Monday, February 1, 2010

Sacramento Press / IT’S A CELEBRATION

IT’S A CELEBRATION

Sacramento, CA.…The Black Parallel School Board (BPSB) invites you to attend our “Second (2) Year Anniversary Celebration”, Saturday, February 6, 2010 ,10:00am to 12:00pm. The celebration will be held at our regularly scheduled meeting-place, Oak Park United Methodist Church, 3600 Broadway, Sacramento, CA 95817. Please check-in and arrive by 10:00 am.

Our guest speaker is the distinguished Amina R. Merritt, Esquire, a native of Hartford, CT. Ms. Merritt is the founding Attorney at the Merritt Law Clinic, Sacramento, California. The first class of women to graduate from Amherst College in 1980, Amina received her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree, magna cum laude. After a one-year fellowship in the Masters’ Program for Public Administration at Fordham University, NY, Ms. Merritt attended the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, where she earned her Jurist Doctorate (J.D.) degree in 1984.

visit: www.blackparallelschoolboard.com

Protesters Reflect on Success of Student Sit-ins

GREENSBORO N.C. – The four college freshmen walked quietly into a Greensboro dime store on a breezy Monday afternoon, bought a few items, then sat down at the "Whites only" lunch counter and sparked a wave of civil rights protest that changed America.

Violating a social custom as rigid as law, Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr. and David Richmond sat near an older White woman on the silver-backed stools at the F.W. Woolworth. The Black students had no need to talk; theirs was no spontaneous act. Their actions on Feb. 1, 1960, were meticulously planned, down to buying a few school supplies and toiletries and keeping their receipts as proof that the lunch counter was the only part of the store where racial segregation still ruled.

“The best feeling of my life,” McCain said, was “sitting on that dumb stool.”

“I felt so relieved,” he added. “I felt so at peace and so self-accepted at that very moment. Nothing has ever happened to me since then that topped that good feeling of being clean and fully accepted and feeling proud of me.”

They weren't afraid, even though they had no way of knowing how the sit-ins would

Teachers union sues city to put 19 school closures on pause | GothamSchools

Teachers union sues city to put 19 school closures on pause

by Anna Phillips

The city’s teachers union and the NAACPfiled suit against the Department of Education today, claiming that the city lost the right to close 19 schools when it violated the law that governs school closures.

Those who have read the law — or the “carefully crafted multi-tiered public process,” as the lawsuit states —can testify that it is not a simple one to follow.

Part of the mayoral control legislation that barely made it through the state legislature last summer calls for the city to hold hearings at each of the public schools slated for closure, for “stakeholders” to be consulted, and for the city to study and report on the effects closing schools would have on their surrounding communities. All of this had to be completed a certain number of days before the citywide schoolboard, the Panel for

High School Students Will Vie for Coveted Academic Decathlon Trophy in 30th Annual Sacramento County Academic Decathlon — The Rancho Cordova Post

The day before the National Football League crowns a new Super Bowl champion, hundreds of Sacramento County high school students will compete in the local “Super Bowl of Smarts.” A total of 24 teams will compete for Academic Decathlon champion honors at Inderkum High School on Saturday, February 6. Starting in the morning with individual and group tests, this year’s Sacramento County Academic Decathlon concludes with a live Super Quiz showdown at 3:45 p.m. Super Quiz questions will cover the topic: “The French Revolution.” Serving as the 2010 Super Quiz-Master is Fox40 LIVE Morning Host Paul Robins.

Admission to the Super Quiz at Inderkum High School is free. The public is invited to attend. Hundreds of spectators and participants will scream in excitement as they witness triumphs and defeats during the fast-paced Super Quiz. Questions are read aloud, game-show style, and scores immediately posted. Each team’s Super Quiz score will be added to points earned by its members throughout the day in a variety of subjects: economics, fine arts, science, social science, language, literature, mathematics, music, essay, interview and speech.
Sacramento County’s overall top scorers (who win Gold, Silver or Bronze medals) will be announced at the countywide awards banquet Tuesday, February 9, at 6 p.m., in the ballroom at CSU Sacramento. SAFE Credit Union will provide $10,000 earmarked for scholarships to selected Sacramento County Academic Decathlon participants.

City announces broad outlines of a special education overhaul | GothamSchools

City announces broad outlines of a special education overhaul | GothamSchools:

"School officials outlined a plan to change the way city schools serve students with disabilities at a closed-door meeting this morning with special education advocates.

