Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Engineer's quest illustrates tie between Intel & PSU | OregonLive.com

Engineer's quest illustrates tie between Intel & PSU | OregonLive.com

Saturday coffee. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Saturday coffee. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Saturday coffee.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
by preaprez

I left behind the first full week of school yesterday at 3:30. Mad Labor Day weekend traffic meant that it took an hour to get home.

Anne and I loaded the Mini. We got Ulysses in the back seat. A stop at Starbucks on Armitage for a couple of coffees to go.

By 7:30 PM we were pulling up to the cottage in Lakeside, Michigan. That’s an hour longer than usual. But no sweat.

Anne and I sat on the screened porch with some crackers and cheese. The Rule: No Campari after Labor Day. So, a glass of Campari and soda. Then a refill. I could feel the week slide away.

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Yong Zhao: On nurturing passion

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Yong Zhao: On nurturing passion

Yong Zhao: On nurturing passion

Professor Zhao's wise message needs to be given the widest possible audience. Please send it along to your coworkers, friends, and family.

Our nation's future is at stake.

Mayor: Big Sacramento Wedding Plans 'Mistake' - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Mayor: Big Sacramento Wedding Plans 'Mistake' - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Mayor: Big Sacramento Wedding Plans 'Mistake'

Johnson, Rhee Opt For Smaller Ceremony

POSTED: 5:55 pm PDT August 25, 2010
UPDATED: 6:13 pm PDT August 25, 2010

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said on the radio Wednesday that planning a big Sacramento wedding with 200 guests was a mistake.

The mayor was speaking for the first time about his and his fiancee's decision to put their wedding plans on hold.

The wedding was scheduled to take place Labor Day weekend at St. John's Lutheran Church in midtown Sacramento, followed by a reception at a private home.

Johnson said he and Michelle Rhee, the school superintendent in Washington, D.C., decided they wanted a smaller ceremony with just close friends and family.

The mayor, speaking to KFBK radio, said the change is because of intense public interest, but said he doesn't blame anyone.

SUNY official issues harsh words for Elmira charter school plan | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette

SUNY official issues harsh words for Elmira charter school plan | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette

SUNY official issues harsh words for Elmira charter school plan

Letter lays out inadequacies in proposal in unflattering fashion

BY ROGER NEUMANN •RNEUMANN@GANNETT.COM • SEPTEMBER 3, 2010, 7:40 PM

Undaunted by the harsh criticism of a state review board, an Elmira attorney said he'll apply for a fifth time to establish a charter school in or around the city.

"We're not quitting," Allan Charlap said. "Elmira needs a charter school."

But Charlap and his group have yet to convince the Charter Schools Institute of the State University of New York. In fact, after he declined to withdraw his fourth application following an interview with reviewers in July, the Institute's executive director wrote him a scathing letter explaining some of the concerns about the proposal.

The application "continues to fall well below SUNY's rigorous standards for approval," wrote Jonas Chartock.

Minnesota Tightens Oversight Of Charter Schools - wcco.com

Minnesota Tightens Oversight Of Charter Schools - wcco.com

Minnesota Tightens Oversight Of Charter Schools

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ― Daria Adams said she knew her daughter, Kiana, was in the right place as the smiling teen in the dramatic black headscarf picked up her class schedule at the Saint Paul Conservatory charter school.

"This is just a place that is meant for a girl like her. She likes all the arts, she sings, she does theater, she likes to direct films," Adams said. During Kiana's one semester at a suburban public high school, Adams said, her 17-year-old daughter "just wilted."

So when she was told the school for the performing arts was among the dozens of Minnesota charter schools with an uncertain future due to changes in state law, Adams gasped, "Really? Oh, no."

The nation's oldest charter school movement is undergoing one of its biggest shake-ups in years, with some of the state's 152 charter schools likely to close after this school year. It's due to a 2009 state law that forces groups called charter school authorizers to tighten up their oversight of the schools.

Most charter school leaders say it's a welcome reaction to problems. Several charter

Coalitions gather for school reform - The Boston Globe

Coalitions gather for school reform - The Boston Globe

Coalitions gather for school reform

By Lawrence Harmon
Globe Columnist / September 5, 2010

THERE’S NOT going to be a lot of money around during the next few years to pay for serious changes — such as a longer school day — in Boston’s teacher contract. Instead, someone is going to have to extract school improvements on the cheap out of the Boston Teachers Union.

Fortunately, a lot of people are lining up to do just that. During the last week, dozens of foundations and community groups in two coalitions have demonstrated their support for school administration proposals that are subject to collective bargaining. They include longer school days, stricter teacher evaluations, and greater management flexibility on classroom schedules and teacher placements. Basically, many Bostonians want the city’s 135 district schools to operate pretty much along the lines of the city’s 14 charter schools.

