Sacramento Press / A Look Back: Mayor Johnson- Transparency and Accountability -- or Propaganda?

Sacramento Press / A Look Back: Mayor Johnson- Transparency and Accountability -- or Propaganda?:

"A Look Back: Year One: Mayor Johnson's First 12 Months of Propaganda

The first of several parts in response to Mayor Johnson's recent evaluation of his first year in office.

Part One — Effective Government and Accountability — or Propaganda?"

Propaganda as described by Wikipedia: Propaganda is a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.

Mayor Kevin Johnson has continued to be a disappointment throughout his first year as mayor of Sacramento. While running for office, he promised transparency. Unfortunately the mayor is transparent in the sense we can see right through his propaganda. Sadly the mayor is not appearing accountable to provide the people of Sacramento a mayor of truth and integrity.

As I read the mayor's blog submission "Year One and A Look Back: Mayor Johnson's First 12 Months," I grew greatly disappointed seeing our mayor blatantly omit truth to communicate with us in a manner that insults and underestimates our intelligence. Below are segments from Johnson's blog posting and the obvious propaganda techniques he uses to sway and influence public interest and opinion. It is my hope that Johnson will learn his fastest move is our slowest, and he should pump his brakes, slow his roll and put as much focus and concern into becoming a world-class, first-tier classy mayor prior to attempting to make Sacramento a world-class city. If a city is a reflection of its mayor, Sacramento is in a world of trouble.

State Laws on Family Engagement in Education | PTA

State Laws on Family Engagement in Education PTA

National PTA developed this publication as a tool for State PTAs and other family and child advocates to increase systemic, effective family engagement in all of our nation’s public schools. Family engagement in education is a critical strategy for ensuring students’ academic achievement, graduation from high school, and overall success in life. Low levels of family engagement in schools must be addressed at the federal, state, and local levels through the development of sound public policy and implementation, evaluation, and replication of best practices.

Implementation of state policies at the local school level is among the most critical components of achieving greater family engagement in education by requiring State Education Agencies (SEAs) to develop effective policy that, in turn, governs activities of the Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or school districts.

The purpose of this reference guide is two-fold:

It provides families and advocates with information on family engagement provisions within state education laws so that they can better advocate for their children’s education on the school and district levels.

It guides policymakers’ and advocates’ development of their legislative reform initiatives as well as their efforts to monitor the implementation of laws already in place.

The reference guide provides key facts, background, analysis, noteworthy statutes, and policy recommendations for crafting successful family engagement legislation at the state level. Finally, the reference guide contains a survey of laws including legal citations pertaining to family engagement in education in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

PTA Resources

State Laws on Family Engagement in Education

Downloadable PDF of PTA's State Laws on Family Engagement Report (full version, 2.5 MB)

The Education Report

The Education Report

Former Oakland school board member dies at 34
By Katy Murphy

Jason Hodge, the youngest person to win a seat on the Oakland school board, died unexpectedly yesterday at age 34. His cause of death was unavailable.

Hodge, a 1992 Skyline High School graduate, was first elected to the board in 1996 at age 21 and served two terms. He later became the public information officer for Vallejo City Unified.

You can read the Tribune story about him here.

"WHAT'S THIS MEDIA WORLD COMING TO?" - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

"WHAT'S THIS MEDIA WORLD COMING TO?" - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:

"WHAT'S THIS MEDIA WORLD COMING TO?"

"Cable & bloggers talking about education? That's supposed to be reserved for me and the "chosen few"! Don't you think? Cheers." - Dr. D.

"The Brookings Institute Spars with Edu-Blogger


The Brookings Institute raised the ire of education blogger and journalist Alexander Russo, about a report released and presented this week offering 'creative solutions to improve education reporting and to promote quality public discourse.'"

Russo pulled the first punch:

"Perhaps it's the fact that, while I admire Russ Whitehurst and EJ Dionne greatly, I don't think of either of them as particularly expert on the topic of education journalism. These are not folks who've thought long and hard about this issue, or whose knowledge is particularly deep.

