups with Louisiana affiliates will be fighting for the reform candidates, including the pro-charter Stand For Children; Federation For Children, which has businessman Eddie Rispone attached; Democrats For Education Reform; and Black Alliance For Educational Options. The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, run by Caroline Roemer Shirley, is part of this coalition as well.

On the other side of the fence, so far, is only FlipBESE, which has been loosely organized by anti-Common Core parents. It has its own slate of candidates opposing the so-called reform campaign, and they’re being promoted primarily on a Facebook page. “There is no money involved in this whatsoever from our side,” said spokeswoman Amy Lemoine of Lafayette. “We want a board not tied to out-of-state special interests and candidates who realize the current education agenda is inadequate. We want a board that will get rid of John White. We want him gone.”

Another player to watch is the Network for Public Education, which was founded by activist and education historian Diane Ravitch of New York. The advocacy group, which opposes corporation-backed school reforms, endorsed Jason France of Baton Rouge this week in one of the local BESE races here. France, a former state Education Department employee, is running in District 6.

They said it: “Nachos and chocolate chip cookies.” —Gov. Bobby Jindal, on what his first White House meal would be, in the Huffington Post

Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com. ‘LaPolitics’: Various groups poised to play in BESE races - Baton Rouge Business Report:

Video: 10 Years After Katrina, Has New Orleans Recovered? by Laura Flanders — YES! Magazine

Video: 10 Years After Katrina, Has New Orleans Recovered? by Laura Flanders — YES! Magazine:

Video: 10 Years After Katrina, Has New Orleans Recovered?

This new documentary looks at gentrification in New Orleans, and its effects on the city's low-income communities.

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina, a new documentary from The Laura Flanders Show and teleSUR English explores the race, class, and gender outlines of the reconstruction of New Orleans. At least seventy-one billion dollars in federal money has been spent. But has every opportunity been seized to bring back not just the place, but its people, so they’re stronger and healthier than before?

In this documentary, The Laura Flanders Show explores, from the grassroots, systemic changes in housing, economic development, and policing. How have federal, state and city policies affected the people of New Orleans? 

Laura Flanders wrote this article for GRITtv. She is the executive producer, founder, and host of “GRITtv with Laura Flanders.” Follow her on Twitter @GRITlaura.  Video: 10 Years After Katrina, Has New Orleans Recovered? by Laura Flanders — YES! Magazine:

N.Y. schools commissioner: It’s ‘unethical’ for educators to support testing opt-out movement - The Washington Post

N.Y. schools commissioner: It’s ‘unethical’ for educators to support testing opt-out movement - The Washington Post:

N.Y. schools commissioner: It’s ‘unethical’ for educators to support testing opt-out movement

In New York state this past spring, some 20 percent of students refused to take the 2015 state-mandated Common Core standardized tests in math and English language arts, highlighting the growth of a high-stakes testing “opt out” movement around the country. That amounts to more than 200,000 students from grades 3 through 8, with some districts reporting more opt-outs than students sitting for the test.

Last April, Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch warned that school districts could lose funding — either by the federal government or the state — if enough students did not take the tests, and last week, state Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia left open the possibility of sanctions. But the New York Times reported Thursday that Tisch said there would be no penalties for students opting out.

Still, the high percentage of opt-outs has apparently upset Elia, who was appointed this past May after being fired without cause as the award-winning superintendent of the Hillsborough County public school district in Florida. On Thursday, she made some controversial comments about the movement, and here’s a post about what she said by Carol Burris, the executive director of the nonprofit Network for Public Education Fund.

Burris retired in June as an award-winning principal at a New York high school, and she is the author of numerous articles, books and blog posts (including on The Answer Sheet) about the botched school reform efforts in her state.

By Carol Burris

I have been called many things during my 62 years on this planet — some nice, some not so nice. Some of the not-so-nice descriptors, such as “nerd” and more recently, “rebel,” I admit I have secretly liked. But I do not at all like the label that new Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia gave me on Thursday – unethical.

I suppose Ms. Elia felt safe to speak her mind before Educators4Excellence,an astroturf group funded in great part by the Gates Foundation. E4E has made it clear that it thinks accountability testing is just swell.  Or perhaps she believed that it is brave to come into a new state, without having the experience of giving or reviewing even one cycle of testing, and denounce Opt Out and those who support it in front of the press.

As reported by Chalkbeat New York, Elia said:

“I think opt-out is something that is not reasonable. I am absolutely shocked if, and I don’t know that this happened, but if any educators supported and encouraged opt-outs, I think it’s unethical.”

