Big Education Ape: Feb 18, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sacramento Press / City schools chief to announce proposed budget reductions to meet $30.6 million deficit in 2010-11

Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond will announce tonight at the Board of Education meeting that his leadership team and central office staff will “lead the way” in working to meet a projected $30.6 million deficit in the 2010-11 budget as he announces specific recommendations such as three furlough days for his top staff and unrepresented employees and $5.95 million in other reductions at SCUSD’s central office. The board item is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. at the district headquarters, 5735 47th Ave. (Reporters: Please note that the time of the item may change as the meeting proceeds.)
“I would not ask other employees to make sacrifices unless we at central office are leading by example,” Raymond said. “These are difficult times, but our mission is the education of children and that has to be our first priority, painful as these proposals are,” the superintendent stated.
Other proposed savings or recommendations will include $15 million from

Charter Schools Enter Uncharted Waters (Gotham Gazette, Feb 2010)

They stood under the scaffolding outside PS 188, the Island School, separated by a narrow walkway and strongly held viewpoints. One group wore orange shirts and carried matching signs in support of the Department of Education's plan to give Girls Preparatory Charter, an elementary school planning to expand into the middle grades, more room in the building. Facing them were parents, students and teachers from PS 188 and PS 94, the other two schools in the facility. They said giving Girls Prep additional space will squeeze the low-income and local kids at PS 188 as well as PS 94's autistic students.

This rivalry on the Lower East Side represents one skirmish in a fight that has raged across the city -- from Harlem to Cypress Hills -- as the Department of Education attempts to carve out places in its buildings for charters schools.

In some ways, this fight is the classic New York struggle over space. But it goes beyond that.

Years after charter schools established themselves as part of the city's education mix, New York City and state now find themselves in the midst of a bitter fight over the role of the privately run, publicly funded schools. Supporters, including the Bloomberg and Obama administrations, point to the success of charters. They say the schools can provide parents with more choice, particularly in lower income communities where families have had few options. The fight against them, some charter supporters say, has more to do with protecting the teacher's union than with educating children.

Other parents and politicians, along with many teachers, fear that the Bloomberg administration wants to turn the public school system over to private operators who will ignore the neediest children in the system. Rather than setting up privately run alternatives to regular schools, these critics say, the Department of Education should concentrate on improving the schools we already have.

Approaching 200

The first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992. But with unions leery of the proposal (even though United Federation of Teachers President Albert Shanker was

The Future of Education Journalism : Education Next

Linda Perlstein talks with Education Next about what the decline of newspapers means for coverage of education.

“National education policy is now affecting everyday what happens in the local classrooms in a way it never did before. The reporter in a small town who’s covering classroom or school board issues is really covering national news.” – Linda Perlstein, on the challenges facing journalists

For more on this topic, see “Disappearing Ink,” by

Ed is Watching � I Promise (Mostly) to Cut Back on Using the “It’s For the Kids” Line

I Promise (Mostly) to Cut Back on Using the “It’s For the Kids” Line

Look, I’m not perfect. Using the “for the children” argument is something I have resorted to only on a few occasions. I’ve even had fun mocking someone for using the counter-intuitive “blame the children” argument. For a little kid like myself, that’s not a bad record.

But now I’ve got to keep on my toes. The sharp and cynical education policy maven Rick Hess now has his own blog for Education Week, and right out of the gate he’s not pulling punches beating on the “It’s For the Kids” (ITFK) mantra — including letting us all know how silly AFT president Randi Weingarten and former U.S. Department of Education officials sound doing it:

Such variants of the IFTK genus are intended to stifle questions by flaunting moral superiority. Playing the IFTK card ignores the likelihood that no one is eager to leave anybody’s kids behind and the reality that policies entail imperfect choices. By squelching honest dissent, IFTK

Teachers union and others planning to celebrate a book critical of city’s school policies | GothamSchools

Education historian Diane Ravitch’s forthcoming book already has an eager audience in a national teachers union and the city’s former public advocate.

