Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Race to the Top grants may be tied to teacher evaluations - ContraCostaTimes.com

Race to the Top grants may be tied to teacher evaluations - ContraCostaTimes.com

One battle over a federal education grant program ended last month in Sacramento. Another will begin this spring in hundreds of school districts across the state.
Lawmakers in January passed legislation to make California eligible for a chunk of the more than $4 billion Race to the Top grant program. But if local districts want to see any of that money, they'll have to reach an agreement with local teachers unions to start judging teachers based, in part, on student test scores.
Teachers' unions have historically opposed any move to link teacher evaluations to student performance and observers are pessimistic that many unions will go along this time.
"We can at least have a conversation about what (an evaluation system) should look like," said Pat Mazzulli, president of the Fontana Teachers Association. "We find it objectionable, but if that's what's going to happen, we want to have that conversation."
The effort to link student achievement and teacher performance comes at a time when school districts nationwide have been battered by budget cuts. Thus, the billions of dollars provided under Race to the Top couldn't come at a better time.
But that money will only be available to districts that make the required changes.
The Fontana Teachers Association is one of the more cooperative unions in the area. It signed onto a memo from the Fontana Unified School District to the state indicating

Vital Stats on Race to Top Judges - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Vital Stats on Race to Top Judges - Politics K-12 - Education Week


In the midst of publicly trading blows with the mayor over pay raises and suing the Department of Education, teachers union president Michael Mulgrew is up for election.
Appointed to the post last summer by the United Federation of Teachers’ executive board, Mulgrew’s shot at a three-year term will be decided by the thousands of paper ballots the American Arbitration Association will count on April 7. Like his predecessors, Mulgrew will have to work harder to drum up any interest in the election than to win it.
While school closings have left many UFT members feeling angry and vulnerable, the union’s rekindled war with the DOE and Mulgrew’s aggressively worded emails and speeches have made him popular among the UFT’s largest political group, UNITY caucus.
“He’s fighting back and it really increases his popularity,” said Peter Goodman, a longtime UFT member. “I think he’ll win overwhelmingly, but he won’t come anywhere near the percentage she [Randi Weingarten] got,” he predicted.

A look ahead to the UFT’s leadership election | GothamSchools

A look ahead to the UFT’s leadership election | GothamSchools


In the midst of publicly trading blows with the mayor over pay raises and suing the Department of Education, teachers union president Michael Mulgrew is up for election.
Appointed to the post last summer by the United Federation of Teachers’ executive board, Mulgrew’s shot at a three-year term will be decided by the thousands of paper ballots the American Arbitration Association will count on April 7. Like his predecessors, Mulgrew will have to work harder to drum up any interest in the election than to win it.
While school closings have left many UFT members feeling angry and vulnerable, the union’s rekindled war with the DOE and Mulgrew’s aggressively worded emails and speeches have made him popular among the UFT’s largest political group, UNITY caucus.
“He’s fighting back and it really increases his popularity,” said Peter Goodman, a longtime UFT member. “I think he’ll win overwhelmingly, but he won’t come anywhere near the percentage she [Randi Weingarten] got,” he predicted.

Supertintendent: Sacramento schools face layoffs without union concessions | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

Supertintendent: Sacramento schools face layoffs without union concessions | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News
SACRAMENTO, CA - Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond says he needs "bargaining concessions from the unions," otherwise teacher layoffs will be unavoidable in order to close a projected deficit of $28 million to 30 million.
Raymond appeared on Wednesday's Live Online at 11 a.m. with News10's Sharon Ito.
The district is currently in the process of soliciting community input on budget and school priorities through a pair of online surveys. Raymond said the feedback he hears most often from parents is the need for small class sizes.
Raymond said some class sizes have had to increase as a result of budget cuts. He said class size increases, furloughs and benefits cuts are all on the table, but one proposal he'd like to avoid is the closure of any more schools.

