Comments 9/12/18-10/17/18

 

Build and Support Best Practices

Students, please take a humanities course. We will all benefit. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/please-students-take-that-impractical-humanities-course-we-will-all-benefit/2018/09/14/f50b4f3e-b761-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html?utm_term=.ca58f6615737&wpisrc=nl_opinions&wpmm=1

A massive set of research papers on what California education is doing right and where it needs to improve. Fodder for educational wonks. http://gettingdowntofacts.com/home

A paper claiming that California’s Local Control Initiative was a success and that increased funding produced results. https://k-12daily.org/budget-finance/browns-lcff-experiment-a-rare-school-policy-success

The case for spending 32% more on California schools. https://edsource.org/2018/the-case-for-spending-32-percent-more-on-california-schools/602851?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom’s cradle to career education plan for California. https://edsource.org/2018/newsoms-cradle-to-career-education-pledge-will-require-sweeping-changes-in-california/602720?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email

New study finds that all growth of new non-BA good jobs has been in middle-skills jobs requiring community college/tech prep type education. https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/3pathways/

Marc Tucker: Trust is essential to improving school performance. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/top_performers/2018/10/trust_an_essential_ingredient_for_top_performance.html

Want to improve schools? Look to teacher leaders. https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teacher_leader_voices/2018/09/_want_to_improve_schools_look_.html

How to transform a struggling school. Hint: It’s not the “reform” agenda. http://www.icontact-archive.com/cygVNOqY6pi4994qjjAO6BLRYtzzw4I-?w=4

The important role of principals’ supervisors. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning_forwards_pd_watch/2018/09/new_report_highlights_the_importance_of_the_role_of_principal_supervisors.html?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=learningforwardspdwatch

Mike Smith on why it’s wrong to write off the Federal SIG program. https://www.future-ed.org/why-its-wrong-to-write-off-the-federal-sig-program/

Steve Singer: the six biggest problems with data-driven instruction. https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2018/09/25/the-six-biggest-problems-with-data-driven-instruction/

Why pre-school should not be like Amazon. https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2018/09/24/its-like-amazon-but-for-preschool-audrey-watters/

 

Reform Foibles

New report confirms that test scores almost perfectly mirror socio-economic status of students. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/16/robert-pianta-discusses-his-study-showing-that-family-income-matters-more-than-public-vs-private-school/

Closing 50+ Chicago schools in low-income areas was a disaster. https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2018/10/11/stunning-new-book-contextualizes-tragedy-of-2013-school-closures-in-chicagos-hyper-segregated-history/

After seven years the failure of the state Tennessee Achievement District which took over local schools is official. https://garyrubinstein.wordpress.com/2018/09/23/after-seven-years-the-failure-of-tennessees-asd-is-finally-made-official/

Jersey Jazzman defends NJ reducing test scores for evaluating teachers to 5%. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/12/jersey-jazzman-defends-new-jerseys-decision-to-reduce-parcc-testing-to-only-5-of-teachers-ratings/

Larry Cuban on “personalized learning”—the difference between a policy and a strategy. https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2018/09/19/personalized-learning-the-difference-between-a-policy-and-a-strategy/ and https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/2018/09/27/second-draft-a-continuum-of-personalized-learning/ Also see Curmudgucation’s critique of personalized learning programs. http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2018/09/personalized-digital-test-prep-lab-rats.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FORjvzd+%28CURMUDGUCATION%29

Learning from what doesn’t work in teacher evaluation—a review by Audrey Amrein-Beardsley http://vamboozled.com/learning-from-what-doesnt-work-in-teacher-evaluation/

Diane Ravitch reviews professor Jim Miller’s article on the failure of corporate based “reform” and the power of a “build and support” approach. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/26/jim-miller-who-will-save-us-from-the-billionaire-saviors/

Hey, Texas: Don’t Delete Helen Keller from the Curriculum: She Inspires Everyone! https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/26/hey-texas-dont-delete-helen-keller-from-the-curriculum-she-inspires-everyone/

The problems with college remediation policies. https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2018/10/05/college-remediation-is-less-about-bad-students-than-academic-elitism/

 

Privatization and Defunding of Public Schools

I work three jobs and donate blood plasma to make ends meet. This is what it’s like to be a teacher in America. http://time.com/longform/teaching-in-america/

Similarly, the NYTimes on what teachers are doing to make ends meet. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/06/magazine/teachers-america-second-jobs.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur

Jeff Bryant asks, “What happens when communities lose their public schools for good?  Michigan may soon find out.” http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/when-communities-lose-their-public-schools-for-good-what-happens-to-the-students-michigan-may-soon-find-out/?link_id=1&can_id=cea050dcef20333abf235c3ba9bc6d51&source=email-when-communities-lose-their-public-schools-for-good&email_referrer=email_429585&email_subject=when-communities-lose-their-public-schools-for-good

Report from the Network for Public Education: How the super-rich buy elections to undermine public schools. https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/npe-dark-money-report-how-the-super-rich-buy-elections-to-undermine-public-schools/  Another review of the report by Curmudgucation; http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2018/09/how-to-buy-school-district.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FORjvzd+%28CURMUDGUCATION%29

