Archives for the year of: 2013
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Weston: Why Grading Schools Is a Fraud

By dianeravitch
July 20, 2013 //
31

Michael Weston, a teacher in Hillsborough County, Florida, explains here why giving letter grades to schools is a phony and a fraud that does nothing to improve education. It may be former Governor Jeb Bush’s proudest accomplishment and the linchpin of the “Florida miracle,” but it is still utterly worthless.

Weston, who is running for school board (and who was recently fired for being outspoken) writes:

“School grading does not improve schools. More important; school grading does not improve students. School grading does not promote “accountability.” What is accountability anyway? It is pressure. It is punishment. It is retribution. Taking a pound of flesh from Sligh Middle School will not improve the learning experience of its student body. School grading is an expensive, degrading, discriminatory practice that does not advance the cause of education. Our students, schools, and teachers have become footballs in a game of political righteousness.

“Students fail. This is the elephant in the room and it is not going away. We need to attack the root causes. We must change the conversation, no matter how uncomfortable it might be.”

Categories Accountability, Education Industry, Florida, Testing

Joshua Starr Searches for Néw Measures

By dianeravitch
July 20, 2013 //
21

Superintendent Joshua Starr in Montgomery County, Maryland, is searching for ways to measure students other than test scores. The district has commissioned Gallup to develop measures of social and emotional factors.

Sounds good but why not do what Sidwell Friends, Exeter, Andover, Lakeside Academy, and schools in Finland do: Trust professional judgment.

HuffPost reporter Joy Resmovits tweeted this:

“@Joy_Resmovits: Reformy source: “that sound you’re hearing is Joel Klein & @michellerhee’s heads exploding”/ Schools measuring ‘hope’ http://t.co/UMGoUMD71O”

Justin Hamilton, who used to be Duncan’s press secretary, responded in a tweet:

@justinhamilton: @Joy_Resmovits FACT CHECK: Joel Klein is 100% in favor of hope

Hamilton now works for Joel Klein.

Klein works for Rupert Murdoch.

Categories Administrators, superintendents, Education Industry, Klein, Joel, Testing

Stop Bullying Now

By dianeravitch
July 20, 2013 //
28

I just learned from a reader about a new group in Pittsburgh to stop bullying.

It reminded me to share with you my thoughts about a current movie called “Bully.”

I saw it on a cable station as an “on demand” movie. A friend urged me to see it. He was right. It is gripping and heart-breaking.

It tells the story of several children who were bullied, taunted, teased, ridiculed on a daily basis by other students. Some were beaten up and attacked on the school bus. Some committed suicide. Some projected weakness because they “looked different” or were vulnerable in some way. Some were gay. Their parents couldn’t understand why their child had become an outcast, a target for meanness. Their teachers and principals tried but didn’t do nearly enough to protect them. Ultimately, we need not only to protect these children but to have a cultural sea change that makes bullying unacceptable.

Every community should have parent/teacher/community groups to take a stand and defend the right of children to live in peace and to be accepted by their peers and their community.

The reader posted this comment:

“We are starting a parent, teacher organization to prevent bullying of all types ( principal on teacher, student on teacher, parent on teacher teacher/principal on parent and kids. We want to take a community based public health approach to school based violence in Pittsburgh Public Schools. If people are interested in joining they can contact us at parentsagainstbullyinginpgh@gmail.com”

Categories Parents, Students, Teachers

When This Reader Heard President Obama Discuss Trayvon Martin

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
83

A reader posted this comment:

“Listening to President Obama’s speech about Trayvon Martin in which he said regarding young black men,”And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?” the thought struck me:

“How about not closing their schools and undermining their neighborhoods; how about providing them with an education like the one you want for your children; how about trying to do something about the poverty that they endure? How about standing with the people who helped to elect you with their votes and their belief in you rather than with the 1% whom you seem now to identify with in deeds if not in words.”

Categories Obama, Race to the Top

The Game in Detroit: Pensions

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
31

In a series of legal maneuvers, Governor Snyder of Michigan and his emergency manager rushed to plunge Detroit into a historic bankruptcy. The judge was not pleased.

“Prior to her ruling on Friday, she criticized the Snyder administration and Attorney General’s Office for what appeared to be hasty action to outflank pension board attorneys.

“It’s cheating, sir, and it’s cheating good people who work,” the judge told assistant Attorney General Brian Devlin. “It’s also not honoring the (United States) president, who took (Detroit’s auto companies) out of bankruptcy.” […]”

Categories Detroit, Michigan, Pensions

Inside Story: Why Louisiana Joined inBloom

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
9

Thanks to tireless bloggers and parents, who FOILed the emails, you can now read about how and why Louisiana State Superintendent John White decided to turn over confidential student data to the Murdoch-Gates collaboration.

