voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

I'm still looking for Jose Garcia. Do you know him? We're trying to find as many children as possible with the most common name in San Diego Unified to showcase the many faces and stories within the massive school system. E-mail me if you can help! And now for your daily newsblitz:

Sick of turnover in superintendents, leaders at San Diego Unified say something needs to change in the superintendent search. But what? We report that some want a different, more open search for the next chief, which could lure less traditional candidates -- and turn away superintendents from big districts who climb from one school system to the next.

We blog that sitting out on Race to the Top, a competition for more school stimulus money, would likely affect only eight schools in San Diego Unified, according to a school district analysis, because the criteria for getting the money are so strict.

We also explain what the heck priority-based budgeting is and how it will work for schools.

School board member John de Beck derides it as "fantasy-based budgeting" in the San Diego News Network and proposes across-the-board salary cuts instead.

Shelia Jackson tells the Union-Tribune it's too early to count her out of the race for

Eduflack: How Valuable Are the Race Fire Drills?

Eduflack: How Valuable Are the Race Fire Drills?:

"In recent months, we have seen state departments of education and state legislatures scurry to make themselves eligible and better positioned to win a federal Race to the Top grant. From knocking down the firewalls between student performance data and teachers to smoothing the path for charter school expansion to adopting common core standards to just demonstrating a hospitable environment for education reform and change, states have been doing anything and everything to gain a better position for the Race.

Earlier this week, Michigan announced sweeping reforms to put them in line with the federal requirements. California is currently debating similar positions (with what seems like growing concerns). And we seem genuine changes in reform culture in states like Indiana, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and many others along the way. (Every state, that is, except for the Republic of Texas, which as of yesterday still hasn't committed to even pursuing RttT, despite the $250K it received from the Gates Foundation to prepare its application.)"

Sacramento Press Workshop n SLR photography

Community Journalism at its very best!

Sacramento Press Workshop n SLR photography

Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who helped make 2009 such a great year. We had a huge increase in contributors, good turnouts at our workshops and we've really enjoyed meeting many of you and hearing your stories. For the month of January, we plan on having a workshop on SLR photography. Anthony Bento, who gave an introduction to photography workshop, will be teaching this one. The SLR workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 13, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Bento has a B.A. in film and digital media from UC Santa Cruz, where he photographed and reported on the 2004 presidential campaign and other political events. He has also worked as a product photographer in New York City and here in Sacramento as a freelance photojournalist for Sacramento News & Review, and as a community contributor for the Sacramento Press. There were many people who expressed interest in an advanced photography workshop, so we've created just that. Please bring your SLR camera, and your specific questions about the settings and tools. If you have no experience with SLR, we don't recommend you attend this particular workshop. If you have other ideas for photography workshops or other types of workshops, please email them to journalism@sacramentopress.com We will have the workshop at our office, which is located at 431 I St., Suite 107 in the Amtrak station. We are in the same building complex as Starbucks. If you are facing Starbucks, go around the building to the left and you'll see our Sac Press sign out front. We recommend you find parking on the street, bike or take light rail, as the Amtrak parking lot charges $1.50 per half hour and we cannot cover the cost of parking. If you take light rail, we will give you two passes when you get here - one to cover your trip here and one to cover your trip back. For this workshop, please RSVP by clicking the RSVP button below. If the button doesn't work, please email workshops@sacramentopress.com If you have any trouble finding the office, you can give us a call at 916-443-5403. Thanks, and we hope to see you there!

 

Join us at: Sacramento Press 431 I Street, Suite 107 Sacramento, CA  Google Map & Directions >

RSVP to reserve your spot

Elk Grove Citizen : News

Elk Grove Citizen : News:

President Amavisca on the rough road for EGUSD

"2010 is expected to be one of the toughest years for the Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD).

The district must educate more than 62,000 students while facing a $42 million shortfall in a budget that will fund the schools beginning in July.

California’s budgetary woes still persist as the state is anticipating a projected $20 billion deficit and as the routine goes, public school districts must plan and adopt a budget based on guesses as to how much the state might fund them.

