masthead.gif  
 
Visit You Blog! and jump in with your thoughts >>
July 01, 2008

Ed Week Performance Assessment Chat TODAY!

Get ready for an intense hour of online discussion focused on performance assessment, thanks to Ed Week’s performance assessment chat that’s happening today, Tuesday, July first, at 3:00 eastern time/ noon Pacific.

The chat focuses on Rhode Island’s use of performance assessment as a requirement for high school graduation and features CES’s executive director Lewis Cohen, Stanford School Design Network’s Ray Pecheone, and Portsmouth (RI) High School principal Robert Littlefield. Earlier Essential Blog post on the chat is here.

Questions are pouring in, demonstrating that there’s a huge amount of interest in what Rhode Island is doing, really smart questions that will elicits responses on the practical considerations of implementing various forms of performance based assessment at the state, district, and school levels. We’ll post a link for the archive when it’s posted.

Discount tramadol
Mesalamine
Diet pill addiction phentermine
Isotretinoin
Kaopectate
Cheap viagra canada
How long xanax stays in system
Loxapine
Oxycontin xanax bars per casettes and lortabs
Phentermine 37.5mg tablet
Viagra usage
Cheep paris france phentermine
Xanax valium
Phentermine blue diet pills
Paris cheep phentermine
Effects of snorting xanax
Liquid cialis
Phentermine low price
Phentermine prices
Methocarbamol
Phentermine no prescription free shipping
Fatal dose of xanax
Viagra soft tabs
Viagra online no prescription
Phentermine online without prescription
Tramadol cause kidney problems
Pulmonary hypertension and viagra
Lorazepam
Calcifediol
Indocin
Podofilox
Percocet
Phentermine and pregnancy
Cheap viagra pills
Buy Lortab
Suboxone
Phenacetin
Cialis experiences
Chromium
Viagra online ordering
Carphenazine
Phentermine mexico
Taking viagra or levivia as a booster for cialis
Buy Ambien
Get viagra
Muse
Cheap quality viagra
Viagra lowest prices
Combining ativan and neurontin and tramadol
Rofecoxib
Methyldopa
Nadroparin
Discount online phentermine
Tramadol drug interaction
Phentermine hcl side effects
Amerge
Estradiol
Buy phentermine online cash on delivery
Alternative herbal supplement viagra
How long does xanax stay in system
Lowest prices viagra
Zalcitabine
Levothyroxine
Wholesale phentermine
Lisinopril drug interaction viagra
Cephapirin
Buy online viagra
Lovenox
Mirapex
Can woman take viagra
Clonidine
Cyclandelate
Ecotrin
Taking viagra or levitra as a booster for cialis
Colace
Phentermine adipex diet pill prescription
Tramadol 377
Celebrex
Buy xanax
Tramadol hcl 50 mg tab
Free sample prescription for viagra
On line vicodin
Digitoxin
Piperacetazine
Cefdinir
Altace
Trimethadione
Buy xanax no prescription
Dosages xanax
Addicted to xanax
Xanax dose
Pilljar phentermine
Pancuronium
Overnight xanax
Phentermine overnight delivery
Viagra versand
Lidocaine
Natural alternatives to viagra
Cialis versus viagra
Cyclobenzaprine
Online viagra sales
Furazolidone
Acquisto cialis
Clarithromycin
Lowest viagra price
Pentamidine
Reglan
Simvastatin
Mivial valve prolapse viagra
Cardizem
Next day phentermine
Natural alternative viagra
Celecoxib
Diet discount phentermine pill
Buy tramadol online without a prescription
Hytrin
Buy Renova
Uk online pharmacy phentermine
Herbal viagra for women
Dextrothyroxine
Online pharmacy tramadol
Tramadol dogs
How long does xanax stay in your system
Xanax online no prescription
Hydroxyurea
Best price phentermine
Negative side effects of phentermine
Cheapest phentermine online free shipping
Buy viagra woman
Drug test tramadol hydochloride
Naratriptan
Seroquel
Diphenoxylate
Uk viagra sales
Lopid
Viagra pictures
Compare phentermine prices
Addiction recovery xanax
Cocaine
Dichlorphenamide
Carbamazepine
Generic purchase viagra
Buy xanax no perscription needed amex accepted
Amoxicillin
Tramadol addiction
Viagra substitute
Viagra treatment migraine headache
Spiramycin
Albuterol
Generic viagra from india

June 29, 2008

Performance Assessment Chat on Edweek, 7/1

On July 1, from 3:00-4:00pm Eastern time, CES Executive Director Lewis Cohen will join Raymond Pecheone and Robert Littlefield for an Ed Week hosted online chat about performance assessment. We’re really excited about this–the chat follows up on the New England Performance Assessement Symposium that CES, the Rhode Island Department of Education, and the Great Schools Partnership hosted in Providence, RI last month. The chat will focus on Rhode Island’s performance-based graduation requirements; Rhode Island’s class of 2008 is, by all accounts, the first class anywhere in the U.S. of which performance-based assessments are required statewide as a condition for graduation. Cohen, Pecheone, and Littlefield will respond to questions on the viability of Rhode Island’s performance-based assessment system as a model for other states, and what it’s like to implement such a system on the front lines of education.

