Re: [CA-Resisters Digest] Vol. 3 No. 340 Messages: 5

[monicalucido@comcast.net]

And so here it all comes. I am sickened by the sudden oncoming of the "charter" school and "competition" crap.
The New York Times article shows one thing: too many teachers who don't know any better are selling out. We knew Broad and  Gates were coming. Steve Barr is just a "rep" for a much larger attack. They have gotten to some parents before we have. I think we need a VERY large gathering of all of us to stand up against this now before it really snowballs. Many teachers We need to be in the public's eye; we need mass media. We are not concentrated enough. I think Kathy Emory's piece on how the media has been slowly "netting" with corporations over the decade is now becoming a reality in the for-profit campaign. We need all of the big names: Alphie, Kozol (though I'm noy sure what his deal is lately), Susan Ohanian, Berliner, Krashen, Garan, Monty Neil, etc. Is this possible? I mean , come on, the alarm is sounding here.

Joe Lucido
EPATA
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: ca-resisters-owner@interversity.org
> Ca-Resisters Daily Digest 
> Volume 3 : Issue 340 : "text" Format
> 
> Messages in this Issue:
>   200707/58 : Maverick Leads Charge for Charter Schools
>     Peter Farruggio
>   200707/59 : Fwd: [sdcpj_unmoderated] Sparring erupts over new Junior ROTC
>   effort
>     Rich Gibson
>   200707/60 : New York Times corporate propaganda -- Maverick Leads Charge
>   for Charter Schools
>     Peter Farruggio
>   200707/61 : New Poll on Latinos and Education from NCLR & Ed. Trust
>     Peter Farruggio
>   200707/62 : Cognitive diversity-Jonathan Mooney
>     langlois-rine
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:19:10 -0700
> From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>
> To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> Subject: Maverick Leads Charge for Charter Schools
> Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20070724061059.0302b400@cal.berkeley.edu>
> 
> This story is on the front page of the New York 
> Times.  It looks very suspicious and too good to 
> be true.  The "maverick" is financed by the Gates 
> Foundation, his happy teachers have "more 
> flexibility" but no tenure, and a principal who 
> is working with him has the same name as a 
> notorious standardista opportunist who operated 
> in Northern California 7 years ago.  Pardon my 
> skepticism, but this reads like a propaganda piece to me.
> 
> Does anybody know the whole story?
> 
> Pete Farruggio
> 
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/education/24charter.html?_r=1&ref=education&or
> ef=slogin
> 
> 
> Maverick Leads Charge for Charter Schools
> 
> By 
> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/sam_dillon/index.h
> tml?inline=nyt-per>SAM 
> DILLON
> Published: July 24, 2007
> 
> LOS ANGELES ­ Steve Barr, a major organizer of 
> charter schools, has been waging what often seems 
> like a guerrilla war for control of this city?s 
> chronically failing high schools.
> 
> In just seven years, Mr. Barr?s Green Dot Public 
> Schools organization has founded 10 charter high 
> schools and has won approval to open 10 more. 
> Now, in his most aggressive challenge to the 
> public school system, he is fighting to seize 
> control of Locke Senior High, a gang-ridden 
> school in Watts known as one of the city?s worst. 
> A 15-year-old girl was killed by gunfire there in 2005.
> 
> In the process, Mr. Barr has fomented a teachers 
> revolt against the Los Angeles Unified School 
> District. He has driven a wedge through the 
> city?s teachers union by welcoming organized 
> labor ­ in contrast to other charter operators ­ 
> and signing a contract with an upstart union. And 
> he has mobilized thousands of black and Hispanic 
> parents to demand better schools.
> 
> Educators and policy makers from Sacramento to 
> Washington are watching closely because many 
> believe Green Dot?s audacious tactics have the 
> potential to strengthen and expand the charter school movement nationwide.
> 
> ?He?s got a take-no-prisoners style,? said Jaime 
> Regalado, the director of the Edmund G. ?Pat? 
