Philly school principals are appealing directly to parents for cash | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philly school principals are appealing directly to parents for cash | Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

Philly school principals are appealing directly to parents for cash

by thenotebook on Aug 09 2013 Posted in Latest news

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by Kevin McCorry for NewsWorks

"Free" public education just got a bit more expensive for parents at Center City's Greenfield Elementary School.

Feeling a pinch from the Philadelphia School District's budget shortfall, Greenfield principal Dan Lazar has sent parents an "urgent request" asking families to contribute $613 per student.

"It is my sincere hope that this will only be a temporary measure, but unfortunately our new reality necessitates such a drastic request," said Lazar in his email to parents, putting Greenfield on a small but growing list of city public schools making direct money pitches to parents.

The District faces a $304 million dollar budget gap, forcing layoffs of teachers and other personnel. If today was the first day of classes, District schools would open without counselors, front office staff, noontime aides, and other staff, as well as a lack of basic school supplies such as paper and pens.

Lazar says the budget hit to Greenfield thanks to the District shortfall is $355,740. He came up with his per pupil request by dividing that figure by an estimate of enrollment for the coming year.

On Thursday, Philadelphia School District Superintendent William Hite said he will not be able to open all schools on time on a full-day schedule — unless the city comes through with a promised $50 million that was part of a funding package cobbled together last June by Gov. Tom Corbett. Mayor Nutter and Council President Darrell Clarke are still squabbling over how to make that contribution.

Greenfield joins Science Leadership Academy, William M. Meredith, and Penn Alexander, Cook-Wissahickon and Central High School as District schools who've asked for family contributions of varying sizes.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks

Free Webinar: Children Are Born to Learn — Whole Child Education

Free Webinar: Children Are Born to Learn — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Free Webinar: Children Are Born to Learn

August 9, 2013 by ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Join Wendy Ostroff, author of the recent ASCD book Understanding How Young Children Learn: Bringing the Science of Child Development to the Classroom in a free webinar on how to engage children in learning through motivation. How children learn is the single most important subject for teachers to understand. And to understand learning in all its complexity, we need to examine its development.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, 3:00 p.m. eastern time
Register now!

The webinar will share processes that inspire or propel learning, such as play, confidence, self-regulation, movement, mnemonic strategies, metacognition, articulation, and collaboration. It will also distill critical findings and frameworks on children's learning into a synthesis of the important ideas for teachers to take away and reference as they design their curriculum and pedagogy.

Ostroff's expertise in cognitive psychology, child development, and metacognition stems from her research experience as a scientist in the Infant Perception Laboratory at Virginia Tech; as a visiting scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany; and as a Carnegie Scholar with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at Stanford University. She has been developing curricula on children's learning for the past 15 years in the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University; in the Department of Education and Child Study at Smith College; and, most recently, as associate professor in the program for the Advancement of Learning at Curry College. Recently Ostroff presented as part of the 2013 Whole Child Virtual Conference. View her session and others relating to child development and how children's brains work.

This webinar is a part of ASCD's free Summer Boot Camp webinar series on engagement and motivation strategies. Sign up for one or all of these webinars and view archived presentations atwww.ascd.org/bootcamp.

Remarks by the President at Student Loans Bill Signing | The White House

Remarks by the President at Student Loans Bill Signing | The White House:

Remarks by the President at Student Loans Bill Signing

Oval Office 

 

2:21 P.M. EDT

 

THE PRESIDENT:  Well, before I sign this, I just want to say thank you to this extraordinary coalition that helped make this signing possible.  I want to thank Chairman Kline, all the members of both House and Senate from both parties that came together to design a sensible, common-sense approach to keeping student interest rates at a reasonable level so that young people have a better opportunity to go to college, get the education that they need not only to better their own lives but also to strengthen the country’s economy.

 

And I want to thank the advocates, including some of the young people I suspect will be benefiting from lower student loans -- or lower student loan interest rates -- because without their voice, without their participation, we probably would not have gotten this bill done.

