Thursday, July 22, 2010

Philadelphia's top charter school administrator resigns | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/22/2010

Philadelphia's top charter school administrator resigns

By Martha Woodall

Inquirer Staff Writer

After 18 sometimes-rocky months, the Philadelphia School District's top charter school administrator has resigned, according to district and charter sources.
Benjamin W. Rayer's departure comes amid reports that Superintendent Arlene Ackerman is readying yet another round of administrative shake-ups.
District spokesman Fernando Gallard declined to comment.
"We are not ready to comment on senior staff changes at this point," Gallard said in an e-mail, adding that the district plans to make an announcement "within the next several days."
Rayer, 43, a former chief operating officer at Mastery Charter Schools, did not respond to e-mails or phone calls seeking comment.
After he was appointed, Rayer said his goal was to improve charters' relationships with the district, which were

Plaudits and fears at Phila. school

Pollock Elementary in the Northeast got a national honor, but some parents and staff say it isn't safe.

The federal government has honored Pollock Elementary, a public school in the Northeast, with a prestigious Blue Ribbon education award.

Christie targets salaries of school superintendents

Gov. Christie proposed salary caps on Thursday to limit, and in many cases cut, what the state's public school districts pay their superintendents and other top administrators.

Harlem-based antipoverty program to train Camden agencies

The cradle-to-career approach to combating generational poverty that has made the Harlem Children's Zone a national education model may be coming to Camden.

Penn State board approves tuition increase

Pennsylvania State University tuition will increase by 3.9 percent to 5.9 percent this year - depending on students' residency and campus - under a plan approved Friday by the Board of Trustees.

3 Haddonfield students admit guilt in grade hacking

Three Haddonfield Memorial High School students pleaded guilty Thursday to charges connected to hacking into their school's computer system and changing grades, authorities said.

Ackerman, Nutter fault media reports on school progress

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and Mayor Nutter told business and community leaders Thursday about "significant gains" the Philadelphia School District had made in the last year because the news, they said, was not being fully reported in the media.

Friday Throwdown: Feds strongarm Mass. on education standards - BostonHerald.com

Friday Throwdown: Feds strongarm Mass. on education standards

By Todd A. Prussman
Friday, July 23, 2010 - Updated 7 hours ago

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Remember what a big deal MCAS was when Ed Reform was passed in 1993? Are you ready to abandon it?

This week’s topic: Feds strongarm Massachusetts on education standards

With a unanimous vote Wednesday, the state education board took a giant step away from the MCAS education curriculum by moving to adopt federal ‘Common Core’ standards.

The Wall Street overhaul and health care reform were the subject of intense debate and bitter partisanship in Washington and locally. But in one fell swoop, the Obama Administration was successful in pushing the majority of the states to adopt a national educational curriculum.

US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan himself characterized federal involvement with state education oversight the “third-rail” of education.

“I’m ecstatic,” Duncan told the New York Times [NYT], “This has been the third

School Tech Connect: Tell A Colleague: Dump The Trib!

Tell A Colleague: Dump The Trib!

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

I would just like to point out that if you know anyone who still uses the Tribune in Education program from the teacher-hating Chicago Tribune, you may want to point them to the much more comprehensive New York Times in Education program, which is also free to for classroom electronic subscriptions. And totally better.

The Times' classroom activities are intelligent and appeal to wide range of

Education Philanthropies Shift Focus to Completion Quick Takes: July 22, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: July 22, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Mass. lawmakers OK bill targeting school food - Boston.com

Mass. lawmakers OK bill targeting school food

July 22, 2010

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BOSTON—Massachusetts lawmakers have sent to Gov. Deval Patrick a bill designed to encourage healthier food options in the state's elementary and high schools.

Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo said on Thursday that the goal of the bill is to combat the growing problem of childhood obesity.

The bill requires schools to adhere to nutritional guidelines for foods and beverages sold to students outside of the federal meal program.

The guidelines, which also apply to food and drinks sold in school vending

No Visa, No School, Many New York Districts Say - NYTimes.com

No Visa, No School, Many New York Districts Say

By NINA BERNSTEIN

Published: July 22, 2010

REPRINTS

Three decades after the Supreme Court ruled that immigrationviolations cannot be used as a basis to deny children equal access to a public school education, one in five school districts in New York State is routinely requiring a child’s immigration papers as a prerequisite to enrollment, or asking parents for information that only lawful immigrants can provide.

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The State Department of Education in Albany. The Constitution guarantees a public education even to children here illegally.

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Back to School, but Only With a Visa

The New York Civil Liberties Union, which culled a list of 139 such districts from hundreds of registration forms and instructions posted online, has not found any children turned away for lack of immigration paperwork. But it warned in a letter to the state’s education commissioner on Wednesday that the requirements listed by many registrars, however free of discriminatory intent, “will inevitably discourage families from enrolling in school for fear that they would be reported to federal immigration authorities.”

For months, the group has been pushing the StateEducation Department to stop the practices, which range from what the advocates consider unintentional barriers, like requiring a Social Security number, to those the letter called “blatantly discriminatory,” like one demanding that noncitizen children show a “resident alien card,” with the warning that “if the card is expired, it will not be accepted.”

But the Education Department has resisted doing anything to address the issue directly, in contrast with several other states — including Maryland, Nebraska and New Jersey — where education officials have taken strong steps in recent years to halt similar practices.

“It is the responsibility of each local school district to ensure that it complies with all laws and decisions regarding student registration,” Jonathan Burman, a spokesman for the

Failure to Communicate

By ABIGAIL SULLIVAN MOORE

Mark Kegans for The New York Times

THE ODD COUPLE Ryan Melson, left, and Matt Blumenreich in their room at Grinnell College in Iowa. Mr. Melson is the neat one.

A masking tape line down the middle of the dorm room? Texting beats talking.

Slide Show: Earned Housing

The State Department of Education in Albany. The Constitution guarantees a public education even to children here illegally.

Despite Ruling, Many School Districts Ask for Immigration Papers

By NINA BERNSTEIN 41 minutes ago

Civil liberties advocates have unsuccessfully asked the Education Department to stop localities from imposing enrollment barriers on immigrant children, intentionally or not.

Documents: Back to School, but Only With a Visa

Oakland Schools Struggle, but Emeryville May Point a Way Up

By GERRY SHIH

Superintendent Tony Smith of the Oakland schools has a five-year plan to turn the system around, and it’s based on his success in the nearby Emeryville district.

A Tougher Conflict Policy at Harvard Medical School

By DUFF WILSON

Professors will now be prohibited from giving paid speeches for the makers of medical devices or drugs or accepting gifts, travel or meals.

Many States Adopt National Standards for Their Schools

By TAMAR LEWIN

States that accept the standards by Aug. 2 win points in the Obama administration’s Race to the Top competition for a share of the $3.4 billion to be awarded in September.

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Thursday, July 22, 2010