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Friday, August 6, 2010

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Indiana Math and Science Academy

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Indiana Math and Science Academy

Indiana Math and Science Academy

by The Perimeter Primate
Indiana has two known Gulen schools; both are in Indianapolis.
HISTORY
Indiana Math and Science Academy – West was originally called IMSA – Indianapolis. It opened in 2007 having been authorized by Ball State University.
Indiana Math and Science Academy – North is due to open fall 2010 (press release HERE) having been
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This Week In Education: USDE: Duncan Bullied Into Bullying Summit

This Week In Education: USDE: Duncan Bullied Into Bullying Summit

USDE: Duncan Bullied Into Bullying Summit

Nelson-simpsons-bullyYou said beer summit.
No I didn't. You must've heard wrong. What a dummy.
Well I don't want to go. It's my week off. Barack said I could.
It's just one event, you skinny punk. And I don't care what Barack says -- he's not here, is he?
Two whole days in the middle of August? That's crazy. You can't make me do it.
Just show up and do your little speech, you crybaby. The DCCC needs you the rest of the time, anyway.


EVENT DATE: Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 11-12, 2010
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Remainders: Electeds pile on Klein over charter expansion | GothamSchools

Remainders: Electeds pile on Klein over charter expansion | GothamSchools

Remainders: Electeds pile on Klein over charter expansion

by Maura Walz
  • Lots of LES electeds criticized the city for ignoring a state ruling against a charter expansion. (Lo-Down)
  • Marc Epstein: The state should fix high school Regents exams, too. (City Journal)
  • Ravitz vs. Ravitch: the DOE’s new communications chief takes on a major critic. (HuffPo)
  • Is the middle of a recession the right time for education reform? (Hechinger)
  • One teacher is skeptical that the city will spend its $200 million share of edujobs properly. (Chaz)
  • NewSchools Venture Fund has a new $100 million fund for innovation. (Politics K-12)
  • A charter student is suing a city paper for using his photo in a story about gangs. (Courthouse News)
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UC.world � The Quick and the Ed

UC.world � The Quick and the Ed

UC.world

by Kevin Carey
It’s often hard to predict the future. But not always. For example, I’m certain that in 2050, barring global catastrophe, there will be a place called “the University of California, Berkeley” where exceptionally bright student will come to live and study. Eminent scholars will be there too, working with one another and teaching students face-to-face. People will drink too much on weekends, go to football games, say things that they’ll look back on with a mixture of pride and embarrassment, and complain about parking.
I’m just as certain that in 2050 the University of California will be granting bachelor’s degrees to students who
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City opens doors to new physics, G&T, and ESL teachers | GothamSchools

City opens doors to new physics, G&T, and ESL teachers | GothamSchools

City opens doors to new physics, G&T, and ESL teachers

by Philissa Cramer
In a Friday afternoon gift to prospective teachers, the city announced today that it is relaxing hiring restrictions in a few more subjects.
Principals are now allowed to look outside the city’s current teaching corps to fill physics, gifted and talented, and elementary English as a second language positions. Applicants who want to teach gifted classes must have special certification from the state.
The positions join a handful of others that are exempt from the Department of Education’s


The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores

by GothamSchools
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Could aspiring teachers get a taste of what it’s like in an urban classroom? QUICK Hits � The Quick and the Ed

QUICK Hits � The Quick and the Ed

QUICK Hits

by Forrest Hinton
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The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores | GothamSchools

The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores | GothamSchools

The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores

by GothamSchools
picture-161Schools that screen come out on top and schools that take neighborhood students fall to the bottom of our next rankings installment, which tackles middle schools.
A few charter schools are also in the mix — both on the top and bottom lists. Unlike