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

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


Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz
Five years. Has it been five years? Well, I've only been at voiceofsandiego.org for two and a half years or so -- but the Truth Pirates are celebrating their fifth anniversary in styletonight at Liberty Station. I hope I'll see you there! Maybe we can gab about what you read in the newsblitz:
  • We spend a day with the guidance counselor at Roosevelt Middle School, who is trying to "be there" for the preteens, but is unsure if he actually will be at Roosevelt this fall because of budget cuts. School district officials say counseling has been relatively lucky in the budget crunch, but other cuts have impacted his workload and a salary cut is tough for him to stomach.

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philadelphia Public School Notebook


Notes from the news, Feb. 3

Submitted by Erika Owens on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 10:02 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink
PFT contract: Huge power shift Daily News (opinion)
Op-ed from Phil Goldsmith, District CEO in 2000-1. He said many items in the contract are overdue and that with these changes that the PFT can no longer be used as a scapegoat.
Getting school turnaround right: Response to Ren. Schools The Notebook blog
The Teacher Action Group is meeting to organize community response. Ron Whitehorne also wrote about the limits of staff reconstitution.
See also: TAG meeting Feb. 8 The Notebook blog
Sayre High School Students Organizing Despite Obstacles Philly Education Justice blog
PSU members have not been able to meet at Sayre even though they used to hold meetings there and organized a successful training of school police officers.

Eduflack: EEP 2.0

Eduflack: EEP 2.0

Some still don't quite know what to make of the Education Equality Project, or EEP.  When it was launched in 2008, we assumed it was another "reformer" group preparing to ride the Obama wave.  Then we had the strange bedfellows experiment of Rev. Al Sharpton and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich the "faces" of EEP, showing EdSec Arne Duncan some of the major issues facing urban education.  Along the way, we've had the logical "comparison" to the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education and then the partnerships with Education Trust, Democrats for Education Reform, and Center for American Progress on critiques of Race to the Top and other federal ideas.  And Eduflack even remembers a time last year when critics were saying EEP was closing shop, having run out of funding and "accomplished" its goal but getting like-minded reformers in the Duncan regime.

Today, though, we see that the work has just begun.  This morning, EEP announced three new co-chairpersons for the organization.  The Reverend Al era is over.  As of today, EEP is now co-led by NYCDOE Chancellor Joel Klein (a founder of EEP), UNCF President and CEO Michael L. Lomax, and Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza.  (And, of course, the workhorse Ellen Winn remains as director of the organization.)

The Perimeter Primate: School closures rip New York communities apart

The Perimeter Primate: School closures rip New York communities apart

Anguished New Yorkers are mourning the deaths of many schools in their communities, with 19 set to close soon. Mayor Michael Bloomberg took over the school district in 2002 and has closed 91 schools, replacing them with favored charter schools or small schools that receive better facilities, resources for smaller classes and far fewer high-need children than the schools they replaced.
Diane Ravitch (as has become her habit) provides some of the most insightful commentary on the havoc and disruption.

And dismayed New York activists are pointing out the emblematic closing down of Paul Robeson High School, to be replaced by theCarl Icahn Charter School.

From Wikipedia:

"Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an internationally renowned American bass-baritone, concert singer, scholar, actor of film and stage, All-American and professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator and lawyer who 

Science labs, race and equity at Berkeley High | The Education Report

Science labs, race and equity at Berkeley High | The Education Report
By Katy Murphy

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 pm in achievement gapsciencestudents.
berkeley highOur editorial board weighed in today on the controversy at Berkeley High, where parcel tax money that pays for after-school, college-prep science labs might instead fund extra teachers to work with struggling students.
At the core of the issue is the stubborn achievement gap between the school’s white students and its black and Latino students. In the 1980s, voters approved the parcel tax money in question to help bridge the gap, but it remains as wide as ever. Most of the students who participate in the after-school science program are white.
The Trib editorial argues that eliminating these rigorous labs is the wrong way to address the racial disparity. It suggests a different approach: recruiting more non-white students to the program.
Another idea the district is considering

