Wednesday, March 17, 2010

The Perimeter Primate: Bullying or witch hunt?

Bullying or witch hunt?

The extreme amount of hatred and venom being hurled at public school teachers these days has got to be some sort of misdirected expression of the deluded people who still think that all things are possible for allpeople in this country. Or, it is the result of manipulation by those who are fully aware of what is going on and decided to toss in a red herring.

This country’s social mobility has pretty much hit the wall and we are entering uncharted territory. The empire is in decline. The citizenry knows that things aren’t right, but still haven't completely computed it. They don’t know what else to do other than to join in the fun of blaming a whole class of workers.

Mind you, I am not a teacher and I don't belong to a union. I am a longtime urban public school parent observer who is monitoring events and sensing that something evil is afoot.

Diane Ravitch recently wrote:

Did you see Newsweek last week? What a stunning and uninformed attack on teachers and teachers' unions. The cover of

Assembly Majority Leader Torrico to lead rally for higher education funding

California State Assemblymember Alberto Torrico

Assembly Majority Leader Torrico

to lead rally for higher education funding

Takes campaign for AB 656 to Contra Costa College on Thursday

San Pablo – Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (Fremont) will rally with students and faculty this Thursday at Contra Costa College to raise awareness of the need to increase funding to higher education. A rally at the college’s amphitheater will be followed by a short panel discussion in the Fireside Room on campus.

Torrico’s AB 656 would provide almost $2 billion for higher education by establishing a 12.5 percent severance tax on oil and natural gas. California is the only major oil-producing state that does not charge the tax on oil companies. Texas raises about $400 million per year for higher education and Alaska levies a 25 percent tax.

“At a time when our state is spending more money on prisons than we do on all three higher education systems combined, California must boost its funding to keep the doors of our colleges and universities open to students,” Majority Leader Torrico said. “Studies show there will be an even larger wave of students seeking a higher education in the near future, but we currently don’t have sufficient funds to handle the enrollment growth, let alone the students we have now. We have to stop the record student fee hikes, staff furloughs, admission caps and canceled courses or fewer students will be able to make their way through to graduation.”

Torrico has joined forces with students, staff and faculty to build grassroots support for AB 656 with rallies up and down the state. Currently, about 60,000 Californians have registered their support for the legislation, by signing cards on campuses or joining the Fair Share for Fair Tuition page on Facebook.

“Our higher education system is still held in high esteem, but polls show families are concerned that rising fees may make it less accessible for the next generation of students,” Torrico said.

WHO: Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (Fremont), CCC students

WHAT: Higher Education Rally and panel discussion on AB 656

WHERE: Contra Costa College Amphitheater and Fireside Rm., 2600 Mission Bell Dr., San Pablo

WHEN: 12 p.m.-2 p.m., Thursday, March 18, 2010

This Week In Education: Turnarounds: Urgency Meets Uncertainty

Turnarounds: Urgency Meets Uncertainty

Make no mistake when you read my article about turnarounds just out in Miller McCune. I'm not at all against turning schools around, including firing the staff if necessary. I get the urgency behind the push to make improvements happen, and the many ways that schools have avoided making changes in the past under state and NCLB rules.

Senate Education Panel Seems Fairly Happy With ESEA Blueprint - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Maybe the senators were too busy dealing with health care and student loans to think of many zingers for U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan this morning, or maybe they really do like the direction of the Obama administration's blueprintfor reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Either way, the tone of a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing at which Duncan testified on the administration's plan was surprisingly congenial, with key players (including Republicans) praising both Duncan and the draft.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the committee's chairman, who also oversees the panel that deals with education spending, said Duncan is the right guy for his job at the right time.

"I appreciate that you're willing to have this kind of vision for the future," he told Duncan. "I'm working with you and the administration to make sure we have the

NEA - No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) / ESEA

NEA president to Administration:

‘Takes working together to improve schools’

‘Blueprint’ proposal needs redrafting if it is to fulfill America’s education promise

WASHINGTON—The White House has announced that the Obama administration’s “blueprint” for reauthorization will be forwarded to Congress on Monday, March, 15, 2010. The following statement can be attributed to Dennis Van Roekel, president of the 3.2 million-member National Education Association:

“We are disappointed by this first effort by the Administration to rectify the considerable problems in current federal education law.

