Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Elk Grove Citizen : Local teacher gets royal treatment

Local teacher gets royal treatment

Kings were late, but students still waited for their special treat

By Katie Freeman - Lifestyle & Arts Reporter

Published: Tuesday, March 2, 2010 4:07 PM PST

As a treat to her second grade class of last year, Sacramento County Teacher of the Year JoEllen Shanks invited the students to a “Reading Time-Out” with two Sacramento Kings on Feb. 24 at Stone Lake Elementary School in Elk Grove.

There was a glitch – players Donte Greene and Carl Landry were almost two hours late, causing some parents to leave with their children before the reading began.

Shanks and other teachers entertained the crowd of students by singing songs, playing guessing games and handing out books while they waited.

The two players were scheduled to arrive at the school at 3:30 p.m.

The special appearance and reading is a perk for being honored as County Teacher of the Year by the Sacramento County of Education, who partners with Maloof Sports & Entertainment.

“It feels pretty special,” Shanks said about being teacher of the year. “It’s not often that you get that kind of recognition.”

Shanks said she thinks of the award as something she shares with “all the good teachers out there because a lot of people in our profession don’t get recognized for all their hard work.”

Shanks invited the current second grade classes that are on track, as well as other teachers, so they could all enjoy the reading.

Report calls for school districts to end seniority-based layoffs | GothamSchools

Report calls for school districts to end seniority-based layoffs

by Maura Walz

School districts should abandon lay-off policies that require principals to dismiss the newest teachers first and instead incorporate measures of teacher quality into firing decisions, a new report out today from The New Teacher Project argues.

The report proposes a scorecard that would rank teachers, weighing their classroom management skills, attendance, performance evaluations and length of service to the district to determine who should be laid off. Under the group’s proposal, a teacher’s performance rating would be given the most weight, while his or her number of years served would count for only a tenth of their score.

By doing so, the report argues, school districts can avoid laying off their best teachers who may not have worked in the system the longest.

“Layoffs are not good for anyone, but they are worse when they result in the loss of top teachers,” the report states. “With so many jobs — and so many children’s futures — potentially at stake, districts and teachers unions must act now to reform these outdated rules so that schools will be able to hold on to their most effective teachers if layoffs become necessary.”

The report is based in part on a survey of 9,000 teachers in two large Midwestern city school districts (though the report does not name the districts, its description of the two districts seems to match Minneapolis and Detroit).

The survey asked teachers if they believed other factors besides seniority should be considered in layoff decisions. Around three-quarters of the teachers surveyed in both districts answered “yes.” Even among teachers with more than 30 years of experience in their district, more than half agreed that “additional factors should be considered” in excessing or firing criteria.

Eliminating the “last hired, first fired” requirement for excessing city teachers is one of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s major political priorities in education, and a change to the system is on the city’s teachers contract negotiations wish list.

Looking back on school closure vote, officials question rationale | GothamSchools

Looking back on school closure vote, officials question rationale

by Anna Phillips

More than a month after the citywide school board voted to close 19 schools, City Council and Comptroller John Liu are reexamining the criteria that city officials used to declare the schools failures.

Liu, who campaigned for comptroller on the promise of auditing the Department of Education’s data, announced today that his office is beginning an investigation of the DOE’s progress reports — the annual report cards that assign each school a letter grade, largely based on students’ test scores. Later this afternoon, the City Council’s education committee held a hearing where members accused department officials of targeting large, struggling high schools without considering what would become of their current students. Department officials defended the schools they chose to close, citing the schools’ abysmal graduation rate.

“This is not a random list,” said Deputy Chancellor for Strategy and Innovation, John White. “These are the lowest performers even considered among a set of schools where students are not achieving at acceptable levels.”

After a month in which nearly every weeknight was occupied by a school closing hearing, many council members remain unconvinced that the department’s choices were reasonable.

“The DOE failed to follow its own criteria in selecting some schools for closure,” said Councilman Robert

AFL-CIO Backs R.I. Teachers; Union Files Labor Complaint - Teacher Beat - Education Week

AFL-CIO Backs R.I. Teachers; Union Files Labor Complaint

By Stephen Sawchuk on March 2, 2010 5:40 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

AFT President Randi Weingarten continues to call in the big guns on this Rhode Island school-turnaround drama. Now the AFL-CIO, the labor association that AFT (but not the National Education Association) belongs to, has put out this statement in support of the teachers.

