Tuesday, May 25, 2010

CPS students take their books to Daley Plaza to protest cuts. � Fred Klonsky's blog

CPS students take their books to Daley Plaza to protest cuts.

MAY 25, 2010

by preaprez

Back in the day my friends and I headed to the LA Board of Ed building to take part in a study-in. We took our books and homework and sat in the Board hallways to protest the LAUSD’s policy of racially segregated schools.

I flashed back on those high school days over 40 years ago as I heard about

An unsatisfying half-hour with Duncan The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

An unsatisfying half-hour with Duncan

Posted in Uncategorized

“I want to find positive things to take from what unfolded, but it is challenging,” was Anthony Cody’s overall assessment of the 30-minute teleconference that he and 11 other teachers had with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Monday (see preview of the meeting). Cody, who sought the session as an outgrowth of his 2,000 member Facebook page Teachers’ Letters to Obama, reported that half of the time was spent with introductions and remarks by Duncan. That left 15 minutes for compressed presentations by the teachers – and no time for Cody to give his thoughts on restructured schools.
Cody reported on the meeting in his column “Living in Dialogue” at edweek.org. It’s uncertain whether there will be a followup meeting or further discussions.

By John Fensterwald on May 25th, 2010

Unions again balk at Race to the Top

Posted in Race to the Top

The six districts leading the state’s second round Race to the Top application were able to recruit nearly 100 other districts and 200 charter schools to the cause. They failed, however, to persuade their own teachers unions to sign the application. And that lack of union participation will likely doom the state’s already iffy odds of winning a piece of the $3.4 billion that U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has dangled for states in exchange for committing to an agenda of school reforms.
Friday was the last day for districts and unions to sign a memorandum of understanding. Of the half-dozen unified districts that formed the working group for Race to the Top, only unions in Fresno and Sanger, a small rural district, signed on. The big ones – in Long Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Clovis – in the end said no. Of the 43 unions that signed, about half represented teachers in charter schools.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on May 25th, 2010

Mr. Secretary, listen to us teachers

Posted in Teacher Development

Today, an Oakland Unified science teacher-coach and 11 other teachers will get what they’ve been seeking for six months: the ear of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
The dozen teachers will have a 30-minute teleconference with Duncan to state some of the views they’ve been making on the Facebook page Teachers’ Letters to Obama, which Anthony Cody of Oakland started six months ago out of frustration with the directions that Duncan and President Obama were taking in education. Cody’s hoping this will be the first of a series of dialogues with Duncan, whom he says needs to hear more from teachers in the field.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on May 24th, 2010

Charter Schools Are Scrutinized in N.Y. Expansion Debate - NYTimes.com

More Scrutiny as Charter Schools Look to Expand

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and JENNIFER MEDINA

Published: May 25, 2010

REPRINTS

ALBANY — During its first years of operation, the Niagara Charter School in Niagara Falls spent thousands of dollars on plane tickets, restaurant meals and alcohol, and more than $100,000 on no-bid consulting contracts. Yet the school’s teachers resorted to organizing a fund-raiser to buy playground equipment.

Room for Debate: The Push-Back on Charter Schools

When the Roosevelt Children’s Academy, a charter school on Long Island, fired its management company after paying it more than $1 million a year, it hired two of the school’s board members as new managers — and paid them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And in the Bronx, the Family Life Charter School pays $400,000 annually to rent classroom space from the Latino Pastoral Action Center, a “Christ-centered holistic ministry” led by the Rev. Raymond Rivera. Mr. Rivera also happens to be the school’s founder.

Charter school advocates, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, are vigorously lobbyingfor a bill that would more than double the number of charters in New York State and send at least $2 billion in taxpayer money a year into the charter system.

Supporters want the Legislature to pass the bill before the June 1 deadline by which states must apply to win a share in Race to the Top federal education grants that place a

Marian Wright Edelman will address Portland State University graduates next month | OregonLive.com

Marian Wright Edelman will address Portland State University graduates next month

By Bill Graves, The Oregonian

May 25, 2010, 4:04PM

Associated PressMarian Wright Edelman
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children’s Defense Fund, will deliver the commencement speech to the Portland State University Class of 2010 next month.

Edelman will address the largest graduating class in PSU’s history atcommencement ceremonies that begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 13, in Portland’s Rose Garden Arena.

“Marian Wright Edelman has improved the lives of countless children,” said PSU President Wim Wiewel in a prepared statement. “Her message of empowering our nation’s youth through education and outreach is a vision we share at Portland State University.”

