The Rhee-Emergence of Rhee

Does it seem to you that Michelle Rhee has been keeping a low profile lately? After the abysmal failure of her book (in spite of a dream publicity tour), the stunning revaluations about her role in the Washington, D.C. cheating scandal, and StudentsFirsts's endorsement of an anti-gay crusader, Rhee hasn't made much of a peep these last few weeks.

Well, it turns out she's like this brood of cicadas we've got here in Jersey: just give her a little time, and she's sure to pop up somewhere...

The annual Charter School Conference is the only statewide gathering of the entire Texas charter school community. More than 1,300 charter school advocates including teachers, administrators, board members, policy makers, and vendors will gather for training, networking, and sharing best practices for charter effectiveness and compliance. 

Plan for your team to attend:

The Texas Charter School Conference will be held in Fort Worth on December 11-13, 2013. In lieu of one day of student instruction, send your staff to the Texas Charter Schools Conference for professional development. This is permitted by section 25.081 of the Texas Education Code as long as your calendar is approved by your charter school board and the charter school notifies TEA's Waiver Unit.

Texas school districts are required to provide at least 180 days of instruction (Section 25.081, Texas Education Code). However, some districts and charter schools have a waiver from the Commissioner of Education allowing them to substitute a few of those days for teacher professional development days. [emphasis mine]

Yes, Texas charters, please stop teaching the kids and send your teachers and principals over to Fort Worth to gather all the pearls of wisdom they can from St. Michelle! Topics will include:

• The joys of astroturfing.
• Tone-deafness in the aftermath of tragedies.
• Covering up the failure of corporate reform.
• Phony bi-parasitism.
• Buying your own state legislators.
• Droning on about the "achievement gap" while making it worse in your own school system.
• Lawyering up.
• Incoherence.
• How to bad-mouth America's students.
• How to misread research.
• Selling your own mediocre career as an educator for fun and profit.

Oh, and who's paying for Rhee to go down to the Lone Star State and praise herself?

News from the Division of Grants Administration:
Clarifying Guidance on Use of Federal Funds

On May 15, 2013, the US Department of Education (USDE) issued clarifying guidance on how federal grant funds may be used to pay for conferences and meetings. The guidance, in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQ), also includes information on food and travel costs. TEA published a "To the Administrator Addressed" letter concerning the clarifying guidance on June 13, 2013.

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) has updated the TEA Guidelines Related to Specific Costs to reflect USDE's clarifying guidance. Refer to the Allowable Cost Guidance section of the Grant Management Resources page for a link to the USDE guidance and to the updated TEA Guidelines Related to Specific Costs. With any questions related to the clarifying guidance, email the Division of Grants Administration. [emphasis mine]

The Texas Education Agency has "teamed up" with the Texas Charter Schools Association to administer the federal Public Charter School Grant Program in the state. I have to wonder if those federal funds are helping to pay for this little square dance, with Rhee calling out the do-si-dos.

All for around $40,000, if past prices for Rhee's speaking fees apply. Is this a great country or what?

God bless America! Now, where's my check?