Entering this ordeal is the EGUSD’s board president for 2010, Jeanette Amavisca. Summer school was already slashed for the new year, and layoffs or position elimination is being considered for scores of teachers, counselors, librarians and vice principals."

Education Week: Obama Unveils Projects to Bolster STEM Teaching

Education Week: Obama Unveils Projects to Bolster STEM Teaching:

"President Barack Obama yesterday announced more than $250 million in private investments to help attract and prepare new teachers for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, collectively known as the “STEM” field, and to help improve instruction in those areas by practicing teachers.

The new commitments roughly double the amount the president first announced in November as part of his “Educate to Innovate” campaign for excellence in STEM education. (“Obama Backing STEM Education,” Dec. 2, 2009.)"

The campaign is described by the White House as a partnership that involves efforts not only from the federal government, but also from leading companies, foundations, nonprofit groups, and science and engineering societies to work with young people across the nation to excel in science and math.

The largest single commitment in yesterday’s announcement comes from the Intel Corp. of Santa Clara, Calif., and the Intel Foundation, which are planning a 10-year, $200 million effort to expand on work under way to improve math and science education, including through increased professional-development opportunities for teachers.

State school board agrees to help Alisal, Greenfield districts | thecalifornian.com | The Salinas Californian

State school board agrees to help Alisal, Greenfield districts | thecalifornian.com | The Salinas Californian:

"The state Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to appoint two of its members to oversee four poorly performing school districts, two of them in Monterey County — Greenfield Union and Alisal Union."

A third Salinas Valley district, King City Union, was not among those that will receive a visit from state officials. Officials were unavailable to explain why late Wednesday night.

The two state trustees will meet with the districts' leadership and the state District Assistance and Intervention Team to help develop plans for improving academic performance, and will return to the board in March to report on the progress. The state board took action in Sacramento at a meeting broadcast on the state Department of Education Web site.

The state board moved away from issuing harsher sanctions — which included possible district takeover by the state — against the academically troubled districts in favor of working with them to solve problems, said Esperanza Zendejas, Alisal superintendent, who was present in Sacramento.

Squeaking into 2010: Parenting teens

Squeaking into 2010: Parenting teens:

"It all comes back to parenting. Teens will always be teens, but parenting is becoming more and more challenging. We are not allowed to just 'squeak by' when it comes to parenting.

We need to be proactive and keep up to date on all sorts of things. Issues many parents didn't even think about 20 years ago!

Remember, with help/hindrance of technology, doors have opened that have never been entered before. It is a new time, a new life, and a new road for parenting. The Internet is your new information highway, and all parents need this road map."

What Makes a Great Teacher? - The Atlantic (January/February 2010)

What Makes a Great Teacher? - The Atlantic(January/February 2010):

"ON AUGUST 25, 2008, two little boys walked into public elementary schools in Southeast Washington, D.C. Both boys were African American fifth-graders. The previous spring, both had tested below grade level in math.

One walked into Kimball Elementary School and climbed the stairs to Mr. William Taylor’s math classroom, a tidy, powder-blue space in which neither the clocks nor most of the electrical outlets worked.

The other walked into a very similar classroom a mile away at Plummer Elementary School. In both schools, more than 80 percent of the children received free or reduced-price lunches. At night, all the children went home to the same urban ecosystem, a ZIP code in which almost a quarter of the families lived below the poverty line and a police district in which somebody was murdered every week or"

New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media � PBS TeacherLine Blog

New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media � PBS TeacherLine Blog:

New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media

Arlington, Va. (Jan. 5, 2010) – According to a new national research report, “Digitally Inclined,” compiled by Grunwald Associates LLC for PBS, teachers are making significant progress in adoption of digital media and Internet use. These findings clearly signal widespread changes in both early childhood and K-12 education, including more effective individualized instruction.

Grunwald Associates LLC, the independent research and consulting firm, which conducted the study under a grant from PBS, released the findings today from their annual survey on educators’ use of media and technology. PBS is sharing select findings from the 2009 survey conducted by Grunwald, which has been examining educators’ media use for PBS since 2002, to provide information about both instructional needs and trends to education leaders, policymakers, and the media industry. This year’s survey includes data collected from Pre-K educators for the first time.