Opposition to “Waiting for Superman” slow in gaining steam

by Maura Walz
Will teachers offended by the crusading film “Waiting for Superman” make their voices heard? A first attempt has fizzled, so far.
The film’s negative portrayal of teachers unions has drawn criticism from, among others, teachers union president Randi Weingarten. So when Donors Choose, the website that helps match small donors with teachers seeking to fund classroom projects, sent out an email to its members asking them to pledge to see the film, a
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Paul Strange will not seek re-election as Mt. Diablo trustee - ContraCostaTimes.com

Paul Strange will not seek re-election as Mt. Diablo trustee - ContraCostaTimes.com

Paul Strange will not seek re-election as Mt. Diablo trustee

By Michelle Maitre
Contra Costa Times
Posted: 08/06/2010 11:28:28 AM PDT
Updated: 08/06/2010 11:50:09 AM PDT




Paul Strange announced today that he will not seek re-election to the Mt. Diablo school board.
In a post on the Mt. Diablo schools blog, Strange, a district trustee since 2006, wrote: "To properly serve the school district, I believe a school board member must commit in excess of a thousand hours per year to school board service. In the past few years, I have committed that level of time. This commitment has kept me away from my family and my business. When I first joined the district, my son was in kindergarten and my daughter in preschool. This year, they will be in fourth and fifth grade."
Strange is the second incumbent to decline to seek re-election in November. Longtime trustee Dick Allen also won't run again.
Three seats are open on the board; incumbent Linda Mayo has taken out papers for re-election. Today at 5 p.m. is

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This Week In Education: Event: GOOD Kicks Off LA Event

This Week In Education: Event: GOOD Kicks Off LA Event

Event: GOOD Kicks Off LA Event

Picture 17cThe folks at GOOD education (including former contributor Amanda Millner-Fairbanks) are hosting an education event of some sort in LA later this month, featuring all sorts of luminaries and ne'er do wells (Randi Weingarten (President, American Federation of Teachers), Jordan Henry (Teacher,
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CMSA: Pregnant Charter Teacher Fired For Organizing - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

CMSA: Pregnant Charter Teacher Fired For Organizing - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

CMSA: Pregnant Charter Teacher Fired For Organizing

by Alexander Russo

littledebbielookalike.jpg
Remember how in June we found out that the teachers at CMSA (Chicago Math and Science Academy) charter school had organized? Well the latest on that front is that the school allegedly fired one of the leaders of the

Back To School On Monday For Many

by Alexander Russo

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Don't forget -- Monday is back to school day for all the "year round" schools.

There are now 195 such schools, 63 new ones according to the press release below, plus 19 additional high schools on Track E.

Any words to the newbies out there from all of you who've already crossed over into Track E Land?

AM News: "Year-Round" Schools Start Monday

by Alexander Russo

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Five Chicago schools starting year-round classes Sun Times: Starting Monday, for the first time, five Chicago neighborhood high schools will begin "year-round" classes -- a move some hail and others predict could explode in "disaster."... TIF surplus Daley Chicago Tribune: If Daley declares a surplus to free up those TIF dollars, he'll have to share them with the local governments that have been shortchanged by his ever-expanding TIF empire. He should do it anyway... What communities are planning for Promise Neighborhoods Catalyst: Profiles of what five communities are proposing (Englewood: Roseland, Chicago Lawn, I forget the rest)... Taser Use By Chicago Police Officers Increases Sharply Sun Times: hicago Police officers have nearly quadrupled their use of Tasers since the department equipped every beat car with the electric-shock weapons earlier this year, according to new figures released by the Independent Police Review Authority...Bill Ayers To Retire WBEZ: Longtime University of Illinois at Chicago professor Bill Ayers is retiring
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Romer leaving Obama administration, returning to UC Berkeley job - Inside Bay Area

Romer leaving Obama administration, returning to UC Berkeley job - Inside Bay Area

Romer leaving Obama administration, returning to UC Berkeley job

By Ben Feller and Julie Pace
Associated Press
Posted: 08/06/2010 08:00:55 AM PDT
Updated: 08/06/2010 08:50:51 AM PDT




WASHINGTON -- Christina Romer, one of President Barack Obama's most pivotal economic advisers, is resigning from the administration and returning to her job as a professor of economics at UC Berkeley.
Romer, the head of the Council of Economic Advisers, announced her resignation Thursday, effective Sept. 3. She becomes the second high-level Obama aid to leave this summer, following the resignation of White House Budget Director Peter Orszag.
The White House cast the decision as an unsurprising one driven by family reasons; in a statement, Obama said Romer has long wanted to return to California, where her son will be starting high school in the fall.
Romer has been one of the administration's most prominent voices on the economy, making frequent appearances on

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Hechinger Report | Video: Should we try to reform education in a recession?

