Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Newsom’s $2 billion college savings plan for 1st graders & Chris Edley’s new gig https://edsource.org/podcast/newsoms-2-billion-college-savings-plan-for-1st-graders-chris-edleys-new-gig Philadelphia pre-Ks could see millions in federal dollars. Parents and providers weigh in on how to spend it. - Chalkbeat Philadelphia - https://philade

Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission Removes Gov. Kevin Stitt Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt Booted From Tulsa Race Massacre Commission After Signing Anti-Critical Race Theory Legislation Last week, The Root reported that Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law yet another Republican white fragility bill prohibiting teachings in K-12 schools that include conservative’s favorite new boogie man C

APRIL SHOWERS E rik Schelzig in the Tennessee Journal’s On the Hill blog notes that Tennessee’s April revenues were $600 million more than the budgeted estimate. Go ahead, read that again. In one month, the state collected $600 million more than planned. Here’s more from Schelzig: Tennessee’s general fund revenue collections were nearly $600 million above estimates in April, bringing the state’s

Can You Teach Us? Public education has been overlooking – or worse, neglecting – a golden opportunity to improve. It’s not only been right in front of us all along, it’s been kicking us and taking our lunch money! And yet, somehow, where we should have recognized an opportunity, all we’ve seen is a competitor. In some cases, maybe even a threat. It’s like we don’t actually WANT to teach gooder.

Jan Resseger: Will the Biden Administration Revive the Failed Policies of NCLB and Obama? A few years ago, someone coined the term “zombie policies” to describe policies that fail again and again, yet never go away. One such zombie is “merit pay,” which has never succeeded yet never dies an ignominious death or loss of reputation. I mention this because our current education system is hampered b

Let’s Review How Bill and Melinda Gates Spent Billions of Dollars To Change Public Education (Valerie Strauss) Valerie Strauss is a reporter and op-ed writer for the Washington Post . This opinion piece appeared on May 6, 2021 . Now that the philanthropic Bill and Melinda Gates have announced they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage, let’s look at the controversial investments they made tog

PA Gov. Wolf Fires Charter School Appeals Board. Every. Single. Member. Being Governor of Pennsylvania must be one of the most thankless but important jobs ever. With a hopelessly gerrymandered legislature, a majority of Republican lawmakers representing a minority of voters stops nearly anything from getting done for the rest of us. If it weren’t for a Democratic Governor to act as a check and

Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Chance to Save College Students from Crushing Debt Kuttner on TAP New Hope for Student Debt Relief With the appointment of Richard Cordray as chief of federal student loan programs, we will now see the potential of executive power to bring relief and end abuses. Cordray is a close ally of Elizabeth Warren and former head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The fi

Lakewood, NJ: Where Public Schools Are Left To Whither, Part IV In the decade I've been writing this blog, I've seen some really horrible behavior towards teachers (a prime example here ). But I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this : This is from last September, when the Lakewood Education Association (LEA), the local teachers union, was, like all other local unions in the state,

AUTOPSY OF A SCHOOL BOARD MEETING “these self-righteous censors often construct a “hero narrative” about themselves in which they are morally pure crusaders who must protect society from the objectionable opinions of the unenlightened masses.” ― Greg Lukianoff, Freedom from Speech Yesterday, Nashville’s Mayor Cooper announced that the city would be lifting its mask mandate at 5 AM this morning.

Broken Promises: An Analysis of Charter School Closures From 1999 – 2017 This report provides the first comprehensive examination of charter failure rates over time—beginning in 1999 and ending in 2017. By following all charter schools, from the year they opened, we were able to determine how long they lasted before closing down. We also determined how many students have been displaced by failin

Broadband gets a major boost in California budget revision | EdSource Broadband gets a major boost in California budget revision Big funding also for community schools, tutoring and college savings accounts Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to inject $7 billion into California’s spotty broadband infrastructure. The funding was announced Friday alongside a sweeping set of proposals for K-12 education in Cal

THIS WEEK FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ED.GOV NEWS FROM DR. MIGUEL CARDONA AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Denies Reinstatement Application of For-Profit Law School 1d Today, the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) in the U.S. Department of Education (ED) informed Florida Coastal School of Law that its application for reinstatement to partic

Blog Posts Archive - Network For Public Education Network for Public Education Blog Posts of the Day This Week Blog Post of the Day Our NPE Blogs of the Day feature what we think are interesting and important blog posts centered on issues of public education. The views expressed by the bloggers are, of course, entirely their own. To submit links and tips for inclusion, please send an email to npe