Well, Ms. Elia, be shocked. I am turning myself in to your ethics squad. I absolutely encouraged the opt-out movement last year. In fact, I did so right here on the Answer Sheet. I don’t think I could have been clearer when I wrote this:

But there comes a time when rules must be broken — when adults, after exhausting all remedies, must be willing to break ranks and not comply. That time is now. The promise of a public school system, however imperfectly realized, is at risk of being 

N.Y. schools commissioner: It’s ‘unethical’ for educators to support testing opt-out movement - The Washington Post:

Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools « NewsTaco

Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools « NewsTaco:

Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools

 By Intercultural Development Research Association

School Opening Alert – and Resources

August 21, 2014 – As a new school year begins, this alert is a reminder that public schools, by law, must serve all children.

See IDRA’s new eBook on Supporting Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools (in English-Spanish) and share it with others.

The education of undocumented students is guaranteed by thePlyler vs. Doe decision, and certain procedures must be followed when registering immigrant children in school to avoid violation of their civil rights.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education published in May 2014 a letter advising school officials that activities that deny or discourage students to attend school are unlawful. The letter begins, “Under federal law, state and local educational agencies are required to provide all children with equal access to public education at the elementary and secondary level.”

In Plyler vs. Doe, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that children of undocumented workers have the same right to attend public primary and secondary schools as do U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Like other students, children of undocumented workers in fact are required under state laws to attend school until they reach a mandated age.

School personnel – especially building principals and those involved with student intake activities – should be aware that they have no legal obligation to enforce U.S. immigration laws.

Practices that deny or discourage immigrant children and families from public schooling also:

Victimize children – Children do not choose the conditions under which they live in the United States. Many undocumented immigrant parents bring their children to the United States because they are fleeing extreme poverty, violence and lack of opportunities in their homeland. Children should not be punished for circumstances they do not control. They have the right to learn and be useful members of society.

Are counterproductive for the country – Denying children access to education does not eliminate illegal immigration. Instead, it ensures the creation of an underclass. Without public education for children, illiteracy rates will increase and opportunities for workforce and community participation will decrease. Research has proven that for every $1 spent on the education of children, at least $9 is returned.

Waste valuable time while losing sight of principal goals of public education – Rather than teaching students, school officials would spend their time asking our millions of school children about their citizenship status. States would be forced to spend millions of dollars to do the work of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

Promote misinformation – Incorrect assumptions and inappropriate figures have been used to blame immigrants and their children for economic problems.

Encourage racism and discrimination – In turbulent, financially troubled times, immigration often becomes a focal point of public discourse. Many consider a preoccupation with the immigration status of children of undocumented workers to be a form of discrimination and racism.

As a result of the Plyler ruling, public schools may not:

• deny admission to a student during initial enrollment or at any other time on the basis of undocumented status;
• treat a student differently to determine residency;
• engage in any practices to “chill” the right of access to school;
• require students or parents to disclose or document their immigration status;
• make inquiries of students or parents intended to expose their undocumented status; or
• require social security numbers from all students, as this may expose undocumented status.

Students without a social security number should be assigned a number generated by the school. Adults without social security numbers who are applying for a free lunch and/or breakfast program for a student need only state on the application that they do not have a social security number.

The Family Education Rights and Privacy Act prohibits schools from providing any outside agency – including the ICE agency – with any information from a child’s school file that would expose the student’s undocumented status. The only exception is if an agency gets a court order (subpoena) that parents can then challenge. Schools should note that even requesting such permission from parents might act to “chill” a student’s Plylerrights.

Note as well that schools may not indicate Social Security cards and birth certificates are required before a family can register their child for school. Such practices are in direct violation ofPlyler vs. Doe. Rather, it should be clear from the beginning that students without a Social Security number should be assigned a number generated by the school. While schools may request a birth certificate, they may not bar students from enrolling if they do not have a birth certificate. Get more information.

At IDRA, we are working to strengthen schools to work for all children, families and communities. Help us make this goal a reality for every child; we simply cannot afford the alternatives. Denying children of undocumented workers access to an education is unconstitutional and against the law.

Resources

Get our printable School Opening Alert(in English-Spanish) for details and share it with others.

See the letter from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Education (May 2014) advising school officials that activities that deny or discourage students to attend school are unlawful.

The Texas Education Agency issued official guidance in an August 2015 letter.