The American Federation of Teachers and former public advocate Betsey Gotbaum have sent out separate invitations for events feting Ravitch’s latest work, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education.” The book, which comes out in early March, is critical of Chancellor Joel Klein’s support for school choice and an accountability system based on students’ test scores. Ravitch read an excerpt from the book at GothamSchools’ party.

Gotbaum’s event is billed as an apartment book party, while the AFT’s event (they’re not on the same day) is being held in Washington DC. AFT President Randi Weingarten is

Small class size is top priority in Sacramento school district survey - Latest News - sacbee.com

The Sacramento City Unified School District released findings Thursday from two surveys, which found that keeping class sizes small is the top concern of district employees and community members.

Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said he will use the surveys and other community outreach methods to gauge district priorities as they prepare to cut $30 million from their budget.

Community members, parents, teachers and administrators also ranked up-to-date textbooks, clean schools and one principal per school as common top priorities. Community members and parents responded that Gifted and Talented Education is their third most important priority, while employees ranked it 17th.

The two surveys drew 12,855 responses.

"We have made real public engagement - t

The Perimeter Primate: Killing public education from the inside

Killing public education from the inside

Watch this Bill Moyers' interview with Thomas Frank, the author of The Wrecking Crew. Frank explains how government-haters obtain positions of power within the government and then starve it from the inside. Their type of governing is one which actually wants as many inferior people working in the government as possible, as well as doing everything it can to incapacitate the workers' ability to produce a stellar product. The goal is to maximize government's incompetencies and failures. This keeps them well-supplied with more and more ammunition with which they can continue the kill.

Here’s an excerpt from the program:

THOMAS FRANK: Think of all the crises and the disasters that you've described. And I would add to them things like the, what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And the Madoff scandal on Wall Street. And, you know, on and on and on. The Jack Abramoff scandal. The whole sordid career of Tom DeLay.
All of these things that we remember from the last decade. I mean, some of them that we're forgetting. Like who remembers all

The Education Report Promise Neighborhoods: “Hope or Hype?”

The Education Report

Promise Neighborhoods: “Hope or Hype?”

By Katy Murphy
Thursday, February 18th, 2010 at 2:33 pm in achievement gap, families, initiatives,students
No Comments

Prince Charles visits Harlem Children's Zone

Superintendent Tony Smith has talked about creating in Oakland what Geoffrey Canada has built in Harlem: a pipeline for kids “from cradle to college.”

The Harlem Children’s Zone has received no shortage of attention, even from the likes of President Obama and Prince Charles (shown here during a visit in 2007). But is enough data in on this ambitious, costly effort? And can it be successful in other places with the help of a federal start-up grant?

Those are issues that reporter Helen Zelon explores in “Hope or Hype in Harlem?” a thoughtful, in-depth report published in the City Limits magazine.

Read the rest of this entry »

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

After-school program builds bridges for public housing residents

by Maura Walz

As after-school programs have fallen victim to budget cuts at many schools, one program to build science and math skills has found an unusual home — the New York City Housing Authority.

Once a week after school, groups of 8 through 12-year-old residents in ten public housing complexes around the city gather to learn about bridges, skyscrapers and environmentally sustainable building.

Watch an audio slideshow of students, all residents of the Bronx’s Gun Hill Houses, at work in the BRIDGES program (the punny acronym stands for “Build, Research, Invent, Design, Grow and Explore through Science”), run in a partnership between the non-profit Salvadori Center and NYCHA community centers:

Admitting problems, state extends CalPADS reporting deadlines

Admitting problems, state extends CalPADS reporting deadlines:

"Admitting problems, state extends CalPADS reporting deadlines

PUBLISHED:�FEBRUARY 16, 2010
The California Department of Education is giving local educational agencies more time to file required data as state officials spend the next two months working to resolve “unacceptable performance issues” with the state’s complex California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System.

In a Feb. 11 letter to superintendents and charter school administrators, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell conceded publicly what many beleaguered LEAs have been saying privately for months: CalPADS is not working for many users—making it impossible for many of them to submit required data and eating up hours of staff time in the effort.

O’Connell said he has directed IBM—the state’s CalPADS contractor—and state CalPADS staff to conduct a thorough “top to bottom” review of the system “to correct all deficiencies and ensure that the system performs efficiently.”