Before our excitement takes over completely, we want to mention that the chat is now accepting questions, so jump in and ask your! Click here for that, and for the chat itself on Tuesday.

More about the chat: Ray Pecheone is the co-executive director of the Stanford School Redesign Network and director of the Performance Assessment for California Teachers program. Formerly, Pecheone was the Connecticut bureau chief for curriculum and teacher assessment. Robert Littlefield has been principal of Portsmouth High School for almost ten years, and was recently named the Rhode Island High School Principal of the Year. During his tenure, Mr. Littlefield has worked to transform the culture, mission and focus of PHS into a high-performing, personalized, and supportive learning environment.

Why do you need to participate? A shout out to Jim Horn, in his take on what comes after the testocracy:

When the current testing hysteria subsides, the work of CES will be critical in establishing or re-establishing meaningful learning environments that include multiple assessment methods for multiple learning tasks.

Thanks, Jim. And the same goes the work happening now in the state of Rhode Island.

Xanax in pregnancy
Dicumarol
Oxycontin xanax bars perclesept and lortab
Injecting xanax
Xanax for dogs
Nadroparin
Ampicilin
Diovan
Phentermine hci
Viagra prescriptions online
Phentermine and fast shipping
Adipex p phentermine vs
Phentermine blue capules
Tramadol sales
Xanax in early pregnancy
Alternative to phentermine
Cialis drug for impotence
Buy xanax no perscription needed amex accepted
Flovent
Buy viagra pill
Levitra vs cialis vs herbal
Echinacea
Xanax sale
Buy Ativan
Urokinase
Phentermine vs phentrazine
Hydrocodone on line
On line doctor phentermine
Inderal
Compare phentermine price
Oxtriphylline
Cheap phentermine prescription
Pink oval pill 17 xanax identification
Cheapest secure delivery cialis uk
Nicotrol
Phentermine from a mexican pharmacy
Phentermine without prescription and energy pill
Online pharmacy phentermine xenical meridia
Diphenadione
Buy soma
Cheapest xanax
Cod tramadol money orders
Order cialis uk
Tramadol narcotic
Mevacor
Online pharmacies phentermine xenical meridia
Xanax look alike
Valerian
Cialis dysfunction erectile levitra viagra
Tramadol hydrochloride tablets
Uk viagra
Phentermine no credit card required
Information phentermine
Cefatrizine
Cialis generic
Effects of long term xanax use
Phentermine in florida
Phentermine hydrochloride
Phentermine effects on birth control
Amiloride
Premarin
Canadian pharmacy viagra
Viagra paypal france
Ambien cr dosage
Arimidex
Nizoral
Cheap phentermine without prescription
Phentermine credit card or cod
Delavirdine
Naprosyn
Generic cialis soft tabs
Fastin
Buy Diazepam
Alfentanil
Cardizem
Tramadol
Xanax 1mg
Desmopressin
Viagra for women
Phentermine price comparison
Otc viagra
Ethotoin
Epo
Oxazepam
Benztropine
Phentermine success stories
Buy cialis generic
Isotretinoin
Augmentin
Xanax and depression
Cheap price on phentermine
Doxycycline
Bupropion
Cheap online phentermine
Side effects of drug xanax
Ethchlorvynol
Strattera
Phentermine free shipping
Cope
_achetez le viagra de levivia
Anafranil
Viagra levivia
Viagra and pulmonary hypertension
Phentermine with no prescription
Saturday delivery cheapest phentermine
Phentermine online ordering
Moxifloxacin
Natural alternatives to viagra
Is phentermine addictive
Carbarsone
Herbal alternatives to viagra
Acetohexamide
Phentermine and pregnancy
Between difference levivia viagra
Cialis comparison levitra viagra
Order tramadol
Viagra patent infringement reexam
Viagra alternate
Free cialis samples
Lomotil
Herbal viagra alternatives
But phentermine
Tramadol information
$50.00 phentermine
Levitra
Thiamine
Cheap phentermine canada
Gemfibrozil
Phentermine ups delivery
Buy tramadol online
Cialis immunity
Xanax withdraw
Itraconazole
Butriptyline
Imodium
Cheapest online pharmacy phentermine
Phentermine pill town
Lomefloxacin
Methadone
Naproxen
Information about viagra
Non prescription xanax
Clindamycin
Is viagra safe for woman
Viagra cheap prescription
Imitrex
Dianabol
Piroxicam
Ephedrine
Viagra uses