> Brown Institute of Public Affairs at 
> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/california_
> state_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org>California 
> State University, Los Angeles. ?He?s channeled 
> the outrage of African-American and Latino 
> parents into the public space in a way that?s new.?
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:20:55 -0700
> From: Rich Gibson <rgibson@pipeline.com>
> To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> Subject: Fwd: [sdcpj_unmoderated] Sparring erupts over new Junior ROTC
>   effort
> Message-ID: <E1IDQsh-0005ET-48@elasmtp-masked.atl.sa.earthlink.net>
> 
> One of the focuses of the San Diego Coalition for 
> Peace and Justice, which includes the Rouge 
> Forum, is to drive military recruiters off school campuses.
> 
> People put forward many reasons for doing this, 
> as Stephanie Jennings' comments demonstrate.
> 
> One more reason: The mission of education, surely 
> a primary one, is to struggle for the truth. The 
> first rule of the military: The art of deception. 
> The second: subservience. The military and the 
> truth--and education--- have nothing in common.
> 
> More, why train youth to fight the enemies of their enemies?
> 
> best r
> 
> 
> 
> >
> >Sparring erupts over new Junior ROTC effort
> >
> >By Helen Gao
> >
> >STAFF WRITER
> >
> >San Diego Union-Tribune, July 24, 2007
> >
> >SAN DIEGO ? Critics of war and the military 
> >yesterday denounceed a proposed Marine Corps 
> >Junior ROTC program for Mission Bay High School 
> >as a recruitment tool aimed at low-income 
> >minority students. Some parents and school 
> >officials touted it as a leadership development program.
> >
> >The Marine Corps Junior ROTC would be the only 
> >one in the San Diego Unified School District, 
> >the state's second largest. The district has 11 
> >other Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps 
> >affiliated with the Navy, the Air Force and Army.
> >
> >A school board majority indicated yesterday that 
> >it would support the program, which requires 
> >$65,500 in district funding. Marine Corps Junior 
> >ROTC headquarters in Quantico, Va., has 
> >committed $125,000 to defray start-up costs, such as uniforms and supplies.
> >
> >A final vote on district funding for the program 
> >won't take place until next month. Trustee John 
> >De Beck said he wouldn't support the program, 
> >saying the 2007-08 budget, which tentatively 
> >included funding for Junior ROTC, was developed 
> >without sufficient community input.
> >
> >Supporters, including Mission Bay High Principal 
> >Cheryl Seelos, said the program would help 
> >at-risk teenagers and others develop discipline, 
> >pride and good citizenship. Cadets wear 
> >uniforms, participate in community service 
> >projects and go on field trips to military 
> >installations. Some get involved in drill teams and color guards.
> >
> >About 83 percent of Mission Bay High students 
> >are bused from other parts of the city, and 
> >minorities constitute most of the student body. 
> >Many of those students are struggling 
> >academically. Seelos said attendance and suspensions have been a problem.
> >
> >The school in Pacific Beach, which is near 
> >military housing developments, would launch the 
> >program in September. Parents and about 95 students have expressed interest.
> >
> >Pat Hom said her son would like to join Junior 
> >ROTC because he â??wishes to serve his 
> >countryâ?? and would like to become a police officer.
> >
> >â??There is a strong military presence there,â?? 
> >she said. â??Students wish to have access to that program.â??
> >
> >Stephanie Jennings presented the board with a 
> >packet of letters from teachers, students and 
> >others in opposition. She warned that if the 
> >Junior ROTC were implemented, protests would happen outside the school.
> >
> >Jennings is an activist with the San Diego 
> >Coalition for Peace and Justice, an anti-war 
> >group, and with The Project on Youth and 
> >Non-Military Opportunities. The project says its 
> >mission is to provide young people with â??an 
> >alternative view about military enlistment.â??
