English teacher at Bronx School of Law and Finance, Van Voorhis, suspended for assigning material to students about masturbation

English teacher at Bronx School of Law and Finance, Van Voorhis, suspended for assigning material to students about masturbation:

"The first rule about having an edgy English teacher is don't talk about your edgy English teacher.

A beloved city schoolteacher has been suspended by the Department of Education after giving his 11th-grade students a copy of a graphic short story about masturbation written by 'Fight Club' author Chuck Palahniuk.

Greg Van Voorhis, 30, handed out copies of Palahniuk's 'Guts' late last month to about 100 students studying for the English Regents exam at The Bronx School of Law and Finance in Marble Hill."

"While Van Voorhis took the copies back at the end of class, students blabbed about the ribald tale, and school officials soon caught wind of the lesson in self-love. "

"Schwartz stopped short of calling the story inappropriate but said he was required to act."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/teacher_suspended_for_giving_self_nV6xCRYzrjDVUIZFbdXD2L#ixzz0WPtlh8HO

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Real Oklahoma Students Ace Citizenship Exam; Strategic Vision Survey Was Likely Fabricated

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Real Oklahoma Students Ace Citizenship Exam; Strategic Vision Survey Was Likely Fabricated:

"In detailing some of the evidence against Strategic Vision LLC, a pollster I am now almost certain is disreputable and fraudulent, I pointed in particular to a poll that they conducted on behalf of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, an conservative-leaning educational thinktank. The poll purported to show that Oklahoma's high school citizens were deficient in some of the most basic aspects of citizenship. Only 23 percent of them knew that George Washington was the first president, the poll claimed! Just 43 percent knew that the Democrats and Republicans are the two major political parties!"

These conclusions seemed dubious to me on their face. Several years ago, at my old consulting job, I participated in a project for the State of Ohio's public schools which involved sitting down in a third or fifth grade classroom for the better part of a day and seeing how the students were learning. Most of these observations took place in poor, post-industrial towns, which were still suffering the effects of the steel mill or the axle plant that had long ago left town. What struck me, most of all, was how smart the kids were, relative to my expectations. These kids might not have been the highest achievers -- but I'm pretty sure that more than 90 percent of them would have known who George Washington was. And these were third and fifth graders.

A Study on Parenting Beliefs and Behaviors

A Study on Parenting Beliefs and Behaviors

Harvard Dept. of Psychology Survey

Thanks for your interest in this online study of parenting beliefs and behaviors. NOTE: This study is for parents who have at least one child who is between the ages of 3 and 10 years of age. If you do not have a child in this age range, any responses you provide will not be analyzed. Please read the following page carefully so that you understand your rights. If you wish to proceed, you can do so by indicating that you consent to participate in this study (see bottom of page).

Survey Information

Purpose of the research: To understand the choices parents make about how to handle children's wrongdoings (e.g., behaviors like grabbing, pushing, and teasing).

What you will do in this research: If you decide to participate, you will complete this one survey. It takes about 10-15 minutes to complete the survey.

Risks: There are no anticipated risks associated with participating in this study.

Benefits: There are no direct benefits, but we hope that you will find it interesting to think about the questions in the survey.

Also, we will make the results of this study available to those who are interested.

Compensation: No pay is offered. However, later you will be given the chance to enter a drawing for one of four $50 Target gift cards. The gift card drawing will take place after 250 parents have participated in the survey.

Confidentiality: Your responses will be kept confidential. Your name will not be requested, your IP address will not be tracked, and it will be impossible to learn your identity with the data that are collected in this study. When research results are reported, responses will be described in summary. Again, the data collected for this study will not include any identifying information from you. Still, in order to ensure a respect for privacy, all data collected with this survey will be erased five years after data collection is complete.

Participation and withdrawal: Your participation is completely voluntary. You may skip questions that you prefer not to answer.

You may quit at any time during the survey by simply closing your web browser. If you decide to quit early, you may still enter the drawing for one of four Target gift cards.

The link for the drawing is here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=v_2bjEYAXIyCUQ1TUXIV_2bzsg_3d_3d

Contact: If you have questions or concerns about this research, please contact:

Craig Smith, Ed.D.

Phone: (617) 875-9469

33 Kirkland St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138

Email: cesmith@fas.harvard.edu

You may also contact the Harvard faculty member supervising this work: Paul L. Harris, harrispa@gse.harvard.edu

Whom to contact about your rights in this research, for questions, concerns, suggestions, or complaints that are not being addressed by the researcher, or research-related harm:

Jane Calhoun Harvard University Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research

1414 Massachusetts Avenue, Second Floor Cambridge, MA 02138

617-495-5459

jcalhoun@fas.harvard.edu

We suggest that you print or save a copy of the survey page for your records

http://harvard.psr.keysurvey.com/survey/276769/17b2/

Community Continues to Grapple With Rape - NYTimes.com

Community Continues to Grapple With Rape - NYTimes.com:

"As Richmond High School tried to absorb the wrenching reality of a gang rape of a student on school grounds, the predominant reactions — horror or sympathy or even fear — were understood by the school’s principal, Julio Franco."

But there was another reaction that Mr. Franco has difficulty processing: sentiments like those voiced by Fonz Leon, a junior, as he stood in the school parking lot one recent afternoon: “She got drunk one time and messed with the wrong crowd and provoked some dude and got raped, that’s it.”

