In 'Vergara' arguments, unions say courts should stay away from teacher tenure debate | 89.3 KPCC

In 'Vergara' arguments, unions say courts should stay away from teacher tenure debate | 89.3 KPCC:

In 'Vergara' arguments, unions say courts should stay away from teacher tenure debate

Brandon DeBose, who was a K-12 student when he joined the Vergara v. California case as a plaintiff, speaks during a press conference after oral arguments in the case at the California Court of Appeals. KYLE STOKES/KPCC

Three state appellate justices heard oral arguments Thursday morning about whether a lower court overstepped in moving to strike down three job protections California teachers have enjoyed for decades.

It’s the latest chapter in the Vergara v. California case, in which plaintiffs charge these job protections — including teacher tenure, a lengthy process for firing teachers and protections for senior teachers against layoffs — leave too many poor and minority students in the care of “grossly ineffective" teachers.

The case, which many see as ultimately headed for the California Supreme Court, has become a flashpoint in the national debate that's engaged powerful political players from national teachers unions, civil rights groups, advocacy organizations — and statehouses. (Gov. Jerry Brown sided with the unions in this case.)

In their Los Angeles County Superior Court trial two years ago, Vergara plaintiffs presented evidence that poor or minority students were more likely to be taught by "ineffective" teachers. The plaintiffs — nine public school students represented by the advocacy group Students Matter —  said the state's teacher tenure rules and seniority protections caused the disparity.

"Together, they’re putting unqualified teachers who are not [effectively] teaching children into the classroom. The administrators are saying, 'We want change this, we want to have great teachers, but we can’t,'" Boutros told KPCC afterward. "That means students are having their rights violated, they’re being harmed."

In June 2014, Judge Rolf Treu agreed with the plaintiffs, writing that the evidence "shocks the conscience." He struck down the state's teacher job protections as infringing upon students' rights to an equal education, but stayed the effect of his ruling pending appeal.

Much of Thursday morning's oral arguments in the California Court of Appeals was spent wrangling over whether it was appropriate for a court to weigh in — or whether teacher job protection laws were a matter of policy best left to the state legislature.

Michael Rubin, an attorney representing California's two largest teachers unions, fields media questions after oral arguments in the California Court of Appeals in the Vergara v. California case.KYLE STOKES/KPCC

Attorney Michael Rubin — representing the state's two largest teachers unions — argued the lower court ruling doesn't establish that teacher job protections are to blame for disparities in the quality of students' education. Without establishing this causal link, Rubin argued, it would be inappropriate for the court to step in.

"These are legislative decisions," Rubin told reporters outside the court afterward. "One superior court judge should not be striking down five of the most important In 'Vergara' arguments, unions say courts should stay away from teacher tenure debate | 89.3 KPCC: 

Appellate judges intensely question lawyers in Vergara case | EdSource

Appellate judges intensely question lawyers in Vergara case | EdSource:

Appellate judges intensely question lawyers in Vergara case

 In a closely watched case affecting public schools and students throughout California, a state appeals court on Thursday heard vociferous arguments over whether employment laws protect incompetent teachers and disproportionately hurt low-income and minority children.

The one-hour hearing in downtown Los Angeles involved an appeal by teachers’ unions and the state government to reverse a 2014 ruling by a lower court judge who struck down laws that he said help keep bad teachers in classrooms. The impact on students’ lives “shocks the conscience,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu declared in his August 2014 decision in Vergara v. California.

The three appellate judges on Thursday gave no overwhelming sense of how they might rule over the next 90 days, a decision with powerful implications for California’s 6 million public school students. But two of them expressed skepticism about some of the legal reasoning in Treu’s decision.

In their presentation Thursday in a full courtroom, attorneys for the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers, along with the state Attorney General’s office, sharply criticized Treu’s ruling.Appellate judges intensely question lawyers in Vergara case | EdSource:

Current Expense of Education - Current Expense of Education & Per-pupil Spending (CA Dept of Education)

Current Expense of Education - Current Expense of Education & Per-pupil Spending (CA Dept of Education):

Current Expense of Education

Calculation of current expense (cost) of education per average daily attendance (ADA) pursuant to Education Code section 41372.

