A story about an Indiana charter school doesn't sound relevant here in Arizona, except that the school is a branch of a Yuma charter much loved by conservative "education reform" advocates and much touted by our previous Ed Supe John Huppenthal.

Carpe Diem charter in Indianapolis wanted to increase its enrollment mid year, before the deadline to determine the school's attendance, which determines the school's per-student state funding. So it decided to give a $100 gift card to anyone who refers a student who enrolls.

You've already given your child(ren) the best gift possible - a quality education. Now please join us in recruiting students like yours who can also start 2015 out great. . . . For each new student you refer that enrolls at Carpe Diem Meridian, we'll give you a $100 Marsh gift card!

It seems the school's strategy of handing out fliers to parents at day care centers, TV and radio appearances and two open houses wasn't enough to do the trick.

Paying for references to charters is legal in Indiana. I'm not sure how the law goes in Arizona, but I'm guessing it's OK here too. Ann-Eve Pedersen, my cohost on the cable access show, Education: The Rest of the Story, did a story in 2013 about a $100 charter school bribe advertised in a flier given out to students as they walked out of her son's school at the end of the day.

Carpe Diem is a "blended learning" school which began in Yuma and has been opening branches in other states. Here's why the reformers/privatizers love the "blended learning" model so much. It has students parked in front of computers in little cubicles half the day working on computerized lessons, and they spend the rest of the day with teachers. The average student-to-teacher ratio is twice that of most schools: about 50-to-1. That means less money spent on teachers — no way businesses can make serious money on teacher salaries — and more money spent on computers and online curriculum — Ka-Ching! The Indianapolis school lists five teachers for its 240 students.

The proponents of the "blended learning" model point out that students at the Yuma school made tremendous gains in their math and reading scores. And they did, one year. The problem is, there was reason to believe the tests might have been altered by a staff member or two. Excess erasures — a wrong answer erased and a right answer bubbled in — are a sign of possible cheating, and some student tests at the school had about seven times the state average of wrong-to-right erasures. After that was pointed out,  student scores dropped significantly over the next few years.

My understanding is, good charters are supposed to attract students because of their quality as the invisible hand of the marketplace separates the good schools from the bad. If a school needs to resort to a very visible hand offering a $100 referral reward, you've got to wonder if it's really offering the kind of education parents are looking for.

The AZ Capitol Times has an op ed, Arizona has ‘Big Mo’ in education. Not if by  "Big Mo," he means "Mo Money" that would give teachers the resources they need to maximize the education they give their students. The only momentum we have is digging ourselves deeper and deeper into an educational hole.

The op ed is written by Glenn Hamer, President and CEO of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Hamer is building on Senate President Andy Biggs' statement that we need to pretend Arizona's schools are doing great so we can convince businesses to move here.

[Biggs] said Arizona provides “a good education,” though it may have “a ways to go.”

“But if you want to consistently say to business: ‘Hey, you know what? We have a crappy education system,’ you’re not helping the state, you’re not helping our education system, and you are hindering our economy."

Because, I guess, businesses don't do their own research when they relocate, so if the Chamber of Commerce and Andy Biggs say everything's wonderful with our education system, the business folks will say, "That's great," then they'll pack up their U Hauls and haul on over here.

Here's some of cheerleader Hamer's evidence that proves how great we're doing.

According to Quality Counts, Arizona is 4th in the nation in closing the reading gap among students who qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch. We’re 8th in the nation on fourth-grade math achievement gains. We’re 16th for eighth grade reading gains. These academic gains are more than just a blind squirrel finding a nut. We’re doing something right.

The problem is, Quality Counts gave Arizona's education a D+ overall. I checked the report to make sure I had that grade right, but I really didn't need to. Diane Douglas mentioned it in her State of Education speech. Oops.

Hamer, honest guy that he is, admits we're not perfect.

Of course, we can do better. But rather than simply criticize, our leaders should be working to accelerate improvement. A good start would be to embrace the types of reforms touted by Gov. Ducey, ensuring that all students, regardless of neighborhood, have access to our best public schools.