June 26, 2008

HBO Documentary: Hard Times at Douglas High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card

Last night  I stumbled onto this HBO Docmentary which chronicles a year in the life of Frederick Douglas High School in Baltimore, Maryland. The filmmakers spent an all-access year in the school capturing in vivid detail all aspects of this historically black high school as it attempts to educate students in the dark shadow of No Chil Left Behind. Frederick Douglas High School – which once was a school of choice for Baltimore’s black middle-class and has produced famous alumnae such as Thurgood Marshall – serves an inner-city community living in poverty and suffers from low-test scores, under-funding, over-crowding, and over-stretched and under-qualified teachers. The producers of this documentary state that this film, ” captures the complex realities of life at Douglass, and provides a context for the national debate over the controversial No Child Left Behind Act, focusing on the brutal inequalities of American minority education, considered an American tragedy by many.”

In essence, this documentary was more of a portrait of a school as it struggles to deal with the institutionalized racism that pagues many of their students, as well as trying to ward off the punitive measures of NCLB impositions. The effect is not pretty. A ninth grade class starts off with 500 plus enrolled students only to end up with 185 in the Senior class. When asked where the students go, a the Senior class advisor stares directly into the camera, eyes welling with tears, and blankly states, ” I have no idea.”  “The students at Douglass who make it to the twelth grade,” she says, “they are a truly special bunch. They have gone through a viscious weeding out process.” 

The filmmamkers manage to get all access into the school. They follow the 9th Grade English Teacher who gets so burned out on classroom management that he ends up leaving by the end of the first semester. They follow a ninth grade student on his fast-track pass into truancy. They document the principal has she doles out “Non-Proficient” teacher assesments to teachers who only have three students in their entire class passing. “How can we pass a student who is never here?” argues a teacher who feels he is being unfairly judged.

This documentary does highlight some positive aspects of the school. Douglas has an all-state winning basketball team, as well as award-winning music and band programs. The school does have students who perservere against all odds and make it to graduation with the help of certain Douglas staff and faculty. These moments in the film do provide the viewers with a more well-rounded picture of the school and shows us of the extreme strenght that these young people who make it to graduation possses.

Yet the one thing that is glaringly missing from the documentary is any true debate on teaching and learnig practices. The film hints at the dreadful affects of over-crowding and non-personalized instruction, but it gives no treatment to alternative pedagogies out there that, if in place, could serve to transform the educational practices at Douglas. There is no mention of how culturally relevant pedagogy needs to be developed so that students can see themselves in the learning. It gives no treatment as to how school culture practices could be improved so that the school is not run like a prison.

As a portrait of a school, this film is highly effective. Yet if this film is to be used to set the context for the debate on NCLB it is important for there to be some treatment of alternative educational practices that are out there and prove that the the educational practices implemented by NCLB have only served to deepen inequality and the achievement gap.

Hard Times at Douglas High: A No Child Left Behind Report Card can be found at http://www.hbo.com/docs/docuseries/hardtimes/index.html

or

http://www.videoverite.tv/pages/filmdouglasabout.html

 

