Statehouse Insider: Nestande works on education reforms | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Statehouse Insider: Nestande works on education reforms mydesert.com The Desert Sun:

"The governor's disappointment in the Assembly version of the Race to the Top legislation could bring increased importance to Assemblyman Brian Nestande's work on the education committee."

The Palm Desert Republican, vice chairman of the Education Committee, last week announced he's working with legislative colleagues and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on reforms that allow California to compete for its share of $4.35 billion in federal education funding.

Schwarzenegger issued a statement last week after Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, the Education Committee chairwoman, introduced the Assembly's legislative language.

But Schwarzenegger said the bill “doesn't completely embrace the reform culture that President Obama has charged states to adopt.”

Nestande expressed similar concerns.

Of specific concern, he told The Desert Sun, is language he fears would “slow the growth of good charter schools.”

The Assembly legislation is expected to be voted on in committee and on the floor this week.

Prison inmates need more education, rehabilitation -- not less - The Reporter

Prison inmates need more education, rehabilitation -- not less - The Reporter:

"The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation appears to be following the 'last in, first out' rule, putting rehabilitation and education programs on the chopping block as it strives to trim $1.2 billion from its overall budget.

That's a bit over a 10 percent cut. Yet the decision to slash $250 million from rehabilitation and education services will reduce those programs by more than one-third.

These are the programs the state beefed up two years ago, after a decade of studies showed that dealing with things like low literacy levels and substance abuse would save money in the long run by reducing recidivism rates."

California community college chief Scott gives tips for weathering `difficult times' - Pasadena Star-News

California community college chief Scott gives tips for weathering `difficult times' - Pasadena Star-News:

"Desperate times may call for desperate measures - but that's not necessarily the case at California community colleges, even in the face of the state's massive funding cutbacks to education.

At least that's the message California Community College Chancellor Jack Scott conveyed recently at the Community College League of California conference, where he gave a speech called, 'Living in Difficult Times.'

'There is no question that 2009-10 is an extremely challenging time for California community colleges,' he told the crowd at the San Francisco conference, which included San Gabriel Valley and Whittier area representatives."

Mitchell Colbert: Disruptive student protestors negate legitimate efforts to change the system - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Mitchell Colbert: Disruptive student protestors negate legitimate efforts to change the system - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"Dear UC/CSU radicals, please stop your radical action immediately. Your protest methods waste our tax dollars and are counterproductive; you have only created negative press.

Every police officer and firefighter called in is tax money wasted, instead of money that can be spent on teachers and student services. It is naive to believe that this money will come from anywhere but the coffers of the California State University and University of California systems."

Like the small minority of Muslims who engage in terrorism and ruin things for the vast majority of practitioners, your actions border on terror and risk losing the entire fight for higher education. What right do you have to risk the future of millions?

I am a CSU student, but I attended the UC Santa Cruz campus shutdown on Nov. 18 as an act of solidarity with the UC students. I feel that we must unite because this fight is bigger than all of our individual battles.

Sacramento Press / Prop. 1B money sought for tracks

Sacramento Press / Prop. 1B money sought for tracks:

"The city of Sacramento is about to ask the state of California to make good on its promise to award at least $20 million for railroad track relocation so work can start by May.

Unable to sell as many bonds as expected, the state has not disbursed $20 million in trade corridor funds that was awarded last year under state Proposition 1B. Next week, the city will ask the California Transportation Commission to borrow $25 million against the bond money, said Linda Tucker, spokesperson for the city's Department of Transportation.

'We've got to get this going,' she said Friday, when the city announced it had met a Dec. 1 deadline for another $20 million in federal stimulus funding."

Union wants UC official ousted over audit - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Union wants UC official ousted over audit - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"A University of California labor union is calling for the resignation of David J. Ernst, the executive a state audit found was improperly reimbursed more than $150,000 when he worked for the California State University system."

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents 20,000 UC custodians, food service workers and other support staff, sent a letter to UC President Mark Yudof on Friday saying Ernst's "jet-setting global junkets, lavish meals and opulent retreats at taxpayer expense is an insult to workers who have been asked to put less food on their tables and students who have been forced to forgo their dreams."

It's a three-way race to succeed Supervisor Roger Dickinson - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

It's a three-way race to succeed Supervisor Roger Dickinson - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

"Sacramento County voters will see something unfamiliar next June: real competition for the District 1 supervisor seat being vacated by Roger Dickinson.

Since 1994, Dickinson hasn't faced a contested election for supervisor, and now he's stepping aside to run for the state Assembly.

The departure of its most liberal supervisor could change the Board of Supervisors' political dynamics."

