Another view: Err on the side of safety - Opinion - USATODAY.com#more

Another view: Err on the side of safety - Opinion - USATODAY.com#more:

"The recent case of Zachary Christie, the Delaware first-grader who received a 45-day suspension for eating lunch with his Cub Scout-issue Swiss Army-type knife, opened a lot of old wounds for principals who endured the zero-tolerance wars in the early part of this decade.

Our minds go back to cases of students who were expelled for taking a Tylenol or packing a knife to cut a birthday cake. How silly it all seemed then — and even more so seems now. After all, student victimization in school is at an all-time low, and schools, where young people spend large percentages of their waking hours together, provide the venue for less than 1% of youth homicides. Schools are safe. Isn't it time to declare victory and lighten up?"

Round Two In The Fight Over Outsourcing Chicago Schools | Progress Illinois

Round Two In The Fight Over Outsourcing Chicago Schools Progress Illinois:

"With less than a week to go before the Chicago Board of Education votes on whether or not to authorize six new charter schools, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) held a round of public hearings last night. School reform advocates have long complained that CPS handpicks which charters will get the green light long before the hearings begin. And the opaque nature of the process generated a lot of criticism last year. As a result, officials are treading more lightly as they move forward this year.

Unlike in the previous years of Mayor Daley's Renaissance 2010 program, only a handful of new charters are being considered this time around. Still, CPS chief Ron Huberman is recommending that an additional 8,130 charters seats be made available next fall, according to an analysis by the Caucus of Rank and File Educators (CORE). Alexander Russo reports that the established private school operators appear to have a leg-up:"

Tug of war over LA Unified reform models | 89.3 KPCC

Tug of war over LA Unified reform models 89.3 KPCC:


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"Groups that want to take over governance of several dozen Los Angeles Unified schools have less than a week to apply. The process is part of a major policy change approved three months ago to improve education by handing over control of up to 300 low-performing and new campuses to groups that submit reform plans.

A coalition of education-focused nonprofits, including one headed by Veronica Melvyn, staged a press conference outside United Teachers Los Angeles headquarters on busy Wilshire Boulevard. She described how people at dozens of L.A. Unified campuses are trying to sully the name of proposed school reform models."

"It’s essentially that parents are being told, for example, that charter schools are private schools, that charter schools don’t serve special ed kids," said Melvyn. "We’ve heard, for example, that they’ll be deported if they sign a charter school petition. We’ve heard on the Pilot Schools that teachers have no rights when they’re part of a Pilot Schools agreement. We even heard something that went so far as to say that charter schools don’t educate black students."

Melvyn’s group and several others at the press conference support all these models. These groups spoke with reporters at about the same time the teachers union also planned to talk to journalists about their effort to submit reform plans for several dozen schools.

LA group says flier threatened school reformers

LA group says flier threatened school reformers:

"Los Angeles school reform supporters and the teachers' union are condemning a flier that falsely warns immigrant parents they'll be deported for supporting a charter school expansion."

No one has claimed credit for distributing the flier, the latest development in a push to turn a third of the campuses in the nation's second-largest school district over to private operators.

Jarad Sanchez of the pro-reform Alliance for a Better Community said Tuesday that one person recently turned in a Spanish-language flier warning that parents who signed a charter petition would be deported.

Sanchez says it's unclear how many fliers were distributed but notes many illegal immigrants would be afraid to speak up.

The flier also was condemned by the United Teachers Los Angeles, which opposes the reform plan.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/11/10/state/n101042S35.DTL&type=politics#ixzz0WZ40W7SA

Shift to year-round school calendar | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Shift to year-round school calendar detnews.com The Detroit News:

"Idea 36: Free Michigan's schools to set up a year-round calendar.
Why: The 10-week vacation from mid-June through the end of August hurts learning and doesn't make students competitive globally with counterparts who have a longer school year. Students tend to lose a month's worth of learning during the summer, according to a Duke neuroscience professor. Students from low-income or second-language families can lose even more learning. The practice is an outdated tradition that traces back to when children were needed on the farm in the summer. More schools are embracing the a year-round school calendar -- about 3,000 nationally teaching 2.1 million students in 2006-07, according to the National Association for Year-Round Education."

From Consumers to Critics and Creators | Edutopia

From Consumers to Critics and Creators Edutopia:

"For many students, what happens in the traditional American classroom is boring. Small wonder, when you compare such relatively inanimate stuff as pencil-and-paper-bound reading, writing, and math drills to the media mix of mind-bending imagery and hair-raising sound that consumes most of their waking hours outside school.

A recent study, 'Generation M: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds,' found that students in grades 3-12 spend an average of six hours and twenty-one minutes plugged in to some type of media each day. Accounting for multitasking, the figure jumps to about eight and a half hours including nearly four hours of TV viewing and forty-nine minutes of video game play. Comparatively, homework gets slightly less than fifty minutes of attention."

VETERANS DAY, 2009

VETERANS DAY, 2009
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

We have a sacred trust with those who wear the uniform of the United States of America. From the Minutemen who stood watch over Lexington and Concord to the service members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, American veterans deserve our deepest appreciation and respect. Our Nation’s servicemen and women are our best and brightest, enlisting in times of peace and war, serving with honor under the most difficult circumstances, and making sacrifices that many of us cannot begin to imagine. Today, we reflect upon the invaluable contributions of our country’s veterans and reaffirm our commitment to provide them and their families with the essential support they were promised and have earned.

