TeacherKen posted this wonderful tribute by Maya Angelou to one of the greatest men of our time or any other.
Nelson Mandela exemplified courage, dignity, wisdom, and forbearance in the face of cruelty and oppression.
How many people could survive 27 years of imprisonment and emerge from the ordeal free of bitterness yet full of grace? He led his people to freedom and helped to avoid what might have been a bloody civil war.
We are fortunate to have shared the earth with such a man.
In this post, Mercedes Schneider reviews the IRS documents for Eva Moskowitz’s Success Academy charter chain and concludes that they can afford to pay the city rent.
The post begins like this:
Since 2006, Eva Moskowitz has been running a small charter empire that has at least $50 million in assets and the support of hedge fund millionaires. Why is it, then, that her Success Academies have never paid a dime in rent for the public school space occupied by her charter schools?
Recently-elected New York Mayor Bill de Blasio wants to put an end to the rent-free usage of public school space by charter schools.
Moskowitz’s response?
She closed her 22 schools on October 8, 2013, so that her students could “volunteer” to protest.
Public schools do not close in order to have public school students engage in protests– and this protest coincided with the political agenda of Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota, who just happened to attend.
Public schools don’t pay rent. But public schools are not allowed to close for political marches in support of their founder.
Schneider concludes that the Success Academy charters are not public schools. They can afford to pay rent or lease their own space.
Critics of Michigan’s letter-grades for schools denounced the system as a Trojan horse, designed to push schools with low grades into the state-created Educational Achievement Authority.
“Legislation creating a letter grading system for Michigan public schools is coming under scrutiny because it contains a provision that may speed the transfer of failing schools into the troubled Education Achievement Authority.
“The legislation mandates that schools with an “F” letter grade under the new system with low test scores twice in three years be placed under control of the state school reform office.
“That office has the contractual power to place failing schools under the control of the EAA, a fledgling school system that operates 15 schools formerly part of Detroit Public Schools under an agreement with DPS and Eastern Michigan University.
“Critics of the EAA say the letter grade legislation is a “Trojan horse” for expanding the EAA, which has seen its enrollment plummet by 24 percent after one year and faces questions about its long-term financial viability.
“The EAA’s operations have been heavily subsidized by private donations raised by supporters of Gov. Rick Snyder.”
The EAA is a transparent attempt by Governor Snyder to continue his effort to destroy public education in the state, picking off more schools each year.
“This is a back-door way of getting schools into the EAA without passing the EAA legislation,” said state Rep. Ellen Cogen Lipton, D-Huntington Woods.
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131206/SCHOOLS/312060025#ixzz2mlDVvc00
Investigative reporter Yasha Levine digs into the iPad mess in Los Angeles here.
Some corporations will make a lot of money, especially Apple and Pearson.
And meanwhile, many Los Angeles students will be in overcrowded classrooms and will not get any arts programs because of budget cuts.
This story is not going away.
It just keeps getting worse.
No one has explained where the money will come from to pay for the next round of iPads in three or four years.
But not to worry: Buying from Apple and Pearson is one of the civil rights issues of our time. It will assuredly level the playing field for kids of all races and conditions. Right?
As Levine explains:
There’s no doubt that Apple and Pearson were happy with the deal. The two companies won competitive bids to supply respectively the hardware and software for LA’s “tablets for all” program. The first phase of the project was worth “only” $30 million. But when fully implemented, the companies stood to make a killing. With roughly 700,000 students and 45,000 teachers, LAUSD is the second-largest school district in the country. At $770 per iPad (not including keyboard), the deal would bring Apple an estimated $600 million. Meanwhile, the for-profit education mega-company Pearson would make up to $75 million a year just off its software licensing fees.
There were a lot of unanswered questions about the deal, but at least one thing was crystal clear: outfitting nearly a million people with top-of-the-line tablets was going to be insanely expensive. And that’s why just about everyone that wasn’t directly cashing in on LA’s “tablets was all” scheme was baffled and outraged by it. Parents and teachers couldn’t understand how LAUSD’s top brass could blow so much money on an expensive toy at time when the district was laying off teachers and cutting physical education, art and music programs. Pointy headed academics scratched their chins at the news because there is no scientific evidence that shows tablets help kids learn or boost academic performance in any way. And others wondered why LAUSD planned to pay for iPads using bond money that was approved by voters solely for use in upgrading physical school infrastructure, especially when schools routinely lack the funds to make critical repairs.
