In This Issue:
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DEPUTY SUPT. AQUINO DEPARTS L.A. UNIFIED, BLASTS “DYSFUNCTIONAL” SCHOOL BOARD + 2 MORE STORIES |
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The Common Core: QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS THE KEY; SLOW DOWN AND GET IT RIGHT + 10 GOOD WAYS TO INSURE BAD P.D. |
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STATE AND LOCALS TO U.S. SENATE: REWRITE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT |
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Diane Ravitch: LOUD VOICE FIGHTING TIDE OF NEW TREND IN EDUCATION |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources |
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EVENTS: Coming up next week... |
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What can YOU do? |
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Featured Links:
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"For a successful technology, reality must take
precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled." -
Richard Feynman
_________________
The Puzzle Palace Intrigue at LAUSD heated up and boiled over at LAUSD
Friday. As Tokofsky tweeted: “…about contracts, common core,
personalities …and iPads.”
It was Friday the Thirtieth and Norm Day and the Eve of Yom Kippur all
in one. The closing of the Book of Life on the past; the new page
opening. Atonement. The Cosmic Continuum, continuing.
THE END OF JAIME AQUINO. What did/does/will it all mean?
From an educational standpoint it probably means little. The Common Core
will come to pass. It will probably come about slower and more
deliberately – deeper and wider and better rooted - with less of the
urgency and rush and spin and P.R.
We can speculate upon “Why” it happened …but that’s a meaningless
question. Aquino’s undoing was inevitable with the shift in the board
majority - not instituted by the new boardmembers themselves but by the
electorate. Steven Hawking tells us that the Arrow of Time is constant
…but Foucault’s pendulum swings governs physics and political science -
It is not just about width and depth and breadth but also about the
warp and the weave of experience.
This wouldn’t have happened if Kate Anderson and/or Antonio Sanchez had won on May 21st – but they didn’t.
THIS MAY COME AS A SHOCK TO YOU, but there are conspiracies+conspirators
at LAUSD Beaudry, in union halls and break rooms. Absent morale, mutiny
stirs. Plotters scheme in salons+saloons – lean and hungrily looking
back+forward to magically realistic better times. This echoes similar
discontent at school sites – unimportant individually, collectively
critically massive – plotters share and whine and keep quiet score of
real and imagined outrage. There is more real than imagined
outrage+outrageousness in public education today.
• “Have you heard that so-and-so is retiring to come back as a consultant making four times-as-much?”
• …or that some teacher is going to another school? …their paycheck
sweetened with a secret deal …and they’re taking the best students with
them?
• …that the principal has it in for the chapter chair and/or vice versa?
• …that this Charter or that Pilot school is gaming the system with the connivance of the Powers That Be?”
There is a grain of Truth in every rumor; the granularity ranges from smooth to course. Even if some of those grains are salt.
The ®eformers say this disloyal opposition is because educators are
resistant to change; the opposite is true. Educators are Agents of
Change operating in an environment where change is both constant and the
desired outcome. The kids change; they get older, smarter, cleverer –
their hormones rage. They learn. Their questions change/they question
everything/the answer gets harder with every test. Their parents ask
differrent questions and bring different expectations every year. The
content and the curriculum and the clowns in the central office change.
It’s called growth.
THE WATER-COOLER-SEQUENCE OF EVENTS FOR THE NEXT ACT was that in order
for the immensely unpopular Deasy to go, Aquino had to go first – some
going as far to say that Aquino was the Spiro Agnew of the Deasy
administration. Dr. Aquino, to some, was the exception to “Anyone but
Deasy”.
Yesterday a caller compared the current theatrical kerfuffle to a realty
show. Has our definition of ‘Reality’ really become that unreal?
DR. AQUINO HAD TAKEN POINT on the implementation Common Core Standards
Curriculum – which only made sense – and by extension for the Common
Core Technology Initiative (aka: iPads for All).
On the iPads piece – even though it is Bond-funded, Facilities-run and
Technology driven – Curriculum+ Instruction needed to be nominally in
charge or the perception would be that these are gadgets. Aquino made an
important speech to all potential technology and content vendors last
February 11th about how the CCTP initiative would be Content Driven. But
ultimately the final award went to Apple based on the technology; the
curriculum (from Pearson) being almost an afterthought and included by
reference as part of the Apple contract.
In the end the three finalists in the CCTP RFP bidding process all
included the Pearson content. It may have been a level playing field,
but the game was played exclusively with Pearson balls.
Deasy’s revelation that he was a minor Apple stockholder (and had made a
promotional video for Apple while LAUSD superintendent) complicated the
issue when he recused himself from the process, mid-process.
So then we were left with Dr. Aquino as point person/cheerleader …and
Dr. Deasy as arms-length person. And a billion dollars in play.