In addition, O’Connell said, the state has taken a number of steps to support LEAs that are struggling with the system, including indefinitely extending data submission deadlines and subsequent state certification of the numbers:"

Teachers Picket Lay-Offs, Supe Gets Put On Leave | KEYT.com - News, Weather, Sports for Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Oxnard | Local

Teachers Picket Lay-Offs, Supe Gets Put On Leave | KEYT.com - News, Weather, Sports for Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Oxnard| Local

Oxnard, CA-- 'Class size matters,' was the message Wednesday night, as hundreds of teachers and their supporters, came out in force to the Oxnard School District meeting.

The teachers were protesting after learning, that over 150 teachers could be laid off.

During the emotionally-charged school board meeting, trustees were to consider sending pink slips to 100-K thru 6 teachers, 48-middle school teachers and as many as 20 more positions.

Wendesday night's meeting lasted until a little after three in the morning, that's when the district placed the Superintendent on paid, administrative leave.

The district is facing an

Groups Sign Reform Compact for L.A. Schools - District Dossier - Education Week

Groups Sign Reform Compact for L.A. Schools - District Dossier - Education Week:

"Leaders from a wide swath of organizations have signed an agreement, called the L.A. Compact, with a focus on reforming the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The effort includes leaders of nearly a dozen L.A.-area colleges and universities, the superintendent and board president, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and several local business executives.

The L.A. Compact has a strong focus on college- and career-readiness. The three main goals are:

— All students graduate from high school.
— All students have access to and are prepared for success in college.
— All students have access to pathways to sustainable jobs and careers.

The L.A. Compact is modeled after the Boston Compact, which was launched in 1982. Beantown has been successful in gathering various parts of its community to work together on education issues.

'We need more than a bunch of signatures,' Superintendent Ramon Cortines told the Torrance (Calif.) Daily Breeze. 'We need to make sure that these groups put into action these words. Then this will be an important document.'"

Sacramento Press / "Introduction to Journalism" at Sacramento Press

The Sacramento Press presented its "Introduction to Journalism" workshop Wednesday evening hosted by Sacramento Press' copy editor Brandon Darnell.

The 28 attendees came for advice on a wide spectrum of journalistic problems. Some wanted to alleviate their sarcastic and biased writing voice, others came to discover proper format.

Chelsey Miller, who said she wants to cover articles focusing on culture (music and fashion), came because she felt it was an opportunity to help "people to see me as a professional."

Ira Cohen, who is more interested in covering business and technology, said he always had a hankering for journalism but considered it in his "I'll get around to it pile." His objective was to use the workshop as a way of sharpening his tool set and increase his confidence to get the show on the road.

"The biggest thing in journalism are the facts," Darnell said. "News has to be useful, or at least interesting."

He stressed that if the effort is put into an article, through research, focused interviews, and supportive facts, the result will be a strong article.

Effective Tax Rates of the Richest 400 Americans � The Quick and the Ed

The IRS has just released an analysis of the richest 400 American tax filers (.pdf). The top-line finding drawing the most attention is that these 400 earned about $138 billion, collectively, in 2007, the most recent year of data. In contrast, the bottom 90 percent of Americans, over 24 million filers, earned $247 billion.

One less-noticed finding in the report is that the super rich have been paying smaller and smaller portions of their incomes to taxes*. The chart below shows the effective tax rate for the richest 400 American filers from 1992 and 2007. The blue line represents the highest income tax bracket, the red line is the tax rate on long-term capital gains, and the orange line is the average tax rate that the richest 400 filers actually paid.

UC San Diego condemns student party mocking Black History Month - latimes.com

UC San Diego condemns student party mocking Black History Month - latimes.com:

"Officials are probing the off-campus 'Compton Cookout' and its Facebook invitation to see if they violated the university's code of conduct and whether sponsors should be disciplined."

UC San Diego leaders and civil rights activists have condemned a student party that mocked Black History Month with a ghetto-themed "Compton Cookout."

Campus administrators said Wednesday that they were investigating whether the off-campus party, held Monday, and its Facebook invitation violated the university's code of conduct and whether its sponsors should be disciplined. Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity were identified as among the organizers, but the fraternity president has criticized the event and said his club did not sponsor it.

