Harvard ignored warnings about investments - The Boston Globe

Harvard ignored warnings about investments - The Boston Globe:

"It happened at least once a year, every year. In a roomful of a dozen Harvard University financial officials, Jack Meyer, the hugely successful head of Harvard’s endowment, and Lawrence Summers, then the school’s president, would face off in a heated debate. The topic: cash and how the university was managing - or mismanaging - its basic operating funds."

Through the first half of this decade, Meyer repeatedly warned Summers and other Harvard officials that the school was being too aggressive with billions of dollars in cash, according to people present for the discussions, investing almost all of it with the endowment’s risky mix of stocks, bonds, hedge funds, and private equity. Meyer’s successor, Mohamed El-Erian, would later sound the same warnings to Summers, and to Harvard financial staff and board members.

“Mohamed was having a heart attack,’’ said one former financial executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of angering Harvard and Summers. He considered the cash investment a “doubling up’’ of the university’s investment risk.

But the warnings fell on deaf ears, under Summers’s regime and beyond. And when the market crashed in the fall of 2008, Harvard would pay dearly, as $1.8 billion in cash simply vanished. Indeed, it is still paying, in the form of tighter budgets, deferred expansion plans, and big interest payments on bonds issued to cover the losses.

San Francisco's school of last resort

San Francisco's school of last resort:

"With a convicted bank robber and a former methamphetamine user in charge, John Muir Charter School on Treasure Island is not your typical public school."

But the typical public school experience didn't work for the 105 students at John Muir.

Among them are former robbers and thieves. Some are teenage parents. All were academic failures elsewhere and, at one point or another, on the state's long list of high school dropouts.

Each one wants another chance.

This school gives them that as well as health care, bus passes, individual support, construction job training, and a capitalistic reason to show up: a paycheck.

John Muir offers its students a fast track to the elusive diploma and the option of vocational job training in various construction fields. Getting a paycheck with benefits gives them one more reason to go to class.

"We're taking the kids our school system can't handle," said Garry Grady, the former bank robber, as he sat in his musty administrator's office watching students head back to class to solve algebraic equations, complete a plant biology worksheet and finish a lesson on Adolf Hitler.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/11/29/MNRG1A9R7G.DTL#ixzz0YGMGlEMi

Chaos control is a challenge as Montgomery enrollment surges - washingtonpost.com

Chaos control is a challenge as Montgomery enrollment surges - washingtonpost.com:

"Oakland Terrace Elementary School in Silver Spring, one of the most overcrowded schools in an crowded district, has 800 students, 10 kindergarten classes, 11 portable classrooms and only four and a half restrooms. But the numbers are an abstraction until lunchtime.

At 11:25 a.m. one recent day, the cafeteria was packed with 175 kindergartners, many of whom seemed to be making as much noise as possible. As the din crescendoed, someone turned off the lights to calm the students down. Most fell silent, and Jennifer Dunkin, the team leader who was riding herd over the group, began reading from a book."

Ruling on D.C. Teacher Layoffs Raises Broader Issues - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Ruling on D.C. Teacher Layoffs Raises Broader Issues - Teacher Beat - Education Week:

"A Washington superior court judge has backed Chancellor Michelle Rhee in a dispute with the Washington Teachers' Union over layoffs. The union sought a preliminary injunction that would essentially have required Rhee to reinstate teachers who were laid off supposedly due to budget cuts while other legal claims worked their way through the District of Columbia school system.

In essence, the union said that Rhee hired hundreds of young teachers over the summer, more than the district could pay for, thus forcing a later need to make cuts. Because of a series of administrative rulings in the late 1990s, layoffs in D.C. are done not only by seniority but also by performance. In this case, principals laid off many veteran teachers. That precipitated protests, allegations from the WTU that Rhee was bypassing termination procedures in the contract, and hearings with the D.C. Council."

Blather, Rinse, Repeat at The Core Knowledge Blog

Blather, Rinse, Repeat at The Core Knowledge Blog

In a debate on the Education Next website, Joe Williams of Democrats for Education Reform and Pedro Noguera of New York University wrestle with the question, “Should school reformers pay more attention to the non-academic needs of poor children?” The more pertinent question might be which of the two groups Williams and Noguera speak for–the Education Equality Project (Williams) and the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education (Noguera)–is paying attention to the academic needs of poor children. Based on the evidence, it’s hard to say.

The tale of the tape:

Word count in the “debate”: 4,188
Number of times the word “accountable” or “accountability” is used: 8
“Tests” or “testing”: 12
“Reform”: 23
“Teacher” or “educator”: 34
“Performance” and/or “pay”: 12
“Choice” and/or “charter”: 23
“Money” and/or “funds”: 14
“Unions,” “NEA,” or “AFT”: 9
“Parents”: 6

Curriculum: 1

I guess they both agree on one thing: What kids actually learn in school apparently doesn’t matter a bit.