Dad Gone Wild – Nobody reads it, everybody quotes it. AUTOPSY OF A SCHOOL BOARD MEETING by TC Weber / 17h “these self-righteous censors often construct a “hero narrative” about themselves in which they are morally pure crusaders who must protect society from the objectionable opinions of the unenlightened masses.” ― Greg Lukianoff, Freedom from Speech Yesterday, Nashville’s Mayor Cooper announce

Teacher Tom TEACHER TOM THIS WEEK IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Teacher Tom: Let's Turn The World Around: Teacher Tom's Play Summit We heard it from Mandela, "Turn this world around, For the children" - turn this world around. He's done it once before, and now we hear his call For the children, turn this world around. Turn, turn, turn, Turn this world around For the children, turn this world aroun

California Department of Education SSPI TONY THURMOND STUFF THIS WEEK FROM THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SPI Visits San Diego County Schools 1d State Superintendent Tony Thurmond visits San Diego County schools open for in-person learning that utilize strong safety measures and social-emotional supports. 2021 Summer Waivers #74-81 1d On March 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (

NewBlackMan (in Exile) THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) 'Land-Grab Universities' Thrived On Indigenous Land. Now, Some Are Making Amends by Mark Anthony Neal / 12h 'Land-grant universities broadened access to higher education in the United States — but only at the expense of Indigenous Americans. Nearly 11 million acres of land were taken from tribes and Native communities to fund the univer

Education Research Report US loses $956 billion every year due to inequality in education by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 2d A new report, The Cost of Economic and Racial Injustice in Postsecondary Education , finds that inequality in postsecondary attainment causes the United States to miss out on $956 billion in public monetary benefits annually, in addition to numerous nonmonetary benefits to societ

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Saturday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopenings by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h geralt / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING (& SHOWING) WHAT SCHOOLS LOOK LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC (you might also be interested in SCHOOLS WENT REMOTE A YEAR AGO – HERE ARE MY CHOICES FOR THE BEST PIECE

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all Robert Kuttner: Biden’s Chance to Save College Students from Crushing Debt by dianeravitch / 32min Kuttner on TAP New Hope for Student Debt Relief With the appointment of Richard Cordray as chief of federal student loan programs, we will now see

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Twisting LeBron James’s words, a fake Saturn photo and other news literacy lessons https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/14/twisting-lebrons-words-and-other-newsliteracy-lessons/ Friday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopening | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... - https://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/?p=117558 on @Larryfe

Maurice Cunningham: Questions for the “National Parents Union” Maurice Cunningham is a political science professor at U of Mass who specializes in following the money, especially Dark Money, where the donors are anonymous. The Koch-Walton backed National Parents Union is experiencing turmoil at the top and severe mismanagement with two boards of directors featuring revolving directors and a disa

Does The Nation's Report Card Have A New Reading Problem Chester "Checker" Finn has concerns about the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), the folks who bring us the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) , aka The Nation's Report Card, aka that Big Standardized Test that periodically fuels massive freak outs about the Youths and their Learnings. Finn recently expressed concern

Nutrition - Learning Support (CA Dept of Education) Nutrition Program News 2021 Summer Waivers #74-81 17h On March 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) released several policy memos addressing Summer 2021 meal service operations. Webinar: Tuesdays at 2 School Nutrition Town Hall 17h The CDE NSD is hosting virtual town hall events every two weeks to p

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_8.html How Barry Jenkins Reimagined Slave Narratives in "The Underground Railroad" by Mark Anthony Neal / 3h 'Director Barry Jenkins ’s mini-series adaptation of the Colson Whitehead novel The Underground

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-f

Home | U.S. Department of Education U.S. Department of Education Announces 161 Students from Across the Country As 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars 300+ 1d U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona today announced the 57th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields. Secre

David Labaree on Schooling, History, and Writing: When Is School the Answer to Social Problems? This post is a lecture I gave at University of Luxembourg in 2011, which was published in a book, edited by Daniel Tröhler and Ragnhild Barbu, Education Systems in Historical, Cultural, and Sociological Perspectives . To save you the trouble of buying the book on Amazon for $200, I’m reproducing it he

I spent a year and a half at a 'no-excuses' charter school – this is what I saw I spent a year and a half at a ‘no-excuses’ charter school – this is what I saw Joanne W. Golann Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Education, Vanderbilt University Disclosure statement Joanne W. Golann has received funding from the Spencer Foundation, the National Academy of Education, and the American Sociolog

