Comments for The EdVocate West

Comment on A Challenge to the Sacramento Status Quo From Mayor Villaraigosa by Dibenedetto

Dibenedetto — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:01:50 +0000

I am happy that I noticed this web blog, just the right info that I was looking for!

Comment on Parent Trigger: A Disturbing Sign from the State Board of Education and SPI by David B. Cohen

David B. Cohen — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 00:39:52 +0000

Don’t you think the questions raised in the blog post that you linked to ought to be addressed? Do you support the “parent trigger” law in its current form, that fails to define “parent” or lay out any formula for determining the relevant numbers? Is it okay with you that the law is silent on matters of transparency but rigid on consequences of the petition? I understand the philosophical differences, but I don’t see any substantive response to the issues Zieger raises in Fensterwald’s blog.

Comment on Selling the Same Old Snake Oil: CTA Lauds QEIA, Despite Enormous Expense and Marginal Impact by Mary Kate

Mary Kate — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 19:36:15 +0000

Teacher training is certainly a most important ingredient, and the best, most effective teachers will tell you that class size and funding matters-to them!
I can do amazing things with my 19 students and my full-time assistant (also well trained and experienced). If we had access to more classroom dollars (in our hands and in the hands of our students), our program would be even more enriched.
The essential ingredient is our philosophy and our individualized research-based teaching techniques. Our 100 year old method has demonstrated consistent results across lines of income, race, and gender. It is internationally successful and pioneered the teaching of students with disabilities.
Unfortunately, some Montessori educators are reluctant to get certified through the channels currently available in the state of CA. The training that is provided does not prepare teachers to facilitate for students in effective ways. This is a barrier to the application of this successful philosophy in our state.
Because the CTA has strong-armed the legislature into requiring that charter school teachers carry the same credential as every CA teacher, they have successfully kept reform from happening through the charter system.
In other states, Montessori education is growing in the public system as more parents recognize its effectiveness and work to get their children into pilot programs.
CA has a thriving Montessori community. We ought to be leading the way in public Montessori programs.

Comment on Wouldn’t it Be Wonderful by Michele Siqueiros

Michele Siqueiros — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:45:30 +0000

Amen!

Comment on Whither SB 1285? by Laura Barker

Laura Barker — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 06:14:51 +0000

At first I was all for this. Seems great get rid of the “bad” teachers but who (or how) decides who is a “bad” teacher? Maybe an administrator doesn’t like a teacher so they get them eliminated. Maybe I have a class that is lower in ability compared to another teacher and the district decides to use test scores to show I am a “bad” teacher. Now we get back into teachers being dishonest by cheating on testing… I think on the surface it is a great idea but my concern is what the criteria will be to make the decision that a teacher is a “bad” teacher.

Comment on Passing the Common Core by Scott Hill

Scott Hill — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:32:10 +0000

Arun,

ETW’s consistent support and focus on high standards served a critical role in making the Common Core standards possiible in California. Thanks for the clarity and purpose you all bring to the table.

Scott Hill

Comment on Effectiveness not Seniority by Rick Nelson

Rick Nelson — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:57:52 +0000

Isn’t your plan to give administrators “flexibiliity” to keep staff they choose simply giving middle level government bureaucrats the right to extract “favors” from staff in return for keep their jobs? What kind of favors do you think they will be? How is this different from any patronage system funded with public dollars? Who is going to do the oversight to protect the teachers and the public? The higher up administrators who chose the principals in a system that is essentially a buddy bureaucracy? Where is the test to identify who the administrators should be?

I worked under teacher merit pay. The asst. principal gave the bonus to his girl-friend – a bonus of $4,000 public dollars a year for 4 years. Maybe that’s why they called it “pay for performance.” Teachers who spoke up in favor of phonics and flashcards were threatened with dismissal, test scores plummeted, and the administrators who favored the unworkable fad programs got promoted. You don’t understand school reality. There is no accountability for the administrators. The superintendent’s have the power in school systems, but they are held accountable for politics – jobs for friends of the School Board — not results.

Comment on What Does the ACLU Teacher Layoffs Lawsuit Ruling Mean? by What Does the ACLU Teacher Layoffs Lawsuit Ruling Mean? « Education Advocacy

Thu, 20 May 2010 16:14:47 +0000

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Comment on Keeping the Promise of Change in California’s Lowest Performing Schools by Steven Falk

Steven Falk — Mon, 17 May 2010 19:30:08 +0000

There is no one method that will work for all students. All students learning styles must be acknowledged. Many, perhaps 35% or more of the students could benefit from the 504 Plan. A civil right for all, it is similar to the Individualized Educational Plan offered by Special Education but the 504 does not have the funds to inforce it. Each child can have each of their academic and health challenges accommodated. The 504 plan would be written by the team of teachers and family at a Student Study Team meeting. Defining how best the student learns and how best can the staff and home accommodate those learning styles.
Stuents from the low income schools because of lack of advocacy do not get the opportunity to get a 504 Plan. I want to change that. Feel free to contact me.

Comment on Keeping the Promise of Change in California’s Lowest Performing Schools by Rick Nelson

Rick Nelson — Wed, 12 May 2010 20:50:34 +0000

“Putting the best teachers at the low income schools” simply won’t work. The wealthy parents have the clout in school politics, and they won’t let it happen. I wish that were not the reality, but we all know it is true.

Giving all teachers improved tools and training in how to use them DOES work. It is Dr. Deming’s TQM, and it the one doable, common sense path to improved performance by schools, as it has been in business.

The Reading First model was exactly that, and in grades K-2, for decoding skills, the recent data show it worked at both Reading First schools and other schools where teachers received the RF training. The research called for phonics, and thanks to California’s 1999 textbook standards, those books were available by 2003 in the marketplace. The various books and training may have been uneven at first, but substantial progress was made despite this, and the latest RF test scores show that.

In comprehension in Grade 4 and up, RF worked less well, because the NIH NRP research on reading comprehension available in 2003 did not understand the importance of background knowledge in comprehension, and as a result, few curricula were available (except Core Knowledge) that emphasized vocabulary across the non-fiction disciplines.

But our understanding of comprehension has increased, and if we train all teachers in what works, all teachers will become better teachers. That is an achievable goal. That’s a realistic goal. That’s the right goal: Improved teachers for all children — achieved by better tools and teacher training. And its the only goal that will help the kids that, as you correctly point out, are still being left far behind