Caring for our veterans is more than a way of thanking them for their service. It is an obligation to our fellow citizens who have risked their lives to defend our freedom. This selflessness binds our fates with theirs, and recognizing those who were willing to give their last full measure of devotion for us is a debt of honor for every American.

We also pay tribute to all who have worn the uniform and continue to serve their country as civilians. Many veterans act as coaches, teachers, and mentors in their communities, selflessly volunteering their time and expertise. They visit schools to tell our Nation’s students of their experiences and help counsel our troops returning from the theater of war.

These men and women possess an unwavering belief in the idea of America: no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who your parents are, this is a place where anything is possible. Our veterans continue to stand up for those timeless American ideals of liberty, self-determination, and equal opportunity.

On Veterans Day, we honor the heroes we have lost, and we rededicate ourselves to the next generation of veterans by supporting our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen as they return home from duty. Our grateful Nation must keep our solemn promises to these brave men and women and their families. They have given their unwavering devotion to the American people, and we must keep our covenant with them.

With respect for and in recognition of the contributions our servicemen and women have made to the cause of peace and freedom around the world, the Congress has provided (5 U.S.C. 6103(a)) that November 11 of each year shall be set aside as a legal public holiday to honor our Nation’s veterans.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim November 11, 2009, as Veterans Day. I encourage all Americans to recognize the valor and sacrifice of our veterans through appropriate public ceremonies and private prayers. I call upon Federal, State, and local officials to display the flag of the United States and to participate in patriotic activities in their communities. I call on all Americans, including civic and fraternal organizations, places of worship, schools, and communities to support this day with commemorative expressions and programs.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

Parents, teachers press Lansing to restore education funding | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Parents, teachers press Lansing to restore education funding detnews.com The Detroit News:

"Lansing --Pressure surrounding the largest school cuts ever boiled over in Lansing on Tuesday as lawmakers continued their stalemate on how to fund schools and parents and educators swarmed the capital in anticipation of massive reductions in their December school aid checks.

While lawmakers remain polarized over more than $600 million in cuts to K-12 schools, districts already are dismantling programs in anticipation. Dearborn, for instance, voted Tuesday to cut 200 noninstructional employees on Dec. 1 and 100 teachers in January. The Royal Oak district has said it will use federal stimulus cash to ride out this year, but on Thursday the school board will decide on a possible $780,000 cut to special education programs for the 2010-11 school year."

Duncan's raison d'etre for reform

Duncan's raison d'etre for reform:

"Humans are fallible and have a tendency to repeat past failures. Education is no exception. The pendulum of reform has had its swing back and forth over the decades with minimal progress. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is taking the bull by the horns, purporting that the very teachers, who have entrusted him as their chief, are not to be trusted to do the proper job without close supervision, re-training, and additional monetary rewards. He calls for scrutiny, an uphauling of current educational institutions by employing a trace back system that will mark the culprit, the raison d'etre for the failure of our children.

Duncan's tough, paternal scolding sends a clear message: teachers beware."

Pittsburgh proposes tuition tax | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/11/2009

Pittsburgh proposes tuition tax Philadelphia Inquirer 11/11/2009:

"A 1 percent tuition tax proposed Monday by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is just a nibble compared with the bite that college fees and tuition hikes take out of student and parent wallets, he argued yesterday.

Ravenstahl's attack on tuition and fee hikes came hours after eight leaders of local postsecondary schools gathered to blast the mayor's higher-education tax plan, saying it was illegal and would hurt the institutions' competitiveness. Ravenstahl said that if there was a competitiveness issue, it was the schools' fault."

Carol Ann Maranto, 1949-2009: Special education teacher, administrator -- chicagotribune.com

Carol Ann Maranto, 1949-2009: Special education teacher, administrator -- chicagotribune.com:

"Carol Ann Maranto worked in the special education program at Proviso East High School in Maywood for 33 years, helping hundreds of developmentally challenged teenagers find jobs and a future.

Ms. Maranto, 60, died of complications from ovarian cancer on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, her home town, said her sister Rose Marie Anichini.

With a degree in psychology from Eastern Illinois University, Ms. Maranto started her career at Proviso East in 1971 as a resource teacher, working with small groups of students. She found strong support in the school district for the special education department and enjoyed the work, her sister said."

New Haven Independent | Parents Challenged To Join Reform Drive

New Haven Independent Parents Challenged To Join Reform Drive:

"As parents leaped into New Haven’s ambitious school change campaign, Tesha Todman offered suggestions: Dock students’ grades if their parents don’t show up to report card night. And make the parents learn to use computers.

“There needs to be some kind of consequences” for parents who don’t get involved, she argued. “They make it too easy for parents not to come out.”"

Todman (at left in photo) the suggestion as she joined about 100 other parents at Wilbur Cross High School Thursday night. Two parents from each city school were summoned there by the schools superintendent to revive the Citywide Parent Teacher Organization, which fizzled in the mid-1990s.

