Poverty doesn’t matter! Really?

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Dora Taylor Posted in Poverty | Comments Off

“Homelessness and poverty up close is hard. It smells, actually in my room this year, it takes from the very fiber of a being, it is destructive to those that stand in uselessness looking as well as those suffering it. I’m dealing with a woman and her child suffering terribly now — she should never be alone in this, her faculties are not good enough to deal. She can’t go grow food on some family place, she’s like … →

Part 3: High Stakes Testing and Opting Out: The Variables

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Dora Taylor Posted in High stakes testing | Comments Off

The Variables High stakes testing has ramifications including ending careers and affecting communities by closing schools. Hence, we need to look carefully at the variables that might affect a student’s performance on a test. Teachers and principals do not work in a vacuum. They have students with lives outside school. Students live in a real world. The real world affects how they behave and their ability to focus in class. These factors include: English being a second language The … →

Part 2: High stakes testing and opting out: The types of tests

For the first part in this series, see Part 1: High stakes testing: A little history. High Stakes Testing and Opting Out: The Types of Tests There are different types of tests that students typically take in a school year. One test the teacher creates and bases it on the information that has been provided in the classroom within a particular span of time. It provides information to the teacher, the parent and the student describing how much of a grasp … →

High Stakes Testing: Part 1

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in Arne Duncan, High stakes testing, Race to the Top | Comments Off

To follow is the first in a series of posts describing what high stakes testing is, how it began, the ramifications of this type of testing and how it will affect every student. High Stakes Testing: A Little History “…I discovered then, in my early teaching career, that learning is best driven by ideas, challenges, experiences, and activities that engage students. My experience over the past 45 years has confirmed this. We have come far from that time in … →

Race to the Top Going from District to District – Lessons Learned

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, Race to the Top | Comments Off

After Secretary of Education Arne Duncan gleaned as much as he could out of the Race to the Top funding, such as it was, by putting a carrot in front of the donkey with potential money to the states, he decided to go from district to district selling his wares. The state of Washington did not seriously go after Race to the Top money, knowing what the price was, charter schools and the wasting of community schools through closures and … →

Tele-Town Hall with Diane Ravitch

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in Diane Ravitch, Events | Comments Off

Our Schools Alliance presents: Tele-Town Hall with Diane Ravitch Wednesday, October 16th 8:00 PM EDT “[Diane] is America’s foremost historian in the areas of education policy, she’s a champion of public education, she’s a courageous speaker and she’s a truth-teller.” –Actor, Matt Damon You are invited to join Diane Ravitch for a tele-town hall discussion of the most challenging issues facing public education today. Diane’s recent book, Reign of Error, lights the way for communities to undo corporate … →

“Reign of Error” by Diane Ravitch: A Review

Posted on September 18, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in Diane Ravitch | 1 Comment

Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools Dr. Ravitch shatters one corporate reform myth after another with clarity providing excellent background information in the Notes and Appendix of this book. Because of her courageousness and direct approach, expect the corporate media to attack her because no one is left standing in this book, at least on the reform side, from President Obama’s support of school privatization to the machinations of … →

Online Forum: The Parent Trigger from California to Florida

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in Webinar | 1 Comment

The Parent Trigger from California to Florida Sunday, May 26, 2013 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM Pacific Time We will be hearing from Lori Yuan, a parent in Adelanto who fought the Parent Trigger at her school, and Parents Across America Founding Member Rita Solnet who, along with other organizations, defeated the Parent Trigger bill in the Florida State Senate on March 9, 2013. To reserve your ticket, go to eventbrite. This is a … →

Why I am Running for School Board – by Sue Peters

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in Misc | Comments Off

By PAA Founding Member Sue Peters: For the past nine years, I have been deeply involved in Seattle’s public schools, as a parent of two, a school volunteer, an education blogger, a member of district task forces and as a local and national public education advocate. I would like to help steer the largest school district in Washington State in a positive direction. I believe that I can serve the Seattle school community even better as a representative on the … →

The Opt Out Update

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Dora Taylor Posted in High stakes testing | Comments Off

(Originally posted on Seattle Education.) By the way, the third MAP test which is given in the Fall is solely for the use of NWEA. That’s why it’s “optional”. We’re spending precious resources and time so that NWEA can have more test scores to plug into their database. That’s right people. You will note on the Seattle Public School (SPS) website that the Fall test is optional. It’s not needed by SPS for the purpose of tracking student data. NWEA … →

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