> >
> >â??Every student has a right to education and 
> >should not be tracked into a war zone,â?? said 
> >Jennings, who asserted that schools with large 
> >minority, low-income student populations tend to 
> >be targeted for military recruitment.
> >
> >Nancy Cruz, who will be a senior at Mission Bay 
> >High, said the money would be better spent on 
> >programs to help students get to college.
> >
> >â??I think our school is already exposed to a 
> >lot of military recruitment,â?? she said. â??We 
> >have military recruiters there on a daily basis, at lunch.â??
> >
> >The school board last month tentatively included 
> >money for the Mission Bay program in the budget 
> >with the understanding that there would be 
> >further discussions. The program was one of 
> >several items trustees had pulled for scrutiny 
> >because they felt there had not been enough discussion.
> >
> ><http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070724/news_1m24rotc.html>http://www
> .signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070724/news_1m24rotc.html
> >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> >Helen Gao: (619) 718-5181; 
> ><mailto:helen.gao@uniontrib.com>helen.gao@uniontrib.com
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >----------
> >Get a sneak peek of the all-new 
> ><http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour/?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000982>AOL.com.
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> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:05:40 -0700
> From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>
> To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> Subject: New York Times corporate propaganda -- Maverick Leads Charge
>   for Charter Schools
> Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20070725065624.0307f6c0@cal.berkeley.edu>
> 
> Reply from George Schmidt, publisher of Substance newspaper in Chicago...
> 
> (By the way, when there is no tenure, the main targets of firing and 
> harrassment are the outspoken teachers who want to change the system, 
> or who criticize the boss, NOT the lazy, incompetent teachers, who 
> are portrayed as the chief beneficiaries of tenure.)
> 
> 
> >From: Csubstance@aol.com
> >
> >
> >In a message dated 7/24/07 8:20:20 AM, pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu writes:
> >
> ><< It looks very suspicious and too good to
> >be true.  The "maverick" is financed by the Gates
> >Foundation, his happy teachers have "more
> >flexibility" but no tenure, and a principal who
> >is working with him has the same name as a
> >notorious standardista opportunist who operated
> >in Northern California 7 years ago.  Pardon my
> >skepticism, but this reads like a propaganda piece to me. >>
> >*******************************************************************************
> ***************************
> >It looked like a propaganda piece to me, too, since the "union" featured in
> >the story was a company union, founded by Mr. Maverick and his buddies.
> >
> >Is there any other "union" in the USA representing teachers that opposes
> >"tenure" and other forums of job protection?
> >
> >Generally, I've come to expect The New York Times to promote corporate
> >propaganda in its "news" columns. I have two favorite Chicago "school reform"
> >stories from years ago. The first talked about how the opening of 
> >the privileged
> >"Northside College Prep" (public) high school was reversing a "brain 
> >drain" from
> >Chicago's public schools to parochial schools. Trouble was, there never was a
> >"brain drain" of that type. What there was was a "puberty check" that
> >Chicago's Catholics didn't want to talk about. Basically, by the 
> >Middle School years,
> >some parents worried about the socializing their children would be doing as
> >they reached  puberty, so they would pull the kids out of schools 
> >that were too
> >diverse for their tastes. (Being a white guy living in this part of town, I
> >could hear some of the conversations, and they were as racist as any 
> >you'd get
> >from the Old South, only using some New Age code words).
> >
> >The New York Times promoted the $60 million creation of an almost all-white
> >selective enrollment public high school (Northside College Prep, which still
> >has the smallest number of black kids of any public high school in Chicago)
> >according to the racist spin Chicago had put on the thing. Nothing 
> >-- not nothing
> >-- in the story reflected the reality of the underlying racism, or even the
> >controversy.
> >
> >That became "news" from America's newspaper of record.
> >
> >The second of my favorite New York Times lies about Chicago came as a story
> >about Paul Vallas after he'd been dumped as "CEO" of Chicago's public school
> >system and was running for the Democratic Party nomination for 
> >governor in 2002.