Mr. Franco said: “Even girls said this was O.K. because she went on her own. I tell them, ‘What if this was your sister? What if this was your mom?’ Then they realize, ‘Oh.’ ”
It has been two weeks since a 16-year-old girl was raped after a homecoming dance by at least six young men in front of a group of onlookers. Yet reactions like Fonz’s linger. It is as if some of the virulent culture that gave rise to the attack itself, with all its cruelty and degradation, is defiantly asserting itself, despite efforts to contain it.

District Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting, November 10, 2009 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Serna Center.

Hello DAC Members & Interested Parties:

This is your friendly reminder that tomorrow is the District Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting, November 10, 2009 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Serna Center.

Dinner and childcare will be provided. Dinner will begin at 6:15pm.

Please read the minutes and check the spelling of your name. I was difficult to make out the handwriting. Also check if we missed anyone.

Wanda Yañez Chairperson
District Advisory Committee (DAC)
Sacramento City Unified School District
Work: (916) 654-7729

About the CSPC

About the CSPC:

"Vision

People in the Sacramento Region have information, resources and opportunities to improve the quality of life for themselves, their families and their communities.

Mission Statement

To help people turn ideas into community action through information, planning, civic engagement and advocacy for human needs in the Sacramento Region."

Strategic Goals

To enable the people of the Sacramento Region access to and use of community resources through quality information and referral services.
To transform people and communities through volunteer service and civic engagement.
To enhance public dialogue and decision-making by providing factual information and reports and offering people the opportunity to study and influence public policy.
To improve individual and community conditions through planning, services coordination, program development and coalition building.
To enhance the capability of the organization by building strong leadership, developing discretionary resources, and planning for the future.

CSPC Values
1. Commitment to community and involvement of a broad and diverse constituency
2. Comprehensive perspective reflected in decisions and actions
3. Inclusive decision-making that strives for consensus
4. Diverse viewpoints respected and encouraged in decisions and actions
5. Positive working relationships with all sectors of the community
6. Objective data and information used to support decisions and action
7. Focus on systems change and sustainable, long-term solutions
8. Principled leadership producing measurable results

Center for American Progress

Support the Center for American Progress

Today's Cartoon: It's Time to Innovate

A state-by-state report card on educational innovation from CAP, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute.
More: Leaders and Laggards

EdSource | Multiple Pathways in California: An Emerging Option for High School Reform

EdSource Multiple Pathways in California: An Emerging Option for High School Reform:

PDF Download $6 Add to Cart (Download)

"High schools are the culmination of the K-12 education experience. But how can high schools keep their students motivated, prepare them well to pursue further academics or careers, and ensure that all students have equal access to a quality education?

One approach to meeting these goals challenges the very nature of the traditional high school curriculum. Currently known as 'multiple pathways,' this approach strives to make high school a more engaging and effective experience for students by integrating academics and career technical education, building partnerships between schools and communities, and providing academic and other support services.

This EdSource report describes California’s efforts to more broadly implement the multiple pathways approach, which is already being explored in earnest by several large school districts in California. The report also addresses critical questions about the potential of this reform effort.

Highlights in this report:

The multiple pathways approach attempts to better engage and prepare high school students by integrating academic and career education.
A number of pathway models—such as Partnership Academies—offer high school alternatives that have demonstrated some success.

Several initiatives are exploring practices and policies that could bring pathway programs to more students and ensure their quality.
The pathways option holds promise; but to bring it to scale, reformers must address implementation issues and differing views regarding educational goals for students."

Other Reports on Mulitple Pathways:

Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways Pipelines, Pathways, and Payoffs:

Economic Challenges and Returns toChanging Demographics in California

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5648663/Multiple-Perspectives-on-Multiple-Pathways-Pipelines-Pathways-and-PayoffsEconomic-Challenges-and-Returns-toChanging-Demographics-in-California

Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways Restructuring and Reculturing Schoolsto Provide Students withMultiple Pathways to College and Career

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5648669/Multiple-Perspectives-on-Multiple-Pathways-Restructuring-and-Reculturing-Schoolsto-Provide-Students-withMultiple-Pathways-to-College-and-Career

A Fact Sheet on Multiple Pathways

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5802848/A-Fact-Sheet-on-Multiple-Pathways

Datos Básicos Sobre Multiple Pathways

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/5802847/Datos-Básicos-Sobre-Multiple-Pathways

What's Really up With Online Study Scholarships? -- baltimoresun.com

What's Really up With Online Study Scholarships? -- baltimoresun.com:

"DEAR JOYCE: I must have landed on an Internet marketing list, because I receive so many e-mails pitching my chances to win a scholarship to an online college. Like: 'Hey, mom, apply for a full-tuition scholarship, earn your degree and have a career!' Are these scholarships for real? -- B.R.

A few people will win these scholarships, but the advertised financial-aid awards are really hooks cast by companies in the lead-aggregation industry. They're marketing ploys.

Notice that virtually all the schools offering these scholarships are for-profit colleges. Higher-education experts tell me that on average, online for-profit colleges cost three times more than online nonprofit colleges."

