November 27, 2014

Looks like Arne phasing out local control in modifying test-taking for Special Education.

This means that a decision could be made at a federal level to force all students, including those with special needs, to pass the same test....no matter what.

From Curmudgucation:

The philosophy is one we have discussed before. Arne Duncan is pretty sure that special ed programs are used to drag children down, and that with proper expectations, testing, grit socked in rigor, and teachers who don't suck, disabilities will simply have no effect on anybody. DC has been pushing it, and most recently Washington state has done the same. Florida was a pioneer, insisting that even students with little brain function and busy dying from disease should take the FCATs just like everyone else.

That's ridiculous view to take, but looks like it is happening.

Is US ED Tightening Noose on Sp Ed ?

It's a proposed rule change for Title I, and I can copy the entirety of it for you right here

The Secretary will amend the regulations governing title I, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), to phase out the authority of States to define modified academic achievement standards and develop alternate assessments based on those modified academic achievement standards in order to satisfy ESEA accountability requirements. These amendments will permit, as a transitional measure, States that meet certain criteria to continue to administer alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards and include the results in accountability determinations, subject to limitations on the number of proficient scores that may be counted, for a limited period of time.

The idea has been around since last year.

Why do this? Why continue to make the insane assertion that students experience with no problems with disabilities except for the problems created by their teachers? Why take us down a road that can only end with cutting any kind of special education programs?

It can't be something as simple as a bizarrely over-inflated belief in the Power of Expectations. I believe in the Power of Expectations-- I have used it in my classroom for thirty-some years. There is no question that students do their best work when you expect they will because you believe they can. But these policy changes approach the level of cruelty involved in dumping a child out of a wheelchair and demanding that they run laps just like everyone else.

I'm afraid the explanation is more pedestrian. The reformster movement is all about standardization, about one size fits all, about stripping autonomy and maximizing cost control.

It's like living in a dream world where everyone is capable and able to meet the increasingly higher standards each year.

It's a set-up for failure and frustration.

November 26, 2014

Hunger Games Comes to New York State’s Public Schools. It’s starve, test, and destroy.

Very insightful column by Zephyr Teachout at The Daily Beast today.

Hunger Games Comes to New York State’s Public Schools

Like President Snow, who starves the Districts, tests the residents with the Hunger Games competition, and then sets out to destroy them, the hedge-funders want to take over our schools with the same three steps: Starve, Test, Destroy. Budgets are cut severely, tests reveal “poor performance,” and then public schools, having been thus gutted, are replaced by privately managed charters.

First, the starvation: The state of New York is being sued again for funding public schools below constitutional levels. Cuomo’s budgets have stripped grade schools of art, music, sports, and counselors. Without money, classrooms grow so large no teacher can manage them, and kids can’t learn. Billionaires benefit as the money “saved” by not funding schools goes to tax breaks for the rich.

Second, the testing: Children are subject to a ridiculous battery of tests that lead to huge profits by corporations like the testing company Pearson but does little to improve the lives of the children. We’re talking about high-stakes, high-stress testing, including testing of the controversial Common Core. These tests prod and poke the children, creating lots of anxiety and taking away from the joy of learning.

Third, the destruction: These hedge-fund managers want to eliminate all limits and oversight of charter schools. They want to take control of New York City schools away from Mayor Bill de Blasio and let privatization run rampant. And they want billions in new funding from taxpayers to build new charter schools everywhere across the state, taking even more resources away from hard-pressed public schools.

Zephyr co-wrote a book about the Dean Campaign called Mousepads, Shoe Leather and Hope. She is an American academic. She is an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University. She ran against Andrew Cuomo for the 2014 Democratic Party nomination for Governor of New York.

November 25, 2014

Did 22 yr old charter school owner lie about his high school graduation? Principal outs him.

Now one has to wonder about his advanced degrees.

A former principal of Rochester, School Without Walls, calls him out.

NY: 22-Year-Old Charter Founder Did Not Graduate from Rochester High School

The 22-year-old who received a charter from the New York Board of Regents said he graduated Rochester’s School Without Walls when he was 16, received an online bachelor’s degree at 18, then earned a master’s and doctorate in four years.

The following email just arrived:

Hi Diane.