---

Outlined below are the components of the Current Expense of Education per average daily attendance (ADA) calculation. Form number references are from unaudited actual expenditure reports and annual attendance reports submitted by school districts to the California Department of Education (CDE), definitions are from the California School Accounting Manual. Questions about the calculation should be directed to CDE's Office of Financial Accountability and Information Services by phone at 916-322-1770, or by e-mail to sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov.

Expenditures for Current Expense of Education

The standardized account code structure (SACS) Form CEA* "Current Expense Formula/Minimum Classroom Compensation" includes the following General Fund items:

Account Code	Description
1000	Certificated Salaries
2000	Classified Salaries
3000	Employee Benefits (does not include state payments to retirement systems on behalf of districts)
4000	Books and Supplies
6500	Equipment Replacement
5000 & 7300	Services and Indirect Costs

From the total expenditures reported in the above accounts, costs for the following categories are deducted: (1) Non-agency activities; (2) Community Services; (3) Food Services; (4) Fringe Benefits for Retired Persons; and (5) Facilities Acquisition and Construction. 

The result is the total dollars for the Current Expense of Education (this equals EDP 365 on SACS Form CEA).

Average Daily Attendance (ADA)

Total ADA is defined as the total days of student attendance divided by the total days of instruction. The type of ADA used is annual district ADA (for the same year as the expenditures) from CDE's "Attendance School District" and "Attendance Charter School" reports and includes ADA from special education programs and applicable charter schools (i.e., those charter schools with data in the district's Current Expense of Education calculation).  ADA credited to districts for the attendance of pupils in county-operated programs is not included.

Cost Per ADA

By district, the adjusted expenditures are divided by the total ADA to arrive at the Current Expense (or Cost) of Education per ADA. 

2014–15 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2013–14 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2012–13 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2011–12 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2010–11 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2009–10 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2008–09 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2007–08 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2006–07 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2005–06 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2004–05 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2003–04 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2002–03 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2001–02 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

2000–01 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

1999–00 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

1998–99 Current Cost of Education (XLS)

Questions:   Current Expense of Education | sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-1770

Last Reviewed: Thursday, February 25, 2016

Current Expense of Education - Current Expense of Education & Per-pupil Spending (CA Dept of Education):

Vergara lawsuit, challenging teacher job protections, goes to appeals court - LA Times

Vergara lawsuit, challenging teacher job protections, goes to appeals court - LA Times:

Judges weigh arguments over teacher vs. student rights in landmark tenure lawsuit

Most of the nine student plaintiffs in Vergara vs. California walk away from the 2nd District California Court of Appeal in Los Angeles after the first morning of oral arguments.

 (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

  overflow crowd at a Los Angeles appeals courtroom listened attentively Thursday to the latest round in an ongoing argument about the intersection of students’ rights and teachers’ rights.

“There probably isn’t anybody in this room who didn’t have a bad teacher sometime,” presiding justice Roger Boren remarked to the court — a point that may help explain why the case has drawn so much attention.

A judge’s 2014 ruling in the case, Vergara vs. California, holds that several key job protections for teachers are so harmful to students that they deprive children of their constitutional right to an education. 

Follow the Times' education initiative to inform parents, educators and students across California >>

Lawyers representing the state of California and its powerful teachers unions on Thursday argued before a three-judge panel that the decision should be reversed and that the laws in question do not violate students’ rights.

The justices are reviewing the ruling of L.A. Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu that nullified the state’s system of awarding strong protections for teachers, including tenure, which takes effect at the end of their second year on the job.

These statutes, Treu concluded, make it almost impossible to fire a veteran, unionized teacher. The result, he wrote, is that bad teachers persist in the system, hurting students, especially black and Latino students and those from low-income families.

Treu’s decision would end tenure as well as the practice of “last-in, first-out,” which typically results in districts laying off less-experienced teachers during budget cuts — regardless of how well they do in their job.