To further complicate the tangled web there are new rumors afoot that
there may be trouble in the Apple/Pearson relationship and Apple now
wants Pearson to make their own deal. (Rumors I repeat, the anxiety may
be about Pearson’s discomfort … or it may all be hogwash. This is a
blog, not Sixty Minutes!)
Dr. Deasy reportedly made remarks at a meeting of the Elementary
Principals Organization this week that the (Pearson) content/software on
the iPads is only 25% complete. 25% is not a passing grade on anyone’s
curve.
And Aquino worked for America’s Choice, a division of Pearson, before he
came to the District – joining LAUSD two weeks following Deasy’s
accession to the superintendency.
I have spoken to associates of Dr. Aquino that speculate that he has
been set up to be a fall guy – or to give some sort of plausible
deniability to others should things go awry. This is credible, but the
deniability is implausible. There’s enough Curiouser Curiouser to go
around!
So Aquino is gone. There may or may-not-be other shoes to drop.
Don’t cry for me Jaime Aquino
The truth is we never believed you
All through your iPad haze
Disruptive persistence
The Board kept its promise
Now keep your distance.
- From an anonymous contributor
WHICH BRINGS US TO THE PREVIOUS DISCUSSION [http://bit.ly/18mMAVd]
OVER A SUCCESSION PLAN. Dr. Aquino is going to stay through Dec. 31 –
but a national search needs to begin immediately for his replacement.
This may be further complicated if a search is to be undertaken for a
new superintendent. A true national search will probably take more than
three months. I recognize that Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana is
conveniently working in the mayor’s office – but LAUSD has been down
that route twice before and I really don’t see it happening again; the
mayor’s office is not the farm team for the LAUSD superintendency. Dr.
Meléndez may be qualified …but she is from the same class at the Broad
Superintendent’s Academy as Dr. Deasy.
FINALLY: Dr Aquino is staying on through the end of the year make sure
the Common Core Curriculum and Technology Plans are implemented. And
next week the budget approved. Dr. Aquino is a lame duck point-person at
this point – he has said things in the past 48 hours that shade his
credibility - and I suspect that the Board of Education and the Bond
Oversight Committee are going to want to be very sure that LAUSD’s
commitment to both of these programs is robust, unwavering, continuing
and well-led beyond the first of the year.
Because the future of the children – who have been unmentioned in any of the foregoing drama – is at stake.
I really wanted to write about Arts+Music Education and School Libraries
and School Nurses this week. On how to run a better meeting than was
seen last Tuesday at the Board of Ed – with maybe take a smattering of
cheap shots at the politicians in Sacramento and D.C. Another time.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
DEPUTY SUPT. AQUINO DEPARTS L.A. UNIFIED, BLASTS
“DYSFUNCTIONAL” SCHOOL BOARD + 2 MORE STORIES
►DEPUTY SUPT. AQUINO DEPARTS L.A. UNIFIED
By Howard Blume | Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1ddpzTP
September 13, 2013, 9:06 p.m. :: Calling the Los Angeles Board of
Education dysfunctional and warning that academic progress is at stake, a
senior school district administrator confirmed Friday that he is
resigning.
Deputy Supt. Jaime Aquino said he would remain with the nation's second-largest school system through Dec. 31.
His departure removes the top manager for academic initiatives during a
period of rapid and seminal change, including a new curriculum, a new
program for students learning English, a mandate that all students meet
college-preparation requirements and a program to distribute tablet
computers to every student.
Aquino has been the right-hand man for L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, who called his departure a "terrible loss."
Aquino, 48, said that the current school board majority has begun to
micromanage everyday functions and that the efforts of senior staff are
being routinely greeted with mistrust.
At the same time, he added, the board has been unable to reach consensus
on what it wants to do, leading to paralysis and diverging agendas that
are beginning to take a toll.
"The current political climate does not allow me to lead an agenda that
is in the best interests of the kids," Aquino said. "I don’t want to
leave. I think we were doing major work in transforming students' lives,
and I wanted to continue to be part of that journey."
This week's board meeting was a prime example, Aquino said. For the
second time, board members failed to approve a spending plan for $113
million provided by the state to help the district prepare for new
Common Core learning standards adopted by California and 45 other
states.
Aquino said he spent weeks providing information to board members and
making changes based on their input. But at the meeting, new questions
arose and the board was unable to take action. The result is that
crucial training for teachers will be delayed by months, even as the
school system is switching to a new curriculum.
Aquino said his departure is not a result of two major past
confrontations he had with new school board President Richard Vladovic.
Those incidents were part of an internal investigation into whether
Vladovic's treatment of district employees crossed legal or ethical
boundaries. Vladovic, a retired senior district administrator, has
served on the board since 2007.
The run-ins had resulted in Aquino threatening to resign, but Aquino
said Vladovic has since treated him respectfully. The issue, he said, is
the direction of the school system.