Also Thursday, officials announced that two parents, Mary Rosario and Erik Clemons (LEAP’s executive director), have been named to the committee that’s overseeing the mayor’s school reform drive.

Taken together, the two developments marked another front in New Haven’s fast-developing, nationally-watched reform campaign:

Involving, and setting high expectations for, parents.

New York flunks GED: HS equivalency exam pass rate is shameful last in nation

New York flunks GED: HS equivalency exam pass rate is shameful last in nation:

"It is a shame of the Empire State: New York ranks dead last in the percentage of test-takers who pass the exam for a general equivalency diploma.

This is a huge problem in a city where 1.6 million young men and women are no longer in school and lack a high school diploma. For them, as well as for adult learners and immigrants, getting a GED is a crucial milestone on the way to getting a job, entering college or joining the military.

But the state Education Department funnels GED-testing money to schools, libraries and nonprofits with scant or nonexistent quality control."

Volunteers Counter Military Recruiting in High Schools | The Uptowner

Volunteers Counter Military Recruiting in High Schools The Uptowner:

"Ann Smith couldn’t walk more than 50-feet to the front door of her son’s high school before counter-recruiting volunteers approached her.

With yellow and white fliers in hand, a volunteer walked backwards and quizzed Smith on new mandates restricting military recruiters while she headed to the school.

“Are you a parent of a student?” asked Mary Ann Preston, a volunteer with United for Peace’s counter-recruiting efforts. Smith nodded yes and mentioned her son, who attends the school for a law program."

25 Chicago Students Arrested for a Middle-School Food Fight - NYTimes.com

25 Chicago Students Arrested for a Middle-School Food Fight - NYTimes.com:

"CHICAGO — The food fight here started the way such bouts do in school lunchrooms most anywhere: an apple was tossed, a cookie turned into a torpedo, and an orange plunked someone in the head. Within minutes, dozens of middle-school students had joined in the ruckus, and spattered adults were ducking for cover.

By the end of the day, 25 of the students, ages 11 to 15, had been rounded up, arrested, taken from school and put in jail. A spokesman for the Chicago police said the charges were reckless conduct, a misdemeanor."

States Compete for Federal School Dollars - NYTimes.com

States Compete for Federal School Dollars - NYTimes.com:

"DENVER — Colorado’s lieutenant governor, Barbara O’Brien, has been parsing every public statement by Education Secretary Arne Duncan for nuances that could help her position the state as a winner in the $4 billion competition for federal school dollars known as Race to the Top."

And officials in dozens of other states have been doing the same, said Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, a nonpartisan association of state superintendents of education.

“Whenever we have a conversation about any issue these days, Race to the Top is the gorilla in the room,” Mr. Wilhoit said.

The last time education officials were reading tea leaves so obsessively was after the 2001 No Child Left Behind law reshaped America’s public school landscape. Now Race to the Top is again redefining what Washington calls reform, setting in motion a new cycle of federal school

Schools lose 500 aides at end of week despite tough fight from union

Schools lose 500 aides at end of week despite tough fight from union:

"Friday will be the last day for more than 500 low-paid public school aides.

Despite a tough fight from their union, the city told principals on Tuesday that the aides, who make an average of $20,000 a year, were losing their jobs.

The leader of District Council 37 said the layoffs are devastating, not only for the workers, but students as well.

'Thousands of children in the city's poorest communities have lost the support staff they need to make the most of their educational experience,' said District Council 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts."

Valley Star - Rally Against the Machine: Students Protest Budget Cuts

Valley Star - Rally Against the Machine: Students Protest Budget Cuts:

"Students gathered in Valley’s main entrance Wednesday to rally against rising fees, expensive textbooks, the cutting of numerous classes, and other consequences caused by cuts to education.
The Political Action Coalition organized students and teachers to speak at the rally while collecting signatures on petition cards that are to be sent to Sacramento.

“When they say cut back, we say fight back!” students chanted. Others held up banners reading, “Don’t budget our education.”

Budget cuts affect every sector, not just colleges and universities. Students cannot transfer on time because of cuts to classes, increased fees and overcrowded classes."

Chicago changes criteria for admission to magnet, selective schools -- chicagotribune.com

Chicago changes criteria for admission to magnet, selective schools -- chicagotribune.com:

"In the wake of a federal order placing race off-limits as a key admissions criterion to the city's most competitive schools, the Chicago Public Schools will use a battery of socioeconomic factors to distribute the coveted spots -- a strategy officials hope will maintain racial integration while enhancing economic integration.

It is unclear what the impact of the new policy will be. The district is only putting it in place for a year, after which officials will assess the results.

Skeptics long have been cynical about moves from racial to socioeconomic integration, pointing to other districts where schools became more segregated after the lifting of a federal order to racially integrate, such as in San Francisco, Denver and Norfolk, Va. They think Chicago's plan will be no different."

California finances plummet less than three months after budget passage

California finances plummet less than three months after budget passage:

"California finance officials have announced that the state has a current budget deficit of $1.1 billion. News of the shortfall comes less than 10 weeks after a balanced budget deal was reached by Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature.