I was the principal of Rochester, New York’s School Without Walls from 1987 to 2010. Ted Morris, the young man awarded permission to open a charter school in Rochester, NY, and claiming to be a graduate of School Without Walls in 2008, attended SWW for less than a year and then voluntarily left to be home schooled. He never graduated nor received a diploma from School Without Walls.

Dan Drmacich

Here is more about Ted Morris being awarded the chance to run a charter school called Greater Works Charter School.

*Note about the following article: I just found it online very late evening last night, saved the quotes from it. The article either is no longer there or is behind a paywall. Hard to tell.

Since all of these educators and bloggers saw the same article I am going to post it.

22-year-old gets OK to open Rochester charter school

Unlike most school leaders, Ted Morris' days in a high school classroom are still very fresh in his memory.

It was only six years ago that he graduated from School Without Walls at age 16. Now, at 22, he's armed with a freshly minted doctorate degree in education and permission from the state Board of Regents to open a charter high school in Rochester in 2015.

"I remember being in school and feeling I was a bit more advanced and (not having enough options)," he said. "I wanted to grow up and open a school that's predicated on each student's needs and interests. ... I did it sooner than I expected."

....After graduating from School Without Walls in 2008, Morris got a bachelor's degree at age 18 from Western Governors University, an online college based in Salt Lake City. He then received master's and doctoral degrees from Concordia University near Chicago.

Morris has an educational consulting firm and said he has worked with the Rochester Prep schools, among others. He also helped start three non-profit organizations, he said: Sparq Rochester, a youth arts outfit; Greater Works Education Network, a fledgling statewide charter advocacy group; and Victory Living Christian Faith Center.

Another blogger has picked up on this, has noticed other discrepancies, has contacted him for more info.

Since Los Angeles now retired superintendent John Deasy also had problems in his educational background, one he never responded to, ones others appeared not to notice....then I think my usual saying is true.

I say accountability is only for public school teachers and advocates.

November 24, 2014

NY's Success Academy charter has 7.75 million fundraiser. Erik Prince, Campbell Brown, Jeb Bush

and others helped her save her education "empire". Many other rich folks were in attendance as well.

From the Raging Horse blog from April:

Moskowitz, Jeb Bush, Hedge funders and Blackwater USA Team Up to Raise Millions To Undermine de Blasio, Unions and Public Schools

Members of the mega rich and politically powerful gathered together last night at Cipriani to distort the truth, bash unions, shower each other with praise and raise $ 7.75 million for education entrepreneur Eva Moskowitz and her ever expanding Success Academy empire. Indeed, Moskowitz who for weeks busied herself acting the helpless victim of evil Bill de Blasio ( while at the same time benefiting from a five million dollar anti de Blasio PR blitzkrieg ) announced that she intends to extend her empire in several ways. “ As of August, Success will have 32 schools and 9,000 students. Four years from now, Success plans to have 55 schools with 21,400 students, which, Moskowitz said, would make it the equivalent of the fifth largest district in New York State and half the size of the Washington, D.C. school system. “

.....Displaying their limitless love for the children of the urban poor were many leading representatives of the occupation that was instrumental in bringing the world to the brink of economic collapse: hedge funders. Indeed, Dan Loeb, of the hedge fund group, Third Point LLC, who is also chairman of the Success Academy board, hosted the event. Jimmy Lee, vice chairman of JPMorgan Chase & Co.has this to say of Loeb: “Away from all the business press he gets, I think being chairman of his board and giving his time, not just his money, makes him a role model. You can tell he cares.” According to the report in Bloomberg, “ The event was filled with men and women in the hedge-fund industry, including Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital Management, Joel Greenblatt of Gotham Asset Management, Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital and John Paulson of Paulson & Co. “

.....The key note speaker was no less than former Florida Governor and future presidential candidate Jeb Bush, who did an admirable job pretending not to understand de Blasio’s moral and ethical issues with charter schools — namely, evicting members of the most challenged student population in the city so Moskowtiz could again get what she wanted — along with his usual union bashing.

Nestled into a paragraph listing the holy hedge funders was this little line that sent a chill down my spine: “Also present: Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater USA and former Navy SEAL.”

Money buys Eva Moskowitz a way to get her message out while those who support public schools have few options financially.



