Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Sacramento Press / Labor, religious groups back youth jobs measure


Sacramento Press / Labor, religious groups back youth jobs measure


A proposed measure to fund jobs and other services for young people in Sacramento is being supported by a coalition of labor and religious groups and some local elected officials.
A $29 annual tax on parcels of property in the city would be set up to pay for programs provided through Youth Jobs and Opportunity Act. Property owners would be charged the tax.
The proposed initiative could appear on the November ballot. Supporters say they intend to collect 30,000 signatures from residents. Proponents say several kinds of programs could be funded through the program, including after-school programs, apprenticeships and street outreach services.
Groups supporting the proposal include the Yes to Youth Coalition, Sacramento Area Congregations Together, the Sacramento Central Labor Council and the Urban League of Sacramento.
Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson and City Councilman Kevin McCarty, who are running against each other for Assemblyman Dave Jones’ seat, both spoke in favor of the initiative at a Tuesday press conference.

40 States Plus D.C. Apply for Race to the Top - Politics K-12 - Education Week


40 States Plus D.C. Apply for Race to the Top - Politics K-12 - Education Week


There will be more analysis forthcoming, but let's get right to the news. Forty states plus the District of Columbia made the 4:30 p.m. deadline for applying for the first round of Race to the Top.
Here's who did NOT apply: Alaska, MarylandMaine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, TexasVermont, and Washington.
In a statement, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said: "This exceeded our expectations. We received word from 40 states that they intended to apply, and thought there might be some drop off. There wasn't. Let the race begin."


With the deadline less than an hour away for states to get their Race to the Top applications in, many already are putting their exhaustive submissions online. It will be interesting to see if all states follow suit and publicize their applications.
The U.S. Department of Education has said it won't make the applications public until the winners are announced in April. But what's already online makes for very interesting reading, especially the opening narratives in which states are encouraged to brag about how great they are in the area of education policy.
Florida's 327-page application (not counting the 606-page appendix) boasts: "Florida is better poised than any other state to implement RTTT successfully because Florida has learned from prior reforms and has built a valuable knowledge base of what is necessary to implement a successful comprehensive RTTT agenda."

Sacramento Press / SCUSD budget gap grows by $10 million


Sacramento Press / SCUSD budget gap grows by $10 million



 SCUSD budget gap grows by $10 million
School district facing eighth year of reductions
Story By Maria L. Lopez
Surveys by K12 Insight






Sacramento City Unified School Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond announced today that the district will need to reduce its 2010-11 general fund budget by $28 to $30 million. The projection was readjusted after review of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals.
Raymond said the district had expected to trim $18 million from next year’s budget but revised the estimate after the Governor’s proposals were released.
Raymond said that since 2002-03, SCUSD has cut more than $144 million from its budget. “While the news is not good, we will do what we have to do to meet the needs of our students. We will need the best thinking and efforts of everyone from our staff and parents to community members to meet this new challenge,” Raymond stated. “The priority will be students and what we 

Arne Duncan: Paterson’s budget shouldn’t assume a RttT win | GothamSchools


Arne Duncan: Paterson’s budget shouldn’t assume a RttT win | GothamSchools:


"Gov. Paterson’s proposed school budget could actually hurt the state’s chance of winning federal Race to the Top funds, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan suggested today.

Duncan told reporters this afternoon that he was surprised to learn that Paterson’s proposed budget appropriated $750 million in Race to the Top funds even before the competitive fund’s application deadline today.

“This is going to be very, very competitive, so for anyone to assume they’re getting this — that’s a bit of a leap of faith, I would say,” Duncan said. “And obviously if this money is seen as simply something that is going to be plugging budget holes, that’s not something we’re going to be interested in.”"

TRAIL BLAZERS Blog | The Dallas Morning News


TRAIL BLAZERS Blog | The Dallas Morning News:

"President Barack Obama chided Gov. Rick Perry this morning for refusing to compete in the 'Race to the Top' education program that could have awarded Texas up to $700 million.

'Innovative districts like the one in Texas whose reform efforts are being stymied by state decision-makers will soon have the chance to earn funding to help them pursue those reforms,' Obama said during a speech at a Virginia elementary school.

The 'Race to the Top' program is one of the centerpieces of Obama's plans to reform the country's schools. Upwards of 40 states are already competing against one another for slices of $4 billion in awards, and today, Obama announced a $1.35 billion expansion to the program that would allow local school districts to apply directly for the funds.

If passed, the addition would render Perry's opinion moot."

