Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, September 22, 2012

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 9-22-12



4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit


New language to talk about the health crisis in working class communities: THE BRONX AS AN "EXERCISE DESERT"

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 12 minutes ago
by Mark Naision in his blog: With a Brooklyn Accent | http://bit.ly/Q5l3NO Friday, September 21, 2012  ::  For the last few years, public health experts have used the term "Food Deserts" to describe communities where residents lack access to healthy food and suffer the twin problems of hunger and obesity. The Bronx has been identified as a classic example of such a Food Desert and my students

ONLINE CLASSES: The baby formula of education

California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed says online classes need to be widely available. By Laura Desfor Edles | Op-Ed in the LA Times | http://lat.ms/QJRcrG September 17, 2012, 9:06 a.m.  ::  I was disturbed but not surprised to read that central to retiring California State University Chancellor Charles B. Reed's "new Master Plan," as he wrote in his Times Op-Ed article

BACKERS SAY BILLS SIGNED BY BROWN WILL REDUCE SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS

Advocates aiming to reform school discipline policies hailed the governor for signing four bills they say will help reduce the number of California students suspended each year. By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/PSuZqD September 22, 2012  ::  Advocates aiming to reform school discipline policies hailed Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday for signing four bills they say will help

FORMER MIRAMONTE STUDENT ALLEGEDLY BEATEN AT NEW SCHOOL

-- Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/NIkLMB September 21, 2012 |  7:00 am  ::  A former Miramonte Elementary School student, who is among a group of children suing over alleged teacher sexual misconduct, has transferred from one middle school to another after she was allegedly beaten by other students. The incident apparently was unrelated to what happened at Miramonte. An attorney

STATE ALLOCATION BOARD CHANGES RULES ON APPLYING FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND MATCH OVER DISTRICT OBJECTIONS

….but the money’s there for High Speed Rail! see: STATE WANTS ASSURANCE SCHOOL DISTRICTS UNDERSTAND FACILITY MONEY NO LONGER GUARANTEED: + smf’s 2¢  $40 billion ... http://bit.ly/T8KYXX By Kimberly Beltran | SI&A Cabinet Report http://bit.ly/ShpyGP Thursday, September 20, 2012  :: Last-minute appeals by school

SKEPTICAL UNIONS POSE CHALLENGE TO DISTRICT’S RACE TO THE TOP

By John Fensterwald | Ed Source Today | http://bit.ly/UATuNv September 20th, 2012  :: Nearly 900 districts nationwide, including 76 districts and charter schools in California, have told the federal government that they plan to compete for the final $400 million Race to the Top district competition. But with local unions having in effect a veto over their districts’ application, that number

What if the political extortion fails? CALFORNIA SCHOOL CUT WARNING LOOKS REAL

  By Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee | http://sacb.ee/Uo9wrc Friday, Sep. 21, 2012 - 12:00 am | Page 3A  :: When Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature fashioned the 2012-13 budget, their evident goal was to persuade voters to finance it by enacting new sales and incomes taxes at the Nov. 6 election. Toward that end, they decreed that should the tax measure be rejected by voters, automatic

CONSTITUTION DAY 2012/ENDEAVOUR’S LAST FLIGHT

smf for 4LAKidsNews Friday 21 September 2012 ::  My friend Sophia Waugh – when she was President of the Los Angeles County Board of Education, insisted that we PTA types recognize Constitution Day – Sept 16 – this year the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the United States Constitution. She held events – lunches with rubber chicken and important keynote speakers …and mustered Student

THE MILLION DOLLAR TEACHER: Should Teachers Be Allowed to Sell Their Lesson Plans?