The Message of Moskowitz and her Billionaire Backers: We Are the Government

For the past three weeks New Yorkers experienced an extremely concentrated version of the highly skilled propaganda campaign that the deformers have been poisoning the entire nation with for over a decade now. Editorials lamented the “war on charters.”
TV talking heads nodded sympathetically with the suddenly omnipresent Moskowitz, never questioning a single claim the woman made, no matter how preposterous or false. The airwaves were filled with no less than 3.5 million dollars worth of super slick tear jerking commercials showing the beautiful young faces of school children (again using children as political pawns) being somehow deprived of an education by the evil monster named Bill de Blasio.

What has transpired in the past month is as disgusting as it is disturbing and would not survive in a vibrant and healthy democracy. In a sick and dying democracy, such as we are now experiencing, such stuff has simply become the way the zero sum game is played. And it has done so with as[link:http://journals.democraticunderground.com/madfloridian/6859|tonishing speed. We have become, a government of the super rich, by the super rich and for the super rich. The state budget agreement is simply the most recent example. And we have, by and by, acquiesced, if only by default. We are as a people, as a nation, wholly ill equipped to deal with such a rapacious class of predators, the desire of whom is nothing short of the whole sale privatization of the entire public school system with themselves – hedge fund mangers, financiers, and Wall Street tycoons — at the helm, insuring the vast publicly funded revenue stream is diverted into their coffers.

In the meantime, they are celebrated as heros when not out right saviors. It is they, billionaires and entrepreneurs, who care about educating the poor and the marginalized, not the teachers who have dedicated their lives to this noble and difficult endeavor.

This is beyond dangerous. This is beyond cynical. It is a ticking time bomb. No nation can survive this kind of insanity for long.

Just a reminder of how Eve M and her empire take over a public school.

Eva Moskowitz moves charter school into another public school's space, boots them from classrooms.

The "Eva" Empire has expanded to the Bronx, bringing a Harlem turf war for school space into the borough. Eva Moskowitz, the City Council member-turned-charter school CEO, has opened two new academies from her charter school franchise, Success Charter Network, inside Public School 30 in Mott Haven, and PS 146 in Morrisania. And Bronx Success Academies 1 and 2 are already ruffling feathers with district school staffers.

..."Staffers at the district schools say their new neighbors have booted them from classrooms and stairwells, while sharing the libraries, cafeterias and playgrounds.

...."Staffers at PS 30 say Bronx Success 1 sealed off the third floor to its staff and students - even taking over a stairwell - so Success students don't mingle with their district school neighbors.

"We are not allowed there," said one PS 30 teacher, noting the classrooms taken over by Success were formerly used for tutoring children with special needs. Now we have to do therapy sessions in the hallway."

And just think of all the money taken from public coffers and given to these charter schools whenever a child leaves public schools for charters. It's turning over taxpayer money to these management companies and not having any regulation over what they do.

November 23, 2014

How would you answer this 1st grade test question. Explain your reasoning.

Yes, I know the answer, but it took a few minutes. And I am smarter than a first grader.

November 22, 2014

Brrr-rrr. Glad I'm in Florida, not Buffalo. Drone video found at BBC News.

Published on Nov 20, 2014

Subscribe to BBC News HERE http://bit.ly/1rbfUog
Filmmaker James Grimaldi from Buffalo in New York captured aerial film of his neighbourhood in West Seneka. In a BBC News interview he said "Right now I literally cannot go anywhere in a car... and it's very tough walking in waist-deep snow."
Make sure to check out James Grimaldi's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/jamesgrimaldi

Check out our website: http://www.bbc.com/news

November 21, 2014

Newark: Leading science teacher gets job back. Was denied due process.

He opposed the policies of the school superintendent Cami Anderson, a major player in the reformer movement.

There have been other lawsuits filed by teachers, but this guy just won his. Good for him.

From Bob Braun's Ledger, one of my favorite blogs.

Cami loses another big tenure case–and Neil Thomas wins


Neil Thomas–denied due process

State-imposed school superintendent Cami Anderson was handed a stunning legal blow yesterday with the release of an arbitrator’s decision demanding the reinstatement of a widely respected teacher whose only apparent flaw was opposition to Anderson’s policies. Neil Thomas, the father of former student school board member Jordan Thomas, must now get his job and pay and benefits back. He had been suspended since September.

“I have to admit, I cried when my lawyer told me the news,” said Thomas, 51, a former Newark police officer who is widely known throughout the district as a leading science teacher. He also was known as someone willing to testify on behalf of other teachers caught up in Anderson’s apparent relentless campaign against experienced, professional and independent teachers.