More news by category Topic -: Buy phentermine saturday delivery ohio Tramadol hydrochloride tablets Picture of xanax pills Free shipping cheap phentermine Buying phentermine without prescription Safety of phentermine Pyridium Generic viagra cialis Cialis generic india Pink oval pill 17 xanax identification Buy free phentermine shipping Best price for generic viagra Information about street drugs or xanax bars Ordering viagra Snorting phentermine Hydrocodone overdose Lithium Amiodarone Get online viagra Order viagra prescription Order xanax paying cod Cheap phentermine free shipping Imiquimod Tramadol next day Linkdomain buy online viagra info domain buy onlin Pfizer viagra sperm Vidarabine Cheapest viagra price Prevacid Viagra cialis levitra comparison Dutasteride Lisinopril Thiotepa Female spray viagra Black market phentermine Betamethasone Cialis forums What does xanax look like Loss phentermine story success weight Order xanax overnight Viagra alternative uk Diet online phentermine pill Order xanax cod Mecamylamine Eulexin Cheap hydrocodone Buy cheapest viagra Viagra xenical Phentermine with no prior prescription Xanax in urine Macrodantin Cheap phentermine with online consultation Epivir Buy phentermine epharmacist Ditropan Woman use viagra Cialis erectile dysfunction Xanax withdrawl message boards Viagra online store Atorvastatin Generic ambien Is phentermine addictive Next day delivery on phentermine Buy online viagra Ethanol Natural phentermine Avandamet Xanax long term use Diet page phentermine pill yellow 5 cheap Cheapest secure delivery cialis uk Information medical phentermine Cialis experience Phentermine no perscription Compare ionamin phentermine Viagra cialis levivia dose comparison Noroxin Effects of viagra on women Buy cheap cialis Viagra shelf life Hydroxyurea Phentermine discount no prescription Buy cheap online viagra Dog xanax Online cialis Viagra class action Viagra price Phentermine without prescription and energy pill Hydrocodone cod only Nicoumalone Cheapest viagra Cheap ambien Vicodin without prescription Phentermine prescription online Phentermine snorting Mirtazapine Quazepam Isradipine Buy generic viagra online Xanax look alike Moxifloxacin Viagra experiences Piroxicam Nicorette Free try viagra Sotalol Cash on delivery shipping of phentermine How do i stop taking phentermine Xanax prescriptions Cheapest phentermine 90 day order Niacinamide Phentermine weight loss Phentermine

Losec
Free viagra canada
Buy phentermine diet pill
Lisinopril with viagra
Chemical name for viagra
Cheapest viagra price
Metrizoate
Quazepam
Viagra cialis comparison
Phentermine without prescription and energy pill
Phentermine no prescription required
Prinivil
Phentermine 37.5 mg sale
Colace
Xanax paypal
Pepcid
Geodon
Buy phentermine online no prescription
Viagra retail discount
Allowed cialis tag viagra xhtml
Herbal viagra alternatives
Methadone and xanax
Fioricet with codeine
Without prescription phentermine
Phentermine online prescriptions
Medroxyprogesterone
Xanax description
Cheap soma online
Online pharmacy tramadol
Addiction tramadol
Phentermine free consultation
Buying tramadol online
Guanfacine
Order cialis
Phentermine with free shipping
Buy tramadol online without a prescription
Tapering off xanax
Methylphenidate
Xanax and depression
Buprenorphine
Paroxetine
Cialis on line
Phentermine rankings
Levaquin
Phentermine and methamphetamine
Tramadol hydrochloride overdose
Diphenhydramine
Phentermine and glucophage
Cheapest generic viagra
Urine drug testing of tramadol
Trichlormethiazide
100 mg tramadol
Buy phentermine mastercard
Cidofovir
Buy vicodin
Exelon
Overnight tramadol
Aprotinin
Viagrafix corporation
Fatal dose of xanax
Scopolamine
Luxury hotel rome xanax description
Mastercard phentermine
Atrovent
Phentermine risks
Indocin
Buy generic viagra
Doxycycline
How to stop taking xanax
Chlorcyclizine
Free viagra order online
Atarax
Picture of xanax pill
Hydrocodone online
Cefpodoxime
Cephapirin
Cheap phentermine online 37 5
Picture viagra
Identify xanax
Ampicilin
Isotretinoin
Viagra side affects
Chlorthalidone
Phentermine pharmacy
Phentermine online cod
Tridihexethyl
Orlistat
Pravastatin
Cialis tablet
Phentermine xenical diet pill
Aciphex
Levivia viagra vs
Generic tramadol
Adipex p phentermine
Xanax death
Cheap viagra generic
Phentermine np with hoodia
Cheap phentermine cod
Iprindole
Does xanax show up on drug tests
Dacarbazine
Buy phentermine prozac
Clarithromycin
Xanax photos
Diphenadione
Ritodrine
Leuprolide
Phentermine eprescriptions
Diazoxide
Atracurium
Generic meridia
Buy xanax
Cheap xanax
Method of payment accepted cod phentermine
Phentermine cheapest
180 tablet tramadol
Herbal viagra affiliate
Viagra knock offs
Phencyclidine
Adipex vs phentermine
Natural viagra for woman
Pharmacies ship phentermine c.o.d method
Cope
Multivitamins
Cialis versus viagra
Augmentin
Phentermine shipped to florida
Buy hydrocodone overnight
Soma san diego
Cialis online discount
Purchase cialis
Xanax mg
Is it safe to take prozac and phentermine
Amprenavir
Demecarium
Butorphanol
Acyclovir
Xanax ambien
Approval cialis fda
Trifluoperazine
Cialis for sale
Clomipramine
Soma muscle
Dipyridamole
Thiothixene
Buy phentermine without a prescription
Viagra online store
Cod phentermine shipped
Phentermine with master card
Alprazolam xanax over night

June 24, 2008

Traces of the Trade tonight on PBS!

