The Washington Teacher: Does Michelle Rhee Deserve To Be Named Person Of The Year ?

The Washington Teacher: Does Michelle Rhee Deserve To Be Named Person Of The Year ?

Does Michelle Rhee Deserve To Be Named Person Of The Year ?

You Gotta Be Kidding Me

I received this email alert today which is worth reading and was also posted on The WaPo online site by Efavorite. (click on Efavorite to see the comment). The suggestion that Chancellor Michelle Rhee should even be considered for Person of the year is unbelievable in light of her recent statements to Fast Company magazine in which she stated that she fired DC's laid off teachers because they had sex with students, abused students as well as their leave. This email alert reads:

ALERT: "In today’s print edition of the Post on page B2 (Outlook) there is a big paid advertisement from the Federal City Council that starts out saying, "Michelle Rhee deserves to be named DC Person of the Year.” It goes on to list all the usual lies (Baltimore miracle, DCs academic achievement attributed to her, etc.). It’s signed by Frank Keating, President of the organization and former Republican governor of Oklahoma. The piece doesn’t come up on the Post website, I suppose because it is an advertisement and not an article. I also couldn’t find the ad poking around a bit on the Federal City Council website, but perhaps others here could take a stab at it @ http://www.federalcitycouncil.org/

WHY WE NEED ROLE MODELS IN SCHOOL & WORK MORE THAN EVER - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

WHY WE NEED ROLE MODELS IN SCHOOL & WORK MORE THAN EVER - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

"The young entrepreneurs who are starting companies for the first time are best served by seeking out and getting experienced serial entrepreneurs
 as angel investors, board members, and mentors.
We encourage all of the first time entrepreneurs we work with to do this."

                                                     - Fred Wilson, Principal, Union Square Ventures
                         (link to Wilson's post below)

By C.J. Westerberg

One of my big obsessions in the school arena is the importance of role models and mentors for students.  I've been known to beat the drum incessantly about this subject in school board meetings, parent conversations, and frankly, to anyone who will listen. 

In our schools, we often think about teachers, school and extra-curricular activities separate from role-modeling.  For example, my daughter went to a school which touted its mentoring program when it really was nothing more than an occasional presenting of a rose or some other token by an older student after a school play or award ceremony.  There was no real meaningful interaction.

The school my daughter now attends happens to have a great Head who believes very strongly in how the everyday behavior of teachers and coaches IS one of the best opportunities for role-modeling.   There are also real initiatives such as having students read to the younger, less accomplished kids or the many collaborative opportunities where the bar gets raised with the collective input of all . . .students as role models for others.  (We know parents are key role models and is worthy of its own separate conversation).

When I came across this post by Fred Wilson, principal of Union Square Ventures, from his popular blog AVC, it was just too good to pass up.  He parallels role-modeling in school with role-modeling in the business world.  I personally think with the state of ourunemployment and economy, we need collaboration and mentoring more than ever. Here's Fred's take:

"Both of my girls played in this league in their middle school years and then assistant coached in it during their high school years. The skills and experience they developed playing in this league allowed them to be leaders and top players on their

Sunnyside, TUSD work to counter charters' lure

Sunnyside, TUSD work to counter charters' lure

Nearly 900 eighth-graders have left the Sunnyside Unified School District since 2006 to attend private or charter schools - costing the district about $3 million in state funding.

And the Tucson Unified School District - the largest in the city - has lost about 8,300 students to charters over five years - some 3 percent of its enrollment. Such losses would have cost the district an estimated $36 million in state funding, although officials say some of the students have returned.

TUSD has tried for years to find ways to stop the hemorrhaging - bulking up its niche programs, studying who's leaving for where, and advertising its extracurriculars to parents and students. Last year, the district budgeted almost $420,000 for school-choice exploration. The initiative encourages schools to transform, offering a special focus or learning model that would draw in and retain students.

SAC CHARTERGATE: DC School Chancellor Under Fire

SAC CHARTERGATE: DC School Chancellor Under Fire

Fox 5 on the Story

DC Schools Chancellor Comes Under Fire

The Washington Teachers Union is outraged by soon-to-be published comments by DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. In the February issues of the business magazine "Fast Company", Rhee says some of the 266 teachers she laid off last October had had sex with students, had hit students and had missed 78 days of school.

Many of those employees let go in a mass reduction in force are still looking for work. Washington Teachers Union President George Parker tells FOX-5, Rhee has done reckless damage to the reputation of innocent teachers. He wants an investigation and says the union is looking at legal options. Union Vice President Nathan Saunders says Rhee should have reported such abuse to the police, as required under federal and state law. He says she could face criminal charges.