See Educational Services for Immigrant Children and Those Recently Arrived to the United States, U.S. Department of Education guidance, resources and frequently asked questions

Listen to IDRA’s Classnotes Podcast episode on “Immigrant Children’s Rights to Attend Public Schools.”

See IDRA’s webpage on serving immigrant students for education resources for elementary and secondary school-aged students and their families.

---

The Intercultural Development Research Association is an independent private non-profit organization dedicated to realizing the right of every child to a quality education. IDRA strengthens and transforms public education by providing dynamic training; useful research, evaluation, and frameworks for action; timely policy analyses; and innovative materials and programs.

IDRA works hand-in-hand with hundreds of thousands of educators and families each year in communities and classrooms around the country. All our work rests on an unwavering commitment to creating self-renewing schools that value and promote the success of students of all backgrounds.

We are a small organization with a powerful mission: to create schools that work for all children.Immigrant Students’ Rights to Attend Public Schools « NewsTaco:

State Issues Charge Against Holyoke Public Schools for Firing Union Leader - Badass Teachers Association

Badass Teachers Association:

State Issues Charge Against Holyoke Public Schools for Firing Union Leader

The state Department of Labor Relations (DLR) has found “probable cause” to believe that the Holyoke Public Schools illegally fired Holyoke Teachers Association (HTA) President Gus Morales because of his activism as a union leader.

The DLR will hold a hearing on the complaint, which stems from a charge filed by the HTA on June 25. The DLR complaint is similar to a grand jury indictment; the upcoming hearing will have many of the characteristics of a trial, with witnesses and cross-examination.

“Because I speak out against policies that I see as bad for our students and bad for our educators, I have been targeted for two straight years,” said Morales, whose employment contract with the Holyoke Public Schools was not renewed at the end of the school year.

Morales, who does not have professional teaching status, was similarly dismissed at the end the 2013-14 school year after his election to lead the HTA. Then, as now, the DLR issued a complaint that found reason to believe that Morales was illegally terminated for his union activism. 

In that case, following the initial DLR complaint, the Holyoke Public Schools agreed with the HTA and Morales to return Morales to the classroom in November. Shortly thereafter, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced a planned review of Holyoke Public Schools and its intentions to recommend that the district be placed under the control of a state-appointed receiver.

Morales and the HTA were vocal opponents of the takeover, which was imposed in April despite widespread objections from the community and several of its elected leaders.

“It is an outrage that an educator and leader such as Gus Morales, who has spoken out for the students and the Holyoke community, is being targeted for dismissal,” said MTA President Barbara Madeloni. “The MTA will not tolerate attacks on educators, especially when the attack is meant to cause fear among those who challenge the deeply flawed accountability system used to punish educators, students and communities. Gus has the courage to address the real issues affecting Holyoke — such as economic and racial injustice — and the MTA supports him and the HTA in holding the state accountable for providing resources that the community can use to combat these problems.”

Throughout stakeholder meetings to craft a “turnaround” plan for Holyoke Public Schools, Badass Teachers Association:

WE MUST TAKE BACK THE NARRATIVE LANGUAGE OF EDUCATION | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing

WE MUST TAKE BACK THE NARRATIVE LANGUAGE OF EDUCATION | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:

WE MUST TAKE BACK THE NARRATIVE LANGUAGE OF EDUCATION 

 Corporate Education Reformers and their ilk have usurped the positive language of education.

Positive public perception is key to successfully getting across our message. If we are against things people perceive of as positive then we lose.

We must regain control of the narrative. We must take back the message.

For example, let’s assess, not test.

“What is assessment? That depends on whom you ask. When I was a kid in school, we were never assessed. We were tested. We took in-class tests, IQ tests, and entrance tests to specialized high schools, and, of course, those other standardized tests: the New York State Regents and SATs. I taught for over twenty years before I was introduced to the term “assessment,” when I first heard Grant Wiggins speak about “Authentic Assessment.” “Holy Cow,” I exclaimed, “I didn’t know I had been doing that for so many years.”

“Ever since I started teaching, I was trained to “assess” how my students were doing at reaching the outcomes I had laid out for them. Teachers, need to know if students have gotten the “its” of the lesson then let their students know if they have or haven’t. Additionally, we must have the means to give them the best feedback, to either tell them they have it, or that they don’t. Most importantly, if they don’t have it, our feedback, based on the results of the use of authentic assessments, must tell them how to get it.”

