Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green speak out about the budget cuts affecting teachers and kids in California. continue...

On March 4th, thousands upon thousands of Americans gravitated towards each other to defend public education -- and no one group was in charge! Over 700 activist students, unions and individuals had gathered in Berkeley on October 24th to propose a March 4th day of Strike/Action to Defend Public Education. Soon schools and communities across California were joining this effort, or organizing events completely on their own. Sources like Reuters and the New York Times reported that actions took place in about 30 states, at major cities centers, high school walkouts, and campuses of the UC, Cal State and Community College systems. continue...

Parents and students would be well advised to consider some of the dangers and abuses that may come under a privatized school system. Public schools are subject to regulation by federal and state governments. The teachers go through stringent credentialing programs and have their backgrounds vetted by the FBI. You cannot be assured this from a private school. Private schools will make promises about their teachers' backgrounds and their teachers' qualifications, but without strong federal oversight there are no guarantees. The teacher could very well be a child predator being protected by powerful friends within company (think along the lines of the Catholic church child abuse scandals). When a school is a for-profit run business, lies and nepotism will rule when it leads to greater profits. continue...

Obama's Back-to-School speech deserves commentary on many points. Here I am going to simply mention some telling assumptions that are laced through the presentation.

The President, of course, gets some points for talking about how students must accept responsibility for their own achievement. Though fundamental, this is hardly new. The elephant in the room is - achievement... for what? What is the real purpose of an education - a public education - in America 2009? continue...

Arne Duncan announces that Obama will make the first-ever speech of a President to k12 kids on Tuesday, September 8. We should mobilize and exploit every facet of this "teacheable moment" For every public school teacher who is tired of massive California cutbacks, for every education provider who is tired of Privatization, to every classroom teacher who recongnizes that our status, as En Loco Parentis, makes us obligated to speak out in the children's best interest; to all of you who are sick and tired of what passes for public education in Oakland,

This is your chance!

Let's take advantage of this event and let the truth ring out! Let us use this (dare I say?) Teacheable Moment to let parents, students and the whole Oakland community what is REALLY going on: downsizing counselors, eliminating librarians in Flatlands schools, fewer and fewer psychologists, humdrum drill-and-kill teaching to the test for bogus reasons, cutbacks everywhere, Apartheid schools in America.

Oh yes, we classroom teachers are the ones who really know. We must not remain silent!!

The Los Angeles County Office of Education
is proud to announce
President Obama's Back-to-School
Address to Students Across America
LIVE BROADCAST: Tuesday, September 8, 2009
10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
www.whitehouse.gov

On Thursday the 11th of June, 2009; Annandale Elementary was visited by L.A.U.S.D. Board Member, Yolie Flores. As expected Ms. Flores was not very welcomed by the school's staff and students. She was received by angry parents; who not only had signs and banners that showed their concerns, but also were very well prepared as they met with Ms. Flores in a small parent meeting. Some of the questions asked focused on concerns from how the stimulus money is being spent, to why is the District public channel KCLS untouchable.continue...

A strategy is uniting corporate and political elites: using budget shockwaves to bury public education under a landslide of privatization. But unions in K-12 and higher ed have reacted like shovelers standing back-to-back, each one blindly tossing dirt over their shoulder into the other’s hole, sinking ever deeper.

Let’s look at how this hurt them in California’s May 19 special election, and on the issue of charter schools. In the election, educators not only didn’t have a common plan, but actually worked against each other. While California Teachers Association (CTA) spent $9.2 million supporting Propositions 1A and 1B, the California Federation of Teachers CFT) spent $567,000 against 1A, and the California Faculty Association (CFA, the professors in the California State University system) spent $1.2 million against it. continue...

Dear Friends,

A year has passed since I decided not to give my students the WASL here in Seattle. I was thrilled and heartened by the dialog which ensued and by the outpouring of strength and support I received through hundreds of emails and phone calls. Though my school district suspended me for two weeks without pay I feel the results were well worth the consequences.

Today we have a new SPI in Olympia, Randy Dorn, who unseated the WASL Queen, Terry Bergeson, in November. He ran on a "no confidence in the WASL" platform, but the jury is still out on whether anything significant will actually change.continue...

There have been demonstrations and community forums in a number of schools around LA about layoffs, the attacks on education and the economic crisis, during the last 2 weeks. continue...

Reporter Phyllis Fletcher from KUOW radio called this evening to let me know that her report on our brave Seattle teachers and parents who refused to use an inappropriate assessment for their students with severe disabilities will air Friday morning, sometime between 5:00 and 9:00. The story will play twice and then will be available on their website. continue...

FIFTY TEACHERS along with parent supporters disrupted a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) School Board meeting March 10 and occupied the boardroom in an attempt to stop a vote on sending out "reduction in force" notices to almost 9,000 district employees.

Claiming a $718 million budget shortfall, the district is threatening to lay off teachers--both permanent and non-permanent--as well as counselors, administrators, custodial and support staff, and other district employees. continue...