Or maybe it's that the panelists they've gathered for the event include two esteemed former journalists (Richard Colvin and Dale Mezzacappa) whom I would describe as traditional if not downright reactionary in their views on new media such as blogs, plus a think tank guy (Andy Rotherham) who until recently didn't even allow reader comments on his blog. (Still no response, by the way.)Most problematic of all, there's no one currently in a newsroom involved on the panel, nor anyone with a strong background in new media."

Education Week: Philly Students Plan Walkout in Wake of Attacks

Education Week: Philly Students Plan Walkout in Wake of Attacks:

"Philadelphia

Some Philadelphia high school students say they fear for their safety after a series of assaults last week and won't be attending classes.

The president of the Chinese American Student Association at South Philadelphia High School said Sunday that students will meet elsewhere during school hours this week.
Wei Chen says the group will continue to talk with district officials.

Tensions between black and Asian students at the school erupted in assaults last week. Ten students were suspended and several sought medical treatment."

Education Week: Unproved Early-Reading Program Likely to Prevail

Education Week: Unproved Early-Reading Program Likely to Prevail:

"Early Reading First never attracted the same attention as its cousin, Reading First, and proof of its effectiveness is elusive, but advocates of early-childhood education hope the federal government will continue to build on what participants in the grant program have learned."

When Congress zeroed out funding for Reading First—the program authorized by the No Child Left Behind Act for K-3 pupils primarily in disadvantaged schools—it increased spending for Early Reading First, which targets 3- and 4-year-olds from low-income families. Reading First received $1 billion per year at its peak, but it was plagued by conflict-of-interest charges, and Congress eliminated funding for it in fiscal 2009. That same year, Early Reading First received $112 million. The Obama administration requested $162.5 million, an increase of $50 million, for the 2010 budget for the early-childhood program.

Education Week: Four Flawed Assumptions of School Reform

Education Week: Four Flawed Assumptions of School Reform:

"The good news: Despite the economic downturn, the U.S. Department of Education is stoking the development of a multitude of initiatives that might help improve schools. The bad news: Many of those initiatives still focus on the same flawed assumptions that have undermined education reform efforts for years. These assumptions reflect a simplistic view of what it takes to improve schools, and they contribute to the repeated failure to address the basic conditions needed to sustain long-lasting improvements in schooling."

Education Week: Study Eyes Effect of Extra Learning Time on Scores

Education Week: Study Eyes Effect of Extra Learning Time on Scores:

"The first national database of schools that have added learning time to their schedules, which was set for release this week, suggests that the extra time might play a role in boosting middle and high school achievement.

The National Center on Time & Learning, which assembled and analyzed the database, found a moderate association between increased time and how well students did on their states’ standardized English and mathematics tests compared with their peers in nearby schools on regular schedules"

Harlem's Education Experiment Gone Right - 60 Minutes - CBS News

Harlem's Education Experiment Gone Right - 60 Minutes - CBS News:

"(CBS) For years, educators have tried and failed to get poor kids from the inner city to do just as well in school as kids from America's more affluent suburbs. Black kids still routinely score well below white kids on national standardized tests.

But a man named Geoffrey Canada may have figured out a way to close that racial achievement gap. What he's doing has been called one of the most ambitious social experiments to alleviate poverty of our lifetime. His laboratory is a 97-block neighborhood in Harlem, which he has flooded with a wide array of social, medical and educational services available for free to the 10,000 children who live there. It is called the 'Harlem Children's Zone.'"

Watch CBS News Videos Online

An Important Message About Education from a sixth grader to President Obama

Watch eleven year old Ethan Matsuda tell the president about the horrific cuts to public education and how going to war in Afghanistan will drain resources away from investing in America's children. As Ethan says, "There's nothing left to cut, Mr. President.." Please forward this far and wide.

This video was made by Ethan Matsuda, who won a CTA Peace and Justice Caucus Youth Activism four years ago when he was in second grade, for his book, The North Pole is Melting, about Global Warming. The next year he wrote The Easter Bunny Breaks His Leg (and has no health insurance).