A growing expulsion pipeline | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

A growing expulsion pipeline Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

"Unlike some 11th graders, Kyle Mechin knows exactly what he would like to do after high school.

“I want to go to UCLA film school. I want to be a horror movie director,” he said.

An A and B student at Swenson Arts and Technology High School, Mechin was on his way to achieving his goal. He was taking a digital media arts class to learn filmmaking, and was encouraged by news that a friend who took the same class received a full scholarship to the college of her choice because of her work in that course."

This Week in Education: Controversy Envelops Study on Charter Management Organizations

This Week in Education

Controversy Envelops Study on Charter Management Organizations

By Debra Viadero on November 25, 2009 9:28 AM No Comments No TrackBacks

Released just yesterday, Education Sector's report on charter management organizations, or CMOs, is already embroiled in controversy, according to Alexander Russo over at This Week in Education. Russo picked up on the fact that the final report is missing the name of its author, Tom Toch, Education Sector's co-founder. He quotes Toch saying:

"I removed my name from the report because a good deal of my analysis was removed and, as published, the report does not reflect my research findings on the current status and future prospects of charter management organizations."

So what's missing? Due to copyright rules, Toch wasn't able to share the original report with Russo. But, if you compare the new report, "Growing Pains: Scaling Up the Nation's Best Charter Schools," with a commentary that Toch wrote for EdWeek back in October, you can find some clues. Both reports raise questions about the capacity of CMOs to meet the high expectations for growth that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has set for them, but Toch's commentary gives a much more bleak assessment.

Stay tuned: This story isn't finished yet.

Flypaper: Education reform ideas that stick, from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Flypaper: Education reform ideas that stick, from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute:

"Despite the rainy weather, early morning start, and day-before-Thanksgiving scheduling, the CAP event with Secretary Duncan and NYC Mayor Bloomberg was standing room only. Going in it wasn’t at all clear what the actual purpose of the event was (Ed Trust’s Kati Haycock was on the panel as well). As it turned out, it was a stage for Bloomberg to make some important announcements.

Secretary Duncan’s opening speech was generally his ARRA/RTT talking points—not bad by any means, just not hot-off-the-presses new. Of note, he once again name-checked Louisiana for its strong use of data. He also said that RTT isn’t so much about states competing with one another as it is about each state building consensus within its borders for major change."

Class Struggle - Bloomberg ties test scores to teacher tenure

Class Struggle - Bloomberg ties test scores to teacher tenure:

"Here's an item from my colleague Nick Anderson on the national education beat.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who oversees city schools, said Wednesday morning in Washington that he has directed the nation's largest school system to ensure that principals use student test scores to evaluate beginning teachers who are up for tenure.

'It is an aggressive policy,' Bloomberg, an independent who this year ran as a Republican for re-election, said in an appearance at the Democrat-leaning Center for American Progress. 'But our obligation is to take care of our kids.'"

University World News - US: Shifting balance of foreign students

University World News - US: Shifting balance of foreign students:

"Although a recent report applauded the fact that the number of foreign students attending American colleges and universities hit a new peak in 2008, a disaggregation of the data reveals worrisome underlying trends in undergraduate and graduate student numbers.

More than 670,000 foreign students enrolled in American colleges and universities in 2008-09, an 8% increase from the previous year, according to the Institute of International Education's Open Doors 2009 report. Not only is this the largest percentage increase since 1980-81, it is the third consecutive year significant growth has occurred."

S.F. mayor in India pioneering deals

S.F. mayor in India pioneering deals:

"Hot on the heels of India's prime ministerial visit to Washington, a 50-plus-member Bay Area delegation arrived in Bangalore today, ready to do business."

San Francisco's developing ties with the "Silicon Valley of India" might not quite achieve the status as a "defining partnership of the 21st century" - as President Obama described the U.S. relationship with India - but the delegation, headed by Mayor Gavin Newsom, is scheduled to sign some concrete deals during its three-day trip, some in fields, like clean energy, in which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Obama said the two countries would cooperate.

"San Francisco will be the first city in the nation to implement some of the cooperation agreements," said Jim Herlihy, co-chairman of the San Francisco-Bangalore Sister City Initiative ( www.sfbangalore.org).

In addition to a biotech project linking UCSF with a Bangalore company, the two cities are set to sign agreements aimed at increasing the two-way flow of business, investment, IT, clean-energy initiatives and tourism.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/28/BUS91ANE2T.DTL&type=business#ixzz0YGB06RRI

State seeking conventional wisdom on constitution | San Francisco Examiner

State seeking conventional wisdom on constitution San Francisco Examiner:

"SAN FRANCISCO — A soaring state budget deficit blamed on legislative gridlock has frustrated a coalition of business and civic groups who have rallied together to kick-start the process of rewriting the California Constitution.

