This article explains the dangers of evaluating teachers with formulas and rankings that undermine the real tasks of school leadership.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/15/opinion/want-to-ruin-teaching-give-ratings.html?emc=eta1
School Reform, not School Corporatization
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Monday, October 15, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Legal challenge to providing student data to "Shared Learning Collaborative"
For
Immediate Release: October 14, 2012
For more
information contact:
Norman
Siegel: (347) 907-0867; NSiegel@stellp.com
Leonie
Haimson: (917) 435-9329; leonie@classsizematters.org
Attorney and Parents Send Letter to NYS Attorney General
& Education Officials Questioning Legality of Providing Confidential
Student Data to Limited Corporation and Demanding Parental Right to
Consent
On Sunday,
October 14, at a press conference held at the midtown law offices of Siegel
Teitelbaum & Evans LLP, attorney Norman Siegel and New York parents
released a letter sent Friday to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and the
New York State Board of Regents, demanding that the agreement between the NY
State Education Department and the “Shared Learning Collaborative” be
released, setting out the conditions and restrictions on the use of
confidential student and teacher data to be provided to this limited
corporation. The letter asked that parents be informed exactly what
information concerning their children will be shared with this corporation,
why the transfer of this data does not violate federal privacy protections,
and demanding that the parents have the right to withhold their children’s
information from being shared. The letter is posted at http://bit.ly/W6H2qV
Background: In Aug. 25, 2011, NY State
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli informed the NY State Education Department that he
was rejecting its proposed no-bid contract with Wireless Generation to build a
state data system, composed of confidential student and teacher information
because of privacy concerns. Wireless Generation is a subsidiary of News
Corporation. Several high-ranking former executives and employees of the
News Corporation in the UK were being investigated for violations of privacy
and bribing public officials. As the State Comptroller wrote, "in
light of the significant ongoing investigations and continuing revelations
with respect to News Corporation, we are returning the contract with Wireless
Generation unapproved." Since then, the scandal has
continued to grow, with the number of indicted News Corporation officials
expanding in number.
Yet four months
later, in December, the NY Board of Regents approved NYSED’s plan to provide
this confidential student and teacher data to a limited corporation, called
the Shared Learning
Collaborative LLC (SLC). The Gates Foundation
awarded $76.5 million to form this LLC,
with $44 million going to Wireless
Generation, to design and operate the system. According to the SLC’s
website, New York is one of five states – along with Colorado, Illinois,
Massachusetts, and North Carolina – participating in Phase I of this project,
starting in late 2012. The pilot districts are Jefferson County School District (CO);
Unit 5 (Normal, IL); District 87 (Bloomington, IL); Everett (MA);
Guilford County Schools (NC), and NYC. Four more states – Delaware,
Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana – have committed to join Phase II in
2013. Though New York City is one of the pilot districts, the city’s
parents have been told nothing about this project, and the state has not
shared its agreement with the SLC about the use and protection of this data,
despite several requests to do so.
Apart from the lack of parental disclosure and privacy concerns, the SLC website makes it clear that this student data will be used to help companies develop and market educational products. However FERPA, or the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, appears not to allow the sharing of confidential student information for commercial purposes.
Leonie
Haimson, the Executive Director of Class Size Matters, said: “Just this week
in Washington the Federal Trade Commission announced sweeping new protections
for children’s privacy data. The reason is simple: abuses are rampant, and
once a child’s identity is in the marketplace it cannot be called back or
protected. We stand with the FTC, every major privacy advocacy group, and all
concerned parents in opposing any action to relax child privacy protections,
including this plan by the NY State Education Department and the NYC
Department of Education, to share confidential information about our public
school students without their parents’ knowledge or consent.”
Janice
Bloom, a member of ParentVoicesNY and a parent of a kindergarten student and a
3rd grader in a Brooklyn public school, said, “I am outraged that
the state and the city would have agreed to share our children’s confidential
data with a private corporation, without telling us anything about it. I am
even more upset that this data is apparently being made available to companies
for the purpose of marketing commercial products to the public school system.
Parents need to be fully informed of the purpose and ramifications of this
project, and provided with the right to opt out. I do not believe that
public schools should be in the business of exploiting children for
profit.”
Karen
Sprowal, the mother of a 4th grader, added: “As a parent of a
special needs child, I need to be especially vigilant as to where my child’s
information ends up, who gains access to it and for what reason. I think
that the State and the City owe a detailed explanation to me and other NYC
parents what the purpose of this project is, as well as an apology for having
decided to go forward without telling us a word about it in advance.”
As Nancy
Cauthen, a member of the organization Change the Stakes and the mother of a
6th and a 10th grader in NYC public schools said: “The erosion of
privacy that this project represents is part and parcel of the pillaging of
public education for private gain. The fact that Rupert Murdoch’s News
Corporation is involved makes me even more fearful that my child’s privacy
will be violated and abused.”
Julie
Cavanagh, a special education teacher in Brooklyn, explained: “As a public
school teacher I am concerned not only for the privacy of my students, and the
way this data will be provided to for-profit enterprises, but I am also
worried that this national database may be used to blacklist members of the
teaching profession. Though the National Academy of Sciences and other
expert groups have concluded that teacher evaluation systems based on student
test scores are not to be trusted, the Gates Foundation seems intent on
foisting these systems on the nation. When the DOE’s unreliable teacher
data reports were released, Murdoch’s NY Post not only published them in the
paper, but tracked down and harassed teachers who had received low ratings.
