Another sad state of affairs....


CBS/APJuly 28, 2015, 9:22 AM

Principal's suicide, forged tests rock NYC school

NEW YORK -- Jeanene Worrell-Breeden had what she called a dream job running a public school linked with Columbia University's Teachers College when she killed herself by jumping in front of a subway car this spring.
Three months later, the city Department of Education says there was more to her sad story: The principal had fudged answers on third-graders' state English exams, and authorities learned of the cheating allegations the same day she made her fatal leap. All the school's third-grade English scores have been thrown out in the first year its students took the important test.
The scandal has stirred sorrow and uncertainty after a promising start for Teachers College Community School and clouded the career of a Wall Street worker-turned-educator who'd earned praise for her approach....., MORE...

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/principals-suicide-forged-tests-teachers-college-community-school-new-york/

 

Charter schools and pre-k: A good match for North Carolina?

Charter schools and pre-k: A good match for North Carolina?

By Ann Doss Helms

ahelms@charlotteobserver.com

North Carolina makes it hard for charter schools to serve prekindergarteners, according to a new report by two groups who contend the merger would make sense.

Providing high-quality prekindergarten for low-income children is an idea that should unite the right and left, according to the report by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools.

“What could be a more ideal solution, both politically and substantively, than high-quality charter schools?” the introduction to the report asks.

But “Pre-K and Charter Schools: Where State Policies Create Barriers to Collaboration” rates North Carolina as one of the nation’s least hospitable states for charter pre-K (read an executive summary here and the full report here).

Who wouldn’t want the KIPPs or Achievement Firsts or Uncommon Schools of the world to be able to get started with three-year-olds and work their edu-charm as early as possible?

North Carolina has a flourishing K-12 charter school movement and a publicly funded pre-K program. State law doesn’t say whether charters can include pre-K, but the N.C. Department of Public Instruction only issues K-12 charters. Low pre-K funding is also a barrier, the report says: North Carolina provides $5,067 per pupil for N.C. Pre-K and $8,277 for K-12 charter students.

The tally notes that “at least five” N.C. charter schools offer pre-K through affiliated organizations.

The report urges N.C. lawmakers to clarify charter law to allow pre-K classes and to expand funding “to cover the cost of delivering a high-quality education.” It notes that Republicans tend to support charter expansion while Democrats are more enthusiastic about public preschool.

“This horse trade – more support for charter schools in exchange for more support for preschool – might represent a bipartisan way forward,” the report says. “Why not charter preschools? Why not charter elementary schools that start at age three? Policymakers, this is low-hanging fruit. Why not pick it?”

Ann Doss Helms: 704-358-5033, @anndosshelms

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/your-schools-blog/article27947353.html

CMS School Board Race

Since we have a new school board race gearing up, I'm going to keep this post at the top of the page for any and all comments from candidates or anyone who would like to voice their opinion. It should be interesting since Larry Bumgarner is already being portrayed as not a serious candidate and another candidate who believes we should ... "link education policy to city housing plans" .

Get your peanuts and popcorn ready. This will be the best show we've had in a few years.... Wiley

US Secretary of Education will send his kids to private schools

Liberals, liberals, liberals.... and we have the same type brainless skulls on the CMS BOE.

He's going to send his kids to private school, but they tout how WONDERFUL Chicago Public schools are doing.

Sorry, gotta say it: You can't make this shit up.

US Secretary of Education will send his kids to private schools

The secretary's wife and two children will be moving back home to Chicago, while he remains on the job in Washington.

By Shontee PantJuly 10, 2015 1:26 PM


US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will send his children to a private school in Chicago this upcoming fall, as confirmed by an email sent by Mr. Duncan’s press secretary. The former head of Chicago public schools served as chief from 2001 to 2008, making him the, “longest-serving big-city education superintendent in the country,” according to his White House biography.

Mr. Duncan grew up in Chicago, and attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, where his two children will be enrolled at in the fall. His wife, Karen, will resume teaching at the private school. Dependents of employees of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools get 50 percent of their tuition paid for by the University of Chicago. Until now, Duncan had been sending his kids to a public school in Arlington, Virginia.
So how did Chicago's public schools fare under Duncan's leadership, and since his departure in early 2009?

From 1995 to 2005, the City of Chicago saw a 9.2 percent increase in the graduation rate to 51 percent of students entering high school graduating. In 2013, the percentage had increased to 65 percent. That same year, the average high school graduation rate across the United States was 81 percent.

“This year’s high school graduation rate is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our students, teachers, principals, and parents who stayed focused, engaged, and energized around the importance of finishing high school for a brighter future,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a press release following the announcement of the increase in graduation rate.

