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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top 3-1 AM Posts #soschat #edreform


Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts 2-29 #soschat #ReclaimingReform

Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education WeekBig Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All)-26 minutes agoCalif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week:Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB WaiverBy Michele McNeil on February 29, 2012 3:03 PMBy Sean CavanaghCalifornia is continuing to hold out on pursuing a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act, citing its objections to the Obama administration's requirements of ... more »

Teacher Cheating Scandals Spur Obama Administration Call To Address Growing Problem

Teacher Cheating Scandals Spur Obama Administration Call To Address Growing Problem:Teacher Cheating Scandals Spur Obama Administration Call To Address Growing Problemby Joy ResmovitsThe first time Bob Wilson, a former DeKalb County, Georgia, district attorney, interviewed educators suspected of cheating on exams in 56 Atlanta schools, he got nothing. The second time, armed with information, lawyers and Georgia Bureau of Investigation agents, the teachers began to crack.By last summer, the investigation by Wilson and his colleagues gave Atlanta the notoriety of ... more »

American Principles in Action Issues Press Release on SC Vote | Truth in American Education

American Principles in Action Issues Press Release on SC Vote | Truth in American Education:American Principles in Action Issues Press Release on SC VotePosted on February 29, 2012 by James BellFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jameson CunninghamFebruary 29, 2012 Shirley Banister Public Affairs703-739-5920/800-536-5920 jcunningham@sbpublicaffairs.com Bipartisan Vote to Restore South Carolina’s Parental Authority over their Children’s EducationAmerican Principles Project Praises Sen. Fair’s Leadership toCombat Government MandatesWashington, DC – Today, American Principles in Action (API... more »

House-Senate committee on school finance named by Dewhurst, Straus | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com

House-Senate committee on school finance named by Dewhurst, Straus | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com:House-Senate committee on school finance named by Dewhurst, Strausby Terrence Stutz/ReporterLegislative leaders on Wednesday appointed 11 senators and 11 House members to a special committee that will study the state's beleaguered school finance system and recommend changes to the 2013 Legislature. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst (right) and House Speaker Joe Straus announced the appointments as the state gears up to fight four separate school funding ... more »

Modern School: Only Slavery Can Save a School When Funding Dries Up?

Modern School: Only Slavery Can Save a School When Funding Dries Up?:Only Slavery Can Save a School When Funding Dries Up?by Michael DunnTilden Middle School in Philadelphia lost a number of teachers to budget cuts this year, as well as a secretary, noontime aides, and money for their before- and after-school programs. Despite the cuts, they managed to add a grief-counseling program, which may have helped kids deal with the loss of favorite teachers axed as a result of the ...more »

Encourage and Ensure Engagement « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education

Encourage and Ensure Engagement « The Whole Child Blog « Whole Child Education:Encourage and Ensure Engagementby Klea Scharberg To many students, school is just a place they go. How do we create engaging learning experiences that make school more personal for them? Students need to be motivated in their learning before they can apply higher-order, creative-thinking skills and, ultimately, be prepared for their future college, career, and citizenship success.The most recent results from the High School Survey of Student Engagement ... more »

U.S. House votes to deregulate for-profit colleges | Dailycensored.com

U.S. House votes to deregulate for-profit colleges | Dailycensored.com:U.S. House votes to deregulate for-profit collegesAmerican Legislative Exchange Council member and wind-up politician and arch-conservative, Virginia Foxx on the congressional floor A recently submitted House Bill, H.R. 2117, would repeal a regulation commonly known as the “state authorization rule.” This rule is a mechanism designed to ensure that colleges adhere to state laws that govern them if they are to receive federal financial aid. States require that colleges seek authorization to ... more »

RheeFirst! » Former Mayor of San Francisco rejects Rhee’s ideas

RheeFirst! » Former Mayor of San Francisco rejects Rhee’s ideas:Former Mayor of San Francisco rejects Rhee’s ideasby adminBy Gene Mullin is a former member of the California Assembly, the former mayor of South San Francisco and a former teacher. Read the entire article here.“[H]er credentials as an agent of change are somewhat slender, and her tactics subject to scrutiny. Some of her worthy ideas are submerged by her tendency to use an anecdotal evidence approach rather than verifiable results.… She ... more »