“What excited educators about President Obama’s hopes and vision for education on the campaign trail has not made its way into this blueprint. We were expecting to see a much broader effort to truly transform public education for kids. Instead, this blueprint’s accountability system still relies on standardized tests to identify winners and losers. We were expecting more funding stability to enable states to meet higher expectations. Instead, this blueprint requires states to compete for critical resources, setting up another winners-and-losers scenario. We were expecting school turnaround efforts to be research-based and fully collaborative. Instead, we see too much top-down scapegoating of teachers and not enough collaboration.

“The public knows that struggling schools need a wide range of targeted actions to ensure they succeed, and yet the Administration’s plan continues to call for prescriptions before the actual problems are diagnosed. We need proven answers along with the deep insight of the experienced professionals who actually work in schools.

‘We know that it takes all stakeholders working together to improve our schools. The Administration’s plan leaves out students’ first teachers – their parents. There is no attempt in the blueprint to support parents’ efforts to be more involved in their children’s education.

“The National Education Association cannot support the Administration’s plan at this time. We are sharing the blueprint with our members so their voices are heard. We intend to engage in a productive dialogue to meet the needs of students, educators and public schools.

For more information about NEA’s principles for the reauthorization of ESEA, visit www.nea.org/esea.

# # #

The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.

CTA Concerned and Disappointed With President Obama's Plans to Revise Flawed No Child Left Behind Law Home - California Teachers Association

Home - California Teachers Association

CTA Concerned and Disappointed

With President Obama's Plans to Revise Flawed

No Child Left Behind Law

BURLINGAME – David A. Sanchez, president of the 325,000-member California Teachers Association, released this statement today expressing serious concerns and disappointment with President Obama's new "blueprint" for the reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB):

“Educators were hopeful that President Obama’s promise of change would include a new approach to education reform—one that was collaborative, positive and based on proven success. Instead, the administration’s blueprint for reauthorizing ESEA appears to be built on the same one-size-fits-all and flawed foundation of George Bush’s NCLB Act—a law that has unfairly and unproductively used test scores to label public schools and students as failing for the past eight years without providing the necessary resources or promoting the proven reforms to help schools improve.

”Struggling schools need a broad range of targeted actions to ensure they succeed for every student. An overreliance on test scores will continue to narrow the curriculum and cause more teaching to the test. These schools also need proven answers along with the deep insight of the experienced professionals who actually work in schools and parental involvement.

“Currently, California ranks 46th nationally in what the state spends on education per student and is reeling from $17 billion in education cuts over the last two years. While the federal government only accounts for a small amount of overall school funding, now, more than ever, every dollar counts. It's alarming that the president wants to focus on a competition system that creates winners and losers – rather than creating quality neighborhood schools for all students. The administration’s approach will surely widen, not close, the achievement gaps that exist within our public education system.

“In order for today’s students to meet tomorrow's challenges, we need federal legislation that will help all students move forward and not leave those who are struggling behind. As the ESEA reauthorization process continues, CTA members will continue to lead the fight to inform Congress that all students deserve a quality public school education and that local stakeholders, including parents, must have more of a say into how to improve their neighborhood schools.”

###

The 325,000-member CTA is affiliated with the 3.2 million-member National Education Association.

Got preschool? The Educated Reporter

The Educated Reporter

Got preschool?

by Linda Perlstein

The big randomized Head Start Impact Study that the federal government released earlier this year may be goodnews or bad news, depending on your point of view. The one thing it was not, to many: news at all.

In January the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the study, which found that the previously documented edge Head Start children had in kindergarten readiness largely disappeared by the end of first grade. (Maybe it should have been called a Kindergarten Impact Study?) Head Start supporters may take the results as proof that public kindergarten is so inferior to the quality of Head Start that it dilutes its effects; opponents likely interpret the news as proof that the program wastes money.