The aim of the coalition, named Repair California, is to revamp the state constitution, which is partially blamed for the Legislature failing to pass a timely budget 22 times in the past 30 years. The process of rewriting the document, which spells out the functions of the state and how it’s run, is bold and faces numerous challenges."

http://www.repaircalifornia.org/

Reform at a snail's pace -- baltimoresun.com

Reform at a snail's pace -- baltimoresun.com:

"The Obama administration has given U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan $5 billion for a 'race to the top' fund designed to encourage states to adopt educational innovations that produce major improvements in student achievement. But in the race to take advantage of this federal largesse, Maryland is limping along at a snail's pace compared with the rest of the pack.

State schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick hasn't announced a plan to compete for the federal aid, even though the deadline for the first round of applications is less than two months away. Meanwhile, Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has said education is one of his administration's top priorities, hasn't lifted a finger to remove the roadblocks that put Maryland at a competitive disadvantage in qualifying for funds."

Immigration: Is SB 81 being ignored? - Salt Lake Tribune

Immigration: Is SB 81 being ignored? - Salt Lake Tribune:

"In particular, by law, all children residing in this country must be provided with a K-12 education paid for with taxpayer money. A 2007 Utah legislative audit reported the education costs for undocumented children at $85 million. That estimate was probably low and has undoubtedly risen. Many studies have reported other costs that can be attributed to unauthorized or illegal immigrants. Utah is one of the few states to offer in-state tuition rates to illegals, in violation of federal law."

A similar California law was declared in violation of federal law and required California to refund the excess tuition paid by U.S. citizens. The issue is now before the California Supreme Court and if upheld will cost Utah millions of dollars in repayment of excess nonresident tuition to those U.S. citizens who attended Utah colleges.

E-Verification is a step in instituting the policy of "attrition through enforcement" in reducing the presence of unauthorized immigrants. Simple enforcement of current state and federal immigration laws will solve the supposed problem of having to round up all the illegals for deportation. Restricting employment, benefits and other enticements will facilitate the process of self-removal.

Without jobs and benefits, unauthorized immigrants will tend to return to their respective homelands. Self-deportation would allow them to retain the earnings they may have accumulated and to use the education, experience and learning they may have attained to, hopefully, correct the problems of those home countries.

Law enforcement, and government in general, should also be ensuring compliance with federal law against aiding, abetting and encouraging or inducing "an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing ... that such ... residence is or will be in violation of law." Many actions in Utah seem to clearly defy this law.

Dear Reader...Raising the drop out age: Because it is time.

Dear Reader...Raising the drop out age: Because it is time.:

"In November the Prince George’s County Board of Education announced they would support legislation in the 2009 General Assembly to ask for an increase in the allowable drop out age. Under current state law students are allowed to drop out of school at the age of 16 years old. However as recently reported after the announcement by both the Montgomery County and Prince George’s County school boards, this law actually costs the county more than it saves in the long run. In fact because of the lost revenue the county gets as students drop out, the few pennies it will cost to enforce this law is well worth the expense."

Budget cuts hit broad swath of Cal State -- latimes.com

Budget cuts hit broad swath of Cal State -- latimes.com:

"Rochelle Corros is passionate when she speaks about her college major: Recreation and leisure studies is not just fun and games, she says with conviction. Graduates run city and state parks, recreation departments, hospital clinics, theaters and cruise lines. They help keep kids off the streets.

So the Cal State Dominguez Hills senior was floored by an August letter from administrators telling her that admissions to the program would be suspended and courses slashed as the campus grappled with steep budget reductions."

California's future demands bigger investment in schools

California's future demands bigger investment in schools:

"A story on National Public Radio's Web site about MySpace and Facebook recently quoted students from the Urban School of San Francisco."

I teach at Urban, and what stung me was its description as "an elite private school." As a journalist and teacher, this kind of thing gets under my skin.

With tuition at $30,800 a year, it's inevitable that Urban will be stereotyped as a prep school for smarties who exist in a parallel universe of privilege. But as someone who has spent several years teaching in public schools, I also know that California's per-pupil spending rate of $7,571 a year - watch out, Mississippi, we're racing you to the bottom - doesn't provide even the basics, let alone enough for a truly decent education. My hometown of Milwaukee spends twice as much, and still only 46 percent of high school students graduate. The fact is that we could and probably should be spending four times as much on public education as we do now.

At Urban, I'm rarely impressed by excess, just by thoughtful teaching, the resources to support it and kids who work so hard that I sometimes have to tell them to slow down. But stereotypes persist. When I got my job at Urban, a friend who works at a community college promptly checked my delight. "Isn't that the fancy private school in the Haight?" she asked. "How nice for you."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/29/IN2H1ALA7P.DTL#ixzz0YG2fmrNf

Statehouse Insider: Valley lawmakers get a spot at table on education plan | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Statehouse Insider: Valley lawmakers get a spot at table on education plan mydesert.com The Desert Sun:

"On the heels of student protests over University of California's fee hikes and amid a special session on education, state lawmakers last week named a joint committee to evaluate the master plan for higher education."