Schools Must Fully Reopen in the Fall The American Federation of Teachers, which I lead, is committed to making this happen. Schools must open this fall. In person. Five days a week. With the space and and health safeguards to do so. The American Federation of Teachers, which I lead, is committed to making this happen. School is where children learn best, where they play together and form relati

What I Tell Parents About Play-Based Education Based on my informal and unscientific surveys of early childhood educators, one of the biggest hurdles to fully realizing play-based education is "the parents." Not all the parents, of course, but there are apparently a lot who might like the idea of their children playing, but who have bought into the "fall behind" snake oil . This leads them to ap

More Koch Ed Privatization The Koch Network is getting with the times and launching an edu-reform substack. Yay. The substack is co-hosted by Lisa Snell , director of K-12 education policy for Stand Together , aka the Charles Koch Institute . Previously she spent 23 years as Director of Education at the Reason Foundation . Her co-host is Adam Peshek , who is part of the same Kochtopus, having ar

Teachers, Bloggers, Writers: Tell Your Story Experienced education journalist Jeff Bryant is collecting stories about successful community schools and he would like to hear from you. Jeff writes: Education Writers, Bloggers, Podcasters, Content Sharers Wanted A national network has organized a project to lift up stories from public schools about their success in using the community schools appro

Branding Students as Victims of Learning Loss Won’t Help Kids Feel Connected and Engaged The Washington Post ‘s Valerie Strauss has been posting reflections on the definition and meaning of learning loss for children during this academic year dominated by disruption, online learning and disruptive hybrid schedules. A primary theme in these columns is the danger of branding this cohort of student

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Visits San Diego County Schools Open for In-Person Learning that Utilize Strong Safety Measures and Social-Emotional Supports SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond raised his hand and joined elementary students for class today on two campuses in San Diego County that have stayed open for safe, in-person learning by implementing com

15 years later, CPS reclaims Duncan's AUSL 'turnaround schools' "Yet for all the public attention, AUSL's results have been mixed; many students have made considerable progress, but as a group they still lag well behind district averages ... with many ending up on par or even below comparable neighborhood schools." -- Chicago Tribune, 2/6/2012 Yesterday, CPS announced that it was reclaiming the

Code Acts in Education: Valuing Futures The future of education in universities is currently being reimagined by a range of organizations including businesses, technology startups, sector agencies, and financial firms. In particular, new ways of imagining the future of education are now tangled up with financial investments in education technology markets. Speculative visions and valuations of a

Philanthropies are no longer driving education policy - Chalkbeat After a high point in the Obama administration, philanthropies no longer drive education policy Soon after the pandemic shuttered school buildings across the state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an ambitious plan to “reimagine” education in the state with the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “Let’s take this ex

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Perspective | Can schools require coronavirus vaccines for eligible students? https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/13/can-schools-require-covid-19-vaccines-eligible-students/?tid=ss_tw Can teacher pension increases keep up with the cost of living? – Fred Klonsky - https://wp.me/p4C3g-qj6 via @fklonsky What American kids need

Segregated Unaccountable Charter Schools | Dissident Voice Segregated Unaccountable Charter Schools Anyone who has carefully followed charter school news and analysis in recent years knows that privately-operated charter schools are not only segregated but actually increase segregation in the sphere of education. It has become common knowledge that charter schools are notorious for consistently u

Seattle Council PTSA Meeting with Dr. Jones There were about 75 participants at the Seattle Council PTSA’s meeting last week with new superintendent, Dr. Brent Jones. Included in that count were Board members Lisa Rivera-Smith, Liza Rankin and Chandra Hampson. In his introductory remarks, Jones said that he was a current SPS parents with a Cleveland High grad. Jones went on to say he had five go

"Have To" History: A Wall Of Education It's dangerous to start pushing a book when I haven't seen the physical final product yet. I learned last time that no matter how many weird formatting issues, overlooked typos, and random nude shots you're POSITIVE you've resolved, there are always a few more waiting to be discovered once you've started promoting the thing and your entire sense of self-wor

North Carolina: Voucher Zealots Want to Destroy Public Schools The editorial board of the News & Observer, the state’s largest newspaper sharply c riticized the Republicans in the General Assembly for rushing to expand the state’s voucher program. They plan to raise the income requirement so that many more families are eligible, and they expect to increase the size of the voucher. Senate leader

Educators call on Congress to ensure healthy school meals for all students By Cindy Long Susan Jones, a nutrition services professional in Colonial School District, New Castle, Delaware, has seen far too many students skip lunch because they were afraid they couldn’t afford it or were embarrassed to hand the cashier the card announcing that they qualified for free meals. “The best possible use o

Billions are at stake. Community voice is critical The next few months are pivotal in determining whether the billions of dollars in the federal recovery funds move us toward education justice, or increase race, gender, and class inequities. The future of millions of children is at stake. If parents, students, and educators don’t organize to determine where these billions go, someone else will.