Whatever your take, chances are you did not even hear about the study if you don’t pay close attention to preschool issues. Every researcher I asked about it said it seemed a sound piece of work, if not the best-designed Head Start study ever. The report was addressed online, for example by Lisa Guernsey at New America Foundation, and Steve Barnett at NIEER. But the only journalism Nexis turns up is a brief by Mary Ann Zehr in Education Week and an article by Dan Berrett of the Pocono Record.

Surely at the Heritage Foundation event on this topic next week, conspiracy-theory suspicions will be aired

Elk Grove Citizen : Herd Review comes to Elk Grove

Elk Grove Citizen : Feature Story

Herd Review comes to Elk Grove

By Katie Freeman - Lifestyle & Arts Reporter

Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:25 AM PDT

The thumping sound of drums reverberated off the walls of Elk Grove High School during the morning of March 13.

The campus was packed with students from more than 50 schools across northern California who were warming-up for the fourth annual Herd Review.

The percussion-only competition and fundraiser aims to highlight the drummers and other percussionists who don’t receive as much attention as the rest of the band, Elk Grove High School Music Director Mario Sebastian said.

“All the percussion is always behind the orchestra,” he said.

The event cost about $4,000 to put on, which is covered by the fee paid by each participating school. Money is raised at Herd Review through ticket sales and goes to benefit Music Booster.

Last year, Herd Review raised $10,000. Sebastian said he expects the number to be even higher this year considering the crowd appeared to have doubled from past years.

This was the first year of the Drum Major competition, which boasted a drum major lounge and outdoor mirrors to practice in front of, which most competitions don’t have, Sebastian commented.

Sacramento Unified gets $19M construction bond from stimulus - Sacramento Business Journal:

Sacramento Unified gets $19M construction bond from stimulus

Sacramento Business Journal - by Kelly Johnson Staff writer

Sacramento City Unified School District has received a $19.3 million construction bond authorized by the federal stimulus, Congresswoman Doris Matsui announced Wednesday.

Sacramento City Unified can use the bond to finance the construction, renovation or repair of buildings or to acquire land for a new school.

Investors who buy these construction bonds receive federal income tax credits at prescribed tax credit rates instead of interest, a news release said. The tax credit bonds allow state and local governments to borrow without incurring interest costs.

“Across California, schools have faced harmful budget cuts that put our children’s development in jeopardy,” Matsui, a Sacramento Democrat, said in the news release. “I am

Humble Pie | Intercepts

Humble Pie

The State University of New York issued its renewal report for the United Federation of Teachers Charter School in New York City (hat tip: Eduwonk) and you’ll want to spend time with it if you have any interest at all in charters, unions and the relationship between the two. What’s striking is not that the school has unique or unusual problems – it’s that it has all the typical problems of many charter schools. The UFT Charter School has virtually every perceived defect AFT has fulminated against for years.

SUNY issued the school a short-term renewal of three years, rather than the full term of five years, which means the school has shortcomings that the evaluation panel believes it will overcome.

Here are a few of the findings:

* ”The UFT Charter School does not meet the standard for a Full-Term Renewal to the extent that it has not compiled a strong and compelling record of meeting or coming close to meeting its academic Accountability Plan goals.”

* “While the school has had a formal process for evaluating teacher quality and effectiveness throughout the charter period, this system has not been used effectively to hold teachers accountable for high levels of instruction. For example, teacher evaluation documentation reviewed during the renewal visit was not consistent with observations of classroom

This Week In Education: Video: Singer And Comedian Dominate Reform Debate

Video: Singer And Comedian Dominate Reform Debate

Oh, no. A comedian and a pop singer have gone viral with their debate over school reform. I think this means we're all doomed. First, comedian Bill Maher issued one of his "new rules" about what to do when schools aren't doing so well. Watch it below or read it here

Then, yesterday, crooner John Legend issued his stinging but respectful rebuttal here.