In an e-mail to students and staff, UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said the party showed "blatant disregard of our campus values." She said the university would hold a teach-in next Wednesday "to discuss the importance of mutual respect and civility."

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Penny Rue said the probe would examine whether the fraternity was involved and whether it should face sanctions. She said it was premature to discuss discipline for individual students but said she wanted partygoers to understand how much

Sweeping social promotion ban could prove costly to DPS | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Detroit -- A new rule banning social promotion in Detroit Public Schools could balloon the number of students who have been held back a grade -- estimated to be 20,000 -- and could cost a significant sum to implement as the district faces a $219 million deficit.

DPS Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb signed an executive order Friday immediately banning teachers from passing students who are not proficient at their grade level to the next grade -- to the outrage of Detroit school board members who called it a political ploy in the midst of a court battle between Bobb and the board over academic control of the district.

The order affects students at all grade levels from preschool through high school. But Bobb said he wants to target the eighth grade, where roughly half of students scored less than proficient in math, reading or both on last year's statewide MEAP skills test -- a move that could cost about $16.3 million if each of 2,173 who failed reading were held back.

Eighth grade emphasized

"Eighth grade is almost like a roadblock," Bobb said. "What happens is when you get to the eighth grade if you don't intervene and automatically promote them to the ninth grade it helps to raise the dropout rate and lower the graduation rate."

The ban is "going to create some additional stresses on ou

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100213/SCHOOLS/2130319/Sweeping-social-promotion-ban-could-prove-costly-to-DPS#ixzz0fvQLwmGp

Senate Passes Bill Limiting State Furloughs - Politics News Story - KCRA Sacramento

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The state Senate has approved a bill ending three-day-a-month furloughs for tens of thousands of state employees.

The legislation, which now goes to the Assembly, is part of a broader package of bills designed to create jobs.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, said furloughing employees at agencies that collect taxes is costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lost revenue.

His bill also would exempt employees at agencies that receive most of their budgets from fees or the federal government. Those include the Department of Motor Vehicles, where customers have seen their wait times increase since furloughs began last year.

The bill was approved on a 30-6 vote Thursday and would end furloughs for 80,000 state employees.

Migrant Student Information Exchange - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces New
Tool to Help Migrant Students Succeed Academically

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that California will participate in the Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) system.

"One of the most difficult challenges students of migrant families face is maintaining a continuum of education services because of the itinerant nature of their lives," said O'Connell. "This too often results in migrant students falling behind their peers academically. The Migrant Student Information Exchange system is one vital step toward providing continuity in the migrant students' educational experience to enhance their academic success."

Migrant students often change schools, school districts, even cross state lines during the year, because their families are seeking temporary or seasonal work in the agricultural, fishing, and dairy industries.

MSIX is a federal system mandated by Congress in Section 1308 (b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The system is designed to assist states in developing effective methods for the electronic transfer of student records.

MSIX is also a Web-based portal that links each state's migrant student record databases that include the pupils' educational records and health information, among other information. Only authorized school personnel and Migrant Education Program staff will be able to use the portal that is password protected. MSIX will help school staff make time-sensitive educational decisions more effectively. For example, school staff will be able to quickly access the students' previous enrollment records, course history, and assessments to determine the most appropriate placement within the pupil's new school. In the past, the new school would often have to wait for student records to be transferred from the previous school, which may impede staff from being able to immediately respond to the educational needs of the student.

In the next few weeks, the California Department of Education will send more than 200,000 eligible migrant student files to MSIX.

For more information about MSIX, please visit Migrant Student Records Exchange Initiative - MSIX - ED/OESE/OME (Outside Source).

LEAD & MANAGE MY SCHOOL
Migrant Student Records Exchange Initiative

Select a link below to jump to the relevant page section.

1. Background

The Department was mandated by Congress, in Section 1308 (b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB), to assist States in developing effective methods for the electronic transfer of student records and in determining the number of migratory children in each State. Further, Congress directed the Secretary, in Section 1308 (b)(2)(A) of the statute, to ensure the linkage of migrant student record systems. In accordance with the mandate, the Department has implemented the Migrant Student Information Exchange Initiative whose primary mission is to ensure the appropriate enrollment, placement, and accrual of credits for migrant children.

