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Sunday, May 30, 2010

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Imagine Schools, Inc.

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Imagine Schools, Inc.

Imagine Schools, Inc.

Imagine Schools is the nation's largest for-profit charter school management company operating 71 public charter schools, and enrolling more than 36,000 students nationwide. Imagine's Web site lists its schools operating in the following 14 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, DC.

The company was founded in 2004 by its current president Dennis Bakke and his wife, Eileen. Bakke is a leader

DA says Cal State Stanislaus didn't intentionally destroy Sarah Palin contract papers - ContraCostaTimes.com

Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Teachers at Portland French School considering union | OregonLive.com

Teachers at Portland French School considering union | OregonLive.com

Teachers at Portland French School considering union

By Joe Fitzgibbon, Special to The Oregonian

May 30, 2010, 5:35PM

Teachers at the Portland French School are adding a new word to their vocabulary lessons: impasse.

School administrators, the board of directors and a handful of anti-union parents have rebuffed efforts by the 35-member staff to form a collective bargaining unit and join the American Federation of Teachers.

Faculty leaders claim that they have little say in how the school is run and have been excluded from policy decisions -- including salary negotiations, so they have turned to the union for help.


About the school
* The Portland French School was founded in 1989 and accredited by the French Ministry of Education.

* Enrollment stands at 240 students, from 2 1/2-year-olds to middle schoolers.

* The school operating budget this year was $2.8 million.

* Tuition ranges from $7,350 for part-time students to $13,050 for full-time middle schoolers, with financial aid available.
"We've got no procedure to handle grievances, no consistent evaluation process, basically no input on what happens here," said Massene Mboup, a second-grade teacher with 11 years of experience at the private school. "We had to sign a 'non-complaining agreement,' and everyone's worried about losing their jobs just for talking about a union."

Board members counter that recent salary increases, a willingness to address teachers' concerns and the small size of the school make a union unnecessary.

And Elimane Mbengue, the head of the school, said he was surprised when staff presented him with a petition for a union. He also said union organizers did not represent the views of all of the staff.

"Last December, everyone received a 7 percent increase in pay -- some as much as 9 percent -- and during our anonymous survey, no one said that they had any concerns," he said. "I certainly wasn't expecting this."

Mbengue described the school as a happy family of staff, parents and students.

"I don't see any need for a union and think it would change the nature of the way we operate," he said. "But, we'll work with it, whatever shape it takes."

In January, a handful of staff from the Southwest Corbett Avenue school met with AFT-Oregon representatives to discuss organizing as a way to

Education-reform puts Colorado in strong spot for funds - The Denver Post


Education-reform puts Colorado in strong spot for funds - The Denver Post


Education-reform puts Colorado in strong spot for funds05/30/2010Colorado may be in better shape to win a competitive Race to the Top education grant, even though it has lost the support of teachers unions and some school districts.
School's out, but should it be?05/28/2010 - As Colorado students wrap up another school year, a movement is underway to lengthen it, or at least provide students with year-round academic enrichment to prevent "the summer slide."
Students' cheating takes a high-tech turn05/27/2010 - Six Golden High School students were caught cheating on a chemistry final last week, forcing the school to make all 100 students enrolled in the course take the exam again before summer break begins next week.
Data may help DPS improve regional outcomes05/25/2010 - School officials are parsing data to try to figure out why educational outcomes for Denver Public Schools students are inconsistent from region to region.
Palin issues "wake-up" call at DU05/22/2010 - With her trademark plain talk and pitch that bring roomfuls of loyalists to their feet, former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin implored 3,500 people at the University of Denver on Saturday to "wake up" because, she said, "I can see November from my house."

NorthJersey.com: N.J. may expand program giving diplomas to war vets

NorthJersey.com: N.J. may expand program giving diplomas to war vets

N.J. may expand program giving diplomas to war vets
Sunday, May 30, 2010
WIRE SERVICE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRENTON — New Jersey lawmakers want to expand a program that allows war veterans to get their diplomas if they left high school early to fight for their country.
The Assembly approved the measure by a 78-0 vote Thursday and sent it to the Senate, where it has been referred to the education committee. That panel has not yet scheduled a hearing on the bill, which would expand the "Operation Recognition" program.
Enacted in 2002, the program awards state-endorsed high school diplomas to World War I and II veterans who attended high school in the Garden State but enlisted in the military before graduating.
If the new measure becomes law, it would allow honorably discharged veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars to take part in the program.
To be eligible, Korean War veterans would have had to serve between June 23, 1950 and Jan. 31, 1955, while Vietnam veterans would have had to serve between Dec. 31, 1960 and May 7, 1975. And in cases where a deceased service member

ACT on Leadership � InterACT

ACT on Leadership � InterACT

ACT on Leadership

On May 8, 2010, the National Board Resource Center (NBRC) at Stanford University hosted an event to celebrate teacher leadership. (The NBRC is the umbrella program under which Accomplished California Teachers operates). The occasion was the final support meeting for current National Board candidates, and ACT helped to bring in some speakers to talk about the National Board certification, and about teacher leadership more broadly. Our guests included: Kay Garcia, one of the state directors for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; Larry Aceves, a local candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction; Chris Thomsen, a local school board trustee; and Anthony Cody, a leading member of ACT, also known for hisTeacher Magazine blog and his activism efforts through Teachers’ Letters to Obama (on Facebook). (Another somewhat local candidate for Superintendent, Tom Torlakson, was invited but could not attend).
In this clip, one of the 2010 California Teachers of the Year, Valerie Ziegler, of San Francisco, talks about her

Fred Klonsky's blog Sunday links.

Fred Klonsky's blog

Sunday links.

MAY 30, 2010
by preaprez

50,000 march for immigrant rights in Phoenix.
Here are ten things you should know about BP and the eco-disaster in the Gulf.
“The goal of SOS is nothing less than to achieve dramatic improvements in student achievement at priority schools, said Lily Eskelsen, Vice President of the National Education Association.” Schools Matter on the proposals of CA Congresswoman Judy Chu.
“BP is doing a much better job on the oil spill than Illinois lawmakers are doing on the state budget. What a mess,” says the Rockford Register Star.
Washington DC unions desert Mayor Fenty. From the WaPo: “From a labor standpoint, he is unreachable, unapproachable and our correspondence goes unanswered.” A Fenty