Sure, let's follow Gov. Ducey's lead in education, which was given a well deserved pounding in media outlets around the state. Great idea.

Yesterday, I said there was a rumor going around that rapper and activist KRS-One planned on visiting Cholla High Magnet School today, since he was in town for a concert last night at the Rialto Theatre.

Well, that came true. KRS-One was at Cholla today and spoke at an assembly.

Here's what TUSD said about it in an article on their website:

Several dozen students walked into Cholla Magnet High School's Little Theatre Wednesday afternoon eager to meet a legend of Hip Hop music. What they didn't know is that they'd get a lesson not just about music but life-changing lessons in self esteem, knowing themselves and advice on how to live a successful life.

How the internationally known star ended up lecturing to them in Tucson starts with a teacher in one of Tucson Unified School District's Culturally Relevant Curriculum courses. Mr. Andrew Walanski used KRS-One's "Introduction to Hip Hop" in his classroom at Cholla. Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal singled the lesson out as one his department felt violated a state law.

Media coverage of the letter sent by Huppenthal on his last day in office reached across the country to KRS-One and his team.

KRS-One just happened to be coming to Tucson a few weeks later. He invited the students and teachers to be his guests at his concert at the Rialto, and conversations there led to an impromptu lecture at the school the following day.

If you Google KRS-One and his background you'll find he gives lectures on college campuses across the country including Harvard and Yale. He's often referred to as the conscience of Hip Hop and a master teacher.

At Cholla, while KRS-One gave a lecture on the origins of Hip Hop and how it connected to his life and his success, it was more about philosophy of self worth. KRS-One encouraged the students to know themselves and "chisel out who you are."
The 50-year-old also told the students to build each other up along with everyone else they know. "When you feel great, you see others as great and you add value. Lift them up and show other cultures how great your culture is," he said.

The students were on the edges of their seats, paying attention to every word for the nearly three-hour session. Lorenzo Lopez Jr., TUSD's Coordinator for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Instruction, says that's what ethnic studies courses bring to the classroom.

"His presence sums up what CRC [Culturally Relevant Courses] are all about. The educational experience adjusts itself to the needs of the students," he said. "The relevancy of having this internationally known artist in their school brings the educational experience to life. These students are life long learners engaged in the process of learning through thought and analysis."

KRS-One told the audience, "You should be proud of your school for doing this."

Tucson Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. H.T. Sánchez has expressed his support for using music in the classroom since the letter from Mr. Huppenthal was issued in December. "Music bridges generational gaps and is able to show students that certain struggles aren't new to this generation but transcend generations. Any media that does that is appropriate as long as it is suitable for the age of our students."

At the end of the lecture and Q&A session, the artist posed for pictures and selfies with the students and teachers. He also shook every hand, telling the students he was honored to meet them and be there.

An impromptu Hip Hop session and break dancing party also broke out while the students pulled out their cell phones to record the personal concert in the Little Theatre in their little part of the world.

A young man named Dyre said he is an aspiring rapper. He said hearing from KRS-One and how he became who he is was inspiring. "It was great to learn to be confident in myself," Dyre said.

Another student, Haley, says the experience will stick with her. "This school has given me so many amazing opportunities."

What does Mr. Walanski want his students to take away from the visit? "I hope they all heard the message. Hopefully it means be confident in who you are. You choose how you move in the world. You can choose it."

Cholla Magnet High School Principal Frank Armenta says, "This is what teaching is all about. Now their job is to take it from here and move it on. It's a global community, and it can start here and go worldwide."

And it will. KRS-One was set to play for a sold out crowd in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday.

OK, so Louis C.K. is a comedian, not an educator. But his mother was a math teacher (Fun facts: his parents met at Harvard. His mother has a background in software engineering, his father is an economist, and he grew up in Mexico City from age one to seven. His first language was Spanish). And he's a very perceptive social commentator. He's also got two young daughters. So, sprinkle a few grains of salt on his comments if you wish, but his statements on testing are worth a listen (especially if, like me, you tend to agree with them).