Back to the Land - And the Pursuit of Happiness Blog - NYTimes.com

Back to the Land - And the Pursuit of Happiness Blog - NYTimes.com

To Write About Curriculum, Reporters Need Classroom Access - Curriculum Matters - Education Week

To Write About Curriculum, Reporters Need Classroom Access - Curriculum Matters - Education Week:

"A former reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer remarked to my colleague Lesli Maxwell that for journalists to better cover classroom issues in schools, they need to have better access to classrooms. Lesli included the views of Dale Mezzacappa in a story about a report by the Brookings Institution that documents a lack of education stories on the front pages of mainstream newspapers nationwide. The report also concludes that education gets scant attention in the top news stories produced by radio and television reporters.

Mezacappa's remarks resonated with me because I've found that the ability I have to provide examples of how a school's curriculum plays out in the classroom depends on whether I'm permitted to spend a lot of time observing in classrooms."

Interests and Assessment Map - Parent Driven Schools

Interests and Assessment Map - Parent Driven Schools:

"The Interests and Abilities Map is a tool that students and their parents can use to better understand the student’s unique profile of interests, skills, challenges, potential and opportunities.
The IAM empowers the student in the setting and achieving of his or her own educational goals.

Shared with a parent, it can provide the basis for nurturing the child's unique gifts, challenges and interests.

Shared with a teacher, it can become the basis for indivdualizing the educational experience to meet the unique needs of the student."

The Educated Guess » State Board to consider regs for revoking charters

The Educated Guess » State Board to consider regs for revoking charters:

"The State Board of Education is the latest to weigh in with a proposal to weed out low-performing charter schools. It joins the Senate and the Assembly, whose Race to the Top bills differ on the right approach.

Even charter school advocates, including the California Charter Schools Association, agree that mediocre charter schools are undermining the case for expanding successful charters. Their low test scores feed arguments of charter opponents, who cite numbers showing that, on average, charters aren’t outperforming district schools."

The issue has gained importance, because U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is using the $4.3 billion Race to the Top competition as leverage to push the expansion of high-performing charter schools. In response, both Senate and Assembly bills – SBX5-1 and ABX5-8 – would remove California’s limit of 100 new charters per year. While doing so would have no practical effect – the annual cap has never been reached, and unused numbers accumulate – its elimination would earn a few points on California’s Race to the Top application.

Assuming there are no financial irregularities and other problems, charter schools are entitled to have their charters renewed if they satisfy one of several criteria. They include reaching their API targets for the previous year; ranking in the fourth decile or higher for schools with similar demographics; or having API scores that are as high as those of neighborhood district schools. In a district like Los Angeles Unified, that last criteria can be a very low bar.

Chartering authorities – mostly local districts and county offices of education – have the responsibility for renewing and revoking charters. At its Dec. 15 meeting, the State Board of Education will take up proposed regulations would allow the board to intervene and revoke a charter of a school that fails to meet

voiceofsandiego.org

voiceofsandiego.org:

Bright and Early

"Water is falling from the sky. Do not panic. Or if you must, go into your underground bunker and soothe yourself with education news. It's the daily newsblitz!"

•We blog that the people who are helping oversee the $2.1 billion school construction bond for San Diego Unified are going to hold bond auditors to a higher standard after hearing from an outside nonprofit, which alleges that the auditor just hired by the school district has skimped on audits elsewhere.

The Union-Tribune wrote an editorial on it this weekend, too.

•If you missed it on Friday, guest blogger Jim Miller argued that the changes California is trying to make to become more competitive for a second dose of school stimulus dollars are "punitive and ill-considered."

We'll have another viewpoint on the stimulus money today -- stay tuned!

“Guilty As Charged” | Today's Cliche - Marriage, Family, & Work... from BOTH Women's and Men's Perspectives.