Tracking Education Stimulus Spending | EdMoney.org



Tracking Education Stimulus Spending | EdMoney.org

EdMoney.org.

My colleagues at EWA have launched a new website, EdMoney.org, devoted to tracking stimulus spending on education and helping journalists and the public make sense of the issue. Eventually the site will offer lots of searchable data on spending in individual schools and districts. Until then you will find helpful links and posts on the latest in how the money is being used.

With billions spent, how is the economic stimulus reaching America’s schools? EdMoney tracks spending in public schools across the country to find out.




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Win -- or lose -- by joining Race to the Top




New Jersey can't afford this win, writes a guest columnist -- president of the 200,000-member New Jersey Education Association. "When it comes to testing, though, Race to the Top makes No Child Left Behind look like child’s play. It would expand the standardized testing mania to far more children, in ...
By: Nirvi Shah :: Jan. 18, 2010 1:41 p.m.

Bowing out of the race (to the top)

When it comes to Race to the Top money, for which some states and school districts are willing to make drastic changes to education policy, antagonize teachers unions and extend an olive branch to charter schools, two states won't even cross the starting line: Texas and Alaska.While other states wavered ...
By: Nirvi Shah :: Jan. 14, 2010 noon

States compete vigorously for Race to the Top stimulus funds

States are completing comprehensive proposals, negotiating with local teachers unions and passing legislation that would allow them to compete for $4.35 billion from the Race to the Top Fund as the deadline approaches Jan. 19. The Race to the Top initiative was designed to reward states that have raised student ...
By: Mc Nelly Torres :: Jan. 14, 2010 6 a.m.

Stimulus Tracking Focus of Bootcamp

Federal stimulus spending is definitely the focus for 15 of 20 reporters attending the annual EWA Education Research and Statistics Bootcamp Feb. 25-28 in Phoenix. The bootcamp usually focuses on the uses and misuses of test scores. But with the emphasis on extra education dollars from the federal government to ...
By: Lori Crouch :: Jan. 11, 2010 5:26 p.m.

Can a district use stimulus dollars to segregate disruptive special ed students?

Controversy about the uses of IDEA stimulus funding to build seclusion rooms for disruptive special education students sparked recently in Wisconsin as Greenfield School Board voted to use stimulus dollars for this purpose. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, state legislators and disability groups, who are working to end such practices, ...
By: Mc Nelly Torres :: Jan. 11, 2010 noon

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Track New York's literal race... to the race to the top

With just hours before the state’s Race to the Top application is due in Washington, legislators in Albany are scrambling to deal with the cap on charter schools, considered a make-or-break component of the application.
Posted Jan. 19, 2010 1:06 p.m.

State gives Broward one more chance to join Race to the Top -- then takes it back

The Florida Department of Education has given the Broward school district a chance to reconsider its decision not to sign on to the state's application for millions in federal grant money -- and then took it back, Broward Superintendent Jim Notter said Tuesday.
Posted Jan. 19, 2010 10:19 a.m.

Obama to seek $1.35 billion more for Race to the Top program

President Obama is slated to visit a Fairfax County school Tuesday to announce plans to seek $1.35 billion in his next budget to expand his signature education initiative to improve schools.
Posted Jan. 19, 2010 9:33 a.m.

Race for more stimulus cash on to next step for Michigan

Kathleen Straus, president of the State Board of Education, signed on Saturday Michigan'sapplication to receive up to $400 million in additional federal stimulus funds, the Detroit FreePress reports.
Posted Jan. 19, 2010 9:31 a.m.

Michigan hopes reforms will win up to $400M in school aid

Michigan filed its application for federal funds to launch education reform with strong support from school districts but a dearth of union backing.
Posted Jan. 19, 2010 9:29 a.m.

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Letter of Support for Child Nutrition Programs - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Letter of Support for Child Nutrition Programs - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)


Three State Agencies Urge National Lawmakers to Reauthorize Federal Nutrition Programs for Low-Income Families

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced today he has joined forces with California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kimberly BelshĂ© and California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura to urge Congress to reauthorize the federal Child Nutrition Programs.

"Secretaries Belshé and Kawamura and I want to emphasize to members of Congress that these programs are vital in our efforts to prevent childhood obesity, increase academic achievement, and stave off the insecurity that families face in getting enough nutritious food," O'Connell said. "Often these child nutrition programs provide the only food some children consume each day."

"There has been an increased demand for food and nutrition programs in this economic downturn that has affected California's most vulnerable populations," added Belshé. "School meals, snacks, and wholesome foods provided through these Child Nutrition Programs are critically important to ensuring the health and well-being of millions of children in our state."

