Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sacramento Press / Strong mayor: Hiltachk to appeal, read judge's final ruling

A defendant in the strong mayor lawsuit will appeal Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster's decision to strike down the initiative.

In his final ruling, McMaster decided that the strong mayor initiative should not be placed on the June ballot. He wrote that the initiative would not align with state law.

Defendants in the case are the city of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council and Thomas Hiltachk, the attorney who wrote the strong mayor initiative. Bill Camp is the plaintiff.

In a press release issued this morning, Hiltachk said he will appeal McMaster's ruling to the Third District Court of Appeals. Hiltachk spoke on behalf of Sacramentans for Accountable Government, the group that campaigned for the strong mayor initiative.

“We will immediately appeal this unprecedented decision by Judge

Bankers share financial literacy lessons with Brooklyn students | GothamSchools

As banking executives prepared to offer a sorta-kinda-mea culpa to Congress last week, some bankers in New York gave back to society in a different way — by teaching schoolchildren about financial literacy.

Investment bankers from Barclays, the British bank that bought Lehman Brothers’ investment banking arm after Lehman collapsed in the fall of 2008, visited Brooklyn’s Community Partnership Charter School with a gift of 2,000 books for the school library. They also spent the morning reading aloud to students in Toti Little and Anna Plunkett’s second grade classroom and left each of the students with a book to take home.

The book? The Berenstain Bears’ Dollars and Sense, in which Mama Bear teaches her cubs how to manage their allowances using a checkbook. (Presumably it does not recommend investing their allowances in sub-prime mortgages.)

Charter schools in New York are a pet cause for

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Finally, A Real Debate On The Economics Of Taxation? | California Progress Report

Since a discussion of tax politics begins and ends quickly in the Capitol, let’s try talking economics instead. The Governor’s tax commission did the state the favor of opening the discussion of the economics of taxation, and Schwarzenegger called for “major, radical reform” in his State-of-the-State address. So perhaps an economics discussion will attract some real debate, instead of the “just say no” discussion which applies to all taxes, however rational they may be.

The Commission on the 21st Century Economy (COTCE) also did an inadvertent favor to the discussion through their proposal to tax the net receipts of all businesses, which the Governor called “great, great reform.”

One key point made by many analysts of this tax is that many businesses would be taxed heavily even if they incur significant losses, because major expenses — labor, interest on debt — would not be deductible from the tax. The result of the backlash to this proposal was, helpfully, to reinforce the concept that taxing profits through the corporation tax and the income tax makes economic sense, contrary to the misguided COTCE goal of eliminating the corporation tax and flattening the income tax for the wealthy.

Schools Matter: How Duncan's RTTT Became Your New NCLB

During the reign of Bush II, NCLB was typically underfunded by $6-8 billion per year while unfunded mandates piled up for states and municipalities, so much so that by the time of the Wall Street heist in 2008, public education coffers were hollow. Now they are bare. Taking advantage of the public funding crisis, then, will be the centerpiece of the new oligarch-inspired RTTT (Race to the Trough), which will pit states against one another in a contest to see how fast they will approve policies that are intended to hand over public education to corporate management by selling out public institutions.

For instance, states like Massachusetts have taken the Gates Foundation grantwriters' advice for getting some of the bribe money by passing a law to double the number of segregated charter school test camps, where collective bargaining will be replaced by CEO control and teacher standards will be further weakened and the curriculums will become a corporate script, all in the name of "innovation." In the meantime, the public schools will lose about

SCARBOROUGH & BRZEZINSKI ZERO IN ON EXCELLENCE - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Dr. Deborah Kenny and entertainer John Legends teamed up yesterday to share with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski some of the strategies and tactics that are bringing disadvantaged youth in Harlem to accomplish stellar results in math, science and reading,
even after entering the school with proficiency levels often a few grades behind.

The electricity in the conversation was more than apparent - 10 min. clip below - and is a must watch. The talk also included a heavy dose of Race to The Top and national issues, with Scarborough being very pro-active in this line of questioning.