A Georgia kindergarten teacher has made more than $1 million selling her lesson plans online. Can U.S schools crowdsource their way to better student performance? By Andrew J. Rotherham | Time Magazine| http://ti.me/UxUima Nicholas Alan Cope / Getty Images September 20, 2012  :: You won’t get rich as a teacher, right? That’s no longer true for a small but growing number of educators who

REGULATORS URGED TO CRACK DOWN ON DONATIONS TO BOND MEASURES

Leading bond underwriters gave $1.8 million over the last five years to successful school bond measures in California, and in almost every case, school districts gave underwriting contracts to those same firms. Will Evans | California Watch | http://bit.ly/R4XVi6 September 21, 2012 | Critics of political donations to school bond campaigns from companies that profit from the bonds are

“iPads for all?”: WHY 21st CENTURY EDUCATION IS NOT JUST ABOUT TECHNOLOGY

By Seth Rosenblatt, Ed Source Today | http://bit.ly/RI0gfG September 20th, 2012  ::  Our district, like many others, has been having lots of conversations about “21st Century Education” and what it means for us. There are many books and articles written on the subject, but I think the big picture tends to get lost in the discussion, particularly at the local level. When one speaks of “21st

AGING, POLLUTING SCHOOL BUSES REMAIN ON CALIFORNIA ROADS

BY KENDALL TAGGART California Watch from The Bakersfield Californian | http://bit.ly/SbhlTc Wednesday, Sep 19 2012 05:45 PM  ::  Tens of thousands of California schoolchildren ride aging school buses that emit harmful pollutants, an analysis of state data shows. Unlike many states, California does not require bus owners to take buses off the road after a set number of years. As a result,

Field Poll/Tax Increase Initiatives: GOV. BROWN’S TAX MEASURE TEETERS AS UNDECIDED VOTERS GROW

By David Siders, The Sacramento Bee | http://sacb.ee/POULMe Thursday, Sep. 20, 2012 - 7:02 am  ::  Public support for Gov. Jerry Brown's ballot initiative to raise taxes has slipped to just more than 50 percent, a precarious majority with a growing number of voters now undecided, according to a new Field Poll. Less than two months before Election Day, 51 percent of likely voters support the Nov

TELFAIR ELEMENTARY TEACHER SENTENCED IN SEX ABUSE CASE: Paul Chapel III sentenced to 25 years in connection with a criminal case. He's also being sued in civil court

By Jason Kandel, nbc4 lOS aNGELES | http://bit.ly/Tatxqa Paul Chapel III is sentenced on Sept. 20, 2012 in connection with molesting his students at Telfair Elementary School in Pacoima. Thursday, Sep 20, 2012  |  Updated 1:55 PM PDT  ::  A former third-grade teacher at Telfair Elementary School in Pacoima was sentenced on Thursday to 25 years in prison and was ordered to register as a sex

GOVERNOR VETOES AB18: Bill would create school finance task force

9/21 U P D A T E: Fensterwald: Brown kills bill establishing study committee on school finance Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have created a task force to explore options for school finance reform, thus ensuring that his own weighted student formula won’t be drowned out in a marketplace of ideas when the Legislature convenes in January. [entire article]

STATE WANTS ASSURANCE SCHOOL DISTRICTS UNDERSTAND FACILITY MONEY NO LONGER GUARANTEED

+ smf’s 2¢  $40 billion By Kimberly Beltran SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/P2JqJb Wednesday, September 19, 2012  ::  State officials are considering new rules governing school construction funds that would require districts to acknowledge in the application process that the money isn’t guaranteed and that eligibility requirements are subject to change. The proposal, set for

Ravitch: CHICAGO TEACHER STRIKE ENDS

by Diane Ravitch | Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/VgkqS5 September 18, 2012  ::  You have heard the news by now that the strike is over. I was lecturing in Chattanooga and meeting with leaders of the community from 2 pm until now. My brother tweeted to ask why I was behind the curve. Oops, offline. Pundits and commentators will be poring over the Deep Meaning Of All This for weeks and

CALIFORNIA POISED TO SPOTLIGHT ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS STALLED IN SCHOOLS

By Lesli A. Maxwell, Education Week  |http://bit.ly/OGK8zQ Sarah Rockey, a teacher at Tracy High School in California’s Central Valley, works with 9th grader Kim Placencia in the school’s Academic Language and Support class, or ALAS. District educators created the class to teach formal, academic English skills to English-learners who have been stuck at the same proficiency level for years. —

