GOVERN BY IMPROVISATION: NICASTRO, next step "MURKY" RE: NORMANDY, MEANWHILE, LOCAL DEMOCRACY?

Normandy Board Member Wants His Colleagues Voted out

By DALE SINGER

Updated 5:35 p.m. Tues, Feb. 25, with response from Humphrey:

Terry Artis, an outspoken member of the Normandy School District, says voters should oust three of his incumbent colleagues at the April 8 elections because they are not working in the best interests of the district.

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Missouri Senate panel moves closer on school transfer law bill : News

Missouri Senate panel moves closer on school transfer law bill : News



• Troubled districts would be able to terminate school personnel.



• An amendment was added Thursday that would allow students to transfer to private, nonsectarian schools.



Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City, offered the amendment and said the aim was to provide multiple options to students.



Kit Crancer, StudentsFirst Missouri state director, said the committee’s actions are a “promising next step to address the problems facing Missouri’s underperforming schools.”

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SURPRISE STATE TAKEOVER (II): NORMANDY

Missouri Board Of Education To Take Over Normandy's Finances

Dale Singer (STL Public Radio)

http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-board-education-take-over-normandys-finances

DESE NEWS RELEASE: Supports and Interventions for School Districts

Supports and Interventions for School Districts

DESE: PUBLIC HEARING - FEB 25 @ 6:30 PM

MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS

Posted: February 18, 2014 10 AM, CST

Notice is hereby given that the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will conduct a public hearing pursuant to Mo. Rev. Stat. § 162.081 relating to unaccredited school districts, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 25, 2014, at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, JC Penney Auditorium, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121

The purpose of this meeting is to gather feedback on the Department’s plan for statewide plan for support of and, if necessary, intervention in unaccredited schools.

The news media may obtain copies of this notice by contacting:

Sarah Potter, Communications Coordinator PO Box 480 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573-751-3469 Communications@dese.mo.gov

Anyone attending a meeting of the State Board of Education and/or the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education who requires auxiliary aids or services should request such services by contacting the Department at (573) 751-3563 or Relay Missouri (800) 735-2966, no later than 48 hours before the meeting.

Catholic leaders, public school supporters disagree on Missouri tax credit proposal : News

Catholic leaders, public school supporters disagree on Missouri tax credit proposal : News



Libertarians + Catholic Hierarchy + Tax Incentives = Church + State + Choice?    Run those contradictions by me again please.

Editorial: Stop the milk-money shakedown : Stltoday

Good editorial SL P-D: Are charters, choice, transfers all part of the same flawed agenda?



Editorial: Stop the milk-money shakedown : Stltoday

Tell DESE We Don't Need Chaos!

Tell DESE We Don't Need Chaos!



Re: KC/CEE Trust/ Choice or Chaos?

Money being paid by Normandy, Riverview Gardens to other districts not being spent : News

Money being paid by Normandy, Riverview Gardens to other districts not being spent : News



Doesn't quite seem right -- what's going on here? Good story SLP-D.

Missouri School Board debates the scope of its role in failing schools : News

Missouri School Board debates the scope of its role in failing schools : News

Two year contract extension for SLPS superintendent - St. Louis American: Local News

Two year contract extension for SLPS superintendent - St. Louis American: Local News

MORE ON DEMOCRACY: RE: DESE PLAN ON TRANSFERS AND EXCLUSION OF THE VOICE OF THOSE TO BE AFFECTED

Commentary: When Is Normandy’s Plan Not A Plan? When Nobody Knows It’s There 
 By INDA SCHAENEN

"Anyone who attended DESE’s Feb. 5 community forum may have noticed the same thing I noticed: The plan Normandy School District submitted to DESE on Tuesday, Feb. 4, was nowhere to be seen or heard.
DESE’s presentation was designed to inform citizens of the significant characteristics of each plan so the department could take public input into consideration before making a recommendation to the Missouri School Board. (A PDF of the DESE presentation is available online.)
The slide on page 12 of this presentation says that one of DESE’s aims was to “Focus on best concepts from each plan.” It did not."

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SECRECY AND DEMOCRACY: IMPACT ON SCHOOLS, KIDS, AND POLICY?

From the Washington Post (last month)
Secret policymaking on school reform is on the rise 
BY VALERIE STRAUSS December 12, 2013 at 5:00 am

Excerpt:

"Education reform policy around the country is increasingly being made in secret or without public input — and with a lot of private philanthropic money.
A number of  recent stories reveal the extent to which policy makers and school reformers are going to push their reform agenda to expand charter schools and vouchers in an effort to step up the privatization of public education. These stories include:
* The Kansas City Star reported in this story about a secret plan by Missouri’s education commissioner and a state-hired consultant to develop  “a statewide district to gather poor-performing schools under new leadership, with an office for innovation and charter school expansion.” E-mails obtained by the paper ”exposed a rushed bidding process, now criticized, that ultimately landed Indianapolis-based CEE-Trust a $385,000 contract to develop a long-range overhaul for the district’s failing schools.” The Kansas City schools superintendent, Steve Green, was quoted as saying: “It suggests a conspiracy against our success.”

Read the whole story here. 

MCU Response to CEE Trust: A Reasoned Alternative to Choice Frenzy

(CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LINK TO STORY)

"Specifically, it took the CEE-Trust study to task for consolidating control over troubled districts; relying on market-based reforms and an increase use of charter schools; increasing schools’ reliance on short-term, inexperienced teachers from programs such as Teach for America; stressing the advantage of decentralized budgeting, which it said has not been shown to improve school funding or equity; and using more high-stakes tests to measure the performance of students, teachers and schools."

The White Choice: Choice Week

Read this great piece by the Edushyster: The White Choice

Yes, it's political satire, but solid analytical insight into white-led privatization of public money via charter schools -- is this where school choice is heading?

Are rich white folks starting to think charters might be a good idea for them too?  Check this out:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/01/20/3550057/charter-school-to-open-near-gated.html

Metropolitan Congregations United critical of CEE-Trust plan for troubled schools : News

Metropolitan Congregations United critical of CEE-Trust plan for troubled schools : News

'Urbanist’ educator appointed vice provost - St. Louis American: Local News

'Urbanist’ educator appointed vice provost - St. Louis American: Local News: William F. Tate sees his new appointment as dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and vice provost for graduate education at Wash…

Fix, don’t abandon, our neighborhood public schools : Stltoday

Fix, don’t abandon, our neighborhood public schools : Stltoday

SLPS NEWS UPDATE

Welcome back to the District's Spotlight News bulletin. We are excited to share this interactive experience with you. Please click on the pictures to read the latest news and information from St. Louis Public Schools. When you click on a picture, the story will load in a new browser window. To continue reading stories, return to this email and select another picture. SLPS in the News Springboard Partnership 2014 Internship Opportunities College Scholarship Opportunities Looking Toward a Future in STEM District News Spotlight News fills a critical role by sharing District news with more than 7,500 people across the city, including reporters, community partners, elected officials, parents, and SLPS faculty and staff. To submit information to be included in the next edition, please contact Meredith Pierce at 314-345-2367 orMeredith.Pierce@SLPS.org.

NEW CALENDAR EVENT: DESE PUBLIC MEETING ON FEB. 4 - 6:30 PM - UMSL JC PENNEY CENTER