The schools are Harlem Village Academies and are "Schools Designed for Teachers", according to Dr. Kenny, co-founder and CEO, who was greatly influenced by GE's Jack Welch and his philosophy of leadership, management and motivation.

If this schools are designed for teachers, then why are they proving to be great for students?

John Legends summed it up: It's about the kids. When teachers are passionate about teaching, ultimately the kids benefit. He talked about how charter schools can be great t "examples of excellence" and "examples of greatness" and how other schools other schools can try to "replicate" that behavior.

The Rancho Cordova Post — Bettencourt to Replace Godwin as FCUSD Superintendent;

The Rancho Cordova Post — Local News, Events, Things to Do

Bettencourt to Replace Godwin as FCUSD Superintendent; Cordova High Principal Replacement to be Determined

FCUSD board members decided to replace Superintendent Patrick Godwin with current deputy superintendent Debbie Bettencourt in a unanimous vote Thursday, while Cordova High school principal Jackie levy’s replacement has yet to be decided.

Godwin announced his retirement in November after holding two public forums regarding the closure of two Rancho Cordova elementary schools. His retirement will be effective June 30, and will mark the end of a 36-year career as an educator and a five-year run as superintendent of the Folsom Cordova unified school district.

Elk Grove Citizen : News Shiroma elected as SMUD Board president

Elk Grove Citizen : News

Shiroma elected as SMUD Board president

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Director Genevieve Shiroma was elected by the SMUD Board of Directors to serve as President of the SMUD Board for 2010. Shiroma previously served as president in 2006 and 2002 and as vice president in 2000, 2001 and 2005. Her term as president will run from January through December 2010.

Director Renee Taylor was elected as Vice President. Taylor serves as the Ward 1 representative on the SMUD Board.

Shiroma was first elected to the SMUD Board in November 1998 and reelected in 2002 and 2006. She represents Ward 4, which includes the neighborhoods of Curtis Park, Land Park, Greenhaven, Pocket and the communities of Laguna, Elk Grove and Walnut Grove.

Shiroma serves on the Agricultural Labor Relations Board. The governor of the state of California first appointed Shiroma to the Board in May 1999. Prior to her appointment, she worked for the California Air Resources Board for more than 20 years as chief of the Air Quality Measures Branch.

A native of Lodi, Shiroma is married and lives in Curtis Park. Genevieve volunteers in the community and serves on the boards of the United Way California Capital Region and the Capital Unity Council.

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

I repent. I've been making fun of San Diegans' inability to cope with rain, but this actually is a real storm. Please be careful. You could always just stay in and read the newsblitz:

We report on a nagging problem that some schools took a debated step to solve: Kids normally have little reason to try hard on state tests, which don't impact their grades. That changed last year at a handful of Grossmont high schools, when teachers began offering to boost students' grades if they did well on the tests. Proponents say teens finally gave their all, but some parents call it grade inflation or worse.

We also blogged on your ideas on how schools can measure creativity and critical thinking. Keep them coming!

Lots of news about colleges today in the Union-Tribune: A Southwestern College police academy has been suspended in the wake of an unhappy state audit. Bonuses for UC medical executives are causing a stir. And Cuyamaca College is getting spiffed up.

Also in the UT: Food helps bridge the cultural divide at Crawford High. And what a delicious cultural divide it is.

The Educated Guess � State lags in new math index

California has, by far, the largest percentage of eighth graders taking algebra. But that’s about all it can crow about in Education Week’s first Math Progress Index,which was published last week.
By most measures – scores on the “nation’s report card” (National Assessment of Educational Progress), improvement on those scores over the last six years, closing the achievement gap in math, and hiring experienced math teachers – California is far behind the most successful states, and often behind the national average.
The Math Index underscores California’s high aspirations and low results in math. It’s not just demographics (lots of poor kids who don’t speak English) that is contributing to low scores and an achievement gap but also a teacher gap: placing inexperienced math teachers in the most challenging schools.
As my colleague at the foundation, retired math teacher Bob Nichols, observed in a note to me, “Only five states do a worse job than California in getting more experienced math teachers into low-income schools. North Dakota, Iowa and Washington, D.C., actually have a higher percentage of experienced math teachers in low-income schools than in non-poverty schools.