And Treu also threw out rules that provide teachers a longer and more complex system to challenge dismissals.

First to take on Treu’s ruling was Deputy Attorney General Nimrod P. Elias. He said the trial judge erred in not balancing the benefits of state rules with any drawbacks caused by them.

Yes, there are bad teachers who have rights under California law that can prolong their time in front of students, he said. But these job protections also help the state attract and retain high-quality teachers, a benefit to students.

He argued that the current laws are being applied in a constitutional manner, without any discrimination.

This point brought the first question from one of the panelists, Associate Justice Brian M. Hoffstadt. Regardless of intent or wording, doesn’t “real-world impact” matter? If these statutes were harming students, could not a case be brought against them?

Elias conceded the point, but said that no rigid connection between the statutes and harm Vergara lawsuit, challenging teacher job protections, goes to appeals court - LA Times:

As Malloy claims ELA Performance Task not useful his lies and deception about the Common Core SBAC test catch up to him - Wait What?

As Malloy claims ELA Performance Task not useful his lies and deception about the Common Core SBAC test catch up to him - Wait What?:
As Malloy claims ELA Performance Task not useful his lies and deception about the Common Core SBAC test catch up to him

Earlier today, Governor Dannel Malloy held a media event at a Cromwell Connecticut elementary school to announce his new step to “REDUCE STATE TESTING.”

The press release headline proclaimed:

New Step to Limit Smarter Balanced Exam Builds on Effort  to Help Districts Spend Less Time Testing and More Time Teaching

In reality, the Malloy administration’s entire maneuver was nothing be a farce designed to, once again, mislead Connecticut’s students, parents, teachers and taxpayers about the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) testing scheme, and the fact that the tests are wasting millions of dollars in scarce public resources and turning public schools into little more than testing factories.

You can read more about this late breaking development at Malloy’s Strategy on Common Core SBAC Test – Look busy and make sh*t up

By pulling aside the curtain or blowing away the smokescreen the truth become very clear;

Today Malloy and his administration proclaimed:

“When we know an exam won’t improve our understanding of a student’s standing, and we know it won’t necessarily improve teaching quality, then we should eliminate it so it doesn’t burden 

As Malloy claims ELA Performance Task not useful his lies and deception about the Common Core SBAC test catch up to him - Wait What?:

CURMUDGUCATION: CAP: Muddled Teacher Eval Thoughts

CURMUDGUCATION: CAP: Muddled Teacher Eval Thoughts:
CAP: Muddled Teacher Eval Thoughts

 The Center for American Progress wants to get its two cents in on the Vergara appeal, and their thoughts are... confused. Catherine Brown is CAP's vp of Education Policy after previously serving as vice president of policy at Teach for America, policy adviser to senator and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and senior education policy adviser for the House Committee on Education and Labor. Brown is in US News making her pitch for life over and above Vergara.


As is typical with CAP, we're a little short on actual facts or serious data, which leads Brown down the garden path and into verbal weeds like these-

Teachers largely view their performance based in part on the impact they have on student learning.

I am largely impressed in part by this sentence's attempt to assert something that is largely unsupportable while in part maintaining largely deniable language. In part. This sentence goes into my reformster gibberish hall of fame. Congratulations, Ms. Brown. Your statuette is largely in part on its way.

It's not all nonsense; Brown makes a largely unreformstery point in part with this thought:

Our collective policy goal shouldn't be to eliminate teacher protections like last-in-first-out and tenure based on seniority, but rather to render them unnecessary. We should aim to build schools with such high-performing cultures that eliminating incompetence isn't the most pressing issue, spreading excellence is.

That is not stupid (regular readers know what high praise that largely in part is). The stupid comes later, when reformsters start talking about how to build such schools and spread such excellence, CURMUDGUCATION: CAP: Muddled Teacher Eval Thoughts:

Walker’s Wisconsin: Poverty across Wisconsin reaches highest level in 30 years

Walker’s Wisconsin: Poverty across Wisconsin reaches highest level in 30 years | Educate All Students: Larry Miller's Blog:

Walker’s Wisconsin: Poverty across Wisconsin reaches highest level in 30 years

 Poverty in Wisconsin hit its highest level in 30 years during the five-year period ending in 2014, even as the nation’s economy was recovering from the Great Recession, according to a trend analysis of U.S. Census data just released by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers.

