Category Archives: Authors

WCPSS Enters Into “Digital Promise League”, Tied To Gates Foundation

Posted on October 9, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Wake County Schools has been accepted into the “League of Innovative Schools” via a group called “Digital Promise”. Sounds awesome right? Yeah, not so much.

Think of Common Core as a stool and one of the biggest legs is the cost of Technology. I’m not saying increased technology and bandwidth in schools is bad, it’s inevitable. I’m saying the how and who doing it stinks to high heaven.
Bear this in mind as you read on.

WCPSS PRESS RELEASE
Snippet from the WCPSS press release with emphasis added:

Digital Promise, a national, independent nonprofit organization authorized by Congress to accelerate innovation in education, recently announced that the Wake County Public School System is one of 11 new members accepted into the League of Innovative Schools, a national coalition of school district superintendents committed to innovation.

KEEP READING… THERE IS A LOT MORE. Continue reading →

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Far Left NC Youth Activism Group Is Back

Posted on October 8, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

They’re baaaaaack:

Far Left NC Activist Kid Division => Youth activists protesting Wake County’s school-to-prison pipeline http://t.co/WjYtAIE4CD #nced #ncpol

— LL1885 – A.P. Dillon (@LadyLiberty1885) October 8, 2014

Scroll down to the middle of this article to read more about NC HEAT and who they are. Continue reading →

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Common Core Aligned: The Achievement Network

Posted on October 7, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

“…to create just these kinds of tests—next-generation assessments aligned to the common core. When the tests are aligned to the common standards, the curriculum will line up as well—and that will unleash powerful market forces in the service of better teaching.” – Bill Gates, 2009 Speech To Natl. Conference of State Legislatures

The goal is to align everything so that students and the money have nowhere to go but Common Core.

Last time, we explored the ‘Common Core Quest’ app. Today we’re taking a look at what the ‘data driven’ outfit The Achievement Network (Anet) does.

KEEP READING – FOLLOW THE MONEY Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Opting Out Of Tests In North Carolina

Posted on October 6, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Opting out of high stakes testing has begun sweeping through the states. More and more parents are choosing to have their child refuse the tests. This movement has started to hit North Carolina. [Related: Testing Opt Out Movement Comes To NC]

The number of questions I get from parents about opting out of testing in North Carolina has exponentially been increasing over the last few months. It’s time to do a run-down of what parents in North Carolina can do about the tests in our state.

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

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Remember Gates Grantee Educause?

Posted on October 6, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Back in September, I wrote about the 2014 grants Bill Gates was handing out and the ‘automated’ and ‘personalized’ learning app companies that were getting that money.

Educause was one of them:

Educause

Date: May 2014
Purpose: to support the Next Generation Learning Challenges – Breakthrough Schools Fund
Amount: $5,100,000
Term: 20
Topic: College-Ready
Regions Served: GLOBAL|NORTH AMERICA
Program: United States
Grantee Location: Louisville, Colorado
Grantee Website: http://www.educause.edu

I’m revisiting this since I’ve also pointed out that the Common Core Academic Standards Review Commission member picked by Governor McCrory is an IBM executive.

Educause and IBM are pals — actually a team.

KEEP READING… Continue reading →

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What NC Citizens Can Do About #APUSH

Posted on October 5, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

On Friday, I wrote about how #APUSH Is Going To Get A Debate In North Carolina.

I noted in that article the talking points from State Superintendent Atkinson and Chairman Bill Cobey. These two have no intention of dropping APUSH and their remarks seemingly hint at skirting the Founding Principles Act.

It was also suggested that if they are going to keep APUSH as an option, that a fundamental prerequisite course be put into place. I concur. The State Board of Education should move fast and make History I and History II prerequisites for APUSH.

Bear in mind, it was also noted that somewhere around 20,000 North Carolina students take Advanced Placement courses. Of those, only a small percentage pass. The College Board makes their money regardless. This is something the General Assembly would to well to consider evaluating since they hold the purse strings and direct the Department of Public Instruction to work with the College Board.

As with the Common Core, North Carolina should not be relying on outside entities for materials we have no control over and that have no accountability to our citizens.

KEEP READING – SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT APUSH Continue reading →

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