One Parents view: REJECT SENATE BILL 5x 1.

One Parents view: REJECT SENATE BILL 5x 1.


ATTENTION!
State Senator Gloria Romero (D- Los Angeles ), a candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction (FYI, Eli Broad and Richard Riordan are heavily backing her), is using the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program to push through unnecessary legislation that will hurt teachers, students and schools.

CONTACT STATE SENATOR LONI HANCOCK AND ASK HER TO REJECT SENATE BILL 5x 1.

DO IT TODAY!!!

Senator Hancock's District Office Phone: (510) 286-1333 (you'll be instructed to press 0 to leave your voicemail)

Senator Hancock's District FAX: (510) 286-3885

Senator Hancock's Web site: http://dist09.casen.govoffice.com/

Background: Hastily Amended Bill, Short Notice

Under the cover of the special session on education called by Gov. Schwarzenegger, Sen. Romero has amended her measure and worked with Sen. President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) to put the bill on a “fast track.”

The bill was amended Thursday night with the intention of having the Senate Education Committee pass it on Monday, followed immediately by a vote of the full Senate. Not only is this “short cut” suspect, it also prevents lawmakers from giving the measure and its major education changes the careful study they deserve.

Members of the education community and the public deserve time to review and have input on this legislation.

What’s even worse – the bill would change state law before the RTTT federal regulations are even finalized. Those regulations may not be finalized until December. It makes no sense to pass the Romero bill now.

SB 5x 1 has numerous problems:

It locks into state law unnecessary changes Sen. Romero claims are needed to implement RTTT even before the federal regulations governing the program have been adopted.

It repeats the mistakes of the fatally flawed No Child Left Behind Act, including the overreliance on test scores as the only measure of student achievement.

It modifies regulations governing the entire School Improvement Grant Program in hopes of helping California get one-time RTTT funds, but it would also cause schools to lose SIG money if they do not comply with the new state regulations.

It forces irresponsible and punitive changes in teacher and administrator evaluations.
It allows unfettered increases in under-regulated charter schools that are not responsible to the community.

It substitutes narrow compliance in place of innovation and local flexibility vital to schools’ success.

It increases costs and mandates at a time schools are staggering under $17 billion in cuts and 20,000 educator layoffs.

Please help spread the word!

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html

Assembly Members' Home Pages

Assembly Members' Addresses

Senators' Home Pages

Senators' Addresses

Will the Digital Divide Close by Itself? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com

Will the Digital Divide Close by Itself? - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com:

"On the subject of tech and education, academics and executives are worried about many divides.

There’s the growing divide between kids who have access to technology and those who don’t; kids who participate in creating content with technology at home and school, and those who can’t; and the kids who know a lot about technology, and the parents who fear them.

Divides also enter into the equation for proponents of education reform.

Early Wednesday at Google’s “Breakthrough Learning in the Digital Age,” at Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., a spat broke out over the urgency of filling in all the gaps."

Cal Expo board extends arena pact despite Johnson task force - Sacramento Business Journal:

Cal Expo board extends arena pact despite Johnson task force - Sacramento Business Journal::

"Uncertain if it might become a jilted lover, Cal Expo decided Friday to extend its courtship with the National Basketball Association.

A day after Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson surprised the Cal Expo board by announcing he is actively soliciting proposals for any and all sites for a new sports and entertainment center, board leaders agreed to extend their letter of understanding with the NBA for another six months. The current agreement to negotiate exclusively with one another was set to expire Nov. 30, and now runs to May 31."

Revising the Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)

Dear Categorical Program Director:

The California Department of Education (CDE) is currently in the process of revising the Guide and Template for the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) and would like your input. Improving academic performance and ensuring equity of achievement of all students is the top priority of the education system in California. The California Education Code (EC) sections 41507, 41572, and 64001 and the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) require each school to consolidate school planning requirements into the SPSA for all programs funded through the Consolidated Application, ESEA Program Improvement, the School and Library Improvement Block Grant, Economic Impact Aid (EIA), the Pupil Retention Block Grant, and the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA) into the SPSA. ECsection 11502 requires the integration of parent involvement programs into the school plan.

It is very important to the CDE that all interested stakeholders have an opportunity to provide input. The CDE will be conducting this revision process over the next few months. The current Guide and Template for the SPSA can be viewed on the CDE SPSA Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/le/singleplan.asp.