 

Last point I'll make, and I suspect the Senators and Congressmen behind me will agree with this, even though we've been able to stabilize the interest rates on student loans, our job is not done, because the cost of college remains extraordinarily high.  It’s out of reach for a lot of folks, and for those who do end up attending college, the amount of debt that young people are coming out of school with is a huge burden on them; it’s a burden on their families.  It makes it more difficult for them to buy a home.  It makes it more difficult for them if they want to start a business.  It has a depressive effect on the economy overall.  And we've got to do something about it.

 

So I'm going to be looking forward to engaging this same coalition to see if we can continue to take additional steps to reform our higher education system, and I'll have some more things to say about that in the weeks to come.

 

But for now, I want to celebrate what we accomplished here, and again, thank everybody here for their leadership in getting it done.  

 

(The bill is signed.)

 

Those of you who haven't seen me do this before -- (laughter) -- it is a real art form.  (Laughter.)  

 

SENATOR DURBIN:  Thank you, Mr. President -- I remember the 90-minute seminar in this office.  (Laughter.)  

 

THE PRESIDENT:  It was very interesting.  (Laughter.)  

 

It feels good signing bills -- I haven't done this in a while.  (Laughter.)  Hint, hint.  Hint, hint.  (Laughter.)  

 

SENATOR DURBIN:  How about a budget, Mr. President? 

 

THE PRESIDENT:  There you go.  That's what I'm talking about.  (Laughter.)  

 

All right, thank you, everybody.

 

END

K-12 News Network | MUST READ: An Open Letter to Matt Damon: Yes, Your Kids CAN Get a Damned Fine Progressive Education in Los Angeles Public Schools

K-12 News Network | MUST READ: An Open Letter to Matt Damon: Yes, Your Kids CAN Get a Damned Fine Progressive Education in Los Angeles Public Schools:

MUST READ: An Open Letter to Matt Damon: Yes, Your Kids CAN Get a Damned Fine Progressive Education in Los Angeles Public Schools

admin August 9, 2013 Los Angeles, School Districts 0

Reposted with permission from SoCalMom.net.

CC License Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic, Nicolas Genin

Dear Matt Damon:

It has come to my attention that you and your family are moving to Los Angeles. As a lifelong Angeleno (with Massachusetts roots), I want to welcome you to our complicated city. Our diversity, energy and culture are equal to what you’re used to in New York — you just have to look a little harder and travel a little longer to find it.

Rest assured that LA residents are used to seeing celebrities in our midst, especially in the sort of neighborhood in which you are likely to settle. Locals understand the etiquette: pretend to ignore the famous face, no matter how excited you are to see it. The only problem with this is that it sometimes takes a few moments to realize that the guy you see in the supermarket looks familiar only because you saw him on TV — but I am certain this is also the case in the community you’ve been living in up until now. I’m pretty certain you’ll find that the baristas at your new Malibu or Beverly Hills Starbucks will be just as friendly and normal as the ones in New York.

The one thing I would like to clear up is your misconception about public schools here. I cannot deny that the Los Angeles Unified School District is a dysfunctional behemoth, subject to the worst kind of publicity in the nation, and that the quality of the 800-some schools in the district varies wildly (with those in low-income 

Monitoring Social Media During STAR Testing - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

Monitoring Social Media During STAR Testing - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education):

California Department of Education Monitors Social Media During STAR Tests

SACRAMENTO—Heightened monitoring and reporting of California's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) assessments this year identified 242 schools where social media postings occurred during administration of the tests, only 16 of which included postings of test questions or answers.

None of the postings affected school test results. As in 2012, when similar numbers of social media postings occurred, the majority involved students posing with the covers of test booklets or with materials that were not legible. The California Department of Education (CDE) placed a cautionary flag on the publicly posted test results for all schools where a posting occurred. (A list of the flagged schools is attached.)

"We take the validity and reliability of our assessments very seriously, and our schools do too, which is why we redoubled our efforts to monitor these postings and alerted school districts when they occurred," said Deputy Superintendent Deb Sigman, who oversees assessments and accountability issues for CDE. "These postings look to be attempts by students to gain attention among their friends, not an effort to gain an advantage on a test."

The 242 schools identified this year compares with 216 schools in 2012. That year, 12 schools had postings that included legible test questions or answers.

In addition to the more rigorous monitoring, CDE also conducted random security audits, instructed examiners and STAR coordinators as to the proper protocol, and reinforced the responsibilities of local officials to maintain security of all test material.