“Guilty As Charged” Today's Cliche - Marriage, Family, & Work... from BOTH Women's and Men's Perspectives.:

"Guilty, Guilty, and Guilty

Invincible: What I now admit to thinking when I was as a teenager.

Invincible: What I admit to still be thinking (?) as an adult.

I mean, what ELSE can logically explain how — for some reason — I conceive that there will be no repercussions, each time I text a ‘quick’ response on my iPhone while traveling 75 miles an hour on the beltway?

Don’t you hear the same echo that I do in my head: “C’mon… I just need to look down for one second… one second“?! It’s tempting, isn’t it?"

California Learning Resource Network (CLRN)

California Learning Resource Network (CLRN):

"CLRN makes it easy for you to find the standards-aligned software, video and Internet learning resources you need. CLRN experts have identified, reviewed and organized hundreds of Electronic Learning Resources (ELRs) in a searchable database that allows you to compare key features of selected resources. The Web Information Links (WILs) let you search or browse hundreds of free primary, secondary and reference resources. Electronic Learning Assessment Resources (ELARs) are data management programs that simplify delivery, aggregation and disaggregation of assessment data."

t r u t h o u t | David Bacon | The Human Face of Budget Cuts

t r u t h o u t David Bacon The Human Face of Budget Cuts:

"Oakland, California - Cesar Cota was the first in his family to attend college. 'Now it's hard to achieve my dream,' he says, 'because the state put higher fees on us, and cut services and classes.' Cota, a student at Los Angeles City College, was encouraged by the internship program of the LA College Faculty Guild to describe the human cost of budget cuts in the community college system."
David Robinson, who's worked since he was 14, hoped he'd get automotive mechanic training, and a good job at the end of it. "But by cutting these programs and raising fees," he says, "you're cutting opportunity for a lot of people who need it."


Another endangered student is Tina Vinaja, a mother of three teenagers whose husband took a weekend job to help pay her tuition hikes. Monica Mejia, a single mom, wants to get out of the low-wage trap. "Without community college," she says, "I'll end up getting paid minimum wage. I can't afford the fee hikes. I can barely make ends meet now."

Daily 49er - CSUs to make exceptions to keep special programs alive

Daily 49er - CSUs to make exceptions to keep special programs alive:

"The California State University system is planning to prioritize its enrollment by setting aside enrollment slots for athletes, ROTC, musicians and other special-skills students this fall. The decision is being made amidst plans to cut enrollment in the system by 40,000 students next year.

A $564-million budget cut is affecting the CSU campuses this fiscal year. One of the main factors in the decision to prioritize enrollment was to ensure that, despite the budget constraints, various programs in the CSU, such as athletics, engineering and orchestra, are filled.

“If you’re going to have an orchestra, you need to be able to enroll all the students to get a full band,” said CSU Director of Enrollment Management Services Jim Blackburn."

Joining forces : The Collegian Online

Joining forces : The Collegian Online:

"As activism rises on Fresno State’s campus, faculty show support of student involvement

Recent student activism on the California State University, Fresno campus has received support from many faculty members.

Professors could be seen in and outside of the Henry Madden Library during the protest staged after closing hours in November. October’s walkout also featured faculty members who addressed the crowd in the Peace Garden."

Dr. Loretta Kensinger, a professor for the women’s studies program, said that her participation was strictly in support for the students involved. She joined the family and friends of students who stood outside of the library for moral support for the students demonstrating inside, she said.

“I think the students are raising awareness for all of us about what the plight is for the California State University system right now,” Kensinger said.

She said students, as well as faculty, have been impacted by the budget cuts. It is important to support the students as they push for the state to fully fund education, Kensinger said.

Texas colleges counting economic blessings - for now

Texas colleges counting economic blessings - for now:

"SAN ANTONIO — Denise Trauth, president of Texas State University, tries not to gloat. But when she meets with counterparts from across the nation, as she did at the annual gathering of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities recently, she feels fortunate to be in Texas.