A spokesman for the US Attorney's office says the matter was never referred to them for prosecution.

The office of DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier says they are researching the accusations and cannot comment at this time.

Sacramento Press / Kings Size High School Challenge to benefit local schools

Sacramento Press / Kings Size High School Challenge to benefit local schools

The Sacramento Kings introduced an exciting new program to benefit high schools in the greater Sacramento area Friday, January 22. Participating high schools will compete in the “Kings Size High School Challenge” to raise funds for their school.

“The Kings Size High School Challenge is a great vehicle for local high schools to raise funds for their school programs,” said Danette Leighton, vice president of marketing for Maloof Sports & Entertainment. “This program is the first of its kind for this community, and we hope to grow it to include even more schools next season.”

All participating schools attended a draft lottery event yesterday at the Kings Practice Facility, similar to the NBA’s draft lottery, where they drafted their Kings player “sponsor” and game date. The Kings player they draft will make a visit to their school in late January or early February to officially tip-off the program. For every ticket the school sells for its selected game, a percentage of the sale will benefit its desired high school programs.

Gates Foundation's new home halfway finished

Gates Foundation's new home halfway finished:

"SEATTLE -- In designing the futuristic headquarters of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the lead architect says, the wife of the Microsoft co-founder wanted it to be a bold reflection of the organization's mission to improve the lives of the poor around the world and inspire visitors to give back to their communities.

The foundation is planning to welcome passers-by to step into an interactive museum featuring the Gates' vision and the organizations and projects the foundation supports. The center will be similar to the efforts of other nonprofits to feature their work, such as Mercy Corps' Hunger Action Center in Portland, Ore., and Heifer International's Global Village in Little Rock, Ark.

'There a real effort here to say: 'We have a bold vision. There's courage and there's determination behind it',' says Steve McConnell, managing partner of NBBJ, referring to both the Gates campus and the Gates Foundation."

Teachers learn to make handwriting less of a drag

Teachers learn to make handwriting less of a drag:

"When it comes to teaching handwriting to wary elementary students, Paula Heinricher said yesterday, teachers might want to incorporate foot-tapping, scuba diving and ditties into the lesson.

'Capital 'C' is tall, tall, tall. Lowercase 'c' is small, small, small,' Ms. Heinricher sang cheerily as about 20 teachers and occupational therapists waved their pencils aloft.

The group gathered in an Uptown hotel on National Handwriting Day to learn how to teach handwriting more effectively and creatively. As Ms. Heinricher tells it, the two go together like the intersecting lines on a lowercase 't.'

Take the song about letters, for example.

'When we put things to music, we remember them better,' said Ms. Heinricher, an occupational therapist"

S.D. teachers asked to take pay reduction - SignOnSanDiego.com

S.D. teachers asked to take pay reduction - SignOnSanDiego.com:

"Teachers and other San Diego school employees could take pay cuts next year of up to 8 percent to help offset a projected $93 million deficit, under a proposal presented to labor groups this week.

The San Diego Unified School District — the state’s second-largest — avoided cuts to its permanent teaching force last year through an early-retirement incentive and other budget trims.

“We realize how difficult it is for our teachers, who are the lowest-paid in the county, and our bus drivers and cafeteria workers, who are really on the edge of poverty, to take a pay cut during these uncertain times,” said school board President Richard Barrera. “If we can achieve savings through salary cuts, we can avoid layoffs and we can fully fund our priorities and do what is best for children.”

Any dock in pay could be reversed, and possibly reimbursed, when the district’s revenues increase, Barrera said."

2theadvocate.com | News | La. schools being hit by squeeze on funding — Baton Rouge, LA

2theadvocate.com | News | La. schools being hit by squeeze on funding — Baton Rouge, LA:

"As state officials seek to funnel more students into the two-year schools, Louisiana’s community and technical colleges are simultaneously dealing with growing numbers and declining budgets.

“We’re still looking at very healthy enrollments,” said Kay McDaniel, the Louisiana Technical College regional director in Baton Rouge.

“That’s our frustration,” she said, noting that some students have been turned away from their first-choice career paths because of adjustments required by budget cuts.

“There’s so many students to train, but we have limitations,” McDaniel said.

Community and technical colleges are currently implementing $8.2 million in budget cuts, or 4.5 percent of their state funds."

Local News | High-stakes competition for vacant Seattle elementary school | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | High-stakes competition for vacant Seattle elementary school | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"Dusty windows and overgrown weeds are just a couple signs that the school has sat vacant since 2006, when it closed due to shrinking enrollment.