Please e-mail your comments and recommendations to spsa@cde.ca.gov before November 30, 2009.
Sincerely,

/FB/

Fred Balcom, Director
District and School Improvement Division

The charter school problem: Results are much less positive than a new study suggests

The charter school problem: Results are much less positive than a new study suggests:

"Charter schools are not a panacea for our education problems. The recent study by Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University concludes that disadvantaged students who attended charter schools in New York City for nine years, from kindergarten through eighth grade, can close most of what she calls the 'Scarsdale-Harlem achievement gap.' Hoxby does not say how many students completed nine years in a charter school - a key detail, as the city had only about a dozen small charters in 2000."

The results are impressive, but they are not typical of charter schools across the nation.

Nationally there are about 4,600 charter schools enrolling 1.4 million students. They run the gamut from excellent to abysmal. Even their most ardent supporters recognize that they vary widely in quality. Chester Finn, whose Thomas B. Fordham Institute sponsors charter schools in Ohio, wrote, "Some of the best schools I've ever been in are charter schools, some of which are blowing the lid off test scores in such vexed communities as Boston, New York and Chicago. And some of the worst - and flakiest - schools I've ever been in are charter schools."
A national study conducted by Stanford University economist Margaret Raymond found that 37% of charter schools got worse results than comparable neighborhood public schools, 46% did about the same and only 17% were superior to the local public schools. The Raymond study surveyed half the charter schools in the nation and more than 70% of all charter school students. Raymond said, "If this study shows anything, it shows that we've got a 2-to-1 margin of bad charters to good charters."

Unlike the Hoxby study, the Raymond study concluded: "This study reveals in unmistakable terms that, in the aggregate, charter students are not faring as well as their TPS [traditional public school] counterparts. Further, tremendous variation in academic quality among charters is the norm, not the exception. The problem of quality is the most pressing issue that charter schools and their supporters face."

Charter schools have participated in the federal testing program since 2003. Charter school students have never outperformed students in regular public schools, except in isolated instances. In 2007, charter students had lower scores than students in regular public schools in fourth-grade reading, fourth-grade mathematics and eighth-grade mathematics. Only in eighth-grade reading did charter school students score the same as their peers in regular public schools. Education Week reported that "the latest data do not bolster the early hopes of charter advocates that the sector as a whole would significantly outperform regular public schools."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/09/27/2009-09-27_the_charter_school_problem_results_are_much_less_positive_than_a_new_study_sugge.html#ixzz0VWslDpSB

Colbert I. King - Colbert I. King on D.C. youth offenders - washingtonpost.com

Colbert I. King - Colbert I. King on D.C. youth offenders - washingtonpost.com:

"The D.C. Council labored mightily this week to give Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee her comeuppance for firing teachers and staff whom legislators wanted kept on the payroll. The way Rhee went about the layoffs may have handed council members ammo that could be used against her. But if test scores are up and the school system has stopped bleeding students, as The Post has reported, it's not all bad. Face it, a good bedside manner is not one of Rhee's strong points."

That said, the council has every right, and a duty, to exercise oversight of the school system. If, however, lawmakers are sincere about bringing accountability to efforts in behalf of children, they must cast a wider net. Youth are being shortchanged by more than poor teaching. To be blunt, the council needs to investigate why the lives of our youth are being jeopardized daily by one of the very departments charged with helping them.

Consider teenager Tyrone Hopkins, who made the big time this week. He was charged with armed robbery, as an adult, under Title 16 of the D.C. Code. It's a section of the law not often invoked against youth offenders.

Pa. charter school overhaul legislation proposed | Philadelphia Inquirer | 10/31/2009

Pa. charter school overhaul legislation proposed Philadelphia Inquirer 10/31/2009:

"Aiming to end abuses recently uncovered in Philadelphia-area charter schools, a bipartisan legislative committee yesterday unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the state's 12-year-old charter law.

The proposal takes a carrot-and-stick approach, pushing changes that would enable charters to grow in size and number, but holding them to far stricter standards of accountability and oversight.

The changes 'were developed in response to several stories written by The Philadelphia Inquirer on the fiscal abuses of some Philadelphia-based charter schools over the last several months,' said a statement accompanying the legislation proposed by Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola (R., Dauphin), the majority chair, and Sen. Andrew E. Dinniman (D., West Chester), minority chair of the Education Committee."