An October report released by State Controller John Chiang announced that the latest budget deficit was mainly due to a large drop in third quarter income tax collection; revenues were 11 percent lower than initially projected.

The California Department of Finance is also expecting a deficit of $7.4 billion at the start of fiscal year 2010-2011, which begins next July. This could climb to as high as $20 billion by the start of fiscal year 2011-2012."

School closures capture attention from across globe - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com

School closures capture attention from across globe - Hawaii News - Starbulletin.com:

"It is not the kind of publicity Hawaii wants, but the state's decision to shut public schools for 17 Furlough Fridays has made a big media splash."

"Hawaii's Children, Left Behind," declared the headline of a New York Times editorial. At the Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews wrote a piece with the scathing title "Idiocy in Paradise: Hawaii Handles School Budget Cuts Badly."

National television networks have spotlighted the story, along with TIME, the Wall Street Journal and National Public Radio. And the news has gone global. The Guardian of London and the BBC both covered it. A Chinese-language Web site highlighted "Hawaii's Budget Cut: No School Fridays." And Radio Australia recently interviewed the head of the state Board of Education.

Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi said the news coverage tends to sensationalize the issue, but "if the negative press encourages our leaders to put education at the top of our priority list, I'm more than happy to accept it.

"Nobody's happy with having to furlough teachers and have less instructional days," Toguchi said. "But that ignores the economic reality. The economy is not getting any better. So instead of worrying about what we don't have, we need to figure out how we're going to mitigate the continuing negative impacts on the budget next year."

Schwarzenegger creates preschool panel - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

Schwarzenegger creates preschool panel - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"California now has a California State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and a better chance at a share of $100 million in Head Start stimulus funds.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order Monday that established the council to make the state eligible for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money.

The program is offering grants of at least $500,000 to support states establishing these councils and developing early childhood education plans, according to a news release from the Governor's Office. California is expected to receive as much as $10.7 million over three years through the program, according to state officials."

Editorial: Assembly must work quickly to pass Race to the Top education reforms - San Jose Mercury News

Editorial: Assembly must work quickly to pass Race to the Top education reforms - San Jose Mercury News:

"The California Senate last week passed a bill paving the way for the state to get its share of $4.35 billion in education grants from the Obama administration — the largest pool of money ever created for education reform.

The Assembly must quickly follow suit. Speaker Karen Bass needs to call members back into session by next month to act — not wait until January, as she's suggested.

The Senate bill, SBX5 1, was proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to ensure that the state meets qualifications for a federal Race to the Top grant. Passing easily on a bipartisan vote, it would eliminate a cap on the number of new charter schools; make it easier for students to transfer out of failing schools; allow the state to tie student test scores to teacher reviews, and lay out specific ways to fix failing schools."

CSU to ask state for $884 million more

CSU to ask state for $884 million more:

"As California State University prepares to close its doors to tens of thousands of qualified students next year, Chancellor Charles Reed said Tuesday he will ask Sacramento for $884 million to meet CSU's budget needs - a long-shot request from the cash-strapped state."

At the same time, a dozen popular CSU campuses - including San Francisco, Sonoma and San Jose in the Bay Area - will limit enrollment by making it harder for certain applicants to qualify, and by setting the application deadline for fall 2010 weeks early, at midnight Nov. 30.

"The California dream is access to higher education," Reed told reporters who asked how he would make his case for a 2010-11 budget that is two-thirds new money, and one-third restoration of funds cut out of the last state budget.

He said he'll ask lawmakers to readjust their priorities.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/11/BAQL1AI2AH.DTL#ixzz0WYVOAmLW

Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act | Alliance for Excellent Education

Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act Alliance for Excellent Education:

"Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act

Senate Bill Number: S. 2740
Date of Introduction: November 5, 2009
Sponsor(s): Murray (D-WA)
Co-Sponsor(s): Franken (D-MN), Brown (D-OH)

House Bill Number: H.R. 4037
Date of Introduction: November 6, 2009
Sponsor(s): Yarmuth (D-KY)
Co-Sponsor(s): Miller (D-CA), Polis (D-CO)"

The Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation (LEARN) Act is a comprehensive literacy bill that would authorize $2.35 billion to support state and local programs to ensure that children from birth through grade twelve have the reading and writing skills necessary for success in school and beyond.

More information on the LEARN Act is available in the two-page summary.

Read a letter of support for the LEARN Act signed by the Alliance for Excellent Education, the International Reading Association, the National Association of State Boards of Education, the National PTA, the National School Boards Association, and others.

Read a statement from Senator Patty Murray and Representatives John Yarmuth, Jared Polis, and George Miller on the LEARN Act.

Read a statement on the LEARN Act from Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia.

'Hmong Voices' film festival premiers today in Sacramento - Latest News - sacbee.com

'Hmong Voices' film festival premiers today in Sacramento - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"Sacramento's first ever 'Hmong Voices' film festival -- produced by 25 Hmong teens -- premieres at 5:30 p.m. today in the Florin Creek Recreation Center, 7460 Persimmon Avenue.

The public is invited to the event hosted by the Center for Multicultural Cooperation and supported by the Sacramento City Unified School District and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.

The free event features seven short films made this summer by students at Hiram Johnson and Luther Burbank high schools, said program coordinator Stephanie Xiong."