EducationCEO's Blog

EducationCEO's Blog



Although some people may beg to differ, I do not consider myself to be a pessimist. Simply stated: I am a realist because I have enough motivation and common sense to look at things as they actually are, how they could/should be, and then I compare the two. I believe that I am fair in my comparison of the two; perhaps even a little lenient at times, but fair nonetheless.
As I browsed Maureen Downey’s GetSchooled blog for theAtlanta-Journal Constitution, I came across several quotes by State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox that caught my attention. Cox was speaking at the DeKalb Rotary Club and discussed how Georgia’s new Math Standards (based on Massachusetts’ 10 year old standards) will allow our state to surpass the model state. Hmmm. Let me make sure I understand this: Georgia has adopted standards 10 yearsafter another state, and not only will we surpass that state, but we will also ‘lead the nation’ in academics? Pick-up any research book on educational change, and chances are you will read something to the effect of meaningful

The Educated Guess � A frank and civil dialogue on charters

The Educated Guess � A frank and civil dialogue on charters


For years, charter schools leaders and their supporters in Silicon Valley, and district officials and teachers have been talking at each other at charter hearings and accusingly behind each other’s backs.
Rarely had they talked directly to one another frankly and civilly  at least for any length of time. But that’s what happened for seven hours Saturday during a Charter Summit that the trustees of the Santa Clara County Office of Education organized.
(Read more and comment on this post)

Charter school's ex-board chief reports to prison | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/03/2010

Charter school's ex-board chief reports to prison | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/03/2010:

"The former board president of Philadelphia Academy Charter School reported to a federal prison in the Florida Panhandle on Monday to begin serving a 366-day sentence for mail fraud.
Rosemary DiLacqua, 51, has appealed her sentence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. On Friday, the court denied her request to remain free on bail pending her appeal.

The retired Philadelphia police detective was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Marianna, Fla., about 65 miles west of Tallahassee. Marianna has a medium-security prison for male inmates, but DiLacqua was assigned to an adjacent, minimum-security prison camp for women, a Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman said.

In July, DiLacqua pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud, theft of honest services, for accepting $34,000 in secret payments and loans from the charter school's founder and former chief executive and later awarding them raises and lucrative contracts."

Medical journal retracts controversial autism article - baltimoresun.com

Medical journal retracts controversial autism article - baltimoresun.com:

"A prestigious British medical journal has retracted a controversial 12-year-old article that first linked autism to childhood vaccines and set off global fears about immunization and the causes of the developmental disorder that persist today.

Medical experts and some advocates for people with autism said the move was long overdue, but few expected the retraction to change the minds of vaccine skeptics.

In the years since the Lancet published Dr. Andrew Wakefield's study, numerous review articles have rebutted his claims that the combination measles, mumps and rubella vaccine causes autism. Nevertheless, a vocal minority of parents and their supporters have clung to the notion that the vaccine is unsafe. Recent studies have shown an increase in parents who are opting out of some routine childhood vaccinations, alarming public health experts who fear that diseases once nearly eradicated could return."

Lloyd Marcus -- Black History Month Should Be About Black History

Lloyd Marcus -- Black History Month Should Be About Black History


I've often said jokingly that Black History Month should more accurately be called "white people and America suck" month. Rather than focusing on all of black history, every February the liberal media and most democrats gleefully bring up all of America's past sins. Fine. I mean after all, it is a part of history. But what is so wrong is these race exploiters imply that current race relations in America have not come very far from the days of blacks being lynched. Thus, Black History Month in reality is the liberal democrat's annual fund raiser and promo campaign for more entitlement programs.
American blacks have achieved amazing things under extraordinary circumstances; most of which could not havehappened without the assistance of good decent God fearing whites. But we never hear about these white "good guys".
At age 12, George Washington Carver witnessed the hanging and burning of a fellow black male by the KKK. Carver never forgot it. As a young man, a white family saw Carver's potential and encouraged him to apply to attend a white college. In 1890 Carver was accepted at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. Due to Carver's character and brilliance in art, music and science, he won the respect of the 

Make the class size limits make sense - St. Petersburg Times

Make the class size limits make sense - St. Petersburg Times:

"A commonsense proposal to ask voters to adjust the class size amendment in November is taking hold in Tallahassee. Unless changes are made, the class size requirements will hit with full force when a new school year begins in August. Calculating strict class size limits room by room instead of by the current schoolwide average is not worth the extraordinary $3.2 billion cost, and the tax money can be put to better use.