Many public colleges and universities across the nation are laying off employees, reducing student financial aid and taking other painful steps to cope with the economic downturn and declining state appropriations"

The University of North Alabama, for example, has raised tuition 9.5 percent in each of the past two years. California State University, Bakersfield, has scaled back academic programs and enrollment in response to a $15 million, or 25 percent, cut in the state portion of its budget. And Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed merging three public, historically black universities to cut costs.

Institutions of higher learning in Texas haven't been immune to the belt-tightening. Hiring for many positions throughout the 15-campus University of Texas System is frozen. UT-Austin is laying off some staff members to free up money to retain and recruit top professors.

But schools in Texas, with its relatively strong economy, have largely been spared the harsh cuts taking place in many other states. Indeed, the Texas Legislature increased higher education funding this spring by $1.2 billion for the two-year budget and boosted financial aid by 35 percent, to $1 billion.

Different approaches considered amid some school officials' unease | San Bernardino County | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Different approaches considered amid some school officials' unease San Bernardino County PE.com Southern California News News for Inland Southern California:

"SACRAMENTO - Inland school officials are apprehensive about signing on to any state effort to get school grants from the federal government, with California lawmakers still divided on the issue as next month's application deadline approaches.

Wednesday, the Assembly Education Committee is scheduled to consider bills meant to improve the state's chances at receiving money from the $4.3 billion Race to the Top program, a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's education reform agenda. A vote of the full Assembly is expected Thursday."

WestsideConnect - The West Side's News Source - Professionals find their calling in special education

WestsideConnect - The West Side's News Source - Professionals find their calling in special education:

"NEWMAN – In the daily bustle of activity on local school campuses, one group of educators go about their work with little public fanfare – but with a particularly profound impact on the lives of the students they serve.

More than 30 classroom teachers, aides and specialists – often working closely with general education classroom teachers – devote themselves to serving students with special needs in the Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District.

Today (Thursday), special education professionals across the state are being acknowledged by the California Organization for Special Educators during its designated “Day of the Special Educator.”"

Are educated youth leaving California? - Bakersfield.com

Are educated youth leaving California? - Bakersfield.com:

"CALIFORNIA BRAIN DRAIN?

Here's something new to consider: the high cost of living in California and the rising cost of a university education is leading to a statewide 'brain drain' of college kids out of our state. That's the conclusion of a Capitol Weekly report that said for the first time since the 1980s, California sent more college kids out of state than it received from other states.

This is amazing stuff and points to the increasing cost of a California bachelor's degree combined with other factors like state and local taxes and housing costs that are sending kids elsewhere."

New teachers having trouble finding jobs in a competitive market - Whittier Daily News

New teachers having trouble finding jobs in a competitive market - Whittier Daily News:

"Michael Korte received his teaching credential from Azusa Pacific University in January.

Nearly a year later, with more than 50 applications and two dozen job interviews under his belt, the Glendora resident is still working as a security guard.

'Every semester, I keep telling myself, `well, next semester I'll start getting calls.' I'm always sending out resumes and always looking for jobs online. Now I'm hoping I'll have one by spring,' Korte said."

California Deserves Better Than Yudof's Failed Leadership | California Progress Report

California Deserves Better Than Yudof's Failed Leadership California Progress Report:

"Executives revel in taxpayer-backed bonuses while front-line workers suffer layoffs and wage cuts. Ordinary people see their livelihoods diminished and their children’s futures eroded while the corner office club gets richer. Costs increase for consumers though they get less value in return.

These were the stories you heard following the fallout on Wall Street during the meltdown of AIG and Lehman Brothers. But now they’re just as applicable to result of the misplaced priorities of the University of California under UC President Mark Yudof."

La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com - An opportunity for California

La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com - An opportunity for California:

"California’s educational system desperately needs additional funds to address the budget crisis while, at the same time, it also must tackle reforms to improve student learning. The State Assembly has the possibility to achieve both of these goals by passing a single legislative bill.

The Obama administration is pushing significant changes in the education system across the country through a program called 'Race to the Top,' which has $4.5 billion to award to states that adopt new standards for student learning and new systems to assess student achievement, that recruit and train effective teachers and principals, and finally, that turn-around low-achieving schools."