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-f

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_8.html Creative Time’s Diya Vij Helps Launch an Art World Think Tank by Mark Anthony Neal / 1h ' Diya Vij started her new job as Associate Curator of Creative Time just last fall, in the midst of the pand

Home | U.S. Department of Education Announcing the 8th Annual ED Games Expo: June 1 to 5, 2021 by Timothy Lawson / 2h A Free All-Virtual Showcase of Game-Changing Innovations in EdTech developed through ED and Programs Across Government The ED Games Expo is an annual showcase of game-changing innovations in education Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of Catherine Lha

Teachers union leader calls for 'fully reopening’ schools this fall Randi Weingarten is promising a campaign that resembles a "get out the vote" effort, but for school reopening. Nothing should stop public schools from fully reopening this fall, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten will declare this morning in a speech that will also set out details of a $5 million union ou

Oklahoma: State Officials Say It’s “Racist” to Teach About Racism John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, reports that the Republican Governor and Legislature are determined to stop teachers from teaching about racism, sexism, and bias because such topics Dow discord and racism. This “cancel culture” at its worst. Every sentient adult who has studied American history knows that racism runs

Plagiarism, Accountability, and Adult Hypocrisy You said “I think I’m like Tennessee Williams” I wait for the click. I wait, but it doesn’t kick in “CITY MIDDLE,” THE NATIONAL A refrain by my father throughout my childhood and into my adolescence has shaped how I try to live my life; it remains possibly the strongest impulse I have as an adult. My father’s parenting philosophy was possibly as mi

The Practice of Purpose When parents say they just want their child to be happy or that they just want their child to love to learn, I think what they are saying, without really knowing it, is that they want their child to find their purpose. Of course, it sounds a bit ridiculous to talk about a two-year-old finding something as significant as their "purpose." That's something that takes decades

Kansas City Schools’ Accreditation Woes: Are the Philanthropic Vultures Circling? On April 02, 2021, the Kansas City Star reported that an “outside group” spent $100K in the Kansas City (MO) School Board election in support of two contenders, locals Tanesha Ford and Kandace Buckener. In the April 2021 KC board election, two other members were unopposed. Ford and Buckener were buoyed by $100K in

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Praises Governor’s Proposed $15 Billion for Schools Plan for Putting Needs of Students and Families First SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond joined Governor Gavin Newsom, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mark Ghaly, and State Board of Education President Dr. Linda Darling-Hammond at Elkhorn Elementary School in Castroville

Testing Industry Scores Big in California By Thomas Ultican 5/13/2021 At 1:45 PM this Wednesday, the California State Board of Education (SBE) adopted a “student growth model” to evaluate student learning. It is a method fans of standardized test based accountability have been trumpeting. The big winner here is the testing giant Education Testing Services (ETS) who created the model to be used.

"Talk out of School" podcast with PEP member Tom Sheppard and Regent Kathy Cashin Check out our latest "Talk out of School" podcast with Tom Sheppard on pushing the envelope on Panel for Educational Policy to empower parents on issues such as school mergers, closures, and larger educational policies regarding testing, funding and class size; and Regent Kathy Cashin on how smaller classes transfo

Elon Musk Buddy Ready To Fix Education And The World You may recall that Elon Musk started a school a few years ago, because of course he did. It was sort of a private school, sort of the most expensive homeschool project ever launched (Musk has five kids--one set of twins, and one set of triplets, so God bless him and his wife). He was single-handedly funding the thing (almost a cool half-mill

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Red states ready to defy Biden’s ‘aggressive indoctrination’ on education - POLITICO - https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/12/red-states-biden-education-487174 What we’ve lost and what we’ve learned https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/05/11/whats-weve-lost-and-what-weve-learned/ American Kids Can Wait http://feedproxy.google

Community School Approach Shows Great Possibility - LA Progressive Community School Approach Shows Great Possibility n the 2017-2018 school year, Gibsonton received a grade of “D” on the Florida’s annual report card which assesses elementary schools on the basis of their scores on standardized achievement tests. In 2018-2019, Gibsonton raised its grade to a “C.” While Gilmore welcomed the progres

