Parent trigger misfires by disrupting and dismantling local schools

Posted on March 18, 2011 by admin

This was published originally in Silicon Valley’s Education Foundation blog,  “Thoughts on Education.” The PAA position paper on the Parent Trigger is here. By Caroline Grannan and Sharon Higgins Simplistic ideas may look appealing at first glance, but they rarely solve complex problems. Too often they have the potential to make things worse. That’s true of California’s so-called Parent Empowerment Act. It created the “parent trigger,” which allows a majority of parents in a low-performing school to petition for drastic changes, … →

PAA press release on "Parent Trigger" legislation

Posted on March 16, 2011 by admin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 16, 2011 Contact: Leonie Haimson (NYC): 917-435-9329; leonieh@parentsacrossamerica.org Julie Woestehoff (Chicago):  773-538-1135; juliew@parentsacrossamerica.org Bill Ring (LA): 310-600-2015; billr@parentsacrossamerica.org Andrea Mérida (Denver): 303-550-0677; andream@parentsacrossamerica.org Caroline Grannan (SF): 415-412-5758; carolineg@parentsacrossamerica.org Julia Sass Rubin (NJ): 609-683-0046; jlsrubin@verizon.net Parents Across America: We oppose Parent Trigger laws Reform should rely on proven solutions that involve parents from the ground up and improve rather than privatize schools With California’s so-called Parent Empowerment Act drawing national media attention as a school reform panacea, … →

Leonie Haimson debates Gates Foundation on 'Does Class Size Matter?'

Posted on March 16, 2011 by admin

Listen to Leonie Haimson on Seattle public radio debating Marguerite Roza of Gates Foundation on KUOW Seattle public radio: Does Class Size Matter? Ross Reynolds 03/15/2011 at 12:20 p.m. Is reducing public school class size a cost effective way to improve education? Or is the money better spent elsewhere? We’ll hear both sides and then what you have to say. Guest(s) Marguerite Roza is a senior data and economic advisor for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and author of … →

Rochester and Denver teachers discuss working with community

Posted on March 14, 2011 by admin

I hosted a phone conference today (link to the playback is here) with members of the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and members of the Rochester (NY) Teachers Association, who told the Denver contingent about how they created bonds with parents and community to successfully defeat an initiative launched for mayoral control of the Rochester City Schools district.  They kept their coalition alive and strong, fortunately, because now they’re working with community as the Community Education Task Force, under the umbrella … →

Chris Cerf, there you go again!

Posted on March 14, 2011 by admin

This morning featured an extended story in the Star Ledger examining Chris Cerf, and his record as Deputy chancellor of NYC schools. Cerf has been appointed to be acting New Jersey Commissioner of Education by Gov. Christie, and is intent on implementing many of the same divisive policies that have been tried and failed in New York City, including charter school co-locations and expansion, and teacher merit pay linked to unreliable test scores. He is also now embroiled in the … →

Andrea Mérida on AM760 discussing the dropout rate

Posted on March 10, 2011 by admin

Here’s the sound clip from today’s interview with Mario Solis-Marich on AM760 today. Click to listen to the interview with Mario Solis-Marich on the dropout rate. Here’s the accompanying blog post, with all the data I mention. I don’t mind if you check my numbers!

Leonie Haimson debating class size on MSNBC

Posted on March 8, 2011 by admin

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Fact-Challenged Policy

Posted on March 7, 2011 by pagrundy

From: National Journal Online By Richard Rothstein Last week, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates published an op-ed in the Washington Post, “How Teacher Development could Revolutionize our Schools,” proposing that American public schools should do a better job of evaluating the effectiveness of teachers, a goal with which none can disagree. But his specific prescriptions, and the urgency he attaches to them, are based on the misrepresentation of one fact, the misinterpretation of another and the demagogic presentation of a third. … →

Bloomberg booed and excoriated for attacks on teachers and kids

Posted on March 6, 2011 by admin

Mayor Bloomberg was roundly booed at the annual Queens St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, for threatening to lay off of over 4,000 teachers and his attack on their seniority rights. Check out the video below and excerpts from the Daily News, NY Post and NY1: Chants of “Save our Teachers” rang out from pockets of the green-clad crowd that lined Newport Ave. and Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Belle Harbor…. Anthony Hannon, 80:….“What he’s doing to our teachers and our … →

PAA Affiliate Launches Pay for Performance Petition

Posted on March 6, 2011 by pagrundy

Mecklenburg ACTS, an affiliate of Parents Across America in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, has launched a petition that calls on Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools to remove standardized test scores from their developing pay for performance system. We’re urging parents and community members to stand up for treating our teachers fairly, and to oppose the expansion of high-stakes standardized testing. If parents band together, our voices can be heard! Our petition can be found at www.mecklenburgacts.org. For more information on Pay for … →

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