The New Public Domain - At Public Universities - Less for More - NYTimes.com

The New Public Domain - At Public Universities - Less for More - NYTimes.com:

"SUSAN LI’S senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles, was fast approaching, and she was running out of time. She needed at least three classes to qualify for financial aid. But a week before classes began, she had registered for only one course."

“They’re not offering the classes I need,” said Ms. Li, a history major. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

In her first two attempts to register, she hadn’t been able to get her outstanding general-ed requirements or any advanced classes in her major. Classes were full, or not being offered this term. If she can’t complete what she needs to graduate, Ms. Li doubts she can afford a fifth year. She has taken out $8,000 in loans each year.

“Hopefully something will open up,” she said, and after scanning the registration Web site each day something did: two Asian-American studies electives, neither of which would move her closer to completing her major.

Witch School on move -- chicagotribune.com

Witch School on move -- chicagotribune.com:

"Since the Witch School set up shop in tiny Rossville two years ago, some of the Christian flocks in this former factory town have protested and prayed that the pagans would pick up and leave. Some even sprinkled the wheels of their cars with holy water and cruised around town to ward off witches.

Their prayers will be answered Halloween weekend when the handful of teachers and staff from the school pull up stakes and move where they feel more welcome: Salem, Mass., the site of the infamous witchcraft trials more than three centuries ago.

'This area is not real conducive to the occult,' said the Rev. Adam Taubert, pastor of First Baptist Church in nearby Hoopeston, where the Witch School operated before moving to Rossville. 'I don't know if they were trying to create controversy. Some people try to stir up things to promote themselves because it's free publicity.'"

Cambridge University allows Muslim students to wear burkhas under their mortar boards at graduation | Mail Online

Cambridge University allows Muslim students to wear burkhas under their mortar boards at graduation Mail Online:

"Cambridge University will allow female Muslim students to wear burkas at graduation ceremonies, it emerged yesterday. By tradition, students are required to wear dark suits and white shirts under their graduation gowns. Cambridge has clamped down on breaches of the rules after officials complained students were increasingly wearing casual clothes to ceremonies. They warned the code 'is strictly enforced at ceremonies, and if you do not observe it, you may not be permitted to graduate on a particular occasion'."

Georgetown University rally denounces anti-gay violence - washingtonpost.com

Georgetown University rally denounces anti-gay violence - washingtonpost.com:

"About 50 Georgetown University students rallied on campus at noon Friday to show solidarity with a student who was allegedly attacked this week because of her perceived sexual orientation.

'We should not have to fear for our lives when we walk down the street,' said freshman JM Alatis, secretary and historian of GU Pride, the student group that organized the rally in less than 24 hours via Facebook, Twitter, text message and e-mail."

Editorial - Hawaii’s Children, Left Behind - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Hawaii’s Children, Left Behind - NYTimes.com:

"The economic crisis has forced every state to scramble to get its budget in balance. This has meant torturous efforts to preserve essential services and minimize the pain and damage from slashed spending and lost jobs. Every state has sacrificed. But Hawaii has sacrificed its own schoolchildren."

The 50th state, the only one with a single statewide school district, has just cut 17 days from the academic year, under a new labor contract with public school teachers that avoids layoffs in favor of pay cuts and furloughs, all to be taken on instructional days. Barring a court order or other intervention, there will be no classes on most Fridays for the rest of the school year, leaving 170,000 children in the lurch. Parents are furious that a state already lagging in academic achievement would willingly adopt the country’s shortest school year.

The teachers’ union, the school board, the Department of Education and Gov. Linda Lingle all share responsibility for the debacle; they all signed off on the new contract last month. Ms. Lingle issued a statement at the time praising it as being “in the best interest of teachers, our students and the general public.”

The Answer Sheet - Enough feuding! It's time for a D.C. schools summit

The Answer Sheet - Enough feuding! It's time for a D.C. schools summit:

"I just might scream if I hear one more person invoke what is “best for the kids” in the growing conflict between D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and her critics.
Tension is rising over a seemingly growing gap between what Rhee says in public and what she actually does--and while everybody is arguing about who is right and who is wrong and who didn’t call whom back, guess who is going to suffer?

