Tuesday, January 19, 2010

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, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont, 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."

Big Promises in Race to the Top Applications

By Michele McNeil on January 19, 2010 3:40 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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

SCUSD budget gap grows by $10 million

School district facing eighth year of reductions

Story By Maria L. Lopez

Photo by BigEducationApe.blogspot.com

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

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.

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 Belshé 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

JANUARY 14, 2010

Vol. 29, Issue 17

TABLE OF CONTENTS

OPEN HOUSE! FULL ACCESS TO THE SITE UNTIL JANUARY 21.

FOR THE MEDIA

Quality Counts 2010 Press Release (PDF)

WEB EXTRAS

State Report Cards Map

This interactive map offers a quick way to examine State-by-State grades and summary data.

State Highlights Reports

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.

Grading Calculator: Calculate Your Own Grade

Your turn. Manipulate grades for states based on weighting schemes of your choice.

FROM PRINT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Holding States, Nation to Educational Account

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

Resurgent Debate, Familiar Themes

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.

A National Yardstick for Gauging Math Progress

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

Teaching, Curricular Challenges Looming

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.

Marketing Scramble Ahead Amid a Shifting Landscape

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.

Making Standards a Classroom Reality

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.

College and the Workforce: What 'Readiness' Means

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.

Vying for Advantage in Coming Political Battle

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

First, Do No Harm

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.

Debunking the Case for National Standards

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."

We've Always Had National Standards

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.

Differentiate, Don't Standardize

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

Holding All States to High Standards

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

Methodology

Sources & Notes

Quality Counts is produced with support from the