Jeff Bryant on how wealthy people are destroying public education one donation at a time. http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/wealthy-people-are-destroying-public-schools-one-donation-at-a-time/?link_id=1&can_id=cea050dcef20333abf235c3ba9bc6d51&source=email-wealthy-people-are-destroying-public-schools&email_referrer=email_417229&email_subject=wealthy-people-are-destroying-public-schools

Diane Ravitch: The Guardian Reports on the Showdown Between the Koch Brothers and the Parents/Teachers of Arizona https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/27/the-guardian-reports-on-the-showdown-between-the-koch-brothers-and-the-parents-teachers-of-arizona/

Diane Ravitch posted: Arizona is hurtling back a century or more. The state superintendent of education has invited an anti-evolutionist to review the state science standards. The writer for the Arizona Republic, Laurie Roberts, is quick to spot frauds and quacks in the Ed world. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/15/arizona-creationist-invited-to-review-state-science-standards/

US shortchanged public schools by hundreds of billions of dollars. https://gadflyonthewallblog.com/2018/09/17/report-us-shortchanged-public-schools-by-hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars-over-decades/

 

Charter and Voucher issues

Jeff Bryant–Charter School Corruption is Changing Education Policies and Practices http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/charter-school-corruption-is-changing-education-policy-and-politics/?link_id=2&can_id=cea050dcef20333abf235c3ba9bc6d51&source=email-charter-school-corruption-is-changing-education-policy-and-politics&email_referrer=email_421283&email_subject=charter-school-corruption-is-changing-education-policy-and-politics

Andrea Gabor—when school choice means no choice. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/13/andrea-gabor-when-school-choice-means-no-choice/

How charter school operators enrich themselves. http://www.nationalmemo.com/charter-school-operators-enrich-real-estate/

Ravitch: Hedge fund manager says that investing in charter schools is the easiest money he ever made. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/07/hedge-fund-manager-investing-in-charter-schools-is-easiest-money-he-has-ever-made/

Report on the malign effects of charter schools in Florida with suggestions for improvement. http://www.integrityflorida.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/charter-school-report-final.pdf

Unbelievable. Diane Ravitch: Florida voucher fraud stiffs teachers and taxpayers and no one cares. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/05/florida-voucher-fraud-stiffs-teachers-taxpayers-no-one-cares/

Diane Ravitch: If you want to understand where the big bucks are in the charter industry, look at the real estate deals. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/13/pennsylvania-charter-real-estate-scam-alert/ and Diane Ravitch blows the whistle on lucrative real estate deals by some charter schools. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/23/the-business-of-charter-schools-a-45-million-charter-deal/

What Should We Really Learn From New Orleans After the Storm? A Q&A With NEPC Fellow Bruce Baker https://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/newsletter-baker-100918

Disgraceful charter self-dealing in Arizona—a state with some of the most porous charter school laws in the country.  https://deutsch29.wordpress.com/2018/09/13/the-ultimate-in-charter-school-self-dealing-az-taxpayers-pay-twice-for-same-schools-for-profit-owner-reaps-before-during-and-after-sale/

Diane Ravitch the bizarre story of a charter founder who went to prison for tax fraud with charter school funds still collects rent from the charter school. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/28/michigan-in-prison-charter-founder-continues-to-collect-rent-from-charter-school/

Diane Ravitch: Texas: IDEA Charter Chain Plans to Saturate El Paso Region with 20 New Unneeded Charters https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/25/texas-idea-charter-chain-plans-to-saturate-el-paso-region-with-20-new-charters/

California’s new prohibition against for-profit charters plugs many loopholes but still more needs to be done. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/15/california-law-professor-lauds-ban-on-for-profit-charters/

The profiteering behind the effort to expand charter schools in Kentucky by Jeff Bryant. https://progressive.org/public-school-shakedown/financial-forces-behind-lousiville-charters-180905/

Nevada Republicans promise to create more vouchers and charter schools if they win state races. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/17/nevada-republicans-promise-to-create-more-charter-schools-and-vouchers-if-they-win-state-races/

An investigation into Florida’s voucher schools finds alarming results. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/18/orlando-sentinel-investigated-florida-voucher-schools-and-the-results-were-alarming/

Gary Rubenstein pens a rebuke to large donors to NY City’s Success Academy. https://garyrubinstein.wordpress.com/2018/09/17/open-letters-to-reformers-i-dont-know-part-v-seven-figure-success-academy-donors/

DeVos gives Delaware $10.4 million to expand charter schools despite lack of demand. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/16/delaware-betsy-devos-gives-state-10-4-million-to-expand-charters-despite-lack-of-demand/

Two senators call for an investigation into online charter schools. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/virtual-charter-schools-report-investigation_us_5bb54ec2e4b028e1fe3a5985

Charter school praised by the NYTimes is in academic distress. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/10/10/rob-levine-charter-school-praised-by-new-york-times-is-in-academic-distress/

Diane Ravitch on an article by Mitchell Robinson contending that Michigan charter schools have done more harm than good.  https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/17/mitchell-robinson-charter-schools-in-michigan-have-done-more-harm-than-good/

Virtual schools continue to grow in Michigan despite high failure rate. https://dianeravitch.net/2018/09/25/michigan-virtual-schools-grow-despite-high-failure-rate/

The federal inspector general condemns DOE for lax supervision of charter dollars—again! https://janresseger.wordpress.com/2018/10/04/17633/

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