The decision by arbitrator Robert Simmelkjaer represents a major victory for Newark teachers and the Newark Teachers Union (NTU) which has been under siege for months in the face of at least a score of cases involving tenure charges against senior teachers. John Abeigon, the NTU’s director of organization, called on state education officials to stop Anderson from filing tenure charges based on faulty interpretations of the new tenure law.

“They are spending huge chunks of money on outside legal firms pursuing a flawed legal strategy that is losing,” said Abeigon. He said the money spent on the law firms to pursue tenure charges against teachers on flimsy grounds “would much better be used providing drug counselors and attendance counselors so the children of Newark aren’t dying in the streets.”

Thomas will not go back to his former school.

“The principal there has wanted me out and retaliated against me for my support of other teachers,” said Thomas, who said he brought a federal discrimination complaint against the principal, Maria Merlo.

I noticed this post in the comments section today, apparently from a student. A great thing to say about a teacher.

Go Mr . Thomas!
It’s a Real shame that the Students, didn’t get to be greeted by him this Year at LSS. Mr.Thomas is the #1 Teacher there, the Students Loved him! Several students weren’t happy to even to say goodbye last yr. They just loved him so much. The beginning of school year, wasn’t a happy one. Students, were upset and disappointed to Not have Mr.Thomas. Good Luck to him wherever he may go. LSS is WAY over crowded! Ridiculous!

There are going to be more teachers suing as they lose their jobs, especially with their evaluation based so much on one high stakes test. It's a shame education has come to the point that good teachers must sue to keep their jobs.

November 21, 2014

Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in talks to resign from police force, sources say

Source: CNN

Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, who shot and killed teenager Michael Brown on August 9, is in the final stages of negotiations with city officials to resign, according to people close to the talks.

Wilson maintains he hasn't done anything wrong, and the resignation talks have hinged on whether a grand jury returns an indictment against him in the death of Brown, people close to the talks said.

Wilson has told associates he would resign as a way to help ease pressure and protect his fellow officers. Wilson has expressed concern about resigning while the grand jury was hearing evidence for fear it would appear he was admitting fault.

Ferguson chief: 'I can see this through'
Police families fear for their safety

Wilson could announce as soon as Friday his plans to resign, the same day a St. Louis County grand jury meets to deliberate and possibly decide on an indictment.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/20/us/darren-wilson-future/

---

Sounds to me like he is sounding a bit like a victim, trying to paint a sympathetic face on his resignation. I say it's about damn time he resigned.

November 20, 2014

FSU shooter fit no profile. Successful lawyer, children's advocate.

Myron May: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know


May’s Facebook profile pic.
Myron May has been named as the shooter who wounded three students during an attack on the Strozier Library on the Tallahassee campus of FSU. At 12:30 a.m., the gunman walked into the library and opened fire, wounding two students. Not long after the initial shots were fire was the shooter shot dead by responding police.

1. He’s a Lawyer Who Graduated From FSU

May is a lawyer who graduated from Florida State, class of 2005, and attended law school at Texas Tech, according to his Facebook page. He also studied at Gulf Coast State College. His social media page says that he’s the “In-house Legal Counsel at Taunton Family Children’s Home.” He’s a native of Dayton, Ohio, and but last lived in Wewahitchka, Florida.

BREAKING: FSU shooter Myron May went to FSU, Texas Tech, Phi Beta Sigma member – per African Amer Colleg. Schol. Fund pic.twitter.com/rUS7K859is

2. He Had Been Staying at the Home of a Prominent Florida Charity Worker


Abigail Taunton and her husband David were questioned by police after the shooting. (Facebook)

Prior to the shooting he had been staying at the home of Abigail and David Taunton, Florida-based real estate developers and head of the Taunton Family Children’s Home.

I guess this is right.

‘There’s No Profile of a School Shooter’

Broward College in Florida published an article, “The School Shooter: A Quick Reference Guide.” In it, it reads:

There is not a “profile of a school shooter-instead the students who carried out the attacks differed from one another in numerous ways. Shootings are rarely impulsive acts. They are typically thought out and planned in advance.

November 18, 2014

Anonymous at KKK Twitter: And finally here's a unicorn. :) Love this.

https://twitter.com/KuKluxKlanUSA/status/534542178060869632



The replies are great.