Tuesday, December 15, 2009

New School Bond Testimony - Year 2009 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Calls for
New School Bond at School Facilities Hearing

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell testified today at a hearing held by the Senate Select Committee on School Facilities. At the hearing he cited the need for a new school bond to meet the needs of California students in the 21st century.

"We speak often about preparing our children for the future, but achieving this goal will only increase in difficulty if our kids continue to learn in schools of the past," O'Connell said. "It is essential that we transition our schools from the old industrial model to the age of information and green technology, which frankly is where students today are already living."

O'Connell highlighted the need for additional school facilities funding by citing that California currently needs $9.7 billion to modernize school facilities and $200 million for career technical education facilities projects.

"There is an obvious need to improve school facilities throughout California, and we cannot afford to wait to meet this need," O'Connell continued. "I fully appreciate that we are still embroiled in a national economic downturn, but a school facilities bond would do much to further our long-term goal of creating a competitive workforce in California, as well as achieving the short-term goal of creating jobs and getting people back to work.

"Improving school facilities also goes hand in hand with increasing student achievement and closing California's persistent achievement gaps. Quality school facilities are a key to creating an environment in which all children can learn the skills necessary to become informed citizens and compete in the 21st century global economy.

"We absolutely must seek to create and maintain clean, safe, and sustainable school facilities that are centers of their communities and not overcrowded. We must also construct attractive food service centers to encourage kids to eat healthy meals. These are all critical components in our efforts to ensure that all children in our state have the same opportunities for high-quality learning and a shot at future success."

# # # #

Jack O'Connell — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Is Race to the Top an Urban Game? - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Is Race to the Top an Urban Game?

By Alyson Klein on December 15, 2009 5:19 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Some state officials have a sneaking suspicion that Race to the Top is an urban state's game and that has made some question whether they should apply, at least in Round 1.

For instance, Vermont had originally planned to apply for Round 1 of the competition, but is now going to hold off for Round 2, Rae Ann Knopf, the deputy commissioner of education transformation and innovation, told me. That's why you won't see Vermont's name on the U.S. Department of Education's list of states planning to apply in the first round.

The state decided to sit out the first round because of the competition's rules on charter schools. Vermont, a largely rural state, doesn't have them, but it does have some other innovative public schools, Knopf said. But, under the RttT regulations, the state can only get up to eight points for its innovative schools, out of a possible 40, since it doesn't have a charter school law. Vermont may seek written clarification from the department on that point, Knopf said.

Sacramento Press / Rally held against new pesticide

Near 100 people rallied in front of the Capitol on Monday, opposing a new pesticide containing methyl iodide that could potentially be used at strawberry farms statewide.

The group - made up of farm laborers from around the state, local activists and consumers - marched from Caesar Chavez Park to the south Capitol steps, carrying signs and chanting slogans characterizing the chemical as a “poison.” Methyl iodide, which would be used as a fumigant sprayed onto field soil, is still awaiting approval by state pesticide officials before it can be sold or used in California.

Organizers of the rally have said the chemical could be “one of the most dangerous pesticides in use,” adding that it is used to create cancer cells in laboratory animals and is listed as a cancer-causing carcinogen under the state’s Proposition 65 statute.

Fair Oaks resident, Gina Colombatto, who attended the rally, said she

Sacramento Press / Westfield will sell plaza; Mayor seeks buyers

Mayor Kevin Johnson said Tuesday he will start searching for buyers for Downtown Plaza within weeks, after Westfield Group announced its willingness to sell the struggling plaza.

After the holidays, Johnson will start talking to "big developers" and investment groups who understand the plaza's role in revitalizing downtown. Potential buyers could include people interested in developing a new downtown arena at that site, he said.

"Westfield has agreed to step aside, and, if necessary, sell its interests in Downtown Plaza," Johnson said during his weekly press conference Tuesday morning. "That could be very monumental for the downtown corridor. The big news is Westfield is no longer willing to stand in the way of the downtown mall being developed."