But in recent months, the 1.9-acre site has become the focus of a high-stakes bidding competition.

Four groups are vying for the property on East Republican Street: an African-American church, a neighborhood group, a special-needs school, and the private Bush School next door. All have submitted proposals to the Seattle School Board.

Around the city, many former school buildings are being used as community centers or to house nonprofits. With the MLK site, the board is expected to vote in the next three months, but it faces a thorny decision."

Prekindergarten must be part of basic education - Opinion - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington

Prekindergarten must be part of basic education - Opinion - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington

Prekindergarten must be part of basic education

The 2010 legislative session is a pivotal time for early childhood learning in this state. Lawmakers must include the prekindergarten years as part of basic education and continue to fund programs that prepare children and families for the early school years.

Ten years ago, little research and even less public attention was directed toward early childhood education. Some children showed up for kindergarten knowing their colors and shapes, able to count and do rudimentary math and many had the social skills necessary to interact well with other children.

Other kindergartners came totally ill-prepared for the academic and social challenges that faced them.

While that’s still true today, great strides have been made in the past decade to raise the public’s awareness about brain development and the need to focus on those early learning years.

Molly Boyajian is director of early learning initiatives for Thrive by Five, a public/private partnership focused on the prekindergarten years. She says, “Investments in the early years is cheaper, better for the kids and more successful. If we get it wrong in the beginning with kids, it’s hard to go back and fix it later on.”

Science and the study of brain development verify that.

Research shows that 85 percent of the brain’s core structure – size, core, growth and much of its hard wiring – is developed by age 4. Yet in those pivotal years, less than 9 percent of the public’s investments in education and development is done, Boyajian said.

Sunday Routine - Cornel West - Cornel West, Touching Minds on the Lecture Circuit - NYTimes.com

Sunday Routine - Cornel West - Cornel West, Touching Minds on the Lecture Circuit - NYTimes.com:

"Cornel West, 56, has many roles: Princeton professor, philosopher, fiery orator, civil rights activist, classical violinist and actor (in two “Matrix” movies). On weekends, Dr. West travels the country delivering lectures, being, in his own words, “a bluesman in the life of the mind, a jazzman in the world of ideas, forever on the move.”"

HEEDING THE CALL I’ve never spent a weekend in Princeton. I would like to be at home, but my calling beckons me. I’ve got places to go, from schools to community centers to prisons to churches to mosques to universities to trade unions. There’s academic lectures, political lectures, religious lectures. It’s just my regular weekly travel. The aim is to touch minds and settle souls; so you instruct as well as delight.
EARLY RISER I usually get up in a different part of the country every Sunday, usually very early, about 6:30 a.m. It’s just the habit, you know. I’m traveling, so I’ve got to get moving. I usually hit four cities in a weekend.
THE PLACES HE GOES All over. This past weekend, I was in Seattle, Oakland, Sacramento and Chicago. Next weekend, I’m going to Dallas, Houston and back to Chicago. I stay in hotels. They provide for me. None of this is out of my pocket; I’m as broke as I can be.
FAITH-BASED Am I religious? Am I a black man born to my parents, Irene and Clifton West? I am, indeed, indeed. I am a profoundly Jesus-loving free black man who bears witness to truth and justice until the day I die.

Bringing middle-class values to poorer schools | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Bringing middle-class values to poorer schools | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

In 1976 the commissioners in Wake County and the City of Raleigh, N.C., worked together to merge what had been separate school systems. Busing controversies had intensified white flight from Raleigh, and the commissioners felt that increased segregation would make success nearly impossible for schools with concentrations of kids in poverty.

Later, when the Wake County schools shifted their focus from racial to socioeconomic equality, they ruled that no school could have more than 40 percent of kids eligible for free-and-reduced lunch (FARL), a poverty indicator.

That policy had a nickname: “No bad schools,” which sociologist Gerald Grant used in the title of his book “Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh.” In the book, Grant contrasts the Wake County school-reform strategy with that of his hometown of Syracuse, N.Y. Mind you, like all school systems trying to improve, both Wake County and Syracuse implemented a host of common school-reform solutions — changing leadership, improving teacher hiring and evaluation, beefing up curriculum and so forth. But Wake County went one critical step further, giving itself five years to eliminate concentrated poverty in all schools.

TN works to stem college dropout crisis | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

TN works to stem college dropout crisis | tennessean.com | The Tennessean:

"Getting students into college isn't the problem in Tennessee.

It's keeping them there.

Of every 100 college freshmen in this state, only 45 will have degrees by the time they turn 26, and the longer the wait for a diploma, the longer the odds that it's going to happen at all.