Vladovic did not return fire in kind Friday.
"Dr. Aquino served the students of LAUSD admirably for the past few
years," Vladovic said in a statement. "He made a decision to leave the
district and pursue other endeavors. I wholeheartedly thank him for his
service to our students and district."
Vladovic has acknowledged having outbursts of temper but said they arise
from his passion for helping students and that he respects the
professional staff.
Deasy himself had threatened to resign when Vladovic became board
president in July. The two have frequently been at odds outside of
public view.
Vladovic asked him not to and has been at pains to treat all parties with deference since becoming board president.
Still, the perceived distrust for senior staff is read by many observers
as discomfort with Deasy -- an assertive leader who differs
philosophically on key issues with some board members. Aquino was
resolutely loyal to Deasy.
Several members of Deasy's team were unhappy recently when the board
refused Deasy's request to give them multiyear contracts. Aquino and
others were offered one-year pacts.
Aquino joined the school system in July 2011. He had been a senior official in the New York City and Denver school systems.
Aquino's departure is another sign that a school board once controlled
by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Deasy ally, has moved in another
direction. Vladovic was, in fact, considered part of Villaraigosa's bloc
for most of his time on the board.
Several outside organizations expressed concerns over Aquino's departure.
“Students can't afford to lose key advocates such as Dr. Aquino, who
truly understand the urgency of meeting their needs," said Elise Buik,
president of United Way of Greater Los Angeles, which has strongly
backed Deasy.
"Dr. Aquino has played a lead role in implementing policies that are
especially vital to the success of students of color and low-income
students," she said. "It's unfortunate to see the school district lose
strong talent.”
The board majority is more aligned with the views of the teachers union
and, to some degree, of the administrators union. Not surprisingly,
United Teachers Los Angeles did not mourn the departure of Aquino, who
served during a time when teachers were increasingly evaluated by
student standardized-test scores.
Union President Warren Fletcher said L.A. Unified would benefit from new
leadership that is less bureaucratic and less focused on testing.
Such testing, he said, should be "a tool to improve instruction, rather
than the driver of every aspect of every child’s educational
experience.”
________________
►TOP DEASY ADVISER JAIME AQUINO QUITS AS LAUSD INSTRUCTIONAL CHIEF: ‘MY HEART IS COMPLETELY BROKEN’
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/17yBcme
9/13/13, 2:23 PM PDT | Updated: 9/14/13 midnight :: Jaime Aquino, the
instructional chief for Los Angeles Unified and Superintendent John
Deasy’s top adviser, resigned Friday, saying the school board’s recent
efforts to stall key reform initiatives have left him unable to do his
job.
His resignation from the $250,000-a-year position as deputy superintendent of instruction is effective Dec. 31.
<< Aquino proposed spending nearly $25 million to elevate 122
teachers to leadership positions, working with principals and other
educators to develop lessons aligned to the new standards. But some
board members were leery of the plan, citing a failed teacher-coaching
program from a decade ago, while others worried about deployment of the
teaching specialists. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News)
“It’s the right thing for me to do,” Aquino said Friday afternoon,
shortly after concluding what he described as a tearful meeting with
local superintendents and other members of his staff.
“I’m not leaving to pursue other interests, and I have not secured
another job. My heart is completely broken. But the current climate
doesn’t allow me to lead an agenda that is in the best interest of
kids.”
Aquino said he believes the momentum of Deasy’s “student-centered
agenda” has been hampered in the months since South Bay representative
Richard Vladovic was chosen to head the school board.
“Vladovic has said that the role of the board is to set policy, but
that’s not what I see happening,” Aquino said. “The board is going
beyond the role of policy-making into day-to-day decision-making.”
Deasy said other members of his leadership team have similar concerns
about their ability to continue implementing reforms that have led to
improved student test scores and higher graduation rates.
“There are others on my team who are in a similar position, and we’re trying to work through that,” Deasy said.
He declined to comment on his own future as superintendent of the nation’s second-largest school district.
Aquino’s resignation is the first sign that the team Deasy assembled to
turn around a struggling district is caving under the pressure of new
membership and leadership on the school board.
Deasy supporter Nury Martinez gave up her San Fernando Valley seat in
the spring and was succeeded by former teacher Monica Ratliff, who has
voiced support for the superintendent but hasn’t consistently backed his
plans.
In July, the board chose Vladovic as its president, ending the six-year
tenure of Monica Garcia, a reform advocate and Deasy’s staunchest
supporter on the board. Vladovic moved immediately to strengthen the
board’s role in setting district priorities rather than following the
superintendent’s lead.
Vladovic said he was shocked and saddened by Aquino’s decision to
resign. “I think he’s done a real fine job,” he said in a phone
interview, just moments after learning from Deasy that Aquino will be
leaving. “Having worked with many curriculum experts, I can say that
he’s at the top of the field and at the top of his game.”