The plan put forward by Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who voted for the original class size amendment, and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, would still require classes to stay within three students of the maximum allowed between kindergarten and third grade and within five students between fourth and 12th grades. But it would provide badly needed flexibility to an amendment that never should have been approved in the first place."

Education reform: Can Obama’s budget rescue No Child Left Behind? / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

Education reform: Can Obama’s budget rescue No Child Left Behind? / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com:

"The controversial No Child Left Behind law is stuck in detention. States and teachers unions shake their fingers at it, complaining of impossible-to-meet standards, overreliance on student testing, and lack of funding. Eight years into the law, Congress has yet to reauthorize it.

President Obama hopes to change that. His education budget calls for Congress to renew NCLB this year, and if it does, he will then propose $1 billion in added education spending for the states. It’s indicative of his overall approach to education reform – dangling carrots to encourage frozen bunnies to hop. To push lawmakers along, he’s also suggesting significant alterations to the law that the administration hopes will satisfy critics without sacrificing accountability for learning students."

Obama education overhaul well received - The Boston Globe

Obama education overhaul well received - The Boston Globe:

"A 'NONNUANCED APPROACH'

Under the current federal requirements, a school “has met or hasn’t met the standards, and there are no shades of gray,’’ said Mitchell Chester, commissioner, state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education."

Massachusetts school officials and education advocates welcomed yesterday President Obama’s proposal for sweeping changes in the way schools are judged on meeting federal standards, hopeful that it will focus attention on schools that need the most help while decreasing the likelihood of labeling good schools as bad.



Under the current system, known as the No Child Left Behind Act, 54 percent of schools in the state have missed annual benchmarks for increases in test scores for at least two years, as schools pursue a federal mandate of having all students score in the proficient range by 2014.
But yesterday, as Obama presented his budget plan to Congress, he proposed replacing that accountability system with a more nuanced way of judging school performance in an effort to identify more clearly those schools that are truly failing their students. Obama also called for a fundamental change in the way the federal government awards education grants, moving away from a formula-based system to one that rewards districts making big strides against poor achievement.

Backpacks 'crushing' children - news - the-press | Stuff.co.nz

Backpacks 'crushing' children - news - the-press | Stuff.co.nz:

"School children are being crushed beneath the weight of their backpacks, chiropractors say.

The New Zealand Chiropractors Association (NZCA) has warned against the classic money-saving technique of buying new-entrants one bag to last through to university following a US study which showed how serious the damage to children can be.

''Two key spinal measurements change as the backpack load increases,'' NZCA spokesman Dr Simon Kelly said.

''Heavier weights cause compression of the intervertebral discs, which act as a cushion between the vertebrae (bones of the spine). In the lower spine, the disc height became smaller (reflecting greater disc compression) at heavier backpack weights. Heavier loads were also associated with increased curvature of the lower spine, either to the right or the left.''"

NY education commissioner: Block some funding cuts -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

NY education commissioner: Block some funding cuts -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:

"ALBANY -- New York state Education Commissioner David Steiner told lawmakers Tuesday that if Gov. David Paterson's proposed cuts in education funding go through, it would take years for schools to achieve adequate funding levels.

While Steiner was making that well-received pitch to lawmakers for more education funding in the state budget, Paterson was telling reporters he is reviving his plan to greatly increase the number of charter schools statewide.

His earlier effort was struck down by the Legislature, even though failure to raise the cap on the number of charter schools threatened the state's chances for $700 million in the first round of competition for federal 'Race to the Top' education funding."