Oakland teachers vote for one-day strike | The Education Report

Hundreds of Oakland teachers union members who turned out to a meeting tonight voted to authorize its leadership to call a strike, once it’s legal.

The vote: 726 yes, 45 no.

The Oakland Education Association represents about 2,800 employees, including teachers, counselors and librarians, according to its Web site. If you round up to 800 participants (and if the 2,800 figure is accurate), voter participation comes to about 29 percent.

“It’s a real clear message to the bargaining team that they have the support of the membership,” said union President Betty Olson-Jones.

As I wrote in an earlier blog post, this doesn’t mean there will be a strike, and it could be weeks before the union can take such an action. But Olson-Jones has said she’s not optimistic the district will offer teachers a raise; the district’s chief financial officer has projected a deficit of nearly $40 million for 2010-11.

Union to DPS: Hear our plan | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Saying it has ideas to help the district, a Detroit Public Schools union proposed a plan Wednesday that it believes could add $130 million to the bottom line over the next five years.

Titled "A Stronger Detroit for Our Kids," the report was prepared by the Detroit Association of Educational Office Employees and presented during a meeting at Wayne County Community College in Detroit. It comes as DPS suffers from decreasing enrollment and financial challenges.

One of the proposals, the report said, would generate $92 million over five years by reducing absenteeism by 1%. Other parts of the plan include union-management collaboration, centralized record-keeping, and reducing waste in supplies, equipment and photocopying.

"Our ideas are just as important," said Ruby Newbold, president of the union. "These are credible ideas."

Speaking to about 60 union members and supporters, Newbold criticized privatization proposals that she said would squander the talents of employees but not solve the district's problems.

The union gave the plan to DPS emergency financial manager Robert Bobb on Tuesday.

"I embrace all attempts to cut costs, and support the concept of a Management Labor Committee," Bobb said Wednesday in a statement.

Bobb unveils DPS academic overhaul | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Bobb unveils DPS academic overhaul | detnews.com | The Detroit News:

"Detroit -- The Detroit Public Schools turnaround team is developing a top-to-bottom academic reform plan aimed at bringing the troubled district on par with national average ACT, graduation and dropout rates by 2015.

The district, which has the lowest graduation rate among big cities, would require every high school student to take a college-level course, mandate pre-algebra for sixth-graders and pair pre-kindergarten students with reading tutors as part of an estimated $80 million dollar plan.

The ambitious plan comes as Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb is embroiled in a lawsuit with the school board over who has authority over academics.

Infighting, trips to Lansing and court battles accomplish nothing, said Anthony Adams, vice chairman of the school board, who hasn't seen Bobb's plan.
'We really need to come together in a collaborative fashion in order to produce the best plan for Detroit Public Schools,' he said."

Needham’s Math Mom inspires children, parents to love numbers - The Boston Globe

Needham’s Math Mom inspires children, parents to love numbers - The Boston Globe:

"When Maria Lando was pregnant with her second child, she and her husband decided to buy a house. But it wasn’t clear where they should live: Lando worked in downtown Boston, her husband worked in Charlestown, and their son’s day care was in Newton."

So they searched for houses along a wide swath of suburban Boston, going to dozens of open houses, looking for good schools and a home that would cut down the two hours a day they were spending driving back and forth.

“And then waiting for yet another open house, sitting in the car when my son was asleep in the back, we were like, ‘This is insane,’ ’’ recalls Lando, who was then pregnant with their second child. “It should be a mathematical problem.’’

She grabbed a piece of paper and starting jotting down equations to figure out where they should live. Her conclusion: They should move close to their son’s day care. While they each drove to and from their offices each day, they had to make two trips to day care - one to drop their son off, another for pickup. The decision helped narrow their search, and they soon found their dream house in Needham.

This was more than six years ago, and in 2008 Lando launched her blog - and identity - as the Math Mom (www.themathmom.com). Her motto: “Life is a puzzle. Solve it with numbers.’’ She wanted to encourage other people - especially mothers - to learn to love math.

