Lab School: A New Choice

Warriors, recently, I was sent an email calling attention to the NC Joint Education Oversight Committee’s Report where ‘lab schools’ were being bragged on as a way to give parents a ‘new’ public education choice. 

Here’s an excerpt: “The Committee found that these Laboratory Schools will provide parents with another choice in public education and will provide local school administrative units with clear and easy access to the best academic researchers and teachers in the educator preparation programs at the various constituent institutions of The University of North Carolina.”

Below, is a screen shot from the Committee’s Report to the NC General Assembly.

Here’s the Report, the Lab School information is on Pages 11 and 19. 
(*Note: the other articles I’m planning will also come from this Report.)

What the Report Said:

Warriors, on Page 11, the Committee notes a meeting in late 2017, Mr. Bulson gave a short presentation about ‘the  benefits of laboratory schools for students, colleges of education, and local school administrative units, and the unique focus on low-performing students.’ Bulson also brought up that legislation surrounding Lab Schools would need to be technically adjusted.

On Page 19, look at the number 2 information. Slightly above this is a bold note with proposed legislation. That legislation is for virtual charter schools, NOT Lab Schools.

You’ll also be able to see WHY NC has Lab Schools. To create a partnership between State Universities and the local K-12 school administrations.

If you are interested in seeing the legislation for UNC’s (University of NC) Lab Schools, use the highlighted link. You’ll want to read how waivers are involved, how the Labs will either be shut down or renewed at the end of 5 years.
(*Note: since the law was passed in 2017, this means 2021 will be when the experiment in education is through or not.)
You’ll want to see this, Warriors, Jackson County, NC Public Schools and WCU (Western Carolina University) opened Catamount School in 2017. The innovative touch which makes this public school such a big deal? Whole community, whole child, whole school approach. WCU’s website has a more detailed account for what Catamount School is like.

Warrior Notes:
1) The Catamount School is limited to 50 students starting at 6th Grade. 
2) The ‘School’ is housed on a high school campus. Homeschoolers are also eligible for this type of school.
3) Education majors at WCU are bred exclusively in teaching Common Core aka “College and Career Readiness”. From personal experience on WCU’s campus some students graduating with teaching degrees are miserable. For them, this is NOT what they had in mind when they were fulfilling their dreams of teaching children.
4) Personalized learning (aka: computer led education/student data rape) is a big tool used in Catamount Lab School. You’ll also find it’s a school where mental health is as important as English or math with the ‘Community of Care’.

If you’d like to learn more about NC’s ‘Lab Schools’, visit: https://www.northcarolina.edu/content/Proposed-locations-UNC-laboratory-schools-announced
You can also see some of latest 2018 news about the NC Lab schools from Appalachian State University (Boone, NC). You’ll not be pleased when you read how thrilled folks are with Spellings work in this.
(*Note: you’ll probably remember the name Spellings (as in former U.S. Secretary of Education. She’s President of the UNC System and heads up My Future NC. MY Future NC is a readiness track for education from Pre-K to adult.)

Somewhat Related:

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From NC State University (another publicly funded CCSS Machine University {one of the infamous math professors (Dr. Jere Confrey) for the CCSS stills works at NCSU}), has a new co-operative agreement with a specific public education program. Called “Wolfpack WORKS” or ‘Wolfpack Ways to Optimize Reading/Writing for Kids Statewide’. According to the NC DPI (Dept. of Public Instruction) this program is a gift to teachers just in time for Teacher Appreciation Day. As of this writing, I cannot locate any further information about the Wolfpack WORKS.
Funds for Wolfpack WORKS come from NC’s Read to Achieve pool.

(*Notes: NC State University is another partner in undermining education via health care. Read my research from 2017. Also, NC’s Read to Achieve policies are part of a result from CCSS Machine group Foundation for Excellence in Education. Lastly, ID, AL, and, WA all have comprehensive K-3 Reading programs which appear to be similar to what’s here in NC. Check it out!)

Lab Schools Across America?!:

Imagine my surprise when in researching for this article, I found NC is not alone in this latest ‘choice’ in education.

This isn’t a State led plot for education, Warriors. The American Association for Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) has a cited research paper where it reveals the Gates Foundation funded ASCD helped come up with the concept. There are other national groups involved as well. All of which are in the CCSS Machine.

These partnerships involve MOUs (Memorandums of Understanding).

AACTE was disappointed by President Trump’s budget proposal to cut funds which are being used to join these partnerships to ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act). Back in 2015, I showed you the CCSS Machine’s funding and agenda surfacing through AACTE.
Also from 2015, the AACTE’s teacher and student mind manipulation, data rape, and, more.

To see IN’s Purdue University-Public School Partnerships, go here. You’ll notice the majority of their programs are STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and, Math), which is UN (United Nations) led by binding work and school together. Back in 2016, I showed you how sold out to the CCSS Machine Purdue was by their STEM alignment.

To see Western NY’s Partnerships, look here.

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Monmouth University (NJ) has a bevy of University-Public School Partnerships. Notice that regional schools and charters are included. In 2017, I exposed how Monmouth was using an elementary school as UN partners.

From South Carolina, a professor’s white paper of how beneficial University-School Partnering is in the PD (Professional Development) scheme. Warriors, if you recall, ESSA had lots of strings with mandating PD.

The Peabody Journal of Education has a cited article on University and P-12 School Partnerships. It states the COMPASS-AIM System is used between the higher education and lower education. 

To read what I found about the SMART and HARD Goals, read my article from June 2017.

From Il’s Research comes a visual model of what University-Public School Partnerships should look like. The State used this in their reform in education for P-20 (Pre-K to 20, college graduation) System. When did this start for Illinois schools? When NCLB (No Child Left Behind) was in place. Since ESSA codified NCLB’s nightmarish grasp on education, is it any wonder these partnerships are increasing?!

(*Note: on Page 56 of the Mintzberg information, look at the Figure #4. It’s almost a carbon copy of Figure #3, above, however, more groups have been inserted.)

To learn about Mintzberg, read this article by the Economist.
Look below for Mintzberg’s original business model:

Closing:

Warriors, once more, our States are listening more to businessmen and women, educrats from all political parties MORESO than parents! I’m not sure about you, but using a business model tweaked for education reform is NOT quality! To use “Lab Schools” is an insult. To use your teachers and students like ‘lab rats’ is criminal.

The streamlined education track is IN place, folks!

Partnerships like these (and these are just a few examples) will probably be inserted into the re-writing or funding of the HEA (Higher Education Act).