The number of Wisconsin residents living in poverty averaged 13% across that post-recession time frame — the highest since 1984, according to the analysis by UW-Madison’s Applied Population Laboratory. In mid-1984, the nation’s stubborn unemployment rate stabilized following a double-dip recession.

The analysis dovetails with an unrelated study that identified pockets of the country faring worse as the economic recovery gains some traction, released Thursday by a national nonprofit research group in Washington, D.C.

That study, by the Economic Innovation Group, found the gap between the richest and poorest American communities widening, and ranked Milwaukee the seventh most distressed city in America, with 52% of the population considered economically distressed.

Poverty increased more dramatically across Wisconsin than in many other states, though 46 of the 50 states saw a significant increase in total population living in poverty between the 5-year periods ending in 2009 and 2014, according to the UW-Madison analysis.

A five-year estimate is considered more reliable and precise than a year-to-year data comparison. Five-year estimates also are the only census data available at the county and neighborhood level; one-year estimates are available for the state as a whole and the city of Milwaukee.

Using the five-year measure, poverty went up in both urban and rural parts of Wisconsin. It went up at every level of educational achievement, and across the employment spectrum.

Perhaps most significant, the poverty gap between blacks and whites grew here as the average gap was flat across the nation. The state’s child poverty rate also went up significantly, fueling concerns about the future for many of the state’s youngest residents.

“There is some good evidence that living in poverty and experiencing issues like food and housing insecurity can cause changes in the brain that can lead to behavioral issues and low performance in school, as well as chronic disease later in life,” said Malia Jones, an assistant scientist and social epidemiologist at UW-Madison’s Applied Population Laboratory.

It’s no coincidence that two-thirds of students who cannot read above a fourth-grade level end up either in prison or on welfare, several literacy studies have shown.

Question on data

A UW-Milwaukee associate professor of economics contacted by the Journal Sentinel questioned the accuracy of the analysis because he believes the 2014 poverty rate used by UW-Madison researchers was incorrect, and skewed the results higher.

“The 2014 rate is 10.9% (not nearly 14%), so I am not sure what to make of anything in this report, frankly,” said associate professor Scott Adams, who also is chair of UWM’s economics department.

The years leading up to a recession and recession recovery naturally look different, Adams said. “But the subsequent poverty after the recession in the early 1980s was much worse” than Walker’s Wisconsin: Poverty across Wisconsin reaches highest level in 30 years | Educate All Students: Larry Miller's Blog:

Trailer for KILLING ED. — THe FABULOUs FULCRUm

Trailer for KILLING ED. — THe FABULOUs FULCRUm:

Trailer for KILLING ED.

 FEBRUARY 24, 2016

Today America gets its first lesson in the Gülen charter schools scandal with the first trailer, website, and theatrical NYC premiere announced for KILLING ED—a new documentary film from Visual Truth Projects and award-winning director Mark S. Hall that uncovers a shocking fact: that over 150 publicly funded, privately owned charter schools in America are in fact a “Trojan horse” introducing a variety of abuses. Hall, who previously directed SUSHI: THE GLOBAL CATCH (2012), uses KILLING ED to expose the largest charter school network in the country as an operation of members of the Gülen Movement—masterminded by reclusive leader and Turkish cleric-in-exile, Fethullah Gülen who lives in seclusion in the Poconos of Pennsylvania—which receives over $500,000,000 a year directly from American tax payers.