The governor and legislature passed an ambitious plan to improve the graduation rate in a state with one of the most lackluster educational attainment rates in the nation. The idea is to eliminate as many barriers to graduation as possible — from course credits that don't transfer, to university-level remedial classes that could be taught for less money, and with less stress, at a community college."
RELATED

• 3 students, 3 paths
• Commentary: Debt can derail college diploma
• Tennessee lawmakers pass higher-education bill
• COMPARISON: Graduation rates by campus

But the fact is, most Tennessee colleges and universities have been working for years to improve their graduation rates, only to find that there are no quick fixes to the problems that can come between a student and a degree.

There's nothing the legislation can do about the fact that tuition goes up every year in Tennessee, or that many students here are first-generation college students, or that the real-life pressures of families and jobs can pull older students out of the classroom for good.

University World News - US: Fees worth $18 billion to economy

University World News - US: Fees worth $18 billion to economy


US: Fees worth $18 billion to economy

Only 3.7% of all students enrolled in American higher education institutions are foreigners, yet they contribute nearly $18 billion to the US economy, according to the US Department of Commerce. Most of this income is generated by tuition and other fees.

Data compiled by the non-profit College Board reveal that annual tuition fees increased by 5.9% from 2008 to 2009 in all sectors of higher education. In the context of the worst recession since the 1930s, it is noteworthy that these figures are only just up from the average 5% annual rate of increase over the past decade.

Disaggregation of the data shows that most private, non-profit four-year institutions were able to keep their fee increases to 4.4% while public four-year institutions raised their tuition between 6% and 10%.

But all economic indications suggest that these are still early days. Indeed, the fact that 48 states faced initial and mid-year budget shortfalls in December totalling $193 billion does not bode well for the public sector institutions they maintain.

For instance, the New Mexico state legislature, responding to its budget deficit of $650 million, has proposed reducing funding to higher education by an additional 4% (or $20 million) for the 2010-11 fiscal year. For the state's network of colleges and universities, this could translate intotuition increases of 6% to resident students and of 15% for non-residents. 

FORUM: Four-year degree idea will corrupt college concept

FORUM: Four-year degree idea will corrupt college concept

If there ever was an idea that should be dumped, it is the one that will corrupt the concept of California's community colleges by expanding them to four-year colleges. Our community colleges were conceived as part of an excellent master plan, which also included the state colleges and universities. Its purpose was to serve a number of functions, which the major colleges would not be doing.

Some of these are:

-- To offer AA degrees for programs that require only two years of study;

-- To allow students to attend community college for two years and then transfer to a four-year college;

-- To offer specific classes for adults that would enhance their jobs;

-- To give students who did not meet the entry requirements of four-year colleges another chance to prove themselves capable of doing college work;

-- To provide poorer families an opportunity to attend college;

-- To provide studies in mechanical and industrial arts; and

-- To offer specific courses that would meet the needs of local businesses.

The main reason put forth to allow for this expansion is that our state colleges and universities are turning away masses of students ---- now here is where the reasoning starts turning fuzzy ---- because of lack of funds and/or lack of space and/or lack of teachers.

New fast track to CPS top-flight schools? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

New fast track to CPS top-flight schools? :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

New fast track to CPS top-flight schools?

ECONOMIC DIVERSITY | Enrollment system can hurt poor kids in gentrified areas

Comments

January 24, 2010

BY ART GOLAB AND ROSALIND ROSSI Staff Reporters

You could live in a $600,000 home within walking distance of Wrigley Field, yet when your kids test to get into one of Chicago's elite selective-enrollment schools, they may be competing mostly with children from the poorest neighborhoods in the city.

» Click to enlarge image

These town homes in the 1400-1500 blocks of North Clybourn, in the shadow of Cabrini-Green, are worth more than $500,000, but they're in the Tier 1 census tract.

(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)

» Click to enlarge image

Homes such as this on North Bernard in Albany Park are valued at $300,000 to $550,000, but the neighborhood is also dense with apartment buildings and is in Tier 1.

(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)

» Click to enlarge image

These bungalows on West Aurthur, selling for as much as $400,000, are part of a single-family residential oasis in a Tier 1 tract in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

(Al Podgorski/Sun-Times)

RELATED STORIES

Map: What economic tier do you live in?

A quirk in the Chicago Public Schools' new enrollment system puts children from parts of some economically better-off neighborhoods such as the Near North Side, Albany Park, Rogers Park and Uptown in the same category as children from the city's poorest areas, such as Englewood and Lawndale.