The city is "extremely committed" to reviving the plaza, he added.

"It's one of our most important assets," Johnson said. "We want a developer to say, 'This is also a high priority for us.' "

However, Johnson added that Westfield's decision should "enhance" arena developers' ability to talk to Westfield about buying the property for a

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - A Free Market for Teachers

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - A Free Market for Teachers:

A Free Market for Teachers

"By EMILY ALPERT

Part three of a three-part series.

NEW YORK CITY | The old rap on New Dorp High was that if you could send your kids elsewhere, you should. Its scores were below average in its stretch of the city, the working class enclave of Staten Island.

Yet the austere brick building was a destination for veteran teachers from the island who were tired of trekking to work in Brooklyn. They regularly bumped young teachers out of their jobs. Principal Deidre DeAngelis called it 'a grazing ground' for older teachers who only wanted to be there to shorten their commutes."

Such problems were endemic to New York City, which once forced schools to take teachers they didn't choose. San Diego Unified still does it today.

Principals can be handed teachers they never even interview. Teachers can be sent to schools they didn't pick. The system is driven by seniority and the need to find spots for teachers when schools shrink or close programs -- factors that can have little to do with what each school needs.

New York faced similar problems. Then, four years ago, it overhauled its system completely.

It freed principals to hire whoever they wanted, allowing schools to ferret out the best teachers from across the city. New Dorp could also hang on to promising new teachers like Diana Composto, instead of seeing them shoved aside by others. Her glasses slide down her nose as she bounces around her classroom, encouraging students to imagine MySpace websites for the characters in a Steinbeck novel

Sacramento Press / Any Given Child survey for arts education

Sacramento Press / Any Given Child survey for arts education:

"A little over two months ago, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts chose Sacramento over 27 other cities as the first partner for the 'Any Given Child' program. The program, which promotes arts education, will be developed in Sacramento over the next two years before rolling out nationwide.

Mayor Kevin Johnson emailed the following survey regarding participation in the Any Given Child program:

In October, the Kennedy Center announced that it would pilot its Any Given Child program here in Sacramento with the goal of providing access and equity in arts in education to all students. Since then, we've been hard at work focusing on this welcome opportunity to expand arts opportunities for all children in Kindergarten through eighth grades."

Part of the Any Given Child work here in Sacramento is an audit of arts education resources that are currently available in and out of schools. We need your help to gather this information.

If you are a teaching artist, a representative of an arts organization or of community-based organization with an arts program, I ask that you complete the appropriate online survey below by January 8th. The survey should not take more than 8 minutes of your time. The survey is being conducted by Meta Research, an independent research firm.

We expect the data that results from the survey will lead to recommendations for ways more teaching artists and organizations can be more involved in working with students in and out of schools. We will share the survey results with all who participate in the Spring. Your participation is key to a future where ANY given child has access to the arts.

For Art’s Sake Education Initiative Survey Link:

http://www.keysurvey.com/survey/284698/9ac5/

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says Merit Pay Should Be Tied to Student Growth - US News and World Report

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says Merit Pay Should Be Tied to Student Growth - US News and World Report:

"With billions in stimulus funding, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has more power to create change in the nation's schools than any of his predecessors. Before taking his current post, Duncan was CEO of the Chicago Public Schools. During his tenure there, reading and math scores set new records, and the number of high school students taking Advanced Placement courses more than tripled. Now he faces the challenge of prodding school districts around the country to improve student performance while local school budgets are tanking. U.S. News Senior Writer Kim Clark asked Duncan how leadership will help him reform American education in the midst of a recession. Listen to a podcast of this interview. Excerpts:"

Online Colleges, Online Degree, Online Schools @ Westwood College

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OVER 25 PROGRAMS TO CHOOSE FROM

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Our mission

Westwood College is an institution of higher learning dedicated to providing quality, career-focused undergraduate and graduate programs that prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and credentials needed to launch, enhance, or change careers. The College offers broad access to education and serves a diverse, multicultural body of students in an environment that promotes pride, respect, and teamwork. The College's programs are designed to empower students to pursue their individual career goals.

