Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

LAUSD officials vote to place parcel tax on June ballot - The Daily Breeze

LAUSD officials vote to place parcel tax on June ballot - The Daily Breeze


In an effort to save jobs and soften the impact of budget cuts to classrooms, Los Angeles Unified officials Tuesday approved placing a new $100 parcel tax on the June ballot.

The limited tax would generate $92.5 million per year for four years, to help the district whittle down a deficit estimated at $640 million next year.

Taxpayer advocates blasted the idea of asking homeowners, already suffering during the financial downturn, to bail out the district. But school board members said it was a necessity.

"We ask because it is an emergency," said board member Steve Zimmer. "This is a time when we all must come together as a city. We are asking Los Angeles not to tax itself, but to invest in its future."

School board member Tamar Galatzan, the lone dissenter in the 5-1 vote, said she feels the district needs to slash spending first and then ask community members for more money if they feel the cuts went too far.

"Our responsibility is to make these cuts and these changes, many of which we've known we've had to do for a long time and have put off," she said.

"If at that point, the community says that they want these things back, then that is the time to put a parcel tax on the ballot."

District officials said if approved, the new tax will limit class size increases, reduce teacher layoffs and maintain

Tuttle SVC: Millot: Sound Decision or Censorship at TWIE?

Tuttle SVC: Millot: Sound Decision or Censorship at TWIE?

Millot: Sound Decision or Censorship at TWIE?


This is a rare guest post on Tuttle SVC, by Marc Dean Millot. Enjoy! --TEH
I am at turns, flattered, amused, confused and annoyed at Andrew Rotherham’s decision to call on a colleague at Scholastic and force This Week in Education's editor, Alexander Russo, to pull “Three Data Points. Unconnected Dots or a Warning?"within hours of its posting. I’m flattered that Education Sector’s departing founding would give the effort that kind of priority. I’m amused that he would be sufficiently sensitive on behalf of his colleagues at the Department of Education to leap to their defense within moments of the slightest provocation, but remain completely silent when confronted with my direct accusation that he was complicit in academic fraud three months ago. I am confused by this articulate and well-read University of Virginia Ph.d candidate’s failure to distinguish between the plain meaning of my sentences and his own inferences. I am annoyed that someone who I know personally wouldn’t just contact me, or even my editor, before taking action, when he’s had satisfaction before.
I know what I did and have explained as best I can. I know what Russo did, what he told me, and I have

Conflicts of Interest and the Race to the Top - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Conflicts of Interest and the Race to the Top - Bridging Differences - Education Week


Dear Deborah,
It is not surprising that the Race to the Top has generated enormous buzz among educators since it dangles $4.3 billion to states that do what the U.S. Department of Education wants them to do. Now President Obama has announced that he is so pleased with the response to the Race that he intends to add another $1.3 billion in prize money to the competition.
Since this is an administration that claims to be about results, it is surprising, is it not, that they are increasing the prize money in the absence of any evidence that the competition is on the right track?
No, it is not surprising because the competition is in the hands of people who arrived in Washington with an ideology. They are not pragmatists. There is a nexus of power, and it begins with the Gates Foundation, which has a lock on decisionmaking at the Department of Education. If this election had been held five years ago, the department would be insisting on small schools, but because Gates has already tried and discarded that approach, the department is promoting the new Gates remedies: charter schools, privatization, and evaluating teachers by student test scores.
As we both know, personnel is policy. Secretary Duncan put Jim Shelton, a Gates Foundation executive, in charge of the department's half-billion-dollar Innovation Fund. And he selected Joanne Weiss to run the Race to the Top competition. Weiss was chief executive officer of the NewSchools Venture Fund, whose primary purpose is to launch charter school networks. I do not know Weiss, and I assume she is an upstanding citizen; but to my knowledge, she has never been 

Schools Matter: More Millot, Ravitch Joins In

Schools Matter: More Millot, Ravitch Joins In


More Millot, Ravitch Joins In

  1. Marc Dean Millot's third piece is up, this one at Tuttle SVC. Rotherham must be the early frontrunner for Scrooge of the Year, an award he won just a few months ago.
  2. Ravitch's newest letter to Deb Meier is titled, "Conflicts of Interest and the Race to the Top". She touches on the Millot censorship, new philanthropy, and NSVF. Good stuff.
  3. The Imagine Schools and Inland Public Properties Properties, a Chicago-based real estate development company, closed a $61 million, 7 school deal. Imagine will 

Sacramento Press / City Council campaign contributions for Districts 5, 7

Sacramento Press / City Council campaign contributions for Districts 5, 7

The Sacramento Press is reviewing campaign contributions for the candidates in June's City Council race. Here is a breakdown of the main contributions to the candidates in Districts 5 and 7 from July to December 2009. Read our guide to campaign contributions for Districts 1 and 3 here. 
The June 8 election covers four City Council seats for Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. The July to December figures provide the most recent information on campaign contributions for City Council candidates. The next deadline for candidates to submit statements listing their contributions is March 17, according to Assistant City Clerk Stephanie Mizuno. Those statements will list contributions from Jan. 1 to March 12.
Campaign contribution statements are published at the city’s online campaign finance system. 