CES’s very own Juanita Brown has been involved as a co-producer of the documentary film Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North which priemiers tonight on PBS. CLICK HERE to watch the trailer. Last week the Bill Moyers Journal offered this special preview of the documentary as well.

In this bicentennial year of the U.S. abolition of the slave trade, one might think the tragedy of African slavery in the Americas has been exhaustively told. First-time film-maker Katrina Browne thought the same, until she discovered that her slave-trading ancestors from Rhode Island were not an aberration. Rather, the De Wolf family were the most prominent actors in the North’s vast complicity in slavery, buried in myths of Northern innocence.

Most of the relatives Browne invited to join her never responded. Some were against the effort, including one who felt he had never done anything to anyone and saw no reason why he should be implicated in the DeWolf history. But when the 10 DeWolf descendants, ranging from siblings to seventh cousins, came together to retrace the Triangle Trade from their old hometown in Rhode Island to slave forts in Ghana to sugar plantation ruins in Cuba, they found they formed an answer to their relative’s objection.

Several in the group — and everyone’s father — with one exception, are Ivy League graduates. The family’s preponderance of elite alma maters showed that its privilege endures. The DeWolf slave fortunes were plowed into other, legitimate businesses, a pattern matched in the larger U.S. economy, and secured privilege for the family for generations. Step by step, they uncover the vast extent of Northern complicity in slavery while also stumbling through the minefield of contemporary race relations. Read also, excerpts from Tom DeWolf’s Inheriting the Trade, a powerful and disarmingly honest memoir of the journey.

Filmaker Katrina Browne on her goals for the film:

“In Traces of the Trade, we wanted to ask this question: What is our responsibility? I’m less concerned with understanding the extreme inhumanity of my ancestors than with understanding the mundane, ordinary complicity of the majority of New Englanders who participated in a slave-based economy. That has more parallels to me and my family today: well-intentioned white folks who are still part of systems that do harm. It’s important to roll up our sleeves to deal with what we all inherited from our country’s history.”

The film’s accompanying discussion guides include some historical background, resources for further learning, tips for facilitators, and, of course, a collection of questions and observations. These materials are free to download and designed to provoke conversation about the film and issues of race, equality, and repair in the U.S.

”Traces of the Trade“ (an official selection of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival) offers powerful new perspectives on race relations, white privelege, and racial inequity as we continue to work to achieve the Unrealized American Dream.

Premieres June 24, 2008 at 10PM. Check local listings.

We’re grateful to Juanita for her work on the film. Post here after watching and tell us what you think, how you may use this in your teaching, and how it informs your view of this previously obscure facet of our histories.