Here' the inside story. Lead-generating marketers require scholarship seekers to provide their personal information on a scholarship application -- in reality, a "lead form." The marketers aggregate the forms and sell them to participating schools at a price of up to $100 per qualified lead. It's little wonder that you're receiving so many scholarship pitches.The next step happens when scholarship hopefuls are contacted by sales reps under the guise of following up on a "scholarship application."

Community Journalism at it's Best Sacramento Press Workshops

Community Journalism at it's Best

Hello Sac Press readers,

Thanks so much for contributing to our site, whether it be reading the stories, commenting, or writing your very own articles.For the month of November, we have a couple of workshops to look forward to.

Tuesday, Nov. 17 we will have a Intro to Photography workshop taught by Anthony Bento. We will serve food at 6:30 p.m. and the workshop will begin at 6:45 and end around 8.

Bento has a B.A in film and digital media from UC Santa Cruz, where he photographed and reported on the 2004 presidential campaign and other political events. He has also worked as a product photographer in New York City and here in Sacramento as a freelance photojournalist for Sacramento News & Review, and as a community contributor to the Sacramento Press.

Bring your own camera so we can look at the various settings and help you take better photos. Bento will go over the basics of photography, including the rule of thirds, confidence and lighting. He will answer any of your individual questions about taking photos and can give you tips based on what kind of camera you use.

A big part of journalism is photography, and we want to motivate you to take more photos to supplement your stories.Later this month, we'll also have a workshop on Facebook and how to utilize it for both business and personal fun. Check your e-mail for that invitation in the next week.

Our office is located at 431 I St., Suite 107 in the Amtrak station. We are in the same building complex as Starbucks. If you are facing Starbucks, go around the building to the left and you'll see our Sac Press sign out front.We recommend you find parking on the street, bike or take light rail, as the Amtrak parking lot charges $1.50 per half hour and we cannot cover the cost of parking.

If you take light rail, we will give you two passes when you get here - one to cover your trip here and one to cover your trip back.Please RSVP by clicking on the RSVP button below.If you have any trouble finding our office, you can give us a call at (916) 443-5403.Thanks, and we hope to see you there!

Join us at: Sacramento Press431 I Street, Suite 107Sacramento, CA

Google Map & Directions >

RSVP to reserve your spot : journalism@sacramentopress.com

La Raza Network Meeting November 11

La Raza Network Meeting November 11

Our meeting is still on for November 11, 2009.

Please be sure to come and discuss the status of our organization. We will have a full agenda, so please arrive on time. Agendas will be available at the meeting.

Time: 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Place: Voter Registration Office at

7000 65th StreetSacramento, CA 95823 Southgate Shopping Center

Map it with google:
7000 65th St
Sacramento, CA 95823

Thanks. Teresa

Revise the Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA)

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. EC section 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.

Educated Guess » Blaming the state is losing parcel tax strategy

Educated Guess » Blaming the state is losing parcel tax strategy:

"Denouncing Sacramento for a school district’s financial troubles may be satisfying — and valid – but it’s a poor strategy for convincing voters to pass a parcel tax, according to pollsters who surveyed voters in Santa Clara County last month. Their advice to school trustees looking to a parcel tax to help survive the bleak next few years: Don’t whine and don’t scapegoat.
It won’t cut it to blame the state for your district’s financial troubles. Instead, convince voters that you have a plan to improve core academic programs.

The pollsters’ conclusion, that passing a parcel tax would be tough but doable, follows last Tuesday’s election in which seven of 11 parcel taxes passed statewide. Parcel taxes in two districts got less than the requisite two-thirds majority but more than the 55 percent threshold that Sen. Joe Simitian is proposing with a stalled proposed constitutional amendment SCA 6. (Only parcel taxes in Long Beach and Oxnard failed to get even majority support.)

EMC Research of Oakland and TBWB Strategies of San Francisco surveyed 900 likely voters in 2010. Their message is counterintuitive: It might seem obvious to stress the severe impact on programs of further cuts in state aid.

But dire warnings, Janet Bernstein of EMC and Jared Boigon of TBWB said, tend to reinforce negative impressions of schools, particularly among the 76 percent of voters without kids in public schools. In the survey, 49 percent of voters said that state budget cuts were not the real of problem with education quality, compared with 38 percent who recent cuts have “severely impacted” local schools."

Four Southwestern teachers return to class

Four Southwestern teachers return to class:

"CHULA VISTA:Four Southwestern College teachers who were suspended with pay after an Oct. 22 rally to protest class cuts have returned to work, college officials said yesterday.

The college would not provide their names.

The faculty’s union identified them as Phil Lopez, an English teacher;Janet Mazzarella, a math teacher;Dinorah Guadiana-Costa, a Spanish teacher; and Andrew Rempt, a creative writing teacher. Three of the teachers returned Thursday and the other Oct. 26, said Andrew MacNeill, the union’s vice president.

The college said it placed the teachers on leave while it investigated a personnel matter unrelated to the protest.MacNeill said he believes the suspensions were the result of tensions between the union and the college administration. Lopez is president of the Southwestern College Education Association and Mazzarella and Rempt are active members, he said."