In 2014, there were 400,000 students enrolled in 600 schools in the district, making it the third largest public school district in the United States according to the 2014 American Schools and Universities ranking. However, the Chicago Public Schools system currently faces a $665 million budget deficit, in its operating budget of $5.162 billion. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the Chicago schools chief since 2012, resigned this spring in the wake of a federal investigation into potential misconduct.

In a speech given June 26, Duncan said, “The world is in the midst of a massive shift—from the predictability of the Industrial Age to the uncertainty of the Networked Age. And public schools – as always – are at the center of that change.”

http://news.yahoo.com/us-secretary-education-send-kids-private-schools-172635142.html

Good intentions or power grab? HUD unveils regs to diversify neighborhoods

It's starting..... this is how liberals and the Federal government under Obama intend to force integrate society.

Telling people where to live and send their kids to school was something - until now - that government couldn't and never tried to do....

Good intentions or power grab? HUD unveils regs to diversify neighborhoods

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration announced new rules on Wednesday that are meant to racially integrate America's neighborhoods but some conservatives claim are an attempt by Washington to play a heavy-handed role in creating “utopias.”
The new HUD housing rule comes on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court decision that reaffirmed the federal agency’s power to ban housing policies that hurt minorities......More

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/08/new-hud-rule-good-intentions-or-another-government-power-grab/

CMS at-large board race opens with four familiar faces

I bet all these candidates are about the children, diversity, higher graduation rates and diversity.

I did like this statement though: In 2010 Flowers helped create a group called Save Our Schools to protest closings, which landed most heavily on high-poverty schools serving black and Hispanic students.

It's an interesting statement since the majority of liberals want to END schools that have high concentrations of minorities and economically disadvantaged kids.

What do you think about the candidates?

CMS at-large board race opens with four familiar faces

Your Schools

July 6, 2015

It’s deja vu all over again: I’m back on the education beat and four familiar faces filed Monday to run for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board.

There are no surprises so far – Andrew Dunn stayed on top of this as candidates were declaring interest – but candidates have almost two weeks left to file. The at-large race traditionally draws a large slate, with the top votegetters claiming three of the board’s nine seats.

This isn’t intended to be the definitive profile on anyone. There’s plenty of time for that before Nov. 3, and I’m interested in any suggestions for making this important information helpful and interesting. To keep up with filing and get phone numbers and email addresses for candidates, go to

http://apps.meckboe.org/CandidatePrint.aspx.

So here’s who we’ve got so far:

▪ Larry Bumgarner is making his fourth try for the board; last time around he came in sixth of 14 at-large candidates.

Bumgarner, an unaffiliated voter who lives in Mint Hill, is known for his prolific comments on the Observer’s articles and his unusual campaign themes. Last time he ran for school board he focused on the superiority of charter schools. This time he lists his campaign website as calltorevolution.com, which doesn’t say anything about education but does voice frustration with “a country (that) becomes an enemy to our very life and rights.”

“This year do not celebrate the Fourth Of July. Take down the Flag,” his most recent post says. “Only buy what you have to, for a cookout, and have a Revolutionary Event where you no longer contribute your hard earned money for a Country which has turned its back on you and your values.”

▪ Elyse Dashew made her first try for the board four years ago, and finished just out of the money in fourth place. She’s a CMS parent who has been involved in a number of causes promoting public schools. She’s entering this year’s race with a long list of supporters, ranging from retired banking mogul Hugh McColl to departing N.C. Teacher of the Year James Ford.

Dashew, who lives in southeast Charlotte, also illustrates why so so many people use air quotes when they talk about board races being nonpartisan. Last year local Democrats and Republicans promoted their own slates of preferred candidates. Dashew, who was unaffiliated, wasn’t on either list. This time around she’s a registered Democrat.

Find her info at http://dashewforschoolboard.com/; on Twitter she’s @ElyseDashew.

▪ Levester Flowers is a first-time school board candidate, but he has been active in CMS politics for years and campaigned for Charlotte City Council last year. In 2010 Flowers helped create a group called Save Our Schools to protest closings, which landed most heavily on high-poverty schools serving black and Hispanic students.

Since then Flowers has been a regular speaker at school board meetings, pushing to get families more involved in education. He’s a Democrat who lives in the Mallard Creek area.

Flowers says he’s waiting for his webmaster to get back from vacation, so for now you can find him on Facebook at “Levester Flowers” and “Understanding Urban Education.”

▪ Amelia Stinson-Wesley was appointed to the District 6 school board seat in 2012, after Tim Morgan was elected at large. The board’s new Democratic majority created a stir by naming Stinson-Wesley, a Democrat, to represent the majority-Republican district and she didn’t seek election in 2013.

Stinson-Wesley is a CMS mother and a United Methodist minister. She’s been involved in various efforts to prevent domestic violence and child abuse. She lives in Pineville.

Find her info at www.ameliastinsonwesley.com.

Helms: 704-358-5033;

Twitter: @anndosshelms.