Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, August 23, 2010

School Tech Connect: We Just Can't Afford It

School Tech Connect: We Just Can't Afford It

We Just Can't Afford It

One of the best values on the Kindle is a subscription to The Nation. There's a terrific letter to the editor in the August 30th edition, written by Michael Ash, of the University of Massachusetts. He says this thing I've been meaning to say on this blog but can never formulate the words. So I'm just going to steal them here.

There is a pension crisis, but it's not the overgenerosity of public-sector pensions. The

Ambitious School Overhaul Drive Hits Delays - NYTimes.com

Ambitious School Overhaul Drive Hits Delays - NYTimes.com

Ambitious School Overhaul Drive Hits Delays

Monica Almeida/The New York Times

Officials in San Bernardino, Calif., had to scale back plans for a makeover at Pacific High School.


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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Secretary of Education Arne Duncanset an ambitious goal last year of overhauling 1,000 schools a year, using billions of dollars in federal stimulus money.

Monica Almeida/The New York Times

Pacific High School was supposed to be converted into a charter school.

But that effort is off to an uneven start. Schools from Maine to California are starting the fall term with their overhaul plans postponed or in doubt because negotiations among federal regulators, state officials and local educators have led to delays and confusion.

In this sprawling district east of Los Angeles, for example,



Scholars Test Web Alternative to Peer Review

Andrew Councill for The New York Times

Dan Cohen, director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, is among the academics who advocate a more open, Web-based approach to reviewing scholarly works.

For professors, publishing in elite journals is an unavoidable part of university life. The grueling process of subjecting work to the up-or-down judgment of credentialed scholarly peers has been a cornerstone of academic culture since at least the mid-20th century.

Now some humanities scholars have begun to challenge the monopoly that peer review has on admission to career-making journals and, as a consequence, to the charmed circle of tenured academe. They argue that in an era of digital media there is a better way to assess the quality of work. Instead of relying on a few experts selected by leading publications, they advocate using the Internet to

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento schools eligible for federal refugee money

Published: Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 - 5:22 pm

Sacramento School districts are eligible for federal funding to help 1,801 refugee children in grades K-12 who have arrived in the county in the last three years, the California Department of Social Services announced today.

The department has received a $1 million federal grant to provide summer school and English-learner classes to help new refugees adjust to their new lives here after fleeing persecution or war in their home countries. Districts in several counties with large refugee populations are eligible to

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/23/2977680/sacramento-schools-eligible-for.html#mi_rss=Education#ixzz0xTqJd0lT

Schools Matter: From Koch Industries to Art Pope to the Tea Party Five of Wake County

Schools Matter: From Koch Industries to Art Pope to the Tea Party Five of Wake County

From Koch Industries to Art Pope to the Tea Party Five of Wake County

Jane Mayer has an important piece of work in the New Yorker on what has to be the richest brotherly team of Obama-hating John Birchers in the world, the Koch Brothers. With limitless billions, they have funded over the years so many corporate socialist initiatives (corporate socialists are fascists without a national loyalty), from sludge tanks to astroturf groups to dirty tricks operations.

Making Movies That Matter Women's Conference

Making Movies That Matter


Making Movies That Matter
  • Family and Friend

08/23/10 | Penelope Ann Miller | 0 Comments

Penelope Ann Miller 250x350
Penelope Ann Miller

I feel we need to support films that send powerful messages to kids about courage, values, and being true to yourself.

If we don’t get behind them and support them Hollywood won’t make them.

Last summer I had the incredible opportunity to be a part of Rob Reiner’s new film, Flipped. It’s a story about two 13 year-olds in the early 1960s – Bryce and Juli – who live across the street from each other and how they find themselves and each other through the trials of love and friendship.

The story “flips” between the viewpoints of these young characters and, as they grow, their perceptions of each other “flip” as well.

I play Juli’s mom in the film, alongside a fantastic ensemble of actors: Madeleine Carol &

Alfie Kohn, Data Denier � The Quick and the Ed

Alfie Kohn, Data Denier � The Quick and the Ed

Alfie Kohn, Data Denier



There’s a real need for healthy skepticism around our nation’s quest to collect and utilize education data to improve and deepen student learning. Complex formulas, such as those used to calculate value-added scores for teachers, need to be open to examination, testing, and improvement over time. Policymakers and educators need to better understand how to interpret and use assessment data, both from statewide summative tests and their own classroom activities. And we need smart policies, practitioners, and even skeptics to help us use better information about student learning t

ACLU asks Supreme Court to hear Va alcohol ad ban - Boston.com

ACLU asks Supreme Court to hear Va alcohol ad ban - Boston.com

ACLU asks Supreme Court to hear Va alcohol ad ban

By Dena Potter
Associated Press Writer / August 23, 2010
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RICHMOND, Va.—The ACLU of Virginia asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a federal appeals court ruling that upholds a ban on alcohol advertising in Virginia's college newspapers.