Audit details ousted East Side schools Superintendent Bob Nunez's expenses - San Jose Mercury News

Audit details ousted East Side schools Superintendent Bob Nunez's expenses - San Jose Mercury News:

"Ousted Superintendent Bob Nunez routinely spent $1,000 a month for meals, travel and lodging and sometimes charged the cash-strapped East Side Union High School District as much as $4,000 a month.

The details were revealed for the first time Friday in a lengthy report into Nunez's spending habits that led to his departure last week from the struggling San Jose school district — complete with a $120,000 severance check.

The revelations were outlined in a 2,100-page report by the San Francisco law firm Hanson Bridgett, which reviewed two years' worth of Nunez's credit card spending. The report, commissioned by the East Side board, also concluded that Nunez did not improperly receive vacation pay or commit a conflict of interest."

Education Week: Lawmaker Wants Probe of E. Coli and School Lunches

Education Week: Lawmaker Wants Probe of E. Coli and School Lunches:

"The chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee wants an investigation into the risk of deadly E. coli getting into school lunches.
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., is worried about a recent outbreak that killed at least two people and sickened about two dozen others in 11 states.
The E. coli outbreak was linked to ground beef produced by Fairbank Farms of Ashville, N.Y.

No schools were involved in the outbreak. But Miller said he's worried that tainted food might be purchased for school meal programs."

Should School Close When the Flu Hits? New Evidence for Educators - Inside School Research

Should School Close When the Flu Hits? New Evidence for Educators - Inside School Research:

"A study described today in the 'Science Daily' blog offers some timely advice for educators on the optimal time for shutting down schools when a flu outbreak strikes.
'You'd want to get a school closed before an epidemic peaks, to prevent transmission of the virus, but you also don't want to close a school unnecessarily,' explains John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and study co-author. However, he says, most schools base those decisions on fear, expediency, or politics.

To develop some evidence-based guidance for schools, Brownstein and colleagues from the Children's Hospital Boston Informatics Program and the University of Nigata in Japan analyzed data from 54 Japanese elementary schools over four consecutive flu seasons. They tested dozens of school-closing scenarios and finally decided that the ideal early-warning trigger should be when a school has an absentee rate of 4 percent or more for two days in a row."

Education Week: Texas Moves to Tighten Education School Standards

Education Week: Texas Moves to Tighten Education School Standards:

"Texas is among the first states to toughen its standards for colleges of education and other teacher-training programs amid criticism that too many are 'cash cows' that produce weak instructors.

Under a proposed new rating system, the programs would be held accountable for their graduates' effectiveness on the job especially regarding student achievement. Teacher programs that repeatedly fall short of the standards could lose their state accreditation.

'Those programs that are doing poorly and the result is poor teachers ought to get sanctioned,' said state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, who authored the bill this year requiring the more rigorous accreditation system."

(Re)Inspecting the STEM Pipeline - Curriculum Matters

(Re)Inspecting the STEM Pipeline - Curriculum Matters:

"Last week I wrote about a study that drew some intriguing conclusions about the state of the 'pipeline' of students entering math and science studies and fields. The analysis, by Hal Salzman of Rutgers University and Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown University, found that the flow of students from K-12 schools to the workforce appears to be quite strong, contrary to the assertions of many policymakers today.

To the extent that students are leaving the pipeline, the authors found, they tend to be high-achieving students. In other words, young people don't seem to be fleeing those fields because of lack of ability, but because of other factors—such as that they don't find those jobs attractive for whatever reason."

Education Week: States Slow Standards Work Amid 'Common Core' Push

Education Week: States Slow Standards Work Amid 'Common Core' Push:

"As they wait to see how the latest push for common national standards plays out, some states are putting off or slowing the revision of their own academic standards to avoid wasted effort and spending.

At least four states—Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, and Pennsylvania—have halted revision of their standards for mathematics or English/language arts, the subjects that standards writers for the national initiative are turning to first. At least three other states have throttled back similar efforts until the grade-by-grade, K-12 common standards are made final in the coming months."

The National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, which are overseeing the “Common Core” effort to develop more-uniform expectations for the nation’s students, have already released a draft of college- and career-readiness standards for math and English/language arts. ("New Standards Draft Offers More Details," Sept. 30, 2009.)

Family Engagement as a Shared Responsibility

Family Engagement as a Shared Responsibility

Family involvement is a shared responsibility, consisting of three major dimensions: the opportunities that schools and communities offer parents and other family members to support and enrich their children's learning; mutually agreed upon, or co-constructed, roles; and learning from personal experiences, peers, research, and other resources about how to engage families in children's learning. In this issue, we apply our new, broader definition of family engagement to the ways in which families, communities, and schools work together to share responsibility for student learning.

Two new articles illustrate how co-constructed roles can work in practice: Voices from the field recounts the story of a parent, school principal, and family advocate sharing responsibility for creating a solution to a school problem, and our featured teaching case describes how a mother enlisted the help of a community organization to communicate with a school principal after her son was suspended. In addition, we introduce a tool to help school districts and other organizations think through the development of systemic family engagement policies and programs.

We also introduce a newly developed section of our website that houses all of Harvard Family Research Project's policy-related work in one convenient location. And, as always, we provide a listing of new family involvement articles, news, and resources.

Read the complete FINE Newsletter online.

