voiceofsandiego.org

voiceofsandiego.org:

Bright and Early

"Water is falling from the sky. Do not panic. Or if you must, go into your underground bunker and soothe yourself with education news. It's the daily newsblitz!"

•We blog that the people who are helping oversee the $2.1 billion school construction bond for San Diego Unified are going to hold bond auditors to a higher standard after hearing from an outside nonprofit, which alleges that the auditor just hired by the school district has skimped on audits elsewhere.

The Union-Tribune wrote an editorial on it this weekend, too.

•If you missed it on Friday, guest blogger Jim Miller argued that the changes California is trying to make to become more competitive for a second dose of school stimulus dollars are "punitive and ill-considered."

We'll have another viewpoint on the stimulus money today -- stay tuned!

“Guilty As Charged” | Today's Cliche - Marriage, Family, & Work... from BOTH Women's and Men's Perspectives.

“Guilty As Charged” Today's Cliche - Marriage, Family, & Work... from BOTH Women's and Men's Perspectives.:

"Guilty, Guilty, and Guilty

Invincible: What I now admit to thinking when I was as a teenager.

Invincible: What I admit to still be thinking (?) as an adult.

I mean, what ELSE can logically explain how — for some reason — I conceive that there will be no repercussions, each time I text a ‘quick’ response on my iPhone while traveling 75 miles an hour on the beltway?

Don’t you hear the same echo that I do in my head: “C’mon… I just need to look down for one second… one second“?! It’s tempting, isn’t it?"

California Learning Resource Network (CLRN)

California Learning Resource Network (CLRN):

"CLRN makes it easy for you to find the standards-aligned software, video and Internet learning resources you need. CLRN experts have identified, reviewed and organized hundreds of Electronic Learning Resources (ELRs) in a searchable database that allows you to compare key features of selected resources. The Web Information Links (WILs) let you search or browse hundreds of free primary, secondary and reference resources. Electronic Learning Assessment Resources (ELARs) are data management programs that simplify delivery, aggregation and disaggregation of assessment data."

t r u t h o u t | David Bacon | The Human Face of Budget Cuts

t r u t h o u t David Bacon The Human Face of Budget Cuts:

"Oakland, California - Cesar Cota was the first in his family to attend college. 'Now it's hard to achieve my dream,' he says, 'because the state put higher fees on us, and cut services and classes.' Cota, a student at Los Angeles City College, was encouraged by the internship program of the LA College Faculty Guild to describe the human cost of budget cuts in the community college system."
David Robinson, who's worked since he was 14, hoped he'd get automotive mechanic training, and a good job at the end of it. "But by cutting these programs and raising fees," he says, "you're cutting opportunity for a lot of people who need it."


Another endangered student is Tina Vinaja, a mother of three teenagers whose husband took a weekend job to help pay her tuition hikes. Monica Mejia, a single mom, wants to get out of the low-wage trap. "Without community college," she says, "I'll end up getting paid minimum wage. I can't afford the fee hikes. I can barely make ends meet now."

Daily 49er - CSUs to make exceptions to keep special programs alive

Daily 49er - CSUs to make exceptions to keep special programs alive:

"The California State University system is planning to prioritize its enrollment by setting aside enrollment slots for athletes, ROTC, musicians and other special-skills students this fall. The decision is being made amidst plans to cut enrollment in the system by 40,000 students next year.

A $564-million budget cut is affecting the CSU campuses this fiscal year. One of the main factors in the decision to prioritize enrollment was to ensure that, despite the budget constraints, various programs in the CSU, such as athletics, engineering and orchestra, are filled.

“If you’re going to have an orchestra, you need to be able to enroll all the students to get a full band,” said CSU Director of Enrollment Management Services Jim Blackburn."

Joining forces : The Collegian Online

Joining forces : The Collegian Online:

"As activism rises on Fresno State’s campus, faculty show support of student involvement

Recent student activism on the California State University, Fresno campus has received support from many faculty members.

Professors could be seen in and outside of the Henry Madden Library during the protest staged after closing hours in November. October’s walkout also featured faculty members who addressed the crowd in the Peace Garden."

Dr. Loretta Kensinger, a professor for the women’s studies program, said that her participation was strictly in support for the students involved. She joined the family and friends of students who stood outside of the library for moral support for the students demonstrating inside, she said.

“I think the students are raising awareness for all of us about what the plight is for the California State University system right now,” Kensinger said.

She said students, as well as faculty, have been impacted by the budget cuts. It is important to support the students as they push for the state to fully fund education, Kensinger said.

Texas colleges counting economic blessings - for now

Texas colleges counting economic blessings - for now:

"SAN ANTONIO — Denise Trauth, president of Texas State University, tries not to gloat. But when she meets with counterparts from across the nation, as she did at the annual gathering of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities recently, she feels fortunate to be in Texas.

Many public colleges and universities across the nation are laying off employees, reducing student financial aid and taking other painful steps to cope with the economic downturn and declining state appropriations"

The University of North Alabama, for example, has raised tuition 9.5 percent in each of the past two years. California State University, Bakersfield, has scaled back academic programs and enrollment in response to a $15 million, or 25 percent, cut in the state portion of its budget. And Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has proposed merging three public, historically black universities to cut costs.

