Archives for category: Colorado
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Breaking News! Colorado Teachers Will Sue to Stop Failed Law

By dianeravitch
January 29, 2014 //
22

The Colorado Education Association, which represents the overwhelming majority of teachers in the state, will sue to block further implementation of SB 10-191.

That law, written by ex-TFA State Senator Michael Johnston in 2010, wiped out due process for teachers and tied evaluations of teachers and principals to student test scores. This method, called VAM, has failed wherever it was tried. Most researchers agree it is inaccurate and deeply flawed.

This is the CEA statement:

“The Colorado Education Association (CEA) has announced plans for legal and legislative action to correct what the organization calls proven flaws in the mutual consent provision of Senate Bill 10-191 that allows school districts to remove qualified teachers from the classroom. SB191 gutted Colorado’s tenure protections for teachers, and replaced them with an unproven scheme that could fire teachers for their students scores on standardized tests.

“The CEA is Colorado’s largest teachers union. Denver teachers have earlier sought an arbitrator’s opinion with Denver Public Schools, an opinion which found SB191 unconstitutional.

“SB191 contains provisions that strip teachers of their teaching licenses, and in effect, the ability to earn a wage, without due process of law.”

Categories Colorado, Teach for America TFA

Colorado Parents Say “NO!” to High-Stakes Testing!

By dianeravitch
January 19, 2014 //
6

The corporate types who hate teachers’ unions and public schools have been running a billboard and mass media campaign in New York and New Jersey.

But they are not the only ones who know how to frame a message.

Here is a fabulous billboard posted on a major highway in Colorado by critics of the nutty testing regime imposed by No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top.

Categories Colorado, Education Industry, Education Reform, Parents, Supporting public schools, Testing

Charter School Principal: Fired for Trying to Stop Child Abuse

By dianeravitch
January 11, 2014 //
129

Noelle Roni, who was principal of the Peak to Peak Charter School, says she was fired for trying to stop a practice that humiliated children.

“Noelle Roni was the principal of Peak to Peak Elementary School for more than eight years before being abruptly fired last November. Roni says that higher-ups at the school became angry with her when she demanded that cafeteria workers stop stamping the hands of children who did not have enough money in their account to pay for lunch, according to CBS Denver.

“Although the charter school is allowed to set its own policies, other schools in the Denver area notify parents when students do not have money for lunch, rather than stamping their hands, according to Colorado outlet the Daily Camera. Roni reportedly was told that some children were too embarrassed to go through the lunch line because of the practice.

“The kids are humiliated. They’re branded. It’s disrespectful. Where’s the human compassion? And these are little children,” Roni said to CBS Denver.”

Commentary: there is often a good reason for regulations to protect children, the same regulations that charters are free to ignore.

Categories Charter Schools, Colorado

How Standardized Testing Destroys Creativity and the Joy of Learning

By dianeravitch
December 30, 2013 //
119

This post was written by Don Batt, an English teacher in Colorado:

 

There is a monster waiting for your children in the spring. Its creators have fashioned it so that however children may prepare for it, they will be undone by its clever industry.
The children know it’s coming. They have encountered it every year since third grade, and every year it has taken parts of their souls. Not just in the spring. Everyday in class, the children are asked which answer is right although the smarter children realize that sometimes there are parts of several answers that could be right.

And they sit. And they write.

Not to express their understanding of the world. Or to even form their own opinions about ideas they have read. Instead, they must dance the steps that they have been told are important: first, build your writing with a certain number of words, sentences, paragraphs; second, make sure your writing contains the words in the question; third, begin each part with “first, second,” and “third.”

My wife sat with our ten-year-old grandson to write in their journals one summer afternoon, and he asked her, “What’s the prompt?”

I proctored a standardized test for “below average” freshmen one year. They read a writing prompt which asked them to “take a position. . .” One student asked me if he should sit or stand.

There are those who are so immersed in the sea of testing that they do not see the figurative nature of language and naively think that the monster they have created is helping children. Or maybe they just think they are helping the test publishers, who also happen to write the text books, “aligned to the standards,” that are sold to schools. Those test creators live in an ocean of adult assumptions about how children use language–about how children reason. They breathe in the water of their assumptions through the gills of their biases. But the children have no gills. They drown in the seas of preconceptions.

They are bound to a board, hooded, and then immersed in lessons that make them practice battling the monster. “How much do you know!” the interrogators scream. The children, gasping for air, try to tell them in the allotted time. “Not enough!” the interrogators cry. Back under the sea of assumptions to see if they can grow gills. “This is how you get to college!” the interrogators call. And on and on, year after year, the children are college-boarded into submission.