Family Engagement: A Shared Responsibility
Seeing is Believing: Promising Practices for How School Districts Promote Family Engagement
How to Develop a Logic Model for Districtwide Family Engagement Strategies
Family Engagement Policy Resources
Featured Teaching Case: Suspension at Aurora Middle School Engagement
Co-Constructing Family Engagement Roles in Federal Way, Washington
Family Involvement News

Forget about rating teachers---rate schools instead. - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Forget about rating teachers---rate schools instead. - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"Those unfortunate people in the District may worry about the quality of their teachers, and wait anxiously for the results of the school system’s controversial new evaluation of classroom techniques and test score improvement. But those of us in the Washington area suburbs don’t have to worry because we already know that close to 100 percent of our teachers are entirely satisfactory. How? Our school districts say so.

I asked suburban school officials to share the latest results from their teacher evaluations, which are usually done by principals and subject specialists. Here are the percentages of teachers rated satisfactory, in some cases called meeting or exceeding the standard: Alexandria 99 percent, Calvert 99.8 percent, Charles 98.4 percent, Culpeper 97 percent, Fairfax 99.1 percent, Falls Church 99.55 percent, Loudoun 99 percent, Montgomery 95 percent, Prince George’s 95.56 percent, and Prince William 98.3 percent."

Change IDEA, task force says: CITIZEN JOURNALISM: FYI - Washington Times

CITIZEN JOURNALISM: FYI - Washington Times:

Change IDEA, task force says

"The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is up for congressional reauthorization in 2010, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) last week released a report that offers data and insight and makes recommendations. For example, between 1995 and 2004, the number of students receiving IDEA services rose from 5.1 million to more than 6.1 million, 'and the largest increase occurred for students in middle level and high schools,' the report says.

The study also points out that English-language learners are overrepresented in special education classes, suggesting that most teachers have difficulty distinguishing students with learning disabilities from students struggling for other reasons, such as limited English."

NASSP - IDEA Legislative Recommendations

NASSP - IDEA Legislative Recommendations:

"On Nov. 3, 2009, NASSP released its Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Task Force Legislative Recommendations. The nine recommendations were developed by the IDEA Task Force, which is composed of 11 active middle level and high school principals or assistant principals and four representatives from institutions of higher education from across the country.

The mission of the task force was to study the effects of the federal IDEA law and regulatory language on school leaders and propose recommendations regarding the changes that should be incorporated into a newly reauthorized law."

click here to read NASSP Legislative Recommendations: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/15441864/IDEA-Legislative-Recommendations-National-Association-of-Secondary-School-Principals

The Chez Panisse Foundation

Cultivating a New Generation

The Chez Panisse Foundation envisions a school curriculum and school lunch program where growing, cooking, and sharing food at the table gives students the knowledge and values to build a humane and sustainable future.

The Edible Schoolyard (ESY), established in 1995, is a one-acre garden and kitchen classroom at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, California. It is a program of the Chez Panisse Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by chef and author Alice Waters.
The garden started as a cover crop in a vacant lot with once-monthly student participation. More than a decade later, it is a thriving acre of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and flowers. Now, each student at King Middle School attends 12 to 30 sessions in ESY kitchen and garden classrooms, depending on grade level. ESY reaches each of the nearly 1,000 students at King Middle School.
The visibility of ESY has also increased. The program hosts over 1,000 visitors each year—from educators, to health professionals, to international delegates—and has inspired countless kitchen and garden programs. In 2005, we launched our first affiliate program in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, we have a small network of Edible Schoolyard affiliate programs in cities across the country.

Bullying in Schools

Bullying in Schools:

"Online bullying has gotten a lot of attention lately, but a new study by the U.S. Justice Department and the C-D-C shows that the old fashioned kind of bullying hasn't gone away. According to the report, more than one in five of our children is physically bullied by other kids.

Alison was bullied in middle school. 'I'd be walking down the, walking down the hallway and they'd be like, 'Alison, you can take your mask off, it's not Halloween anymore.' Or, 'Alison, you're so ugly, no guy would ever kiss you',' she remembers.

Two students taunted Michelle in high school. 'Her and this boy were calling me a fat a-s-s, and the boy finally said 'man, fat people sure do stink', and so I said well why don't you take a bath?'

How do you help your child?"

Think B4 You Speak.com

The Civil Rights-Black Power Nexus in African American History

The Civil Rights-Black Power Nexus in African American History

A View from the East offers a detailed account of the development, operations and significance of the East Organization. Those who have studied the African-centered education movement and are familiar with events that shaped the Ocean Hill-Brownsville Experimental School District in New York City know of The East as the parent organization of Uhuru Sasa Shule (Freedom Now School). Taking the reader inside The East to explore dynamics of the organization and the personalities that shaped it, I contextualize them historically within the Civil Rights and Black Power movements and explore continuities between the two movements. For instance, 1967 marked the publication of Dr. King’s Where Do We Go from Here and also the emergence of the community control and independent Black school movements in urban centers across the country. These two movements grew almost simultaneously from the Freedom School efforts of the Civil Rights movement and an earlier tradition of establishing independent Black educational institutions predating the U.S. Civil War. The community control of public schools and the independent Black school movements of the 1960s situated themselves on what Dr. King called “political and social action” marked by a nebulous distinction between schooling and education, decision-making power and parental involvement, and divergent arguments advanced by African American educators and activists who advocated the transformation of urban schools and “making them work” and others who supported the idea of and forged independent Black schools. Former Civil Rights activists transformed by the Black Power movement and Black nationalists of the period constituted the latter group of independent Black school forgers in the 1960s, and quite a number of these schools still exist today.