”
Tracy Pyper,
the Advocacy Chair of the Westchester/East Putnam Region PTA,
said: "I was extremely troubled to learn that NY State has decided
to hand over student personal information to Rupert Murdoch's Wireless
Generation, without asking or even telling their parents about this. And
while I realize that at this point, only NYC data is being provided, it is
just a matter of time before all of our children in NY State may have their
confidential information shared. Once parents are made aware of how the
state is making critical decisions about our children’s private information,
without parental consent, they will be very concerned. I strongly urge
the State Education Department to halt all further action until they can
explain exactly what personal information will be provided to Wireless
Generation, what safeguards they are taking to protect the information, and
most importantly, give parents the right to opt out.”
Norman Siegel, attorney, concluded: “The risks
are real and immediate. The State Education Department has a fundamental
responsibility to protect the privacy rights of public school children and
their families. Before a single child's information is turned over to the
Shared Learning Collaborative (a joint venture of the Gates Foundation and
Wireless Generation LLC), our education officials must guarantee that no harm
will come to New York school children by meeting the following
requirements:
·
Publish the agreement with SLC in printed and electronic
form, include a thorough explanation of its purpose and provisions, and
make it available to parents and local school authorities statewide;
·
Hold hearings throughout the state to explain the
agreement, answer questions from the public, obtain informed comment, and
gauge public reaction;
·
Notify all parents of the impending disclosure, and
provide them with a right to consent;
·
Define what rights families or individuals will have to
obtain relief if harmed by improper use or release of their private
information, including how claims can be made;
·
Agree to allow no disclosure of public school records
until the State Education Department and the NYC Department of Education meets
all of its ethical, security, and statutory obligations to the parents and
public school children of the city and state;
·
Ensure that the privacy interest of public school
children and their families are put above the interests of the Shared Learning
Collaborative, News Corporation and its agents and subsidiaries.”
###
Saturday, October 13, 2012
New York Times 10.13.12: Johnny isn't sick, he's boycotting the test
At last, coverage of what NYC Parents are doing to fight back!
One of the panelists for our Forum on Oct. 23rd is in the picture---come and hear her in person!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/ 10/14/education/dear-teacher- johnny-isnt-sick-hes-just- boycotting-the-test.html?hpw&_ r=0&gwh= E980825F3F76567B20B28438537AA4 40
One of the panelists for our Forum on Oct. 23rd is in the picture---come and hear her in person!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/
Thursday, October 11, 2012
from Diane Ravitch: October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools
Spread the Word about October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools!
October 6, 2012 //
31
I will write about this every single day from now until October 17.
Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.
You can write it now and follow instructions here.
Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.
We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.
Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.
Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.
Here are the instructions:
You can send your letter to Anthony Cody or to this blog.
Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.
Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.
1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.
2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.
All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.
In ADDITION to this,
3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500
4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.
One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.
Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.
Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.
Let’s act. Start here. Start now.
Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.
Diane
Please write your thoughts about what needs to change in federal education policy and send a letter to President Obama by that date.
You can write it now and follow instructions here.
Anthony Cody, experienced middle school science teacher and fabulous blogger, has offered to coordinate our campaign to write President Obama on October 17.
We call it the Campaign for Our Public Schools.
Our campaign is meant to include everyone who cares about public education: students, parents, teachers, principals, school board members, and concerned citizens. We want everyone to write the President and tell him what needs to change in his education policies.
Tell your friends about the Campaign. If you have a blog, write about it. Wherever you are, spread the news. Join us.
Here are the instructions:
You can send your letter to Anthony Cody or to this blog.
Or you can send it directly to the White House, with a copy to me or Anthony.
Anthony will gather all the emails sent to him and me and forward them to the White House.
1. Email your letters to anthony_cody@hotmail.com.
2. Or submit them as comments to this blog. You can respond to this post or to any other post on this blog about the October 17 Campaign for Our Public Schools.
All letters collected through these two channels will be compiled into a single document, which will be sent to the White House on Oct. 18.
In ADDITION to this,
3. You can mail copies of your letters through US mail to The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 20500
4. You can send them by email from this page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments
If you choose to write or email the White House, please send us a copy so we can keep track of how many letters were sent to the President.
One more thought: when you write to the President, also write to your Senators and Congressman or -woman and to your state legislator and Governor. Send the same letter to them all.
Let’s raise our voices NOW against privatization, against high-stakes testing, against teacher bashing, against profiteering.
Let’s advocate for policies that are good for students, that truly improve education, that respect the education profession, and that strengthen our democratic system of public education.
Let’s act. Start here. Start now.
Join our campaign. Speak out. Enough is enough.
Diane
From the mouths of babes
Read about how an 11 year old responds to having her teacher evaluated by her test score---
http://www.washingtonpost.com/valerie-strauss/2011/03/07/ABZrToO_page.html
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Social nature of "performance"
This article from today's NY Times provides more support for the fact that standardized tests are not valid measures of learning. We actually reduce our students' ability to give us a real picture of what they know.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/intelligence-and-the-stereotype-threat.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/opinion/sunday/intelligence-and-the-stereotype-threat.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Follow the link to Don Sternberg's blog posting
Don Sternberg, who aplogized to the parents of his Wantagh (Long Island) elementary school, suggests a letter-writing campaign.
http://www.schoolleadership20.com/profiles/blogs/a-new-message-from-dr-don-sternberg-author-of-the-famed-dear-pare?xg_source=activity&utm_source=October+3%2C+2012&utm_campaign=Oct+3++2012&utm_medium=email
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