School blocks speech by valedictorian declaring he is gay - Education Week
Education Week May 31st, 2015
Key Points: A Colorado charter school refused at the last minute to allow the valedictorian to give his speech where he was planning to come out. The student claimed he had been in contact with school officials but they said they did not receive any revised versions.
Relevance: As a special educator working with students directly we need to make sure that students understand that their graduation speech is not the time for them to "push their personal agenda on a captive audience." It is important for students to understand that they will be supported and respected for their sexual orientation but this venue is not the acceptable place to share such information. The school officials could have made the situation better by notifying the student and their parent(s) of your concerns and giving them a chance to revise the speech.
Showing posts with label Charter Schools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charter Schools. Show all posts
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Politics that Impact the Classroom
Education Week
Partisan Hurdles Ahead on K-12 for some GOP Governors
Andrew Ujifusa, 3/4/2015
Audience: Educators, Education Politics readers
Key Points:
1) That three traditionally Democrat-leaning states (Massachusetts, Maryland, and Illinois) have recently elected Republican Governors, and that this has implications for the education policy of the state.
2) The issues in Maryland and Massachusetts focus on the role that charter schools play in serving the needs of the student population as well as their political implications.
3) In Illinois, the foremost issue is that the new Governor plans to erode or eliminate the power of the public-sector unions. He is also looking at options to close and consolidate school district administrative functions.
Relevance:
Working in public schools is an inherently political position. Teachers are not meant to be overt partisan actors in the course of their typical day, but our professional lives and educational positions are most certainly political footballs. It is important not only to develop ourselves pedagogically, but also to stay aware of, and to act on policies that will have implications for issues we care about.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Are Magnet Schools the Answer to Test Score Woes?
Howard Blume
Westchester High to Become Magnet School Amid Cost, Ethnicity Concerns (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/westchester-high-to-become-a-magnet-school-raising-concerns-about-cost-and-ethnic-make-up.html#more)
LA Times
April 13, 2011
Summary: One of the predominantly black schools in Los Angeles has proposed a move away from traditional education. The proposal would turn the school into a magnet school with a focus on science. The article is a brief discussion of the implications of such a move.
Intended Audience: General Public
Key Points: 1) The school, while improving, is still struggling to break out of the bottom %20 of schools--in terms of test scores, 2) The new principle believes that a focus on math and science creates the best opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the students, 3) Opposition comes from those scared of both the budget situation and a possible shift in the school's demographics.
Relevance: Perhaps magnet schools, like trade schools, can be one answer to providing students with diverse educations. Maybe we do not all need to know the same things, and maybe providing more freedom of choice as to is available will lead to better education in general.
Westchester High to Become Magnet School Amid Cost, Ethnicity Concerns (http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/04/westchester-high-to-become-a-magnet-school-raising-concerns-about-cost-and-ethnic-make-up.html#more)
LA Times
April 13, 2011
Summary: One of the predominantly black schools in Los Angeles has proposed a move away from traditional education. The proposal would turn the school into a magnet school with a focus on science. The article is a brief discussion of the implications of such a move.
Intended Audience: General Public
Key Points: 1) The school, while improving, is still struggling to break out of the bottom %20 of schools--in terms of test scores, 2) The new principle believes that a focus on math and science creates the best opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the students, 3) Opposition comes from those scared of both the budget situation and a possible shift in the school's demographics.
Relevance: Perhaps magnet schools, like trade schools, can be one answer to providing students with diverse educations. Maybe we do not all need to know the same things, and maybe providing more freedom of choice as to is available will lead to better education in general.
Education Battle at Compton Unified Schools
Jim Newton
Education Battle at Compton Unified School (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-newton-compton-20110418,0,5430463.column)
LA Times
April 18th 2011
Summary: "The struggle for equal educational opportunity is the great civil rights imperative of our time. It pits those who demand a decent education against an educational establishment that often blithely ignores them." This quote from the article should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from it. The article talks about a group of parents who are attempting to advocate for their children's educations, but are being opposed by the local school board.
Audience: Clear bias for the side of the parents
Key Points: 1) Education is a civil rights issue, 2) Minority schools are often ignored, 3) Even when parents in minority schools try to use the law to their advantage, it is an up hill battle.
Relevance: This hearkens back to our discussions about race a few months back. I have had a couple of discussions with one of my mentor teachers about parent advocacy and how it is generally lacking in struggling schools--especially in PPS. It is interesting to see an example of a group of parents attempting to advocate but being stonewalled in return.