The local teachers' union, meanwhile, has filed an unfair labor-relations complaint with the state labor-relations board, saying that Superintendent Frances Gallo didn't bargain in good faith with the union, The Associated Press reports. AP also says that the union claims that the teachers haven't been proven incompetent or accused of malfeasance.

I'm no lawyer, so I can't tell whether the terms of the school-improvement grant program can legally overrule state or local contractual language on dismissals. Any federal-education legal scholars care to weigh in?

On another note, Washington Post scribe Jay Mathews sides with Weingarten,

Schools Matter: Boards of education need to protect their districts

Schools Matter: Boards of education need to protect their districts:

Boards of education need to protect their districts

Sent to the Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA)
Boards of Education need to protect districts
The proposed budget cuts in Desert Sands Unified are typical of what is going on nationwide, and are a tragedy that need not happen ("Faced with $14.8 million shortfall, Desert Sands board to weigh layoffs in tonight's meeting," March 2).
In order to save $14.2 million, Desert Sands is considering eliminating crucial and important positions, while the state continues to spend education dollars on expenditures that harm students.
For example: The plans include eliminating three teacher-librarian positions in Desert Sands high schools, while research shows that the presence of credentialed school librarians is related to

Situating NYC in national context, Ravitch’s book hits shelves | GothamSchools

Situating NYC in national context, Ravitch’s book hits shelves

by Philissa Cramer

Diane Ravitch offered a first look at her new book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” at a GothamSchools event in December where she explained that seeing education theories play out in reality caused her to change her mind about standardized testing, school choice, and the entire notion of “accountability.”

Today, the book officially hit shelves, after receiving a spate of favorable reviews in major newspapers. People who have been following Ravitch’s transformation in recent years will find much of her argument familiar. Still, her book offers those who are new to the story a 240-page primer on major trends in education policy — trends that Ravitch says are undermining the country’s once-great schools.

While the book contains Ravitch’s take on New York City’s recent

Charter Queen goes Hollywood

Early this year, Senator Gloria Romero led a bi-partisan coalition that pulled off a rare feat in Sacramento – they put kids first. And it couldn’t have happened without education supporters like you.
Watch the new EdVoice documentary that chronicles the fight to empower parents to turnaround failing schools and to bring more great teachers into our classrooms.

Watch Senator Romero in the new EdVoice documentary!

Thanks to thousands of letters, phone calls and visits to legislative offices, California answered President Obama’s call for bold reform in the Federal Race to the Top. Thanks to the effort, kids stuck in schools that have failed their communities for decades will have a way out to a better public school. Real change will be mandatory in school turnarounds – rearranging the deck chairs will no longer be an option. And parents will have power to make this happen in their communities.
Watch the documentary on the new EdVoice website www.edvoice.tv to learn more. While you’re there, check out other clips on the EdVoice video wall and visit the fully redesigned EdVoice home site. You can also check out the new EdVoice “For the Kids” page where you can learn how to support candidates and legislators who stand up for kids.

Please send any feedback or questions to betterschools@edvoice.org, we’d love to hear what you think.

Schools Matter: March 4 May Be Watershed Event

March 4 May Be Watershed Event

Last November the vulture capitalists in charge of the public university system of California levied a 32 percent tuition increase, thus eradicating the possibilities of many working class students to go to a good college. For despite recent increases to Pell Grants, such grants now cover just a third of college costs, whereas they covered 75 percent of costs 30 years ago.

Notwithstanding the recent noose hangings and racist partying at the Compton Cookout by a new generation of California crackers, engaged students, workers, academics, and K12 teachers will be in the streets and in the politicians' offices on March 4 to protest the corporate takeover of American public education.

An update posted at HuffPo:

University of California students are gearing up for Thursday, Mar. 4, the state's designated Student Day of Action to protest higher education budget cuts. But with the

Re: Race to the Top, We Regret to Inform You... - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Re: Race to the Top, We Regret to Inform You...

By Michele McNeil on March 2, 2010 4:51 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Politics K-12 has learned that states will get the official word on whether they make it as a finalist for Race to the Top at 11:30 a.m. Thursday. And the news will come via email. So, as you're filling out your own Race to the Top Madness bracket, Politics K-12—with a big assist from Teacher Beat's always-snarky Sawchuk and State EdWatch's Lesli Maxwell—offers up our own version of what those winning, and losing, emails will sound like.

