Thanks for visiting my blog

Thank you for visiting my blog. I sometimes don't have time to post here everything that I send to my school reform email list, so if you want to receive my regular (approximately once a week) email updates, please email me at WTilson at tilsonfunds.com. In addition, in between emails, I regularly tweet the most interesting articles I come across, so sign up to follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/arightdenied

For more about me and links to my favorite articles, posts and videos on education reform, see my School Reform Resource Page at www.arightdenied.org, in particular my Powerpoint presentation entitled A Right Denied: The Critical Need for Genuine School Reform, which is posted at www.arightdenied.org/presentation-slides.

The idea for this came to me after watching An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary about global warming. After seeing it, I thought to myself, "That's exactly what school reformers need as well!" My presentation is meant to be a collection of data and arguments that forcefully advocates for an urgent school reform agenda. It was made into a documentary in 2010 that you can watch at www.arightdenied.org.

College sexual assault

1 in 5 college women say they were violated

Story by Nick Anderson, Scott Clement

Photos by Evelyn Hockstein 

Published on June 12, 2015

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2015/06/12/1-in-5-women-say-they-were-violated/

Thank you for visiting my blog

Thank you for visiting my blog. I sometimes don't have time to post here everything that I send to my school reform email list, so if you want to receive my regular (approximately once a week) email updates, please email me at WTilson at tilsonfunds.com. In addition, in between emails, I regularly tweet the most interesting articles I come across, so sign up to follow me on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/arightdenied

 

For more about me and links to my favorite articles, posts and videos on education reform, see my School Reform Resource Page at www.arightdenied.org, in particular my Powerpoint presentation entitled A Right Denied: The Critical Need for Genuine School Reform, which is posted at www.arightdenied.org/presentation-slides. 

 

The idea for this came to me after watching An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's documentary about global warming. After seeing it, I thought to myself, "That's exactly what school reformers need as well!" My presentation is meant to be a collection of data and arguments that forcefully advocates for an urgent school reform agenda. It was made into a documentary in 2010 that you can watch at www.arightdenied.org.

Rebutting proposals to eliminate the US Dept of Education:

 Frank Bruni with a thoughtful article rebutting proposals to eliminate the US Dept of Education:

It has been around long enough now that its outright elimination would be an extreme measure. Qualms with the way it functions are one thing; debates about its power and size are legitimate, even necessary. But what some of the Republican presidential candidates are doing is the equivalent of looking at a person who's having a really bad hair day and recommending decapitation.

While more thoughtful conservatives like Alexander have sketched out how things might work without an education department, these firebrands are engaged in theater, not real debate. They're after applause lines, not solutions.

And that's one of my chief gripes with the battle cry to banish the Department of Education. It's policy by sound bite. There's too much of that already.

The Education Assassins

May 30, 2015

Frank Bruni

A CONTEST for the least popular arm of the federal government would have many strong contenders.

There's the soft, cuddly Internal Revenue Service. Also the National Security Agency, America's Peeping Tom. And let's not forget the Environmental Protection Agency, seen by many manufacturers as one big, mossy, bossy paean to regulation run amok.

But for politicians, in particular Republicans, another challenger comes into play: the Department of Education.

If you live in NYS, please contact your state senator and assembly member to urge them to support this:

There are only a few weeks left to get the NY State Assembly to approve a bill that would increase substantially the amount of money available for scholarships for low-income families sending their students to out-of-district public, parochial, or private schools.  The annual tax-credit plan has four basic planks as described in a recent press release:

·        Up to $500 in tax credits for low-income families who send their children to nonpublic and out-of-district schools;

·        $50 million in tax credits to individuals and businesses that donate funds to nonprofits offering scholarships to low-income students attending nonpublic schools;

·        $20 million in incentives to public schools offering enhanced educational programming, such as after-school programs; and,

·        Tax credits of up to $200 for public school teachers who purchase classroom supplies.

Governor Cuomo has proposed a Parental Choice in Education Agenda that includes this Education Tax Credit to encourage donations to scholarship funds serving parents with children in religious and other schools. 

Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Senate are already on board.  But, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Assembly Democrats are blocking this important bill.  They are blocking this bill for one simple reason: the influence of teacher-union leaders who don't believe that parents should have the right to choose where to send their children to school.
 
We can win this, but only if parents and voters speak up on behalf of the children and families who are simply looking for a better alternative to the failing schools in their neighborhoods. 
 
Please speak up by signing onto www.investined.org today. Type in your street address and zip code, and the website will identify your state legislator and give you a sample email which you can customize, if you like.  Then press "Submit Email" and you're done.  Take a few moments now to let your legislator hear, loud and clear, that you demand action on this important legislation. 
 
Please don't set this aside to do later.  Go to www.investined.org.   Help us help the children who most desperately deserve the option of sending their children to schools where they know they can learn.  

Below is an op ed in the NY Post about this:

The Education Investment Tax Credit is an idea whose time has come. For years, I have been a supporter along with Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the rest of the diocesan bishops across New York. The bill also counts as supporters Gov. Cuomo and a majority of state legislators.

So why isn't it the law? After all, it has overwhelming bipartisan support.

Time is running out. We have to act now to convince the state Assembly to pass this bill, which will substantially increase the funds raised for scholarships in the Diocese of Brooklyn and every other diocese across the state.

The law that could save our schools

By Nicholas DiMarzio

June 3, 2015 | 11:47am

http://nypost.com/2015/06/03/the-law-that-could-save-our-schools/

New York State Education Commissioner Brings Blunt Style to Tough Job

Speaking of NYS, we have a new state ed superintendent, MaryEllen Elia, about whom I've heard good things – namely, that she:

 

·       Was a fairly innovative district superintendent in Hillsborough, FL, which received a $100M grant from the Gates Foundation because of her and her collaborative relationship with the local teachers union. 

·       Is known for being direct and very approachable.

·       Was Jeb Bush's favorite superintendent, mainly because of her willingness to be open to new ideas.

 

Here's a WSJ profile of her:

Ms. Elia, appointed last week to be New York state education commissioner, was known by many for such innovative problem-solving in her last job, as superintendent of a large, diverse district in Florida.

While some critics said she was intimidating or failed to take their concerns seriously, the Hillsborough County system she ran for a decade won national recognition as a model of teamwork between district and union leaders.

Now she is preparing for her July 6 start heading a sprawling agency that serves nearly 2.7 million public-school children. Reporting to the Board of Regents and earning a $250,000 salary, she will also oversee state universities, museums, libraries, professional licensing and adult education.

Ms. Elia, 66 years old, arrives at a time of intense acrimony between Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the statewide teachers union over school funding, testing and teacher ratings.

New York State Education Commissioner Brings Blunt Style to Tough Job

MaryEllen Elia was known as innovative problem solver as superintendent of Florida school district

MaryEllen Elia in January, when she was superintendent in Hillsborough County, Fla.

By Leslie Brody

WSJ, June 2, 2015 8:48 p.m. ET

http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-state-education-commissioner-brings-blunt-style-to-tough-job-1433292530

The graduation gap is even wider than the enrollment gap

Another study showing a very troubling phenomenon:

Rich and poor students don't merely enroll in college at different rates; they also complete it at different rates. The graduation gap is even wider than the enrollment gap.

In 2002, researchers with the National Center for Education Statistics started tracking a cohort of 15,000 high school sophomores. The project, called the Education Longitudinal Study, recorded information about the students' academic achievement, college entry, work history and college graduation. A recent publication examines the completed education of these young people, who are now in their late 20s.

…Thirteen years later, we can see who achieved their goals.

Among the participants from the most disadvantaged families, just 14 percent had earned a bachelor's degree.

That is, one out of four of the disadvantaged students who had hoped to get a bachelor's had done so. Among those from the most advantaged families, 60 percent had earned a bachelor's, about two-thirds of those who had planned to.