“There is a huge difference between being data driven and data guided.   Assessments of all types, not just fill-in-the-bubble, multiple-choice tests, must be analyzed to see how students progress with particular skills of WE MUST TAKE BACK THE NARRATIVE LANGUAGE OF EDUCATION | DCGEducator: Doing The Right Thing:

5 things parents did in one CNY district to get so many to opt out of state tests | syracuse.com

5 things parents did in one CNY district to get so many to opt out of state tests | syracuse.com:

5 things parents did in one CNY district to get so many to opt out of state tests

In New York Mills, a small school district in Oneida County, 77 percent of students opted out of the state's Common Core math test and 74 percent opted out of the English examination.

The district had the highest percentage of students to opt out of the exams in the six-county Central New York region, according to a syracuse.com analysis of state Education Department data.

The district was in the top 15 for the highest opt out rates in the state, the data shows. There are more than 650 districts in the state.

The median rate statewide was about 20 percent refusing to take the test.

What happened in New York Mills? Why was the opt out rate so high?

We asked one of the organizers, Kate Despins, a parent in the district, what parents did to get students to opt out:

1. Used social media extensively. Parents shared their message and their feelings why it was important to opt out on Facebook, and used it as a platform to keep residents informed.

2. Held meetings, educated other residents. Encouraged people to attend meetings where the issue was discussed. The core group of parents organizing the opt-out movement answered questions and fears that their child would be hurt by not taking the test, or that their small school district would lose funding.

"We were able to, as a solid unit, ask the right questions and find the best answers,'' Despins said.

3. Won the respect of the school board, administration and teachers for their position. The school board adopted a resolution supporting the parents' opposition to the testing. Students who opted out where given an alternate room to study in, and were treated respectfully, Despins said.

4. Got the word out everywhere. Distributed flyers, held up signs supporting the opt-out movement outside the school and had opt-out letters ready to distribute at several forums held in the community.

5. Used the small community nature of New York Mills to their advantage.They talked to each other and to their children, so they all understood the issues.

"We are a small community and we talk to each other,'' Despins said. "If someone sneezes in New York Mills, we all know it. We see the same people at sporting events, at the grocery store and everywhere else, and we talk. We stick together, and we inform each other."

Despins said the high opt-out rate is because parents there understand the issues.

"We fought for our school, our kids, our teachers. We will continue to do so. We stand up against what is wrong and fight for change,'' she said.

Despins said many parents believe the tests are too difficult, poorly designed and ineffective, with straight A students failing with no explanation.

State education officials, however, say the tests are effective ways to measure student and school progress, and determine who needs extra help.5 things parents did in one CNY district to get so many to opt out of state tests | syracuse.com:

• 5 things parents did in one CNY district to get so many to opt out of state tests
• 2015 ELA, math test scores for parochial, private schools in NYS: Search, compare
• The majority of Syracuse students are failing to meet state English, math standards
• How many Central NY students opted out of English/math exams? (map)
• 2015 ELA, math test scores for any school in NYS: Search, compare schools, districts

5 things parents did in one CNY district to get so many to opt out of state tests | syracuse.com:

The Teach For America Bait and Switch: From 'You’ll Be Making a Difference' to 'You’re Making Excuses' | naked capitalism

The Teach For America Bait and Switch: From 'You’ll Be Making a Difference' to 'You’re Making Excuses' | naked capitalism:

The Teach For America Bait and Switch: From ‘You’ll Be Making a Difference’ to ‘You’re Making Excuses’

By Jessica Millen, who graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2013. She was a 2013 Teach For America (TFA) corps member in New Orleans, where she taught third grade. She currently works as a preschool teacher in South Bend, Indiana

Editor’s note: In the decade and a half of its existence, Teach For America has trained upwards of 50,000 individuals to enter classrooms nationwide and “make a difference” in the lives of children — usually those living in poverty. But the question of how prepared these individuals are to deal with the realities faced by the children they teach and meet their educational needs has long been in question.

In the following excerpt, taken from an essay in the newly published book, Teach For America Counter-Narratives: Alumni Speak Up and Speak Out, one former TFA corps member shares her account of her time with the organization, alleging that TFA both “preyed on [her] naïveté of the lived realities of urban schooling” and “exploited [her] desire to ‘make a difference.'” Her disillusionment with the organization and its educational philosophy grew so deep, in fact, that she resigned after just 6 months.

The Bait

On the urging of a friend and campus recruiter, I applied to join TFA in October of my senior year at the University of Notre Dame. After a multipart interview process, I was accepted into the program’s Greater New Orleans region. Soon afterwards, TFA began to effectively use social networks to bolster my desire to join. Former classmates and undergraduate campus recruiters reached out and stressed how wonderful it was that I had gotten into such a selective organization. My interviewer called to congratulate me on a job well done. After being bombarded with so many congratulations, I couldn’t help but feel proud that I had passed through such a selective hiring process.