Charter parents flock to Albany for advocacy day | GothamSchools

Charter parents flock to Albany for advocacy day | GothamSchools:

"Hundred of parents of charter school students from all over the city climbed into buses bound for Albany in the pre-dawn hours this morning. Once they got there, parents and advocates are spending the day pressing legislators to change state law to allow for more charter schools and better funding and facilities access for them.

Some schools, like Harlem Success Academy and Democracy Prep, are each bringing hundreds of parents on multiple busloads. Others, like Brooklyn’s Opportunity Roots Charter School, pictured here, filled one bus, or shared a bus with other schools. All in all, 80 city charter schools sent a total of 60 buses to Albany today."

Chancellor Joel Klein gets slammed by state pol for treating parents' concerns as 'annoyances'

Chancellor Joel Klein gets slammed by state pol for treating parents' concerns as 'annoyances':

"ALBANY - City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein went to state lawmakers Tuesday looking for help with a billion-dollar budget deficit - but he came away with a scolding.

Klein was roasted by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn) for ignoring the concerns of parents and lawmakers and treating them as 'annoyances.'

'You come to us for money, but you don't come to us for involvement,' Kruger said.

Kruger also referred to Klein's tenure as 'nine years of torture, nine years of acrimony, nine years of nail biting and hand twisting.'"

Schools chancellor cites Post 'rubber room' report - NYPOST.com

Schools chancellor cites Post 'rubber room' report - NYPOST.com:

"ALBANY -- Citing a Post story about a rogue Queens teacher who manages his real-estate empire from a Department of Education 'rubber room,' schools chief Joel Klein pleaded with lawmakers yesterday to ease limits on the firing of educators.

The chancellor, in Albany to testify against proposed budget cuts, said the 'absurd' restrictions on firing teachers devoured precious resources at a time when the city can least afford it.

'On Sunday, the New York Post ran a front-page story about a teacher who has been reassigned to the rubber room for more than seven years,' Klein said.

'In the event of layoffs, I wouldn't be able to get rid of this teacher. Instead, I'd be forced to lay off other teachers so this reassigned teacher can continue showing up each day to a rubber room,' Klein said."

WNYC - News - Schools Chancellor: State Budget Cuts Would Force 8,500 Layoffs

WNYC - News - Schools Chancellor: State Budget Cuts Would Force 8,500 Layoffs:

"NEW YORK, NY February 02, 2010 —Schools chancellor Joel Klein says he'll have to lay off up to 8,500 teachers if Gov. David Paterson's budget cuts are adopted. During testimony in Albany today, Klein called on lawmakers to reduce hundreds of millions of dollars in education cuts. He also asked them to change a law that requires principals to get rid of their newest hires during layoffs to protect more senior teachers.

'We may have to pull a math teacher who's getting great results helping over-age students get back on track from his classroom and replace him with a teacher who struggled with that population in a previous school,' Klein says.

Klein also wants to stop paying teachers if their positions are eliminated and they aren't picked up by another school after a year. The teachers union opposes this change."

N.Y. Archdiocese Confirms Manhattan Catholic School To Close - NY1.com

N.Y. Archdiocese Confirms Manhattan Catholic School To Close - NY1.com

The city's oldest Catholic elementary school is closing down.
The superintendent of schools for the New York Archdiocese sent letters to parents of students at Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral School in Manhattan Tuesday, informing them that it is closing at the end of the current academic year.
The building in Little Italy will revert to St. Patrick's Parish.
Superintendent Timothy McNiff called it a difficult decision, but said persistent low enrollment in recent years made it difficult to upgrade the resources needed for the school.
He said all children enrolled in the school will be welcomed into other nearby Catholic schools.
N.Y. Archdiocese Confirms Manhattan Catholic School To Close

"I also feel bad that it's going to be shut down because it's my first year here and I wasn't able to experience lots of things," said one student.
"That's crazy because we've been in this school since pre-K and it's like we're all together.... I don't think it should close down," said another.
"I chose this school because it was a good school, and having a new principal and the enrollment 