In a 2-1 ruling in April, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission ban is a minimally restrictive approach to combat problem drinking.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition asking the high court to review the ruling. The ACLU says the ban isn't constitutional because there is no proof it diminishes underage or binge drinking on campus.

Eduwonk � Blog Archive � Odds And Ends

Eduwonk � Blog Archive � Odds And Ends

Who Should Have Access to Teacher Data? - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Who Should Have Access to Teacher Data? - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Who Should Have Access to Teacher Data?

The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, has weighed in on the Los Angeles Times' value-added project. She agrees that parents, teachers, and principals have the right to access this kind of performance data, but argues making such data public to the public at large isn't appropriate.

In some ways, the L.A. Times series is really a litmus test about data, its usage, and who gets to access it. And it's unclear whether other journalists or districts are going to follow the paper's lead and try to obtain these data or to make them public. In the past, getting access to such information hasn't been easy: Researchers

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency
Governor Paterson Submits Plan to Distribute Education Jobs Program Funding
Governor David A. Paterson today submitted his plan to the United States Department of Education for distributing more than $607 million in federal funding from the recently passed Education Jobs Fund.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Governor David A. Paterson today submitted his plan to the United States Department of Education for distributing more than $607 million in federal funding from the recently passed Education Jobs Fund. The Governor submitted his plan just one week after President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.
As part of this plan, the Governor and the State's legislative leaders have agreed that the State will distribute the more than $607 million in funding to school districts according to the State's primary funding formulae to restore, retain and create teacher jobs.

"In this time of economic crisis, our State has been forced to make deep cuts across every area of our budget, including substantial cuts to education," Governor Paterson said. "These federal funds will help mitigate many of these cuts by retaining and creating teacher jobs. In just the week since this bill was signed into law, th

United for Peace & Justice�:�Fall 2010 Calendar

United for Peace & Justice�:�Fall 2010 Calendar
It's time to take the streets again!
Join the Fall Campaign for Peace, Jobs and Justice for All!

Spread the word and organize where and when you can this fall!

Fall Calendar of Action
Sept. (date tba): next Minuteman III ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA
Sept. 21: United Nations International Day of Peace
Sept. 20 - 22: High- Level "Millennium Summit" (Millennium Development Goals to eradicate global poverty), United Nations, NY
Sept 25-27: Appalachia Rising Summit and action, Call for a moratorium on mountain top removal Washington DC
Oct. 2 - 9: Keep Space for Peace Week
Oct. 2: One Nation Working Together in Washington DC - ALL out for a major Peace and Justice

ASCD Inservice: In Case You Missed It

ASCD Inservice: In Case You Missed It

In Case You Missed It

Didn't get a chance to catch up with ASCD, last week? No worries--here are some of the week's highlights:

  • Bueller parents, anyone? Jason Flom asks if you recognize any of these characteristics in the parents you commonly come across, and offers some suggestions for relating to more difficult types.
  • Steven Weber on clear learning targets: "Classroom teachers should have a great amount of flexibility when it comes to 'how' to teach key concepts and skills, but 'what' to teach should be clearly defined by the team."
  • Mike Fisher is seething over the LA Times' announcement of a forthcoming database linking individual LAUSD teachers to their students' standardized test data.
  • A new school year means new opportunities for graduate students to start their own ASCD Student Chapter.

Add your own highlights in the comments, and check this spot for our regular, weekly digest of ASCD activities.

NH town to decide fate of elementary school - Boston.com

NH town to decide fate of elementary school - Boston.com

NH town to decide fate of elementary school

August 23, 2010
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CLAREMONT, N.H.—The town of Unity, N.H., is meeting to vote on the future of its elementary school.

The state school board had voted unanimously to close the school on July 8 because of fire code and other safety violations.

The town is holding a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Stevens High School in Claremont to vote on whether to approve funds for a new school; renovating the old one; and tuition


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