Contact your Senator tell them to pass Health Care Reform

Urgent: Take Action for Health Care Reform with no retreat on Women's health

We made history on November 7th when the House of Representatives passed sweeping health care reform legislation.

The health insurance industry is fighting back hard. The Senate will soon vote for its own version of the bill, and we need you to contact your Senator and ask to keep the Senate version as strong as the version just passed by the House.

Contact your U.S. Senator NOW

Search for your senators by name, state, or congressional class; and visit their websites.

Sizing up school safety - Find a school | GreatSchools

Sizing up school safety - Find a school GreatSchools:

"How do you know if a school is safe? Pretty paint jobs won't tell you! Let these six steps help you research the most fundamental issue for every school."

“We’re thrilled,” declared my friend when I called to find out what school they’d chosen for their 5-year-old daughter. “There’s this beautiful garden, and the teachers seem brilliant. There are science and art projects everywhere you look.”

My friend was one of those übermoms — she’d toured a bazillion private and public schools. She thought carefully about what would be right for her little learning sponge.

From dream to nightmare

But within a few weeks of school starting, she left me a message: “We’ve been in kindergarten hell!” Her daughter loved the new school and was learning like gangbusters, but something wasn’t working. “We’re switching schools."

What could justify a parent summarily yanking her child out of a school she loves?

How unsafe schools affect student learning

In a word: safety. For most parents, school security is the place where the rubber meets the rule book. If your child isn’t safe from violence, bullying, sexual harassment, and fear — even if everything else is perfect — brilliant teachers and gorgeous gardens just can’t balance it out. After all, studies suggest that when children feel threatened, both their academic performance and emotional health suffer. Stress hormones impair kids’ neurological development, and they are literally unable to learn in the same way.

Education News & Comment

Education News & Comment:

"Hello DAC Members & Interested Parties:

This is your friendly reminder that today is the District Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting, November 10, 2009 from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Serna Center.

Dinner and childcare will be provided. Dinner will begin at 6:15pm.

Wanda Yañez Chairperson
District Advisory Committee (DAC)
Sacramento City Unified School District
Work: (916) 654-7729"

Parent Involvement 2009

Parent Involvement 2009

What happens … begins in the council chamber, the school board meeting room, the state house, the U.S. Capitol, and the White House. "Every decision is a political decision," says NEA President Reg Weaver (speaking of teachers but applies even more for parents). "We should no longer accept people making decisions for us, about us, and without us."How Can Schools, Families and Community Groups Put these Goals into Action?

• Recognize that all parents, regardless of income, education or cultural background, are involved in their children's learning and want their children to do well.

• Design programs that will support families to guide their children's learning, from preschool through high school.

• Develop the capacity of school staff and families to work together.

• Link activities and programs for families to improving student learning.

• Focus on developing trusting and respectful relationships among staff and families.

• Build families' social and political connections.

• Embrace a philosophy of partnership and be willing to share power.

• Make sure that parents, school staff, and community members understand that the responsibility for children's educational development is a collaborative enterprise.

• Build strong connections between schools and community organizations.

• Include families in all strategies to reduce the achievement gap between white, middle-class students and low-income students and students of color.

When parents talk to their children about school, expect them to do well, help them plan for college, and make sure that out-of-school activities are constructive, their children do better in school. When schools engage families in ways that are linked to improving learning, and support parent involvement at home and school, students make greater gains. When schools build partnerships with families that respond to their concerns, honor their contributions, and share power, they are able to sustain connections that are aimed at improving student achievement. And when families and communities organize to hold poorly performing schools accountable, school districts make positive changes in policy, practice, and resources.


"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." ~~ Margaret Mead (1901 - 1978)

Come And Play: 'Sesame Street' Celebrates 40 Years : NPR

Come And Play: 'Sesame Street' Celebrates 40 Years : NPR:

"When first lady Michelle Obama popped in on Sesame Street to hang out with Elmo, Big Bird and some kids, she came to demonstrate one of her pet projects: how to plant your own vegetable garden. Her point was that from very small seeds, some delicious and wonderful things can grow. And in TV terms, Sesame Street 40 years ago was one of those seeds — and it has ended up feeding many generations of young viewers."

On Nov. 10, 1969, when we first heard the theme to Sesame Street, public television itself was a new and largely unproven entity. There was no cable TV then, no Fox — by and large, just three commercial networks and, in each TV market, a local station or two. Children's television wasn't very regulated, and certainly, by the end of the 1960s, wasn't very good. Sesame Street, with its simple mandate of educating children as it entertained them, changed all that.

We live in such a different technological world now that one of the basic principles of Sesame Street has been, quite recently, overthrown. Sesame Street was available to any family, no matter how poor, so long as it had electricity and a TV set. Tune in, and even the most disadvantaged preschooler could learn his or her ABCs and count to 10 and begin attending school without feeling left behind.

voiceofsandiego.org: Education... My Day as Principal

EMILY ALPERT

voiceofsandiego.org: Education... My Day as Principal:

"Monday, Nov. 9, 2009 I hoofed it up the sidewalk to Bell Middle School in my heels, alongside preteens in maroon and navy polos. 'Plenty of time. Plenty of time,' the vice principal reassured us as we poured into the school, a vast spread of tile and stucco atop a hill that faces a dark, distant wash of mountains.