Texas Textbooks | New Hampshire Public Radio | Word of Mouth

Texas Textbooks | New Hampshire Public Radio | Word of Mouth

All my textbooks came from Texas. Chances are that what's inside the textbook sitting on school desks across America was written according to standards outlined in either Texas or California. Now, the impoverished Sunshine State is crossing off that line item. And so goes the state's traditionally liberal point of view. Texas is now the dominant buyer of school textbooks, and the Board of Education there is currently in the process of rewriting standards for content.
An investigative report by the Washington Monthly reveals that a small bloc of activists has considerable sway in setting those standards. Among other things, activists aim to eliminate referneces to breast self-exams and Cesar Chavez, discredit evolutionary theory, replace the word "democrat" for "republican" when describing our system of government, and downplay the achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. In addition, they hope to rehabilitate the image of Joseph McCarthy, bring global-warming denial into science class.

Bill forces early inmate release from Sacramento jail - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Bill forces early inmate release from Sacramento jail - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"Last year's emergency bill to cut California's prison and jail populations has kicked into effect, with hundreds of locally incarcerated inmates walking free this week up to two months earlier than they had expected.

Sacramento authorities said they let about 200 lower-level offenders out of jail Tuesday, compared to an average daily release count of somewhere between 100 and 150. The releases apply to offenders such as drug dealers, car thieves, drunken drivers, spousal abusers and the like. Sex criminals and serious and violent offenders have specifically been exempted."

Preschool is indispensable for students, California - The Daily Breeze

Preschool is indispensable for students, California - The Daily Breeze:

"One can hardly pick up a newspaper or listen to radio or television without hearing about the drastic cuts being made in the budgets of public educational institutions in California. No sector of public education from kindergarten through graduate schools is exempt from the budget ax and major fee increases, making public universities look more and more like private institutions.

Once noted for its educational innovation and leadership, California is currently ranked near the bottom in terms of per-pupil K-12 spending. While some progress has been made in improving reading and math scores, students in our public schools still score poorly in comparison with other states. This is likely to get worse as districts increase class size, hire less experienced and less expensive teachers and eliminate arts and music programs that enrich and enliven the educational experience."

Parents, students on edge over soaring tuition � Times Record News

Parents, students on edge over soaring tuition Times Record News:

"SEATTLE (AP) — 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."

CSU reaches out to black students through church - San Jose Mercury News

CSU reaches out to black students through church - San Jose Mercury News:

"LONG BEACH, Calif.—California State University is expanding its campaign to enroll more African American students.

CSU officials said Tuesday that administrators plan to speak at about 100 black churches in nearly 40 cities across California over the next several weeks to encourage families to start preparing for college.

The 'Super Sunday' campaign is part of the CSU African American Initiative, which was launched five years ago to increase enrollment of black students at CSU's 23 campuses."

State bill would let community colleges offer bachelor's degrees | 89.3 KPCC

State bill would let community colleges offer bachelor's degrees| 89.3 KPCC:

"State legislators held a hearing in Sacramento today on California’s Master Plan for Higher Education. They were looking for new ideas on how to help more students get through college faster. Here’s one new idea: let community colleges offer bachelor’s degrees. KPCC’s Julie Small reports.

The state’s master plan for higher education was designed to ensure that every California student who wants a college degree can get it. But with Sacramento slashing higher education funding in recent years, the University of California and the California State University have had to limit enrollment and offer fewer courses."

Capitol Alert: Schwarzenegger writes again to Congress asking for help

Capitol Alert: Schwarzenegger writes again to Congress asking for help:

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday sent another letter to California's congressional delegation asking for more federal dollars after President Barack Obama released a budget that provided only $1.5 billion of the $6.9 billion in new money that Schwarzenegger wants.

The governor wrote that Obama's budget 'represents only a down payment on what we are owed,' but described the president's plan as 'the first step in a lengthy and complicated process that can result in the fair and equitable treatment of California's taxpayers -- with your help.'