For the Poor, the Graduation Gap Is Even Wider Than the Enrollment Gap

NYT, JUNE 2, 2015

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/upshot/for-the-poor-the-graduation-gap-is-even-wider-than-the-enrollment-gap.html

Some colleges are doing great things to address this terrible problem – Craig Robinson, who runs the KIPP Through College program, highlights 10 of them:

Setting students up for college success doesn't end when they graduate high school. In fact, that's just the beginning. Students—especially those from low-income backgrounds—need support all the way through to college graduation day.

Over the years, we've heard back from many KIPP alumni about what's helped and hindered them most as they navigate the challenges of college. We know that where a student goes to college has a huge impact on whether or not they will graduate. This is one of the reasons that KIPP Through College is so serious about helping our students find a college that's the right match for them.

Today I want to feature 10 colleges and universities that are leading the way in supporting first-generation and low-income college students. These institutions are large and small, public and private, urban and rural. What they have in common is a deep commitment to providing students with a meaningful college experience, and helping them ultimately make it to graduation day.

Each of the institutions on our list is doing a remarkable job on many levels. We've chosen to celebrate each school for its work in a single area that we know is crucial for students like ours.

10 Colleges Doing Right By Kids

Posted on May 18, 2015

http://blog.kipp.org/college/10-colleges-doing-right-by-kids/

Kudos to this teacher for highlighting the problem of failing students being giving passing grades – and passed along…

Caleb Stewart Rossiter, a college professor and policy analyst, decided to try teaching math in the D.C. schools. He was given a pre-calculus class with 38 seniors at H.D. Woodson High School. When he discovered that half of them could not handle even second-grade problems, he sought out the teachers who had awarded the passing grades of D in Algebra II, a course that they needed to take his high-level class.

There are many bewildering stories like this in Rossiter's new book, "Ain't

 

Nobody Be Learnin' Nothin': The Fraud and the Fix for High-Poverty Schools," the best account of public education in the nation's capital I have ever read. It will take me three columns to do justice to his revelations about what is being done to the District's most distracted and least productive students.

Teachers will tell you it is a no-no to ask other teachers why they committed grading malpractice. Rossiter didn't care. Three of the five teachers he sought had left the high-turnover D.C. system, but the two he found were so candid I still can't get their words out of my mind.

Teacher assails practice of giving passing grades to failing students

By Jay Mathews Columnist May 17

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/teacher-assails-practice-of-giving-passing-grades-to-failing-students/2015/05/17/f38f88ae-f9ab-11e4-9030-b4732caefe81_story.html

A very interesting experiment at NYC’s elite Fieldston School:Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade?

A very interesting experiment at NYC's elite Fieldston School:

The form arrived in an email attachment on the Friday after winter break."What is your race?"it asked. And then, beneath that, a Census-style list: "African-American/Black," "Asian/Pacific Islander," "Latina/o," "Multi-racial," "White,"   and "Not sure."

The email, signed by the principal of Fieldston Lower School, urged parents to talk about these categories with their children at home because the next week, in school, the kids would have to check the box that fit them best. "I know there may be some nervous feelings about this program," the email concluded, but "I am confident that once you hear more details about it … the value and importance of this work will become clear." 

The parents at Lower, as it's called, are a bighearted, high-maintenance, high-achieving group. They are also, by the standards of the New York City private-school universe, exceedingly liberal — educators and social workers, as well as hedge-fund tycoons. They love the school, and trust it, mostly. But this communication seized their attention. "I was like, Wait. What?" remembers one mother. Another quizzed her 11-year-old daughter as they were driving. "We have to go in our race groups" was how the girl explained it. The mother hoped her daughter had misunderstood.

Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade?

An experiment at Fieldston, which starts when 8-year-olds are sorted by race, has some very liberal parents fuming.