His concern about high stakes testing went public when he wrote a string of tweets, including:

My kids used to love math. Now it makes them cry. Thanks standardized testing and common core!
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014

Sorry. I sit with my kids as they so their HW they devour knowledge. When it’s hard they step up. Their teachers are great
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014

But it’s changed in recent years. It’s all about these tests. It feels like a dark time. And nothing is going in anymore.
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014

It’s this massive stressball that hangs over the whole school. The kids teachers trying to adapt to these badly written notions.
— Louis C.K. (@louisck) April 28, 2014

He's gotten a fair amount of media coverage for this statements. On Letterman, he said, tongue slightly in cheek:

Well, the way I understand it, if a school’s kids don’t test well, they burn the school down. It’s pretty high-pressure.

Educator Diane Ravitch chimed in about Louis C.K.'s comments, at length, ending with a neutral statement about Common Core itself but a damning indictment of our current obsession with high stakes testing.

The Common Core has some good ideas in it; I doubt that it will do harm, although I believe that subjecting little children to 6-8 hours of testing to see if they can read and do math is harmful, physically and mentally, to them. Long ago, educators were able to find out in tests lasting 50 minutes how well a student could read or do math. Why is it now an ordeal that lasts as long as some professional examinations? For heaven’s sake, we are talking about little children, not candidates for college or a profession!

Louis C.K. isn't the first and won't be the last to chime in on the testing issue, and he's certainly not the most knowledgable commentator on the subject, but he's among the highest profile. After all, how many people get to bring up the subject to an audience of the size or the diversity of Letterman's?

No, it's not the "soft bigotry of low expectations" to acknowledge that students' socioeconomic status is a factor in their educational achievement. It's a fact, and refusing to acknowledge it leads to labeling teachers and schools in low income areas "failures," which in turn leads to a host of educational "solutions" that don't acknowledge the actual problems.

So I'm encouraged that the University of Missouri is looking at a teacher evaluation model that factors in the student population. 

Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified a plan to evaluate teachers fairly using a “proportional” system. Cory Koedel, an associate professor of economics and public policy in the MU College of Arts and Science and the Truman School of Public Affairs, says that proportionality would level the playing field among teachers who work with students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

“One of the biggest criticisms of proposed teacher evaluations is that teachers in less wealthy districts with fewer resources will be unfairly evaluated in relation to teachers with access to more resources,” Koedel said. “By leveling the playing field among all teachers, we can mitigate this issue.”

A proportional system will benefit teachers and students in schools in both low and high income areas, according to the researchers.

“Based on evidence from past research in economics, we know that if teachers who teach in disadvantaged districts know that they have little chance of being recognized for their good work, they will be less motivated,” Koedel said. “Also, teachers at wealthier schools may also be less motivated if they know that they have a good chance of receiving positive reviews based only on where they work. Giving all teachers an equal opportunity to be recognized as effective or ineffective would increase effort throughout the workforce, which would be a win for students in K-12 schools.”

It's lovely to believe that schools and teachers can be miracle workers. Sometimes it's true. But while our expectations should be high, we need to be realistic in evaluating teachers and schools, and realize that some of the most important factors that go into improving students' educations exist in the world outside the school.

Rapper and producer KRS-One is performing tonight at the Rialto Theatre (doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets are between $18 and $20).

If you haven't heard his music (you should check it out), then you might remember him as one of the artists mentioned in the notice of noncompliance former superintendent of public instruction John Huppenthal sent to Tucson Unified School District earlier this month, on his last day as schools chief—on the notice, he said some of TUSD's culturally relevant courses were in violation of the law that banned the Mexican American studies program, A.R.S. 15-112. With that, the state once again threatened to cut TUSD's funding if they didn't fix whatever the state thinks is wrong (the way teachers have been implementing content in the classrooms, according to Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas) by March 4.

Anyway, a few weeks ago I visited one of the classes at Cholla High Magnet School that Huppenthal pointed out was in violation of the state law—U.S. history from the Mexican American perspective, taught by Corey Jones. Huppenthal didn't like that class and said the use of Rage Against the Machine's "Take the Power Back" was one of the reasons why.