Montessori program at S.F. school stirs clash

Montessori program at S.F. school stirs clash:

"When San Francisco school officials opened a public Montessori program in an under-enrolled elementary school adjacent to the city's low-income Western Addition neighborhood in 2005, it sounded like a good idea."

It meant that poor, mostly African American students would have free and convenient access to what often is an expensive private program, out of reach and relatively unknown to inner-city children.
Instead, the effort has turned into a major headache for district administrators who now are embroiled in a bitter community battle over the educational fate of Cobb Elementary School.

At the heart of the fight is a district plan to phase out the school's traditional general education program - now serving predominantly African American students - to convert Cobb to all Montessori. While the program is offered to any family in the city, the intent of placing a Montessori program at Cobb was to better serve the neighborhood's African American families. Yet few parents from the community there seem to know much about the program or want it.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi file=/c/a/2009/12/07/MNLT1APV54.DTL#ixzz0Z0lqG5Te

Three Cheers for Community Colleges -- baltimoresun.com

Three Cheers for Community Colleges -- baltimoresun.com:


"DEAR JOYCE: My nephew's college plans are uncertain. His mother says a small scholarship and student loans can pay for a local private college with a $35,000 annual tuition. When I suggested he start out at a two-year public community college ($2,500 yearly tuition) and later transfer to a state university, she dismissed the idea as 'graduate high school.' Your opinion? -- V.M.

Debt loads for graduating college students are at a record high. The average recent college graduate with debt owes a total of $21,000 -- and the payback figure can be as steep as the high fives. (Debt totals for graduate and professional studies are another jaw-dropping story; research student debt and you'll see what I mean.)"

Bob Williams: UC's withering heights» Redding Record Searchlight

Bob Williams: UC's withering heights» Redding Record Searchlight:

"Back in 1960, California adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education. It was a three-tiered system. At the top was the research and Ph.D.-granting University of California. Next was what is now renamed the California State University. Finally, there were the two-year community colleges.

This plan has worked extremely well and has provided many of the scientists, engineers, doctors, agricultural specialists and others who have made this state an economic and innovative powerhouse that accounts for 13 percent of our nation's gross domestic product. It became a model emulated by other states and, to an extent, other nations."

Update: California Labor Union Demands Resignation of UC Technology Chief

Update: California Labor Union Demands Resignation of UC Technology Chief:

"The University of California labor union (AFSCME) is demanding the immediate resignation of David J. Ernst, the university executive accused of pocketing more than $150,000 in improper expense reimbursements during his tenure at California State University.

The union sent a letter to UC President Mark Yudoff on Saturday, stating that Ernst’s 'jet-setting global junkets, lavish meals and opulent retreats at taxpayer expense is an insult to workers who have been asked to put less food on their tables and students who have been forced to forgo their dreams.'"

In-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants questioned - San Bernardino County Sun

In-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants questioned - San Bernardino County Sun:

"At a time of unprecedented peril for the state's education system, a growing number of school districts are going the extra mile to promote a law that allows illegal immigrant students to receive subsidized tuition at California colleges and universities.

The move is viewed by some state lawmakers and others as wasting scarce tax dollars on a program that benefits illegal immigrants at the expense of legal residents and U.S. citizens."

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Do Charter Schools Deserve The Spotlight?

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Do Charter Schools Deserve The Spotlight?:

"President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have made it clear that expanding charter schools is a critical part of successful education reform. 'States that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top Fund,' Duncan said in June.

But two major studies on charter schools released this year had dramatically different findings. One study found that charter schools nearly closed the achievement gap between students in poor and affluent communities, while the other found that most charter schools deliver academic results that are no better, or worse, than those in regular public schools.
Do charter schools deserve the attention that the Obama administration is giving them? Why or why not?"

