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Teaching, Leading, and Social Justice
Civics lessons from the House Democrats’ sit-in
Emily Richmond, The Atlantic
Whether the Democrats’ sit-in on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to protest congressional inaction on gun-control legislation was a publicity stunt or a tipping point remains to be seen. But the episode last week could serve as a teachable moment for the nation’s schoolchildren—and future voters.
Bill keeps longer tenure, scraps other ‘Vergara reforms’
John Fensterwald, EdSource
Determining that a less ambitious approach to reform has a better chance to succeed, Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, has scaled back a sweeping bill addressing teacher protections that are the focus in the Vergara v. State of California lawsuit.
Supreme Court denies rehearing of Friedrichs v. CTA lawsuit on union dues
Louis Freedberg, EdSource
In one of the last acts of the current term, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition from plaintiffs in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association to rehear the case that the court had already ruled on in a 4-4-opinion in March.
Charter school founder Steve Barr to challenge Garcetti in 2017
Peter Jamison and Howard Blume Los Angeles Times
Charter school founder Steve Barr on Monday filed papers to run for Los Angeles mayor, launching a long-shot candidacy that could reshape the dynamics of incumbent Mayor Eric Garcetti’s reelection bid by drawing voters’ attention to the city’s struggling school system.
Language, Culture, and Power
School police, special ed discipline and juvenile camps under investigation
Jane Meredith Adams, EdSource
California Attorney General Kamala Harris has announced five investigations across the state into the treatment of students and children by school police, juvenile hall staff, foster care agencies, child welfare departments and private special education school staff.
Education Secretary calls on charters to rethink discipline, reduce suspensions
Emma Brown, The Washington Post
John King Jr. once founded a charter school that aimed to prepare low-income children for college, and it was known both for posting high test scores and for issuing a lot of suspensions. Now King is U.S. Education Secretary, and he plans to recognize the 25th anniversary of the nation’s charter school movement by calling on charter leaders to rethink their approach to discipline and reduce their reliance on suspensions and expulsions.
Access, Assessment, and Advancement
In the search for better graduation rates, schools are fudging the numbers
The Times Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times
In 2014, the Los Angeles Unified School District announced a spectacular improvement in its graduation rate: Fully 77% of students who had come in as 9th graders four years earlier were now going to graduate as seniors. But there was a bit of a trick behind the number: It included only students who attended what are called “comprehensive” high schools. Those who had been transferred to alternative programs — the students most at risk of dropping out — weren’t counted. If they had been factored in, the rate would have been 67% — still good, but not nearly as flashy a number.
How race-based affirmative action could return to UC
Vikram Amar, Los Angeles Times
On Thursday, the Supreme Court surprised a lot of observers when it upheld, 4-3, the race-based affirmative action plan employed by the University of Texas in its undergraduate admissions.
Breaking the school-to-prison pipeline for young offenders one class at a time
Hari Sreenivasan, PBS
In most states across America, education for teen offenders pales in comparison to what they’d receive on the outside. Just one third mandate that these kids meet the same standards as their public school counterparts. Massachusetts is one of them, and there the goal is to save these young offenders with vocational classes and good old reading, writing and arithmetic. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
Inequality, Poverty, Segregation
Leg up or catch up? Wealthier students use summer school to get a step ahead
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC
Summer school is not longer only for students who want to erase an “F” grade. It’s increasingly becoming, for those who can afford it, the time when a high school students stack their transcript with classes for college admission.
How effective is class size reduction
William Mathis, National Education Policy Center
Parents and teachers know that smaller class sizes allow more personalized attention and greater student learning. However, since the majority of a school’s budget is comprised of teacher pay and benefits, the cost of small classes can be a contentious issue for school administrators. In a brief released today, The Effectiveness of Class Size Reduction,
William Mathis explores the research on class size and finds that the clear conclusion to be drawn from reviewing high-quality peer-reviewed papers is that smaller classes are academically, socially, and economically beneficial.
In Southern schools, segregation and inequality aren’t just history – they’re reality
Charlayne Hunter-Gault, PBS; Maureen Costello, Southern Poverty Law Center
Every teacher’s job and the job of school is to help students develop the skills that they need to thrive in a diverse society…We have a curriculum called Perspectives for a Diverse America. And at its heart are a series of texts that we have chosen because they’re either windows or mirrors. Windows. Windows are how I can look outside and I can see experiences and lives that are different than mine. And that’s something we have always said is important in education, is to learn about other people and how other people live. Mirrors are where I can see myself reflected in the books that I’m reading. And, of course, that’s important too, and it’s particularly important for a child of color, for a child who perhaps has immigrant parents, for children living in poverty, to recognize that they’re not on the outside, that they can be the heroes of their own story, too.
Public Schools and Private $
Activists reveal more dark-money donors to campaigns against unions and schools-funding tax
Howard Blume, Maloy Moore and Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times
About $7 billion a year in school funding will be at stake this fall when voters decide whether to extend Proposition 30, a tax on high-income Californians. Those in favor of the tax went on the offensive Tuesday, shining a spotlight on people who gave undisclosed money to fight the levy.
Charter school group draws financial battle lines in Assembly race
Ryan Masters, Santa Cruz Sentinel
As the dust settles on the primaries, Anna Caballero’s 20-point lead over Karina Cervantez Alejo in the race for the 30th Assembly District stands out as one of the few unexpected outcomes of the June 7 vote. Despite receiving a host of key early endorsements, including a nod from the California Democratic Party, Cervantez Alejo only received 25 percent of the vote in comparison to Caballero’s 45 percent. Although it is difficult to discern the precise reasons for this outcome, it is clear the race was affected to some degree by a committee called Parent Teacher Alliance, sponsored by California Charter Schools Association Advocates Independent Expenditure Committee, which poured $948,432 into Caballero’s campaign in the months leading up to the election.
Walton Foundation pledges $250 million for charter school facilities
Arianna Prothero, Education Week
The Walton Family Foundation—one of the most influential backers of charter schools—has announced plans to spend $250 million to help charter schools buy or renovate school buildings.
Other News of Note
As the Obamas visit Liberia, youth activist writes Malia and Sasha Obama – says ‘weeping voices in dying valley’
Martin K. N. Kollie, Youth Activist, GNN Liberia
Dear Malia and Sasha:
With esteemed hospitality and a great degree of compliments, we want to heartily welcome you and your mom along with her entourage to Africa’s oldest nation and the World’s second black Republic. Liberians, especially teenage girls are glad to have you (Malia and Sasha) visiting a rich, but yet poor country like Liberia. Receiving such a high-power delegation led by the First Lady of the United States of America, Mrs. Michelle Obama is historic and worthwhile.
Just News from Center X is a free weekly education news blast edited by Jenn Ayscue.