Lucky for the desert, we've got representation at the discussion table:

Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, a Coachella Democrat, was among 10 Assembly appointees to the committee.

The committee will evaluate the state's framework for higher education — established 50 years ago — to “ensure the quality, access and affordability of the public college in California,” according to a release from Assembly Speaker Karen Bass' office.

“We need to look at the master plan and need to create a new one for the 21st Century,” said Pérez, a former school teacher and Coachella Valley Unified School District board member.

The first hearing is Dec. 7.

Pérez won't be the only desert rep talking education in coming days.

The Assembly Education Committee, whose vice chair is Palm Desert Republican Brian Nestande, meets Dec. 2 on legislation that would allow the state to compete for the $4.35 billion in federal Race to the Top funding.

Last week Nestande introduced three pieces of legislation to address what he called “common-sense reforms” aimed at improving opportunities for teachers and increasing accountability.

Value-added education in the race to the top

Value-added education in the race to the top:

"Bill Clinton may have invented triangulation - the art of finding a 'third way' out of a policy dilemma - but U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is practicing it to make desperately needed improvements in K-12 education. Unfortunately, his promotion of value-added education through 'Race to the Top' grants to states could be thrown under the bus by powerful teachers' unions that view reforms more for how they affect pay and job security than whether they improve student learning."

The traditional view of education holds that it is more process than product. Educators design a process, hire teachers and administrators to run it, put students through it and consider it a success. The focus is on the inputs - how much can we spend, what curriculum shall we use, what class size is best - with very little on measuring outputs, whether students actually learn. The popular surveys of America's best schools and colleges reinforce this, measuring resources and reputation, not results. As they say, Harvard University has good graduates because it admits strong applicants, not necessarily because of what happens in the educational process.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/11/29/INRD1ANKU6.DTL#ixzz0YFzmNsUU

Online university of hope

Online university of hope:

"It has no campus, no lecture theatres and hardly any paid staff, but the international University of the People has at least one big plus: no tuition fees.

This, and the fact its courses are taught entirely online and are designed to make it accessible to people who, because of poverty, geography or personal restrictions, would never contemplate university study.

'Hundreds of millions of people deserve to get education and don't,' says UoPeople's founder Shai Reshef, a Californian businessman. 'We are showing a way that this mass of people can be educated in a very efficient and inexpensive way.'"

Opinion: UC students need a teach-in on California's budget mess - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: UC students need a teach-in on California's budget mess - San Jose Mercury News:

"Two voices called out when I heard that dozens of students on University of California campuses had been arrested for occupying college buildings in protest of the 32 percent fee increase that UC regents had passed.

One was that of the indignant college sophomore who was hauled off to the city jail in Boston in 1970 after refusing to leave the plaza at Government Center during a Vietnam War protest. The other was that of my disbelieving father who asked, 'You were taken where for doing what?'

I am the age my dad was then and closer in sensibility to him now than to the youth I once was. I also have a daughter who's a freshman at UC-Davis and, much to my relief, was busy studying calculus when others took over Mrak Hall."

White House party crasher is a UC Davis grad - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

White House party crasher is a UC Davis grad - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Tareq Salahi, a Virginia winery owner who made national headlines when he and his wife crashed a White House state dinner Tuesday as part of audition for a TV reality show, has ties to the Sacramento area.

University of California, Davis officials confirmed today that Salahi is, in reality, an Aggie.

UC Davis spokeswoman Pat Bailey said records show that Salahi began his studies at the campus in 1987 and received a bachelor's degree from the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science in 1994. Bailey said Salahi had an "individual major," meaning he designed his own course of study in enology and management.

Professor emeritus Ann Noble remembers Salahi as a "delightful person," but one who was more interested in campus social life than academics.

"He was a kid in a candy shop," she said.

Noble said she had the impression Salahi was reared in a strict family and that he had enjoyed a new-found freedom at UC Davis. But she said he was not a prankster."

Joblessness adds to burden on D.C. area schools - washingtonpost.com

Joblessness adds to burden on D.C. area schools - washingtonpost.com:

"Schools throughout the Washington area are feeding an unprecedented number of poor students as unemployment continues to rise.

One in four students in Fairfax County qualifies for free or reduced-price meals this fall, up from one in five three years ago. In Montgomery County, 29 percent of students were deemed eligible for meal subsidies in October, up from 26 percent in October 2007. In Prince William County, the eligibility rate increased from 29 to 33 percent, and in Prince George's County, from 46 to 52 percent."

As the lunchroom poverty barometer rises, schools are solidifying their role as centers for social services.