CSUS students protest outside president's home - Local - Modbee.com

CSUS students protest outside president's home - Local - Modbee.com:

"TURLOCK — Several dozen students protested in front of California State University, Stanislaus, President Hamid Shirvani's home Saturday afternoon, decrying budget cuts, his management style and the direction he is taking the campus.

'We feel like we've tried everything else,' said Barbara Olave, a senior studying sociology and one of the demonstrators. She said students have spoken with and written to Shirvani but to no avail.

The protesters did not speak with Shirvani. Olave said one student knocked on Shirvani's front door but no one answered."

Our View: California has lost its mojo for once great UC, CSU - Our View - MercedSun-Star.com

Our View: California has lost its mojo for once great UC, CSU - Our View - MercedSun-Star.com:

"Students protest higher fees. Faculty lament cuts to instruction. Administrators complain that the state is an unreliable funding partner to California's public colleges and universities.
It's time to get beyond griping and move on to solutions.

Ironically, California is about to mark -- celebrate certainly would not be the right word -- the 50th anniversary of the Master Plan for Higher Education.

That 1960 plan made a commitment that 'all Californians should be afforded the opportunity to receive a college education.'

It made California a national model.

For a generation, the 1960 Master Plan delivered prosperity to the state and a higher standard of living for residents."

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Education | School Laws Could Disqualify New York State From "Race To The Top" Funds

NY1 24 Hour Local News Education School Laws Could Disqualify New York State From "Race To The Top" Funds:

"Washington lawmakers are offering up to $700 million in educational funding to New York State, but some educational laws could disqualify the state. NY1's Educational reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

The federal government is giving away $4.5 billion in education funding as part of the 'Race To The Top,' and New York State could get up to $700 million, if President Barack Obama's administration likes the state's application.

'It is a big load of money,' says State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, the chair of the State Senate Education Committee."

Schools' testing success can come at a price - washingtonpost.com

Schools' testing success can come at a price - washingtonpost.com:

"Terry Dade, the 33-year-old principal of Tyler Elementary in Southeast Washington, freely describes himself as a 'data geek' who shares Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's educational creed: Digging relentlessly into student test scores, diagnosing weaknesses and tailoring teaching to address them can ultimately lift a school's academic performance.

Hired by Rhee as a first-time principal last year, Dade dug out a success story at Tyler, with double-digit boosts in reading and math proficiency. It's also left Dade with a challenge that has thwarted many other principals: what to do for a second act."

Without ready access to computers, students struggle - washingtonpost.com

Without ready access to computers, students struggle - washingtonpost.com:

"Julija Pivoriunaite's heart sinks when one of her teachers at Glasgow Middle School announces that students must go online to do a homework assignment. It happens almost every school day.

The 11-year-old's mind whirls with the complicated and stressful options available to get her assignments done, since her family has no reliable Internet service at home. She could work after classes in her Fairfax County school's computer lab, but it is open just two days a week. The library has free computers, but time online is limited if it's busy. Finding rides is tough."

US charter schools 'state' case to NY - NYPOST.com

US charter schools 'state' case to NY - NYPOST.com:

"Charter-school operators from other states are urging New York's elected officials to increase the number of charter schools allowed in the state or risk having them set up elsewhere, letters obtained by The Post reveal.

Directors at the highly regarded MATCH Charter Public School in Boston, Citizens' Academy in Cleveland and The SEED Foundation in Washington, DC, have all said they won't even consider opening shop in New York without an assurance that there will be charters left to issue above the state's current limit of 200."

To date, 36 charters remain unclaimed, but that number is expected to be cut in half as early as next month with the approval of 18 new schools.

"Given the state's looming charter cap, I can't justify investing time to explore the interest in bringing a Citizens' Academy to New York City," said Perry White, the school's founder and executive director, who is looking to replicate the academy's 11-year-old model. The Citizens' Academy Charter Elementary is one of just 11 schools in Cleveland -- out of 150 -- that was rated "excellent" by the state, according to White.