Being With Our Toddlers as They Explore the World Growing up, television was still a relatively new thing, at least around our house. The only reason we came to understand that our black and white Zenith wasn't state-of-the-art was because NBC started promoting itself as being "in living color." I remember asking dad why our pictures were still black and white, when the announcer said it was in

Alfie Kohn: The Progressive Teacher’s Role in the Classroom: What Active Adult Involvement Does and Doesn’t Entail According to Michael Harrington and many other scholars, a careful reading of Marx’s work makes it clear that he “regarded democracy as the essence of socialism.” Soviet-style Communism, by contrast, corrupted socialism “by equating it with a totalitarian denial of freedom.” 1 But,

Your middle & high school-aged daughter can become part of the network of unstoppable girls! | Eclectablog CATCH UP WITH ECLECTABLOG Your middle & high school-aged daughter can become part of the network of unstoppable girls! I recently became aware of two programs being offered by Michigan Women Forward (MWF), a community development nonprofit group that is dedicated to empowering women and girl

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_8.html Book Trailer: Adrian Miller's 'Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue' by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h 'In Black Smoke ( UNCPress ), Adrian Miller chronicles how Black barbecuer

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-f

Home | U.S. Department of Education NEWS FROM DR. MIGUEL CARDONA AND THE US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Secretary Cardona to Deliver Virtual Commencement Address at the University of Connecticut 21h On Saturday, May 8, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will deliver the commencement address virtually at the University of Connecticut graduation ceremony for the Class of 2021. The virtual comme

Kansas City: “Never Seen This Kind of Money” in School Board Races The Kansas City Star reported on an unprecedented injection of money i nto the city’s local school board races. An unknown group with unknown donors has given more than $100,000 to pro-charter candidates. This concealment is known as Dark Money. A newly formed nonprofit has already pumped tens of thousands of dollars into two con

Brevity Some words are predictable—”arrogant,” “intimidating,” “mean,” “stoic,” “blunt,” “sarcastic.” Predictable, that is, as descriptions of me. I anticipate them, and I recognize they are inaccurate in some (most?) ways. They also hurt, sting at the very core of who I am, who I try to be. Especially as a teacher. Recently, a new label popped up—”passive aggressive.” I didn’t expect that becau

2021 Medley #6 – We Slide into Superstition and Darkness MASK MISINFORMATION N.J. school nurse fails science, experts say, in comments about face masks. Sadly, this nurse at the center of this article has failed to keep up with the science she (should have) learned in nursing school. One of the arguments Nurse Pein gives for being against masks is that it causes damage to the mental health of ch

Lots of State Legislatures Are Launching New or Expanding Older School Voucher Programs There is sadly no mystery about the damage befalling public schools when private school tuition vouchers are expanded: Vouchers suck millions of essential dollars out of state and local public school budgets. Usually state legislatures start with a small program and then, several years later, explode the numb

Rethinking JFK’s “Ask not…..” “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” John F. Kennedy issued that stirring challenge in his inaugural address sixty years ago, in January, 1961. His words tapped into a wellspring of idealism and inspired many young Americans to join the Peace Corps or get otherwise involved in efforts to ‘improve the world around them.’ S

Guest Post - HCC and SPS Editor’s note: I’m happy to publish any essays about SPS or public education in general. This one is from Megan Hazen who has three children in Seattle Schools. Last Tuesday the Seattle School board passed an amendment to board policy 2190, which governs how Highly Capable (HC) students are served in Seattle. These students have demonstrated an atypical cognitive capacit

Public schools deserve your support. I know. I attend one. - cleveland.com Public schools deserve your support. I know. I attend one By Other Voices As a student at a reputedly failing school, I will say emphatically that our public schools deserve support. As we look to determine the future of education, we must take a step back and decide what we want out of the system. There is more to educati

Civic Leaders Fund Their Own Interests in AD54’s Special Election There’s a political newcomer in AD54 (extending across eastern West-LA to western South-LA ) who has burst on the scene with startling presence. Gregarious and appealing, Isaac Bryan has a hard luck story that scans like the Parable of the Prodigal Son of modern society, ready to make up for former academic and behavioral lapses w

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Illinois House fires warning shot at Chicago Teachers Pension Fund - https://www.chicagobusiness.com/node/950066 High-achieving schools connote risks for adolescents: Problems documented, processes implicated, and directions for interventions - PubMed - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31697105/ Choosing Democracy: CRUZ Reynoso : A Leade