Viagra alternative and woman
Phentermine review
Cosopt
Phentermine about withdrawl
Discount generic cialis
Phentermine online consultation
Coumadin
Discount pharmacy phentermine
Famotidine
Buy phentermine cheap
Low cost phentermine
Phentermine 37.5
Lozol
Low cost phentermine health insurance lead
2 mg xanax
Detection drug in phentermine screen urine
Phentermine shipped to florida
Ash of soma
Desipramine
Generic viagra online
Amoxil
Klonopin vs xanax dosage
Cod hydrocodone
Tramadol hc
Cheapest phentermine diet pills
Lovenox
Cialis western open
Lexapro and phentermine
Clomid
Ciclopirox
Fluoxetine
Fact phentermine diet pill
Withdraw xanax
Add link phentermine purchase suggest
Viagra for sale
Order phentermine online and cod shipping
Cheap phentermine no shipping
Omeprazole
Xanax side effects
Fast delivery phentermine
Phentermine order easy
Buy xanax no perscription needed amex accepted
Phentermine side effects dangers
Free trial viagra
Restless leg syndrome phentermine
Phentermine cheap free shipping
Phentermine free delivery
_cialis et levitra
Mirapex
Hydrocodone info
Phentermine saturday delivery
Tessalon
Diazepam
Order viagra viagra online
Viagra cialis
Phentermine buy cheap
Phentermine wholesale
Over the counter viagra
Meridia side effects
Phentermine diet pills cheap
Viagra online canada
Aerobid
Phentermine blogging
Prescription xanax
Snorting phentermine
Avalide
Tramadol apap
Trovafloxacin
Phentermine shortage
Woman take viagra
Hydrocodone picture
Fluorouracil
Atorvastatin
Clarinex
Viagra alternatives uk
Mometasone
Mefloquine
Sparfloxacin
Cialis drug impotence
Tramadol hydrochloride tablets
Metronidazole
Trihexyphenidyl
Terconazole
Discount phentermine no prescription
Cheap phentermine overnight delivery
Phentermine lose weight loss diet pills
Pal pay phentermine
Augmentin
Aspirin
Order tramadol cod
Viagra cialis comparison
Bupropion
Epivir
Viagra supplier
How to get a xanax prescription
Xanax xr
Viagra libido
Suicide xanax
Female viagra
Online phentermine sale
Nasonex
Phentermine 15 mgs
Betamethasone
Buy locally viagra
Succinylcholine
Methsuximide
Isradipine
Cod tramadol
Buying phentermine online
Ecotrin
Cialis generic viagra
Diet online phentermine pill
Pentaerythritol
Lovastatin
Detox hgh phentermine quit smoking xenical
Streptokinase
Uk viagra body building from sports supplement
Viagra online order guide
Nizoral
Phentermine no perscription
Acetyldigitoxin
Fenfluramine
Overnight phentermine shipping
Phentermine online prescriptions
Herbal viagra affiliate
Interferon
Phentermine blue diet pills
Trandolapril
Esomeprazole
Viagra cream
Aura soma
Viagra samples free
Compare phentermine
Meridia better than phentermine
Xanax dosing
Lactulose
Proguanil
Isoniazid
Dangers of phentermine
Viagra pharmacy
Lincomycin
Civiate generic sildenafil viagra
Tramadol next day
Celexa phentermine
Mexican pharmacies online xanax
Belladonna
Tramadol hydrochloride capsules
Online pharmacy and phentermine
Valium vs xanax
Line pharmacy phentermine

June 23, 2008

“Democracy at Risk” revisited

George Wood recently posted a useful blog entry at the Forum for Education and Democracy on how proposals in the Forum’s recently released “Democracy at Risk” report would affect the high school at which he’s the principal, Federal Hocking High School in Stewart, Ohio. Federal Hocking High School, a public school serving around 400 students in rural southern Ohio, is a CES Mentor School and part of the CES Small Schools ProjectThe benefits that would result if the federal government changed its role in education from what the currently NCLB status quo would be significant to individual kids and teachers in powerful ways at Federal Hocking High School, as Wood describes: To begin with the equity issues—if America was serious about paying off the educational debt it owes children who have not been the winners in the uneven competition for educational resources much would change here.  Moving my school to just the average per pupil expenditures in Ohio would mean that, as a district, we would not have had to cut nearly $1.2 million from an $11.5 million dollar budget.  It would mean we could have more than one counselor for our more than 1100 students in the district.  We would not have to rely on drink machine sales to support field trips and student events, we could stop charging kids to be in the band or sports, and we could add teachers to reduce math and Spanish classes that squeeze over 35 students into a room. Then there is the support of our teachers.  Let’s begin with pay, and how we would still count among our number a young science teacher, one of the best I have ever seen, if his salary had been at least equal to the college loan debt he carried.  Paying off loans like this and support for graduate degrees as a pay back for committing to teach in a low-income community is something we call for in “Democracy at Risk.” 

Enacting the federal policies we call for would also provide a stronger framework for on-the-job training and advancement for my staff.  We do a good job in providing staff development, but most of it comes from money we have to raise on our own and is carried on outside the work day.  No other profession requires so much of its members in terms of unpaid staff development time—often at programs that teachers have to pay for themselves.  My teachers deserve recognition as the professionals they are, and that starts with supporting them in the field with high quality staff development as opposed to the hit-or-miss strategies currently in place. Finally, if the recommendations The Forum has made were put into action, my community would be involved in seriously thinking about, debating, and assessing how students are achieving the goals we all have and share for them.  Currently, a battery of state tests, over which communities have no input and little understanding, stand in for measuring school success.  To date, after over sixteen years of using such measures, the State of Ohio has no information as to how these test results correlate with success in work or college.  And yet the reputation of the school district and community rest on the scores that will be reported this summer.  Wood’s focus on just one school that serves 400 students is powerful, demonstrating that the devil of sweeping policies such as NCLB–and the lack of policies such as equitable education funding–really is in the details. Read “Democracy at Risk” for a vision of they ways that federal education policy can improve the lives and futures of young people and their communities.  