Do you want to know what the powerful say to each other? Read this fascinating account of The Art of the Deal.

Categories For-Profit, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Klein, Joel, Louisiana

Rahm’s Plan: Another 2,000 Teacher Layoffs

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
27

Mayor Rahm Emanuel continues with his plan to downsize public education in Chicago, while privately managed (mostly non-union) charters proliferate. Rahm recently told Charlie Rose that school reform was his highest priority as mayor.

Here is a statement from a Chicago organization created to fight the endless budget cuts:

Raise Your Hand Coalition:

Press Statement in Response to Layoff Announcement of 2,000 Teachers

July 19, 2013

“The Raise Your Hand Coalition (RYH) is disgusted to learn that Chicago Public schools has laid off another 2000 teachers and staff, bringing the total number of layoffs for the year to 3500. This news lies in stark contrast to the ongoing CPS rhetoric to minimize any impact of budget cuts on the classroom. Now CPS is claiming that there will be “winners and losers.” Even if a few schools have been spared from these widespread and severe cuts, we believe that there are only losers in this scenario.

“RYH started in 2010 to advocate for improved funding because for too long, our children have been subjected to inadequate staffing and basic programs and standards at Chicago Public schools. The situation has only worsened under Mayor Emanuel. After pushing through a “full school day,” our mayor has chosen to prioritize property tax spending on unnecessary and frivolous projects such as $55 million for a stadium for DePaul University, while CPS continues to receive drastic funding cuts that severely impact our children’s ability to thrive and learn. The Mayor’s decision not to use TIF money to offset some of these cuts is deeply disappointing and is forcing many parents to leave the city. Parents who don’t have the option to leave will be stuck sending their children to underfunded schools that lack the appropriate staffing and programs needed to provide a realistic “full school day.” This is a frightening day for the children of Chicago.”

Amy Smolensky
amysmolensky@comcast.net
312-485-0053

Categories Budget Cuts, Chicago, Emanuel, Rahm

Columbus, Ohio: Cutting Parents Out of Public Education

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
7

A blogger in Columbus updates us on recent developments there.

First the mayor decided to get involved, which everyone thought would be a good thing.

Then the mayor appointed a panel of “experts,” many of whom do not live in Columbus and 96% of whom are not public school parents.

Then the panel released its plan: “And when the panel came out with suggestions that included eliminating the internal auditor (Carolyn Smith), installing more administration in an already bloated system, and taking in more money to support charter schools… the public response went from disappointment to outrage.”

Then the state legislature jumped in to propose that the panel recommendations go on the ballot. In Ohio these days, state intervention is usually bad news for public schools.

The question is whether the people who depend on the Columbus public schools will stand together to protect them.

Categories Charter Schools, Ohio, Parents, Support for public schools

David Kirp: Frequent Turnover of Superintendents Is a Bad Idea

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
4

David Kirp writes that the frequent firing and turnover of coaches in the National Basketball Association is destabilizing, and the same is true in the superintendency of school districts. Of course, bad superintendents should be removed, but when the superintendent is doing a good job, they should have time to get something accomplished. The bottom line is that school districts need stability, not churn or upheaval. The same is true for schools, where stability promotes a strong culture and good working relationships. Just as coaches need time, so do principals and teachers.

Kirp is the author of “Improbable Scholars” and is a professor of public policy at Berkeley.

Categories Accountability, Administrators, superintendents, Principals, Teachers

Prince George’s County: No Democracy for Us

By dianeravitch
July 19, 2013 //
31

Prince George’s County, Maryland, will become the first county in the nation where the county executive controls the schools.

The executive will appoint the schools’ superintendent and several board members.

No doubt the Maryland legislature was impressed by the success of mayoral control in Chicago and Cleveland. Or was it Néw York City, where Mayor Bloomberg doubled the budget without narrowing the achievement gap and was able to raise the graduation rate to 62%, about the same as Philadelphia and Chicago.

“According to the National Association of Counties (NACo), Prince George’s County—which lies on the eastern border of Washington, D.C, and is home to nearly 900,000 people and 125,000 students who attend the county’s schools—is the first county in the United States where the executive has that level of control over a formerly autonomous school district. It is similar to some cities, such as Philadelphia, where the mayor appoints school board members.”

The linked article cites Philadelphia as an example of mayoral control–by which they mean a suspension of democracy-but Philadelphia has been controlled by the state for more than a decade and is on the brink of fiscal and educational bankruptcy.

Why do many reformers think that democracy is their enemy? Why do they put their trust in autocracy?

Categories Accountability
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