Shanker Blog: The Great Divergence In State Education Spending When we talk about K-12 education spending inequality, we're usually talking about differences in resources between high- and low-poverty districts within states. But spending levels also vary between states, and that too matters for overall spending inequality in the U.S. How has this changed over the past 25 years? In other words,

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-f

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_8.html The Quarantine Tapes 188: Tracy K Smith by Mark Anthony Neal / 13h “I am someone who has been eager to bring the vocabulary of justice and anti-racism into the different contexts that I inhabit, an

A WARNING ON PRIVATIZATION T his article originally appeared in The Progressive . In 2012, Tennessee’s began a scheme known as the Achievement School District, or ASD. The goal was simple and bold: Take a handful of schools in the bottom 5 percent of student achievement, according to state test scores, and move those schools into the top 25 percent in student achievement in just five years. This

Randi Weingarten Turns Tables on Martha MacCallum, Presses Her About Election ‘Misinformation Fox Guest Turns Tables on Host, Presses Her About Election ‘Misinformation’ Watch the latest video at foxnews.com American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten turned an already testy Fox News interview into an extremely heated affair on Monday when she pressed anchor Martha MacCallum about

Where Community Begins Several years ago, I was passing a table at which four boys were eating snack. They were discussing a classmate, a boy with sensory challenges that often manifested in ways that disturbed and even hurt his classmates. One of them said as I passed, "He's a bad guy." That stopped me in my tracks. "Yeah," a friend replied, "He's a real bad guy." And another, "He hurts me all

NEPC: Five Myths About Teaching The National Education Policy Center is a think tank known for its incisive reviews, studies, and reports. In this post, it demolishes five myths about teaching. Myth 1: Evaluating teachers based on student test results is fair, objective, and effective. Wrong. Myth 2: We’d get better performance out of teachers CONTINUE READING: NEPC: Five Myths About Teaching |

COLUMN: If you don’t want critical race theory to exist, stop being racist COLUMN: If you don’t want critical race theory to exist, stop being racist Conservatives campaigning against critical race theory are making it even more popular Conservative legislators across the country are passing laws to ban books and courses that espouse critical race theory — scholarship born in the 1970s that exami

PROPOSED RULES OF ENGAGEMENT “Though [Abraham Lincoln] never would travel to Europe, he went with Shakespeare’s kings to Merry England; he went with Lord Byron poetry to Spain and Portugal. Literature allowed him to transcend his surroundings.” ― Doris Kearns Goodwin When I first started bartending, it was drilled into my head that discussions around politics or religion were not welcome at a ba

Do Americans Overwhelmingly Hate "Woke" Policies? You may recall that Parents Defending Education recently burst on the scene as the latest education astroturf, this time tilted hard right . Their battle against "indoctrination" in schools now includes a new weapon--a poll, which they're touting under the headline "Americans Overwhelmingly Reject 'Woke' Race and Gender Policies in K-12 Education

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Schools Are Open, but Many Families Remain Hesitant to Return - The New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/us/covid-school-reopening-virtual-learning.html#new_tab on @nytimes Remote Kindergarten During Covid-19 ‘Could Impact This Generation of Kids for Their Lifetime’ - WSJ - https://www.wsj.com/articles/remote-kindergarten

WELCOME TO THE CHARTER PARTY O n Friday afternoon before Mother’s Day weekend and just after the Tennessee General Assembly had adjourned, the Tennessee Department of Education announced 15 grants for charter school applicants – including grants for charter applications in several districts that do not currently authorize any charter schools – Rutherford County, Montgomery County, Millington Mun

SUPPORT ILLINOIS SB 808. OPPOSE EDTPA AND TEACHER PREP PRIVATIZATION. IS THE IEA REALLY LOBBYING AGAINST THIS BILL? Senate Bill 808 has passed the Illinois Senate and has gone on to the House where State Representative Will Guzzardi from my 39th district is the chief House sponsor. It appears that SB 808, which would end the video taping and the violation of student privacy rights has the suppor

EPI: If You Appreciate Teachers, Pay Them More The following post was published by the Economic Policy Institute, which is pro-worker, pro-union, and not funded by free-market billionaires. As we near the end of #TeacherAppreciationWeek, it is worth remembering that one of the ways we can show our appreciation for teachers is to pay them a living salary. EPI has been tracking trends in teacher p

