GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

• Education Secretary Arne Duncan explained his proposed NCLB revisions on Morning Joe.
• The two national teachers unions both say that the proposals “scapegoat” teachers…
• …While Chancellor Joel Klein called Obama’s plan “strong medicine” on NBC.
  
• Politics K-12 observes that, compared to 2007, most people seem pretty happy with Obama’s blueprint.
• The Times’ Room for Debate blog hones in on the causes behind the charter school backlash.
• Some Chicago charter schools are warning that budget cuts might force them to close.
• Education Sector examines how the DOE helps teachers use ARIS data in the classroom.
• Mass Insight’s Justin Cohen thinks we should all be paying more attention to Detroit’s schools.
• InsideSchools invites parents and teachers to share their thoughts on classroom discipline.
• A panel of researchers proposed an “America’s Teacher Corps” to attract great teachers to needy schools.
• And satirist Bill Maher has a modest proposal for fixing schools: don’t fire teachers, fire parents.

Department of Education and teachers union officials could have a deal within weeks that would shrink the number of teachers sitting in rubber rooms.

Sources within the United Federation of Teachers said that the two sides have been negotiating for several weeks outside of contract talks, which have stalled, but would not give any specifics about how the population of teachers in the rooms might be reduced.

The rubber rooms, technically called “reassignment centers,” are student-less classrooms where about 650 teachers and administrators accused of misconduct or incompetence report for duty every day as they wait to be officially charged or have their cases heard. The wait can sometimes stretch over years, during which teachers receive their full salaries. According to Chancellor Joel Klein, last year the city spent some $30 million covering these teachers’ salaries. (more…)

Despite a growing popular consensus that teacher quality is the most significant factor in academic achievement, as a parent and taxpayer the costs and practicality of this focus concern me. Chancellor Joel Klein focuses keenly on better teacher quality. I agree a strong teacher is crucial, especially for low-income students. But the value of our efforts to identify high-quality instructors and ease the removal of low-quality teachers is questionable.

For starters, the value-added measurements at the core of the relevant evaluation systems are nascent at best, as their developers readily admit. The Department of Education has calculated school report cards three different ways in the last three years; this is appropriate flexibility for a new concept, but not indicative of an established metric. Notwithstanding its motives, the teachers union raises a reasonable complaint that valued-added measurements are not ready for prime time. When reformers deny this, their credibility suffers as much as the union’s.

But still, let’s imagine we build the world’s best evaluation system. (more…)

We’ve been getting out our aprons and whisks for the “bake-in” planned at City Hall Park on Thursday.

We’re anticipating hundreds of parents joining us to protest the new Chancellor’s Regulation A-812, which prohibits home-baked foods from being sold at school fundraisers while requiring Doritos and Pop-Tarts instead. Yes, this regulation mandates that if we want to sell food to raise money for our schools, it has to be junk food that we buy through the Department of Education or at Costco! Home-baked cookies and banana bread aren’t good enough to help parents raise money for desperately needed arts, sports, and extracurricular programs.

At the bake in, we’ll have two tables set up: One will display the single-serving packages of Fritos, Pop-Tarts, and Doritos required under the new regulation, the other delicious, home-cooked food prepared by parents and their children. We’ll show off the ingredients of all the foods, so that parents and passersby can decide for themselves which treats are better for children. (more…)

• The Obama administration released its plan for reauthorizing the national education law. (Times)
• The plan favors high expectations and college readiness. (Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg)
• Various groups are already gearing up for a fight over the plan. (USA Today, Wall Street Journal)
• Chancellor Klein said the plan is a good start but needs more specific school closure criteria. (Post)
• Ed Sec Arne Duncan wants to replace NCLB’s pass-fail school criteria with three ratings. (USA Today)
• The first week of school this fall will include only one day, Wednesday. (Daily News)
• Students from 20 city schools competed in a math video game tournament at Columbia. (Post, NY1)
• Three students were stabbed at city schools on Friday. (GothamSchools, Post)
• Elected officials are asking why metal detectors didn’t prevent the stabbings. (Daily News, NY1)
• The number of students trying to transfer to CUNY colleges this fall is up more than 75 percent. (Post)
• One public schooler will help represent the city at the national spelling bee. (Daily News)
• A panel said NYC discriminated against Khalil Gibran’s principal. (GothamSchools, Times, Daily News)
• The Post says that while the test score audit underway might not be ideal, it’s long overdue.
• The Daily News says potential cuts to GED programs are politically motivated.
• The Post says the state should find ways to cut costs without eliminating Regents exams.
• Stanley Crouch praises an after school and mentoring program in Harlem. (Daily News)
• Students at Central Falls High School say their soon-to-fired teachers have helped them. (AP)
• Diane Ravitch says history shows that there’s no single solution to improving schools. (L.A. Times)
• Texas’s textbook panel voted to inject a conservative outlook into the state’s social studies books. (Times)
• A school in Newark has hired a coach to teach students how to behave better at recess. (Times)
• New Jersey’s massive school budget cuts will end a major after-school program this week. (Times)