Even the Los Angeles Times, which is normally very sympathetic to Deasy’s technocratic reform schemes, criticized the iPad deal. The paper noted with concern that Deasy not only owned Apple stock, but he had also appeared in an Apple promotional video boosting iPads as the best educational tools around.
Casey Barduhn, superintendent of the Westhill Central School District, warns New York Commissioner John King that his reliance on high-stakes testing is destroying the promise of the Common Core standards.
Barduhn wrote to King that he was intrigued by the standards when they were unveiled and hopeful that they would lead to creative and innovative teaching and learning.
But with the advent of the high-stakes testing, that sense of joyful anticipation was replaced by an undue emphasis on testing, test prep, and misallocated time and resources.
The rebellion against Common Core testing continues to grow. At some point, John King will have to listen to experienced educators nd change course. One cannot lead without followers.
Journalist Todd Smekens in Indiana blogged about the struggle by Glenda Ritz to stop Governor Mike Pence from destroying her position, to which she was elected by the people of Indiana. This is a battle for democracy, not for an individual.
Smekens sees the struggle as part of a national attack on public education. He tied it to Sue Peters’ upset victory in Seattle, where the zillionaires put together what they thought was a big enough campaign fund to crush her.
Smekens recognizes that Pence is trying not only to usurp democracy but to make Indiana a friendly home for “free market capitalists.” Pence wants to protect Indiana as a zone where entrepreneurs can make a profit by feeding off the public schools with false promises.
He writes:
The free market capitalists are bankrolling school board seats to expand charter programs or advancing the privatization of our school system.
The same billionaire free marketers who are driving to eliminate unions, cut government regulation, strip workers of their rights, etc. are also behind Common Core standardized testing. You saw how important it was to Tony Bennett – he had to increase grades from a C to an A so they could keep pushing their privatization agenda – it cost him his job in Florida.
However what most journalists in Indiana are missing is the underlying fact that charters do not outperform public schools. Even with all the hype, new equipment, the opportunity to screen students, etc., they still don’t outperform public schools. The hundreds of millions of dollars thrown at “fixing the education system” by corporations, foundations, and non-educator politicians, the bottom line is they make decisions based on profit schemes versus the needs of teachers-students-parents.
So, if you think Gov. Mike Pence is simply playing politics with the formation of the CECI to usurp State Education Superintendent, Glenda Ritz, you’re only scratching the surface. Gov. Pence hired all the education reform players who worked with the former superintendent Tony Bennett. Who also worked with Mitch Daniels, the Gates Foundation, and reformers like Jeb Bush to privatize Indiana’s schools. They have a financial stake in Indiana, so they will not give up until Glenda Ritz is removed from the equation.
These billionaire free market capitalists could care less about our democratic process in this country – they’ve now shown their hands from the billion dollar Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement being negotiated behind closed doors, the dysfunction in shutting down our government in Washington, the dysfunction in our statehouses and gerrymandering districts to prevent competition, and all the way down to simple school board seats in our community.
If you think these free market libertarian billionaires and their Tea Party cowboys are about “freedom of choice”, you’ve been badly misguided by corporate media spin owned by the same people.
The Board of Education in New Hanover County, North Carolina, passed a resolution opposing the state legislature’s plan to offer bonuses to 25% of teachers in exchange for their abandoning their due process rights. The board–in Wilmington, North Carolina–is Republican dominated. When the resolution passed, the audience at the board meeting–many of whom were teachers, wearing red–burst into applause.
The local Star-News Online reported that the board:
“…..unanimously passed a resolution against the N.C. General Assembly’s mandate requiring 25 percent of teachers in each district to receive a bonus and an early move to a four-year contract instead of tenure. The decision received loud applause from the dozens of red-clad teachers in the audience.
“The General Assembly voted during this year’s session to eliminate teacher tenure, moving teachers instead to one-, two- or four-year contracts. That will be put fully in place by the 2017-18 school year. But districts can select the top 25 percent of their teachers and offer them a $500 annual bonus to move off tenure this year. The legislature set aside $10 million statewide to pay those bonuses.