The forthcoming documentary exposes how the group has gained political power and financial reward in the USA through a lack of transparency and regulation in the ever-growing charter school movement that has become a part of America’s education system. A two-minute trailer for KILLING ED—released broadly today—juxtaposes interviews with education advocates and Gülen school teachers against footage of Bill Gates, Lieutenant Governor of Texas Dan Patrick, Dr. Diane Ravitch (Research Professor of Education at NYU), and others with scenes of conflict in Turkey— unraveling a sophisticated business front which presents itself as a benevolent enterprise and discounts any criticism as “Islamophobic”. But the trailer tells a different story, taking a turn at :45, when Noel Hammatt, a former board member of the East Baton Rouge school district, says “I’ve never known a school to be raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This is a first.”

Hall remarks, “People deserve to know the truth. I went in without a specific viewpoint, independent and without affiliation to any foundation, party or group, so that the truth could be told in a pure form.” He continues, “My hope is that KILLING ED will enlighten a nation with a shocking first-hand look inside these troubled, publicly funded institutions. In doing so, the film reveals the motivations of the leader at the helm—and all those in the film that seek to protect us from the unchecked infiltration of our children, politicians, tax coffers, and communities.”

A Shocking Realization
What started as due diligence for a non-profit ended up being a five-year trek to uncover the “worst case scenario” of the privatization of education, which has emerged as a result of the often misunderstood charter school model. Director/Producer Mark S. Hall visited 24 charter schools around the US (19 of which were Gülen-affiliated). He conducted 44 interviews with politicians, experts, parents, teachers, charter advocates, Turkish-Americans and Turkish journalists. Ultimately, he interviewed former followers of Gülen to discover the origin of the “Gülen Movement” and discovering, shockingly, the apparent destination of many millions of American tax dollars annually.

Originally, charter schools were intended to educate students who were having difficulty learning and had dropped out of traditional public schools. Freedom from many of the regulations required for public schools was given to those who wanted to develop new ways of teaching within the public education system. However, a lack of oversight and regulation, generally, has led to the “worst case scenario” of a little-known but rapidly growing Islamic movement using public funds for anti-democratic activities such as purchasing influence, oppression of female teachers, as well as gender pay and religious discrimination and - as the film outlines - the apparent funneling of these public school dollars for its startling political objectives in the nation of Turkey.

Screenings
KILLING ED will have its premiere in New York City at the Cinema Village (Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003) March 25 – 31, 2016. Other screenings are in the works across the country and individuals and groups can book a screening for their community or organization via the Tugg.com platform. Digital/DVD/BluRay release dates will be announced in March.
[more]
Factoids about Gülen Schools
• 60,000+ students
• 150+ schools in U.S. (with 12 new schools applied for)
• Over 1,200 schools worldwide
• $500M+ in taxpayer-funded revenue each year
• FBI investigations in four states
• Congressional investigation into Gülen-paid Turkey trips for politicians
• Over 5,000 Turkish employees on H1-B visas
• Operated by followers of Turkish Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gülen
• Gülen Movement named a ‘terrorist organization’ by Turkish government
• Movement’s charters support other follower's businesses (catering, buses, construction, school furniture, curriculum, etc.)

Follow here:

https://www.facebook.com/killinged/

Trailer for KILLING ED. — THe FABULOUs FULCRUm:

California Summer Sunshine Award Recipients - Summer Meal Programs (CA Dept of Education)

California Summer Sunshine Award Recipients - Summer Meal Programs (CA Dept of Education):

California Summer Sunshine Award Recipients

An annual listing of the California Summer Sunshine Award winners

Congratulations California Annual Summer Sunshine Award Recipients!

In 2015 the USDA awarded six California-based organizations the Western Region Summer Sunshine Award for efforts to end hunger and improve nutrition in California.

The winners include:

• California Summer Meal Coalition, recognized for Outstanding Partners.
  Key achievements: collaborating with the California Department of Education, the California Library Association, and the California State Library to establish “Lunch at the Library” in 99 libraries (up from 2014 with 64 libraries), serving nearly 100,000 meals.

• Conejo Valley Unified School District, recognized for Bringing the Farm to Summer Meals.
  Key achievements: integrating local foods into the summer meal programs and promoting healthy eating through nutrition education, taste testing, and cooking demonstrations. Conejo Valley Unified School District sourced all produce from local farmers, serving two schools and 10 housing sites.