Aquino’s decision to resign came three days after a frustrating
eight-hour meeting in which the school board postponed a decision on how
to spend $113 million in state money to prepare the district for Common
Core, the new English and math standards taking effect in 2014. The
budget issue was postponed until a special meeting next Tuesday; at the
time, Aquino worried that any delay could derail the district’s ability
to get teachers trained in time to implement the new curriculum.
Vladovic said he had the same reservations as Aquino about postponing
this week’s vote on the Common Core budget, but he had hoped to work out
a compromise at next Tuesday’s meeting.
Aquino proposed spending nearly $25 million to elevate 122 teachers to
leadership positions, working with principals and other educators to
develop lessons aligned to the new standards. But some board members
were leery of the plan, citing a failed teacher-coaching program from a
decade ago, while others worried about deployment of the teaching
specialists.
“I was blown off my chair and didn’t see it coming,” Vladovic said of Aquino’s decision to quit.
He also addressed his personal relationship with Aquino, whom he shouted at during an incident last year.
“We worked that out, and it’s long past,” Vladovic said. “I’m
comfortable with his leadership and have said so at board meetings.”
Vladovic also said he wished he’d been able to talk with Aquino before
he resigned and would want to speak to any other top administrator who
might be weighing their future with the district.
Other board members also expressed their dismay at Aquino’s departure.
“I really loved working with him,” said Tamar Galatzan, a reform
advocate who represents the West San Fernando Valley. “Under his
leadership, test scores have gone up and we’ve brought a lot of
innovation and good practices into our educational produce. I’ll really
miss him.”
Garcia praised Aquino as “enormously talented and a critical part of the
district’s growth in instruction,” and said she had asked him to
reconsider his decision.
Board Vice President Steve Zimmer noted Aquino’s leadership in improving
instruction, particularly for the district’s English-learners.
“His expertise, his experience and his urgency to move this district
forward will be a loss for the district, for the teachers and for kids,”
said Zimmer, whose district stretches from the Valley to the Westside
and Hollywood.
Zimmer also said he understood Aquino’s concerns about the shifting dynamics within the district hierarchy.
“The changes in climate have to do with the levels of collaboration
between the board and the administration,” he said. “If I thought that
everyone wasn’t trying to work in the best interests of kids, I would
have a hard time continuing as well.”
________________
►TOP SCHOOL OFFICIAL RESIGNS AMID TURN TO NEW TEACHING STANDARD
Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/14UsfQS
LISTEN TO RADIO STORY – [http://bit.ly/1aLBHhp - 2¢ guest appearance by smf]
UPDATED SEPT 14 - 2:30p.m :: In an interview with KPCC, Los Angeles
Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy expressed regret over
Friday's sudden announcement that his top aide over classroom
instruction, Jaime Aquino, would be leaving the district.
"I'm very sad to see Jaime leave," said Deasy. "He's a brilliant leader
and an unbelievably talented man. His leadership has been tremendously
important."
Deasy and school board members and staff reached by KPCC have declined
to comment on the circumstances of his departure, but Aquino told the
Los Angeles Times that the seven-member board has been riddled by
paralysis and micromanages day-to-day operations.
"The current political climate does not allow me to lead an agenda that is in the best interests of the kids," he said.
On Tuesday, the board put over for the second time a vote on how to
spend new money coming to the district from the state to transition to
new standards called the Common Core.
Deasy declined to comment on whether he agrees with Aquino's bleak
assessment of the board, only stating that he hopes the board can be
productive in the future.
"I look forward to the board supporting the initiatives that have gotten the results for students," Deasy said.
Deasy said he will miss working with Aquino, who he called a good friend.
Attempts to reach Aquino were unsuccessful.
EARLIER: Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Jaime Aquino has notified
the Los Angeles Unified School District that he plans to resign from his
post at the end of the year, a district spokesman said.
The departure comes as a surprise to many as the district prepares to
enter the first year of new learning standards called Common Core — an
initiative Aquino is spearheading.
The Common Core standards, championed by the U.S. Department of
Education, emphasize teaching critical thinking skills over rote
memorization.
Aquino has encountered some friction since he joined L.A. Unified. Much
of that has come from his role in making classroom use of iPads a
cornerstone of Common Core adoption.
Scott Folsom is a member of the independent committee overseeing the money for district’s purchase of iPads.
“I need to know that after he is gone, there is going to be somebody in
place who also believes in this and this district wraps itself around
that mission," said Folsom.
Earlier this week, the school board voted to delay Aquino's budget to
implement the Common Core. Some members cited concerns over the number
of positions the district had requested to train teachers in the new
standards.
Aquino assumed his current position in July, 2011. He oversees local
district superintendents, curriculum and instruction. He plans to leave
the district at the end of the year.