"If basic needs are not met, children cannot learn," said Karen Thompson, a guidance counselor at Guilford Elementary School in Sterling. "If we have children coming to school hungry, that is our first concern. We also have to make sure they have shoes, warm clothing. Have they slept? Do they have a place to live?"

Charter founder's pension benefits cut | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/23/2009

Charter founder's pension benefits cut Philadelphia Inquirer 11/23/2009:

"Eighteen months after Pennsylvania's retirement system began investigating Dorothy June Brown for collecting full-time salaries from two charter schools, Brown's pension benefits have been slashed.

The state Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS) has informed Brown that her monthly benefit is being cut from $14,150 to $3,254 - a 77 percent drop.
Ruling that Brown had provided incomplete and conflicting information, the system wiped out all employment credit she had claimed since July 2004."

The information was contained in an Oct. 14 letter to Brown, who founded three traditional charter schools in Philadelphia and the Agora Cyber Charter School in Devon. The Inquirer obtained a copy after filing a request under the state Right-to-Know Law.

Brown, 72, has appealed. She disputes the findings and says she is entitled to the pension, which is partly based on her 19.3 years of service as a Philadelphia School District administrator.

"They are going to end up paying me my money," she said recently. "PSERS owes me money."

Evelyn Tatkovski, a spokeswoman for the retirement system, could not say how often the state takes such actions. She said the agency must follow the retirement law and cut benefits "if a benefit was improperly paid to a member."

Employees at most of the 127 publicly funded charter schools statewide participate in PSERS.

Cyber school founder gets $3 million to cut ties | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/23/2009

Cyber school founder gets $3 million to cut ties Philadelphia Inquirer 11/23/2009:

"The founder of a charter school in Devon that is under federal investigation has received $3 million to sever all ties to the institution, according to terms of a settlement that includes the state Department of Education.

The payment to Dorothy June Brown's firm settles four lawsuits involving Agora Cyber Charter, an Internet-based school that has 5,500 students throughout the state. Agora is one of at least six Philadelphia-area charters whose finances and operations are under federal scrutiny."

The New Cost Of A UC Education - KTXL

The New Cost Of A UC Education - KTXL:

"SACRAMENTO - Students from across the University of California system are outraged over future fee increases approved one week ago by members of the university system's board of regents. But just how much will students now have to dish out to pay for their education?

According to a document released on November 19th by the UC Board of Regents Committee on Finance, graduate professional students with majors in business, law, theatre and most medicinal fields currently pay $6,822 in student fees. This fee will increase to $7,401 during the current academic calendar in time for the Spring Quarter in January 2010.

Fees will inflate onece again for graduate student professionals to $9,312 -- an increase of $1,911 per semester -- to fulfill the full 32% fee increase over nearly two school years."

Next Steps Being Determined in Rancho Cordova School Closures — The Rancho Cordova Post

Next Steps Being Determined in Rancho Cordova School Closures — The Rancho Cordova Post:

"The FCUSD school board has already handed down their decision to close two Rancho Cordova schools, and the district is now gathering its resources to begin students’ transitions to new schools.

Students currently attending Riverview Elementary will be transitioned to Peter J. Shields Elementary, located at 10434 Georgetown Drive; students attending Cordova Lane Elementary will either be attending Williamson Elementary at 2275 Benita Drive or Rancho Cordova Elementary at 2562 Chassella Way. Cordova Lane students will be split up because its population is “too large to fit into one school,” Public Information officer Stephen Nichols said."

Self-Advocacy: Student Resources: Education: Disability.gov

Self-Advocacy: Student Resources: Education: Disability.gov:

"Tips for Teens: Use Your IEP Meetings to Learn How to Advocate for Yourself

Information for teens on how to begin to express their needs and wants by participating in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. At these meetings, teens can learn ways to talk about their disability to others, set goals, build teamwork skills, ask for accommodation and practice other self-advocacy skills. This link opens a PDF document."

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity | Video on TED.com

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity Video on TED.com

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

About Sir Ken Robinson
Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types… Full bio and more links

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Cutback in class supplies puts strain on educators

Cutback in class supplies puts strain on educators:

"Some Valley educators teach in high-tech classrooms, some in low-tech versions, but they now all have to deal with the same issue: shrinking classroom supplies.

On Monday, the Legislature cut $144 million from Arizona districts in what's known as soft capital, or books, technology and classroom supplies.

Gov. Jan Brewer signed the bill for the current fiscal year, which will end June 30."

And more K-12 education cuts will likely be on the horizon. Brewer and top legislators will meet Monday to begin planning for their fifth special Legislative session this year.

From paper to plastic tubs, there isn't much Tiffany Larsen hasn't bought for her Mesa students, much of it out of her own pocket.