The plan’s first step: Telling schools they have to accept, and “embrace,” students with special needs.

“For too long, educating students with disabilities has meant separating them from their general education peers,” Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said in a statement. “Today we are building on the premise that every school must be able to educate the vast majority of these children.”

That premise represents a badly needed advance for the city schools, according to special education advocates."

Education Week: State Lawmakers Unhappy With Obama Priorities

Education Week: State Lawmakers Unhappy With Obama Priorities:

"State lawmakers want Washington policymakers to back off when it comes to public schools.

Five years after the National Conference of State Legislatures assailed the federal No Child Left Behind Act as a major encroachment on the states’ authority over K-12 education, members of the Denver-based group say that new policies unveiled by the Obama administration are shaping up to be just as prescriptive and intrusive.

The requirements of the No Child Left Behind law on states—such as expanding standardized testing and meting out rewards and penalties for schools based on student performance—have simply been replaced by other, mostly unproven approaches in the programs put forth so far by President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the lawmakers argue in a new, 35-page report released here Monday."

FY 2011 Budget Summary: Table of Contents

FY 2011 Budget Summary: Table of Contents

OVERVIEW
FY 2011 Budget Summary: Table of Contents

Note: This web version of the Fiscal Year 2011 Budget Summary (in html and pdf) includes minor technical corrections to the print version that was issued on February 1, 2010

Appendices

Appendix 1: Summary of Discretionary Funds, Fiscal Years 2009-2011, in PDF [11KB] and EXCEL [29KB]
Appendix 2: Advance Appropriations for Department of Education, in PDF [8KB]and EXCEL [KB]
Appendix 3: Expenditures for Elementary and Secondary Education in the U.S., in PDF [6KB]
Appendix 4: Detailed Budget Table by Program, in PDF [94KB] and EXCEL [235KB]

This document is also available in portable document format (PDF). To read PDF files you will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader; if you do not have Acrobat you can download a free copy from Adobe.

Fiscal Year 2011 Education Budget Summary and Background Information (PDF [947KB])

Nation & World | Parents, students on edge over soaring tuition | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | Parents, students on edge over soaring tuition| Seattle Times Newspaper:

"As students around the country anxiously wait for college acceptance letters, their parents are sweating the looming tuition bills at public universities.

Florida college students could face yearly 15 percent tuition increases for years, and University of Illinois students will pay at least 9 percent more. The University of Washington will charge 14 percent more at its flagship campus. And in California, tuition increases of more than 30 percent have sparked protests reminiscent of the 1960s.

Tuition has been trending upward for years, but debate in statehouses and trustee meeting rooms has been more urgent this year as most states struggle their way out of the economic meltdown."

Education Week: States Said to Lag in Using Data Systems Well

States have made progress in building data systems that track student performance over time, but are behind the curve in sharing the information in a way that leads to meaningful decisionmaking, according to a national survey released today.

The Data Quality Campaign, a foundation-funded organization in Washington that promotes and tracks the use of data in education, has been focused since 2005 on identifying the key components of state data systems and pushing for their development. Now that much of that work is under way, the group is shifting its focus to describe and promote the use of the data.

“The education sector is on the cusp of becoming an information-based enterprise,” the report says. “But reaching this goal depends on states taking actions that change the historically entrenched culture of using data for compliance reporting into one that values analysis of data and prioritizes constant communication to all stakeholders of the education system.”

Zero tolerance: Some sense, please | savannahnow.com

Zero tolerance: Some sense, please | savannahnow.com:

"THE PROBLEM with some zero tolerance policies is that they allow for zero common sense. Where there is obviously no malicious intent, the punishment should fit the crime.

Georgia must make it clear that bringing a weapon onto school property jeopardizes public safety. Sadly, we live in a world where neighborhood violence can bleed into neighborhood schools, and where crazed young people have spawned tragedies on campuses.

Schools must be safe zones. But that doesn't mean all offenses are alike.

Consider the 14-year-old Georgia student who gets good grades, behaves in class and takes part in after-school activities, who voluntarily turned in a pocketknife to his principal. In this case, Eli Mohone was arrested and forced to spend the night in a youth detention center in Morgan County before receiving a hearing.

If the student had been an adult going into a public gathering, where weapons are also banned, state law allows as an 'affirmative defense' to prosecution the notification of a law enforcement officer that one has a weapon, along with surrendering or securing the weapon as the officer instructs."