Hechinger Report | Video: Should we try to reform education in a recession?
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Five Oaks teacher runs 216-mile relay -- solo -- in honor of former Beaverton student with leukemia | OregonLive.com

Five Oaks teacher runs 216-mile relay -- solo -- in honor of former Beaverton student with leukemia | OregonLive.com

Five Oaks teacher runs 216-mile relay -- solo -- in honor of former Beaverton student with leukemia

Published: Friday, August 06, 2010, 9:00 AM Updated: Friday, August 06, 2010, 11:00 AM
Eric Florip, The Oregonian Eric Florip, The Oregonian
eric_salkeld1.JPGView full sizeMICHAEL ROLOFF/TEAM COURAGE VS. CANCERBeaverton teacher Eric Salkeld poses with 14-year-old Levi Seed at the finish of the Cascade Lakes Relay on Sunday. Salkeld ran the entire 216-mile course through central Oregon as a tribute to Seed, who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2008. The effort also spawned a fundraiser for the Portland-based Children's Cancer Association.
Eric Salkeld swears he's a normal guy. But his hobby suggests otherwise.

Consider this: The 35-year-old Beaverton teacher once made the 60-mile trip from his Tigard home to Mount Hood on foot, in about 10 hours.

"That's a training run," he said.

Salkeld recites another running loop that takes him from Tigard to Newberg, through Bald Peak State Park to Hillsboro, then to downtown Portland and back to Tigard. Another 60-miler.

Sometimes, Salkeld wakes up at 3 a.m. to run the equivalent of a marathon, then completes his work day. Oh, and he teaches a fitness class, too.

"It's embarrassing in a lot of ways," Salkeld said of his Herculean training






Beaverton's Southridge High among success stories in hitting federal 'No Child Left Behind' targets

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By Melissa Navas, The Oregonian

August 06, 2010, 12:00PM
In Hillsboro and Forest Grove school districts, success rates remain flat compared with last year. Full story »
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Five Oaks teacher runs 216-mile relay -- solo -- in honor of former Beaverton student with leukemia

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By Eric Florip, The Oregonian

August 06, 2010, 9:00AM
Tigard resident Eric Salkeld runs the Cascade Lakes Relay to raise money for Children's Cancer Association, a charity picked by 14-year-old Levi Seed. Full story »
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North Clackamas, Oregon City school districts raise student fees to cope with budget problems

By Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

August 06, 2010, 8:00AM
The North Clackamas and Oregon City school districts have increased student athletic fees for the 2010-11 school year, saying the new rates are still lower than those at a number of area schools. Full story »
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Most Southwest schools meet federal benchmarks, but high schools lag behind

By The Oregonian

August 06, 2010, 6:30AM
Though the vast majority of elementary and middle schools met federal "Adequate Yearly Progress" standards, most of the high schools in the Southwest neighborhood districts did not. Full story »
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Five Clackamas County schools improve federal AYP ratings

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By Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

August 06, 2010, 6:00AM
Seventy-nine schools in Clackamas County -- about 75 percent -- met "adequate yearly progress," or AYP, standards under the No Child Left Behind law this year. Full story »
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Portland Public Schools in line for $9 million to keep teachers, $3 million more than expected

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

August 05, 2010, 5:26PM
The Portland school board decided last month to bank on $6 million from Congress to keep teaching jobs, a risky move. Now it looks like the district will get far more than that. Full story »
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