The Common Core: QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IS
THE KEY; SLOW DOWN AND GET IT RIGHT + 10 GOOD WAYS TO INSURE BAD P.D.
►THE SUCCESS OF THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS RESTS SOLELY UPON EFFECTIVE TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update | Week of September 16, 2013
12 September 2013 :: A report issued by the National School Boards
Association determines that the success of the Common Core State
Standards rests solely upon effective teacher professional development.
The report, Teaching the Teachers: Effective Professional Development in
an Era of High Stakes Accountability, available at www.nsba.org, says
that the standards require new teaching methods and techniques that are
substantially different from practices that are in place today and
absent proper training, the massive reform effort is doomed to failure.
In addition to just learning about the standards, the steepest learning
curve for teachers has to do with implementing the required new teaching
techniques, something that takes time and consistent practice.
According to this report, professional development related to the CCSS
should: (1) be ongoing and carried out over time, rather than presented
in one-day workshops; (2) be delivered in the context of the teacher's
subject
area; and (3) employ peer coaches and mentors when
possible.
This report, along with the article (following) on professional
development, is particularly timely for LAUSD, as the Board is in the
process of adopting the Common Core budget. The District is receiving
over $113 million for professional development, instructional materials
and technology related to the implementation of the CCSS and must have a
coherent plan that has been presented to the public for the use of
these one-time funds. Although research has shown that workshop-based
professional development is ineffective, given that the school year has
already begun, the opportunities for training are probably going to be
limited to these short, concentrated efforts. Looking at the budget
submitted at a previous Board meeting and deferred to a special meeting
on Tuesday, September 17, one sees the bulk of the expenditures being
used to hire coordinators, advisers, specialists, administrators,
assistants, managers and clerical support. Who will fill these
positions? During the
second month of the school year are we talking about moving teachers
from classrooms to be advisers, specialists, coaches, etc.? What kind of
disruption will this be for the students, parents and school faculties?
Will current coordinators or administrators leave their schools to
become the ESC-CCSS administrators? How long will all of this take?
While this budget is itemized, where is the supporting plan? Statements
of purpose for the use of the funds do not constitute a coherent plan.
What are the plans for the ongoing support for teachers after the first
two
years?
About $16 million of the allocation will be utilized to pay teachers,
principals and support staff for professional development to be provided
on nonschool days and after school. So, it appears that a pyramid
approach to training will be utilized: someone will train someone, who
will train some more people, who will then train some more folks who
will eventually train the teachers who will try the skills in the
classroom, supported by some more people who have been brought in to
help. Oh my! Has any thought been given to the kind of professional
development that teachers need to fully move to the Common Core? What is
the fanatical hurry on the adoption of this budget? Isn’t the goal an
intelligent implementation of an instructional plan where students
succeed? We know that the budget has to be explained at a public
meeting, but is there any plan for parental/community input? When will
the teachers have time to try the new techniques and what follow-up will
they receive? Has
anyone even asked them what they need to be successful? How are the
other CORE districts using their Common Core Budgets? Do they have
articulated plans? How does this budget correlate with and augment the
LCFF, NCLB/Title I waiver and the general fund? What are the specific
outcomes and goals for student achievement? These are questions that
Board Members should ask at the special meeting on Tuesday. They should
also look at the disruption that will occur at school sites as the newly
created positions are filled and take a hard look at the proposed
calendar for implementation. We know that these efforts to implement the
Common Core, move to new assessments and implement new technology
(iPads for everyone!) are necessary to bolster instruction and prepare
students for the rapidly-changing world market. However, nothing is more
crucial to student achievement than quality teacher preparation, which
can only be accomplished by appropriate training. We hope that LAUSD
does not
just jump on another train before fully exploring the
route.
►10 GOOD WAYS TO ENSURE BAD PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
from Laura Thomas, Director, Antioch Center for School Renewal, Antioch University.
AALA: As the Board discusses the Common Core Budget, the article below
deserves a critical eye. It appeared in the August edition of JSD, a
publication of Learning Forward, [ ] an education association committed
to increasing student achievement through more effective professional
learning. It is reprinted with permission. As you read, ask yourself if
any of the below scenarios fit the current LAUSD world? We certainly
hope that as the District continues to roll-out massive professional
development for all of the major initiatives this year, that leadership
will take note of the advice from Laura Thomas, Director, Antioch Center
for School Renewal, Antioch University.
SCHOOL CHANGE IS MY WORK. I started as a teacher with an interest in
adult learning, and now I try to change the world as an external school
coach and faculty member at Antioch University New England. My primary
work usually happens through the professional development channels of
schools and districts, so I spend a lot of time thinking about good
professional learning vs. typical professional development. Based on my
20-plus years of experience…let me share with you the best possible ways
to waste your professional development time and money.