See how well your school district pays its teachers - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

See how well your school district pays its teachers

By Phillip Reese
preese@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Jul. 16, 2008 - 12:00 am

Last Modified: Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 - 4:43 pm

The average teacher salary last year was $66,995, an increase of 1.8 percent from 2008, according to new state figures. Districts laying off less-experienced, lower-paid teachers accounted for almost all of that increase -- cumulative school payroll in California was flat from 2008 to 2009. Teacher pay varies widely by district.
Updated: 1/19/10 ... Choose a region and county to see average teacher pay ...

Education Week: Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply?

Education Week: Charters: Students With Disabilities Need Not Apply?:

"With the Obama administration and many state governors calling for more charter schools, it may be time for policymakers to address directly the issue of these schools’ imbalanced enrollment of students with disabilities.

The enthusiasm for charter schools, which was also high during the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, reflects the desire of many parents to have choice within the public system. This desire has only been heightened by research showing superior results obtained by charters."

In a performance comparison of Boston charter school students with those not admitted, for example, Harvard University professor Thomas J. Kane found that the students attending charters outperformed their peers at traditional public schools. His research, however, was designed with the recognition that charter students are different along some critical, perhaps immeasurable, dimensions from students attending traditional schools. This is especially true in relation to students with disabilities: Traditional public schools are serving far greater numbers of them than charter schools, particularly those whose disabilities require significant special education services.

Findings from other research conducted in major cities, including Los Angeles and San Diego, further illustrate this phenomenon. In San Diego, where close to 10 percent of all students attend charter schools, the enrollment of students with disabilities in charters during the 2005-06 academic year approached just 12 percent; the average enrollment of these students in nonconversion (from scratch) charter schools was

Sacramento Press / Haitian Relief fundraiser

The Sacramento Chinese of Indochina Friendship Association is holding a fundraiser for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti this Friday, February 5.

The fundraiser dinner will be held at Sacramento's Rice Bowl Seafood Restaurant and 100 percent of contributions will go to the American Red Cross to benefit the victims in Haiti. There will be entertainment, including dancing and singing, auctions (brand names purses, i.e. Louis Vuitton), and more. The dinner will be a 10-course Chinese food meal.

"Please tell your friends to come and support this worthwhile and important fundraiser to help the people in Haiti who have suffered so much from the catastrophic earthquake that has killed over 100,000 people and injured and left homeless countless many others," said Jerry Chong, Esq.

"The Sacramento Chinese Indochina Friendship Association has held successful fundraisers in the past for victims of catastrophic events in the United States and the world such as the 9/11 Twin Towers attacks in New York City, Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the Tsunami in Indonesia, and earthquakes and floods in China and Taiwan. All proceeds from the

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

I would be remiss in giving you your recommended reading without mentioning this terrific series on the gaps in the safety net in San Diego County, by my co-workers Kelly Bennett and Dagny Salas. It may not be about education, but you'd better believe it affects kids. Now for the rest of your newsblitz:

We blog on a legal settlement over how San Diego Unified schools are choosing which company gets to install interactive whiteboards. KPBS reports on how those and other digital tools are http://www.kpbs.org/news/2010/feb/01/san-diego-schools-get-high-tech-tools/" target="_blank" title="">changing San Diego classrooms.

The Union-Tribune writes about legislation that could help the school district recoup penalties for upping class sizes. SDNN debates whether California is really charging a penalty.

Obama Wants New, $300 Million Math and Science Program - Curriculum Matters - Education Week

Obama Wants New, $300 Million Math and Science Program - Curriculum Matters - Education Week:

"Today's a big day for budget geeks in Washington and beyond. President Obama this morning unveiled his new spending request for the coming fiscal year.

For the big picture, check out my colleague Alyson Klein's post over at Politics K-12. I'm going to first home in on what appears to be a brand-new math and science program, with a price tag of $300 million. It would be housed at the U.S. Department of Education.

More precisely, a White House budget summary says this proposal would provide grants 'to states to develop and implement instructional practices and improve teaching and learning in science and math aligned to new high standards.'

In addition, the president's request would dedicate $150 million 'within the Investing in Innovation Fund to competitive grants for school districts, nonprofits, and other organizations to test, validate, and scale promising strategies to improve teaching and accelerate student learning in STEM subjects.'