> >The Vallas "news" story the Times ran was straight out of Vallas's PR stuff,
> >simply recycled. In the photograph the Times ran with the story (which was
> >widely circulated by the Vallas campaign as "proof" that even The 
> >New York Times
> >could see how great Vallas was) had Vallas standing in his office. 
> >On the wall
> >behind him were photographs of Bobby Kennedy and Jack Kennedy.
> >
> >One of the things that's always disturbed me is that so many otherwise
> >intelligent people clip The New York Times and cite it as truth 
> >without considering
> >that a closer look might be necessary. Although some Times reporters have
> >gotten closer to the truth than others, in general, when covering corporate
> >"school reform", The New York Times is just another voice in the chorus of
> >millionaires and billionaires singing the same tune, bashing publich 
> >schools and pubic
> >school unions and praising "choice" and "free market" alternatives to public
> >services and public service.
> >
> >George Schmidt
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:38:54 -0700
> From: Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>
> To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> Subject: New Poll on Latinos and Education from NCLR & Ed. Trust
> Message-ID: <6.2.5.6.2.20070725070722.03c27660@cal.berkeley.edu>
> 
> Nat'l Council of La Raza and Ed Trust: corporate 
> shills.  Anybody who has spent time in urban and 
> rural classrooms knows that high stakes testing 
> has been a disaster for Latino children since its 
> inception.  Latino immigrant parents have been 
> respectful and trusting of US schools because 
> they are unaware of the harm being done to their 
> children.  Those who exploit this unawareness 
> with devious polls should be ashamed of 
> themselves.  Their conclusion repeats the mantra 
> call for "higher standards and better teachers," 
> but fails to point out that the higher standards 
> regime has produced the exact OPPOSITE of what 
> Latino children need by proliferating narrowed 
> curricula and scripted, kill and drill lessons.
> 
> 
> 
> >"This is a disturbing poll, since I think what will be
> >quoted most is the self-blame expressed by parents,
> >which gets the poor schools off the hook.
> >Also, the omission of any question about bilingualism
> >is infuriating-- would you like schools to teach your
> >child English AND Spanish, for example, would reveal
> >what parents really want. So, these results will be
> >cited as evidence in favor of sticking to the NCLB
> >formula, although the jeers of the crowd when it was
> >mentioned last night during the Democrat debates were
> >heartening."
> >
> >Ana Celia Zentella
> >
> >Dr. Ana Celia Zentella is a former Professor at 
> >Hunter College, CUNY> She currently is a 
> >Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at 
> >the University of California, San Diego. Most 
> >recently, she has edited Building on Strength: 
> >Language and Literacy in Latino Families and 
> >Communities (Teachers College Press, 2005).
> >
> >-----------------------------------------------
> >
> >Ana:
> >
> >As a scholar who has looked at opinion surveys 
> >before, I thought you'd be interested in this 
> >brand new survey done by Education Trust for 
> >NCLR (bedfellows in support of NCLB 
> >reauthorization). They are funded by the Broad 
> >and Gates Foundations. They never mention 
> >bilingual education; although they indicate that :
> >
> >"Latino parents of children in ESOL programs 
> >(limited English skills) give very high marks to 
> >the quality of the English language education program their children attend."
> >
> >They also present the finding that:
> >
> >"It is also revealing that almost half of 
> >Hispanics with children in school feel that 
> >parents, like themselves, are most responsible 
> >for the high dropout rate among Hispanic students."
> >
> >Their solution:
> >
> >"The solution is rigorous standards, effective 
> >teachers in every classroom, and more time and 
> >support for learning. Visit 
> ><http://www.edin08.com/>http://www.edin08.com/ to learn more."
> >
> >Any thoughts about the study before I disseminate it?