“The significant increases in the usage, frequency and access to digital media in the classroom over the past several years, along with the research showing that integrating multimedia and technology into instruction can boost student achievement, is driving our strategy to produce the most effective media for 

Get the Report: New Research Reveals PreK-12 Educators Increasingly Value and Use Digital Media 

Education Week: States Struggle to Stitch Together Pre-K-20 Data

Education Week: States Struggle to Stitch Together Pre-K-20 Data:

"Spurred by the prospect of grant funding from the federal Race to the Top competition, as well as money made available from other parts of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, more states are taking strides to link K-12 data systems with postsecondary agencies to develop a more holistic picture of each student.

But despite the emphasis among policy leaders on K-20 data systems, the progress that states have made toward that goal varies greatly, and many challenges—both technical and political—remain."

Southern Education Foundation A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South’s Public Schools

Southern Education Foundation:

Southern Education Foundation A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South’s Public Schools

"Welcome. The Southern Education Foundation offers this site with easy-to-use information and analysis on the key issues of education in the American South.

Fairness and excellence are crucial challenges in Southern education. The South has America's lowest levels of education and income largely because children who need the most help to succeed in school often get the least support. In turn, America and the South need these children to succeed to meet the nation's growing economic imperatives.

Fairness and excellence also define SEF's mission. For almost 140 years, SEF has carried out strategic, innovative work to expand the benefits of education to all people. Today, SEF brings a sense of history and a cutting-edge perspective to our work. Please join us."

Get the Report: A New Diverse Majority: Students of Color in the South’s Public Schools

Sacramento Press / Bookstore showcases Sac's "Living Library"

Sacramento Press / Bookstore showcases Sac's "Living Library":

"Behind every good book is a writer with something to say and a talent for saying it.

Booksellers like Peter Keat know this. They make a living finding these people and making their voices more accessible on the shelves of bookstores.

But not all the great stories are written down.

Starting this month, Keat and his tiny staff at Time Tested Books are offering a series of monthly talks and lectures from Sacramento's living and breathing cultural icons, thinkers and experts — and people who have just led intriguing lives. The free series, which will be held every third Sunday, is called the Sacramento Living Library"

Schools Matter: Just How Private are Charter Schools?

Schools Matter: Just How Private are Charter Schools?:

"There's been a concerted effort by the pro-charter crowd to 'educate' the public about the so-called publicness of charter schools. You'll regularly see 'charters' referred to as 'public charter schools' these days, and don't think this slight change in label was accidental. The variety, quality, and types of charter schools - from your blatantly for-profit EMOs like the Edison Schools, the assortment of no excuses charter chaingangs like KIPP, rather progressive versions like the Big Picture schools, 'mom and pop' charters started and run by legitimate teachers, and a number of other different types - makes this field more complicated than it first appears."

Another city agency keeps watch at S. Phila. High | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/07/2010

Another city agency keeps watch at S. Phila. High | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/07/2010:

"The racial violence at South Philadelphia High School last month has drawn the official attention of yet another government agency.

The Mayor's Commission on Asian American Affairs yesterday expressed 'deep concern' over the Dec. 3 beatings of 30 Asian students by large groups of primarily African American pupils, and announced that it would monitor the situation at the school.

The advisory commission, which has no enforcement power, is at least the sixth authority to open an investigation, hold hearings, or focus an official eye on the school. They include the Philadelphia Police Department, the city and state Commissions on Human Relations, and Vietnam's deputy ambassador to the United States."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Memorization wrong path to proficiency in spelling

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Memorization wrong path to proficiency in spelling:

"The recent article by Chronicle reporter Ericka Mellon about how schools are dropping weekly spelling tests in favor of teaching methods that focus less on memorization and more on understanding why and how words are constructed has created quite a stir. The article prompted letters to the editor and an editorial supporting the more traditional approach.

Noah Webster, noted lexicographer, once wrote, “Spelling is the foundation of reading and the greatest ornament of writing.” Webster's quote so succinctly captures the importance of spelling instruction. Students' spellings provide insight as to how well students are connecting sounds to reliable patterns in the language. Students who have a sense of how the language works spell more accurately and use more sophisticated words. The trick is how to provide students with instruction that will lead to improved spelling."