Dear (Insert Winner State Name Here),

Congratulations! You are one step closer to having Arne Duncan show up at your door with a fistful of balloons and a check for up to $700 million. You are a finalist for Race to the Top!

Before you get too excited, (and we realize not all governors may be thrilled at the prospect of taking even more stimulus money) please keep in mind that you must come to Washington, D.C., to make an in-person pitch the week of March 15. Your state must send five people to make a presentation to the judges. (This means you should make sure you've actually read the application you've submitted.) Please leave your McKinsey and other Gates-funded consultants at home. But media stars like Oprah, Angelina Jolie, and Randi Weingarten are definitely welcome.

And, lucky for you, your entire presentation will be videotaped and then made

Nation & World | 17 states to fight dismal college completion rates | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | 17 states to fight dismal college completion rates| Seattle Times Newspaper

17 states to fight dismal college completion rates

More than a dozen states have formed an alliance to battle dismal college completion rates and figure out how to get more students to follow through and earn their diplomas.

By JESSIE L. BONNER

The Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho —

More than a dozen states have formed an alliance to battle dismal college completion rates and figure out how to get more students to follow through and earn their diplomas.

Stan Jones, Indiana's former commissioner for higher education, is leading the effort with about $12 million in startup money from several national nonprofits including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

About one in every two Americans who start college never finish, said Jones, who founded Complete College America, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, last year.

The U.S. has focused on access to higher education for the past several decades, and states need to turn their focus toward how many students actually graduate after they get in, even if it means using a funding structure that is based on degree completion instead of attendance, Jones said Tuesday.

"It's going to take a substantial amount of work over a substantial amount of time in order to get the kind of improvement we need," he said.

The campaign's goal: Make sure 60 percent of adults between the ages of 25 and 35 hold an associate or bachelor's degree by 2020, up from the 38 percent that now claim this status.

The benchmark falls in line with President Barack Obama's desire to once again make the U.S. the leader in college attainment by 2020. The U.S. led the world in the proportion of citizens with college degrees for decades but has been overtaken by other countries in recent years.

Obama stressed the importance of higher education in his State of the Union speech, saying "a high school diploma no longer guarantees a good job."

At least 17 states have pledged to consider policy changes and draft ambitious plans to boost their college completion rates: Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and West Virginia.

The states have also committed to addressing the gap in earning degrees between low-income and minority students and their classmates.

Nationwide, about half of white students who enter college complete a degree. That compares with about one-third of African American and Hispanic students, said Jeannie Oakes, director of educational equity and scholarship at the Ford Foundation, which is backing the campaign launched this week.

"That's a huge problem," Oakes said.

Layoffs Without 'Financial Exigency' - Inside Higher Ed

News: Layoffs Without 'Financial Exigency' - Inside Higher Ed:

"Layoffs Without 'Financial Exigency'
March 2, 2010

One of the ultimate protections of being a tenured faculty member, historically, has been being immune from layoff in all but the most extraordinary circumstances. Under policies issued by the American Association of University Professors and largely accepted by higher education leaders, only institutions that declare 'financial exigency' -- a state so dire that it 'threatens the survival of the institution as a whole' -- can eliminate the jobs of tenured faculty members.

Given the strict criteria on when an institution can declare exigency, and the obviously unwelcome scrutiny such a declaration would bring about, institutions have hesitated to invoke that status. As a result, while institutions eliminate adjunct positions all the time, the tenured faculty member has been protected."

Sign Our Petition | Central Falls Kids Deserve Better

Sign Our Petition

Firing Teachers instead of Helping Kids? The Students, Teachers and Community of Central Falls Deserve Better

Teachers and staff at Central Falls High School are making real progress in improving academics and raising test scores. They are invested in their students and their community. And while they recognize there is still much work to be done, they want nothing more than to stay hard at work and continue the momentum.

Yet, District Superintendent Frances Gallo wants to fire the entire teaching faculty. The superintendent has chosen to just blame the teachers, rather than give them what they need - stability and support - to keep the progress going, and kids succeeding.

Sign below to show that you stand with the Central Falls High School community, students and teachers in calling on Superintendent Gallo to do what is right - work with the teachers to build on the improvements that students are showing at Central Falls High School.