Pugh to head California School Boards Association | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA

Pugh to head California School Boards Association PressDemocrat.com The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, CA:

"Santa Rosa School Board member Frank Pugh has been elected president of the California School Boards Association. He takes office on Saturday.

First elected to the Santa Rosa School Board in 1990, Pugh is the most senior board member of the county's largest school district.

Pugh has served on the CSBA Delegate Assembly for nine years and the association's Board of Directors representing the local region for seven years."

Cal State gets the wrong number in answering budget crisis -- latimes.com

Cal State gets the wrong number in answering budget crisis -- latimes.com:

"Budgets have been slashed so drastically under a governor who has magnified every problem he promised to solve that the Long Beach campus shuts off the phone system to save money."

We seem to be quickly moving toward the day when the once-great Cal State system moves to a three-day week, with academic buildings rented out to storage companies and professors teaching class in parking lots and under trees.

But even so, I was taken aback to hear they might be shutting down phone service at Cal State Long Beach. I drove to the campus to see if it was true.

When I got to the office of Lisa Vollendorf, who runs the Romance, German and Russian department, I noticed that she still had a phone.

"I still have mine, too," said Jeff High, associate professor of German studies, who wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to make or take calls.

State cuts could mean and end to classroom rehab at San Quentin - ContraCostaTimes.com

State cuts could mean and end to classroom rehab at San Quentin - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"In a brightly colored classroom in an otherwise dismal place, Stanley Durden studies intently at a desk.

Durden, 51, says he wants to gain what he missed outside San Quentin State Prison - an education.

'I won't learn anything by sitting in the cell or watching TV. I prefer to have school,' said Durden, who has served 10 years of a 25-to-life prison sentence for repeated burglary and robbery convictions. He wants to earn his GED."

How Bad is the Budget Crisis at CSU Schools? Uh, Pretty Damn Bad. - LAist

How Bad is the Budget Crisis at CSU Schools? Uh, Pretty Damn Bad. - LAist:

"LAT's Steve Lopez takes a look at just how dire things are at 'the once-great Cal State system' of universities in his latest column, chasing the rumor that in order to save money 'they might be shutting down phone service at Cal State Long Beach.' Yeah, you read that right. Apparently 'turning off the phones campuswide was recommended by committee members as a way to avoid further cuts in instruction. The thinking was that professors could use personal cellphones to conduct school business.'

One way the CSU campuses are saving money is by shutting down two full days a month. Those are mandatory system-wide furlough days; faculty and staff are enduring a number of individual furlough days as well, in exchange for just shy of 10% less pay. Lopez explains the consequences"

School Choice and the Common Good of All Children - The Acton Institute

School Choice and the Common Good of All Children - The Acton Institute:

"The United States justifiably celebrates its pluralism. The mandate to find unity in diversity—e pluribus unum—is predicated not on the premise that all peculiarities of creed or color must be washed away; instead, it insists that all such cultural and social differences must be respected. Part and parcel of this freedom is the right of parents to educate their children as they see fit. Like all rights, this one carries with it a duty: to prepare the child adequately for participation in society by being attentive to technical and life skills as well as moral formation."

Yet, this right has been imperfectly recognized for some time. Pursuing the goal of universal education, a worthy end in itself, nineteenth-century reformers gradually concentrated in city, state, and national governments the funding and control of what had been a predominantly non-governmental, disparate, and radically local regime of education. Immediately, the move toward unitary systems fueled conflict over a neuralgic point of America’s pluralist experiment: Protestant-Catholic relations. Controversy over schooling was one of the combustible ingredients leading to explosions of violence in cities such as Philadelphia and New York during the 1830s and 1840s.

A modus vivendi was reached when Catholics determined to build their own parochial system. The Supreme Court guaranteed the legality of the Catholic parochial system in its 1925 Pierce decision, and soon Catholics in the United States would build the largest private school system in the world. At its height in 1965, the system was comprised of 13,500 schools serving 5.6 million students across primary (4.5 million) and secondary levels.

Meanwhile, battles over public school curricula continued, as constituencies of many varieties perceived that what they viewed as an appropriate education for their children was not served by a public system that inexorably drifted toward a lowest-common-denominator form of education. Some religious groups such as Lutherans and Dutch Reformed began or maintained their own schools, and parents seeking social status or demanding rigorous standards enrolled their children in private academies.

A Hybrid System

Thus, the pluralist ideal survived but in a deformed shape. The right of parents to direct their children’s education was recognized in theory, but in practice every citizen was compelled to pay for the government school system. The result was an arrangement unjust at its core. Parents devoted to a particular form of education for religious or other reasons might choose to sacrifice other goods to fund their children’s education outside of the government system. For wealthy families, the choice might come easily; for most, the decision was difficult. The incentive to participate in the government system was strong, and genuine freedom in education remained an elusive ideal.