1. Worry more about the time than outcomes. Start all professional
learning conversations with questions like "how many days do we have?"
rather than "what learning outcomes are we trying to achieve?"
2. Bring in a bevy of consultants. Don't tell them about each other,
assign each a specific project, and under no circumstances ask them to
collaborate or coordinate. Require every teacher to work with each
consultant separately, regardless of role, need, or timing.
3. Start something new every year without considering progress on or
commitment to the previous years' goals. Your teachers will find all
that innovation energizing, not exhausting. They'll love the constant
surprise of discovering which goal matters on any given day.
4. Assume the professional learning specialists you hire are out to get
you. Offer as little information as possible regarding the situation in
your school, gloss over the real issues at play, and never share
candidly.
5. Judge quality by the price tag. Go with this simple rule of thumb: If
it's expensive and comes advertised in a full-color glossy brochure, it
must be better quality. So anything locally developed, free, in-house,
or offered at a discounted rate must be suspect.
6. Never listen to your teachers when they tell you what they need.
Collect survey data about their goals, but ignore the results. They
don't know what they need. Either make all the decisions yourself or
make none until the last possible second. Laissez - faire is a great
approach to planning professional learning.
7. Don't participate in the activities you require teachers to attend.
Wander through once or twice, but always excuse yourself for something
"more important" so teachers get the clear message that you don't need
to understand what you're expecting them t o implement.
8. Get the most for your money and time. Herd the whole faculty into the
gym for a three - hour presentation by a speaker with no costly follow -
up, coaching, or small - group discussion over time. Teachers will be
inspired by the expert's high - quality slide presentation. Assume that
teachers will be able to implement new strategies and methods based on a
single, expert - driven learning experience.
9. Take an all - or - nothing approach to conferences and workshops.
They're either universally good (and should be the sole focus of our
time, energy, and budget) or bad (and no one should ever be allowed to
attend any of them).
10. Keep an eye open for the next big thing. Jump on every next big
thing you read about in a journal, see at a conference and hear about
from a colleague. If it worked anywhere else, it should work in your
school, too.
STATE AND LOCALS TO U.S. SENATE: REWRITE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT
By Alyson Klein | Politics K-12 - Education Week | http://bit.ly/13VPMn7
September 12, 2013 :: A collection of big-name state and local
government groups really, really wants U.S. Senate leaders to bring a
bill to the floor to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education
Act, and soon.
"State governments, localities, and schools need a long-term resolution
for the issues raised by the current federal education law, the No Child
Left Behind Act," write the National Governors Association, the Council
of Chief State School Officers, the National League of Cities, the
National Association of State Boards of Education, the National
Conference of State Legislatures, and four other groups, in a letter
sent to Senate leaders today.
Apparently, the U.S. Department of Education's solution—waivers—is no substitute for an honest-to-goodness reauthorization.
"Waivers will only work for some states," the groups write. "Moreover,
waivers provide only temporary relief from specific provisions of the
law and impose new criteria not formally authorized in NCLB or by
Congress on states, school districts, and schools."
The Republican-led House of Representatives back in July passed a bill
to renew the law with no Democratic support. In the Senate, led by
Democrats, the education committee passed a bill with no Republicans on
board a month earlier. The letter acknowledges that there are
"differences" between the two approaches.
(Big understatement? Check out this interactive graphic|http://bit.ly/1bliItB and decide for yourself).
But the groups urge Congress to do its job and come up with a bipartisan
approach. (That is not going to be easy. And it's unclear if the
administration is really even doing much to help move reauthorization
along, despite what Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wrote in this
op-ed.)
Does the new letter look familiar? It should. Many of the same
organizations sent a very similar one to Congress earlier this year. And
another one last year
Diane Ravitch: LOUD VOICE FIGHTING TIDE OF NEW TREND IN EDUCATION
By MOTOKO RICH, New York Times | http://nyti.ms/15tKqRh
September 11, 2013 :: Diane Ravitch made her name in the 1970s as a
historian chronicling the role of public schools in American social
mobility. In the 1990s, she went to work in the Bush administration’s
Education Department, where she pushed for a rejection of 1960s
relativism and a return to basics and standards. After leaving
government, she called for the removal of incompetent teachers, for
tying school performance to student scores, and for closing failing
schools.
Now Ms. Ravitch, 75, is in the full flower of yet another stage in her
career: folk hero to the left and passionate scourge of pro-business
reformers. She has come to doubt the whole project of school reform,
saying it will solve little without addressing poverty and segregation.
“We know what works,” she writes. “What works are the opportunities that
advantaged families provide for their children.”
She pumps out hundreds of barbed words on her blog and thousands of
posts on Twitter. She calls the current formulas for evaluating teachers
“bad science.” And she says that closing schools solves nothing.