Though the implications for accountability have not yet been determined, in general, if a security breach affects less than 5 percent of the number of students tested, the school is ineligible for academic awards. If the breach affects more than 5 percent of the number of students tested, the school's API—the state's measure of accountability—could be invalidated.

Final decisions regarding accountability reports for affected schools will be made within the next few weeks, when CDE releases its statewide accountability reports.

Attachment

2013 Schools with Social Media Postings of Legible Test Items

Number	District Name	School Name
1	Anaheim Union High	Magnolia High
2	Bishop Unified	Bishop Union High
3	Burbank Unified	Monterey High (Continuation)
4	East Side Union High	Yerba Buena High
5	Eureka Senior High	Eureka Senior High
6	Lake Elsinore Unified	Lakeside High
7	Los Angeles Unified	Alexander Hamilton Senior High
8	Los Angeles Unified	Alliance Cindy and Bill Simon Technology Academy High
9	Lucia Mar Unified	Arroyo Grande High
10	Manteca Unified	East Union High
11	Northern Humboldt Union High	Arcata High
12	Pittsburg Unified	Pittsburg Senior High
13	Pleasanton Unified	Amador Valley High
14	San Francisco Unified School District	Lowell High School
15	Santa Barbara Unified	La Cumbre Junior High School
16	Santa Maria Joint Union High	Righetti (Ernest) High