'Weak' Mayor Seeks Assist to Reshape Sacramento - WSJ.com

'Weak' Mayor Seeks Assist to Reshape Sacramento - WSJ.com:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- With California's capital city in deep economic trouble, Mayor Kevin Johnson wants to call the shots, just as he once did as a star point guard for the Phoenix Suns basketball team. But there's an obstacle: Sacramento has what is known a 'weak mayor' system, making its mayor, in effect, just another city-council member.

Mr. Johnson says Sacramento needs a 'strong mayor' arrangement -- with the mayor as head of the government -- as do a majority of big cities such as New York, Chicago and San Francisco. To get there, Mr. Johnson is campaigning for a controversial ballot measure that would boost his powers to lead this city of 480,000."

"If you have to do everything by committee, it gets bogged down and you miss a ton of opportunities," the 43-year-old Democrat said during an interview in his City Hall office.

But those who oppose the measure accuse Mr. Johnson of making a power grab. "This initiative, if it passes, will put only one seat at the table," says Councilwoman Sandy Sheedy. "The checks and balances are lopsided" in Mr. Johnson's proposal.

Calling the Shots in Sacramento

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson wants to see the powers of the office expanded.

Mr. Johnson says Sacramento needs a mayor with clout to deal with its economic downturn, which has been exacerbated by furloughs of tens of thousands of state workers. The city faces a 15% unemployment rate, a depressed real-estate market, rising retail vacancy rate and a budget shortfall that is expected to hit $30 million for the next fiscal year.

What Does CSA, the Principals Union in NYC Think about Dedicated funding for Arts Education? - Dewey21C

What Does CSA, the Principals Union in NYC Think about Dedicated funding for Arts Education? - Dewey21C:


"Arts education needs to be incentivized through dedicated funding. Because the NYC public school system is not meeting even the most minimal standard requirements for arts education, the arts should be treated as a 'protected class' of studies. When it comes to arts education, we need all of our schools to be winners. It is critical that the DoE create a dedicated funding line with budget allocations for schools to prevent more declines in arts education and capitalize on the benefits of arts education for children.
--Ernest Logan, President, The Council of Supervisors and Administrators


It is generally accepted that principals don't like categorical funding. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and the Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), which is the union that represents principals, assistant principals, and other administrators in the New York City public schools recognizes that categorical funding for arts education is indeed one of those rare and important exceptions."

Thoughts on Education Policy: Cincinnati Teachers: "Bad Teachers Not a Big Problem in Our Schools"

Thoughts on Education Policy: Cincinnati Teachers: "Bad Teachers Not a Big Problem in Our Schools":

"TNTP today released a report based, in part, on a survey of teachers in Cincinnati. And I have two shocking bits of information to share with you about the report:

1.) One of the questions asked of teachers was the following:

“Are there continuing contract teachers in your school who you think should be terminated for poor instructional performance, but have not been?”"

Having interacted with dozens, if not hundreds, of urban teachers over the past 5+ years I'm not sure if I can think of a single one that would say there's not a single teacher in their school who shouldn't be fired. I think teacher quality was far from the biggest problem at my school, but I would've responded "yes" to that question in a heartbeat -- there were clearly some teachers without whom the school might have done better. And I would think the vast majority of lawyers, nurses, social workers, accountants, etc. would say the same thing about their organizations -- there are some people that deserve to be fired. So I expected that the number of teachers who said "yes" would be somewhere around 90%. Maybe closer to 2/3 because of social desirability concerns. So I was surprised when I saw the actual number . . . 34%.

The number is almost laughably low. I find it almost completely implausible. I can think of three explanations:

1.) Cincinnati has an awful lot of schools without many remarkably bad teachers

2.) Teachers don't like saying bad things about each other

3.) Teachers have low expectations for one another

How Did We Get Here? | GothamSchools

How Did We Get Here? GothamSchools:

"I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and I hope I get a chance to sift through it on here over the next few days. In the meantime, there’s one incident stuck on my mind.

It happened the other day when one of my students got caught with his finger up his nose by the math cluster teacher. She sent him to wash his hands and I escorted him to the sink in our classroom to help him out. He’s a third grader who can’t tie his shoes and can’t really use scissors, so I figured he might need some help using the faucet and the soap.

As he was soaping up I thought it was a good opportunity for a quick hygiene tip: “Do you know a good way to know if you’ve washed for long enough? You can sing your ABC’s while you soap.”

“I don’t know my ABC’s.”"