Education Battle at Compton Unified School (http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-newton-compton-20110418,0,5430463.column)
LA Times
April 18th 2011
Summary: "The struggle for equal educational opportunity is the great civil rights imperative of our time. It pits those who demand a decent education against an educational establishment that often blithely ignores them." This quote from the article should give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from it. The article talks about a group of parents who are attempting to advocate for their children's educations, but are being opposed by the local school board.
Audience: Clear bias for the side of the parents
Key Points: 1) Education is a civil rights issue, 2) Minority schools are often ignored, 3) Even when parents in minority schools try to use the law to their advantage, it is an up hill battle.
Relevance: This hearkens back to our discussions about race a few months back. I have had a couple of discussions with one of my mentor teachers about parent advocacy and how it is generally lacking in struggling schools--especially in PPS. It is interesting to see an example of a group of parents attempting to advocate but being stonewalled in return.
Monday, April 11, 2011
In New York Charter School Debate, the tables are turned
A City School’s Uphill Fight Over Sharing Space With a Charter
New York Times
By MICHAEL WINERIP
Published: April 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/nyregion/11winerip.html?_r=1&ref=education
Topic: In what many might consider a "Man bites dog" story, it is the defenders of the public schools who are up against the larger, better funded, better connected charter school system.
Key Point: In a mixed race and mixed economic area of New York City, the goals of the local public school parents to improve the Middle School have hit unlikely snags. P.S. 9 parents have fought City Hall, scoring a few upset victories. But they have also learned a hard lesson: once the mayor’s people set their sights on a charter school location, the chances of successfully challenging a charter are slim. Supporters of district schools fear that once a charter moves in, it will take over the building. They resent being compared academically, when on average, charters in New York City have fewer poor, immigrant and special-education students.
New York Times
By MICHAEL WINERIP
Published: April 10, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/nyregion/11winerip.html?_r=1&ref=education
Topic: In what many might consider a "Man bites dog" story, it is the defenders of the public schools who are up against the larger, better funded, better connected charter school system.
Key Point: In a mixed race and mixed economic area of New York City, the goals of the local public school parents to improve the Middle School have hit unlikely snags. P.S. 9 parents have fought City Hall, scoring a few upset victories. But they have also learned a hard lesson: once the mayor’s people set their sights on a charter school location, the chances of successfully challenging a charter are slim. Supporters of district schools fear that once a charter moves in, it will take over the building. They resent being compared academically, when on average, charters in New York City have fewer poor, immigrant and special-education students.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Charter School Champion Shifts Focus
Charter School Champion Shifts Focus
Sam Dillon
New York Times
March 26, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/us/26charter.html?ref=education
Topic: The evolution of Charter Schools
This is an article about the founder of an organization who has more enthusiasm than patience and is moving on from his project to take on new ones. It is a typical pattern.
Key Points: Steve Barr, the founder of an LA based charter school organization, "Green Dot" has moved on to form his own organization in New York and elsewhere.
Green Dot is one of a dozen or so nonprofit, high-performing charter chains that focus on students from low-income families and have grown rapidly over the past decade with philanthropic financing. Most of the others, which include the Kipp Schools, with 99 schools in 20 states, and Achievement First, with 19 schools in Connecticut and New York, operate with largely nonunion teachers.
Green Dot is similar but staffs its schools with union represented teachers.
Relevance: The article is a good jumping off point for a look at different charter school operations. It references a forthcoming book about the Green Dot experience written by Alexander Russo, which might be interesting to those with interest on the subject.
Sam Dillon
New York Times
March 26, 2011
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/26/us/26charter.html?ref=education
Topic: The evolution of Charter Schools
This is an article about the founder of an organization who has more enthusiasm than patience and is moving on from his project to take on new ones. It is a typical pattern.
Key Points: Steve Barr, the founder of an LA based charter school organization, "Green Dot" has moved on to form his own organization in New York and elsewhere.
Green Dot is one of a dozen or so nonprofit, high-performing charter chains that focus on students from low-income families and have grown rapidly over the past decade with philanthropic financing. Most of the others, which include the Kipp Schools, with 99 schools in 20 states, and Achievement First, with 19 schools in Connecticut and New York, operate with largely nonunion teachers.
Green Dot is similar but staffs its schools with union represented teachers.
Relevance: The article is a good jumping off point for a look at different charter school operations. It references a forthcoming book about the Green Dot experience written by Alexander Russo, which might be interesting to those with interest on the subject.
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