Ms. Ravitch has a new book coming out, called “Reign of Error: The Hoax
of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public
Schools,” in which she criticizes what she sees as a useless distraction
from the problems of race and income inequality. She warns of “the
Walmartization of American education,” and “promised miracles that would
shame snake-oil salesmen.”
While previously well known in education circles, she gained a much
broader audience after she publicly rejected almost everything she had
once believed. In a surprise 2010 best seller, “The Death and Life of
the Great American School System,” she openly declared that she had been
wrong to champion standardized testing, charter schools and vouchers.
She says she is trying now to make up for past errors.
“Part of the energy that I have to try to change things is to expiate
whatever responsibility I had in terms of advocating something that
turned out to be so terribly wrong for children,” Ms. Ravitch said in an
interview late last month in the Brooklyn Heights apartment where she
has been living with her partner, Mary Butz, a former official with the
New York City Education Department, since they sold their nearby
brownstone this summer.
She has an army of new backers, but some of them say she can undermine
her message when she criticizes with an overly broad brush or resorts to
personal attacks.
Robert Pondiscio, a former Bronx schoolteacher who says Ms. Ravitch was
influential in his support for a core curriculum, said that after her
conversion, she initially offered a “thoughtful and responsible”
counterweight to “kind of a distasteful ed-reform machismo.”
But now, he said, “I worry that Diane is preaching to her choir rather than being thoughtful about it.”
Others say that Ms. Ravitch has opened up a much-needed debate about the direction of education reform.
“About two or three years ago people were feeling, ‘Oh, my God, these
people are taking over and there’s nothing we can do,’ ” said Karen
Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, referring to those who
advocate for free-market-based overhaul of schools. “Diane has continued
to push that envelope and give people such hope.”
Her critics call Ms. Ravitch a shill for teachers’ unions and accuse her
of cherry-picking data to condemn charter schools or test-based
accountability.
In print, her righteous anger also fuels critics who say she has become a
caricature. Three days after the mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary
School in Newtown, Conn., Ms. Ravitch hailed the heroic teachers who
died that day and then went on to attack Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for
expanding high-stakes testing and charter schools.
In another instance, she wrote on her blog that “there is a special
place in hell” for leaders of Parent Revolution, an advocacy group that
pushes for state laws allowing parents to force school leadership
changes. (She later apologized.)
Ms. Ravitch regularly skewers individuals, including Joel I. Klein,
former chancellor of the New York City schools, a onetime friend, and
Arne Duncan, the United States secretary of education. In “Reign of
Error,” she devotes a chapter to Michelle A. Rhee, the former chancellor
of the Washington, D.C., schools and founder of StudentsFirst, a
political advocacy group that pushes lawmakers to overhaul tenure,
introduce test-based performance evaluations and expand charter schools.
Both Mr. Klein and Ms. Rhee declined to comment.
She displays a quick temper in print, but in conversation, Ms. Ravitch,
with cropped white-and-gray-speckled hair, a T-shirt, jeans and
sneakers, exuded quiet conviction, speaking steadily for three hours.
She raised her voice only slightly to reprimand the 60-pound puppy, a
Labrador and German shepherd mix, who bounded around the living room.
“I don’t pick fights with people,” she said, sitting in a rocking chair
embossed with the logo of her alma mater, Wellesley College. “But I try
to stand up for the weak and powerless and voiceless, and some people
don’t like that.”
Critics say she is unwilling to seek common ground. In “Reign of Error,”
she sharply criticizes the Obama administration for its education
policies, but when she argues for universal preschool, she never
mentions the president’s similar proposal.
In a blog post for The Huffington Post last month, Peter Cunningham, a
former assistant secretary for communications in the Education
Department under Mr. Duncan, wrote that part of his job was to “monitor
criticism of our policies” and that he monitored Ms. Ravitch “pretty
closely.”
Ms. Ravitch asked a reporter to file a Freedom of Information Act
request to find out how the Education Department was “monitoring” her.
Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said Ms.
Ravitch’s work was followed like that of any other education writer.
When describing her vision for public education, Ms. Ravitch often
invokes her own experiences of high school in Houston. What she wants
for the nation’s students, she said, is simply what she wants for her
own grandchild who attends public school in New York City.
“I don’t know where all this stuff about accountability will take my
grandchildren,” she said. “I want them to be good people, I want them to
have fun, I want them to laugh.”