This $150 million appears to be part of a proposal by the president for $500 million more for the Investing in Innovation fund, or i3, which was created as part of the federal economic-stimulus law. It currently has $650 million."

Budget and ESEA Proposals Released - Politics K-12 - Education Week

The Obama administration is seeking to revamp adequate yearly progress, the main vehicle for gauging student progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, according to budget documents. It would be replaced with a system that measures whether students are ready for college and careers.

The total budget for fiscal year 2011 would be $49.7 billion, as compared to last year's $46.8 billion. Those totals include a proposal, also released last year, that would move Pell Grants to the mandatory side of the ledger, meaning they wouldn't be subject to the whims of the appropriations process.

The budget also includes a $3 billion increase in competitive funding for ESEA. That includes $1.35 billion to continue Race to the Top, plus $500 million for the Investing in Innovation Fund, which is meant to scale up promising practices.

And it would include $950 million in competitive grants to states and school districts that build comprehensive systems to recruit, prepare, retain, and reward effective teachers and principals. We don't have all the details yet, but it would seem that at least some of the money for the competitive teacher-quality program would come from consolidating other funding streams. (Last week, the Department announced that it would consolidate 38 programs into 11 under the budget.)

The budget also includes $210 million for Promise Neighborhoods, to help

Act Now To Help Save Education Jobs

In his State of the Union Address, President Obama called on Congress to send him a new jobs bill to sign. He said it should be “our number-one focus in 2010.” The House of Representatives has already passed the NEA-supported Jobs for Main Street Act, which would save or create hundreds of thousands of education jobs, and provide a critical infusion of funds into struggling communities.

Now, it is the Senate’s turn.

The NEA urges the Senate to, at minimum, support the Jobs for Main Street Act as passed by the House. Some points to consider:

Quick action is needed. State budget outlooks for 2010 and 2011 look bleak, and governors and state legislatures have already begun to grapple with this budget crisis. Take a look at how much funding your state will lose once the stimulus legislation expires, unless Congress provides more funding in a jobs bill.
In addition to $4 billion for school construction, the bill includes an Education Jobs Fund — $23 billion that will help states retain or create an estimated 250,000 education jobs over the next two years. This fund will have an immediate impact. Take a look at how many education jobs the House-passed bill will save in your state.
This important legislation represents a critical step in helping stimulate economic recovery. Public education is the best investment—both in the short term and long term—for our economy, our schools, and our students.

Your quick action will make a difference. Contact your senators today and urge them to pass a jobs package that includes, at a minimum, the investments in education provided in the House-passed bill.

The Educated Guess: Model by example: close failing charter schools

The Educated Guess

Model by example: close failing charter schools

Posted in Charters

Russlynn Ali, one of several California expats in key positions in the U.S. Department of Education, praised and chided charter school reformers in a talk in San Jose.
She said that school districts should be partnering with charters as “labs of innovation we all can learn from.” What distinguishes effective charter schools are commonsense strategies – “more time on task, more parental involvement, strong leadership,” she said Saturday. But Ali, the assistant secretary of education for civil rights, also called for authorizers of charter school to be more resolute in shutting down schools that aren’t showing academic success. (Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on February 1st, 2010

Equal treatment for special-needs students in short supply at New Orleans public schools | New Orleans Metro Education News - - NOLA.com

A report presented to the state board of education last week shows wide, and stubborn, gaps in the number of students with special needs at the city's public schools -- particularly the independently operated charter schools.

At some Recovery School District charter schools, less than 4 percent of the students have special needs, while at others upwards of 15 percent do. On average, about 8 percent of the Recovery School District's charter students are classified as special-needs, while 12 percent are in that group at the district's non-charter schools. If distributed evenly, each school would have about 10 percent.

"While I strongly support charters, I will not hesitate to recommend non-renewal if a charter has not made significant progress at admitting its fair share of special ed students," said Recovery School District Superintendent Paul Vallas.

Advocates say they still routinely hear stories from families who were discouraged from applying at individual charter schools, or were "counseled out" once there.

"This is just flat-out discrimination, and it flies in the face of the idea of school choice and equal access to education," said Thena Robinson, an attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But many educators note that because parents can apply to virtually any public school in the city, some degree of variation is inevitable.

"We don't want to send a message that a school has to have X percentage," said Kathy Kilgore, director of the SUNS (Serving the Unique Needs of Students) Center. "Then what does a school do if it doesn't meet its numbers? You can't grow your own kids."