State could take over eight Memphis City Schools� The Commercial Appeal

State could take over eight Memphis City Schools� The Commercial Appeal:

"Eight failing Memphis City Schools could be turned over to charter school companies or other nonprofit groups as early as this fall, according the state's 1,100-page Race to the Top application made public Wednesday.

While the local school board would likely govern the school lunch program and athletics, the length of the school day and specifics related to academic achievement would be up to the commissioner of education or his designee.

'Most functions in those schools would not fall under the local school board,' said Rachel Woods, Department of Education spokeswoman.

Tuesday was the deadline for the first round of applications for $4.35 billion in federal money the Obama administration has set aside for education innovations. Thirty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia, applied.

In the Mid-South, Arkansas applied; Mississippi did not."

Class Struggle - Your school's AP secrets

Class Struggle- Your school's AP secrets:

"Ever seen the Advanced Placement Grade Report for your high school? I thought not. Most people don’t know it exists. That is why I have so much pleasure going over the reports. It is like reading the principal’s e-mails, full of intriguing innuendo and secrets that parents and students aren’t supposed to know.

Although these subject-by-subject reports rarely appear on public Web sites, some schools will show them to me if I ask, for the following reasons: 1. I am very polite; 2. no reporter has ever asked for them before, so there are no rules against it; and 3. they don’t think anyone will care.

They are wrong on that last count. The AP Grade Report allows the public to see which AP courses at a school produce the most high grades, and the most low grades, on AP exams. You can gauge the skill of the teachers and the nature of the students who take various AP subjects.

This region’s schools have made AP (and the similar International Baccalaureate, which provides comparable reports) the most challenging and influential courses they have. On Feb. 1, The Post will publish my annual rankings of Washington area schools based on participation in these tests, written and scored by outside experts."

Writing for knowledge

In this post, Will Fitzhugh, editor of The Concord Review, explains why it is important for high school students to write research papers. The review is believed to be the world’s only English-language quarterly review for history academic papers by high school students.

By Will Fitzhugh
Professors E.D. Hirsch, Jr., and Daniel Willingham of the University of Virginia have continually, and most usefully, pointed out that tests of reading are really tests of knowledge.

They have also campaigned, somewhat quixotically, to encourage educators and "literacy pundits" to recognize that knowledge has a lot more to do with whether students can understand what they read than does their heavy-laden toolbelt of gimmicks and techniques to teach "literacy skills.”

Indeed, one major literacy study and report recently pointed out, in an aside, that the idea that reading books will do a lot for the literacy of students is sadly misguided. What students need, it was felt, is lots more technique and process classes, K-12, on “finding the main idea,” “identifying the author’s audience,” and all like that there.

I would argue to the contrary.

Continue reading this post »

Ellington principal: "We will not stand idly by"

Duke Ellington head of school Rory L. Pullens hasn't returned my e-mails or phone messages to discuss the possible relocation of the Georgetown arts school, described Sunday in The Post. But he and members of the school's governing board, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Project (DESAP), which met Tuesday, have plenty to say to the Fenty Administration, the D.C. Council and Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee.

Here's what Pullens sent home to parents Wednesday:

"I am sure that many of you are well aware of the newspaper article that ran in last Sunday's Washington Post about the possible relocation of Duke Ellington. We, as an institution, will not idly stand by while such plans are taking place and not have our voices be heard! I met with our governing DESAP Board on Jan. 19, and among the many strategies we are employing, is the attached letter to Mayor Fenty, Chancellor Rhee, City Council, and others. This presents our official response and expectations of resolution. I will keep you posted on future developments in this most critical matter. Thank you for all your support today, and that support which may be needed in the future."

And here's the letter, signed by DESAP board president Michaele Christian:

"Dear Ms. Rhee:

Kids spend more than seven hours a day with entertainment media, study says - St. Petersburg Times

Kids spend more than seven hours a day with entertainment media, study says - St. Petersburg Times:

"It's the kind of statistic that might make most parents consider a time lock for their TV sets.

Youths 8 to 18 now spend an average 7 hours and 38 minutes a day using entertainment media, marking a 20 percent increase from 2004, according to a new study released Wednesday.