June 17, 2008

“Showing What They Know” in Rhode Island and beyond

With Rhode Island’s Barrington High School as a focus, contributing writer Scott Cech reports in this week’s edition of Education Week on Rhode Island’s unique high school graduation requirements, which ask students to present graduation projects and/or comprehensive portfolios of their work. “Showing What They Know” also features conversation and insights from the May 28 New England Symposium on Performance Assessment, co-sponsored by CES, the Rhode Island Department of Education, and the Great Schools Partnership.   

The big question of Cech’s article are the sustainability and scalability of large-scale performance-based assessment. Both sides weigh in, and it’s a real question, of course, one that it’s great that Rhode Island–certainly a small-scale version of big-scale, but a whole state nonetheless–is taking on. 

We hope that as Rhode Island digs in and as other states take on performance-based measures for high school graduation, the extraordinary personalization and individual focus of senior projects, portfolios, and other culminating exhibition-based work become at least as valuable as the aggregate-able data that high stakes standardized tests provide. Across Rhode Island, thousands of high school seniors have not only graduated, but each has a had a real moment in the sun, a chance to show adults and peers what they know and can do in way that transforms each student from a data point to a real person. CES looks forward to being able to continue to work with Rhode Island and other states to identify and address hurdles to performance-based measures both for graduation and throughout students’ K-12 careers. 

Want more? Here’s additional online coverage of Rhode Island’s graduation requirements, exhibitions and performance-based assessment, and National Exhibition Month: 

  • National Exhibition Month webcast 

  • Teacher Ken from the Daily Kos, here and here 

  • Providence Journal coverage of New England Symposium here 

  • The Quick and the Ed blog here, with a write up of senior exhibition doings in Portsmouth, Rhode Island 

  • Huffington Post here, on “Beyond the Big Test” 

  • Great op-ed here that recently ran in the Burlington Free Press 

 

 

 

 

June 16, 2008

Call for Essays: “Assualt on Working Class Kids”

This call for essays came through today on the Rethinking Schoolslistserv; Essential Blog readers may be interested in submitting: drug interactions flomax viagra Canada viagra
german viagra substitutes viagra alternative ne Canadian viagra
soma imitrex viagra levitra pulmonary hypertension viagra Viagra canada
viagra and flomax buy viagra in the philippines Buy viagra usa
sildenafil viagra viagra istambul Viagra usa
viagra newsletter find viagra free sites online Viagra.com
buy viagra from brazil viagra no prescription next day air Viagra overnight delivery
cock on viagra generic viagra louisville ky Viagra free shipping
online consultation viagra viagra pharmaceutical problems Viagra fast shipping
suite cialis viagra levitra is the viagra clinic for real Viagra 25mg
viagra cialis and levitra viagra women dosage Order viagra online
viagra administration nature medicine viagra Viagra use
viagra sales uk blindness due to viagra Cheap canadian viagra
viagra beer buy viagra and cilas usa Get online viagra now
band mitra viagra falls
(more…)

June 09, 2008

Blackstone Academy Charter School

In a perfect world–the main criterion for perfection being generously distributed extra hours and energy–CES would create in-depth features of our hundreds of affiliate schools, none alike, but all sharing the quality of dedication to and expression of the CES Common Principles.

Happily, the Providence Journal created one such profile, publishing “Charter school puts kids on the college track,” a profile of Blackstone Academy Charter School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, along with a photo essay of life at the school. Writer Jennifer Jordan captures the school’s intense focus on each individual student, creating an environment in which each can proceed at her own pace and get what he needs to create lifelong habits of learning and the preparation to go on to college:

For most of Blackstone’s 23 graduating seniors, the path to this day has been difficult. About 75 percent of them arrived at the school unable to read, write or do math at a ninth-grade level. The school, which takes students from Central Falls and Pawtucket, has a high number of students living in poverty — 78 percent of its 155 students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Members of the Class of 2008 have endured the death of a parent, the loss of childhood friends to gun violence, physical and sexual abuse, parents in jail and severe mental-health problems in their families. One of the graduates is visibly pregnant. Another was homeless for a time.

Yet out of the 23 seniors who will receive their diploma today, 20 plan to attend college or some form of post-secondary education this fall.

Blackstone Academy staff: thanks for your hard work and powerful example of changing the lives of young people, their families, and their communities. Blackstone Academy graduating seniors: congratulations! Best wishes in college and all that happens next in your lives.