> >
> >Luis
> >
> ><mailto:luisoreyes@aol.com>luisoreyes@aol.com
> >a new poll released today shows that a 
> >candidate's position on education will have a 
> >greater impact on Latino voters than their 
> >position on any other issue ? including 
> >immigration and health care ? and that Latinos 
> >are nearly unanimous that improving public 
> >education should be a "very important priority" 
> >for the next president. The poll surveyed 1,026 registered Latino voters.
> >*******************************************************************************
> ********************************************************************************
> ***********************
> >As the Democratic presidential candidates 
> >prepare to debate tonight, a new poll released 
> >today shows that a candidate's position on 
> >education will have a greater impact on Latino 
> >voters than their position on any other issue ? 
> >including immigration and health care ? and 
> >thathat Latinos are nearly unanimous that 
> >improving public education should be a "very 
> >important priority" for the next president. The 
> >poll surveyed 1,026 registered Latino voters.
> >
> >"The Latino community is increasingly showing 
> >its desire to help shape the future of our 
> >country at the ballot box,"said Janet Murguia, 
> >President and CEO of the National Council of La 
> >Raza, the largest Latino civil rights and 
> >advocacy organization in the U.S. and steering 
> >committee member for ED in â??08, a nonpartisan 
> >campaign to raise awareness of education issues 
> >in the 2008 presidential race campaign. "What 
> >this poll makes clear is that Latinos believe 
> >the key to our future is improving the quality 
> >of public school education and will vote for the 
> >candidate with the best comprehensive plan to do that."
> >
> >"Presidential candidates have been largely 
> >silent about our failure to give our children 
> >the skills to be ready to succeed in college, 
> >career and life," said Roy Romer, Chairman of ED 
> >in '08, "the presidential candidates want to 
> >respond to the priorities of Latinos and 
> >demonstrate they are ready to be president, they 
> >can start tonight by talking about their plans 
> >to get our children ready to succeed in college, career and life."
> >
> >Other Key Findings in this poll include: ? 
> >Latino voters consider thhe high dropout rate 
> >among Latino students to be the greatest 
> >educational problem for the Latino community in 
> >the U.S. ? Half of those surveyed declared that 
> >they considered the quality of public schools to 
> >be "mediocre" or "poor." ? While generally 
> >rating teachers positively, more than 80% of the 
> >Latino electorate feels that one way to improve 
> >public education in America is to hire more 
> >teachers with expertise in the subjects they will teach.
> >
> >The poll was co-sponsored by ED in '08 and the 
> >National Council of La Raza and released at the 
> >NCLR's annual convention in Miami.
> >
> >ED in '08/National Council of La Raza Poll of Hispanic Voters July 23, 2007
> >
> >EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
> >
> >The results and findings in this executive 
> >summary are based on a public opinion survey of 
> >1,026 registered Hispanic voters in the United 
> >States. The interviews in both English and 
> >Spanish were conducted July 18-20 of this year 
> >by professionally-trained, bilingual 
> >interviewers. The sample of the survey was 
> >designed to be representative of the national 
> >Latino electorate. It includes voters born not 
> >only in the United States but also in Mexico, 
> >Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, 
> >Central America and South America. The survey 
> >interviewed Latino voters in 24 states. The 
> >margin of error of the poll is approximately three percentage points.
> >
> >MAJOR FINDINGS
> >
> >1. Education is the most important issue for 
> >Hispanic voters. Forty-one percent of all voters 
> >and almost half of voters with children in the 
> >public schools indicated that the positions of a 
> >candidate on educational issues would have the 
> >greatest impact on their presidential vote. 
> >Education was considered significantly more 
> >important than other issues that receive much 
> >greater press coverage like the Iraq war and health care.
> >
> >2. An overwhelming majority of Latino voters ? 
> >89 percent ? ?? felt that improving the quality 
> >of public education should be a â??very 
> >importantâ?? priority for our next president.