Lisa Miller, New York Magazine, May 19, 2015

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/05/can-fieldston-un-teach-racism.html

Power of collaboration

Erin Solomon, a TFA alum working for the New York State Education Department, oversees a dissemination grant that's part of the federal Charter Schools Program that allows 11 charter schools throughout the state (including KIPP and Uncommon) to share best practices with district schools. She organized a conference to allow charter and district educators to come together – you can watch the video of it here:

The Power of Collaboration: Making Education Best Practices a Reality

On May 12, 2015, the NYSED Charter School Office hosted a conference centered on best practice sharing between charter and district schools throughout New York State. Schools participating in the New York State Dissemination Program—a grant funded through the federal Charter Schools Program—were able to showcase their work, best practices, and lessons learned. This conference highlighted the emerging outcomes of the 11 charter schools and over 40 district schools involved in the dissemination grant. Over 120 administrators, teachers, program directors, and evaluators attended.

Watch Expert Panel Video: The Power of Collaboration

Moderated by Lindsey Christ of NY1

Leading education experts from the Dissemination and Replication Grants discuss the challenges of collaboration, how they were able to make the sharing of best practices a reality, and how you can, too.

A month after the tragic death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg has posted some beautiful thoughts on Facebook:

A month after the tragic death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg has posted some beautiful thoughts on Facebook:

-------------------

Sheryl Sandberg with Dave Goldberg

Today is the end of sheloshim for my beloved husband—the first thirty days. Judaism calls for a period of intense mourning known as shiva that lasts seven days after a loved one is buried. After shiva, most normal activities can be resumed, but it is the end of sheloshim that marks the completion of religious mourning for a spouse.

A childhood friend of mine who is now a rabbi recently told me that the most powerful one-line prayer he has ever read is: "Let me not die while I am still alive." I would have never understood that prayer before losing Dave. Now I do.

I think when tragedy occurs, it presents a choice. You can give in to the void, the emptiness that fills your heart, your lungs, constricts your ability to think or even breathe. Or you can try to find meaning. These past thirty days, I have spent many of my moments lost in that void. And I know that many future moments will be consumed by the vast emptiness as well.

But when I can, I want to choose life and meaning.

And this is why I am writing: to mark the end of sheloshim and to give back some of what others have given to me. While the experience of grief is profoundly personal, the bravery of those who have shared their own experiences has helped pull me through. Some who opened their hearts were my closest friends. Others were total strangers who have shared wisdom and advice publicly. So I am sharing what I have learned in the hope that it helps someone else. In the hope that there can be some meaning from this tragedy.

I have lived thirty years in these thirty days. I am thirty years sadder. I feel like I am thirty years wiser.

I have gained a more profound understanding of what it is to be a mother, both through the depth of the agony I feel when my children scream and cry and from the connection my mother has to my pain. She has tried to fill the empty space in my bed, holding me each night until I cry myself to sleep. She has fought to hold back her own tears to make room for mine. She has explained to me that the anguish I am feeling is both my own and my children's, and I understood that she was right as I saw the pain in her own eyes.

I have learned that I never really knew what to say to others in need. I think I got this all wrong before; I tried to assure people that it would be okay, thinking that hope was the most comforting thing I could offer. A friend of mine with late-stage cancer told me that the worst thing people could say to him was "It is going to be okay." That voice in his head would scream, How do you know it is going to be okay? Do you not understand that I might die? I learned this past month what he was trying to teach me. Real empathy is sometimes not insisting that it will be okay but acknowledging that it is not. When people say to me, "You and your children will find happiness again," my heart tells me, Yes, I believe that, but I know I will never feel pure joy again. Those who have said, "You will find a new normal, but it will never be as good" comfort me more because they know and speak the truth. Even a simple "How are you?"—almost always asked with the best of intentions—is better replaced with "How are you today?" When I am asked "How are you?" I stop myself from shouting, My husband died a month ago, how do you think I am? When I hear "How are you today?" I realize the person knows that the best I can do right now is to get through each day.

I have learned some practical stuff that matters. Although we now know that Dave died immediately, I didn't know that in the ambulance. The trip to the hospital was unbearably slow. I still hate every car that did not move to the side, every person who cared more about arriving at their destination a few minutes earlier than making room for us to pass. I have noticed this while driving in many countries and cities. Let's all move out of the way. Someone's parent or partner or child might depend on it.