Although the school year began only three months ago, the fourth-grade Whitman Elementary teacher already has spent $500 on classroom supplies, a personal expense that she said comes with being a teacher.

Class Struggle - Should we inflate Advanced Placement grades?

Class Struggle - Should we inflate Advanced Placement grades?:

"The Rochester Community public schools in Michigan do a fine job. Their leaders often have great ideas. But according to school board member Mike Reno, they are talking about doing something to their Advanced Placement courses that could be troublesome, even though I once thought it was a good idea. (Some people who know me say that is the very definition of a bad idea.)

Here is what Reno revealed in an email to me:"

"Our district, in an effort to increase AP participation, is proposing to lower the grading scale for AP classes. The idea is based on the notion that kids in Rochester don’t want to take AP classes because they are afraid that the tougher work will lead to a lower grade, and they don’t want to damage their GPA for fear it will harm their college entrance chances. The district’s logic suggests by that lowering the grading scale, students will have a better chance of getting a better grade, and therefore be more willing to take the class.

"This is not their brainchild. They claim other districts are doing it. They are calling it internal weighting. They believe this is a better approach than grade weighting, where an A in an AP class would be worth, say, 5.0 instead of 4.0. The district argues that colleges strip off weighted grades, whereas an internal weight benefits the student during college entrance. (I believe grade weighting has value when calculating class ranking, vals, sals, top scholars, etc, but think colleges are free to recalculate anything they’d like). Am a crazy to think this is a bunch of nonsense?"

Carroll ISD considers ranking only top 10 percent of high-schoolers | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Carroll ISD considers ranking only top 10 percent of high-schoolers News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"Carroll ISD could soon become the latest exemplary district in the area to stop ranking all but the top 10 percent of high school students.

District officials in the northeast Tarrant County district started looking at abolishing rankings after Highland Park ISD chose to do so over the summer because of concerns that high grades in the academically competitive district don't guarantee top rankings. As a result, strong students with a low rank are at a disadvantage when applying to college.

Many students rank lower in their graduating class than administrators believe they would at a less-rigorous school."

Support for good teachers key to federal funds bid, Doyle says - JSOnline

Support for good teachers key to federal funds bid, Doyle says - JSOnline:

"Wisconsin's application for a slice of federal stimulus dollars for education reform must include provisions for getting quality teachers into more classrooms and supporting them so they stay there, Gov. Jim Doyle said this week at Alverno College.

While praising two of Alverno's alternative-track education programs that allow mid-career professionals or other people with degrees in other subjects the opportunity to become teachers, Doyle also outlined the state's progress on its federal Race to the Top application, which is due in mid-January.

'Programs like Alverno will be a major part of our application,' Doyle said Tuesday."

Teaching plan: America 'an oppressive hellhole'

Teaching plan: America 'an oppressive hellhole':

"A program proposed at the University of Minnesota would result in required examinations of teacher candidates on 'white privilege' as well as 'remedial re-education' for those who hold the 'wrong' views, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

The organization, which promotes civil liberties on the campuses of America's colleges and universities, has dispatched a letter to University of Minnesota President Robert Bruininks asking him to intervene to prevent the adoption of policies proposed in his College of Education and Human Development."

Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons

Teachers begin using cell phones for class lessons

WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. - Ariana Leonard's high school students shuffled in their seats, eagerly awaiting a cue from their Spanish teacher that the assignment would begin.

"Take out your cell phones," she said in Spanish.

The teens pulled out an array of colorful flip phones, iPhones and SideKicks. They divided into groups and Leonard began sending them text messages in Spanish: Find something green. Go to the cafeteria. Take a picture with the school secretary.

Leonard's class at Wiregrass Ranch High School in Wesley Chapel, a middle-class Florida suburb about 30 miles north of Tampa, is one of a growing number around the country that are abandoning traditional policies of cell phone prohibition and incorporating them into class lessons. Spanish vocabulary becomes a digital scavenger hunt. Notes are copied with a cell phone camera. Text messages serve as homework reminders.

"I can use my cell phone for all these things, why can't I use it for learning purposes?'" Leonard said. "Giving them something, a mobile device, that they use every day for fun, giving them another avenue to learn outside of the classroom with that."

Much more attention has gone to the ways students might use phones to cheat or take inappropriate pictures. But as the technology becomes cheaper, more advanced and more ingrained in students' lives that mentality is changing.

"It really is taking advantage of the love affair that kids have with technology today," said Dan Domevech, executive director of the nonprofit American Association of School Administrators. "The kids are much more motivated to use their cell phone in an educational manner."

Citizen's Voice: Be honest about state's test scores » Knoxville News Sentinel

Citizen's Voice: Be honest about state's test scores » Knoxville News Sentinel:

"Can education exist without all the dishonesty and lying?

When did the deceit and lying begin? Answer: When the GOP attempted to reform education using standardized test scores to make educational decisions.