Who we are

Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Alta College, Inc. (Alta) is the parent organization for Westwood College. Since its inception, Alta has been a leader in career-focused education, meeting workforce needs in high-demand employment fields. As occupational challenges and opportunities are recognized, Alta develops new programs in cooperation with industry leaders to meet the needs of our students and graduates and of employers, as well. As our success has grown, so has our company; we currently employ more than 3,000 full-time employees, including 1,200 full and adjunct instructors.

Westwood College

Westwood College is an institution of higher learning founded in Denver, Colorado in 1953. Today, Westwood has 17 campuses across California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Texas and Virginia and a top-ranked online campus. Westwood offers a unique hands-on, career-focused curriculum providing three-year bachelor’s degrees in high-growth fields. We have more than15,000 students enrolled in one of our 27 degree programs in business, design, technology, industrial services, justice and healthcare. To date, more than 20,000 Westwood graduates have transformed their lives by obtaining the skills, tools, experience and connections necessary to achieve meaningful careers.

List of Race to the Top Contenders Continues to Grow - Politics K-12 - Education Week

List of Race to the Top Contenders Continues to Grow

By Michele McNeil on December 15, 2009 2:34 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Education released a list of 36 states that plan to apply for Race to the Top Fund grants in Round 1. I blogged about this, making clear that the department's list wasn't necessarily the final word on Round 1 applicants for the economic-stimulus money.

And, indeed, it's becoming clear that several states that did not file their letters of intent do plan on applying in Round 1. Thanks to those who left comments, or called me, to fill me in on their states' plans. Informally, it seems that North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Michigan also plan to apply. Michigan, which isworking furiously in the legislature this week to change its laws to be more competitive in Race to the Top, tried to submit its letter of intent online, but ran into technical difficulties, a state education department official told me today.

(UPDATE: I've also heard Texas is planning to apply, even despite some strong words from its education commissioner. It's worth noting that the Lone Star State tends to hold its cards close to the vest. For example, it turned in its State Fiscal Stabilization Fund application dead last, just 18 minutes before the deadline back in July.)

However, a couple of states definitely are not applying. Maine, for example, is waiting until Round 2 so it can make legislative changes to improve the link between student and teacher data.

100 rally to support S. Phila. High's Asian students | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/14/2009

100 rally to support S. Phila. High's Asian students | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/14/2009:

"More than 100 people rallied yesterday in support of Asian students beaten at South Philadelphia High School earlier this month.

Students and community members of all races gathered at the Arch Street United Methodist Church to tell the roughly 30 Asian students attacked during and after school that they applauded their bravery.

The event was held by Asian Americans United to 'show the students they are not alone and that there is a broad community of people who care about them and all of the students at the school,' according to organizers."

Ending Child Abuse At School | Teaching Tolerance

Ending Child Abuse At School | Teaching Tolerance:

"As a kid, I remember listening wide-eyed to my grandmother tell me about the “Dummy Room.” The Dummy Room was one of her first assignments as a young teacher in small-town Iowa in the 1930s. Like other Dummy Rooms across the country, it was the dumping ground for the school district’s hard cases.

The Dummy Room was supposed to be just for the “retards,” as they were widely called back then. But as Grandma quickly found out, many of the kids she’d been handed had no mental disabilities at all. Some just needed glasses. Others needed hearing aids. Many improved immediately after a few regular meals and proper grooming.

The road to the Dummy Room left scars on some of those kids. Frustrated (or sadistic) teachers had yelled at them or simply ignored them. Some of the kids had endured corporal punishment when they failed to respond to normal teaching methods. Thank goodness, I’ve often thought, that such treatment is a thing of the past. We now have special education and highly trained teachers. Ours is a more enlightened age."