An episode of ‘Law & Order’ is ripped from our headlines | GothamSchools

An episode of ‘Law & Order’ is ripped from our headlines | GothamSchools:

"Here’s a sign that our reporting on a grade-changing scandal and the intense pressure on schools to perform or shut down have entered the public consciousness: Law & Order used the storyline last night.

Returning to NBC’s 10 pm spot, the series debuted “Boy on Fire” last night, a story that (judging by the sudden flood of emails I got) seemed to strike a chord with the city’s public school teachers. I didn’t catch the episode, but those who did report that it bore some similarities to the case of grade-changing at Herbert Lehman High School in the Bronx, where the executive principal who was hired with a $25,000 bonus� is still under investigation for changing grades in order to boost the school’s graduation rate.

One big difference is that Lehman’s principal, Janet Saraceno, isn’t tangled up in a murder mystery. On the show, detectives find that the principal, played by Debra Winger, altered the transcripts of students who are suspected of murdering a charter school student (possible motive: educational jealousy). The principal defends the grade changes, saying if she doesn’t make the school look successful, the city will close it down."

Presidential Proclamation-- Read Across America Day | The White House

Presidential Proclamation-- Read Across America Day

A PROCLAMATION

As the foundation that makes all other learning possible, literacy is the key to unlocking every child's full potential. From riding a bus to opening a bank account, our everyday tasks and decisions require comprehension of the written word. On Read Across America Day, we reaffirm our commitment to investing in our children and giving them an essential tool for success in school and in life: the ability to read.

Today marks the birthday of the late Theodor Seuss Geisel, known to millions as Dr. Seuss. His imaginative tales have helped generations of children learn to read, and they hold a cherished place on bookshelves in homes across America. Authors like Dr. Seuss, whose stories introduce fantastical worlds and characters, fold joy into reading and help spark the curiosity that is central to learning.

While government must ensure that all our children receive a world-class education, parents and caregivers play a crucial role in preparing them -- especially during early childhood. We can promote a positive relationship with books and language through everyday activities to make reading fun and interactive. When reading to young children, I urge all parents and caregivers to talk about what is happening in a story, point out details that relate to real life, and encourage them to ask about words they do not understand. Making regular trips to the library, playing word games, and simply keeping books around the home can foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime. We can also set a good example by turning off the television and picking up a book to read with or alongside our children.

On Read Across America Day, my Administration is partnering with the National Education Association to encourage families across our Nation to make reading a priority. Together, we can give our sons and daughters the knowledge and skills they need to compete in the global economy, and in doing so, secure a brighter future for America.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2, 2010, as Read Across America Day.

I call upon children, families, educators, librarians, public officials, and all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

A Few More People Need to Be Fired in Rhode Island | Intercepts

A Few More People Need to Be Fired in Rhode Island

In response to President Obama’s support for the firing of the entire staff of Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, the American Federation of Teachers released a joint statement by AFT President Randi Weingarten, Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals President Marcia Reback and Central Falls Teachers Union President Jane Sessums.

President Obama’s comments today condoning the mass firing of the Central Falls High School teachers do not reflect the reality on the ground and completely ignore the teachers’ significant commitment to working with others to transform this school. We know it is tempting for people in Washington to score political points by scapegoating teachers, but it does nothing to give our students and teachers the tools they need to succeed.

AFT attached an April 2009 report by a team of state and district officials who visited the school for two days to assess the literacy program. “The report reinforces the fact that, today, teachers are being blamed unfairly for the schools’ problems,” reads the joint statement.

For the record, I’m opposed to the wholesale firings. It speaks to the inability of the public school system to make any meaningful distinctions in employee performance. The report cited by AFT is not an exoneration of the Central Falls teachers, but a further indictment of the system. If AFT has a legitimate beef, it’s not that the school is improving and the teachers should keep their jobs. It’s that the school system’s method of oversight and evaluation is pathetic.

The 10-month old report is nine pages long – more than four of which simply list the members of the team, note the purpose of the visit, and describe the basics of Central Falls High School’s student body, staff and mission statement. The team included union president Jane Sessums and former NEA Rhode Island president Ronald L. DiOrio.

Here is the type of crucial insight the team provided:

* “Students read at varying levels of proficiency throughout the school.”