• Lakeside Union School District, recognized for Strategies to Promote Meal Quality, Nutrition Education, and Wellness. 
  Key achievements: serving high-quality, kid-friendly menu items and involving parents to increase participation in summer meals. The school district collaborated with local partners to offer family barbecues, salad bars, and kid-friendly breakfast offerings.

• Pasadena Unified School District, recognized for Successful and Innovative Community Partnerships.Key achievements: working with community partners to tailor program strategies in menu planning and marketing efforts. Pasadena Unified School District’s program “Fuel Up for Summer Fun” had a 26 percent increase over the previous year.

• Riverside Unified School District, recognized for Strategies to Promote Meal Quality, Nutrition Education, and Wellness. 
  Key achievements: incorporating fresh, local produce into summer meals and offering enrichment activities for children. Riverside Unified School District networked with local partners to implement healthy food promotion, food tastings, and physical activities at sites.

• West Contra Costa Unified School District, recognized for Successful and Innovative Community Partnerships.
  Key achievements: partnering with Contra Costa Food Bank to distribute fresh produce to needy families at more than 10 summer meal sites. West Contra Costa Unified School District served 323,577 nutritious summer meals and snacks at 71 sites in low-income neighborhoods.

Questions:   Nutrition Services Division | sfsp@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-8323

 California Summer Sunshine Award Recipients - Summer Meal Programs (CA Dept of Education):

Boston #ReclaimOurSchools Walk-in | Schott Foundation for Public Education

Boston #ReclaimOurSchools Walk-in | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

Boston #ReclaimOurSchools Walk-in 

On February 17th, Boston parents, teachers, and students participated in nationwide walk-ins to #ReclaimOurSchools. Organized by the Alliance to Reclaim our Schools, these walk-ins were a show of community support for public schools and a demand for fully funded, high-quality, and equitable education. 40,000 people participated in the walk-ins across the country, which took place in over 30 cities. Boston schools were on break, but there was still great turnout at the statehouse as hundreds rallied to protest proposed school budget cuts and raising the charter cap. Schools being closed gave Boston Public Schools (BPS) students an opportunity to participate, and they spoke eloquently about the problems facing their schools alongside their teachers and representatives from the Massachusetts Educational Justice Alliance (MEJA), who organized the event.

The protest started at Boston’s City Hall, where organizers spoke about their support for students and fears for their schools under the proposed cuts. A frequent concern expressed by both students and teachers was a concern that if the cuts went through, their schools would be forced to discontinue valuable electives and arts classes. As one BPS student said: “We’re going to lose computer science, we’re going to lose arts classes, just because of a budget cut.”

Warming up with some powerful chanting! #ReclaimOurSchools @massedjustice pic.twitter.com/7wQW7rdxO3

— Schott Foundation (@SchottFound) February 17, 2016

BPS graduate getting the crowd worked up: "We all believe in our students!" #ReclaimOurSchools pic.twitter.com/TOU9P1nSy8

— Schott Foundation (@SchottFound) February 17, 2016

Boston #ReclaimOurSchools Walk-in | Schott Foundation for Public Education:

What Defines a Public School? - Bridging Differences - Education Week

What Defines a Public School? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

What Defines a Public School? 

Deborah Meier continues her conversation with Harry Boyte. To read their full exchange, please visit here.

Dear Harry and friends,

I can't locate your Tuesday letter! So for a moment let me revert to an earlier issue: What does it mean to be a "public" school?

Since most authority for schooling rests with states, this obviously will vary by state. But what would you propose for either the state or the federal government with regard to defining a tax-funded public school versus "other" kinds of schooling?

I think the Constitution says that they shouldn't advocate a particular religious view. That's a start. What else? I'd add that they should be governed by a public body that does not stand to have any conflicting material stake in the schools operations. That's common practice with most not-for-profit boards. But maybe we'd like to argue that such governing bodies must demonstrate that they represent the community being served in some form or other. Maybe a certain percentage of its seats should be filled by its constituents: parents and teachers. What about the larger public, whose future partially rests on the education of future citizens and/or whose taxes pay for the school?