> >
> >3. Hispanic voters consider that the â??high 
> >dropout rateâ?? among Hispanic students is the 
> >greatest educational problem for the Latino 
> >community in the United States. More than 85 
> >percent rate it as a very important problem. The 
> >â??high dropout rateâ?? concerns more Latino 
> >voters than other important problems like the 
> >â??poor English-language skills of immigrant 
> >studentsâ?? and the â??poor quality of some 
> >teachers.â?? The importance of this is better 
> >understood when we consider that more than half 
> >of all Latino parents with children in school 
> >are personally worried that their children will 
> >drop out of school. Immigrant parents are even 
> >more concerned ? two-thirds of them worry that 
> >their childrren will soon drop out of school.
> >
> >4. A substantial percentage of Hispanic voters 
> >give negative ratings to the public education 
> >system in the United States. Almost half of 
> >those interviewed declared that they considered 
> >the quality of the public schools to be 
> >â??mediocreâ?? or â??poor.â?? Native-born Latino 
> >voters are more likely to give the public 
> >education system negative ratings than their 
> >foreign-born counterparts. Almost a quarter of 
> >Hispanics with school children complain that 
> >students are not receiving enough support at the school that they attend.
> >
> >5. In contrast to the previous finding, Hispanic 
> >voters rate the quality of teachers in the 
> >public schools positively. More than 60 percent 
> >of them give public school teachers a rating of 
> >â??excellentâ?? or â??good.â?? When asked to 
> >identify the most important reason that there 
> >are some low quality teachers in the public 
> >schools, the largest group of Latino voters 
> >suggests that it is because â??teachers are not 
> >paid enough.â?? Nevertheless, more than eighty 
> >percent of the Hispanic electorate feels that 
> >one way to improve public education in America 
> >is to hire more teachers with expertise in the subjects that they will teach.
> >
> >6. Latino parents accept a significant share of 
> >the responsibility for the problems that their 
> >children encounter in the public schools. Our 
> >poll indicates that the â??lack of parental 
> >involvement in their childrenâ??s educationâ?? 
> >is considered to be one of the two most 
> >important educational problems facing the 
> >Hispanic community. It is also revealing that 
> >almost half of Hispanics with children in school 
> >feel that parents, like themselves, are most 
> >responsible for the high dropout rate among Hispanic students.
> >
> >7. A majority of Latino voters thinks that 
> >Latino students need to be held to higher 
> >academic expectations ? like attending more 
> >difficult classses. Only one-third of those 
> >interviewed feared that holding Latinos to 
> >higher academic expectations could result in 
> >many Hispanic students failing and dropping out 
> >of school. The study also reveals that most 
> >Latinos are not quite aware of the serious 
> >difficulties faced by Hispanic students. Only 
> >one-seventh of those interviewed was aware that 
> >a recent study reported that the average 
> >17-year- old Hispanic student has math and 
> >reading skills that are equal to the math and 
> >reading skills of an average 13 year old White Anglo student.
> >
> >OTHER FINDINGS
> >
> >1. Latino voters are supportive of students 
> >spending more time in school to give those that 
> >are falling behind time to catch up and to 
> >better prepare themselves for college.
> >
> >2. Latino parents of children in ESOL programs 
> >(limited English skills) give very high marks to 
> >the quality of the English language education program their children attend.
> >
> >Latino Students Deserve Stronger Schools
> >
> >Latino families depend on good K-12 schools for 
> >the learning that leads to lifelong 
> >opportunities. But Latino students are far less 
> >likely to attend strong schools that prepare them for college, work, and life.
> >
> >Too many Latino students face low standards and 
> >unqualified teachers. â?? Almost 5 million of 
> >the nationâ??s Latino students attend schools in 
> >states that have set proficiency standards so 
> >low in fourth grade reading that they fall below 
> >even the most basic level on a national 
> >assessment.(1) ? Academic courses in high-Latino 
> >high schools are nearly twice as likely to be 
> >taught by teachers who lack a degree in the 
> >subject they teach compared with classes in high 
> >schools with few Latino students.(2)
> >
> >Poor education leads to low achievement, high 
> >dropout rates, and reduced opportunities for Latinos after high school.