Factor in how much media multitasking goes on — using more than one media source at the same time — and the total jumps to an average 10 hours and 45 minutes daily. That's more than many full-time jobs.

But suggest to St. Petersburg resident Carrie Kilgroe that those numbers mean she should crack down on her three kids' access to their cell phones and the TV sets in their bedrooms, and she offers a different take.

'I look at my children as a total picture, at about 30,000 feet,' said Kilgroe, mother to kids ages 9, 12 and 14, ranging from third grade to freshman in high school."

Local News | Bill promotes green school makeovers | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Bill promotes green school makeovers | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"OLYMPIA — Voters would decide whether to launch a statewide package of energy-efficient school makeovers under a bill approved Wednesday by the state House.

The plan, organized by Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, is aimed at spurring specialized construction jobs and capturing electricity savings at public buildings.

If approved by the Legislature and endorsed by voters in November, the projects could feed about 38,000 jobs and save taxpayers about $190 million per year in energy costs, Dunshee estimates.

The state would sell about $860 million in bonds to finance the projects with grants. K-12 public schools and public colleges or universities would get the lion's share, although some local governments and other entities could compete.

State taxpayers would be on the hook for about $1.5 billion over 20 years to pay off the bonds, including interest."

‘Race to the Top’ would force out weak teachers, replace ISTEP | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

‘Race to the Top’ would force out weak teachers, replace ISTEP | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal:

"INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana education officials have charted a bold and controversial path for the state's schools with a series of reforms that include forcing out weak teachers, shutting down teacher colleges whose graduates don't get results, and converting troubled schools to charters."

Under the plan, Indiana also would jettison its curriculum standards in favor of a new, national initiative and a nationwide test would replace ISTEP. The state also would open pathways to enter teaching for more people who don't go through traditional four-year education degree programs.

Gov. Mitch Daniels and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett laid out the plan in their application this week for a piece of the $4.4 billion federal stimulus money earmarked for "Race to the Top" education reform.

The proposal envisions a drastically changed educational system where all teachers are evaluated each year. More than half their review would be based on how their students performed on state standardized tests compared with the students' previous scores, and low performers would face consequences.

The plan drew mixed reactions.

Carol Mooney, director of the New Albany Floyd County Education

Education officials: Cuts are hitting bone - Salt Lake Tribune

Education officials: Cuts are hitting bone - Salt Lake Tribune:

"Looming education cuts will shrink public access to community colleges, trigger more layoffs and could deprive Utah classrooms of crucial resources, officials told legislative appropriations subcommittees Wednesday.

Driving the point home, Salt Lake Community College announced it is pulling out of its leased Sandy location, which serves 3,500 students a semester. And officials warned that Utah's two rural community colleges face potential closure if lawmakers exact a 5 percent cut next fiscal year.

'It is very likely that the Board of Regents will have to declare a financial emergency for one or more institutions, damaging our state's reputation for its commitment to education which has its own set of long-term consequences,' Commissioner of Higher Education William Sederburg wrote in letter to appropriations subcommittee members."

Phila. teacher raises put in 3 pct. range | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/21/2010

Philadelphia public school teachers would receive raises in the 3 percent range under a three-year contract settlement they will vote on tonight, according to sources close to the negotiations.

But it wasn't clear how many raises there would be or when the first raise would kick in, although it would not be immediately.

Teachers in the 167,000-student district received a 4 percent raise in March under a contract extension.

Union and district officials declined to release details until union leadership could brief teachers today.

A beginning teacher in the district receives $42,755, the median salary is $66,986, and the high is $84,882.

Two sources familiar with the negotiations but who did not disclose details said the financial terms were "not outrageous."

They also said the contract was not expected to depend on any extra city or state help to pay for it. The second source called the package "fiscally responsible."

The percentage increase for teachers is the latest detail to emerge on the pact, which was reached over the long Martin Luther King's Birthday weekend and announced Tuesday morning.

The 17,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers will meet at 7 tonight to vote on the pact, which runs through August 2012.

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