"Our three agencies support measures that increase access to these programs as well as promote improvement in the nutrient content of the food, especially with more wholesome, California-grown products," said Kawamura.
Federal Child Nutrition services include the National School Lunch Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, School Breakfast Program, Special Milk Program,

Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program assists low-income and nutritionally at-risk pregnant women, postpartum women, infants, and children. WIC participants may gain access to nutritious food, nutrition education, counseling, screening, and referrals.

O'Connell, Belshé, and Kawamura sent a joint letter to the chairpersons and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; and the House Education and Labor Committee. Those committees were responsible for extending the two programs for a year as Congress deliberates their reauthorizations. The state leaders urged committee members to consider California's priority recommendations to increase access and promote improvements in the nutrient content of the programs' meals, snacks, and supplemental foods. The recommendations include:
  • Requiring meals be consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans;
  • Requiring additional servings of fruits and vegetables;
  • Re establishing funding for the Nutrition Education and Training Program;
  • Providing funding for School Gardens, Farm-to-School, Farmers' Markets, and Salad Bar Programs;
  • Adjusting the meal reimbursement rates and revising income eligibility requirements to reflect the differing costs of living across the country;
  • Providing free meals to all children with family incomes at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level;
  • Increasing the certification period for children to one year to be consistent with infants and breast feeding women;
  • Expanding categorical eligibility between Child Nutrition and WIC programs;
  • Expanding the At Risk Supper Pilot program to California; and
  • Providing funding to improve technology and innovation for fiscal management and other needs.
For more information on the federal Child Nutrition and WIC programs, please visit School Meals (Outside Source) and WIC (Outside Source). To see a copy of the letter sent to Congress members, please visit Recommendations for Improvement to the Child Nutrition & Women, Infant & Child Programs (PDF; 145KB; 2pp.).

Education Week: January 14, 2010

Education Week: January 14, 2010




JANUARY 14, 2010
toc cover
Vol. 29, Issue 17
OPEN HOUSE! FULL ACCESS TO THE SITE UNTIL JANUARY 21.
This interactive map offers a quick way to examine State-by-State grades and summary data.
Looking for detailed state data? The State Highlights Reports assemble findings on each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia and compare individual state data to national data.
Your turn. Manipulate grades for states based on weighting schemes of your choice.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This year’s special theme—the national debate over common academic standards—is complemented by extensive information on each state’s curriculum resources, assessments, and academic standards, drawn from the research center’s annual state survey.
OVERVIEW
Backers of the latest high-profile push for common standards believe it can succeed where previous national-standards efforts have failed, partly because it comes at standards from a different direction.
Leading voices worry that, when it comes to math, the United States is far behind where it needs to be to remain competitive in a 21st-century global economy.
TABLE Math Progress Index PDF
FEATURE STORIES
Educators nationwide would have to exchange long-held practices for newer ones if all 50 states were to adopt a set of common content standards.
Publishers in the education realm are gearing up for the shift in the marketing landscape likely to come if and when states adopt common academic standards, with curriculum and assessment changes sure to follow.
A Massachusetts school vaults a high set of bars to ensure that instruction across all core subjects is closely aligned with the state's standards.
As the standards movement has evolved, one of its key questions has shifted. Instead of simply asking what students should know, educators and policymakers are now asking what students need to master to be prepared for the demands of college and career.
The political sensitivities that have scuttled virtually every previous attempt at common academic standards are very much on the minds of those leading the effort this time around.
COMMENTARIES
If the authors of the national common-core standards don’t encourage or require content coherence and cumulativeness, writes E.D. Hirsch Jr., they will have done little to improve the unacceptable stasis in American education.
National standards are not only unnecessary, writes Alfie Kohn, they’re also based on the premise that "our teachers cannot be trusted to make decisions about which curriculum is best for their schools."
The two greatest risks of the current effort to set common standards are that they will be so prescriptive they will be resisted, or they will be so vague that they can easily be ignored, writes Diane Ravitch.
Rather than a focus on national standards, writes Stanford professor Nel Noddings, more attention should be paid to problems that are truly pressing, such as reducing the number of high school dropouts.
STATE OF THE STATES
The 14th edition of Education Week's Quality Counts continues the report's tradition of tracking key education indicators and grading the states on their policy efforts and outcomes.
TABLE Chance for Success PDF
TABLE The Teaching Profession PDF
TABLE School Finance PDF
TABLE Standards, Assessments, and Accountability PDF

Quality Counts is produced with support from the