Monday, August 30, 2010

No further cutbacks for Portland schools this fall | OregonLive.com

No further cutbacks for Portland schools this fall

Published: Monday, August 30, 2010, 7:52 PM Updated: Monday, August 30, 2010, 7:59 PM

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The superintendent and school board of Portland Public Schools plan to spend $6 million from reserves, rather than cut more teachers, freeze employee pay or eliminate school days, in the face of continuing state budget woes.

Robb Cowie, the school district's communications director, said this evening that Superintendent Carole Smith, school board co-chairs Pam Knowles and Trudy Sargent and board budget chairman David Wynde all have committed to spend down the district savings account by another $6 million. That means that, altgother, the district will spend $25 million more than it will take in to operate schools in 2010-11.

Board members had said for months they prefer to make long-term cuts than to put off hard choices and allow unsustainable spending levels for another year. But with the latest drop in state

PowerPoint: The World According To Huberman - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

PowerPoint: The World According To Huberman Thanks thanks thanks to the reader who sent along this fascinating (yes!) PowerPoint presentation from the principals' meeting at UIC last week. So much interesting information in there (like results from the Scantron pilot and school safety data ...

Jobs: IFF Needs You [image: mike-giant-sharpie-300x300.jpg] The Illinois Facilities Fund is looking for a VP for policy development -- that could be you (PDF). Any other good jobs out there? Not everyone can be a classroom teacher, obviously.

12,000 Oregon students fail reading test they must pass to graduate | OregonLive.com

12,000 Oregon students fail reading test they must pass to graduate

Published: Monday, August 30, 2010, 7:13 PM Updated: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:05 PM

Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
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Ross William Hamilton/The OregonianEducators say the desire to earn a high school diploma was a powerful motivator when sophomores took the state reading test this spring. A record high 71 percent passed.

This year, knowing their diplomas depend on it, Oregon high school sophomores made unprecedented gains in reading, with a record 71 percent of students passing the state reading exam.

Still, 12,000 Oregon students will begin their junior year next week at risk of failing to graduate.

They must pass the state reading test or its equivalent by senior year to get a diploma.

Students who reach the halfway point of high school unable to read well probably will require extra reading classes and instruction targeted to their skill level if they are to improve enough to earn a diploma, said Julie Anderson, Oregon's reading and writing specialist.

Staff in the office of Oregon schools Superintendent Susan Castilloare phoning every district's superintendent this week to alert them how many of their students have yet to pass and the importance of helping

Listen to us, teachers tell Arne Duncan in Albany | GothamSchools

Listen to us, teachers tell Arne Duncan in Albany

by Maura Walz

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan (right) and NYSUT President Richard Ianuzzi listen to a teacher at a roundtable at NYSUT's Albany headquarters today.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan (right, blue shirt) and NYSUT President Richard Ianuzzi listen to a teacher at a roundtable at NYSUT's Albany headquarters today.

ALBANY, N.Y. — Teamwork was the watchword as U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan took his national

Remainders: Taking a long, personal view on student success

by Philissa Cramer

Tracking down South Bronx students eight years later, with disappointing results. (Robert Pondiscio)
A kindergarten teacher’s son was murdered by one of her former students. (Baltimore Sun)
An inspiring story about a student who tried, failed, and tried again. (Pissed Off Teacher)
A historical argument for why translating memos to parents is a really good idea. (Tablet)
Unpacking the New York Post’s high school rankings. (Leonie Haimson)
Budget documents suggest the city is cutting funds to lower class size. (Norm’s Notes)
The Economic Policy Institute finds issues with score-based value-added evaluations. (Answer Sheet)
Race to the Top and the problem of trying to do too much at once. (Sara Mead)
Why D.C.’s mayoral primary is “a caution for overcaffeinated fans of mayoral control.” (Rick Hess)
What teachers really want: Well-rested students. (Dan Willingham)
D.C.-area schools are growing more diverse, maybe because of the recession. (Washington Examiner)
Or maybe because schools are actively recruiting white families. (Washington City Paper)
And congratulations to Elizabeth! She’s writing a book based on “Building a Better Teacher.” (Russo)

Blog U.: Ask the Administrator: Swimming Upstream - Confessions of a Community College Dean - Inside Higher Ed

Ask the Administrator: Swimming Upstream
By Dean Dad August 30, 2010 9:22 pm
A new correspondent writes:
I am thinking of making a change in my career path. I am a non-tenure track, full time instructor, starting my 8th year in this job. While I enjoy my job and it is reasonably stable even in a terrible economy & job market, it is obviously untenable as a seriously-long-term career option. But I really like working in a University community and I want to find a way to stay in that environment.
I have also done some administrative work at this same campus and find that I am reasonably good at it and willing to do it (boring meetings, aside, and yes I know there are lots of those). And the work is never-ending, it seems. So I am considering going back to school and getting an MA (possibly PhD) in Higher Ed Admin from a well-regarded program. Now admitting this to fellow faculty on my campus would be like announcing that I have an undesirable social disease. The relationship between faculty and administrators on our

Value-Added Mashup � The Core Knowledge Blog

Value-Added Mashup

by Robert Pondiscio
August 30th, 2010

Posted in Assessment and Testing, Teaching, accountability | No Comments »

The Los Angeles Times clearly gave the wrong impression when it put a teacher on its front page and described him as “among the least effective of the district’s elementary school teachers.” We now learn the purpose was not to single out or embarrass bad teachers. The reason the paper has published a database with value-added scores for 6,000 LAUSD teachers is to correct the intolerable injustice of excellent teachers notgetting the credit they deserve.

“The Los Angeles Unified School District has hundreds of Jaime Escalantes — teachers who preside over remarkable successes, year after year, often against incredible odds,” notes the paper’s latest. “But nobody is making a film about them.”

It’s an outrage, I tell you! Emboldened by the Times support for teachers, perhaps theworkers should strike for fame. More VAM commentary from veteran L.A. teacher Walt