The official TFA recruiter on my campus held events for accepted corps members after each hiring deadline, offering free drinks and appetizers at an on-campus restaurant. I found it strange how much money TFA, a nonprofit organization, spent on us. We wore name tags, ate food, and discussed our excitement about the upcoming school year. Our recruiter, like the other TFA corps members and staff who had reached out to me, stressed the “prestige” of the program and how much TFA would help us in the future. He himself was a former TFA corps member who taught for 3 years before joining the recruiting arm of the organization. I found his enthusiasm for TFA contagious as he pointed out TFA’s connections with graduate schools and the numerous opportunities that would be afforded to us post-TFA.

At the time, I was impressed by how many corps members were still involved in public education. According to TFA, more than 775 alumni were in school leadership positions at schools across the country (Teach For America, 2012a). I was glad to hear that TFA wasn’t always just used as a stepping stone to more lucrative careers; information on the TFA website boasted that as of August 2013, 78% of alumni from the Greater New Orleans region were still in education (Teach For America, 2012b). I didn’t bother to look up the evidence behind TFA’s claims. I trusted that the information from this professional organization that seemed to care so much about children was ethically collected, compiled, and reported. I now know that the organization’s assertion that “Teach For America corps members help their students achieve academic gains equal to or larger than teachers from other preparation programs, according to the most recent and rigorous studies on teacher effectiveness” (Teach For America, 2012c) is, at best, extremely misleading. Reviews of the research cited by TFA to back its claims of corps member effectiveness ultimately reveal a less favorable picture; the majority of studies listed by TFA are not peer-reviewed, are problematic, and/or produced mixed results (Kovacs & Slate-Young, 2013; Vasquez Heilig & Jez, 2014).

But taking TFA’s claims of effectiveness at face value, I continued to be wooed by the organization. Besides the free events hosted by the campus recruiter, TFA offered additional financial incentives to make the bait even sweeter. I remember gushing to my parents that I would not only receive a full teacher’s salary, but also get funding to cover the transitional costs of moving and living during the summer before I began teaching. As an indebted college student, it seemed that, on top of using my skills and education to serve in public education, I was making a solid financial decision in joining TFA. Such tantalizing benefits convinced me that not only was I making a strong move for my future, but I would also be “making a difference” in the lives of low-income and minority students. As a young, well-educated, idealistic student, I took the bait—hook, line and sinker.

The “Training”

After a 7-hour drive to TFA’s summer training Institute in Atlanta, I was excited to begin. Although I had been warned that Institute could be an overwhelming experience, the intensity of our schedule was still surprising. Breakfast at 5:30 am, followed by a full day at our school sites, a quick dinner, additional training sessions in the The Teach For America Bait and Switch: From 'You’ll Be Making a Difference' to 'You’re Making Excuses' | naked capitalism:

Another Big Win for Opt-Out | Alan Singer

Another Big Win for Opt-Out | Alan Singer:

Another Big Win for Opt-Out

It looks like Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and the national Democratic Party are getting nervous. Certainly Merryl Tisch, Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, and Governor Andrew Cuomo are backing off. After months of threatening that high student opt-out rates on high-stakes Common Core aligned standardized tests would cause school districts to lose federal and state aid, the threats have evaporated. Poor MaryEllen Elia, the new state education commissioner and agent in charge of making the threats, has been hung out to dry.

The federal government's Race to the Top initiative mandates that 95% of the students in a district take the exams. Because of the Opt-Out movement many school districts in New York State fell below the threshold. Opt-Out is particularly strong in suburban communities on Long Island in in the Hudson River Valley.

This week Merryl Tisch announced districts with high opt out rates would not be punished. Apparently she now realizes withdrawing money from a school district "what you're doing is you're hurting the kids" and its not an "effective way" to deal with the Opt-out movement.

Andrew Cuomo, who made use of test results to evaluate teachers a cornerstone of his education policies, appears to have conceded defeat on the issue. "At the end of the day, parents are in charge and parents make the decisions."

Meanwhile, as a keynote speaker at a recent Gates Foundation fundedEducators4Excellence conference, MaryEllen Elia was strident in her opposition to Opt-Out, apparently unaware that Tisch and Cuomo were backing down. According to a transcript posted at the website Perdido Street School, Elia stated "opt out is something that is not reasonable. I understand that it can about as a result of Another Big Win for Opt-Out | Alan Singer:

CURMUDGUCATION: Are You Ready?

