Assigning Letter Grades to Public Schools? The Danger of the Single Performance Indicator by  Jason L. Endacott  &  Christian Z. Goering on the Teachers College Record site.

Sixteen states require their Departments of Education to assign a single performance indicator such as a "letter grade" to schools within those states. We take a look at the relationship between school grades and poverty in one of these states. Our analysis indicates that there is a moderate negative correlation between poverty and school performance indicators. We discuss the implications for communities and structural poverty and make a plea to reconsider the manner in which single performance indicators are determined. 

Valuing Public Education: A 50 STATE REPORT CARD by the Network for Public Education.

State policies and laws enacted since the beginning of the No Child Left Behind Act have
taken a toll on our public schools. Prior to NCLB, nearly every state would have earned a grade of "A" in the criteria, No High Stakes Testing. This year, only 5 states earned a grade of "A." Grades in the criteria Chance for Success are lower than they would have been a decade ago, due to rising numbers of students living in poverty and increased racial isolation in schools. And when it comes to school finance, our national grade is a dismal "D."

Still there are bright spots. Seven states have rejected charters, vouchers and other "reforms" that undermine community public schools. Three states - Alabama, Montana and Nebraska - each earn an "A" for their rejection of both high stakes testing and privatization. No state, however, received high grades across the board. For example, although Alabama scored high in resistance to high stakes testing and privatization, its schools are underfunded and far too many students live in poverty or near poverty in the state. ( Read more.)

Bill Gates keeps pushing Common Core, with big money (and a bid to get Charles Koch to like it) by Valerie Strauss on the Washington Post site.

Through his exceedingly wealthy foundation, Gates has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to create and promote the Common Core State Standards over the years. When the initiative ran into opposition from critics across the political spectrum, Gates remained steadfast. Not only did he continue to pour money into Core implementation and promotion, but, according to a new article in Fortune , he dined with conservative billionaire Charles Koch in February 2014 to try to persuade him to stop funding tea party groups that were fighting the Core. Koch didn't budge, but Gates has kept up his support, and in 2015, he donated more than $42 million to several dozen organizations to support the Core.  ( Read more.)

Emails reveal the "Gates Machine" in action after the Washington State Supreme Court's decision that charter schools are unconstitutional   on the Seattle Education site.

 

  The Spirit of Gerry Jones Lives On b y Bill Cirone on the Noozhawk site.

  Common Core: An Obituary by Stephen Fink on the Instructional Leadership in Action site.

California should consider recruiting teachers as early as high school and offer clear pathways to the classroom for aspiring educators who transfer from other careers or states to mitigate a chronic teacher shortage.

Those are two of the policy recommendations in a  new report by the nonprofit California-based Learning Policy Institute, which suggested seven strategies to get more teachers into the classroom, especially in hard-to-fill positions.

Y'all got to be excited! Here you sit on the cusp of making history in Tennessee, despite a  few pesky parents,  educators,  newspaper columnists, members of the  Tennessee County Commissioners Association,  school board members,  students, and  community members, who can't appreciate all you do, by this time next week, you'll be celebrating Tennessee joining the  forward-thinking states who have provided a pathway out  for all those trapped kids in failing schools. Never mind that vouchers have never worked anywhere else, we all know Tennessee is different. So ignore the haters, this has been a long time coming, and Lord knows, you've worked hard for it and deserve it.

Legislators, I have got to say I am really impressed by your willingness to stake your political reputation on the idea of vouchers for the sake of those poor, poor children. Some may say otherwise, but I take it as evidence that you care about all children. Seeing as, for the most part, you will never even interact with these children. People don't appreciate how expensive running for office every two years is and out-of-state education lobby groups have been extremely generous over the last several years. Heck, last year alone they  dropped 260K  on your campaigns. A million bucks over the last two years  is a  lot of cabbage . Especially now that some of you  are  drawing challengers . Your willingness to make this sacrifice shows that this truly is about the kids.  ( Read more.)

In 1840 Mann wrote On the Art of Teaching. Some of HML members present On the Art of Teaching to new teachers as part of their orientation program.  On the inside cover, some write a personal welcome message to the recipient.  Other HML members present the book to school board members and parental organizations as a token of appreciation for becoming involved in their schools.  The book cover can be designed with the organization's name.  For more information, contact the HML ( Jack McKay)