MATCH offers its students a minimum of 10 hours of one-on-one tutoring per week on top of a long school day and a small, intimate environment. The SEED schools are college-preparatory boarding schools that target poor urban kids who largely hail from single-parent or no-parent households.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/us_charter_schools_state_case_to_zeUxz8GQwWHjsdYFn0AGaP#ixzz0Z0eSyXNP

Letter - Teachers and Tenure - NYTimes.com

Letter - Teachers and Tenure - NYTimes.com:

"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plans to use student test scores in the ranking and firing of New York City teachers pits teachers against students to cut the state budget (front page, Nov. 26).

Moreover, we take issue with his analogy regarding cardiac surgery and teacher performance. What has most improved cardiac surgery outcomes is collaborative effort among teams of cardiac surgeons to learn best practices from one another, and not a punitive quest to fire outliers."

Student learning, like patient experience, is multifactorial and multidimensional. The quest for better quality is not about teaching to the test, nor avoiding the sickest patients or the most disadvantaged students.

Improving quality means finding ways for doctors and patients, students and teachers and their communities to openly identify areas of weakness that are most fruitful for improvement, not creating incentives to hide or paper over.

To excel, teachers, like students and schools in need of improvement, need support, not threats.

Gordon D. Schiff

Virginia Casper

New York, Nov. 29, 2009
The writers are, respectively, and a physician and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School; and a teacher educator on the graduate faculty at the Bank Street College of Education.

Scholarly Investments - NYTimes.com

Scholarly Investments - NYTimes.com:

"THEIR company names were conspicuously absent from their nametags, but that is how these hedge fund managers and analysts — members of a field known for secrecy — preferred it. They filled the party space at the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue in late October, mostly men in their 30s. Balancing drinks on easels adorned with students’ colorful drawings, they juggled PDA’s and business cards, before sitting down to poker tables to raise money for New York City charter schools."

Working the room, the evening’s hosts, John Petry and Joel Greenblatt, who are partners in the hedge fund Gotham Capital, had an agenda: to identify new candidates to join their Success Charter Network, a cause they embrace with all the fervor of social reformers.

“He’s already in,” Mr. Petry said as he passed John Sabat, who manages a hedge fund for one of the industry’s big stars. (Like Voldemort in the Harry Potter novels, no one in the group would name him aloud.)

“I wasn’t hard to turn,” said Mr. Sabat, 36, whom Mr. Petry drafted last year to be a member of the board of Harlem Success Academy 4, on East 120th Street, the latest in its network of school in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Boards agree to donate or raise $1.3 million to subsidize their school for the first three years. “You can’t talk to Petry without taking about charters,” Mr. Sabat added. “You get the religion fast.”

Inequities found in area Advanced Placement course choices | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Inequities found in area Advanced Placement course choices News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"By the time she graduates, senior Cindy Santillan will have taken 21 college-level Advanced Placement courses at the School of Science and Engineering at Townview – a feat made possible by the extraordinary menu of courses offered at her high school."

From Latin, to microeconomics, to art history, to an array of rigorous math and science courses, the 400 students at the magnet school can pick from 30 AP subjects – more than any other high school in Dallas. In the North Texas region, only the much-larger Plano Senior and Plano West Senior high schools offer as many AP choices.

The AP courses are key in building impressive transcripts and giving students an advantage in the competitive college admissions process. Students who pass AP exams can also earn college credit and save themselves thousands in tuition dollars.

White House economist: 'F--- up' conservative prof

White House economist: 'F--- up' conservative prof:

"According to a university colleague, former president of Harvard and current White House economist Larry Summers once asked for help to 'f--- up' one of the school's conservative professors.

Summers' colleague, Cornel West, is a radical race relations instructor who is now a professor at Princeton after departing Harvard in the wake of a dispute with Summers. Obama named West, whom he has called a personal friend, to the Black Advisory Council of his presidential campaign. West was a key point man between Obama's campaign and the black community.

In his recently released memoirs, 'Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud,' West claims that Summers invited West into his office and asked him to help undermine Harvard government professor Harvey Mansfield, who had professed conservative views."