NYC Public School Parents: My interview on WPIX about who is really to blame about the failure of NYC schools

NYC Public School Parents: My interview on WPIX about who is really to blame about the failure of NYC schools:My interview on WPIX about who is really to blame about the failure of NYC schoolsHere is my interview about the release of the Teacher Data Reports on WPIX news on February 23. (Sorry for the delay -- I finally got the embed code from the producers today.)In the segment, I make the point that the mayor is trying to use ... more »

ASCD Inservice: Latest House Edits on ESEA

ASCD Inservice: Latest House Edits on ESEA:Latest House Edits on ESEAThe House Education Committee passed two bills last evening that would make significant changes to the accountability system required by the No Child Left Behind Act. The vote was on a straight party line vote of 23-16. The bills now head to the House floor for consideration sometime in the near future.The two bills, HR 3989, the Student Success Act, and HR 3990, the Encouraging Innovation and Teacher Effectiveness Act, ... more »

ACLU Complaint to be Filed – Parents Please Read | United Opt Out National

ACLU Complaint to be Filed – Parents Please Read | United Opt Out National:ACLU Complaint to be Filed – Parents Please Readby adminA request from Nina Bishop and Angela Engel of Uniting4Kids.com:Angela and I are working on a joint ACLU complaint. Would it be possible for you to post something on your site requesting support from parents whose students received a penalty/threats of penalty for the parent refusing testing? I need the story, permission to join in on the ACLU ... more »

Angry Teachers: Watcha Gonna Do? | Mr. Teachbad

Angry Teachers: Watcha Gonna Do? | Mr. Teachbad:Angry Teachers: Watcha Gonna Do?by teachbadTeach­ers are in a tough spot. I think it’s fair to say there is a grow­ing sense among teach­ers that the over­all qual­ity and attrac­tive­ness of this job is deteriorating.How­ever much you might per­son­ally still enjoy teach­ing, or how­ever much you hated it in the first place…it’s get­ting worse. For many peo­ple, that still keeps teach­ing safely in the neigh­bor­hood of ‘enjoy­able’ or ‘tol­er­a­ble’. But it will also ... more »

Missouri Education Watchdog: What To Do About the Bullies

Missouri Education Watchdog: What To Do About the Bullies:What To Do About the Bulliesby AnngieThe problem of bullying is age old. I believe the realists would say it is endemic to the human condition. So long as we are not conditioned to rein in our jealousy of others, there will be those who lash out over perceived slights, inequities or the desire to make others feel small so that they can feel bigger. Bullying often stems from fear and the ...more »

The in box: If Governor Quinn gets his way, retired teacher health insurance costs will double. Sign the petition. « Fred Klonsky

The in box: If Governor Quinn gets his way, retired teacher health insurance costs will double. Sign the petition. « Fred Klonsky:The in box: If Governor Quinn gets his way, retired teacher health insurance costs will double. Sign the petition.by Fred KlonskyTo be delivered to Governor Pat Quinn. Governor Quinn, we urge you to restore the State’s contribution to the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance Program (TRIP) that you slashed from the Illinois’ budget!In his 2013 Budget, Illinois Governor Quinn proposes ... more »

Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB Waiver - Politics K-12 - Education Week:Calif. Seeks its Own Version of an NCLB WaiverBy Michele McNeil on February 29, 2012 3:03 PMBy Sean CavanaghCalifornia is continuing to hold out on pursuing a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act, citing its objections to the Obama administration's requirements of states that want that flexibility.Instead, the state is considering asking federal officials for its own brand of flexibility from the law—without having ... more »

Mother Crusader: How Many Districts Does It Take To Fill A Charter School?

Mother Crusader: How Many Districts Does It Take To Fill A Charter School?:How Many Districts Does It Take To Fill A Charter School?by darciecimaAmir Khan's Regis Academy was approved in September of 2011. He has had five months to reach out to parents and recruit students from the four sending districts for which he was approved, namely Cherry Hill, Lawnside, Somerdale and Voorhees. At his last public information session (where Khan threatened concerned citizens in attendance with calling the police ... more »

