AM News: Dem. Accountability Hawk Cong. George Miller Isn't Gone Yet

Miller on Common Core, Teacher Evaluation, and NCLB Renewal PoliticsK12: Miller's comments pack a special punch because he is one of the most hawkish members of Congress when it comes to accountability. Miller, an architect of the No Child Left Behind Act, said that tying test-scores to Common Core exams before teachers are ready would be repeating one of the biggest mistakes of the NCLB era.

George Miller: 'Students are Enthusiastic' About Meeting Common-Core Challenge State EdWatch: The retiring U.S. representative also says that politicians are attacking the standards largely to position themselves better for the 2016 presidential elections.

Karen Lewis and Corey Brooks duke it out over Twitter Chicago Sun-Times: A Twitter exchange between Chicago Pastor Corey Brooks and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis grew heated today as the two traded digs on the governor's race.

Teens who crossed US border alone enter schools AP: The group of mostly Spanish-speaking teenage boys with styled spiky hair and high-top sneakers enthusiastically pecks away on hand-held tablets at the G.W. Carver Education Center, pausing to alert the teacher when stumped. See also PBS: Wave of child migrants pose challenges for Florida schools, Backlog of children’s immigration cases challenges judges, lawyers and schools.

The campaign to keep Karen Lewis out of the mayoral race Chicago Tribune: Out of nowhere nearly two weeks ago, Democrats for Education Reform, a pro-charter schools organization backing Mayor Rahm Emanuel's re-election, issued a news release demanding that Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis step down.

Trial To Begin In Atlanta Public Schools' Cheating Scandal NPR: On Monday, opening statements begin in the trial of 12 educators charged in an alleged cheating conspiracy. Originally, 35 were indicted but more than half took plea deals. See also WSJ.

More news below (and throughout the day at @alexanderrusso).

De Blasio Plans Revised Code for Discipline in Schools NYT: Mayor Bill de Blasio, after a controversial crackdown on unruly institutions by his predecessor, will try to strike a balance between safety and fairness.

How much does mandatory extra reading time help students? PBS NewsHour:  Over 30 states that have some kind of policy to intervene, identify and make sure children get the support they need to be on grade level. They do take different forms: about 15 states require that a third grader who is not grade level will be retained. See also:  Low-performing Florida grade schools add extra reading time

Right And Left Joined Forces In Fight To Legalize Home Schooling NPR: Until the late '80s, it was illegal to home-school children in many states. That changed thanks to the joint efforts of conservative Christian home schoolers and anti-authoritarian un-schoolers.

Prototype: Using Robotics to Teach Computer Programming NYT: Parents who were frustrated by a lack of opportunities for their children to learn programming have designed products meant to appeal to children as young as 5.

Chicago Public Schools will get money for no-show students, again WBEZ: Instead of funding positions and programs from downtown, schools are now given about $5,000 per student on average, under a formula called “student-based budgeting.” In the letter to principals, Byrd-Bennett wrote that CPS plans to use “student-based budgeting transition contingency funds and anticipated surplus from Tax-Increment-Financing funds” to make sure schools get money based off their projections, not actual enrollment.

New CA law limits student discipline measure EdSource Today: A new law that limits the use of “willful defiance” as a reason to expel or suspend students signifies a growing commitment on the part of the state to find more positive approaches to disciplining students.

Comments

[Bruce]

Americans should get their children out of the state schools as long as the current thought leadership of the Democratic Party continues to hold influence over immigration and education legislation at the federal level. It's not clear this blame applies directly to President Obama himself; but leaders like Congressman Miller, who have wrought untold damage upon American youth through No Child Left Behind, and who think that no legislative changes are needed at the present time, cannot retire fast enough. Instead, we need a new direction in education policy in the United States. A beginning should be to have Congress disempower the current federal education department, which continues to do damage to the states by insisting on unconstitutional NCLB waivers tying teacher appraisals to the scores of tests that are still in development.