I'd like to find a definition that strongly nudges schools to be able to defend their governing structure in terms of democratic principles: of, for, and by the people. But which people? Answer: at least those most directly affected, plus ...

No institution plays a greater role in sustaining the democratic idea than the ones that educate our children for 12 or more years of their lives. Where else might they witness democracy in practice? Can they learn it through the best of textbooks? Or does it need something more?

Democracy is both too important and too "messy" to learn about without constant and self-conscious reflection-in-practice. So much of what it means rests on context, past history, equality of power in a particular circumstance, and a balancing of individual interests and the "common good." It makes it hard to define, much less teach abstractly. In comparative government courses we learn about different forms of government, but do we discuss which is "better"—and why? Young people, and their teachers and families and neighbors, have the opportunity, however, to explore this together as they govern their schools together. Our children are apprentices in such schools, gradually joining in the act of self-governance. But what they learn about governance in most of our private, charter, and public schools can hardly be called an apprenticeship in democratic skills and habits.

Yet, surely, there needs to be some restrictions on the local powers that be, restrictions that rest on our understanding of the Constitution and its implications, as well as common sense. What should those be? And who should set them?

As we contemplate the elections of fall 2016, maybe this should be on the table. Maybe the "political revolution" that Sanders argues for is in part a rethinking of what it means to raise the next generation of citizens together.

DebWhat Defines a Public School? - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

John King Confirmation Quandary | deutsch29

John King Confirmation Quandary | deutsch29:

John King Confirmation Quandary

John King

On February 11, 2016, President Obama announced his intention to formally nominate acting US secretary of education, John King, for the official position of US secretary of education. In October 2015, when Obama announced that King would replace Arne Duncan, Obama indicated that he would not formally nominate King because Obama did not want to wrangle with trying to convince a newly Republican-majority Senate to confirm his choice.

However, in February 2016, it seems that the Republican-majority Senate is eager to confirm King as the next Us secretary of education. On February 22, 2016, Senator Lamar Alexander– one of the chief architects of the newly-reauthorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)– seems especially eager to formally confirm a US secretary of education– even if it is King:

While Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander is one of the Republicans trying to slow-walk a new Supreme Court justice following the death of Antonin Scalia, he’s in a hurry to confirm a new education secretary.

He says John King wouldn’t be his choice. But Alexander says the country also needs someone in charge right now.

“Especially during this year when we’re going to be implementing the law that fixed No Child Left Behind, it’s important to have in place a secretary that is 

John King Confirmation Quandary | deutsch29:

All Hail King?: We Act Radio @EdTownHall – Cloaking Inequity

All Hail King?: We Act Radio @EdTownHall – Cloaking Inequity:

All Hail King?: We Act Radio @EdTownHall

 Today on the B.U.S. Thursday program LIVE on We Act Radio Education Town Hall we discussed the bare inequality facing US children, NPE’s recent national report card which is sparking national discussion and John King’s Secretary of Education confirmation hearing.

B= Badass Teachers
U= United Opt Out
S= Save our Schools

The Education Town Hall with Thomas Byrd is the premiere Live Wire show on We Act Radio, broadcasting from Historic Anacostia in Washington DC. It facilitates effective, community-supported approaches to education — in DC and beyond — and fosters strategic, transformational actions.

The weekly radio forum brings together public officials, advocates, students, parents, and educators to share resources and concerns. The Town Hall blog extends discussion. Participation is encouraged.

Host Thomas K Byrd is a product of DC Public Schools and a long-time education advocate in the District of Columbia.

Virginia Spatz, freelance writer/activist, serves as feature reporter. Other Education Town Hall voices: http://educationtownhall.org/voices/.

Blog posts I mentioned during the show:

Why Most State Education Report Cards are Like Cookies Without the SugarAll Hail King?: We Act Radio @EdTownHall – Cloaking Inequity:

Malloy’s Strategy on Common Core SBAC Test - Look busy and make sh*t up - Wait What?