* “Students write in almost all classes across all grade levels…. Throughout

Campus Overload - Tuesday News Overload: UC protests continue

Campus Overload- Tuesday News Overload: UC protests continue

Tuesday News Overload: UC protests continue

Hundreds of students from across the University of California system rallied in Sacramento on Monday to urge lawmakers to increase state funding to higher education and increase diversity. Many chanted, "No cuts, no fees, education should be free" outside the Capitol while UC officials and other students met with state lawmakers inside, The Daily Californian reports. Five students were arrested after entering an assemblyman's office and refusing to leave unless he signed a letter promising support for increased funding for higher education as well as specific funding for recruiting and retaining low-income students.

Late Thursday night a violent riot broke out near UC Berkeley, involving more than 200 people, "six law enforcement agencies, runaway dumpsters, flaming trash cans, shattered windows and violent clashes between rioters and police," The Daily Californian reported.

But the largest protest is yet to come. On Thursday students across the state -- at the University of California, state college, community college and K-12 campuses -- and about a dozen other states plan to hold protests, teach-ins and walkouts, The Sacramento Bee reports. Protesters are urged to "March forth on March 4th" so teachers and other workers can keep their jobs and students will not face higher fees and tuition. A student government representative told The Daily Bruinthat after similar protests last semester, "legislators know that they cannot put higher education on the bottom of their list of priorities, or they will be in trouble."

Porn for Bibles
Yesterday students at the University of Texas, San Antonio, could exchange their Bibles, Torahs, Korans and other religious texts for Playboys, Penthouses and other adult magazines at the annual Smut

Calif. Unions Step Up Opposition to Public Education Gutting - Working In These Times

Calif. Unions Step Up Opposition to Public Education Gutting

Tuesday
March 2
7:55 am

Marches, rallies planned statewide

By Seth Sandronsky

SACRAMENTO, CALIF.—Students and workers in California’s public schools—K-12 and higher education—will protest against deep budget cuts on Thursday, March 4.

“We have never before witnessed this much participation and outrage about the dismal state of education on our state campuses and in our public schools,” says Lillian Taiz, president of the California Faculty Association (CFA), a labor union which represents a total of 23,000 tenured and tenure-track instructional faculty, lecturers, librarians, coaches and counselors in the 23-campus California State University. “The call for March 4 protests has hit a nerve. It’s an historic moment.”

In California and across the U.S., tax revenues have slowed sharply after the housing market crash. K-12 spending cuts of $18 billion in the past two years have closed California schools and forced local districts to fire employees. With a $20 billion state budget deficit now, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing education cuts of $2.5 billion, while vowing to protect California’s public school students.

“Our message is simple: legislators must protect and expand the budget for public education with adequate funding,” said Kevin Wehr, a sociology professor at Sacramento State University and CFA campus president.

Local school districts depend on state aid, the decline of which has received a short-term patch of federal funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that President Obama signed in mid-February 2009. These federal dollars have saved some K-12 school jobs and programs, but this revenue source is nearing an end.

The past year also brought double-digit fee increases for CSU and UC students. These post-secondary students are also facing fewer and more crowded course sections.

On Thursday, marches and rallies to defend public education from further spending cuts will take place statewide—from the San Francisco Civic Center and Pershing Square in Los Angeles to the CSU Northridge campus and state capitol in Sacramento.

Similar assemblies to oppose public education cuts will take place in 17 additional states across the country, according to the CFA. The 340,000-member California Teachers Association, a K-12 teachers union, is also showing support for the March 4 day of public education action.

Back in Sacramento—where Democrats control both houses of the legislature—Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (D-Newark) will speak at the state Capitol’s “Educate the State” rally. His Assembly Bill 656 would impose a 9.9 percent tax on California oil producers, directing roughly $1 billion to the state’s higher education system.

The California Federation of Teachers, which represents 120,000 teachers and support personnel from early childhood through the University of California, "is undertaking a series of actions to publicize the underfunding of public education and social services and to reform how the state legislators make decisions,” said Ken Burt, CFT political director.

These events include the March 4 protests, which aim to call attention to the detrimental affects of skyrocketing tuition at colleges and universities, and "a March 5 kickoff in Los Angeles for a march to Sacramento" that will push for a November 2010 ballot to allow a simple legislative majority to pass a state budget.

In California, the constitution requires the votes of two-thirds—not a majority—of lawmakers to pass budget and revenue actions.

CFT’s statewide march will end in Sacramento at the state apitol on April 21.

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