DFER News Roundup 08.08.2013

DFER News Roundup

Don’t forget about Shark Week!

By Devin Boyle, Director of Communications, and Stephanie Doctrow, Communications Coordinator and Web Editor

DFER Seen & Heard:

Despite Florida Education Commissioner Tony Bennett’s resignation the “push to improve schools is organic and strong and will continue no matter what happens to one individual, ” says DFER’s Charles Barone. (WSJ)

Getting Smart named DFER one of its 40 Advocacy Organizations making a difference.

DFER’s Joe Williams weighs in on EdWeek article, “What Could a U.S. Sen. Cory Booker Mean for K-12 Policy?”

DFER-CO’s Moira Cullen on DFER’s endorsements in the Denver School Board race: “We are incredibly confident that the four candidates we have endorsed will make strong additions to the board, and will put their energies where they belong—giving every DPS student the chance at a great education.” (Colorado Statesman)

Check out the Fordham Institute’s excellent recap of our “Opt-Out Or Cop-Out?” event.

Advocacy, Policy Briefs & Such:

Press Release | Arizona education champion Carlyle Begay elected to state Senate.

Statement | DFER-IL state director calls for comprehensive education funding and pension reform.

DFER Blog:

DFER-IN’s Larry Grau writes, “Common sense is yet another casualty in the endless battle to do better by our kids.”

Lisa Macfarlane of DFER-WA writes about civil rights leader Robert Moses and the importance of educational equity.

DFER-AZ’s Christina Martinez says, “If we continue down our current path of underfunding and underserving the next generation, we are preparing them for a future of failure instead of a future of success.”

In Related News:

Yesterday more than 40 business leaders signed an open letter urging policymakers to continue implementing Common Core State Standards in New York (Gotham Schools).
TFER’s Mac LeBuhn writes that “although many of the reforms in DC’s schools were controversial at the time, today’s evidence speaks for itself.”
NYCAN Executive Director Julie Marlette on NY’s test results: “These results, while hard to hear, confirm what colleges, employers, educators and parents have known for some time. That the bar for success was far too low, and as a result too many students have completed high school unprepared for what comes next.” (50CAN)

Former NYC School Chancellor Joel Klein writes in the New York Post, “While some may confuse lower scores as a negative development, the fact that we’re finally being honest about academic achievement is a very positive sign.”

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, on New York’s lower test scores: “The only way to improve is to tell the truth. And sometimes that’s a brutal truth.” (Stephanie Banchero, Wall Street Journal)

EdWeek’s Michele McNeil reports, “U.S. Department of Education Grants California Districts’ CORE Waiver.”

The Fordham Institute’s Kathleen Porter-Magee asks of NY’s Common Core implementation, “Is the day of reckoning upon us?”

EdWeek’s Sarah Sparks writes, “NAEP testing to be scaled back because of budget tightening.”

Kristen Wyatt of the Associated Press writes that Colorado’s teachers are preparing for standardized educator-effectiveness ratings that will go into effect this school year.

Georgia could forfeit about $10 million of its $400 million Race to the Top grant.

The 2013 DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS) exam results show an 11.3% increase in comprehension rates for ELL students and 5.0% increase in comprehension rates for students with disabilities in DC charters.

Fun With Infographics & More:

Students from DC’s Jefferson Academy created a parody of Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” to get excited for the DC CAS. Thanks for this find, POLITICO Morning Education Team!