Institutions of higher learning in Texas haven't been immune to the belt-tightening. Hiring for many positions throughout the 15-campus University of Texas System is frozen. UT-Austin is laying off some staff members to free up money to retain and recruit top professors.

But schools in Texas, with its relatively strong economy, have largely been spared the harsh cuts taking place in many other states. Indeed, the Texas Legislature increased higher education funding this spring by $1.2 billion for the two-year budget and boosted financial aid by 35 percent, to $1 billion.

Different approaches considered amid some school officials' unease | San Bernardino County | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Different approaches considered amid some school officials' unease San Bernardino County PE.com Southern California News News for Inland Southern California:

"SACRAMENTO - Inland school officials are apprehensive about signing on to any state effort to get school grants from the federal government, with California lawmakers still divided on the issue as next month's application deadline approaches.

Wednesday, the Assembly Education Committee is scheduled to consider bills meant to improve the state's chances at receiving money from the $4.3 billion Race to the Top program, a centerpiece of President Barack Obama's education reform agenda. A vote of the full Assembly is expected Thursday."

WestsideConnect - The West Side's News Source - Professionals find their calling in special education

WestsideConnect - The West Side's News Source - Professionals find their calling in special education:

"NEWMAN – In the daily bustle of activity on local school campuses, one group of educators go about their work with little public fanfare – but with a particularly profound impact on the lives of the students they serve.

More than 30 classroom teachers, aides and specialists – often working closely with general education classroom teachers – devote themselves to serving students with special needs in the Newman-Crows Landing Unified School District.

Today (Thursday), special education professionals across the state are being acknowledged by the California Organization for Special Educators during its designated “Day of the Special Educator.”"

Are educated youth leaving California? - Bakersfield.com

Are educated youth leaving California? - Bakersfield.com:

"CALIFORNIA BRAIN DRAIN?

Here's something new to consider: the high cost of living in California and the rising cost of a university education is leading to a statewide 'brain drain' of college kids out of our state. That's the conclusion of a Capitol Weekly report that said for the first time since the 1980s, California sent more college kids out of state than it received from other states.

This is amazing stuff and points to the increasing cost of a California bachelor's degree combined with other factors like state and local taxes and housing costs that are sending kids elsewhere."

New teachers having trouble finding jobs in a competitive market - Whittier Daily News

New teachers having trouble finding jobs in a competitive market - Whittier Daily News:

"Michael Korte received his teaching credential from Azusa Pacific University in January.

Nearly a year later, with more than 50 applications and two dozen job interviews under his belt, the Glendora resident is still working as a security guard.

'Every semester, I keep telling myself, `well, next semester I'll start getting calls.' I'm always sending out resumes and always looking for jobs online. Now I'm hoping I'll have one by spring,' Korte said."

California Deserves Better Than Yudof's Failed Leadership | California Progress Report

California Deserves Better Than Yudof's Failed Leadership California Progress Report:

"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."

La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com - An opportunity for California

La Opinión - noticias locales, nacionales e internacionales desde Los Ángeles - impre.com - An opportunity for California:

"California’s educational system desperately needs additional funds to address the budget crisis while, at the same time, it also must tackle reforms to improve student learning. The State Assembly has the possibility to achieve both of these goals by passing a single legislative bill.

The Obama administration is pushing significant changes in the education system across the country through a program called 'Race to the Top,' which has $4.5 billion to award to states that adopt new standards for student learning and new systems to assess student achievement, that recruit and train effective teachers and principals, and finally, that turn-around low-achieving schools."

Montessori program at S.F. school stirs clash

Montessori program at S.F. school stirs clash:

"When San Francisco school officials opened a public Montessori program in an under-enrolled elementary school adjacent to the city's low-income Western Addition neighborhood in 2005, it sounded like a good idea."

It meant that poor, mostly African American students would have free and convenient access to what often is an expensive private program, out of reach and relatively unknown to inner-city children.
Instead, the effort has turned into a major headache for district administrators who now are embroiled in a bitter community battle over the educational fate of Cobb Elementary School.

At the heart of the fight is a district plan to phase out the school's traditional general education program - now serving predominantly African American students - to convert Cobb to all Montessori. While the program is offered to any family in the city, the intent of placing a Montessori program at Cobb was to better serve the neighborhood's African American families. Yet few parents from the community there seem to know much about the program or want it.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi file=/c/a/2009/12/07/MNLT1APV54.DTL#ixzz0Z0lqG5Te

Three Cheers for Community Colleges -- baltimoresun.com

Three Cheers for Community Colleges -- baltimoresun.com:


"DEAR JOYCE: My nephew's college plans are uncertain. His mother says a small scholarship and student loans can pay for a local private college with a $35,000 annual tuition. When I suggested he start out at a two-year public community college ($2,500 yearly tuition) and later transfer to a state university, she dismissed the idea as 'graduate high school.' Your opinion? -- V.M.