What do they learn? That school is torture. That learning is drudgery.

There are those who rebut these charges with platitudes of “accountability,” but, just as the fast food industry co-opted nutrition and convenience in the last century, the assessment industry is co-opting our children’s education now. As Albert Einstein [William Bruce Cameron*] said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Would that the measurement advocates would measure the unintended consequences of their decisions.

Our political leaders–surprise–have bent under the pressure of businessmen wearing the masks of “rigor” and “accountability.” They have sacrificed our children’s joy of learning on the altar of expediency.

Here’s what should happen: teachers in their own classrooms, using multiple performance assessments where children apply their knowledge in the context of a given task, determine what their students know and what they need to learn, based on standards developed by that school, district, or possibly, state. Teachers should take students where they are and help them progress at their own developmental rates. And good teachers are doing that every day. Not because of standardized tests, but in spite of them.

Students’ abilities can be evaluated in many, creative ways. The idea that every student take the same test at the same time is nothing more than the warmed-over factory model of education used in the 1950’s, now, laughingly called “education reform.” As Oscar Wilde has observed, “Conformity is the last refuge of the unimaginative.”

Don Batt


English teacher
Cherry Creek Schools
Aurora, Colorado

*http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/26/everything-counts-einstein/

Categories Colorado, Education Industry, Standardized Testing, Students

Douglas County, Colorado: Worse Than at First Glance

By dianeravitch
December 29, 2013 //
17

I reported yesterday that an administrative law judge found that the school board of Douglas County, Colorado, had violated the state’s fair campaign practices law by commissioning Frederick Hess to write a paper extolling the school board’s agenda of privatization.

But when I read the story in the Denver Post, I realized that the school board had been even more active in promoting its agenda than commissioning a favorable report. 

The suit was brought after a complaint by Julie Keim, a candidate who lost in the recent election. The reform slate won.

According to the Denver Post:

The judge did not fine the school district for the violation, citing that Keim had not requested such action.

School district officials said they plan to appeal the decision. Board president Kevin Larsen argued that the ruling would “silence all public entities for months on end.”

“The judge seems to have concluded that it is a violation of law anytime the district disseminates positive news involving its education policy agenda if there are also candidates for school board who support that agenda,” Larsen said in a statement. “The district does not agree with that interpretation of law.”

Larsen also said that the district planned to seek reimbursement for litigation costs on the complaints dismissed by the judge.

Those complaints included allegations that the district violated fair-campaign practices when its fundraising arm paid former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett to write a report and give a speech before the election, when school officials stopped some volunteers from placing campaign fliers on cars during after-school events, with a Facebook post that alleged an audit of Keim, and when posting notices on a couple of charter school websites mentioning campaign forums or events that excluded certain candidates.

Questions:

Should a school board be allowed to spend public funds, supposedly collected from taxpayers for educating children, on its election campaign? Would all “public entities” be “silenced for months on end” if they were unable to spend public funds on their campaign?

Categories Colorado

Judge in Douglas County, Colorado, Rules Against School Board for Buying Favorable “Studies”

By dianeravitch
December 28, 2013 //
22

A judge in Douglas County, Colorado, ruled that the school board had violated the state fair campaign practices law by hiring two conservative commentators to write papers praising the district’s privatization agenda.

One paper was produced by Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute and the other by conservative activist William Bennett. Hess was paid $30,000 (half from district coffers) and Bennett was paid $50,000 ( by a private foundation).

Although there was no fine, the district plans to appeal.

Categories Charter Schools, Colorado, Vouchers

Douglas County: Is This the Future of Public Education?

By dianeravitch
November 5, 2013 //
8

Today, voters in Douglas County, Colorado, will decide the future of public education for the children of their county. In response to an earlier post about the election battle for control of the schools in Douglas County, where the school board is eager to privatize the schools, this reader made the following comment:

We should be courageous and move in the opposite direction from the so-called corporate reformers, the for-profit charter schoolmasters, and the naysayers of American public education. Administrators, teachers, staff, parents, students and concerned citizens should follow what is happening to American education. It is a violent, destructive force against public education.

The landscape is changing; on the horizon, we do not see public schools or parish schools. We see a disproportionate number of for-profit charter schools and schools serving segregated populations. The closure of neighborhood public and parochial schools widen the gaps, decreasing opportunities to grow and prosper. The demise of neighborhood schools adversely impacts the community life and spirit.