Anti-taxers on school boards voted out | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

Anti-taxers on school boards voted out cincinnati.com Cincinnati.Com:

"The reign of the anti-school tax activists on area school boards was a short one."

One four-year term - starting with their taking office in January 2006 - and now voters decided last week that some of the region's highest profile activist board members are out.

Their one-and-done political trend was mainly focused in Greater Cincinnati's northern suburban districts, where four years ago an anti-school tax movement had grown to win enough voters to put like-minded candidates on the governing boards of a handful of Butler and Warren county school systems.

Fairfield School Board incumbent Arnie Engel, who tried four times to get elected to Fairfield Schools governing board before finally winning in fall 2005, this time finished a distant fourth in the race for three open seats.

In Warren County's Mason School Board race, self-proclaimed "Christian conservative" incumbent Jennifer Miller ended up fifth out of eight candidates vying for three seats.
In the Monroe school board race, fiscal conservative Mike Irwin lost his re-election bid, finishing dead last among five candidates.

Interactive Map: Leaders and Laggards

Interactive Map: Leaders and Laggards:

"Overview

Two years ago, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Center for American Progress, and Frederick M. Hess of the American Enterprise Institute came together to grade the states on school performance. In that first Leaders and Laggards report, we found much to applaud but even more that requires urgent improvement. In this follow-up report, we turn our attention to the future, looking not at how states are performing today, but at what they are doing to prepare themselves for the challenges that lie ahead. Thus, some states with positive academic results receive poor grades on our measures of innovation, while others with lackluster scholarly achievement nevertheless earn high marks for policies that are creating an entrepreneurial culture in their schools. We chose this focus because, regardless of current academic accomplishment in each state, we believe innovative educational practices are vital to laying the groundwork for continuous and transformational change."

And change is essential. Put bluntly, we believe our education system needs to be reinvented. After decades of political inaction and ineffective reforms, our schools consistently produce students unready for the rigors of the modern workplace. The lack of preparedness is staggering. Roughly one in three eighth graders is proficient in reading. Most high schools graduate little more than two-thirds of their students on time. And even the students who do receive a high school diploma lack adequate skills: More than 33% of first-year college students require remediation in either math or English.
'
But we also believe that reinvention will never be accomplished with silver bullets. Our school system needs far-reaching innovation. It is archaic and broken, a relic of a time when high school graduates could expect to live prosperous lives, when steel and auto factories formed the backbone of the American economy, and when laptop computers and the Internet were the preserve of science fiction writers. And while the challenges are many--inflexible regulations, excessive bureaucracy, a dearth of fresh thinking--the bottom line is that most education institutions simply lack the tools, incentives, and opportunities to reinvent themselves in profoundly more effective ways.

By "innovation" we do not mean blindly celebrating every nifty-sounding reform. If anything, we have had too much of such educational innovation over the years, as evidenced by the sequential embrace of fads and the hurried cycling from one new "best practice" to another that so often characterizes K-12 schooling. States and school systems, in other words, have too long confused the novel with the useful. Rather, we believe innovation to be the process of leveraging new tools, talent, and management strategies to craft solutions that were not possible or necessary in an earlier era.

No more senior year of high school | detnews.com | The Detroit News

No more senior year of high school detnews.com The Detroit News:

"No more senior year of high school

Idea 34: Eliminate the senior year of high school.

Why: For far too many of Michigan's students, the 12th grade has become nothing more than state-subsidized dating. Educators and parents frequently discuss this 'senioritis,' the so-called disease when students stop worrying about their grades because they have already been accepted to a university or are more concerned about social activities during their last year of high school. Our children have matured at a faster pace, and technological advances have accelerated learning and knowledge exponentially.

AdvertisementBenefits: With the state investing about $1 billion per grade in K-12 education, a portion of these resources could be redirected to our community colleges and universities with a far better outcome for the individual and state."

The 'reform math' problem | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/09/2009

The 'reform math' problem Philadelphia Inquirer 11/09/2009:

"Recent reports put the number of children with autism spectrum disorders at one in 100. Also in the news, following the latest national and state test results, is math education. What has escaped the media's attention is that these two topics are connected.

Their connection begins in the classrooms into which an ever higher proportion of children with autism spectrum disorders are being mainstreamed. More and more of these regular K-12 classrooms are using new 'reform math' programs such as Everyday Math, Investigations, and Connected Mathematics. In the Philadelphia area in particular, it's hard to find a public, private, or charter school that doesn't use reform math.

The prevalence of this curriculum is coinciding with widespread special needs. Students on the autism spectrum, however much they vary, share several basic traits. They don't perform well in unsupervised groups of peers. Many have trouble putting words together, and nearly all struggle with verbal comprehension to some extent."

Mayor at mid-term: How's he doing? | Philadelphia Daily News | 11/09/2009

Mayor at mid-term: How's he doing? Philadelphia Daily News 11/09/2009:

"IN 1991, WHEN Ed Rendell won election as mayor by a landslide, his chief political strategist, Neil Oxman, wrote in a memo: 'Remember, Ed Rendell has won a huge mandate for change. You can take over everything.'