That's because the new system is designed to emphasize economic -- rather than racial -- diversity, and it assumes that where you live determines how well-off you are.


Some, however, fear that wealthier families living in census tracts classified in the system as being "poorer" will now be able to "game the system" for admission to elite schools. Studies have shown that test scores closely track with income, and students from wealthier families will likely have an edge if they test against poorer students.


Likewise, poor students who are members of some of the last remaining low-income families in recently gentrified neighborhoods now classified by CPS as "richer" could be at a disadvantage because they would be testing against students from wealthier families.


With the new system, the neighborhood where a student lives has suddenly become a major factor in whether that student is accepted at a selective enrollment elementary or high school.



That worries Phil Jackson, founder of the Black Star Project, who protested the changes at a recent School Board meeting.


"You can game the census tracts," Jackson said. In gentrifying census tracts, "usually the people who are performing the best are probably going to be'' children of wealthier parents, he said.


Asked about the criticism Saturday, Mayor Daley was vague.


"We're trying to give a good education for every child. We have to give everybody options, but we have to give them a good option in the community," Daley said.


Under the new system, approved in December, 40 percent of seats in elite schools such as Northside College Prep or Keller Regional Gifted will go to the highest-testing students citywide.

Women at center of power - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

Women at center of power - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee:

"Critics of America's corporate culture insist that a glass ceiling still exists, but at the California Independent System Operator Corp. in Folsom, women wield considerable power in more ways than one.

The person in charge of the ISO power grid, which meets the energy needs of 30 million Californians and draws electricity from resources throughout western North America, is a woman."

Half the executive-level ISO staff is female.

That puts the ISO in the minority of employers with women in their top ranks. In November, a study released by the University of California,Davis, concluded that progress for women at the 400 largest public companies headquartered inCalifornia has improved little since the first UCD survey in 2005.

Among the study's key findings: Women hold just 10.6 percent of board seats and executive positions among the companies, and 118 out of the 400 firms have no female directors on their boards and no female executive officers.

That's no surprise to Deborah Le Vine, ISO'sdirector of system operations, who recalled that

The Millennium Cities Initiative - Nicholas D. Kristof Blog - NYTimes.com

The Millennium Cities Initiative - Nicholas D. Kristof Blog - NYTimes.com:

"The following is the fourth in a series of reports from the Ethiopian village of Koraro, an important testing ground for the Millennium Village Project, an experiment in global development strategy spearheaded by economist Jeffrey Sachs. The reports, written by Jeff Marlow, a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, consider which parts of the project are working and which ones aren’t, and what can be learned from it to help billions of people escape extreme poverty."

The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) is one of the highest-profile experiments in international development, gaining the attention of movie stars and world leaders alike. Less well-known is the project’s sister program, the Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI), which seeks to help sub-Saharan cities meet hard targets on health, education, and gender issues.

With half of the world’s population now living in urban areas – many enveloped in the crushing hopelessness of slums – cities need wide-reaching development initiatives. Despite the urgency of the challenge, the MCI is having difficulty gaining traction because of political and social complexities and an anemic budget.

The cities were selected by default: the closest city to each participating village was incorporated into the program in an attempt to build outward from the village-based model. “We were basically handed these cities,” says Dr. Susan Blaustein, co-director of the MCI, “and they all have different kinds of challenges.”

Kisumu, Kenya, perched on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria, was minted as the first Millennium City in 2006 with the aim of linking goods from the nearby Millennium Village, Sauri, with regional, national, and international markets.

GOLIS: Local schools pay for state's serial failures | PressDemocrat.com

GOLIS: Local schools pay for state's serial failures | PressDemocrat.com:

"This generation of state politicians won't be accused of being preoccupied with the well-being of future generations. An earlier generation's legacy to its children and grandchildren was a world-class school system that became the engine for unparalleled prosperity. This generation's legacy could be schools and universities sliding toward mediocrity.

On Wednesday, the Santa Rosa Board of Education begins the grim business of choosing among spending cuts that would have been called foolish and shortsighted a few years ago.

Now they are merely inevitable. Dependent on the dwindling support of state government, the district must close a $5.6 million budget shortfall in 2010-11 and another $4.7 million shortfall in 2011-12."

Among the bad ideas whose time may have come: Closing schools, increasing class sizes, shortening the school year, slashing athletic programs, eliminating library positions and more.

“I hope the public is as outraged as we are outraged,” said board President Bill Carle, “but I hope the public also knows why it happened.”

“There is a sense of doom, for lack of a better word,” he added. “(People know) that we are in this together, and we will have to work it out together.”