Malloy’s Strategy on Common Core SBAC Test - Look busy and make sh*t up - Wait What?:
Malloy’s Strategy on Common Core SBAC Test – Look busy and make sh*t up

Governor Dannel Malloy’s press office just issued a “major announcement” concerning the Governor’s position on the unfair, inappropriate and discriminatory Common Core Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) test.

No, Malloy and his administration are NOT making the Common Core SBAC testing scheme less unfair.

No, Malloy and his administration are NOT making the Common Core SBAC testing scheme less inappropriate.

No, Malloy and his administration are NOT making the Common Core SBAC testing scheme less discriminatory.

Yes, Malloy and his administration ARE STILL trying to force students to take a test that is designed to fail a  significant percentage of Connecticut’s children because it includes content that have not be taught.

Yes, Malloy and his administration ARE STILL using the SBAC test to label children and inaccurately “rank” the quality of education in Connecticut’s schools and school districts.

Yes, Malloy and his administration ARE STILL using the SBAC test as part of a massive Malloy’s Strategy on Common Core SBAC Test - Look busy and make sh*t up - Wait What?:

Another Common Core disaster: Corporate-education reformer John King is exactly the wrong man to be secretary of education - Salon.com

Another Common Core disaster: Corporate-education reformer John King is exactly the wrong man to be secretary of education - Salon.com:

Another Common Core disaster: Corporate-education reformer John King is exactly the wrong man to be secretary of education

John King's policies hurt schools, students and communities. Why is Obama letting him run education policy?

On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold a confirmation hearing for John King Jr., President Obama’s nominee for the position of secretary of education. King has served as the acting education secretary since the beginning of the year after Arne Duncan, who had fulfilled a seven-year tenure, stepped down.

King has been one of the most influential and loathed figures of the corporate school-reform movement in recent years. A growing body of research and evidence has suggested that the policies he has peddled throughout his career have been ineffective and destructive to communities, educators and students, especially to the population he claims to be working on behalf of: poor African-American and Hispanic children. The committee should reject his nomination and call on President Obama to nominate a serious candidate who supports equitable, progressive public education for all.

In 1999, King co-founded Roxbury Prep, a “no excuses” Boston charter middle school that educates mostly poor African-American and Hispanic students. The school features a regimented learning environment. Students who fail to follow the dress code are not permitted to attend class. A 2004 U.S. Department of Education report explained, “Students are required to be in line and silent in the halls when passing from one class to the next. In class they are expected to be focused and on task.” It was King, as the New York Times reported, who implemented many of these structures as co-director.

What resulted from these authoritarian practices was an out-of-school suspension rate that was one of the highest in Massachusetts. In the 2003-2004 school year, King’s final year at the school, Roxbury Prep had a 55.9 percent suspension rate, compared with a statewide 5.9 percent rate. These figures have remained very high. In the 2014-2015 school year, the school had a 40 percent suspension rate, compared with a statewide 2.9 percent rate, giving it the highest suspension rate in the state. In 2014, the Obama administration implored schools to jettison zero tolerance policies, so it seems odd that King would be tapped to fill a role that requires him to renounce and lobby against his long-standing beliefs.

In 2011, King was named the education commissioner of New York state. He oversaw the rocky implementation of the Common Core standards. The standards, which are currently adopted by 43 states (and falling by the day), dictate what children must know and be able to do in each grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade. Bankrolled by the Gates Foundation, they were crafted by the National Governors Association in partnership with Achieve Inc. States were then bribed by the Obama administration with Race to the Top initiative monies to enact them, dovetailing with a time when school budgets were being heavily slashed due to the economic recession.

From Buffalo to the east end of Long Island, in the fall of 2013, John King went on a Another Common Core disaster: Corporate-education reformer John King is exactly the wrong man to be secretary of education - Salon.com:

No More Kings Reject John King's Nomination for US Sec. of Education

No More Kings Reject John King's Nomination for US Sec. of Education

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