2013 Identified Schools with Images on Social Media (Not including test items)

Number	District Name	School Name
1	Acalanes Union High	Acalanes High
2	Albany City Unified	Albany High
3	Alvord Unified	Norte Vista High
4	Antioch Unified	Dallas Ranch Middle
5	Antioch Unified	Antioch High
6	Antioch Unified	Black Diamond Middle
7	Arcata Elementary	Sunny Brae Middle
8	Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy	Aspire Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy
9	Atascadero Unified	Atascadero High
10	Azusa Unified	Sierra High
11	Baldwin Park Unified	Jerry D. Holland Middle
12	Bellflower Unified	Mayfair High
13	Benicia Unified	Benicia High
14	Berkeley Unified	Berkeley High
15	Borrego Springs Unified	Borrego Springs High
16	Brawley Union High	Brawley High
17	Calexico Unified	Calexico High
18	Capistrano Unified	San Clemente High
19	Central Unified	Central High East Campus
20	Chaffey Joint Union High	Alta Loma High
21	Chaffey Joint Union High	Etiwanda High
22	Chaffey Joint Union High	Colony High
23	Chaffey Joint Union High	Chaffey High
24	Chaffey Joint Union High	Montclair High
25	Chaffey Joint Union High	Ontario High
26	Charter School of San Diego	Charter School of San Diego
27	Claremont Unified	Community Day
28	Claremont Unified	El Roble Intermediate
29	Clovis Unified	Clovis North High
30	Clovis Unified	Clovis East High
31	Clovis Unified	Alta Sierra Intermediate
32	Coalinga-Huron Unified	Coalinga High
33	Colton Joint Unified	Grand Terrace High
34	Colton Joint Unified	Bloomington High
35	Colton Joint Unified	Colton High
36	Conejo Valley Unified	Westlake High
37	Corcoran Joint Unified	Corcoran High
38	Corona-Norco Unified	Centennial High
39	Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified	El Monte Middle
40	Downtown College Prep - Alum Rock	Downtown College Prep -- Alum Rock
41	East Side Union High	Independence High
42	East Side Union High	Evergreen Valley High
43	East Side Union High	Andrew P. Hill High
44	East Side Union High	Mount Pleasant High
45	East Side Union High	Oak Grove High
46	East Side Union High	William C. Overfelt High
47	El Dorado Union High	El Dorado High
48	El Rancho Unified	El Rancho High
49	El Rancho Unified	Rivera Middle
50	Elk Grove Unified	Pleasant Grove High
51	Elk Grove Unified	Valley High
52	Elk Grove Unified	Sheldon High
53	Elk Grove Unified	James Rutter Middle
54	Enterprise Elementary	Parsons Junior High
55	Escondido Union High	San Pasqual High
56	Fairfield-Suisun Unified	Angelo Rodriguez High
57	Fairfield-Suisun Unified	Sem Yeto Continuation High
58	Farmersville Unified	Farmersville Junior High
59	Fillmore Unified	Fillmore Senior High
60	Folsom Cordova Unified	Cordova High
61	Fowler Unified	John Sutter Middle
62	Fremont Unified	American High
63	Fremont Union High	Cupertino High
64	Fremont Union High	Fremont High
65	Fremont Union High	Monta Vista High
66	Fresno Unified	Edison High
67	Garden Grove Unified	Los Amigos High
68	Garden Grove Unified	Rancho Alamitos High
69	Gateway Unified	Central Valley High
70	Gilroy Unified	Gilroy High
71	Glendale Unified	Herbert Hoover High
72	Glendora Unified	Glendora High
73	Glendora Unified	Goddard Middle
74	Greater San Diego Academy	Greater San Diego Academy
75	Hayward Unified	Mt. Eden High
76	Hayward Unified	Tennyson High
77	Hesperia Unified	Hesperia High
78	Huntington Beach Union High	Westminster High
79	Inglewood Unified	Monroe (Albert F.) Middle
80	Irvine Unified	Woodbridge High
81	Jefferson Union High	Terra Nova High
82	Jurupa Unified	Peralta Elementary
83	Kerman Unified	Kerman High
84	Kern Union High	Mira Monte High
85	Kern Union High	Arvin High
86	Kern Union High	Stockdale High
87	Kern Union High	East Bakersfield High
88	Kern Union High	Foothill High
89	Kings Canyon Joint Unified	Reedley High
90	Lake Elsinore Unified	Elsinore High
91	Lemoore Union Elementary	Liberty Middle
92	Lincoln Unified	Sierra Middle
93	Long Beach Unified	Jordan High
94	Long Beach Unified	Lakewood High
95	Long Beach Unified	Wilson High
96	Los Angeles Education Corps Charter	Los Angeles Education Corps Charter
97	Los Angeles Unified	Richard A. Alonzo Community Day
98	Los Angeles Unified	Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing
99	Los Angeles Unified	Hilda L. Solis Learning Academy
100	Los Angeles Unified	South Region High #9B Visual and Performing Arts
101	Los Angeles Unified	Stoney Point Continuation
102	Los Angeles Unified	Eagle Rock High
103	Los Angeles Unified	John H. Francis Polytechnic
104	Los Angeles Unified	Benjamin Franklin Senior High
105	Los Angeles Unified	Gardena High
106	Los Angeles Unified	David Starr Jordan Senior High
107	Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles Senior High
108	Los Angeles Unified	Manual Arts Senior High
109	Los Angeles Unified	San Pedro Senior High
110	Los Angeles Unified	Sylmar Senior High
111	Los Angeles Unified	William Howard Taft Charter High
112	Los Angeles Unified	Woodrow Wilson Senior High
113	Los Angeles Unified	City of Angels
114	Los Angeles Unified	William Mulholland Middle