> >
> >? Less Learning. Just one in ten Latino eighth 
> >graders reads at a proficient level, and more 
> >than half of Latino 4th graders read below the 
> >basic level. By the time they near graduation, 
> >Latino teenagers have math and reading skills 
> >that are no higher than those of White middle 
> >school students.(3) ? Too Many Dropouts. A study 
> >just released by Education Week founnd that just 
> >over half of Latino 9th graders graduate from 
> >high school with their peers.(4) ? Not Ready For 
> >College. Latino graduates are only abbout half 
> >as likely as White students to leave high school 
> >adequately prepared for four- year colleges.(5) 
> >In states such as Florida and California, the 
> >problem is worse: ? About 70% of Latinos who 
> >enter Floridaâ??ss community colleges are 
> >unprepared for higher education and are forced 
> >to take remedial math, reading, or writing 
> >courses ? more than twice the rate of White 
> >students.(6) Across all Florida colleges, 61% of 
> >Latino freshmen have to take remedial courses. 
> >Each year, Latino families pay nearly $2 million 
> >in tuition for those courses, which teach skills 
> >that students should have learned in high school 
> >and earn them no credit toward a college degree.(7)
> >
> >? In March, the California State University 
> >system reported that 62%% of Latino freshmen who 
> >enrolled in fall 2006 had to take remedial 
> >courses in English and 53% had to take remedial 
> >math.(8) ? Low College Compleetion. At the 
> >current college enrollment and completion rates, 
> >out of every 100 Latino kindergartners, only 10 
> >will obtain at a bachelorâ??s degree.(9)
> >
> >The solution is rigorous standards, effective 
> >teachers in every classroom, and more time and 
> >support for learning. Visit 
> ><http://www.edin08.com/>http://www.edin08.com/ to learn more.
> >
> >Rigorous American Education Standards: ? A 2006 
> >study by Education WWeek found that states that 
> >had raised academic standards over the past 
> >decade were more likely to see gains in math and 
> >reading on the National Assessment of 
> >Educational Progress.(10) ? A national study 
> >found that high sschools with a more rigorous 
> >curriculum have lower dropout rates than those 
> >that allow students to take lots of low-level 
> >courses. For every two low-level math courses a 
> >high school offers, students experience a 30% 
> >greater probability of dropping out.(11) 
> >Effective Teachers in Every Classroom: â?? 
> >Economists estimate that assigning disadvantaged 
> >students to good teachers rather than average 
> >teachers for 4 to 5 years in a row would 
> >entirely close the achievement gap.(12) More 
> >Time and Support for Learning: ? Students in 
> >KIPP schools get about 60 percent more class 
> >time than their peers, and the results are 
> >impressive: In Washington, D.C., KIPP fifth 
> >graders improved so much in just one year that 
> >they rose from the bottom 15 percent to the top 
> >25 percent of students in the nation.(13) ? A 
> >national studdy found that high schools where 
> >teachers provide students with high levels of 
> >support manage to cut dropout rates in half. It 
> >found that support is especially important for 
> >disadvantaged students who generally drop out at much higher rates.(14)
> >
> >Strong American Schools, a project of 
> >Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a 
> >nonpartisan campaign supported by The Eli and 
> >Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda 
> >Gates Foundation promoting sound education policies for all Americans.
> >
> >SAS does not support or oppose any candidate for 
> >public office and does not take positions on legislation.
> >
> >(1)SAS calculations based on 1) National Center 
> >for Education Statistics. (2007). Mapping 2005 
> >State Proficiency Standards Onto the NAEP 
> >Scales. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 
> >Education. 2) Sable, J., and Garofano, A. 
> >(2007). Public Elementary and Secondary School 
> >Enrollment, High School Completions, and Staff 
> >from the Common Core of Data: School Year 
> >2005-2006. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of 
> >Education. Washington. Retrieved June 12, 2007 
> >from 
> ><http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007352.pdf>http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2007/2007352.pd
> f
> >
> >(2)The Education Trust. Latino Achievement in America. Washington, DC: Author.