Class Struggle: More freedom, fewer rules for gifted students? - washingtonpost.com

Class Struggle: More freedom, fewer rules for gifted students? - washingtonpost.com:

"My Dec. 10 column about that Washington area troublesome but gifted child, future billionaire Warren Buffett, said our schools are never going to help such kids much. I said the gifted designation was often arbitrary and should be disposed of. Instead, we ought to find ways to let all kids explore their talents.

This produced a flood of comments on my blog. Many readers thought I was callous and daft. 'Unfortunately, eliminating the label generally means that the schools give up doing anything for advanced learners,' wrote a reader signing in as EduCrazy. Another commenter, CrimsonWife, said, 'if educators are fine with giving special attention and services to kids who are far out of the mainstream on the low end of the spectrum, why is it so controversial to provide specialized services to kids who are far out of the mainstream on the high end?"

Obama announces teacher training initiative - USATODAY.com

Obama announces teacher training initiative - USATODAY.com:

"WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama announced a $250 million initiative Wednesday to train math and science teachers and help meet his goal of pushing America's students from the middle to the top of the pack in those subjects in the next decade.

Obama also gave awards for excellence in teaching and mentoring to more than 100 educators — and joked about putting them to work.

"So you're going to have assignments after this," he said. The audience laughed. "These awards were not free," he added.

Obama said teacher quality is the most important single factor that influences whether students succeed or fail in the "STEM" fields of science, technology, engineering and math. But, he said, U.S. students trail their peers around the world.

He said a substantial shortage of teachers in these subject areas will deepen unless steps are taken to reverse the trend, and that doing so requires outside help because the federal government cannot do it alone.

'I believe so strongly in the work that you do,' Obama said at a ceremony in the White House East Room. 'And as I mentioned to some of you, because I've got two girls upstairs with math tests coming up, I figure that a little extra help from the best of the best couldn't hurt."

Delaware education: Early Head Start to reach further | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Delaware education: Early Head Start to reach further | delawareonline.com | The News Journal:

"An unusual day for Carolyn Graves is one when she doesn't arrive at work to find phone messages on her desk.

Graves is family service advocate for New Directions Early Head Start at the Neighborhood House in Wilmington's Southbridge section. Parents call nearly every day seeking a space in the program, the only one of its kind in the neighborhood. With admission comes child care and resources to help moms and dads achieve family goals, such as employment, job training and paying the bills on time.

'Most of our parents are low-income, and we look at getting them employment if they are not employed and what we can do to empower them to be self-sufficient,' Graves said. 'The teachers take care of the child, and I take care of the family.'"

K-12 cuts proposal could help — or hinder — Gibbons - Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

K-12 cuts proposal could help — or hinder — Gibbons - Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun:

"Democrats and Republicans agreed that the chances of success for many of the ambitious education proposals floated Wednesday by Gov. Jim Gibbons range from slim all the way to none. But that wasn’t necessarily the point.

Gibbons’ plan — which reads like the wish list of a conservative education reformer — appears aimed at exciting the conservative Republican base, while offering a way to cut the state budget.

It certainly has put his political opponents on the defensive."

Recession fuels shift from private to public schools - USATODAY.com

Recession fuels shift from private to public schools - USATODAY.com:

"When the family budget started feeling the recession's pinch last year, Angela Allyn and her photographer husband, Matt Dinnerstein, pulled their three kids out of Chicago-area private schools and enrolled them in Evanston, Ill., public schools.

It has been a challenging transition: Maya, 16, now a high school sophomore, 'doesn't like crowds — and her high school is as big as a small college,' her mother says. Though Maya is learning a lot in the 'amazing' science program, she's also hoping to leave the crowds behind by doubling up on coursework, graduating by the end of junior year 'and then going and doing interesting things,' Allyn says. Her younger children face their own challenges, from bullying to sheer boredom.

The transition also has been an education for Maya's parents, who say they had 'no choice' in the struggling economy but to switch to public schools."