“Adopting the resolution was a largely symbolic move, Markley said, since the legislature reconvenes for its short session in May and selected teachers must choose whether to accept the bonus by the end of June. But board members said they still felt strongly about stating their displeasure with the plan.
“Give us wiggle room,” said board member Lisa Estep. “Give us the ability to be innovative.”
“Chairman Don Hayes said he hoped the board’s decision would motivate other boards to take a similar stand.”
Here is the Board’s resolution:
RESOLUTION BEFORE THE
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION REGARDING CHANGES TO TEACHER EMPLOYMENT LAW
December 3rd, 2013
WHEREAS, the Appropriations Act of 2013 (SL 2013 36, SB 402, Sec. 9.6), includes legislation that requires school boards to offer four-year contracts and bonuses to 25 percent of its teachers (“25 percent contract”); and
WHEREAS, school districts are finding it difficult to select a method of determining who qualifies for the four-year contract offer; and
WHEREAS, school boards value their teachers and believe them to be deserving of adequate and equitable compensation; and
WHEREAS, teachers have received only a 1.12 percent state salary increase once out of the past five years, resulting in a greater need by school districts to increase recruitment and retention of teachers; and
WHEREAS, the Appropriations Act of 2013 cut funding for classroom teachers, teacher assistants, textbooks, instructional materials, and limited English proficiency, while continuing the elimination of funding for mentor pay and professional development.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the New Hanover County Board of Education requests that the General Assembly allow it to retain its prorated share of the $10 Million Dollars allocated for the 25 percent contract to be used for alternative pay or compensation for additional duties such as mentoring or leadership roles; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED FURTHER that the New Hanover County Board of Education urges the North Carolina General Assembly to repeal the 25 percent contract and develop a more effective long-term compensation plan for teachers tied to career paths with input from the education and business community.
NEW HANOVER COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
By:_____________________________________ DONALD HAYES, Chairman
I just taped a show for CNN with Christine Romans, the chief business correspondent.
I wore red for Ed, as so many teachers recommend.
At Mayor de Blasio’s inauguration, I will wear green at the request of Lace to the Top, an advocacy group of teachers. On the Jon Stewart show, I wore a green plastic bracelet sent to me by Lace to the Top.
Now I learn that on December 9, there will be a national day of action to reclaim the promise of public education. Instructions: wear blue for solidarity.
So there you have it: red, green, and blue.
Anyone want to add some more colors so we can truly be a Rainbow Coalition?
The high pressure to compete for limited spots in university is a contributing factor to the high suicide rate in China among young people ages 15-34, according to this news report.
The story says:
Amid growing competition for university places and rising graduate unemployment, suicide is now the leading cause of death for Chinese people aged between 15 and 34, official media reported this week.
Nationwide, suicide is also the fifth leading cause of death across the entire population, the Beijing Evening Newsreported.
“We should prevent suicide in young people; in particular, suicides over the fact that they didn’t get high enough grades in the university entrance exam to get a place at their ideal university, and other reasons like that,” said Chinese U.S.-based medical doctor Jin Fusheng, who runs a private practice in Maryland.
“This is why we need to get the message out that all roads lead to [their goal],” he said.
“Suicide prevention requires a collective effort from communities, the media, families and the whole of society.”
According to figures from the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), 30 percent of the world’s suicides take place in China, where 250,000 people take their own lives annually.
Juan Rangel, head of the UNO charter chain, resigned his position as CEO.
UNO is the largest charter chain in Illinois.
Rangel’s departure “by mutual agreement” with the board of the not-for-profit group is effective immediately, UNO officials said Friday.
Rangel had three family members on the UNO payroll. Sources said two of the relatives quit recently, including deputy chief of staff Carlos Jaramillo, Rangel’s nephew.
Reached by phone, Rangel hung up on a reporter.
Rangel has close ties to politicians including Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose 2011 campaign Rangel co-chaired, Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), who sponsored a $98 million state school-construction grant to UNO in 2009 that has fueled its rapid growth as a charter-school operator.
Diane Ravitch's blog 