Friday, September 24, 2010

Is the D.C. -> Sacto Connection about to become stronger? | Reflections on Teaching

Is the D.C. -> Sacto Connection about to become stronger?

September 19th, 2010 · 1 Comment · politics/policy

All we know for certain is that there will be a new mayor in Washington, D.C. Everything after that seems to be conjecture. Will the District’s schools Chancellor, Michelle Rhee, be out and return to Sacramento, and her fiancee, Mayor Kevin Johnson?

In fact, the only negative that I can see happening as a result of yesterday’s election in D.C. is that it dramatically increases the odds of Ms. Rhee coming here to Sacramento after she marries our Mayor, Kevin Johnson,

Rutgers University students protest illegal immigrant tuition during president's fundraising speech | NJ.com

Rutgers University students protest illegal immigrant tuition during president's fundraising speech

Published: Friday, September 24, 2010, 6:51 PM Updated: Friday, September 24, 2010, 6:56 PM

Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger
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Jerry McCrea/The Star-LedgerMembers of the Latino Student Alliance and other students protest before the annual address to the University Community by Richard L. McCormick, president of Rutgers University, held on the New Brunswick campus.

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NEW BRUNSWICK — A group of Rutgers University students repeatedly interrupted a speech by the school president today as they sought lower tuition for illegal immigrants at New Jersey colleges.

Rutgers President Richard McCormick was forced by students to stop four times during his 32-minute State of the University speech at the student center in New Brunswick.

The students shouted questions about the university’s policy of charging out-of-state tuition to illegal immigrants who grew up in New Jersey. They asked the president to commit to changing the rule.

When McCormick politely declined to respond for a fourth time and continued his speech, about 50 students rose in unison and silently walked out of the hall with their fists

Zuckerberg's $100 million for Newark, N.J., schools stirs controversy - CSMonitor.com

Zuckerberg's $100 million for Newark, N.J., schools stirs controversy

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg intends his $100 million gift to boost student achievement in Newark schools. It's a vote of confidence, too, in Mayor Cory Booker. Do charter schools and merit pay lie ahead?

Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, second from left, poses with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (l.), Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker (second from r.) and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, during a live broadcast of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' on Friday, in Chicago. Zuckerberg pledged to set up a foundation to donate $100 million to Newark's schools over the next five years.

George Burns/Harpo Productions,

The Answer Sheet - Lessons from Virginia's shift on Confederate history

Lessons from Virginia's shift on Confederate history

Several months after issuing a proclamation about “Confederate History Month” in Virginia without mentioning slavery’s role in the Civil War, the state’s governor, Robert F. McDonnell (R), has decided to call it “Civil War in Virginia Month” instead. Better late than never, as is often said, though the lateness raises questions about how well the governor and his advisers understand American history, not to mention modern politics. It also underscores the different way the war is taught to students in different states. Here’s what’s happened, according to my colleague Rosalind S. Helderman: McDonnell today announced he was changing the name of the history month and apologized for issuing the proclamation last April without mentioning slavery. He said, at a conference about slavery hosted as part of the state’s commemoration of the 150th anniversay of the Civil War, that the earlier action was an “error of haste, not heart.”

Editorial: Both sides of the charter issue - Gloucester, MA - Wicked Local Gloucester

Editorial: Both sides of the charter issue

GateHouse News Service

Posted Sep 24, 2010 @ 12:57 PM

Gloucester —

The Gloucester Community Arts Charter School finally opened its doors yesterday, 15 days after the Gloucester Public Schools.

The big question is, how long will it remain open?

Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester has come full circle on the charter school. Nearly two years ago, when the application was still pending and he and other state officials needed to prove to federal officials that the state wasn’t hostile to charter schools, Chester made sure a charter was granted to the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School.

Now, with federal Race to the Top education money already on its way, and more appropriate charter applications in the works for the future, the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School is no longer the apple of his eye.

Putting aside its dubious start in life, the charter school has continued to be a “tough pill to swallow,” to borrow a phrase from Education Secretary Paul Reville.

The Attorney General is dissatisfied with the school’s response to her findings that the school violated bidding procedures.

In addition, judge has said he will reconsider an injunction against the school – possibly shutting down – when the budget cycle starts up later this year. The lawsuit by public school parents against the charter is still pending, and was not thrown out as the charter school attorney predicted.

And Chester himself has sent two letters in the past week “strongly urging” GCACS officials not to open the school, and predicting a short future for it if it does.

The happiness of the students and families gathered

A report card on job preparedness coming soon

California is home to 1 in 10 public school students in the United States. While our state was not...

UC Berkeley plans to cut another 200 jobs

UC Berkeley, pegged by efficiency experts as bloated with too many managers, will eliminate about 200...

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Audit: S.F. schools outdated on special ed

The $122 million San Francisco schools spend on its 6,300 special education students fails to consistently address

occupyCA: one year � occupy california

occupyCA: one year

by *

Here we are, a year on and the struggle continues. Here we we’re, a year ago:

We are occupying this building at the University of California, Santa Cruz, because the current situation has become untenable. Across the state, people are losing their jobs and getting evicted, while social services are slashed. California’s leaders from state officials to university presidents have demonstrated how they will deal with this crisis: everything and everyone is subordinated to the budget. They insulate themselves from the consequences of their own fiscal mismanagement, while those who can least afford it are left shouldering the burden. Every solution on offer only accelerates the decay of the State of California. It remains for the people to seize what is theirs. (read more)

Govt. delays rule opposed by for-profit colleges - Boston.com

Govt. delays rule opposed by for-profit colleges

By Eric Gorski

AP Education Writer / September 24, 2010

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The U.S. Education Department said Friday it will take more time to finalize new regulations targeting for-profit college job-training programs, but emphasized it was intent on moving forward and holding the sector accountable.

For-profit colleges have campaigned hard against the "gainful employment" rule, which would cut off federal aid to college vocational programs with high student debt levels and poor loan repayment rates. They've lobbied Congress, purchased newspaper ads and helped students

Repayment Rates vs. CDRs � The Quick and the Ed

Repayment Rates vs. CDRs

by Ben Miller

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released the latest set of cohort default rates. As expected, the overall average default rate continued its upward trend, with 7 percent of the students who entered repayment in the 2008 fiscal year defaulting on their federal loans within two years.

Though the average default rate is at its highest point since 1998, it’s still pretty low–93 percent of loans don’t default. But other data released by the department demonstrate that the actual repayment picture is far bleaker than these numbers suggest. Based on those numbers, about 54 to 56 percent of loan dollars borrowed by students at public or nonprofit colleges are repaid versus just 36 percent of the dollars

QUICK Hits

by Forrest Hinton

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading or viewing each day.

In many high-performing countries, 100 percent of teachers come from the top one-third of college graduates. What would it take to up the US percentage (currently 23%)? Hint: It’s not what you think. (McKinsey)
Want reax to the Memphis merit pay study? (Teacher Beat)
Richard Vedder asks: Should We Abolish Colleges of Education? (Center for College Affordability and Productivity)
What tests are best? (Linking and thinking on education)