"Won't Back Down": HOLLYWOOD FILM PUSHES FLAWED CORPORATE EDUCATION AGENDA, pushes so-called "parent trigger" laws espoused by right wing policy groups and privatization advocates

by Mary Bottari and Sarah Jerving | PR Watch/Center for Media & Democracy | http://bit.ly/PX3oIi September 19, 2012   ::   Well-funded advocates of privatizing the nation’s education system are employing a new strategy this fall to enlist support for the cause. The emotionally engaging Hollywood film “Won’t Back Down” -- set for release September 28 -- portrays so-called “Parent Trigger” laws

CAL STATE ADMINISTRATORS ACCUSED OF CROSSING LINE IN PROP. 30 ADVOCACY

By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail : 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/Qo6FAg paulbothwell/Flickr  ::  Members of the California Faculty Association at a protest last year. The California State University trustees want to warn students that enrollment and other cuts are likely if voters do not approve an education tax increase on November's ballot. Sep 18, 2012 :: People fired off a lot of gun

COMMUNITY COLLEGES NAME ACTING CHANCELLOR

-- Carla Rivera | LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/R2fRKf September 12, 2012 |  5:52 pm  ::  The governing board of California’s community colleges Wednesday announced the appointment of an acting chief to replace retiring Chancellor Jack Scott. The search for a permanent successor is underway. Erik Skinner, who now serves as executive vice chancellor for programs, will take over for Scott when

DEASY PRESENTS A VISION TO GET TABLETS INTO THE HANDS OF EVERY LAUSD STUDENT

by Galatzan Gazette Staff | http://bit.ly/PBmIbL Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 2:31PM :: On Wednesday Superintendent John Deasy unveiled a vision to get tablet technology into the hands of every Los Angeles Unified School District student in order to support the Common Core State Standards, which will be introduced in 2014. Deasy presented his vision to the Bond Oversight Committee, along

RESIDUE OF ONCE-PROMISING FINANCE REFORM BILL IN BROWN’S HANDS

By John Fensterwald | Ed Source Today | http://bit.ly/RpPxXc September 18th, 2012  ::   Introduced as a comprehensive plan for K-12 finance reform, Assembly Bill 18 is a shell of its former self. The bill that the Legislature ended up passing last month would merely create a 21-member task force to explore various options and formulas for fairer and simpler school funding and make

NCLB+RTTT: Two stories, eight letters, no vowels

Texas adopts CA’s strategy on NCLB waiver, prompting new risk By Tom Chorneau  | SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/S2q3ip Uncertainty surrounds many district applications for RTTT By Kimberly Beltran | SI&A Cabinet Report |http://bit.ly/OaCVbi Tuesday, September 18, 2012  ::  California is no longer

¿HOW ARE TEACHERS IN FINLAND EVALUATED?

by Diane Ravitch/Diane Ravitch’s blog |  http://bit.ly/U8BSK0 &  Amanda Ripley/Wall Street Journal| http://on.wsj.com/Rnjqgz Dr. Ravitch: September 16, 2012  ::  Amanda Ripley, who usually writes pro-corporate reform articles in TIME, has an article in the Wall Street Journal about how teachers in other nations embrace “reform.” Her first example is Finland. That is a curious example for a

¿WHO IS VICTIMIZING CHICAGO’S KIDS?