SCUSD Observer: Board Meeting Thursday Night

Board Meeting Thursday Night

Here's what's on the agenda.
Teach for America placement in the Supt.'s priority schools list

Preliminary review of a new charter school: Capitol Collegiate Charter
Review and action on the Yav Pem Suab Academy

This Week In Education: Media: Building A Better Reporter

Media: Building A Better Reporter

Some belated thoughts about the substance and the delivery of Elizabeth Green's recent New York Times Sunday Magazine cover story, Building A Better Teacher.

First, the kudos. It's a great accomplishment and a strong story over all. It shows tremendous effort, curiosity, and smarts, and took amazing persistence to see it through. The history of the profession is clear and well-written. The characters of Ball and Lemov (particularly) are brought to life. The snippets of classroom observation are vivid. The focus on what to do with existing teachers is a welcome antidote to too much attention given to issues such as selecting, evaluating, and culling teachers. Like I'm sure many other education writers, I wish that it were my story.

That being said, there are some serious problems and minor annoyances that undercut the piece and raise questions about its findings and usefulness.

Notes from the news, Mar. 17 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Mar. 17

by Erika Owens on Mar 17 2010 Posted in Notes from the news

Students give perspective on school violence The Inquirer
Students testified at a Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations hearing on school violence. Fels principal Eileen Coutts described how her school dealt with racial tension.

See also: 'No Peace' at Phila. Schools KYW

New plan to change way schools receive funding: Based on need, not size of enrollment Daily News
The District will present details of the weighted student funding formula at today's SRC meeting.

262 school council members come aboard The Notebook blog
All applicants to serve on the Renaissance Schools advisory councils were accepted, and parents are still needed at eight schools.

A push for healthier school meals The Inquirer
A bill reautorizing federal funding is up for a vote soon, and the Obama administration is taking the opportunity to advocate for healthy meals.

Physics as a practical matter Daily News
SLA's Rosalind Echols will present how she connects physics to daily life at a science teacher conference in Philly this week.

Obama's "A" word: Throwing teachers under the bus? The Notebook blog
Accountability is focused on teachers right now, but what about other factors?

Specter gets PSEA nod PA2010.com

Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.

Click here to get Notes from the n

Schools Matter: They Don't Care . . .

They Don't Care . . .

Read Anthony Cody today. It begins:

If you are like me, your head must be reeling this week, as we hear in the same broadcast about the release of new "high standards" for reading and math, and also news of massive layoffs at schools, that will result in larger class sizes and fewer opportunities for our students. How can we make sense

The Educated Reporter: Press release roundup: blueprint reactions.

Press release roundup: blueprint reactions.

The press releases flowing into my inbox in the past week are mostly some form of “Association for XX Reacts to Administration’s Blueprint for ESEA Reauthorization,” and they are utterly unsurprising. A sampling (and I am not doing this again, so please do not take this as an invitation for more press releases):

—Education Industry Association: thumbs down (no required supplemental education services—but don’t worry; there will be plenty of other ways to make money off the law)
—U.S. Chamber of Commerce: thumbs up

The Quick and the Ed

A Kindle Revolution

Michael Lewis’ latest book “The Big Short” was released on Tuesday. As a Lewis fan, I was looking forward to getting the book. But not the big, heavy, expensive hardback version. I wanted to download the book to my Kindle.

But alas, no Kindle version was available. And consumers are getting testy–the book now has 37 one-star reviews, most of which are from Kindle owners who want an e-book version.

For a long time, publishers have followed the formula of releasing a more expensive, hardback version of a book before finally releasing a paperback version. Readers have accepted this as the way things are and either sucked up the cost of the hardback or patiently waited for the paperback version.

Debating Diane Ravitch

Diane Ravitch’s new book The Death and Life of the Great American School System, has been getting a lot of attention lately. This morning, she and I debate the book over at The New Republic. Preview: I don’t like it very much. See earlier entries in the discussion from Ben Wildavsky and Richard Rothstein here.