Chaz's School Daze: Shame On Tweed For Closing Down Jamaica High School - Shame, Shame, Shame

Chaz's School Daze: Shame On Tweed For Closing Down Jamaica High School - Shame, Shame, Shame:

"It has finally happened! Chancellor Joel Klein and his non-educator flunkies at Tweed have finally succeeded in destroying one of the great schools in New York City with a century long history, Jamaica High School. Yesterday the DOE formally announced the closing of Jamaica High School after they setup the school for failure. Under Joel Klein's tenure the school suffered from poor leadership, starved it for funds, was treated as an 'impact school' by the City in 2005, found itself unfairly placed on the State's 'most dangerous schools list' in 2007, and encouraged students to transfer out of the school or discouraged perspective students from selecting the school in the first place. The result was a school that was underpopulated while having large class sizes and only receiving the bottom feeders of the student body."

The closing of Jamaica High School was no great surprise to many who watched helplessly as Tweed dismantled the school step by step. I previously wrote about what the DOE was doing to the school Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here. Still, it was shocking that Tweed ignores the community and student body and goes on their merry way to destroy the traditional large high schools while lobbying for small or Charter schools to replace them. How ridiculous is it that nearby schools like Francis Lewis is bursting at the seams while Jamaica High School can't attract enough students to fill the school.

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

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

"This week The New Teacher Project (TNTP) unveiled its Cincinnati-focused report on human capital reform. The report’s recommendations for Cincinnati Public Schools and the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers (CFT) are similar (predictably so) to client reports for other districts, like Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Chicago. That’s because problems related to teacher quality are ubiquitous in American urban education."

Read the Cincinnati findings as well as the defensive reaction of the CFT, and you’ll swear you could be reading a narrative of any city’s human capital challenges: late hiring timelines prevent districts from snagging the best teacher candidates; evaluating teachers once every five years is meaningless; single step salary structures aren’t the best way to recruit and reward excellence. It’s chocked full of a lot of common sense. But common sense doesn’t always translate into political action and policy reform.

Where TNTP’s client cities part ways is in their willingness to truly make “teacher effectiveness” the helm of the human capital ship, and to measure this with student performance data. (There are other ways that districts/states can improve teacher quality but whether they place “effectiveness” at the core of their human capital philosophy says volumes.)

State university system raises math standards -- baltimoresun.com

State university system raises math standards -- baltimoresun.com:

"Students applying to the state university system will have to have four math courses and will be required to take math their last year in high school under new admissions requirements passed Friday by regents.

The requirements, which will take effect for those starting ninth grade in 2011, passed unanimously after a spirited debate in which several regents and university presidents questioned whether the standards would be the best fit for all students."

Skeptics expressed particular concern about students who reach a high level of math early in high school and want to try other subjects as seniors. Some also worried that the requirements might drive excellent writers and artists to out-of-state universities. Others worried that they might penalize students from less-affluent districts.

"It seems a little odd that the requirement is not to get to a certain place in math," said regent David Nevins, alluding to the senior-year requirement.

But Chancellor William E. Kirwan argued firmly that such concerns place the needs of a few over the needs of the many students who struggle with college math after avoiding the subject as seniors.

Delaware schools: Christina pilot program opens doors to preschool | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Delaware schools: Christina pilot program opens doors to preschool delawareonline.com The News Journal:

"After Michael Brown was laid off from his job in September, he didn't know how he was going to be able to afford a preschool program for his 4-year-old twin boys."

National research shows children who attend high-quality preschool do better throughout school, and as adults, are more likely to go to college, get jobs and pay taxes. But with three older children to support and only his wife's income to lean on, the Browns could not afford to send Nia and Noah to a tuition-based program. They tried to enroll the boys in the state-supported pre-kindergarten program, but there were no more spots available.


"I was so worried about us not being able to afford anything," said Michael's wife, Leslie.

Thanks to a pilot program in the Christina School District, Nia and Noah now are among 30 children from low-income families attending preschool for free. Federal stimulus dollars are helping support the effort.

The children attend the program at Leasure Elementary School in Bear for two hours, three afternoons a week.

"Providing children with high quality preschool programming prior to kindergarten does make a difference in all areas of development, not just pre-academics," said Lisa Lawson, Christina's supervisor for early childhood programs.

Class Struggle - Carjacking at a top D.C. charter school

Class Struggle - Carjacking at a top D.C. charter school:

"A teacher at the headquarters of one of the District's leading charter school groups, Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP), had her car stolen at gun-point Tuesday evening, leading the KIPP DC executive director to call for D.C. Police protection for her campuses.

Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso announced last week that D.C. public charter schools, which are non-profit and available to all students, will receive the same police protection as regular D.C. public schools. Officers will be assigned to the schools with the greatest need, he said, but details needed to be worked out and charters would not start receiving the added protection until January."