Joanne Barkan – Dissent Magazine | http://bit.ly/V8gfI2 September 14, 2012 11:38 pm  ::  Yes, schoolchildren in Chicago are victims, but not of their teachers. They are victims of a nationwide education “reform” movement geared to undermine teachers’ unions and shift public resources into private hands; they are victims of wave after wave of ill-conceived and failing policy “innovations”;

L.A. COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT BOARD CONTINUES TO PLAY FAST+LOOSE WITH VAN DE KAMPS COLLEGE CAMPUS IN NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES

smf - A Little History: From 2001 through 2008, the Los Angeles Community College District passed a series of construction bonds promising (in the ballot language)  to build a Community College Campus on the site of the landmark Van de Kamps Holland Dutch Bakery in Northeast Los Angeles. The voters approved the measures and the taxpayers are paying

VOLUNTEERS CREATE AN OASIS AT TELFAIR ELEMENTARY IN PACOIMA

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/POj9Bh   << (L-R) Perla Lemon, 7, Alexandra Martinez, 7, and Doris Lemon pour some water on a tree that was just planted. Community members and Starbucks volunteers planted a "rain garden" at Telfair Elementary School. Pacoima, CA (John McCoy / Staff Photographer) Eilene Martinez,5, and her

IN U.S., PRIVATE SCHOOLS GET TOP MARKS FOR EDUCATING CHILDREN

by Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup.com – POLITICS | http://bit.ly/QggBZJ var gDcsId='dcsdh1hzt5k8osnaj9x0uqyt0_9i8v';

John Dewey High School: THE UGLY FACE OF ®EFORM IN NEW YORK CITY

by Diane Ravitch in Diane Ravitch's blog | http://bit.ly/SU1WJu September 17, 2012   ::  The New York City Department of Education decided to kill John Dewey High School in Brooklyn a few years ago. John Dewey (ironic name, no?) had long been considered one of the city’s best non-selective high schools. When the city began creating small schools and closing large schools, it had to find a place

KOREAN STUDENTS, PARENTS DO THEIR PRE-COLLEGE HOMEWORK: An Ivy League school? Or one in the UC system? Thousands of people of Korean heritage swarm the 2012 College Fair in Irvine, hoping to find the right academic fit.

By Anh Do, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/Nxn6dp   Irene Jeong, 10, left, of Los Angeles, her mother Susie and her friend Sarah Bong, 14, talk with a recruiter at the 2012 College Fair held on the campus of Bethel Korean Church in Irvine. (Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times / September 15, 2012) September 16, 2012, 9:42 p.m.  ::  He's only 11. Still, BJ Bae blended in with the thousands of

CHARTERS BALK AT NEW PRE-KINDERGARTEN LAW

By Christina Hoag The Associated Press FROM the daily journal | http://bit.ly/RfHpy3 September 17, 2012, 05:00 AM  LOS ANGELES  — A California law requires public schools to add a grade level this fall designed to give the very youngest students a boost when they enroll in kindergarten, but charter schools say the law does not apply to them, pitting them against the state Department of

Headline: MARRIAGE OF MICHELTORENA AND CHILDREN OF THE WORLD CHARTER SCHOOL SET FOR SEPT. 5TH

By Colin Stutz, Los Feliz Ledger Contributing Writer| http://bit.ly/QSM3zA smf: MARRIAGE? Really? The definition of “public school” is open to debate. Charters claim “public school” status, the courts and the US Census categorize them them as “private schools”. The word “choice” is a hot potato and political third-rail.  The definition of “marriage” is open to secular and

TEACHER’S STRIKE IN CHICAGO NOT OVER: RANK+FILE BALK AT “GOOD CONTRACT”, MAYOR EMANUEL TO SUE

Teachers Union in Chicago to Extend Strike Into 2nd Week By MONICA DAVEY and STEVEN YACCINO, New York Times | http://nyti.ms/SsDVD5 Nathan Weber for The New York Times - Chicago Teachers Union delegates on Sunday. Union leaders and city officials had reached a tentative deal on Friday. September 16, 2012 CHICAGO — The Chicago Teachers Union extended its strike into a second week on Sunday,

BROWN SIGNS BAILOUT FOR INGLEWOOD SCHOOLS, 21 other bills

California will take over the Inglewood Unified School District, which could otherwise run out of money by December. The bill is one of 22 the governor signed. By Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/O71Xbn Students exercise in the new multipurpose room at the renovated La Tijera School in Inglewood in February. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / September 15, 2012)