It would be nice if the school reformers could speak with one voice on behalf of the city’s students. But then this wouldn’t be Boston. Instead, two major

Ed Reform goes soft in Massachusetts and so does Arne Duncan - Rock The Schoolhouse's blog - Boston.com

Ed Reform goes soft in Massachusetts and so does Arne Duncan - Rock The Schoolhouse's blog - Boston.com

Ed Reform goes soft in Massachusetts and so does Arne Duncan

Posted by Jim Stergios September 3, 2010 08:07 AM

mr softy.jpg

The MCAS is different from most other state tests. It is a high-stakes test for all students; its being a graduation requirement underscores the seriousness of purpose, and its being for all students meant that we would not allow a good system for some and a less good system for others. After all, that is what we had before 1993.

Success on the MCAS test correlates very well with success on national and international assessments. The better you do on MCAS, the better you are likely to do in college and in

Booker in Good Spot to run for Governor in 2014 | Political News and Opinion for African-Americans on Politic365

Booker in Good Spot to run for Governor in 2014 | Political News and Opinion for African-Americans on Politic365

cory_booker

The global-warming induced summer has been especially hot and bothersome for municipal kid wonder Mayor Cory Booker (D) of Newark.

Running New Jersey’s largest city of approximately 250,000 people is no easy task, yet there were high hopes when Booker hit the scene in 2006 promising to not only upstage the city’s disgraced and former forever-Mayor Sharpe James (D), but to usher in a renaissance, putting the Brick City on the national map. And Newark, with its less than favorable reputation, sorely needed it amid crumbling schools, decaying neighborhoods and incessant crime. For all its rich North Jersey character brought on by Sopranos revivalism, Newark still had trouble shedding its battered image. Not to mention that James – then earning keep as the state’s highest paid politician as both State

Stop blaming public employees for the state's rickety finances - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Stop blaming public employees for the state's rickety finances - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Stop blaming public employees for the state's rickety finances

Published: Saturday, Sep. 4, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 13A

Public sector employees have unfairly become the focal point in an economic catastrophe not of their making. Even "Saturday Night Live" skewered public employees for a cheap laugh. But, while fans of late night television may chuckle, it's no joke that in California, the public sector is under a magnifying glass that ignores the big picture. But as Labor Day approaches, it is important to remember the important role that public sector employees play.

The "Great Recession" is hurting all of us, and the revenue crisis in state and local government



Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/04/3004830/stop-blaming-public-employees.html#ixzz0yZjtAJMl

State appeals court blocks school drug tests

State appeals court blocks school drug tests

State appeals court blocks school drug tests

Saturday, September 4, 2010

(09-03) 17:58 PDT SACRAMENTO -- In a ruling by California's chief justice nominee, a state appeals court has barred a school district from drug testing all students in extracurricular activities such as choir, the school band and Future Farmers of America.

The Shasta Union High School District in Northern California began the testing in 2008, saying the prospect of being disqualified from a favorite after-school activity would discourage youths from using drugs or alcohol.

The district noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that random drug tests of all students in extracurricular programs did not violate the constitutional ban on



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/04/BAEB1F8J2M.DTL#ixzz0yZj5M4PR

New Arizona law: Future 3rd-graders to have to read to pass grade EducationNews.org

EducationNews.org

New Arizona law: Future 3rd-graders to have to read to pass grade
9.4.10 - All third-graders must prove they are reading proficiently by the end of the 2013-14 school year or they will be held back and not allowed to move to fourth grade under a new state law.

The decade's best education books?
9.4.10 - The magazine Education Next's poll of best education books of the past decade is showing some ironic results. ...

A fairer deal for college students
9.4.10 - Senator Tom Harkin - One of the more dramatic developments in higher education in recent years is the explosive growth of for-profit colleges. The largest for-profit institution, the University of Phoenix, has a student body of more than 440,000, far larger than all the universities in the Big Ten combined. ...

Texas schools in limbo over $830 million in federal funds
9.4.10 - Perry signs off on application, but no guarantees. A fight between Gov. Rick Perry and Washington has left local school leaders wondering whether they will see $830 million in federal funds to help plug budget holes. ...

Commentaries

Take Back the Classroom from PowerPoint
9.4.10 - Jason Fertig - Restrict PowerPoint use in teaching to pictures and videos, writes Jason Fertig. Too much PowerPoint usurps professors' authority and


Nationwide school tests coming to your local school!
Through a federal grant, California will join 43 other states in replacing oft-maligned standardized exams.

Compare and contrast: Can Detroit schools learn from Baltimore's turnaround
9.4.10 - Robert Guttersohn - When asked to compare his school district with Detroit's, Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Andrés Alonso lets loose a little laugh and tries to step around the question.

Credit Where Credit Is Due: the L.A. Times Gets It Right about Teachers' Unions
9.4.10 - Terry Cowgill - The unshackling of the MSM - and, to a lesser extent, their erstwhile brethren in the Democratic Party - from the clutches of the nation's teachers' unions continues apace.