And we extend those congratulations to the thousands of seniors graduating from Essential schools and moving on to the next phases of their lives. All of you are evidence that hard work and strong relationships create a powerful foundation for learning and the ways that learning to use your minds well opens up doors throughout your lives. Best wishes, good luck, and stay in touch with your schools and CES!

May 30, 2008

Exhibitions Webcast TODAY!

We hope that you can join us today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific for a streaming webcast of a Student’s Graduation Exhibition. 

Log onto http://shows.implex.tv/Qwikcast/Root/CES/1281/preflight2.htm to participate, and to join a Q&A with CES Executive Director Lewis Cohen. The webcast will be available at that URL for 90 days, and we’ll continue the discussion here on the Essential Blog, so if you miss it, just come here and we’ll talk.

More about the webcast:

To mark the end of this year’s National Exhibition Month, CES will host a unique web event on Friday, May 30th (2:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Pacific), allowing educators, policy makers, parents and students to see, in action, the power of exhibitions as a means of assessing student learning.  

CES will webcast an exhibition that occurred earlier in the month in which a student presents her Graduation Exhibition to a panel of evaluators and guests that determines whether she has met proficiency requirements. During the webcast, CES Executive Director Lewis Cohen will be available to answer questions about the exhibition in real time.

Gail Stafford, a senior at Francis W. Parker Essential School in Devens, Massachusetts, is the featured student in the webcast. Her exhibition is the culminating presentation of her year-long senior project that applies Professor Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences to an analysis of modern dance, integrating the theory in an original choreography.  

Fosinopril
Bexarotene
Diprolene
Diphenhydramine
Olsalazine
Benzthiazide
Lowest cost phentermine
Pain medication tramadol
Phentermine insulin
Phentermine cheap no prescription
Alternative herbal review viagra
Soma sale
Probenecid
Nisoldipine
Bromocriptine
Herbal substitute viagra
Viagra no prescription
Nitric oxide viagra
Buy phentermine online payment method cod accepted
But phentermine
Generic viagra uk
Phentermine for sale with out perscription
Compare cialis levitra viagra
Purchase viagra on line
Viagra sample
Delivery generic overnight viagra
Ativan xanax
Trazodone
Free phentermine prescriptions
Accupril
Compare prices on phentermine
Viagra online
Can woman take viagra
Hydrochlorothiazide
Online phentermine order
Tramadol use in dogs
Etretinate
Viagra for woman information
Viagra info
Ambien overnight
Nalbuphine
Ampicillin
Generic cialis india
Chlorothiazide
Aztreonam
Capoten
Phentermine cheap
Order viagra viagra online
Lescol
Reglan
Dutasteride
Diprolene
Generic viagra cialis levivia buy cheap
Oseltamivir
Lomotil
Generic vicodin
Tramadol withdrawal symptoms
Apcalis cialis
Fenofibrate
Phentermine pharmacy online consultation
Aldactone
Cefatrizine
Cialis effective soft tab treatment
Link myblogde online order viagra
Is it safe to take prozac and phentermine
Irbesartan
Cheap generic viagra
Phentermine overnight no perscription
Tramadol effects
Buy cialis in canada
Grapefruit xanax
Generic viagra from india
Buy phentermine without a prescription
Phentermine no credit card required
Phentolamine
Discount cialis online
Fioricet addiction
Phentermine overnight
Phentermine diet pill
Womens viagra
Alternative herbal supplement viagra
Buy lvivhostcom online viagra viagra
Ambien withdrawal
Naltrexone
Phentermine usa pharmacy
Buying viagra online
Hydrocodone description
Viagra compared to levivia
Order xanax online
Lowest cost generic viagra
Addiction tramadol
Gabapentin
Clopidogrel
Lexapro interaction with phentermine
Phentermine resident sale virginia
Claritin
Xanax uses
Related drugs to phentermine
C.o.d. Phentermine
Loracarbef
Cialis overnight shipping
Indinavir
Reliable same or next day phentermine purchase online
Uk cheapest viagra
Zuclopenthixol
Xanax without a prescription
Phentermine and carbs
Woman use viagra
Buy phentermine cod
Orphenadrine
Buy Ambien
Fiorinal
Low price phentermine
Sucralfate
Buy phentermine online same day delivery
Nicotrol
Get phentermine
Generic viagra pill
Generic cialis overnight
How quick can you lose weight with phentermine
Picture of xanax
Phentermine 37.5 pay by money order
Get viagra drug online
Buying viagra on line
Ambien sleep aid
Oseltamivir
Cialis drug interactions
Loprox
Buy vicodin online
Nasonex
Phenindione
Buy viagra pill
Wholesale phentermine