I have been writing about the KIPP schools since they began in the District in 2001 and published a book this year, "Work Hard. Be Nice," about the origins of the national KIPP network of 82 schools. Both nationally and in the District, they have produced the greatest gains in achievement for impoverished children, but KIPP DC's new campus at 4801 Benning Rd SE, the site of three KIPP schools, has been a target for crime.


KIPP DC founder and executive director Susan Schaeffler said one non-KIPP high school student was shot and killed on the Benning Road campus last year. Ten KIPP staff cars have been vandalized and three cars have been stolen, two owned by KIPP staffers and one by a KIPP parent.

Op-Ed Columnist - In Search of Education Leaders - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - In Search of Education Leaders - NYTimes.com:

"For me, the greatest national security crisis in the United States is the crisis in education. We are turning out new generations of Americans who are whizzes at video games and may be capable of tweeting 24 hours a day but are nowhere near ready to cope with the great challenges of the 21st century.

An American kid drops out of high school at an average rate of one every 26 seconds. In some large urban districts, only half of the students ever graduate. Of the kids who manage to get through high school, only about a third are ready to move on to a four-year college."

Young writers in Westwood unleash their ‘best words’ with Web tool - The Boston Globe

Young writers in Westwood unleash their ‘best words’ with Web tool - The Boston Globe:

"In an online world where language is regularly reduced to instant messaging abbreviations, a group of Westwood sixth-graders is using technology to explore traditional communication, kindling a new love of the written word."

It’s goodbye to “OMG’’ and “IDK,’’ and hello to Shakespeare and poetry.


This new tool in Neil Kulick’s sixth-grade language arts classes at Thurston Middle School is a wiki, a collaborative website that allows students to post work, make comments or critique the work of others, and make revisions in a group setting.

In the traditional approach to writing instruction, the student writes for the teacher only, Kulick said, “like a soloist with an audience of one.’’

But when a student publishes on a wiki? “The audience includes not just the teacher but all of the other students, too,’’ he explained. “And each student can ‘hear’ every other student - now there is a symphony.’’

Anti-gay right advances new smear that DOE official Jennings promoting "Child Porn in the Classroom" | Media Matters for America

Anti-gay right advances new smear that DOE official Jennings promoting "Child Porn in the Classroom" Media Matters for America:

"Conservative blogs have claimed that Department of Education official Kevin Jennings is unfit as 'Safe Schools Czar' because he supposedly promoted 'child porn' by allowing an education organization he founded to recommend for students in grades 7-12 books that included sexually explicit content. The organization, however, specifically stated on its book list website that 'some titles for adolescent readers contain mature themes' and recommended that 'adults selecting books for youth review content for suitability'; further, schools regularly teach books that contain sexually explicit material."

Upbeat job report sparks debate over recovery

Upbeat job report sparks debate over recovery:

"A surprisingly upbeat unemployment report suggests that the U.S. job market is finally on the mend, but the detailed survey issued Friday will fuel debate about how quickly the economy can put 15.4 million jobless Americans back to work."

In an early holiday gift, the Labor Department said the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 10 percent in November from 10.2 percent in October.

Total payroll employment declined by 11,000 jobs, the smallest loss since the recession began in December 2007.
"If the bottom is not quite here, it will be no later than the first quarter of 2010," said economist Nigel Gault, with IHS Global Insight.

But the report also highlighted the plight of the unemployed, whose average job hunt of 28 weeks is the longest on records dating back to 1948.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/12/05/MNV71AV6TJ.DTL#ixzz0YpeqoUNO

Education Week: Is Education News Falling Off Front Pages?

Education Week: Is Education News Falling Off Front Pages?:

"Billions in federal economic-stimulus dollars are slated to be spent to help improve public education, but Americans relying on traditional news outlets are likely to find out little, if anything, about what that effort might mean for the schools in their communities, a new report suggests.

That’s because education coverage of any type barely registered in newspapers and on news Web sites, on television news broadcasts, or on the radio airwaves in the first nine months of this year, according to the report, released here this week by the Brookings Institution."

Readers' Forum: California deserves better than Yudof's failed leadership - ContraCostaTimes.com

Readers' Forum: California deserves better than Yudof's failed leadership - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"EXECUTIVES REVEL in taxpayer-backed bonuses while front-line workers suffer layoffs and wage cuts. Ordinary people see their livelihoods diminished and their children's futures eroded while the corner office club gets richer. Costs increase for consumers though they get less value in return.

These were the stories you heard following the fallout on Wall Street during the meltdown of AIG and Lehman Brothers. But now they're just as applicable to result of the misplaced priorities of the University of California under UC President Mark Yudof."

A new look for the Old Globe in San Diego -- latimes.com

A new look for the Old Globe in San Diego -- latimes.com:

"Reporting from San Diego - The Elizabethan theater built for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition in San Diego's Balboa Park was never intended to be permanent.

