Bill would end layoffs by seniority
Posted in Equity issues, Teacher Development, TenureProposals that Gov. Schwarzenegger made during his budget speech in January to weaken teacher tenure and seniority rights have finally taken bill form.
Republican Sen. Bob Huff introduced SB 955 on the governor’s behalf last week. Its chief provisions would be to give local school boards, instead of the Commission on Professional Competence, final say over firing teachers, and to enable districts to lay off teachers based on a district’s subject needs and teacher effectiveness, instead of by seniority.
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Republican Sen. Bob Huff introduced SB 955 on the governor’s behalf last week. Its chief provisions would be to give local school boards, instead of the Commission on Professional Competence, final say over firing teachers, and to enable districts to lay off teachers based on a district’s subject needs and teacher effectiveness, instead of by seniority.
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Merit-pay bill deserved Crist’s veto
Posted in Race to the Top, Teacher Development, Tenure, Uncategorized, payFollowing up on the veto by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist of a merit-pay plan: The Educated Guess doesn’t know much about the politics of Florida’s U.S. Senate race, in which Crist, a Republican, is apparently trailing. Some, like the editorial page of the Wall Street Journal, speculate that Crist vetoed the merit-pay bill that Republicans jammed through the legislature, because he plans to run as an Independent and wants to cater to teachers.
I know only that Crist showed good judgment.
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Push for new kindergarten cutoff
Posted in kindergartenA Senate bill to move up the cutoff date for enrolling in kindergarten and to fund preschool with half of the savings has sailed through its first committee. But similar attempts have faltered, even though child advocates and developmental psychologists universally agree that it’s an educationally sound and fiscally smart idea.
California is one of only four states that allow some 4-year-olds to attend kindergarten. The cutoff date for turning five in California is Dec. 2.
Sen. Joe Simitian’s SB 1381 would gradually shift the date so that starting in 2014, a child would have to be 5 years old by Sept. 1 to be admitted to kindergarten. Doing so would reduce enrollment by an estimated 100,000 children over the phase-in period and reduce the state’s kindergarten costs by $700 million. (That savings from that initially small class of kindergartners would follow as they went on through high school.)
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California is one of only four states that allow some 4-year-olds to attend kindergarten. The cutoff date for turning five in California is Dec. 2.
Sen. Joe Simitian’s SB 1381 would gradually shift the date so that starting in 2014, a child would have to be 5 years old by Sept. 1 to be admitted to kindergarten. Doing so would reduce enrollment by an estimated 100,000 children over the phase-in period and reduce the state’s kindergarten costs by $700 million. (That savings from that initially small class of kindergartners would follow as they went on through high school.)
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No renewals for Stanford charter school
Posted in Charters, Turning around failing schoolsStanford New Schools, a K-12 charter school in East Palo Alto, comes with a good pedigree. It’s operated by Stanford’s School of Education.
But last month, as this blog noted, the state named it one of the state’s 188 persistently lowest performing schools, designated for restructuring. Then on Wednesday night, as Palo Alto Online reported, the Ravenswood School Boardvoted not to renew the school’s charter. Unless the trustees relent, the school will shut down in June.
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But last month, as this blog noted, the state named it one of the state’s 188 persistently lowest performing schools, designated for restructuring. Then on Wednesday night, as Palo Alto Online reported, the Ravenswood School Boardvoted not to renew the school’s charter. Unless the trustees relent, the school will shut down in June.
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