The report, prepared by state education officials, looked only at the Recovery School District charter schools. The district's 33 traditional schools and 37 charter schools must accept any child, regardless of need, from severely autistic children who require a full-time aide to students with speech impairments.

Discrepancies also exist in the percentages of special education students at the RSD's non-charter schools. But only one non-charter, a high-school program in its first year, has fewer than 6 percent special-needs students, compared to 11 charters.

At the Orleans Parish School Board's charter and traditional schools, the numbers range from 16 percent students with special-needs at Bethune Elementary to just over 1 percent at Franklin High School. But unlike the Recovery School District, where all the schools are open enrollment, several of the school board's charter schools, like Franklin, have established admissions criteria making apples-to-apples comparisons difficult.

Caroline Roemer-Shirley, executive director of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, said schools with low percentages of special-education students are not necessarily behaving inappropriately or turning away students. For various reasons, they might not attract high numbers of children with special needs or, like Crocker Arts and Technology School, are relatively new and serve students only in the youngest grades.

Bonus pay stokes anger �| ajc.com

Bonus pay stokes anger �| ajc.com:

"Top investment staffers at the Georgia Teachers Retirement System received pay increases of up to $108,000 last fiscal year even though the fund they manage lost money and most state employees went without raises amid the state’s fiscal crisis."

The staffers earned “incentive pay” because, while the system’s fund lost 13 percent in fiscal 2009 and 3 percent in fiscal 2008, it beat the market averages. The fund has since recovered part of its losses, and retirement system officials say such “incentive pay” is common in the public and private sectors.

Some state retirement systems around the country have done away with bonuses under political pressure in recent years. And retirees and a teacher group say the incentives suggest system officials are out-of-touch at a time when educators and other state employees are going without raises and being furloughed.

“This issue reminds me of Wall Street financial investors giving themselves outlandish bonuses while the people they are basically working for suffer,” said Carol Brown, a Kennesaw retiree who taught for 30 years in Marietta andCherokee County schools.

In total, 28 investment staffers received $435,000 in incentive pay in fiscal 2009, which ended June 30. The top investment staffers are among the best-paid employees in state government.

A year of living on the edge for CPS boss Huberman :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

A year of living on the edge for CPS boss Huberman :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education:

"CPS BOSS | Each day, Ron Huberman gears up for 'unprecedented challenges' as he tries to bring a 'culture of calm,' raise performance and rescue system from budget disaster"

Seated among a circle of kids from Julian High School, Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman has become the student.

Dressed in crisp business attire amid jeans and gym shoes, Huberman brainstorms how to bring a "culture of calm" to troubled schools -- part of an anti-violence campaign that has brought him national attention.

"Who's got some ideas?" Huberman asks, pen and note paper at the ready.
By the end of the session, Huberman ticks off a string of student names and, like an A student, shares "what I learned today" from each.
Though he hit the one-year mark last week as CEO of the nation's third-largest school system, 38-year-old Ron Huberman is still doing his homework.
The man Mayor Daley tapped as his chief of staff, head of the Office of Emergency Management and CTA president has already tackled some stiff assignments at the Chicago Public Schools. He's still working on others.
But his toughest tasks may still be ahead, including:
• A looming, record budget deficit of up to $900 million -- nearly twice the size of the hole Huberman plugged last year.
• Talking concession with unions, including furlough days -- at $10

AVID classes push students to reach full potential | News | News from Fort Worth, Dallas...

ARLINGTON -- Students can't help but think of college when they step inside the AVID classroom at Carter Junior High in Arlington.

Brightly colored pennants from schools in Texas and beyond decorate the walls. To help students get there, class time is filled with study skills, testing strategies, critical-thinking exercises and tutoring.

The nationally known system, called Advancement Via Individual Determination, takes students who finished elementary school in the middle of the pack and pushes them to excel in more challenging classes. They start taking AVID as an elective in junior high and middle school and continue through high school.

As it has expanded during the last few years, Arlington administrators said they have seen AVID work time and time again. It helps students who might have floated through secondary school without failing but never realizing their potential, they said.

"We can put them on the college track," said Linda Rodgers, coordinator of secondary special populations for Arlington. "It's their choice what they do with it, but it's our job as educators to give them that choice."

AVID was developed by a public school teacher in 1980. It's in more than 4,000 schools nationwide; 75 are in Tarrant County, including in Fort Worth, Crowley, Mansfield and the Birdville school district.

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