But as the Old Globe approaches its 75th anniversary, the company is celebrating not just longevity and survival during tough economic times, but the completion of a new theater and education complex on the same green spot where abridged Shakespeare shows were first performed."

On Monday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders will join executive producer Louis G. Spisto, Globe board Chairman Donald Cohn and lead donor Conrad Prebys to dedicate the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, which includes the new Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre and the Karen and Donald Cohn Education Center.

At the heart of the handsome, steeply gabled $22-million complex is the White Theatre, a 250-seat, arena-style stage. It gets a test run Monday night when a black-tie crowd will hear Paulo Szot and Kelli O'Hara, stars of Lincoln Center Theater's Tony award-winning revival of "South Pacific," sing "Some Enchanted Evening" and other Rodgers and Hammerstein favorites.

L.A. venture capitalist pleads guilty -- latimes.com

L.A. venture capitalist pleads guilty -- latimes.com:

"Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - Los Angeles venture capitalist and philanthropist Elliott Broidy pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he paid $1 million in gifts to New York public pension officials to win $250 million in investment capital for his private equity fund.

Broidy, 52, faces a possible prison sentence of up to four years at his sentencing, scheduled for June 10."

New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo characterized Broidy's actions as bribery, saying he sent a top state official and relatives on luxury trips to Israel and Italy and paid the rent and hospital bills of a bureaucrat's girlfriend to get the investment money for his Century City firm, Markstone Capital Partners.

Broidy even bankrolled a movie production for the brothers of one official, authorities said.

"This is an old-fashioned payoff of state officials," Cuomo said. "This is effectively bribery."

California Education Crisis Sign of Things to Come | Newsweek National News | Newsweek.com

California Education Crisis Sign of Things to Come Newsweek National News Newsweek.com:

"Whether you're an oppressive foreign dictatorship or an American state in the process of committing fiscal suicide, you know you're losing the public relations battle when encounters between armor-clad riot police with truncheons and college students are broadcast on TV. That's the sad situation California found itself in last week, after the University of California Board of Regents announced a staggering 32 percent midsemester tuition hike. Students responded by demonstrating, chanting, and occupying administration buildings. Things got unruly, law enforcement was called, and within hours it was every spin doctor's nightmare, replayed endlessly on YouTube and cable news."

As is often the case, California is leading a national trend. Higher education is becoming less affordable across the country every year. If states and universities don't make major structural changes in the way they operate, anger and frustration could start to boil over nationwide.

The UC tuition crisis is a symptom of the larger collapse of governance in the Golden State. It takes two thirds of both houses in the state General Assembly to raise taxes, while new spending programs can be created by public referendum. Tax dollars are too hard to raise and too easy to spend, leaving the state lurching from one budget crisis to the next. The young men and women rushing to the barricades on UC campuses are Ronald Reagan's children, victims of a failed antigovernment movement that managed to turn people against taxes while leaving their appetite for public services unchecked.

Something worth protesting about - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Something worth protesting about - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"For a handful of sporadic days this fall, California's most storied university campuses appeared to be channeling the '60s era of student protests. Students barricaded themselves in buildings, pumped out lists of demands to administrators and staged what they called study-ins."

Abandoning California's commitment to education -- latimes.com

Abandoning California's commitment to education -- latimes.com:

"In 1960, a committee of educators working under the leadership of the visionary University of California President Clark Kerr handed Pat Brown, an equally farsighted governor, something he'd long hoped for: a master plan for higher education in California.

Brown and Kerr shared a desire to create a system that would simultaneously encourage academic excellence and equality of opportunity for students of every class and background. They succeeded beyond even their expansive dreams and, in the process, created not simply a network of world-class academic institutions but also a great engine of social progress and prosperity for the California economy."

The plan guaranteed the top 12.5% of the state's high school graduates places in the UC system; the top one-third of graduates were assured places in the state colleges; and free community colleges were open to all. A graduate of the latter's two-year programs was guaranteed admission as a transfer student to a university or state college. Fees and books at those institutions amounted to a few hundred dollars a year.

A special legislative session passed the plan as the Donahoe Higher Education Act and, within short order, slightly more than half of all California high school graduates were attending college -- in an era when less than a third of all Americans went on to higher education. The public universities' burgeoning web of affordable professional schools amplified the system's effect. Its contribution to the decades of unparalleled prosperity that followed can't be calculated.

Officials expect higher fees at junior colleges - Daily Democrat Online

Officials expect higher fees at junior colleges - Daily Democrat Online:

"With the state budget hole headed toward new depths next year, community college students likely will pay more than ever for their classes.