Schott Foundation Announces Diana Tate Vermeire as SVP of Strategy The Schott Foundation for Public Education is pleased to announce that Diana Tate Vermeire is joining Schott as Senior Vice President of Strategy. In this position, Diana will help lead Schott’s organization-wide strategies to generate resources, strategically invest and develop partnerships to support national and local movement

NewBlackMan (in Exile) NewBlackMan (in Exile) TODAY Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK WITH NEWBLACKMAN (IN EXILE) - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-with-newblackman-in-exile-blm_8.html 'Chauvin Is Guilty and Our Work Is Still Cut Out for Us' by Ben Jealous by Mark Anthony Neal / 13h Chauvin Is Guilty and Our Work Is Still Cut Out for Us by Ben Jealous | @BenJealous | special to N

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/05/this-week-in-education-larry-f

Student Agency and Responsibilities when Learning to Write: More on the Failure of SETs As anticipated and predicted, my student evaluations of teaching (SET) included what has become a classic contradiction; in my first-year writing seminar, I received strong praise for my feedback and diligent support for students revising their writing along side a student who proclaimed that I provided no va

Defeating the Science of Reading Narrative, Part 2: Talking to a Parent In my first post in this series on how teachers and literacy specialists can push back at the Science of Reading (SOR) narrative currently dominating reading instruction conversation and legislation, I leaned on the work of Peter Johnston and Deborah Scanlon in their report An Examination of Dyslexia Research and Instruction

Making Irrevocable Decisions with Insufficient Information As a 24-year-old married man, I was certain that I didn't want to be a parent. My wife felt the same way. We had lives to live, after all. We were the kind of people with places to go, things to do, adventures to have, and none of them involved being parents. I once found myself being harangued (or so it felt) by a colleague, himself a n

Leslie T. Fenwick: All Students, Especially The Most Vulnerable, Need Certified, Well-Prepared Teachers Leslie T. Fenwick is Dean emerita of the Howard University School of Education. She is an eloquent critic of efforts to deprofessionalize teaching. She believes that teachers need more, not less, preparation for the classroom. This post appeared in Politico. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbat

Education Research Report TODAY'S Education Research Report Exposure to Lead of Some Affects Everyone in the Classroom Children exposed to pollutants like lead are more disruptive and have lower achievement. However, little is known about whether lead-exposed children affect the long-run outcomes of their peers. The Role of Universities in Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs Immigrant founders of

Bill and Melinda Will Divorce, but the Gates Brand of Venture Philanthropy Will Continue On A month ago, this blog suggested that hubris is at the heart of today’s billionaire philanthropy but noted that Bill and Melinda Gates have so much power that, despite the tragic blindness of their privilege, there will be no tragic fall and no consequences. Now, with Bill and Melinda announcing their div

Life in Classrooms and Philip Jackson In searching for my next project, I surrounded myself with books on teaching, teachers, and classroom life. Many of these books I had read more than once and each time in the re-reading, I learned something new. I re-learned not because I was dense the first time I read the book but simply because I had accumulated experiences since the first time I picked u

The district's actions, speak louder than their words... and a pin During teacher appreciation week, DCPS had their faculty meet and watch a video where Greene thanked them for their hard work. The schools, I imagine at the behest of the district, then gave newer teachers blankets and senior teachers pins with years of service broken into five-year increments. Some of my colleagues, people I res

A state legislator is howling indoctrination because my 7th graders are learning the ocean is polluted A member of the North Carolina House of Representatives held up my teaching as an example of harmful indoctrination of children this week as state legislators met to discuss a new bill which would require teachers to post their lesson plans online for public review. The K-12 Education Committee

The Anti-Education Economy A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education asks "Our blind faith in the transformative power of higher ed is slipping. What now?" The article looks at the long-time US love affair with higher education, an affair that is one part long-standing respect (of some folks) for more and more education and one part the relentless drumbeat of articles pointing out th

American Economic Association School spending matters Plunging home prices and massive job losses are often mentioned in discussions of the Great Recession, but the effects of the recession stretched far beyond the housing and job markets. Public schools were hit hard as well. A paper in the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy examines the impacts of state spending cuts on the educational

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES Kids, your mom deserves better than brunch https://www.salon.com/2021/05/08/kids-your-mom-deserves-better-than-brunch/ Mitch McConnell's Own Alma Mater Knows He Doesn't Know WTF He's Talking About When it Comes to The 1619 Project https://www.theroot.com/mitch-mcconnells-own-alma-mater-knows-he-doesnt-know-wt-1846852798 This Year's Favo