(Did I just invoke what is “best for the kids?” Okay, I’m screaming.)

Yesterday Rhee was hit by D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray for deciding unilaterally to lay off teachers and staff instead of trimming summer school operations as the council had ordered to save $9 million. It was suggested that she broke the law; she said she was on solid legal ground."

Ms. Rhee's show trial - washingtonpost.com

Ms. Rhee's show trial - washingtonpost.com:

"D.C. SCHOOLS Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee stands accused, it seems, of trying to manage her budget in a way that will do the least harm to students. Not a crime, you might think -- unless, like Ms. Rhee's accusers on the D.C. Council, you are more interested in scoring political points than in hearing what she is doing for children.

Ms. Rhee was called before the council Thursday to explain the layoffs of 388 employees, including 266 teachers and other educators. She provided convincing evidence of the budget pressures leading to this month's reduction in force. She offered solid reasons for the hiring of some 900 teachers last spring and summer, and held out an olive branch to the council -- saying she never intended to blame it for the layoffs. She made clear that her goal was to save summer school as an option for as many children as possible."

National Summer Learning Association - Home

National Summer Learning Association - Home:

"Welcome to the National Summer Learning Association

We opened our doors September 1, staffed by former staff of the National Center for Summer Learning. Find out why, and what it means to you. Join the Association.

Secretary Duncan Champions Summer Learning

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan received the Association’s “Champion of Summer Learning” award as part of a recent ceremony in Washington, DC. Duncan, who advocates using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to promote and strengthen summer learning programs, explains the basis for his support.
Funding Available for Summer Learning Programs

Funding is available for summer learning like never before, so make sure your summer programs reap the benefits. Get the information you need to make your case for funding, in the Association’s new policy brief, ARRA, School Improvement and Summer Learning—Funding Blueprint for States and Districts."

Rhee is right--summer learning is vital - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Rhee is right--summer learning is vital - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"I don't have a transcript of yesterday's raucous D.C. Council hearing over the disputed layoffs of 266 teachers early this month, but the TV clip I saw had Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray asking D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee if she thought she was smarter than everybody else in deciding not to cut $9 million for the 2010 summer school, as the council told her to do. Anyone who has looked at the data on summer learning loss would have to say Rhee was right, and the council was wrong. That won't solve the communication problem the city government is struggling with, but if you are concerned with raising the achievement of D.C. kids, it is important to emphasize that point."

Take a look at the studies compiled by the National Summer Learning Association and see for yourself. At the very least, there is a one month loss of learning because of the traditional summer vacation. Several studies, including some from Johns Hopkins University, have noted the startling difference in the loss of learning between impoverished urban children---like the majority of kids in the D.C. schools---and affluent suburban kids. Suburban parents manage to inject more learning into their children's summers than low-income urban parents do.

New DPS contract sparks concerns | detnews.com | The Detroit News

New DPS contract sparks concerns detnews.com The Detroit News:

"A $40 million contract with a book publishing company has resurrected concerns over Detroit Public Schools making business deals with former employers of its administrators.

DPS contracted with Boston's Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for a Web-based teaching product called Learning Village, and for curriculum, training and books. Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the district's chief academic and accountability officer, used to work for Harcourt School Publishers.

The contract is the largest single deal ever for Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, one of the oldest publishers in the nation."

The agreement follows Bobb's hiring of Public Financial Management Inc., where he was a part-time consultant, under a $972,000, no-bid contract. (The Broad Foundation is paying $450,000 of that contract.) The Philadelphia company was contracted to work on DPS finances.

Byrd-Bennett wasn't available for comment, but DPS spokeswoman Jennifer Mrozowski said the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt contract was competitively bid and the publisher was chosen over the two others that gave the district proposals because it had the highest evaluation from a panel of senior academic staff. Byrd-Bennett was not on this panel, Mrozowski said.

"She was not a part of the bid process or the selection with this company or any of the others," Mrozowski said. "Because she has had relationships with so many (education companies), she deliberately does not participate in the process."

AFP: Harvard University again world's best: Chinese ranking

AFP: Harvard University again world's best: Chinese ranking:

"BEIJING — Harvard University in the United States is once again the world's top institute of higher education for 2009, according to a Chinese ranking that is dominated by American colleges.