Although the 2010 state budget is still months away from adoption, college and state leaders have begun discussing the new fees. Many say there's little chance students will avoid paying more.

'We're definitely going to include it as an option for the Legislature,' said Paul Steenhausen of the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office. 'We've got some really tough years coming up, and the Legislature will have some difficult choices to make.'"

Brownley, Torrico Discuss Race to the Top Legislation to be Voted on Next Week | California Progress Report

Brownley, Torrico Discuss Race to the Top Legislation to be Voted on Next Week California Progress Report:

"SACRAMENTO – In this Democratic weekly address, Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education, and Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico (D-Newark), discuss AB X5 8, legislation Brownley has introduced to strengthen California’s application for federal education funding under President Obama’s Race to the Top education initiative. The bill will be voted on in committee and on the floor of the Assembly next week.

Click onto the following link for the English language MP3 file. The running time is 2:59.

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20091204RadioAddressEngl...

Click onto the following link for the Spanish language MP3 file. The running time is 2:44.

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20091204RadioAddressSpan...

Website of Assemblymember Julia Brownley: www.asm.ca.gov/brownley

Website of Assemblymember Alberto Torrico: www.asm.ca.gov/torrico

Burbank Leader > Education

Burbank Leader > Education:

"WEST BURBANK — Little more than six months after taking over as the Burbank Unified School District’s superintendent, Kevin Jolly is expected to announce his resignation in a statement Monday, officials said.

Burbank Unified’s Board of Education is also scheduled to meet early Monday to discuss Jolly’s severance package, said district officials who did not want to be named because the announcement had not yet been made."

Susan Ohanian's Testing Outrages (Susan Ohanian Speaks Out)

Susan Ohanian's Testing Outrages (Susan Ohanian Speaks Out):

"Please Note: An editor at Huffington Post feels my comment below about 'news delayed' is unfair. He requests that I post this further explanation: The author of the post [is] posthumous, so we have no way of going through the usual back and forth with its author during the editing process. That is a critical factual point missing in your introduction, and to leave it out misrepresents a major reason for the delay in editing. I hope that you will add it.

Further, the Huffington editor states, I'm sorry that the hours we have already spent and had planned to spend on this post weren't apparent to you."

What Does Arne Duncan Know About Carol Spizzirri, And When Did He Know It?

Huffington Post just lost a last great post by Jerry Bracey, submitted posthumously by Susan Ohanian. Seems HuffPo will put up any meaningless mush by Tom (Elwood Blues) Van der Ark, but when there is real story about a real neolib icon like Arne, well, not so much.

News delayed is news denied.... The Skeleton in Arne Duncan's Closet

Gerald W. Bracey - December 02, 2009

[Editor's Note by Susan Ohanian: Jerry Bracey had just finished this column when he died on Oct. 20. He had planned to release it at his Huffington Post blog on Halloween. Hence the rattling skeletons theme. I found out about it and posted it at my Huffington Post spot on Nov. 18, where it still waits "approval" by the Chicago editor. The following is published here at www. substancenews.net with permission. Web links are included in the text, but because of technical limitations here at Substance you have to copy and paste them into your browser to utilize them. Please do, as they show a great deal about this story as it evolved over the years].

Schools Matter: What Does Arne Duncan Know About Carol Spizzirri, And When Did He Know It?

Schools Matter: What Does Arne Duncan Know About Carol Spizzirri, And When Did He Know It?:


"Note by Susan Ohanian: Jerry Bracey had just finished this column when he died on Oct. 20. He had planned to release it at his Huffington Post blog on Halloween. Hence the rattling skeletons theme. I found out about it and posted it at my Huffington Post spot on Nov. 18, where it still waits 'approval' by the Chicago editor.

News delayed is news denied."

Calif. Schools To Get H1N1 Masks - Health News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Calif. Schools To Get H1N1 Masks - Health News Story - KCRA Sacramento:

"SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. -- California schools will be getting millions of masks and gloves to block the spread of H1N1 flu.

State schools chief Jack O'Connell on Friday announced that California has bought 23 million disposable masks and gloves for distribution to school districts around the state.

Children with symptoms of the H1N1 flu will be asked to wear a surgical mask while they are examined or kept in a sick room until their parents can arrive to take them home.

Also See: H1N1 FAQs, Resources

The school nurse or other school staffer will wear a different style of mask and gloves to avoid exposure.

Federal grants paid for the items.

State health officials said there have been more than 7,200 cases of H1N1 flu reported this year, including 366 deaths.

voiceofsandiego.org

voiceofsandiego.org:

Blogger for a Day: 'Fiddling While Rome Burns'

"Should California alter its laws to get a second dose of school stimulus dollars? Or would that be chasing chump change for unproven reforms? Schooled is going to bring you two views on this debate.