Oxman could have written the same to another client, Michael Nutter, who won his own landslide two years ago last Friday as a wildly popular reformer with no help from labor or any other special-interest groups to succeed John Street.

Rendell, faced with a city on the brink of bankruptcy, charged in, taking on the unions, winning concessions and earning their ire, which didn't derail his future political aspirations.

Street, in his first 12 months, quickly settled his four municipal-union contracts, then did battle with the powerful Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, winning a longer school day and the beginning of a process that made a dent in seniority-based teacher assignments."

The American Spectator : Leaving Parents Behind

The American Spectator : Leaving Parents Behind:

"But school reformers have a long way to go where it counts: Addressing the interests of America's parents, who actually choose the schools to which they entrust their children, and helping them pick the best schools for their children in the first place.

At the moment, school reformers aren't considering situations such as that of the middle-class black couple in East Ridge, Tenn., just outside of Chattanooga, now deciding where to send their four-year-old son once he reaches kindergarten. They are skipping the schools offered by the local school district, Hamilton County Schools, for a private school option, but not because of the district's academic performance. Instead, it's because they don't want their son, who currently attends a nearly-all-white preschool, to continue being the only black male in his school."

Duncan Urges ‘More Active’ Business Role in Education Overhaul - Bloomberg.com

Duncan Urges ‘More Active’ Business Role in Education Overhaul - Bloomberg.com:

"Nov. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who is using $100 billion in stimulus funds to overhaul public schools and expand access to college, urged U.S. businesses to play a “more active” role in the effort.

“You can invest in education, because it’s the best return on investment you will ever make,” Duncan said in prepared remarks for a speech today at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. “You can help train administrators to run schools efficiently. You can give young people work experience -- both paid and unpaid.”"

Lessons for LAUSD -- latimes.com

Lessons for LAUSD -- latimes.com:

"It's hard to imagine a more trying time for students and teachers at the Los Angeles Unified School District. Even more difficult is determining how much of the current woe was brought on by the district itself and how much reflects the vagaries of demographics, politics and the economy."

Consider the dismal budget year, the large-scale layoffs and the declining population of school-age students, then add to these troubles the students lost to charter schools and the resulting reduction in public school funding from the state. Enrollment in charters doesn't happen in smooth, predictable ways; it's not like an entire class from one school moves to another, with a resulting loss of one teacher position. Instead, it's a few from one school, a few from another, in scattered grades, and suddenly none of those schools can afford all of their teachers. And the students who move to charters aren't usually the most challenging ones to educate; those students tend to remain in the public schools.

That's how the district ended up with situations like the one at Mulholland Middle School, reported on last week by Times staff writer Howard Blume. The Van Nuys school has lost 100 students and 10 teachers. Its teachers and administrators took on heavy new workloads to reduce the number of layoffs. Students feel the pain too, in the form of more restricted course offerings and larger class sizes.

Dan Walters: It's time for a hard look at California tax dodges - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Dan Walters: It's time for a hard look at California tax dodges - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"Last June, the Public Policy Institute of California released a highly critical report on California's 'enterprise zone' program that provides big tax breaks to businesses for supposedly hiring workers in areas of high unemployment.

PPIC's study of the 42 zones, which are created by local governments with approval from the state Department of Housing and Community Development, concluded that state and local governments were losing about a half-billion dollars in revenue each year without any discernible impact on joblessness.

'The state can ill-afford to continue the to continue the enterprise zone program without clearer evidence of its benefits or a well-defined plan to make it more effective," said Jed Kolko, co-author of the PPIC study. "

Kids' latest aerosol of choice

Kids' latest aerosol of choice:

"The popularity of the personal computer is having an odd and dangerous side-effect.

'Huffing,' using inhalants to get high, has been known to health practitioners and police for decades, but an article in the current issue of Medtox Journal, published by a drug-testing company, reports that a relatively new form of inhalant abuse called 'dusting' is becoming widespread. It's the practice of inhaling products made to dust off your computer screen, products easily available in office supply and department stores."

The effects of "dusting" are similar in some ways to alcohol intoxication, but the high occurs quickly and wears off within minutes. "Dusters" might spray up to 10 times an hour, inhaling through the thin plastic straw provided with the can. Repeated inhalations can damage the lungs, brain, liver, heart and kidneys. Irreversible hearing loss and brain damage may occur.

High levels of inhalants can cause death by suffocation or heart failure. Children have been found dead with a plastic tube dangling from their lips, victims of "sudden sniffing death," which is possible even after a single session of "dusting."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/08/EDMH1AAQNT.DTL#ixzz0WN004uSU

Massachusetts charter school conflict, it's all about the money

Massachusetts charter school conflict, it's all about the money:

"The debate continues between Gloucester and the State of Massachusetts over the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School. This debate began the moment that the charter school's application became public and will not end until the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education makes a final decision on revoking the charter they granted back May 7,2009.

On Saturday the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education held a special meeting to determine if they should revoke the charter and if so, exactly what basis they needed. This is not simple because of the laws that are in place to protect charter schools from losing their charter."