115	Los Angeles Unified	San Fernando Middle
116	Los Angeles Unified	Stephen M. White Middle
117	Los Angeles Unified	Foshay Learning Center
118	Los Banos Unified	Pacheco High
119	Lou Dantzler Preparatory Charter Middle	Lou Dantzler Preparatory Charter Middle
120	Manteca Unified	Weston Ranch High
121	Manteca Unified	Sierra High
122	Martinez Unified	Alhambra Senior High
123	Millbrae Elementary	Taylor Middle
124	Milpitas Unified	Milpitas High
125	Modesto City High	James C. Enochs High
126	Modesto City High	Thomas Downey High
127	Mojave Unified	Mojave Jr./Sr. High
128	Montebello Unified	Bell Gardens High
129	Montebello Unified	Bell Gardens Intermediate
130	Moreno Valley Unified	Canyon Springs High
131	Moreno Valley Unified	Moreno Valley High
132	Mt. Diablo Unified	Horizons Alternative
133	Mt. Diablo Unified	College Park High
134	Mt. Diablo Unified	Mt. Diablo High
135	Murrieta Valley Unified	Vista Murrieta High
136	Needles Unified	Needles High
137	New Haven Unified	James Logan High
138	Newark Unified	Newark Memorial High
139	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	John H. Glenn High
140	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	Norwalk High
141	Ojai Unified	Nordhoff High
142	Ojai Unified	Matilija Junior High
143	Orange Unified	Orange High
144	Orland Unified	Orland High
145	Oroville Union High	Las Plumas High
146	Oxnard	Robert J. Frank Intermediate
147	Oxnard Union High	Oxnard High
148	Palo Verde Unified	Palo Verde High
149	Pasadena Unified	John Muir High
150	Patterson Joint Unified	Patterson High
151	Perris Union High	Paloma Valley High
152	Perris Union High	Perris High
153	Petaluma Joint Union High	Petaluma High
154	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	Esperanza High
155	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	El Camino Real Continuation High
156	Pomona Unified	Cortez Elementary
157	Rialto Unified	Wilmer Amina Carter High
158	Rialto Unified	Rialto High
159	Rim of the World Unified	Mary P. Henck Intermediate
160	Riverside Unified	Amelia Earhart Middle
161	Rosedale Union Elementary	Rosedale Middle
162	Roseville Joint Union High	Antelope High
163	Roseville Joint Union High	Woodcreek High
164	Sacramento Charter High	Sacramento Charter High
165	Sacramento City Unified	Rosemont High
166	Saddleback Valley Unified	El Toro High
167	Saddleback Valley Unified	Mission Viejo High
168	Saddleback Valley Unified	La Paz Intermediate
169	Salinas Union High	Salinas High
170	San Bernardino City Unified	Indian Springs High
171	San Diego Unified	University City High
172	San Diego Unified	Point Loma High
173	San Diego Unified	Taft Middle
174	San Diego Unified	Hickman Elementary
175	San Dieguito Union High	Canyon Crest Academy
176	San Joaquin County Office of Education	Venture Academy
177	San Juan Unified	El Camino Fundamental High
178	San Juan Unified	John Barrett Middle
179	San Lorenzo Unified	Arroyo High
180	San Mateo Union High	Burlingame High
181	San Ramon Valley Unified	Gale Ranch Middle
182	San Ramon Valley Unified	California High
183	Sanger Unified	Community Day
184	Sanger Unified	Sanger High
185	Santa Ana Unified	Hector G. Godinez
186	Santa Ana Unified	Century High
187	Santa Barbara Unified	Santa Barbara Senior High
188	Santa Clara Unified	Santa Clara High
189	Santa Clara Unified	Adrian Wilcox High
190	Santa Paula Union High	Santa Paula High
191	Santa Rosa High	Elsie Allen High
192	Selma Unified	Abraham Lincoln Middle
193	Sequoia Union High	Woodside High
194	Shasta Union High	Foothill High
195	Simi Valley Unified	Simi Valley High
196	Snowline Joint Unified	Serrano High
197	South San Francisco Unified	El Camino High
198	South San Francisco Unified	South San Francisco High
199	Southern Kern Unified	Rosamond High
200	Sweetwater Union High	San Ysidro High
201	Sweetwater Union High	Otay Ranch Senior High
202	Sylvan Union Elementary	Somerset Middle
203	Tehachapi Unified	Tehachapi High
204	Templeton Unified	Templeton Independent Study High
205	Tulare Joint Union High	Tulare Western High
206	Turlock Unified	Turlock High
207	Twin Rivers Unified	Foothill High
208	Ukiah Unified	Ukiah High
209	Upland Unified	Upland High
210	Vacaville Unified	Country High
211	Vacaville Unified	Vacaville High
212	Vallejo City Unified	Hogan Middle
213	Valley Center-Pauma Unified	Valley Center Middle
214	Victor Valley Union High	Adelanto High
215	Victor Valley Union High	Silverado High
216	Victor Valley Union High	Victor Valley High
217	Walnut Valley Unified	Diamond Bar High
218	Washington Unified	River City High
219	West Contra Costa Unified	De Anza Senior High
220	West Contra Costa Unified	El Cerrito Senior High
221	West Contra Costa Unified	Kennedy High
222	Wheatland Union High	Wheatland Community Day High
223	William S. Hart Union High	Saugus High
224	William S. Hart Union High	William S. Hart Senior High
225	Woodland Joint Unified	Lee Middle
226	Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified	Yucaipa High

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100