The first comes from Jim Miller, a parent and community college professor who opposes the California bill that could make the state more likely to get money through Race to the Top, a competition for more federal stimulus dollars for schools. State legislators are weighing the bill this month.

These are his views, not mine, so if you have comments, questions or counterarguments, please post them directly to the blog. Stay tuned for a second viewpoint from another parent! -- EMILY ALPERT"

Recently in the "Schooled" blog a post entitled "Two Different Bids for More School Money" begins by observing that, "Almost everyone wants more money for schools right now. The debate is over how to get it."
This "debate" is then framed as a battle between two competing camps: "Some San Diego parents are pushing California to change its laws for a shot at a second dose of stimulus money. ... The school board is also interested in more money, but it may push California in another direction, nudging the state to look at new or different taxes."

Better parenting: Home visits show young mom how to break her family's cycle of violence -- chicagotribune.com

Better parenting: Home visits show young mom how to break her family's cycle of violence -- chicagotribune.com:

"Mom can imprint alternatives to aggressive behavior on her 1-year-old son -- but it must be done now, research shows"

Shantell Thomas stood in front of her son's strawberry-flavored birthday cake, jaw clenched, knuckles white from the ferocious grip she had on the 10-inch carving knife.

A dozen rowdy youngsters behind her pushed toward the cake, jostling Thomas and knocking Styrofoam cups off the table. Jabari, the 1-year-old birthday boy, sat on his aunt's lap nearby and wailed.

Thomas wheeled around and raised the knife. "Back the fff up," she yelled, catching herself before a curse could slip out. "Or I'm 'bout to cut some necks off."

It had been a stressful night for the 18-year-old mother of two, who organized a party for a dozen and then saw 40 show up. Her mom didn't make it, and she was left to run Pin the Tail on the Donkey on her own.

Her outburst was the default reaction for a teenager raised in a home where violence was the accepted way of dealing with frustration. And her struggle represents the challenge of teaching a teenager how to manage the stress of motherhood and break the intergenerational cycle of violence.

Thomas is working to alter her aggressive tendencies, and at the party, help came in the form of Cynthia Brown, her counselor in a parenting program.

"Shantell," said Brown, "maybe we can think about a better way to say that?"

Thomas dropped the knife to hip level and relaxed her shoulders. "OK, OK, back up,

voiceofsandiego.org

voiceofsandiego.org:

Bright and Early


"I'm short on puns -- and power for my laptop -- today. So without further ado, on to the newsblitz!

Families in Encinitas are debating whether their school system should sell off a choice piece of property to raise money or save it for a future school, the Union-Tribune reports.

KPBS reports on why some parents say California should pass a law to make it more likely to get money for Race to the Top, a competition for more school stimulus money. Look for guest bloggers on this topic here later this morning!

Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on State Assembly’s Introduction of Race to the Top Legislation

Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on State Assembly’s Introduction of Race to the Top Legislation:

"Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the statement below after Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) introduced ABX5 8, legislation regarding President Obama’s national Race to the Top education reform and funding competition. State applications for securing a portion of the $4.35 billion education funding available nationally are due to the federal government by January 19, 2010. If highly competitive, California can secure up to $700 million in federal Race to the Top funding for California’s schools.

“It has now been 16 weeks since I called a special session of the legislature to ensure California meets the Race to the Top competitiveness requirements outlined by President Obama, and we are running out of time. While ABX5 8 attempts to meet these competitiveness requirements, it doesn't completely embrace the reform culture that President Obama has charged states to adopt. With the bill as it stands, the Assembly risks losing hundreds of millions of dollars for California’s school children."

“In order to ensure California meets federal guidelines and is highly competitive for funding, this bill would need to include stronger parental rights, including the right for parents to be empowered to require school boards to reform underperforming schools and the right to enroll their child in the school of their choice. In addition, the federal guidelines clearly call for California to allow charter schools to grow and thrive – and for this reason I urge the Assembly to reconsider the overly restrictive charter school language included in the bill.

“Working together we can make positive reform in our state’s education system and secure hundreds of millions of dollars for our schools. We owe the students of California no less.”

On July 24, 2009, President Obama and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced federal eligibility and competitiveness requirements for states to compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funding, the single largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history. These eligibility and competitiveness requirements were finalized by the federal government in November.

Building on his commitment to ensure California gets every possible dollar from President Obama’s federal economic stimulus package during this economic downturn, in August the Governor called a special session of the legislature and announced a legislative package to ensure California is eligible and highly competitive for this federal funding for California’s schools. This bill was introduced as SBX5 1 by Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), Senator Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) and Senator Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad) and was passed by the California Senate on November 4, 2009.