Tempest over a teacup's worth of federal funding for schools - San Jose Mercury News

Tempest over a teacup's worth of federal funding for schools - San Jose Mercury News:

"Into the kettle that is California's $35.7 billion education budget, Uncle Sam may offer to pour a teacup's worth of specialized stimulus funds to help the most struggling schools.

But to hear the rhetoric as the state tries to grab a share of so-called Race to the Top funds, the teacup might as well be a barrel. Behind the brouhaha is the Obama administration's attempt to not only overhaul failing schools, but also to change how educators confront failure, placing responsibility on teachers, administrators and school boards.

The draft regulations announced for Race to the Top 'challenge the status quo in almost every way,' Ted Mitchell, chair of the state Board of Education, said approvingly. Other supporters include Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Senate Democrats, including Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, who authored a bill that spells out reforms for low-performing schools, such as permitting takeovers by outside groups and allowing children to transfer elsewhere. Romero is sponsoring an informational hearing today in San Jose to discuss Race to the Top."

Gay marriage foes win with message about schools :: EDGE Boston

Gay marriage foes win with message about schools :: EDGE Boston:

"In Maine and California, voters were besieged with ad images of what would supposedly happen if same-sex marriage were legal: students going on a field trip to a lesbian wedding, elementary school kids reading books featuring gay couples, kindergartners learning about homosexuality from their teachers - all without any say from parents.

Critics assailed the messages as blatantly misleading fear-mongering.

'It’s drawing on the fears of the unknown,' said Sandy Maisel, director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Maine’s Colby College. 'There’s no evidence that it’s going to happen, but there’s very clear evidence that it’s an effective campaign tactic.'

Gay marriage opponents discovered the effectiveness in last year’s successful effort to pass Proposition 8 to outlaw gay marriage in California."

The Gouverneur Times - Your Online News Source

The Gouverneur Times - Your Online News Source:

"What is going on with our children?

In one high school in Palo Alto, Calif., four teenagers, acting separately, killed themselves recently by stepping in front of a train.

And who wasn't stunned by the recent reports, also from California, about a group of 20 high school kids either participating in or standing around watching the brutal two-hour-long gang rape of one of their female classmates? The attack took place outside Richmond High School during the homecoming dance. Not one person bothered to call 911. Police are still struggling to identify those involved."

Class Acts: A Q&A with Dave Fry - Local - Modbee.com

Class Acts: A Q&A with Dave Fry - Local - Modbee.com:

"Jordan Stroud nominated Dave Fry for Class Acts. Stroud said that when he was at Argus High School he could tell just by listening to Fry that he cared about the students. Fry isn't there just for a job, he is there to help a younger generation find a better future, Stroud said.

Name: Dave Fry"

The Associated Press: Industry pushes chocolate milk in schools

The Associated Press: Industry pushes chocolate milk in schools:

"MILWAUKEE — The creators of the 'Got Milk?' campaign are getting ready to make a big push to keep chocolate milk on kids' minds and on school lunch menus, a plan that has some educators and obesity activists none too pleased.

The new ad campaign from the dairy industry, set to launch Monday, emphasizes that sugary flavorings are ways to get kids to drink milk. Without them, some youngsters won't drink regular milk and won't get its nutrients, the ads say.

The 'Raise your hand for chocolate milk' campaign starts Monday with an ad in USA Today featuring chocolatey brown colors and the launch of a Web site that asks people to sign a petition declaring their support for chocolate milk in school."

Forget about rating teachers---rate schools instead. - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Forget about rating teachers---rate schools instead. - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"Those unfortunate people in the District may worry about the quality of their teachers, and wait anxiously for the results of the school system’s controversial new evaluation of classroom techniques and test score improvement. But those of us in the Washington area suburbs don’t have to worry because we already know that close to 100 percent of our teachers are entirely satisfactory. How? Our school districts say so.

I asked suburban school officials to share the latest results from their teacher evaluations, which are usually done by principals and subject specialists. Here are the percentages of teachers rated satisfactory, in some cases called meeting or exceeding the standard: Alexandria 99 percent, Calvert 99.8 percent, Charles 98.4 percent, Culpeper 97 percent, Fairfax 99.1 percent, Falls Church 99.55 percent, Loudoun 99 percent, Montgomery 95 percent, Prince George’s 95.56 percent, and Prince William 98.3 percent."

'Cult' program in NYC schools

'Cult' program in NYC schools:

"Thousands of city public-school students and teachers are participating in a 'Brain Education' program run by a group with ties to an alleged cult.

For the past three years, the Department of Education has shelled out nearly $400,000 for 44 schools to participate in the Power Brain Education company's lessons and workshops.
But dozens of former employees of an organization called Dahn Yoga -- whose founder developed the teachings for Brain Education -- said the school program is run by a group that is part of a vast web of interrelated companies conning participants into investing all their time and money in unproven health and healing activities."

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Korean-American School Reformer Engaged to Former NBA Star

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea - Korean-American School Reformer Engaged to Former NBA Star:

"Michelle Rhee, the Korean-American chancellor of the Washington, D.C. public school system, is engaged to former NBA star and current Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Rhee gained fame and controversy for her tough-minded reforms of the city's school system, which involved laying off hundreds of teachers in 2008, including the principal of her daughter's school. Johnson was a point guard for the Phoenix Suns from the late 1980s to the late 1990s."