What was education politics like before all the lying? Before the Tennessee Education Report Card, for example?"

Tennessee is not the only state to declare students to have grade-level mastery of reading and math when they do not, but Tennessee is a target because we have chosen to set the "state's standards at a low bar," to use the words of The Associated Press.

Our Tennessee education officials are lying to our kids when they tell them they're proficient, but they're not achieving at a level that will prepare them for success once they graduate and have to compete.

Tennesseans - parents, kids, citizens - are told that our Tennessee standardized test that is used to satisfy the No Child Left Behind's "Adequate Yearly Progress" and "Achievement Value Added" says we're in "good standing." Rubbish!

Our kids and schools do fine on the tests that only Tennesseans take, but when our kids take national tests, they end up at the bottom. Why is that?

What did the conservative newspapers of Tennessee tell their readers recently when the Tennessee Department of Education released its 2009 Report Card?

Md. improves data collection to track students' performance -- baltimoresun.com

Md. improves data collection to track students' performance -- baltimoresun.com:

"Maryland has made significant progress in assembling an educational data system that would allow the state to track every student's experience through the public school system from pre-kindergarten to post-secondary education.

In a report released this week, the Data Quality Campaign said that Maryland, which was behind 48 other states in completing its data collection system, has now given each student a unique number, an important step in collecting data that will allow it to eventually link student test data to teacher performance."

State teachers union OK with using test scores for evaluations - News - ReviewJournal.com

State teachers union OK with using test scores for evaluations - News - ReviewJournal.com:

"In dropping their opposition to student test scores being used in teachers' performance evaluations, Nevada's teachers unions appear to be essentially adopting a compromise by the Obama administration.

While it earlier emphasized that student achievement data need to be linked with teacher performance evaluations, the Obama administration has since softened its tone after months of taking policy input from the public."

JOSE DE LA ISLA: Feeling smug about education reform» Standard-Times

JOSE DE LA ISLA: Feeling smug about education reform» Standard-Times:

"SAN ANGELO, Texas — HOUSTON — A major shock to the education system came during World War II when the armed services reported an appalling degree of illiteracy among recent school graduates. They complained the typical public-school graduate had trouble writing a respectable English sentence and many soldiers were woefully ignorant of elementary facts about the nation’s history.

With the 1957 launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union, the National Defense Education Act of 1958 got the federal government involved in all levels of education that had previously been almost exclusively a state and local public-policy niche. The federal government encouraged strengthened curriculums in math, science, languages and disciplines and increased grants, loans and graduate scholarships."

In his 1959 book, “Education and Freedom,” Adm. Hyman Rickover claimed low-level knowledge impeded the United States from competing better with the Soviet Union, which was preparing its youth for a technological world. “Even the average child now needs almost as good an education as the average middle- and upper-class child used to get in the college-preparatory schools,” he wrote.

Then the mid-20th century’s focus on Cold War military and economic security led to a paradigm shift. Juan Enriquez of Harvard Business School argued in his 2000 book, “As the Future Catches You,” that nations previously needed massive agriculture and industrialization to prosper.

Now educated, entrepreneurial people were replacing natural resources as wealth. The U.S.S.R.’s gold, oil, uranium and forests could not keep it from going broke while its great scientists and mathematicians lacked freedoms that come with entrepreneurship.

Enriquez pointed out that Nigeria, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Congo, Mexico, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela had vast natural resources but their people were poorer than 20 years before. Small countries, lacking natural resources, often generated more real wealth per person than large, resource-rich countries.

Misleading comparisons used in school debate | greenvilleonline.com | The Greenville News

Misleading comparisons used in school debate greenvilleonline.com The Greenville News:

"In his report on private school funding, Bruce Baker (Rutgers University) establishes the context for the new study: “This report provides a first-of-its-kind descriptive summary of private school expenditures. ... Public understanding (of public funding) remains limited despite increased accountability and annual reporting of financial statistics and student outcomes in public schools. Yet even less is known or understood regarding expenditures or costs of private schools” (http://epicpolicy.org/publication/private-schooling-US)."

Shocking: High School Grads Twice As Likely To Be Jobless Than College Grads – and Right-Wingers are Profiting From Their Pain | Politics | AlterNet

Shocking: High School Grads Twice As Likely To Be Jobless Than College Grads – and Right-Wingers are Profiting From Their Pain Politics AlterNet:

The economic meltdown has hit non-college grads much harder than the educated. And conservatives are very good at exploiting their anger and unease.

"You know how bad the economy is, right? Maybe your 401(k) has tanked. Perhaps you were out of work for a few months. You could have a mortgage under water. Or your health insurance has an impossibly high deductible. Yeah, we're all singing the blues.

I've gotten out my violin to play a mournful accompaniment to our collective angst.