> >
> >(3)Data from the 2005 National Assessment of Educational Progress.
> >
> >(4)Education Week. (2007, June 12). Diplomas 
> >Count 2007: Ready for What? Preparing Students 
> >for College, Careers, and Life after High 
> >School. Bethesda, MD: Editorial Projects in Education Research Center.
> >
> >(5)Greene, J. & Winters, M. (2003, September). 
> >Public High School Graduation and College 
> >Readiness Rates in the United States. New York: Manhattan Institute.
> >
> >(6)Windham, P. (2002). Bridging the Gap: An 
> >Analysis of Floridaâ??s College Preparatory 
> >Program. Florida State Board of Community Colleges, Tallahassee, Florida.
> >
> >(7)Summers, D. (2006, April) Steps Can Be Taken 
> >to Reduce Remediation Rates. Office of Program 
> >Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Tallahassee, Florida.
> >
> >(8)California State University System, Analytic 
> >Studies (2006) Proficiency Reports of Students 
> >Entering the CSU System, accessed at 
> ><http://www.asd.calstate.edu/proficiency/2006/Prof_Sys_fall2006.htm>http://www.
> asd.calstate.edu/proficiency/2006/Prof_Sys_fall2006.htm.
> >
> >(9)US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the 
> >Census. (2005). March Current Population 
> >Surveys, 1971-2003, in The Condition of 
> >Education. 
> ><http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/2005/section3/indicator23.asp#info>http://nces
> .ed.gov/programs/coe/2005/section3/indicator23.asp#info.
> >
> >(10)Education Week. (2006, January 5). Quality 
> >Counts 2006: A Decade of Standards-Based 
> >Education. Bethesda, MD: Editorial Projects in Education.
> >
> >(11)Lee, V. & Burkam, D. (2003). Dropping Out of 
> >School: The Role of School Organization and 
> >Structure. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 353-393.
> >
> >(12)Hanushek, E. (2006). Alternative School 
> >Policies and the Benefits of General Cognitive 
> >Skills. Economics of Education Review, Vol. 25, pp. 447-466.
> >
> >(13)Schaffler, S. (2006, December 3). Three Tips from KIPP. Washington Post.
> >
> >(14)Croninger, R. & Lee, V. (2001). Social 
> >capital and dropping out of high school: 
> >Benefits to at-risk students of teachersâ?? 
> >support and guidance. Teachers College Record, 
> >vol. 103, pp. 548-581. Strong American Schools
> >
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2007 18:18:00 +0000
> From: langlois-rine@comcast.net
> To: ca-resisters@interversity.org
> Subject: Cognitive diversity-Jonathan Mooney
> Message-ID: 
> <072520071818.20437.46A793D7000EA8D400004FD522073007930A02079DD39C07010409020E04
> @comcast.net>
> 
> Hi, all-
> Did any of you resisters listen to Jonathan Mooney on KPFA's morning show today 
> at 8 am?  It was a great program.  He just wrote a book called "The Short Bus", 
> highlighting the devastating psychological damage done to children who are 
> labeled as "abnormal", "disabled", or otherwise deficient.   He made a plea for 
> embracing differences and cognitive diversity, reminding me of the truly great 
> educators we know and love:  Debby Meier, Alfie Kohn, Susan Ohanian and many 
> many more.  He said "normal people suck." and pointed out that the term "normal" 
> was coined only 150 years ago.
> Check out his website:    http://www.jonathanmooney.com/
> we're all in this together,
> Marilyn
> P.S. Human beings rock.  All human beings in all their amazing diversity!  
> There?s a Haitian Creole phrase for this:  ?Tout moun se moun?  (every person is 
> a human being)
>  
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of [CA-Resisters Digest] Vol. 3 No. 340 Messages: 5
> **********