I have learned how ephemeral everything can feel—and maybe everything is. That whatever rug you are standing on can be pulled right out from under you with absolutely no warning. In the last thirty days, I have heard from too many women who lost a spouse and then had multiple rugs pulled out from under them. Some lack support networks and struggle alone as they face emotional distress and financial insecurity. It seems so wrong to me that we abandon these women and their families when they are in greatest need.

I have learned to ask for help—and I have learned how much help I need. Until now, I have been the older sister, the COO, the doer and the planner. I did not plan this, and when it happened, I was not capable of doing much of anything. Those closest to me took over. They planned. They arranged. They told me where to sit and reminded me to eat. They are still doing so much to support me and my children.

I have learned that resilience can be learned. Adam M. Grant taught me that three things are critical to resilience and that I can work on all three. Personalization—realizing it is not my fault. He told me to ban the word "sorry." To tell myself over and over, This is not my fault. Permanence—remembering that I won't feel like this forever. This will get better. Pervasiveness—this does not have to affect every area of my life; the ability to compartmentalize is healthy.

For me, starting the transition back to work has been a savior, a chance to feel useful and connected. But I quickly discovered that even those connections had changed. Many of my co-workers had a look of fear in their eyes as I approached. I knew why—they wanted to help but weren't sure how. Should I mention it? Should I not mention it? If I mention it, what the hell do I say? I realized that to restore that closeness with my colleagues that has always been so important to me, I needed to let them in. And that meant being more open and vulnerable than I ever wanted to be. I told those I work with most closely that they could ask me their honest questions and I would answer. I also said it was okay for them to talk about how they felt. One colleague admitted she'd been driving by my house frequently, not sure if she should come in. Another said he was paralyzed when I was around, worried he might say the wrong thing. Speaking openly replaced the fear of doing and saying the wrong thing. One of my favorite cartoons of all time has an elephant in a room answering the phone, saying, "It's the elephant." Once I addressed the elephant, we were able to kick him out of the room.

At the same time, there are moments when I can't let people in. I went to Portfolio Night at school where kids show their parents around the classroom to look at their work hung on the walls. So many of the parents—all of whom have been so kind—tried to make eye contact or say something they thought would be comforting. I looked down the entire time so no one could catch my eye for fear of breaking down. I hope they understood. 

I have learned gratitude. Real gratitude for the things I took for granted before—like life. As heartbroken as I am, I look at my children each day and rejoice that they are alive. I appreciate every smile, every hug. I no longer take each day for granted. When a friend told me that he hates birthdays and so he was not celebrating his, I looked at him and said through tears, "Celebrate your birthday, goddammit. You are lucky to have each one." My next birthday will be depressing as hell, but I am determined to celebrate it in my heart more than I have ever celebrated a birthday before.

I am truly grateful to the many who have offered their sympathy. A colleague told me that his wife, whom I have never met, decided to show her support by going back to school to get her degree—something she had been putting off for years. Yes! When the circumstances allow, I believe as much as ever in leaning in. And so many men—from those I know well to those I will likely never know—are honoring Dave's life by spending more time with their families. 

I can't even express the gratitude I feel to my family and friends who have done so much and reassured me that they will continue to be there. In the brutal moments when I am overtaken by the void, when the months and years stretch out in front of me endless and empty, only their faces pull me out of the isolation and fear. My appreciation for them knows no bounds.

I was talking to one of these friends about a father-child activity that Dave is not here to do. We came up with a plan to fill in for Dave. I cried to him, "But I want Dave. I want option A." He put his arm around me and said, "Option A is not available. So let's just kick the shit out of option B."

Dave, to honor your memory and raise your children as they deserve to be raised, I promise to do all I can to kick the shit out of option B. And even though sheloshim has ended, I still mourn for option A. I will always mourn for option A. As Bono sang, "There is no end to grief . . . and there is no end to love." I love you, Dave.