Schwarzenegger hopes to use federal dollars to help bridge the state's $19.9 billion deficit"

Los Angeles Chronicle | HOPE Outlines Path to Executive Leadership for California's Latinas

Los Angeles Chronicle | HOPE Outlines Path to Executive Leadership for California's Latinas:

"Los Angeles, CA – At the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) 1st Annual Visionary Leaders Luncheon on Friday, the organization announced key findings from its report, 'Missing: Latinas in Executive Leadership in California's Corporations,' conducted throughout 2009. The report found that of the 400 largest public companies in California, Latina executives lead none. HOPEs report also encourages California's Education System and state-based Corporations to address the current deficit of Latinas in executive positions in California. The report, commissioned by Sempra Energy, was initiated to understand the presence of Latinas in California's corporate sector.

'Our study indicates that Latinas are grossly under-represented in executive leadership in California,' said Helen Torres, Executive Director and CEO of HOPE. 'We want to thank our business partners, especially Farmers Insurance for their support of this event and for their dedication to the advancement of Latinas in the business sector. We will continue to work hard to provide the programs and services to help Latinas achieve their fullest potential.'"

Proposed Federal Budget Will Increase Financial Aid Funding by $300 Million for 2011 - The Daily Californian

Proposed Federal Budget Will Increase Financial Aid Funding by $300 Million for 2011 - The Daily Californian:

"President Obama's proposed budget for fiscal year 2011 will increase funding for financial aid programs compared to this year.

According to the proposed budget, the Student Aid Administration-a federal agency that provides financial aid for higher education-will be allotted an additional $300 million in 2011 from an estimated $870 million in fiscal year 2010. Total mandatory outlays, which include funding for the Federal Pell Grant Program, would increase from an estimated $9.28 billion this year to an estimated $24.7 billion in fiscal year 2011.

UC Spokesperson Chris Harrington said the university is pleased that the reform introduced by Obama's proposed budget will increase the amount of Pell Grant awards students will be able to receive.

'It takes the Pell Grants and (puts them) on the mandatory side of the budget, and that brings added stability to the program,' he said."

Stanford Tops Harvard as College Donations Fall Most Since ’69 - BusinessWeek

Stanford Tops Harvard as College Donations Fall Most Since ’69 - BusinessWeek:

"Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Donations to U.S. colleges and universities fell by 12 percent, the most in at least four decades, as a result of the recession, the Council for Aid to Education said.
Contributions totaled $27.9 billion in the year ended June 30, down from $31.6 billion the year before, according to the report released today. The survey used data from 1,027 colleges."

The nationwide drop in donation revenue, the largest since at least 1969, hurt colleges already suffering from investment losses and pressure to moderate tuition increases, said Ann E. Kaplan, the survey director. Companies, foundations and alumni had less capacity to give, she said. With the economy and equities doing better this year, colleges now may see a recovery in donations, Kaplan said.

Burbank Leader > Education

Burbank Leader > Education:

"GLENDALE — Sweeping changes to the main federal law governing public schools would likely benefit Burbank and Glendale unified school districts, administrators and board members said.

The Obama administration is seeking changes to the 2002 No Child Left Behind Act that, with congressional approval, would transform school accountability and academic standards.

Schools would be set free from the 2014 deadline to have all students be proficient in math and English language arts. Instead, schools would be accountable to a new slate of standards and assessments that would prepare students for a career or a college education."

The State Hornet - Funds to STEM will equip new cell analysis laboratory

The State Hornet - Funds to STEM will equip new cell analysis laboratory:

"Sacramento State’s College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics received $2.85 million to support the development of students in the greater Sacramento area. The money will go toward making improvements for Sac State students in the department.

The college received $350,000 in federal funds and $2.5 million as a gift from the estate of the late philanthropist David Steinberg. Steinberg’s gift was given to the college’s Voula Steinberg Memorial Mathematics Programs Fund, an organization created in memory of Steinberg’s late wife.

Both funds support the college’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics initiative, which recruits a diverse group of students and enhances their capacity for knowledge."