Wait, what's that I hear in the distance? A dissonant, thundering chord someone just hammered on the piano -- a harsh interruption of my languid dirge. Now it repeats, getting louder and nearer."

2010 Isn’t Soon Enough for California « DC Progressive

2010 Isn’t Soon Enough for California « DC Progressive:

"Today a prominent celebrity news site, TMZ, reported that one of the world’s most well known movie stars failed to pay his taxes in 2004 and 2005 and now owes the government nearly $80,000 in back taxes. This celebrity also happens to be the governor of the state of California."

The story has since been confirmed by the Governor’s office and the problem has been blamed on a “a minor paperwork tracking discrepancy.”

51 UCD Protesters Won't Be Charged - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

51 UCD Protesters Won't Be Charged - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento:

"WOODLAND, Calif. -- Fifty-one people who were arrested at UC Davis earlier this month in connection with a protest regarding student fees won't be charged, according to the Yolo County District Attorney's Office.

'Based on my discussions with Chancellor Katehi and Police Chief Spicuzza, the District Attorney's Office will not be filing criminal charges at this time. While criminal charges may be filed for up to one year after the date of the alleged violation, it is our hope that future student demonstrations will comply with the law and eliminate any need for the District Attorney’s involvement at all,' Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig said in a statement."

Pinoy student at UC Berkeley released after campus standoff - Pinoy Abroad - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

Pinoy student at UC Berkeley released after campus standoff - Pinoy Abroad - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News:

"A Filipino doctorate student at the Rhetoric Department of the University of California in Berkeley heaved a sigh of relief when he and 40 other students were recently released by County police after their involvement on a recent standoff at the campus.

Filipino student Paul Nadal joined a group protesting the privatization of the University of California in Berkeley.

Paul Nadal on Friday joined fellow students protesting UC's privatization and the approval of a 32-percent tuition increase across the university system starting next year.

Nadal said their group and some UC staffers started to occupy the Wheeler Hall building at 4:30 a.m., Friday."

In weighing universal pre-kindergarten, Delaware monitors test model in Md. | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

In weighing universal pre-kindergarten, Delaware monitors test model in Md. delawareonline.com The News Journal:

"ELKTON, Md. -- Since beginning pre-kindergarten a month ago, 4-year-old Emilie Beal has started asking to help make the family grocery list. She points out words and asks mother Stephanie Beal how to spell them."

"She's more excited, I think, because the class is doing more activities she wants to do," Beal said. "It's just gotten her more involved in wanting to learn."
Emilie's pre-kindergarten classroom at the Family Education Center in Cecil County is one of 10 in a pilot program testing the feasibility of offering pre-kindergarten to all Maryland 4-year-olds, not just those in low-income or special-needs situations.

As Emilie and her classmates play games that teach basic reading and math, they are taking part in a national initiative to better prepare children for elementary school.

"They are not napping in kindergarten; it is academic all day," said Susan Banker, program coordinator for Cecil County's Judy Center, another pilot classroom. "It's the new first grade."

Education through Music program eyes music, play in learning | Muskegon News - - MLive.com

Education through Music program eyes music, play in learning Muskegon News - - MLive.com:

"SPRING LAKE — A symposium featuring the director of an innovative education program promoting the use of music and play to advance learning will be presented 6:30-8 p.m. Dec. 2, at Lake Hills Elementary School’s Media Center.

Randy McChesne is executive director of Education through Music, a program made available through the Richards Institute, a California nonprofit organization. It advances the use of music, in particular, English language folk songs and 'song-experience games,' to create real-life situations for children. It uses songs to open 'learning ports' and to encourage an 'integrated response to the environment' by participating children.

The program encourages language development, listening skills, intellectual growth, literacy, physical coordination, sensory integration, social skills, self-concept, music development and imagination."

Turlock Journal - California steps up competition for education grant

Turlock Journal - California steps up competition for education grant:

"Education cuts are coming at state governments left and right leaving local school districts with little to nothing to teach the students of the future. No one has much money and the students of America are suffering.

“It’s time to stop just talking about education reform and start actually doing it,” said President Barack Obama on Nov. 4 in Wisconsin. “It’s time to make education America’s national mission."

Daisy Lee, Galt's new superintendent, a 'team builder'

Daisy Lee, Galt's new superintendent, a 'team builder':

"Daisy Lee, currently an associate superintendent for a Modesto school district, has been named the new superintendent of the Galt Joint Union High School District after an extensive search by an outside firm. The announcement was made to staff on Nov. 13, although the board is not scheduled to officially hire Lee until its Dec. 8 meeting.

She will start Jan. 4, after wrapping up a few projects in her current position.
Nearly two years ago, Lee followed Modesto Superintendent Arturo Flores from the Sacramento City Unified School District. He recently congratulated Lee on her appointment in a letter to administrators, and told the Modesto Bee he was working on a plan to reassign her duties."