We see the end of public school funding and with that, the end of the significant role public schools play in democratizing our young citizens. In this model, the for-profit schools control the market place and the market values.

Categories Colorado, Corporate Reformers, Education Industry, Privatization

Will Public Education Die in Douglas County, Colorado?

By dianeravitch
November 2, 2013 //
51

Investigative reporter Stephanie Simon of Politico reports on the most bizarre school board race in the nation: Douglas County, Colorado.

There, a powerful coalition of rightwing extremists has gained control of the school board and is determined to turn education into a free market, where competition and choice replace public education. They want vouchers, charter schools, and differentiated pay for teachers.

Simon writes: “The conservatives who control the board have neutered the teachers union, prodded neighborhood elementary schools to compete with one another for market share, directed tax money to pay for religious education and imposed a novel pay scale that values teachers by their subjects, so a young man teaching algebra to eighth graders can make $20,000 a year more than a colleague teaching world history down the hall.”

The future of this free-market policy will determined in the school board election, where powerful rightwing ideologues have funded the pro-market members of the board, and teachers’ unions and parents are funding those opposed to the elimination of public education.

The Koch brothers have contributed $350,000 to the free-market campaigners. They would, if they could, privatize all of what we now know as public education. The current board, fighting to maintain control, hired conservative icon Bill Bennett for $50,000 to be a consultant. It also hired Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute to write a paper praising the district’s initiatives, for $35,000.

Among the changes that conservatives admire:

Pushing the free market farther still, the board has urged district elementary schools to compete with one another for enrollment, rather than simply serving all students in the neighborhood. Principals are encouraged to budget creatively so they can develop a marketable niche, a practice that has left some schools without art or music teachers as they build up science programs or bring in foreign-language classes. Then there’s the market-pay system, in which a first grade teacher is valued, and paid, more than a second grade teacher and teaching physics far outweighs teaching art.

Some parents are upset, like one who told Simon that what bothered her most was “the splintering of her community.

“Five years ago, Scott said, all the kids on the block walked together to the local elementary school. Now, each family goes their own way — some to charters, some to private schools and some to public schools across town that have successfully marketed themselves as worth the drive. She has stuck with her neighborhood school, but often thinks of pulling up stakes.

“It’s truly broken up the community,” Scott said, “and it’s sad.” 

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/koch-group-unions-battle-over-colorado-schools-race-99252_Page2.html#ixzz2jWcawZLp

Categories Charter Schools, Colorado, Corporate Reformers, Privatization

Angela Engel: Support Your Child by Opting Out of State Tests

By dianeravitch
October 24, 2013 //
9

What we have learned after thirty years or more of standardized testing, is that the tests mirror family income education: they measure gaps but do nothing to close them; our kids spend (waste) too much time preparing to take the tests; the test results are massively misused for rewards and punishments instead of for diagnostic purposes; the testing industry is rich and powerful and hires lobbyists to protect its hegemony.

Make 2014 the year we opt out. Do not let your child take the state tests: do not let your child take field tests; do not let your child take practice tests.

Seek out information about your state’s laws by writing Peg Robertson of United Opt Out.

Here is a recent post by education activist Angela Engel of Colorado:

In the sixteen years since I first administered the CSAP test to my fourth grade students at Rock Ridge Elementary School, here’s what we’ve learned:

Wealth and poverty are the greatest indicators of test performance

High-stakes testing correlates to segregation

High-stakes testing increases inequities in opportunities and resources and further harms low-income children and youth

Test scores are not an accurate indicator of a student’s knowledge or potential

Emphasis on standardized testing kills creativity, imagination, and innovation

Commercial tests are more expensive and are far less informative than classroom assessments collected over time and evaluated by professional teachers

High-stakes testing does not improve schools, teachers or students

High-stakes testing has cost billions of dollars with no return on those investments

Standardized tests and the stakes and labels associated with these tests are destructive to children and youth and fail to honor their unique ways of thinking and learning

Over these many years, I have worked to challenge high-stakes standardized testing. I have published a book and articles, written legislation, lobbied on behalf of kids, spoken to audiences, organized and educated. I’ve come to understand that the public’s collective will and their intolerance for injustice is the greatest agent of change. We can still try and change the laws, we can continue to inform the people, and we can also refuse to conform. We can live by a different set of rules; standards that respect our children; choices that are responsible to our spending; and decisions that heal the opportunity divide and lead to cooperation.
The Coalition for Better Education is beginning their annual Colorado campaign to educate parents and students about their rights to refuse the test and OPT OUT. All money goes directly to billboards. In the words of Don Perl, “no amount is too small.”