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
“Big Teacher is Watching You”: GLENDALE UNIFIED SAYS SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING IS FOR STUDENT SAFETY http://bit.ly/16apeMx
UPDATED: LAUSD superintendent Deasy 'saddened' by deputy's resignation | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1aLxpGW
LEVERAGING JAIME AQUINO'S RESIGNATION TO PUSH FOR AUTHENTIC REFORM: originally published as: Joining Forces fo... http://bit.ly/18j7b6Q
Diane Ravitch: LOUD VOICE FIGHTING TIDE OF NEW TREND IN EDUCATION: By MOTOKO RICH, New York Times | http://nyt... http://bit.ly/1ggApIs
JAIME AQUINO ON MONICA GARCIA: He contributed $1000 to her re-election campaign | http://bit.ly/164DG86 + http://bit.ly/18lOB3V
MONICA GARCIA ON JAIME AQUINO: “I think he has incredible talent and feels like he needs to move." | http://bit.ly/14PB4AK
● Tweet: Asked by the Daily News if he intended to leave, Deasy declined to comment. | http://bit.ly/14PB4AK
DEPUTY SUPT. AQUINO DEPARTS L.A. UNIFIED, BLASTS “DYSFUNCTIONAL” SCHOOL BOARD + additional coverage: By Howard... http://bit.ly/1bhFlPx
● Tweet: Aquino, on his resignation:: LA Board of Education is dysfunctional and academic progress is at stake | http://lat.ms/1ddpzTP
AQUINO IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR: Broad Academy Class of ’08, Pearson employee, Teacher of the Year, Chapter Cha... http://bit.ly/1633JgP
The first shoe drops: DEASY DEPUTY JAIME AQUINO RESIGNS: by Hillel Aron in LA School Report | http://bit.... http://bit.ly/13XLSKC
“In an under-the-radar move…” MONICA GARCIA TAKES A JOB, BECOMES PART-TIMER ON THE BOARD + smf’s 2¢: by Hillel... http://bit.ly/162dNXc
SUPT. DEASY LOOKING TO HIRE 7 ADMINISTRATORS FOR $100K+ EACH TO COORDINATE WITH BOARD OF ED COMMITTEES + smf’s... http://bit.ly/161Bzmq
Friday the 13th -or- Meanwhile ….in Sacramento: briefly, from various sources Legislators pack it in -- Sac ... http://bit.ly/161mFfL
STATE AND LOCALS TO U.S. SENATE: REWRITE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ACT: By Alyson Klein | Politics K-12 - Education... http://bit.ly/1g9OQhm
Agenda: TUESDAY SEPT 17 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING :: An Overview of the Local Control Funding Formula + S... http://bit.ly/1g5XzRQ
SB 344: BILL ALREADY TINKERS WITH SCHOOL FUNDING FORMULA: By Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resou... http://bit.ly/1g5dVdi
LAUSD MOVES TO FACILITATE SCREENING FOR PARENT VOLUNTEERS, DELAYS LCFF BUDGET, IMPLEMENTS ARTS PLAN: By ... http://bit.ly/1g59OOx
3 Stories on AB 454: LEGISLATURE DEFIES FEDS, SENDS SCHOOL TESTING BILL TO GOVERNOR BROWN: coverage selected ... http://bit.ly/1b9Khpy
LAUSD’s COMMON CORE BUDGET APPROVAL PUT OFF FOR ANOTHER WEEK: by Hillel Aron, LA School Report | http:... http://bit.ly/1g4Q5OL
Race to the Top: LAUSD BOARD OK’s APPLICATION FOR $30M FEDERAL GRANT + smf’s 2¢: By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles... http://bit.ly/1g4xClu
POLISHING THE OLD APPLE (iPAD): by Kay Martin, CityWatch LA | http://bit.ly/14ItuYJ 6 Sep 2013 :: We knew... http://bit.ly/13QI4e5
L.A. SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES NEW PARENT TRIGGER RULES: By Teresa Watanabe, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1atlEkU S... http://bit.ly/184NLCC
NO STATEWIDE TESTING COULD DELAY PARENT TRIGGER DRIVES: by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | http:... http://bit.ly/1b96N1C
BOARD ORDERS LA UNIFIED TO PRODUCE BUDGET FOR ARTS EDUCATION PLAN: Mary Plummer| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http:... http://bit.ly/180SYet
Federal meddling? ….or an effort to avoid a conflict? DUNCAN THREATENS REPERCUSSIONS IF CALIFORNIA ENDS STATE ... http://bit.ly/17VeD83
DUNCAN THREATENS CALIFORNIA IF AB 484 – WHICH ELIMINATES SOME STANDARDIZED TESTING - PASSES: Duncan’s statemen... http://bit.ly/17V4mZr
Harry Potter+John Deasy, meet Willy Sutton: WILL LAUSD FIND WORMS IN ITS (iPAD) APPLES TOO?: http://bit.ly/1d2Dg83
Muggles+Luddites, meet Harry Potter: MAGICAL THINKING DOES NOT BELONG IN CLASSROOMS: http://bit.ly/19DXoeN
DEASY PULLS SUPPORT FOR SPEEDUP OF STANDARDIZED TESTING OVERHAUL: L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy changes his mi... http://bit.ly/1fT5DFb
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Monica.Ratliff@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress,
senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find
your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these
thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.
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