CURMUDGUCATION: Are You Ready?:

Are You Ready?

It is one of my least favorite questions, particularly when asked in that tone of voice that says, "I'll bet you just hate the idea of stepping back into a classroom. Please tell me how much you hate your job."

I can't think of any other profession that so relentlessly gets the "Don't you just hate to go to work" question. Do people ask doctors, "Boy, all those sick people in your office. What a pain? Amiright?" Do people tell sports stars, "Boy, I bet you're disappointed you made the playoffs and have to keep working."

We're supposed to respond with some version of weary sadness, bonding with the interogator over the shared understanding that, yes, I am sad about having to do my job and he can walk away shaking his head knowingly-- those poor damn teachers, stuck in their stinky jobs. 

I can remember as a young teacher feeling kind of sheepish about trying to answer the question, sensing that my answer was not the expected one and yet not seeing a clear way to answer without it being a slap in the face to the person who asked. As regular readers may have noticed, I'm not quite as reluctant to be an ass as I once was. I mean, I understand that people mean well, sort of, and that they are just adopting a socially acceptable avenue of small talk to make conversation, and perhaps that's part of what bugs me about it-- the embedded cultural assumption that of course teachers find their job troublesome and not-look-forwardable-to. Nowadays, mostly, I settle on answering the question as if it were delivered without any subtext-- "Why, yes, I'm looking forward to it," or "Yup, it never gets old. I'm excited to get to it," or "Been getting ready all summer," or "I was born ready." Occasionally, either for people I know can stand it (or people I know can't), "Well, I haven't finished updating the early American lit reading list, and wanted to read through a few more works before heading back, and I was hoping to tweak the materials on verbal phrases because my students always have trouble with nominative absolutes." Only rarely, "Well, of course I'm ready. It's the job I've devoted my entire adult life to, the job I always wanted to do, the job I try really hard to get better at with every passing year. Why wouldn't I be ready?" The word "dumbass" is only implied.

I do know one group that gets a similar subliminal downgrade; all the mothers who are currently CURMUDGUCATION: Are You Ready?:

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Constitutional Showdown Between Legislature and Supreme Court

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Constitutional Showdown Between Legislature and Supreme Court:

Washington State Constitutional Showdown Between Legislature and Supreme Court

So much for kumbaya.  In a throwdown to the Supreme Court, the Senate Majority Caucus of the Legislature issued this letter today to Speaker Frank Chopp, and Senate Minority Caucus leader, Senator Sharon Nelson and House Caucus leader, Rep Dan Kristiansen. 

This extraordinary order presents a clear threat to our state legislature as an institution. It demands a frank and open discussion among members and the constituents we represent regarding a proportional response.

Proportional response?  Is that a threat?

They start off saying how hard they have worked on McCleary and that they are continuing.

Legislative members will continue to debate differing ideas on the best way to improve education via reforms, prioritizing existing resources, and finding sources of new funding. These differences will be resolved through the legislative process which is the most effective means of harmonizing various geographic, economic, and philosophic divisions within a political body. 

Yes, because now the more important issue - than the paramount duty of the State in the Constitution - is to have a face-off with the Court.   

They believe the Court has violated at least five provisions of the Constitution.    

However, our concerns with the order have nothing to do with the surface issue of education funding. It is because the court's order circumvents this process, that it Seattle Schools Community Forum: Washington State Constitutional Showdown Between Legislature and Supreme Court:

Great Idea: Any Seattle Preschooler and City's Program

Now that the Board accepted money to open three of the City's preschool programs (with about 11 others opening in SPS sites previously run by other providers), the Seattle Council Special Ed PTA has this notice:

Families with preschoolers,

I urge our families with preschoolers to apply for the Seattle Preschool Program (SPP) at any site.

http://www.seattle.gov/education/child-care-and-preschool/seattle-preschool-program

Your child will still be due the services, modifications and accommodations on her/his IEP, of course.  Seattle Schools has partnered with the City of Seattle's preschool program.

At this time the difference between an SPP classroom and a Developmental Preschool classroom is that your child will receive more than double the hours, in an integrated setting.  Lunch is provided.  And of course you get transportation.

Please share this with any families you think may benefit from this new opportunity.

That's a fine idea that ANY Seattle preschooler could have access to a 6-hour 

Great Idea: Any Seattle Preschooler and City's Program