Edelman graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta and Yale Law School and became the first African American woman admitted to the Mississippi

The damage may be done, say West teachers | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

The damage may be done, say West teachers

by Benjamin Herold on May 25 2010

Photo: Benjamin Herold

Teachers at West Philadelphia High say the timeline of the Renaissance Schools selection process has messed with a good thing.

The two-week delay imposed on West Philadelphia High School for choosing a “turnaround” provider under Superintendent Arlene Ackerman’s Renaissance Schoolsprocess could result in the loss of the some of the schools’ best teachers, according to nearly a dozen faculty members.

The result of Monday night’s final vote by West’s School Advisory Council (SAC)will not be made public until Wednesday. The options were Johns Hopkins/Diplomas Now, Ackerman’s own Promise Academy, and Mastery Charter.

The 62 teachers at West – and all 500 teachers at the District’s14 Renaissance Schools – have been “force transferred” out and guaranteed jobs somewhere in

Remarks by the First Lady at "Let's Move" South Lawn Kick-Off | The White House

Remarks by the First Lady at "Let's Move" South Lawn Kick-Off

by The White House

4:10 P.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Well, it’s good to see you all again! (Applause.) You are the first in this series. The first! Nobody has done this yet. You’re the very first.
But let me tell you a little bit more about why you’re here. As Shelly said, this is about your health. And we've spent a lot of time this year talking about eating right. And that started when we planted just behind you our garden in the White House. We call it the White House Kitchen Garden, and we planted that last year, and we worked with a lot of kids in the D.C. area. They helped us to plant and to harvest.
And the good thing about the kitchen garden is that it helped us start a conversation about eating right, because the kids got so excited about the garden, we figured that if we can get this group of kids excited about vegetables and gardening, that we might be able to take that nationwide.
So we started this campaign called “Let’s Move.” And the goal is to make sure that kids grow up healthy, eating well, and living better and longer, and that you learn skills that you can then teach your kids when you grow up.
And this is a nationwide campaign. I mean, we’ve got everyone in the country helping. We’ve got your parents

History of Education, Teacher Training, Teaching, Teachers … | Educational New York

History of Education, Teacher Training, Teaching, Teachers …

by Educational America

(La Salle College in Philadelphia, taught education.) New York , Teachers College, founded in 1888, was at Columbia University, 1893, from his college teaching, stating: “Teachers’ Training College is designed to allow for the possibility … Most of the British Commonwealth history, education and training system of teachers, entry into teacher training should be above average education for middle school or secondary education , the British public building or a normal price …

The rest is here:

Sloan Semester :: Degrees :: Bears Guide to Earning College …

by Educational America

The essential reference to alternative education , this book covers it all: night and weekend colleges, foreign medical schools, degress by Internet and other e-mail avenues, and basically every other way of earning a Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate, law, … In two years I obtained an AA degree from the University of the State of New York , while working at my regular job and never attending a college campus except for a few hours to take some monitored tests.

Read more:

Can You Hear Me Now? � InterACT

Can You Hear Me Now?

by David B. Cohen

Original image by David B. Cohen

On Monday, May 24, 2010, a number of teachers I know, some personally and some through online networks, had a chance to speak with Arne Duncan. The conference call came about through the efforts of ACT member Anthony Cody, whose disillusionment with the federal education agenda led him to start a Facebook group called Teachers’ Letters to Obama. That grassroots organizing involved a letter writing campaign, and also led teacher Marsha Ratzel to help push the conference call idea into the consciousness of some people at the Department of Education.
The conversation, if we can call it that, turned out to be rather disappointing to the teacher participants. I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’ve had my own negative experience with a DOE conference call, and the descriptions I’ve seen suggest that yesterday’s events were more of the same. The bottom line is that the so-called experts on education go through the motions of hearing teachers, but not really listening. Our expertise is discounted or ignored, and our criticisms are held against us like so much self-interested complaining. If an

Harkin Opts Not to Attach 'Edujobs' to War Supplemental - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Harkin Opts Not to Attach 'Edujobs' to War Supplemental

by Alyson Klein

The wrangling over that $23 billion edujobs bill continues.
Originally, the Senate sponsor of the measure, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the chairman of the subcommittee that oversees education spending, had planned to offer the legislation as an amendment to the war supplemental spending bill that the Senate is expected to consider soon.
That strategy made sense because a) the war supplemental is a must-pass bill, and b) it's emergency spending, so the $23 billion wouldn't need to be offset.
But Harkin changed his game plan once he realized that he couldn't get the 60 votes needed to pass the provision.
Here's how he explained his decision:

I have decided not to offer an amendment on education jobs funding to the supplemental

Schools Matter: Education Cuts in Oregon?