This guy, who shall we mention was caught posting rather racially hateful blogs and comments under the pseudonyms Falcon9 and Thucydides (he called people in government assistance programs "lazy pigs") last year, also pointed fingers at two other Cholla classes (as well as a few at Tucson High and Pueblo High), among them Andrew Walanski's culturally relevant English from an African American perspective class for using An Introduction to Hip Hop Presented by Master Teacher, KRS-One.

There is a rumor going around, according to a TUSD official, that KRS-One plans to visit that class tomorrow. 

I guess we'll find out soon.

The state Legislature and Arizona school districts will be in court-mediated talks soon over the hundreds of millions of dollars the state was ordered to give schools in back payments.

The two "voluntarily agreed" to participate in the process, which will be mediated by a panel of three Arizona Court of Appeals judges, according to the Arizona Capitol Times. What happens inside those walls will be confidential.

Last summer, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ordered Arizona to immediately hike public schools' funding by nearly $317 million a year—this would have cost the state more than $2 billion over the next five years. 

The same judge is also considering ordering Arizona to give schools $1.3 billion in back payments in funding the state did not provide since 2009.

The state is currently appealing.

Gov. Doug Ducey mentioned the issue in his budget proposal—$74 million to settle the lawsuit, which is considerably less than what the court ordered.

The state Legislature has continuously argued that it cannot afford the payments and that these would become a burden to taxpayers, but the public schools say the state should be able to figure it out. 

I've stayed quiet on the question of whether TUSD should have an internal auditor. I'm an experienced educator and classroom teacher, not an administrator or budget analyst. I dive into administration-level questions when I feel I have to, like now, but I don't do it with a great degree of confidence.

Some board members and others have been pushing TUSD to hire an internal auditor who would look deeply into the district's finances, its compliance issues, questions of fraud or financial mismanagement, and so on. Board member Mark Stegeman has pushed the hardest, long before H.T. Sanchez became superintendent. In fact, before Stegeman was elected to the board, he was on the district's audit committee and was pushing for greater scrutiny of district finances back then.

The topic has been discussed and debated for years. It looked like it might be resolved when Stegeman and fellow board member Cam Juarez got together and created a compromise proposal. But in the end, it was voted down at the Jan. 21 meeting, with Juarez voting against the proposal he helped create.

I think it's very possible having an internal auditor at TUSD is a good idea. If that sounds like a weak, cautious endorsement, that's because it is. I'm more certain that, unless the function is abused, it's not a bad idea. The main abuse I see would be a board member using the auditor to go on fishing expeditions and witch hunts—the TUSD equivalent of the endless congressional Benghazi hearings of the past few years ("I know we'll find something, anything, if we look long and hard enough!"). But the proposal just voted down stated that the auditor can't take direction from a single board member. It "may receive direction only from the Governing Board (in quorum) or from the Superintendent or designated staff to the extent authorized by the Board (in quorum)." That means one or two board members can't use the auditor as their private investigatory tool.

So I'm leaning toward the idea that an independent auditor might be a good idea. But I have a number of reservations I want to discuss here, many of which I haven't heard brought up in recent discussions. A warning: I'm planning to get windy and very deep in the weeds soon, so if you're not really interested in the topic, run for your life before it's too late! That being said—

A U.S. Federal District Court has rejected Tucson Unified School District's Comprehensive Magnet Plan as approved by the TUSD board July 2014, saying the CMP isn't a comprehensive enough plan as required by the Unitary Status Plan—which is part of the districts's 30-plus-year-old desegregation efforts.
That plan has been at the center of the legal battle Roy and Josie Fisher and Maria Mendoza v. TUSD, in which the plaintiffs disagree with how the district has been handling these desegregation moves.

The purpose of the magnet plan is to "ensure that all magnet schools are making progress towards achieving the Unitary Status Plan definition of an integrated school, and to enhance the educational quality of its magnet schools and programs."

