Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Audio: School districts baffled about why they’re on English learners monitoring list | 89.3 KPCC

Audio: School districts baffled about why they’re on English learners monitoring list | 89.3 KPCC:

School districts baffled about why they’re on English learners monitoring list

Image result for the list

Days after California and federal officials agreed to improve service to English learners, most of the school districts on the list the state agreed to monitor more closely said they were surprised they were on it.
The settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and the California Department of Education compels the state to, among other things, respond in a "timely and effective manner" to information that schools are not serving English learners, improve online monitoring technology, and include charter schools in English learner reviews.
The settlement also targets for state monitoring four school districts, one county office of education, and a high school.
“It doesn’t really make sense to me,” said Anita Alfonso, head of English learner services at the Menifee Union School District in Riverside, one of those on the list.
“We feel like we’re doing a lot right now,” she said, including purchasing new curriculum material for English learners, training teachers, and helping the parents of English learners.
“We were not aware of this at all,” said Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District spokeswoman Gail Pinsker. Her district also made the list. “We’re checking with different agencies to learn about what exactly this means and what the requirements are for moving forward under this [California Department of Education] settlement.”
The superintendents of Burbank Unified and San Gabriel Unified were also puzzled their districts made it on the list and said they received no notification from state or federal officials.
Burbank Unified officials provided numbers to KPCC detailing English learners who didn’t receive services in the time period in question. There were about 100 students or fewer in each of those years. The school district’s superintendent believes the issue had to do with incorrect coding of English learners in the district’s data system.
English learner advocates say federal law compels school districts to provide services to every English learner.
“So even if there are not that many students being deprived of services, the fact that the problem persists over a number of years suggests that there is something very systemic about the problem in those districts,” said Nicole Ochi, a lawyer with the Audio: School districts baffled about why they’re on English learners monitoring list | 89.3 KPCC:


TSJ Teach-In: Are Police Necessary? Teachers For Social Justice

Teachers For Social Justice:



TSJ Teach-In: Are Police Necessary?

Date: September 24, 2016
UIC College of Education
1040 W. Harrison Street, Room 3427
Time: 5:00-7:00 pm

Sign up for the Teach-In here.

Download the flyer here. 

Teachers For Social Justice:

Schools Matter: Does Randi Weingarten think no one is paying attention?

Schools Matter: Does Randi Weingarten think no one is paying attention?:

Does Randi Weingarten think no one is paying attention?


On September 9th, the Answer Sheet ran a column in the Washington Post under the title “What if Randi Weingarten were U.S. education secretary?” The article is an interview with American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten by author C.M. Rubin, author of several education books, two on-line series on global education, and publisher of the online blogCMRubinWorld. She is a Fellow of the Disruptor Foundation.

Right off, Ms. Weingarten launches into her usual spin, that, while mistakes were made in education under President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan with “too many tests” and inequitable funding, things are being “reset” with the Every Child Succeeds Act of 2015. The specifics of the disaster of Race to the Top, especially for low-income school districts that have seen dozens of schools closed and public schools being put on starvation budgets to expand privatization with charters, are not mentioned. According to Ms. Weingarten, U.S. education is on course to a brighter tomorrow with ESSA.

Asked, “Does the current state of our underprivileged school systems help foster radicalism?" Ms. Weingarten says she does not know of “any empirical data that would answer your question.” She then makes a series of platitudes about how unfortunate the underfunding of schools in low-income communities is with no mention of who is responsible for this situation. Apparently listening to Schools Matter: Does Randi Weingarten think no one is paying attention?:


Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/13/16



Special Nite Cap: Catch Up on Today's Post 9/13/16




Featured Post

The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools | Alternet





The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America
The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings | Parents Across America : The violent legacy of Chicago’s mass school closings By Julie Woestehoff, PAA interim executive director It has been more than 10 years since I and many of my former colleagues began warning Chicago that massive school closings would not improve education and would most likely lead to increased violence. It gives me n
Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post
Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. - The Washington Post : Recess four times a day? Why some schools are now letting kids play an hour a day. (Photo of kids playing at recess supplied by LiiNK Project and used with permission) For years we’ve been hearing that many schools have cut back — or eliminated — recess for young children because academics a
Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What?
Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case - Wait What? : Breaking News – CT Senate Republican Leader Fasano calls for appeal in CCJEF V. RELL Case In response to Governor Dannel Malloy’s unprecedented assault on public school students, parents, teachers and schools, Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano (R-North Haven) has been one of the most outspok
The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy
The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools - Inside Philanthropy - Inside Philanthropy : The "Big Bet" of a Funder That Hasn't Forgotten Traditional Public Schools f you're only half tuned in to the education philanthropy space, you might think that most funders could care less about traditional public schools as they rush to pump money into cha
AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme | American Federation of Teachers
AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme | American Federation of Teachers : AFT’s Weingarten on GAO ‘School Choice’ Report and Trump’s Voucher Scheme WASHINGTON —In response to the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s release of “ School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligibl
The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc
The Oklahoman's criticism of school funding is unfair - NonDoc : The Oklahoman’s criticism of school funding is unfair S chool finance is complicated enough without The Oklahoman muddying the waters in an attempt to shift much of the blame for chronic underfunding of schools to the school systems themselves. That criticism of traditional public schools and other school reformers is like comparing
Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com
Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com : Charter Schools: Student population Published: September 9, 2016 John Thompson, a former teacher, talks about how charters take high poverty children, but don't have the kids experiencing trauma and generational poverty. Charter Schools: Student population Video | NewsOK.com - Linkis.com :
ECOT online school funding fight reaches court: ECOT says state rules are "unenforceable," state says ECOT is "absurd" | cleveland.com
ECOT online school funding fight reaches court: ECOT says state rules are "unenforceable," state says ECOT is "absurd" | cleveland.com : ECOT online school funding fight reaches court: ECOT says state rules are "unenforceable," state says ECOT is "absurd" COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state's fight over whether the giant ECOT online school deserves the $106 million
The U.S. Has Started Tracking Religious Discrimination In Schools | Huffington Post
The U.S. Has Started Tracking Religious Discrimination In Schools | Huffington Post : The U.S. Has Started Tracking Religious Discrimination In Schools It’s high time. The United States government is taking a big step to curb religious discrimination in schools. The U.S. Department of Education announced a series of initiatives this summer to address religious discrimination in public schools, in
In Perplexing Decision, Connecticut Judge Fails to Raise the Bar for Adequate School Funding | janresseger
In Perplexing Decision, Connecticut Judge Fails to Raise the Bar for Adequate School Funding | janresseger : In Perplexing Decision, Connecticut Judge Fails to Raise the Bar for Adequate School Funding Last week, Connecticut Judge Thomas G. Moukawsher found Connecticut’s system of education unconstitutional. Here is how Elizabeth Harris of the NY Times describes the decision in the eleven year ol
Massachusetts Ballot Question 2: The Union Money, and More | deutsch29
Massachusetts Ballot Question 2: The Union Money, and More | deutsch29 : Massachusetts Ballot Question 2: The Union Money, and More Save Our Public Schools - https://saveourpublicschoolsma.com/ On November 08, 2016, Massachusetts voters will be deciding whether or not to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the state. The ballot measure, known as Question 2, would open the door for “u
California Charter School Scandals Shows the Movement Is a Vehicle for Fraud & Corruption
California Charter School Scandals Shows the Movement Is a Vehicle for Fraud & Corruption : The Charter School Movement Is a Vehicle for Fraud and Corruption As it is presently constituted. I may have mentioned , we have a red-hot ballot initiative up here in the Commonwealth (God Save It!) in which we are asked whether or not we want to lift the cap on the number of charter schools in the st
The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools | Alternet
The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools | Alternet : The Fight to Bring Transparency to California’s Charter Schools “Does Jerry Brown want his legacy to be the anti-democratic privatization of our public schools?” Aimee Roylance was thrilled when her son was accepted into Livermore Valley Charter School in 2010. The traditional public schools in their part of the Bay Area
U.S. GAO - School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students
U.S. GAO - School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students : Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students Participation in voucher and education savings account (ESA) programs, which fund private school tuition and other ed
Students Who Play Do Better in School - The Atlantic
Students Who Play Do Better in School - The Atlantic : Students Who Play Do Better in School Google the definition of play and the first thing that pops up is this: “[To] engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.” Jack Shonkoff, the director of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, finds that language supremely frustrating. “It
Parent awareness of California school finance accountability law abysmal | USC News
Parent awareness of California school finance accountability law abysmal | USC News : Parent awareness of California school finance accountability law abysmal More than half of the people surveyed by the PACE/USC Rossier poll — and nearly half of those with school-age kids — say they are unaware of the state’s Local Control Funding Formula rents are among the many Californians who say they have n
Turkey submits formal request for US to detain Fethullah Gulen - FT.com
Turkey submits formal request for US to detain Fethullah Gulen - FT.com : Turkey submits formal request for US to detain Fethullah Gulen Turkey asked Washington to detain Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric it blames for a failed coup in July, marking the first step in a legal battle to extradite Mr Gulen. The provisional arrest warrant was requested by Turkey’s Justice Ministry, said Anadolu, a s

YESTERDAY

The Racism of School Closures
The Racism of School Closures : The Racism of School Closures As parents, students and teachers celebrate the start of a new school year, many communities across the country are facing the pain of having their schools



Top Posts This Week