Education Cuts in Oregon?

by Kenneth Libby

From the Oregonian:

Oregon revenue drops sharply, rips $563 million hole in state budget
By Harry Esteve, The Oregonian
May 25, 2010, 11:43AM

SALEM -- Oregon’s stubbornly bad economy has left a huge hole in the state budget, distressed lawmakers learned today -- $563 million that must be cut from schools and other programs over the next year unless more money comes in.

Attacking Colleges of Education

by Kenneth Libby

From Henry A. Giroux, via Truthout:

Dumbing Down Teachers: Attacking Colleges of Education in the Name of Reform
Tuesday 25 May 2010
by: Henry A. Giroux, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
As the Obama administration's educational reform movement increasingly adopts the interests and values of a "free-market" culture, many students graduate public schooling and higher education with an impoverished political imagination, unable to recognize injustice and unfairness. They often find themselves invested in a notion of unattached individualism that severs them from any sense of moral and social responsibility to others or to a larger notion of the common good. At the same time, those students who jeopardize the achievement of the quantifiable measures and

Cartoon Network plans major anti-bullying campaign - Boston.com

Cartoon Network plans major anti-bullying campaign

This undated image provided by the Cartoon Network shows the company logo. (AP Photo/Cartoon Network)

By David Crary

AP National Writer / May 25, 2010

Text size – +

NEW YORK—Next fall, when millions of kids tune into Cartoon Network to watch Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and other favorites, they'll encounter something new -- an ambitious campaign to enlist them as foot soldiers in the fight against bullying.

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Unlike many bullying programs, this one is geared toward middle school, where experts say bullying is most common. It also targets not bullies nor the bullied, but kids who witness bullying, giving them appropriate techniques to intervene.

"There are specific strategies young people can learn to make a difference in their schools and communities," said Alice Cahn, Cartoon Network's vice president of social responsibility. "We decided to focus on those who watch bullying happen -- the bystander community -- who know they should do something, but are not sure what."

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

GE chief tells BC graduates ethics, innovation, collaboration count

Boston College graduates got a dose of reality with a hint of promise from General Electric chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt yesterday. (By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff)

Neighbors fight school over bid to move church

Neighbors of a historic church in Cambridge are suing Lesley University and the City of Cambridge over new zoning laws that could enable the school to relocate the Art Institute of Boston to the church’s lot in Porter Square. (By Brock Parker, Globe Correspondent)

In Walpole, Rebels’ pride still sparks a fight

WALPOLE — Past clapboard houses with white fences, in a tree-filled yard next to the local high school is an unusual sight: a large sign painted to look like a Confederate flag. (By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff)

Quincy teachers vote to defer 4 percent raise till next year

DORCHESTER — Facing the elimination of as many as 200 positions and cuts to programs such as all-day kindergarten and foreign-language instruction, members of the Quincy teachers union voted yesterday evening to defer their 4 percent pay raises until next year. (By Molly A. K. Connors, Globe Correspondent)

Educational publishers take on role as guides to federal grant process

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. — If you’re applying for a grant from the Obama administration, be sure to use this phrase,’’ Nancy Updegraff said authoritatively. (By D.C. Denison, Globe Staff)

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

Ky. budget proposal clears key House panel hurdle (AP, 3:39 p.m.)
NC House budget-writers detail saving $200M more (AP, 3:24 p.m.)
Cartoon Network plans major anti-bullying campaign(AP, 3:10 p.m.)
As Marshall clerk, Kagan was wary of conservatives(AP, 2:40 p.m.)
RI school board expected to let teachers keep jobs (AP, 1:48 p.m.)

LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS

Ed board upholds closing of Mass. charter school (AP, 10:48 a.m.)
GOP gubernatorial hopefuls spar over Mich. economy(AP, 10:39 a.m.)
Exercise limits: Just 1 in 5 kids live near parks (AP, 10:10 a.m.)
More teachers’ unions throw support behind R.I.’s race to top (Boston Globe, 5/24/10)
Research ties W.Va. dropouts to metro economies (AP, 5/24/10)