DISTRICT 5

Henry Harry, City Council candidate
Total monetary contributions for 2009: $508.92
Top contributors, July to December 2009:
  • Felix Luna, law enforcement occupation: $100
  • Tony Brown, self-employed: $200

Terrence Johnson, City Council Candidate
Total monetary contributions for 2009: $8,830
Top contributors, July to December 2009:
  • Mulleian Investments, LLC: $500
  • Ronald Emslie, retired: $200
  • King Smith, restaurant owner: $200

Patrick Kennedy, City Council candidate
Total monetary contributions for 2009: $96,339.26
Top Contributors from July to December 2009
Kennedy received eight contributions of $5,000 each during the July to December 2009 timeframe:
  • California State Pipe Trades Council Political Action Fund
  • Pipe Trades District Council #36 Political Action Committee
  • Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447 Federal Political Action Fund
  • Plumbers & Steamfitters Local No. 467 Political Action Fund
  • Sacramento Builders Exchange Political Action Committee
  • Southern California Pipe Trades District Council #16 Political Action Committee
  • U.A. Local #246 Plumbers & Fitters COPE Committee
  • United Association Journeyman Plumbers & Steamfitters Local No. 343 Political Action Committee

Jay Schenirer, City Council candidate
Total monetary contributions for 2009: $69,512
Top contributor, July to December 2009:
  • AT&T California Employee Political Action Committee: $3,000
Schenirer received $1,500 each from the following contributors from July to December 2009:
  • John Adkisson, attorney
  • Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundation
  • Marcine Friedman, retired
  • O’Connell 2006
  • Dale Shimasaki, president of Capitol Impact

Immigrant Charter Schools: A Better Choice? | Teaching Tolerance

Immigrant Charter Schools: A Better Choice? | Teaching Tolerance


Immigrant Charter Schools: A Better Choice?

Third-grader Jaime of Denver, Colorado, was having a hard time concentrating in school. The son of Mexican immigrants, he had learned to speak English perfectly in his dual-language public school, but reading and writing was another story.
“The teaching method wasn’t working for him,” said Jaime’s mother, Xochitl Rico. She was anxious to change schools, but, due to the economy, could not afford to spend extra money on the English tutoring he would need.
“I had to choose between paying for health insurance and tutoring,” Rico said.
A friend told her about Cesar Chavez Academy, a new tuition-free charter school where the majority of students are of Hispanic origin. She enrolled Jaime in the fourth-grade class and his younger brother into the first grade. Within months, she said, the difference was “amazing, something like magic.”
“I was surprised. They are motivated and want to be number one in the class. My oldest is writing and reading in English. It was everything I was looking for,” Rico said.
Stories like Rico’s are becoming increasingly common as parents of English language learners, or ELLs, are turning to charter schools to provide their children with a school experience that meets their academic needs and honors their cultural heritage. And as more immigrant parents seek alternatives, charter schools are becoming increasingly focused on serving specific immigrant populations. For example:
At Twin Cities International Charter School, founded by East African immigrants, school lunches meet Islamic dietary requirements, girls can wear headscarves without being teased, and officials are trained to help students who have grown up in refugee camps.
At Hebrew Language Academy Charter School in Brooklyn, immigrant students from Russia and Israel can learn subjects such as art, music and social studies in a dual-language, Hebrew/English environment.
Immigrant parents often praise these schools for providing a sensitive transition to English language proficiency. In a country where students of color succumb to an “achievement gap” and ELLs are often underserved, the hopeful image of immigrant students in friendly schools has drawn national media attention.
But even if immigrant-focused charter schools are indeed “something like magic,” some educators worry the trend will only increase the pervasive de-facto segregation in America’s schools.
“I think there are some reasons to worry that programs that expand parental choice over schools could also expand segregation,” said Robert Bifulco, Jr., an associate professor of public affairs at Syracuse University who has studied school choice and segregation. “But do they do better in segregated schools? It depends on what you mean by better. Better in what?
“They may do better in some ways and not in other ways; there’s a tradeoff.”
Urban sociologist Pedro Noguera of New York University describes how parents

voiceofsandiego.org Gifted Cuts Ruled Out

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Gifted Cuts Ruled Out


The San Diego Unified board shied away from cutting administrators who help run programs for gifted and talented students, leaving advocates for gifted kids breathing a sigh of relief. But school board members also put some unpopular options back into play: Closing elementary schools with low enrollment and reconsolidating schools-within-a-school on its high school campuses.
The ideas came up at a budget workshop Tuesday as the school board tried to figure out how to close an estimated $91 million budget gap. School district officials rebuilt the budget based on ideals chosen by the school board, such as diversity and increasing achievement for all students. Now the school board is trying to refine those ideas, deciding which recommended cuts to explore and which to rule out.
Taking cuts to the gifted and talented programs off the table means forgoing nearly $400,000 in cuts from eliminating four jobs, including the program director, a clerk, a secretary and a resource teacher. The board didn't formally rule out the cuts, but San Diego Unified is unlikely to keep exploring the idea because a majority of school board