There are more than 1,100 students at Bell, a diverse school in the southeastern corner of San Diego Unified where roughly two-thirds of students are poor enough to eat lunch for free.

And I was in charge for a day.

I had been tapped for Principal for a Day, an event that aims to bring business and community leaders into schools to better understand the work of principals. I was hoping I might actually make decisions in that day -- not just tag along."

Outrage over new SDSU admissions rules

Outrage over new SDSU admissions rules:

"SAN DIEGO — Kevin Yabes couldn’t help but get excited when he received confirmation this week that SDSU received his college application. But he’s not so sure he’ll ever get the letter that really counts.

With a 3.53 grade-point average, the Mira Mesa High School senior would have been a guaranteed a spot at San Diego State University under a 10-year-old local admissions policy. But the agreement was abruptly rescinded last month, sending many students into a panic and angering community members.

“I was really hoping to avoid community college,” Kevin said. “But now I’m not sure what I’m going to do next year.”

Kevin was among dozens of students, parents, teachers and community members who spoke out against the policy change Monday night at a hearing by the San Diego Unified School District. Angry and emotional speakers lashed out at SDSU for the decision they called everything from racist to irresponsible."

L.A. Unified magnet school application deadline is Dec. 18 -- latimes.com

L.A. Unified magnet school application deadline is Dec. 18 -- latimes.com:

"The application deadline for the popular local magnet-school program is three weeks earlier this school year. Parents will have until Dec. 18 to turn in applications for their choice among 173 magnet programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Magnets were established in the late 1970s to promote voluntary integration -- and in that aspect they have achieved limited success. But many have become wildly popular academic showcases for the nation's second-largest school system. And they attract far more applicants than can be accommodated.

Not long ago, the deadline for applications was in late January. Last year, it was Jan. 9, said Almarie Polk, an administrative assistant with the magnet division. The earlier deadline means parents will find out sooner, probably in April, about whether their child gets into a requested magnet, Polk added."

AdelaideNow... True school performance levels at last

AdelaideNow... True school performance levels at last:

"BY promising basic information on the performance of our schools, Education Minister, Julia Gillard has landed a blow for common sense and for parents.

For too long, the argument about whether national testing on literacy and numeracy should even be done, let alone published, has been deadlocked.

Education experts, state education departments, teachers and their professional bodies, have long resisted the move arguing that such comparisons were worse than meaningless, they would be misleading."

Less than 'courage' in New Haven - washingtonpost.com

Less than 'courage' in New Haven - washingtonpost.com:

"EDUCATION Secretary Arne Duncan is a big advocate of the need for educators to set high expectations. So when he singled out the recently ratified teacher contract in New Haven, Conn., as a model for the nation, we assumed it contained bold reforms. In fact, there's little that's remarkable about the contract. We hope that's not a sign Mr. Duncan is getting timid in bringing about the real changes needed in teacher labor agreements.

Praise of the New Haven contract has been effusive. Mr. Duncan told the Wall Street Journal that it is 'a really important progressive labor agreement' that showed 'real courage on the union's part.' American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten, who helped broker the deal, said: 'I rarely say that something is a model or a template for something else, but this is both.' Even President Obama got in on the act as he complimented New Haven for 'coming together' to find smarter ways to improve learning."

Statement from president of Wausau Education Association - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports

Statement from president of Wausau Education Association - WAOW - Newsline 9, Wausau News, Weather, Sports:

"This is a statement from Wausau Education Association President Mary Jarvis:

'Thank you to the members of the board, Board President, and Superintendent (Steve) Murley.
I am the president of the Wausau Education Association.

The teachers of the Wausau School District have carefully followed the budget situation in this district.
We are very alarmed and concerned by the lack of planning for the educational impact on our students."

Bad eighth grade math placements--an update - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Bad eighth grade math placements--an update - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"A thoughtful reader who signs on as 'raging moderate' (my own self-concept too) asked two good questions about my recent Local Living column on bad timing in placing students in Algebra 1. Here is raging moderate's query, followed by the answer from Brookings Institution scholar Tom Loveless, who supplied me the data.

[Raging moderate first quoted my piece:] 'But Loveless showed that we are also missing students ready for algebra. Among the top 10 percent of eighth-graders, 18 percent are not in algebra or above, and that percentage is 24.6 for top black, Hispanic and low-income students.'

I have two questions, Jay:"

The Tipping Point: Texas Textbook Politics Meets the Digital Revolution | The Texas Tribune

The Tipping Point: Texas Textbook Politics Meets the Digital Revolution The Texas Tribune:

"Under new legislation, school districts for the first time can spend a portion of state “book” money on computer hardware and digital content. And the state can stockpile and open-source electronic material, made available free to all schools. Some, including State Board of Education members, fear the explosion of choice will produce an erosion of quality content.

AUSTIN – In a historic shift, Texas public schools will soon start tapping the state’s multi-billion-dollar textbook fund for laptops and e-readers. A “book,” meanwhile, could become a living reservoir of content, freely edited and updated by educators and beamed to the classrooms, homes and handhelds of students statewide."