______
Dear Colleagues:
I have randomly gone through the names of those who have been strong activists in the past for our billboard campaign to inform parents of their rights to exempt their children from the fraud of high stakes standardized testing. As most of you know, we have advertised on Colorado highways since 2005 to raise awareness of the boondoggle of CSAP (now TCAP) and each year more and more parents have opted their children out of the tests.

This is a critical year for voices raised against the corporate takeover. They are more forceful than ever. Consider the latest publications – Diane Ravitch’s Reign of Error, Jim Horn’s The Mismeasure of Education. The Progressive has a new website exposing the corporatization of public education, http://www.publicschoolshakedown.org. The strike of the Chicago Teachers’ Union a year ago had much to do with raising awareness of the privatization of what is a public trust – public education. Our mission has also been included in the wonderful collection of stories in Educational Courage: Resisting the Ambush of Public Education by Professors Nancy Schniedewind and Mara Sapon-Shevin.

I have just signed a contract with Mile High Outdoor Advertising to put two billboards up on the Eastern Slope. We will have these boards from January through March and I am attaching two photos of last year’s boards. Those two boards will cost us $2,200. We have a bank account in the Weld Schools Credit Union which now has about $500 in it. So, we need to raise something like $1,700 to cover the cost of the boards. We have no administrative costs whatsoever. So, however you could spread the word, however you could contribute to this campaign will be very much appreciated. Any contribution at all will help move us toward our goal.

Checks go to:

The Coalition for Better Education, Inc.
2424 22nd Avenue
Greeley, Colorado 80631

In appreciation and solidarity,

Don Perl
The Coalition for Better Education, Inc.
http://www.thecbe.org

Please forward this newsletter to your friends and ask them to visit http://www.AngelaEngel.com.

Angela Engel, 8131 S. Marion Ct., Centennial, CO 80122

Categories Colorado, Standardized Testing, Testing

Denver: Fight the Testing Madness on Saturday

By dianeravitch
October 16, 2013 //
4

Hi SOS Supporters,

On October 19th, there are two actions against high stakes testing in Denver. Please join or support them in whatever way you can.  If you enjoy dressing as a Zombie, join the Zombie crawl and protest turning our students into testing zombies.  Visit the tumblr to learn more.

http://testingkillsbrains.tumblr.com/

Also, they are specifically looking for volunteers at the following times. Amber writes,

“I need volunteers for our first action on Sat Oct 19th, to dress as test zombies and pass out flyers at the zombie crawl.  I would love to have a large group of people at the costume contest to chant and get media attention.  Times as follows:

  2:00 pm – Kickoff!

  3:00 pm – Widows Bane

  3:55 pm – Thriller!

  4:00 pm – Zombie Crawl Parade down 16th St.

  5:30 pm – Costume Contests @ Skyline Park

The parade and costume contest is what I feel is most important.

Please send out the word and get as many people as you can to help us.  This is the launch of our group and it promises to be big.  Contact me athypnoamber@netscape.net for more deets.

Amber”

If you don’t want to be a zombie on Saturday, how about joining Students for our Schools to find out how you would score on our students’ tests? On Saturday, the 19th, join adults and community leaders as they take a high stakes tests.

Alex writes,

“Hello Education Activists and Supports,

As you know, the education revolution is a continuous fight, and we could use your help.

On October 19th, we are hosting our Take-The-Test event where adults will be taking a standardized test. We have invited over 100 elected officials, and we need you too!

Below is what we have been sending to the press, but we need your help spreading the word, getting people to sign up and making this event great! If you can spread the word, sign up and get one other person to sign up we can make this event great. Feel free to post this anywhere and everywhere! If you have any questions feel free to send me an email or call.

Thank you so much.

Alex”

http://www.students4ourschools.org/takethetest.html

Check out the great press release about this event.

http://www.students4ourschools.org/1/post/2013/10/take-the-test-event-press-release.html

Thank you for all of your help! Together, we can stop this testing madness and let teachers get back to teaching.

-Melody

P.S. Don’t forget to support school board candidates who are committed to fighting the neoliberal or corporate reform movements.  Our teachers and students deserve elected officials who will put students’ interests ahead of political or financial gains. Thank you.

Categories Colorado, Testing
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