Davy Jones, actor and member of the Monkees, has died

Davy Jones, actor and member of the Monkees, has diedFebruary 29, 2012 | 11:07 am 51Davy Jones, the British Invasion-era singer who became a household heartthrob as a member of the Monkees, has died in Florida.The Martin County Medical Examiner’s Office in Florida confirmed Wednesday morning that they had been notified of Jones’ death but would provide no other details. He was 66.Before the Monkees, Jones earned acclaim as the Artful Dodger in the London production of "Oliver!"PHOTOS: Davy Jones ... more »

Student Walk-Outs Planned at City College, SDSU, and UCSD for March 1st

Student Walk-Outs Planned at City College, SDSU, and UCSD for March 1st:Student Walk-Outs Planned at City College, SDSU, and UCSD for March 1stby STAFF on FEBRUARY 29, 2012 · 0 COMMENTSin CALIFORNIA, CIVIL RIGHTS, ECONOMY, EDUCATION, ORGANIZING, SAN DIEGOStudent Walk-Outs Planned at City College, SDSU, and UCSD for March 1stbyStaffAs part of the March 1st National Day of Action for Education, three area college campuses are planning student and faculty walk-outs tomorrow, the first day of March.Students at City College, ... more »

Support PURE! » Hoosier legislators giving in to vouchers?

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » Hoosier legislators giving in to vouchers?:Hoosier legislators giving in to vouchers?by adminSome of our members live in Indiana or have friends/relatives there – it’s time to help them out!!!A voucher bill similar to the one described below has been in effect in Arizona for several years, and the result has been that middle- and upper-middle-class families get the money to pay for private schools their children were already attending. People are ... more »

Governor’s Budget for 2012-13 - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Governor’s Budget for 2012-13 - Letters (CA Dept of Education):Dear County and District Superintendents, Direct-Funded Charter School Administrators, and County Chief Business Officers:GOVERNOR’S BUDGET FOR 2012–13On January 5, 2012, Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed budget for the 2012–13 fiscal year. The budget provides a plan to close a $9.2 billion deficit for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 fiscal years through a combination of program reductions and reforms and revenue increases. The budget proposal assumes voter approval in November 2012 of ... more »

Dear President Obama: Dump Pritzker. « Fred Klonsky

Dear President Obama: Dump Pritzker. « Fred Klonsky:Dear President Obama: Dump Pritzker.by Fred KlonskyDear President Obama,On February 21st your campaign announced the naming of six national co-chairs from Illinois.The list included Bill Daley, Sen. Dick Durbin, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Penny Pritzker, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Alan Solow.Yesterday Unite Here, which represents hotel employees at Penny Pritzker’s Hyatt Hotels, revealed that Penny Pritzker underpays the property taxes on her Chicago 7-bathroom mansion.This is the same Penny Pritzker who advocates ending public ... more »

Duncan Joins Mayors Bloomberg, Villaraigosa and Emanuel for “Education Now: Cities at the Forefront of Privatization ”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Joins Mayors Bloomberg, Villaraigosa and Emanuel for “Education Now: Cities at the Forefront of Reform” | U.S. Department of Education:U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Joins Mayors Bloomberg, Villaraigosa and Emanuel for “Education Now: Cities at the Forefront of Reform”City Superintendents will also participate, highlight local efforts to improve education in nation's three largest schools districts: New York, Los Angeles and ChicagoContact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Event Date 1: March 02, 2012 10:00 ... more »

Shanker Blog » Ready, Aim, Hire: Predicting The Future Performance Of Teacher Candidates

Shanker Blog » Ready, Aim, Hire: Predicting The Future Performance Of Teacher Candidates:Ready, Aim, Hire: Predicting The Future Performance Of Teacher Candidatesby Matthew Di CarloIn a previous post, I discussed the idea of “attracting the best candidates” to teaching by reviewing the research on the association between pre-service characteristics and future performance (usually defined in terms of teachers’ estimated effect on test scores once they get into the classroom). In general, this body of work indicates that, while far from ... more »

Teachers Face Good Cops or Bad Cops in Push for Evaluations - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Teachers Face Good Cops or Bad Cops in Push for Evaluations - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:Teachers Face Good Cops or Bad Cops in Push for Evaluationsby Anthony CodyLast week I wrote about the fairy dust of multiple measures that the Department of Education has been sprinkling on worthless Value Added Models, under the mistaken belief that this somehow renders them golden. Dept of Ed press secretary Justin Hamilton quoted Arne Duncan, who said, "here in the US ... more »