Inland Closes $61M Sale-Leaseback Deal

Inland Closes $61M Sale-Leaseback Deal

Last updated: February 16, 2010  12:56pm
Inland Closes $61M Sale-Leaseback Deal

Chicago
CHICAGO-Inland Public Properties Development Inc, a subsidiary of Inland American Real Estate Investment Trust Inc., has purchased seven charter schools for $61 million. The sales-leaseback deal includes schools managed by Imagine Schools Inc.Inland officials say this deal is innovative in the way it involves both the public and private sector.
“This innovative transaction allows Imagine to focus on its critical mission of public student education and development, while we focus on providing the capital for the bricks and mortar,” says Chuck Jones, president and CEO of IPPD. “We think this is the true definition of a public-private partnership, and one that positions IPPD for continued growth in the social infrastructure community.”
The seven charter schools are located in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, and Washington, DC. Imagine will lease back the schools for 20 years on a triple-net master lease. The rental rate on the deal was not disclosed.
“This transaction demonstrates our commitment to social infrastructure assets, which are stable, income producing properties supported by state and federal funding programs,” says Lori Foust, CFO of Inland American Business Manager & Advisor Inc. “These charter schools are strong additions to Inland American’s diverse portfolio.”

Remainders: Vallas to help rebuild Haitian school system | GothamSchools

Remainders: Vallas to help rebuild Haitian school system | GothamSchools


Remainders: Vallas to help rebuild Haitian school system

Sacramento Press / Photos: Táşżt Festival and Little Saigon celebration

Sacramento Press / Photos: Táşżt Festival and Little Saigon celebration:

"Sunday was the Lunar New Year for several Asian cultures, including the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese New Year celebration, Táşżt, began Saturday morning in a parking lot on the corner of Stockton Boulevard and Fowler Avenue. It started with the City of Sacramento's ribbon cutting ceremony for Little Saigon. This was followed by a New Year parade proceeding south down Stockton Boulevard to Florin Road, where participants viewed the County of Sacramento's ribbon cutting ceremony and participated in the Táşżt Festival. The following is a photo journal of the weekend's events and festivities. For more photographs and information, please read this article on the festival and celebration."




Councilmen Rob Fong and McCarty, State Assemblyman Dave Jones, State Senator Darrell Steinberg and SMUD Board Director Nancy Bui all help cut a ribbon in celebration of a 1.5-mile stretch of Stockton Boulevard being named Little Saigon. White doves (left, bottom) are released into the air simultaneously.

Reading to kids a crucial tool in English language development Education Research Report

Education Research Report


Reading to kids a crucial tool in English language development

Poring over the works of Dr. Seuss, the adventures of the Bernstain Bears or exploring the worlds of Hans Christian Andersen with a child has always been a great parent-child bonding exercise.

But, according to George Georgiou, a University of Alberta professor in educational psychology, it is instrumental for English-speaking children if they are to acquire the language skills, particularly comprehension, essential to their future reading ability.

Georgiou and his colleagues recently published a study in Learning and Instruction examining the cognitive and non-cognitive factors that may predict future reading ability in English and Greek. Since the study was published, Georgiou has expanded his research to Finland and China, with the same outcomes.

He says the home literacy environment-what parents do at home in terms of literacy-and motivation predict children's various initial literacy skills, such as letter knowledge and vocabulary, differently across languages. These skills, in turn, ultimately predict future reading ability.

Studying language for success

Orthography is the part of the study of language dealing with letters and spelling. Georgiou points out that English is an orthographically inconsistent language; in other words, letters can have more than one sound each. Because of this, he says, children learning English "need someone to show them the letters, teach them the letter sounds, play with letter magnets on the fridge.

Lost in the school closing debate: what happens to the teachers | GothamSchools

Lost in the school closing debate: what happens to the teachers | GothamSchools


Lost in the school closing debate: what happens to the teachers


In the debate over whether to close 19 schools this year, the city and its opponents have mulled possible effects on student achievement, attendance, and the drop-out rate. But one thing that remains unclear is what will happen to the approximately 1,000 teachers working in these schools.
Teachers who work at shuttered schools lose their positions, but — because of a deliberate line in the labor contract — they do not fall off the city payroll, even if they don’t find a new position at another city school. In the past few years, the contract line has meant a ballooning set of teachers receiving regular paychecks even though they don’t hold regular jobs. In 2008, these members of the Absent Teacher Reserve cost the city $81 million.
In 2008, a report by The New Teacher Project, a New York-based research group, said the hiring process was “hard-wired for failure.” The report also found that 70 percent of excessed teachers from closing schools in 2007 were