The Migrant Student Information Exchange (MSIX) is the technology that allows States to share educational and health information on migrant children who travel from State to State and who as a result, have student records in multiple States' information systems. MSIX works in concert with the existing migrant student information systems that States currently use to manage their migrant data to fulfill its mission to ensure the appropriate enrollment, placement, and accrual of credits for migrant children nationwide.

MSIX.ed.gov

ASCD Inservice: Race to the Top: States Tout Plans for Collaborative PD

Race to the Top: States Tout Plans for Collaborative PD

As we look through the many Race to the Top applications submitted by states from around the country, we’re encouraged by the multitude of plans for collaborative professional development. As stated in our Legislative Agenda, ASCD sees "professional development activities—such as study groups, action research, and data analysis—that promote both collaborative and self-directed continuous learning and focus on student needs, results, and best practice" as a key component of supporting highly effective educators.

Examples span from teachers to administrators and from traditional in-person meetings to innovative online gathering places. In Idaho, leaders are planning to expand an existing Superintendents Network; currently, 30 superintendents "meet four times a year to discuss improving student achievement and share challenges and success stories." In California, the state plans to develop a professional learning community that brings together state and local education stakeholders:

" . . . teachers and leaders who have common goals, examine data, and share effective practices, particularly in strategic areas such as use of data to inform instruction, early literacy and

Flypaper: Education reform ideas that stick, from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute

“Public” schools in name only

A new report from Fordhamtoday, authored by yours truly and our research assistant Janie Scull, identifies some 2,800“private public schools” nationwide—public schools that serve virtually no poor students. More students attend these schools than attend charter schools.* And in some metro areas, like New York’s, almost 30 percent of white students attend these exclusive schools. Because you have to be well-off enough to live in their attendance boundaries, these schools are more private than private schools—which at least give scholarships to some needy children.

These schools are open secrets in the education policy community. They are where lots of the children of the nation’s elite get educated (if they aren’t attending ritzy private schools). And taxpayers are spending upwards of $20 billion a year supporting them. Yet there’s none of the outcry that surfaces when someone proposes vouchers so poor children can attend private schools at public expense. How come? And if the civil rights community is upset that charter schools serve “too many” poor and minority kids, why aren’t they upset that these “public” schools serve too many white and middle class children?

Check out the report, and also lists of these schools in the 25 biggest metro areas.

* Interestingly, among the 2,800 “private public schools,” we identified 79 charter schools that themselves qualify because they serve virtually no poor students. Shame on them!

Schools Matter: Imagine Facing Discrimination Lawsuit

Imagine Facing Discrimination Lawsuit

So much for "Joy at Work" - if the allegations are true, the Imagine MASTer Academy created a hellish work environment for black employees and those daring to show their support for black employees.

From the News Sentinel:

Former Imagine administrator files lawsuit against school
By Ashley Smith
of The News-Sentinel

A former Imagine MASTer Academy administrator is suing the school after she says she and a colleague were wrongly terminated more than a year ago.

Jennifer Murray, the former dean of students, filed th

SCUSD Observer: Creativity, imagination, courage & sacrifice...

Creativity, imagination, courage & sacrifice...

...SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond says these are the virtues the district's decision makers will employ to close a $30 million gap in the 2010-11 budget.

Raymond, in conjunction with the consulting firm of School Services of California, previewed a worst-case-budget-reduction-scenario that will be presented in its entirety before the school board tonight.

What's at stake?
Programs -- like the one at Charles A. Jones Career & Education Center
Staff -- many within the district may be laid off or furloughed.
Schools -- some may close, although Raymond says he doesn't foresee closures this year, the big picture includes plans to balance the budget (close to the bone) until the

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Approaching 200

Eighth grade emphasized

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces New Tool to Help Migrant Students Succeed Academically

Race to the Top: States Tout Plans for Collaborative PD

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces New
Tool to Help Migrant Students Succeed Academically