CURMUDGUCATION: ICYMI: Mother's Day Edition (5/9) Mother's Day Edition Honestly, it has been kind of a rough week here, and it's not getting better any time soon. So whatever else you do today, make sure you hug a loved one and let them know you care. Time is relentless and remorseless. Humans do not have to be. Here's some reading from the week. Teacher Evaluations (Hammers and Nails) Blue Cerea

The Loss That Matters This Mother’s Day The Loss That Matters This Mother’s Day The loss important to understand this year, the most critical loss, is not learning loss. It involves the loss many children are facing after losing a mom or dad to Covid-19. Or it could be a grandma or grandpa, a beloved aunt or uncle, or sister or brother, even a friend. On this Mother’s Day, how many children are g

Barbed Wire (from "Have To" History) Stuff You Don't Really Want To Know (But For Some Reason Have To) About... Barbed Wire Three Big Things: 1. Barbed wire became the fencing of choice in the west after the Civil War. It was relatively cheap, withstood a wide range of conditions, and held back the biggest, most stubborn livestock. 2. Barbed wire favored homesteaders moving west, who tended to b

Moms Have Borne the Brunt of Pandemic Turmoil at Work and at Home A Mother’s Day labor force check-in: It’s getting a bit better. It’s still bad . Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters. On this Mother’s Day, let’s remember the pandemic’s dire impact on American moms, who have shouldered the burden

Charter Lobby Backs Leading Candidates for NYC Mayor The executive director of StudentsFirstNY, Jenny Sedlis, has taken a leave of absence from her job to manage a fundraising PAC for Eric Adams, one of the leading candidates for mayor. The election is this November. Sedlis previously was the lead spokesperson for Success Academy, Eva Moskowitz’s charter chain. The new entity plans to run digita

Black Student Struggle: 2021 Study Exposes the Gap F or more than a year health experts, researchers and sociologists have loudly proclaimed the obvious: The COVID-19 pandemic has unequally affected people and communities of color in the United States, causing disproportionately higher rates of infection and death. It’s a conclusion so clear that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention de

What Should Next School Year Look Like? - An Educators of NYC Presentation - Zoom Tuesday May 11, 7PM This is the kind of conversation the UFT should be having. .. James Eterno, ICEUFT Special Education Far Rockaway teacher Daniel Alicea, the major organizer at EONYC, is doing the kind of work the UFT should be doing, following up on EONYC's enormously successful monthly Zooms on Tuesday with pr

California high schoolers are saying no thanks to reopened campuses and are staying home During the first week of in-person learning at Panorama High School, drama teacher Patricia Francisco stood in the mini-theater talking on Zoom to her acting class. Two stage lights brightened her face as she spoke to her camera. Students were logging in from home, or from classrooms scattered around campus.

EdAction in Congress May 9, 2021 President Biden and Vice President Harris have advocated for students and educators since day one. We all want our students—Black and white, Native and newcomer, Hispanic and Asian alike—to attend safe and just public schools and higher education campuses that help them pursue their dreams and fulfill their true potential. Due to the activism of educators around

Maurice Cunningham: Who Got Suckered? Secretary Cardona or Readers of The74? Maurice Cunningham is a professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts. His specialty is following the gobs of money poured into “education reform.” His exposes of Dark Money in the 2016 charter expansion referendum was a crucial element in turning the public against the referendum (you can read more

If Greene said being gay was a choice and they were going to burn in hell people would flip their lids. However when other education leaders say it, it gets barely a blip . Senator Kelli Stargel when pushing the transphobic sports bill across the finishing line said being gay was a choice and received zero backlash for her remarks. Erika Donalds among a heap of other bat sh*t crazy remarks said

Reopening School Buildings I am interested in your thoughts about school building reopenings. 1) How has it been for your child to be back in their school buildings, even in a limited way? 2) Do you see safety protocols being enforced? 3) Do expect/want school buildings to be fully reopened on a regular school schedule in the fall? Here’s an article from The Atlantic that says that right now, so

Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 5/8/21 Biden promised to end federal funding of for-profit charter schools. A new report explains how they operate. - The Washington Post New report provides reality check on virtual schools - The Washington Post TOP POSTS THIS WEEK Saturday, May 1, 2021 #REDFORED #tbats #openonlywhensafe #edchat #K12 #learning #edleadership #edtech #engchat #literacy #edrefo

Big Education Ape THE TOP BANANA TODAY'S EDUCATION HEADLINES NEA members speak out on loan forgiveness and COVID 19’s impact on students with disabilities https://educationvotes.nea.org/?