These goals are listed on TUSD's website:

1. Ensure that all magnet schools and programs show measurable progress toward achieving the
definition of an integrated school as set forth in the USP [USP Section (II)(B)(2)].
GOAL: TUSD magnet schools will achieve the definition of integration to the extent possible as set forth in
the USP through an admissions process.
2. Recruit and retain a racially and ethnically diverse student body in TUSD magnet schools and
programs [USP Section (II)(E)(2)].
GOAL: By implementing the Marketing, Outreach and Recruitment Plan, the District will track the number
of students entering magnet programs at the lowest entry grade in order determine if the plan is
attracting a racially and ethnically diverse student body.     7
3. Enhance the educational quality and social capitol of TUSD magnet schools and programs.
GOAL: By implementing rigorous programs and quality instruction, students attending a magnet school will
score higher than the district average for that grade configuration (K-5, K-8, 6-8, 9-12).
GOAL: For each year, magnet students participation in Advanced Learning Experiences will increase.
GOAL: The achievement gaps between racial groups participating in magnet programs will be less than the
achievement gaps between racial groups not participating in magnet programs. 

For background:

Starting in the mid-1980s, TUSD magnet programs were used as a mechanism to attract non-neighborhood, non-minority students to Westside schools, and to provide equal educational opportunities to minority neighborhood students attending Westside schools. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, magnet programs were added which included more centralized and traditionally desegregated schools. Beginning in 2000, TUSD developed some magnet programs that were successful in improving the racial/ethnic balances in some schools’ student populations. Although these magnets were less successful at attracting a diverse population, were successful at providing specialized educational opportunities for their concentrated minority populations. From the early 1980s through 2011, the demographics of TUSD changed. Through a Magnet Schools Assistance Grant two new magnets were created and one revise in 2010.

The plan pretty much explains how these magnet schools, which include Tucson Magnet High School, Catalina High School and Utterback Magnet Middle School, will move toward integration. These methods are what the court is saying are not clear.

TUSD now has four months to file a revised CMP. The district also needs to submit "improvement plans" on all magnet schools in the next three months. They will be working with a court-assigned referee or special master.

From what I have been hearing, the board isn't scandalized about this and is more than willing to move toward a plan that everyone is happy with.

The Range's Maria Taracena has done a great job of summarizing the main points in Ed Supe Diane Douglas' 2015 State of Education message. In this post, I want to ask, what does it all mean? Douglas was famously mum during the campaign season, so lots of what we're hearing from her, we're hearing for the first time. Some of it sounds good, I must say. But I've learned not to read public officials' statements with my hopes and dreams. Gov. Ducey's State of the State message vs. his budget proposal is a case in point. Better to read exactly what Douglas' words say, then try to guess what they might mean, making sure to view them through the lens of Douglas' basic Tea Party philosophy.

Douglas said Arizona ranked 47th in a recent "Quality Counts" education report and received a rating of D+. First, that's an honest statement, not a sugar coating, which is good. Second, the source is Education Week, a more-or-less middle-of-the-road journal written mainly for educators, which I subscribe to and read. The fact that Douglas didn't discount Ed Week as a progressive/lefty propaganda rag is encouraging. I hope she reads it on a regular basis. There's a lot to learn in there for anyone interested in education.

Douglas didn't quite say we need to raise teachers' salaries, but she almost did when she said, "Arizona’s average teacher salary is ranked 42nd in the nation and salaries are a major obstacle when recruiting outside Arizona." It's a lovely sentiment, one I agree with heartily. If Ducey's proposal to shift non-classroom funds into the classroom goes through, it could happen — likewise if Republicans agree to abide by the court's decision that they need to add hundreds of millions to school funding. But since Douglas didn't say we need to increase the state's education budget, however, her words are nice but don't mean much. They would have been nicer still if she urged the lege to spend more on our children's educations.

Douglas gave a terrific, positive affirmation to Arizona teachers. "I know first-hand just how hard our teachers work and how much they care about their students." No teacher bashing from Douglas, at least not yet. Since teachers aren't public enemy number one — at least not yet — if she's consistent, she'll have to look for ways to improve the state's education that don't begin with, "Throw the bums out!"