CPR Reader Poll: Vote for Legislators of the Year | California Progress Report

PR Reader Poll: Vote for Legislators of the Year

Posted on 14 December 2009

Link here to take survey. Select your Lawmakers of the Year from a list of all state legislators who achieved a combined score of 65% or higher on 2009 legislative scorecards issued by four progressive advocacy groups before this poll started. Voting will close on December 31, 2009. Link here to vote.

Education Week: Congress OKs Budget With Increase for Education

Education Week: Congress OKs Budget With Increase for Education:

"Congress last week approved a fiscal year 2010 spending measure that would provide level funding for key education programs, even as lawmakers and the Obama administration weighed the prospect of a jobs package that could include new education aid for cash-strapped states and localities.

A House-Senate conference committee Dec. 8 agreed to a bill that would finance programs in the U.S. Department of Education at about $63.7 billion, a 2 percent increase over fiscal 2009, but a 0.7 percent decrease over the president’s request of $64.2 billion.

The House of Representatives voted 221-202 on Dec. 9 to pass the bill. The Senate approved the measure on Dec. 13, 57-35"

Education Research Report: Reading Recovery� Research Evaluation

Education Research Report: Reading Recovery Research Evaluation: "No studies of Reading Recovery that fall within the scope of the English Language Learners (ELL) review protocol meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. The lack of studies meeting WWC evidence standards means that, at this time, the WWC is unable to draw any conclusions based on research about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of Reading Recovery on ELL.

Reading Recovery is a short-term tutoring intervention designed to serve the lowest-achieving (bottom 20%) first-grade students. The goals of Reading Recovery include: promoting literacy skills; reducing the number of first-grade students who are struggling to read; and preventing long-term reading difficulties. Reading Recovery supplements classroom teaching with one-to-one tutoring sessions, generally conducted as pull-out sessions during the school day. The tutoring, which is conducted by trained Reading Recovery teachers, takes place for 30 minutes a day over a period of 12 to 20 weeks."

The Educated Reporter: ISO: More reporting on for-profit colleges.

ISO: More reporting on for-profit colleges.

Justin Pope at the Associated Press has been doing terrific work on for-profit colleges. On the face of it, it looks like they have an incentive to take lots of low-income students (and their associated aid) even if they have little chance of succeeding. Which may or may not be a good thing, depending on your perspective.

I love the Washington Post Company, I owe it my career and my social life, Don Graham is wonderful in many ways, and we can thank Kaplan for helping to subsidize the publication of a great (though thinning, grrrrr) newspaper. However, a 23 percent three-year default rate at Kaplan University? Default rates aren’t everything, and they are going to be high when you enroll the neediest students, but there is a lot to plumb here. We need more in-depth stories, with real people. Who is attending these schools, why are they expensive, what makes it hard to finish and pay back loans?

Oakland’s adult ed programs take a big hit under superintendent’s budget proposal | The Education Report

Oakland’s adult education programs would be slashed by nearly 40 percent in 2010-11 ($4.5 million of the $11.5 million they currently receive in state funding), ifpreliminary budget recommendations made by Superintendent Tony Smith are approved by the school board in January.

The recommendations, to be discussed at Wednesday’s school board meetingand voted on Jan. 27, contain few specifics, such as which services (aside from adult ed) would be cut and by how much. But the presentation does give us an idea of how the pain of a $28 million cut – Oakland Unified’s projected deficit for the 2010-11 school year — might be shared across the district.

K-12 schools would absorb $9.3 million of the $28 million reduction, which means the budgets of individual schools would shrink by less than 5 percent in 2010-11.

The remaining $18.5 percent cut needed to balance the 2010-11 budget would be made to central office services, facilities upkeep and adult education programs. According to the proposal, central services would be cut by about $10 million, adult education by $7.5 million (see explanation below) and facilities upkeep by $1 million.

Adult education includes diploma and GED programs, English as a Second Language, parent education and career tech classes, among others.