Stanford University was second, followed by the University of California at Berkeley, said the annual ranking by the Centre for World-Class Universities and the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai's Jiaotong University.

The Annual Ranking of World Universities was posted on its website at www.arwu.org."

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - We need education funding reform

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - We need education funding reform:

"I am writing this to raise awareness of a situation that is going on right under our noses that most of us are too blind to see.

Our public education system is flawed. Not only flawed, but it is failing.

As a college student, I know the struggle that students face to find classes. I know how much the increases in fees hurt my wallet.

I know what it is like to pay more for less of an education.

I see teachers getting laid off, and others are getting their pay cut through “furloughs.”"

Dan Walters: School duels, using surrogates - Inside Bay Area

Dan Walters: School duels, using surrogates - Inside Bay Area:

"ONE OF the more obscure — and probably more important — of California's many political conflicts pits an organization called EdVoice against the California Teachers Association and other school unions.

It centers on our ever-deepening education crisis, manifested in low test scores and high dropout rates, especially among black and Latino kids.

EdVoice, maintained by some wealthy Californians such as Southern California developer Eli Broad and Silicon Valley tycoon Reed Hastings, advocates charter schools, tougher teaching standards and other aggressive approaches.

The CTA and its allies, meanwhile, say California's chief education issue is money, specifically its below-average level of per-pupil spending."

Claud Evans honored as OSU Distinguished Ag Alumnus

Claud Evans honored as OSU Distinguished Ag Alumnus:

"Dr. Claud Evans of Okemah has been named a 2009 Distinguished Agriculture Alumnus of Oklahoma State University's Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

Evans is perhaps best known to Oklahomans for the 16 years he served as a member of the Board of Regents for Oklahoma State University and the Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges.
'Dr. Evans has certainly had a great influence on our extended OSU family over the years, and the division continues to directly benefit from his expertise and experience through his membership on the Dean's Advisory Council,' said Robert E. Whitson, DASNR dean and director and vice president of agricultural programs at OSU."

PR-USA.net - Barona Tribe Awards 13 Education Grants Totaling $65,000 to Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School

PR-USA.net - Barona Tribe Awards 13 Education Grants Totaling $65,000 to Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School:


"Today, staff and students of 13 Soledad Enrichment Action (SEA) charter schools from Long Beach to Los Angeles to Pomona joined 45th District Assemblymember Kevin de Leon to accept a $65,000 education grant from the Barona Band of Mission Indians. The check was presented by Edwin 'Thorpe' Romero, Chairman of the Barona Band of Mission Indians, and represented $5,000 for each school as part of the Barona Education Grant program.

Since 2006, the Barona Band of Mission Indians has been helping lessen the blow of budget cuts for schools throughout California with the creation of the Barona Education Grant program, which has awarded more than $800,000 to over 165 schools statewide, including $140,000 to the SEA schools over the past two years."

California Forward Action Fund Submits Reform Initiatives | Reuters

California Forward Action Fund Submits Reform Initiatives Reuters:

"The California Forward Action Fund submitted a pair of nonpartisan initiatives
Friday that would bring comprehensive reform to California`s broken budget
process, protect funding for local services and give communities new tools and
resources to set their own priorities and chart their own paths for the future.

'In jobs and technology, education and quality of life, our state has always led
the way. We`ve been to every corner of the state, talked to hundreds of people
from every walk of life and spent months of research refining our proposals.
These reforms get California moving again so California can lead again,' said
Bob Hertzberg, co-chair of the California Forward Action Fund and former
Assembly Speaker.

'Politics as usual won`t solve our problems,' said Thomas McKernan, California
Forward Action Fund co-chair and CEO of the Automobile Club of Southern
California. 'It`s time to focus on common sense - by taking practices that have
proven themselves in business and other states, and putting them to work in
California, balancing the budget, reducing waste and delivering better results.'"

River City High principal hurt trying to quell food fight - Latest News - sacbee.com

River City High principal hurt trying to quell food fight - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"A West Sacramento high school principal spent Thursday and Friday at home resting after suffering a head injury breaking up a food fight Wednesday in his campus cafeteria.
The extent of the head injury to River City High School Principal Stuart McKay is not clear, but a district official said she expected McKay to be fit for duty Monday"