Rather than replacing untold thousands of dead-tree editions every two years — for hundreds of millions of dollars — the state could own libraries of electronic content, some of which it might even get for free. Students could carry all that material on a laptop or an e-reader, amassing an on-demand virtual library over multiple years in school.

That scenario represents the ideal — to some, at least — and may yet be years away. The changes thus far have come slowly, navigating a thicket of big-money politics and curriculum wars surrounding the nation’s second biggest textbook market. At the core of the new order, resulting from new legislation, lie three fundamental transfers of power and money:

From 19th-Century View, Desegregation Is a Test

From 19th-Century View, Desegregation Is a Test

If there is a topic Justice Antonin Scalia does not relish discussing, it is how he would have voted in Brown v. Board of Education had he been on the Supreme Court when it was decided in 1954.

The question came up last month at the University of Arizona in what was billed as a conversation between Justice Scalia and Justice Stephen G. Breyer. The discussion, between the court’s two primary intellectual antagonists, bore the relationship to a conversation that a fistfight does to a handshake. The justices know how to get under each other’s skin, and they punctuated their debate with exasperation, eye-rolling and venomous sarcasm.

The Brown decision, which said the 14th Amendment prohibited segregation in public schools, is hard to square with Justice Scalia’s commitment to originalism, the theory of constitutional interpretation that says judges must apply the original understanding of the constitutional text.

Brown presents originalists with a problem. The weight of the historical evidence is that the people who drafted, proposed and ratified the 14th Amendment from 1866 to 1868 did not believe themselves to be doing away with segregated schools.

Blame parents, not SATs, for inequities#ixzz0WS0f3YHN#ixzz0WS0f3YHN

Blame parents, not SATs, for inequities#ixzz0WS0f3YHN#ixzz0WS0f3YHN:

"Yes, Virginia, the colleges do prefer knowledgeable students who are already fluent in trigonometry and calculus, who have a reasonably rich lexicon and who can convey their thoughts in the form of an essay. Otherwise, the students will have to spend two out of four college years taking remedial classes. Our society does not need engineers who study engineering subjects proper for only the two remaining years.

The same applies to any field of endeavor: baseball, skating, saxophone playing or journalism. A baseball coach might feel sorry for an unskillful candidate who just has not had a chance to play the game with his parents. But usually a coach simply cannot afford to take such candidates in the hope that they might catch up later."

Digital School Library Leaves Book Stacks Behind : NPR

Digital School Library Leaves Book Stacks Behind : NPR:

"An elite boarding school in Ashburnham, Mass., just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on renovating its library. But Cushing Academy wasn't just redoing its walls and carpets. The school is getting rid of the actual, physical books in favor of going digital.

And the move — thought to be the first of its kind in the country — is worrying some librarians and book lovers."

Bill on mayoral control could affect hiring of MPS superintendent - JSOnline

Bill on mayoral control could affect hiring of MPS superintendent - JSOnline:

"The search for the next superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools is about to collide with the fight over mayoral governance, now that lawmakers are putting the final touches on legislation that would allow Milwaukee's mayor to lead the system and appoint the superintendent.

The application deadline for would-be superintendents is Nov. 19, and School Board members aren't slowing down their search.

'We're taking the search day by day and proceeding until we get notice to do otherwise,' School Board President Michael Bonds said last week. 'We're still in charge.'"

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Public education is a liberal value

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Public education is a liberal value:

"'Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. ... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.'
-Thomas Jefferson

Now that our local elections are over for school and water board races, I believe it is prudent to reflect on how these races are conducted in our valley. They, like City Council races, are supposed to be non-partisan but clearly they are not."

As Tim Myers noted recently, there is a "Republican Machine" ("Is Boydston a game-changer?" Nov. 1) that controls the politics here. We even have our own "Karl Rove" in Santa Clarita Valley, master of dirty politics who orchestrates hit mailers, telephone smear campaigns and other tricks and ploys to make sure only those in the Machine are elected.

Lynn Vakay wrote before the election in "Right Here Right Now" who the Republican school board candidates were, strongly intimating that people should vote only for them because they espoused the Republican education platform which I read as a thinly disguised call for privatization, dismantling the public school system through systematic starvation, not educating "them" (immigrants) and vilifying public school unions. Vakay's attack on our public school system strikes me as odd since she is a public school teacher and enjoys a living wage, health care benefits and retirement because of her public school union. She clearly unveiled any attempt by the Machine to pretend these elections are "non-partisan."

Denver Daily - Colorado’s economy: We are not California

Denver Daily - Colorado’s economy: We are not California:

"For some reason I am on the mailing lists for some of the GOP candidates. (Of course after this column, I may get purged). It makes for interesting reading as you watch the contortions of truth and ideology.

For example, a recent essay written by a GOP gubernatorial candidate compared Colorado to California in terms of budgets and spending. His sniping remarks continue to remind us that he is young and relatively inexperienced in governance.

The economy is an issue in this country as we fight ourselves out of the cumulative mess of years of mismanagement. As I talk with my counterparts across the country, I know that Colorado has suffered far less than other states. But tell that to my neighbor who works at the Albertson’s in Lafayette. The store is closing. The same store we have been using for 15 years. And the grocery workers are looking for jobs."

Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger Takes Action to Secure Available Recovery Act Funds for Early Childhood Education : Mon, 09 Nov 2009 : California Newswire™

Calif. Gov. Schwarzenegger Takes Action to Secure Available Recovery Act Funds for Early Childhood Education : Mon, 09 Nov 2009 : California Newswire™:

"SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — Building on his commitment to both high-quality early childhood education and bringing available American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funding to California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued Executive Order S-23-09 establishing the California State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. This is the first step in making California eligible to compete for a share of $100 million in federal Head Start funds available through President Obama’s Recovery Act."

“A high-quality early childhood education is a critical building block in a student’s social and educational foundation,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “This action will help bring California funding to support our state’s high-quality preschool programs and help ensure our state’s neediest children will be prepared for success on their very first day of elementary school.”
The federal Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 requires that states establish State Advisory Councils in order to receive Head Start grants designed to increase collaboration among early childhood education providers. The Recovery Act provides grants of at least $500,000 to support states in establishing these councils and in developing statewide early childhood education plans. Following the Governor’s action today, California is expected to receive as much as $10.7 million over three years.

Funding applications must be submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by August 1, 2010, and must include an explanation of California’s strategy to improve coordination and collaboration among California’s Head Start agencies, preschool programs and other early childhood education providers. This enhanced coordination will help California expand access so that early childhood education providers can serve more needy children. The California State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care established today will plan-for and ensure California’s application process meets federal requirements and make the state competitive for the funds.

San Mateo Daily Journal

San Mateo Daily Journal:

"Halloween is a generally accepted idea in America including dressing in costumes.

But Lillian Meng and Caroline Zheng were a bit uncomfortable donning a Cat in the Hat and a chicken outfit respectively. The elementary school principals visiting from Shanghai were unsure of the reaction others would give, but were pleasantly surprised to see the outfits were commonplace on All Hallow’s Eve.

The experience is one of many the two women will have while working through Nov. 23 at College Park Elementary School in San Mateo as part of the Shanghai-California Principal Exchange Program. The program is put together through the partnership of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and the California School Boards Association. During that time, Meng and Zheng will work and live along side College Park Principal Diana Hallock while observing the way things run at the school, which offers a Mandarin immersion program"

Junk food is your responsibility. – A Quick Bite - The Lakeland Ledger - Lakeland, FL - Archive

Junk food is your responsibility. – A Quick Bite - The Lakeland Ledger - Lakeland, FL - Archive:

"A new study has found that advertising on childrens’ TV networks is far higher on ads for high-fat, high-sugar foods than on other networks.

The study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, put the figure at 76 percent.

Researchers at University of California Davis dissected ads on Saturday mornings and after-school hours on English and Spanish programs.

“Study after study has documented the adverse health effects of food advertising targeting children and adolscents,” they wrote."

English teacher at Bronx School of Law and Finance, Van Voorhis, suspended for assigning material to students about masturbation

English teacher at Bronx School of Law and Finance, Van Voorhis, suspended for assigning material to students about masturbation:

"The first rule about having an edgy English teacher is don't talk about your edgy English teacher.

A beloved city schoolteacher has been suspended by the Department of Education after giving his 11th-grade students a copy of a graphic short story about masturbation written by 'Fight Club' author Chuck Palahniuk.

Greg Van Voorhis, 30, handed out copies of Palahniuk's 'Guts' late last month to about 100 students studying for the English Regents exam at The Bronx School of Law and Finance in Marble Hill."

"While Van Voorhis took the copies back at the end of class, students blabbed about the ribald tale, and school officials soon caught wind of the lesson in self-love. "

"Schwartz stopped short of calling the story inappropriate but said he was required to act."

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/teacher_suspended_for_giving_self_nV6xCRYzrjDVUIZFbdXD2L#ixzz0WPtlh8HO

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Real Oklahoma Students Ace Citizenship Exam; Strategic Vision Survey Was Likely Fabricated

FiveThirtyEight: Politics Done Right: Real Oklahoma Students Ace Citizenship Exam; Strategic Vision Survey Was Likely Fabricated:

"In detailing some of the evidence against Strategic Vision LLC, a pollster I am now almost certain is disreputable and fraudulent, I pointed in particular to a poll that they conducted on behalf of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs, an conservative-leaning educational thinktank. The poll purported to show that Oklahoma's high school citizens were deficient in some of the most basic aspects of citizenship. Only 23 percent of them knew that George Washington was the first president, the poll claimed! Just 43 percent knew that the Democrats and Republicans are the two major political parties!"

These conclusions seemed dubious to me on their face. Several years ago, at my old consulting job, I participated in a project for the State of Ohio's public schools which involved sitting down in a third or fifth grade classroom for the better part of a day and seeing how the students were learning. Most of these observations took place in poor, post-industrial towns, which were still suffering the effects of the steel mill or the axle plant that had long ago left town. What struck me, most of all, was how smart the kids were, relative to my expectations. These kids might not have been the highest achievers -- but I'm pretty sure that more than 90 percent of them would have known who George Washington was. And these were third and fifth graders.