Debt loads for graduating college students are at a record high. The average recent college graduate with debt owes a total of $21,000 -- and the payback figure can be as steep as the high fives. (Debt totals for graduate and professional studies are another jaw-dropping story; research student debt and you'll see what I mean.)"

Bob Williams: UC's withering heights» Redding Record Searchlight

Bob Williams: UC's withering heights» Redding Record Searchlight:

"Back in 1960, California adopted the Master Plan for Higher Education. It was a three-tiered system. At the top was the research and Ph.D.-granting University of California. Next was what is now renamed the California State University. Finally, there were the two-year community colleges.

This plan has worked extremely well and has provided many of the scientists, engineers, doctors, agricultural specialists and others who have made this state an economic and innovative powerhouse that accounts for 13 percent of our nation's gross domestic product. It became a model emulated by other states and, to an extent, other nations."

Update: California Labor Union Demands Resignation of UC Technology Chief

Update: California Labor Union Demands Resignation of UC Technology Chief:

"The University of California labor union (AFSCME) is demanding the immediate resignation of David J. Ernst, the university executive accused of pocketing more than $150,000 in improper expense reimbursements during his tenure at California State University.

The union sent a letter to UC President Mark Yudoff on Saturday, stating that 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.'"

In-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants questioned - San Bernardino County Sun

In-state tuition rates for illegal immigrants questioned - San Bernardino County Sun:

"At a time of unprecedented peril for the state's education system, a growing number of school districts are going the extra mile to promote a law that allows illegal immigrant students to receive subsidized tuition at California colleges and universities.

The move is viewed by some state lawmakers and others as wasting scarce tax dollars on a program that benefits illegal immigrants at the expense of legal residents and U.S. citizens."

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Do Charter Schools Deserve The Spotlight?

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Do Charter Schools Deserve The Spotlight?:

"President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan have made it clear that expanding charter schools is a critical part of successful education reform. 'States that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top Fund,' Duncan said in June.

But two major studies on charter schools released this year had dramatically different findings. One study found that charter schools nearly closed the achievement gap between students in poor and affluent communities, while the other found that most charter schools deliver academic results that are no better, or worse, than those in regular public schools.
Do charter schools deserve the attention that the Obama administration is giving them? Why or why not?"

CSUS students protest outside president's home - Local - Modbee.com

CSUS students protest outside president's home - Local - Modbee.com:

"TURLOCK — Several dozen students protested in front of California State University, Stanislaus, President Hamid Shirvani's home Saturday afternoon, decrying budget cuts, his management style and the direction he is taking the campus.

'We feel like we've tried everything else,' said Barbara Olave, a senior studying sociology and one of the demonstrators. She said students have spoken with and written to Shirvani but to no avail.

The protesters did not speak with Shirvani. Olave said one student knocked on Shirvani's front door but no one answered."

Our View: California has lost its mojo for once great UC, CSU - Our View - MercedSun-Star.com

Our View: California has lost its mojo for once great UC, CSU - Our View - MercedSun-Star.com:

"Students protest higher fees. Faculty lament cuts to instruction. Administrators complain that the state is an unreliable funding partner to California's public colleges and universities.
It's time to get beyond griping and move on to solutions.

Ironically, California is about to mark -- celebrate certainly would not be the right word -- the 50th anniversary of the Master Plan for Higher Education.

That 1960 plan made a commitment that 'all Californians should be afforded the opportunity to receive a college education.'

It made California a national model.

For a generation, the 1960 Master Plan delivered prosperity to the state and a higher standard of living for residents."

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Education | School Laws Could Disqualify New York State From "Race To The Top" Funds

NY1 24 Hour Local News Education School Laws Could Disqualify New York State From "Race To The Top" Funds:

"Washington lawmakers are offering up to $700 million in educational funding to New York State, but some educational laws could disqualify the state. NY1's Educational reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

The federal government is giving away $4.5 billion in education funding as part of the 'Race To The Top,' and New York State could get up to $700 million, if President Barack Obama's administration likes the state's application.

'It is a big load of money,' says State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, the chair of the State Senate Education Committee."

Schools' testing success can come at a price - washingtonpost.com

Schools' testing success can come at a price - washingtonpost.com:

"Terry Dade, the 33-year-old principal of Tyler Elementary in Southeast Washington, freely describes himself as a 'data geek' who shares Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's educational creed: Digging relentlessly into student test scores, diagnosing weaknesses and tailoring teaching to address them can ultimately lift a school's academic performance.

Hired by Rhee as a first-time principal last year, Dade dug out a success story at Tyler, with double-digit boosts in reading and math proficiency. It's also left Dade with a challenge that has thwarted many other principals: what to do for a second act."

Without ready access to computers, students struggle - washingtonpost.com

Without ready access to computers, students struggle - washingtonpost.com:

"Julija Pivoriunaite's heart sinks when one of her teachers at Glasgow Middle School announces that students must go online to do a homework assignment. It happens almost every school day.

The 11-year-old's mind whirls with the complicated and stressful options available to get her assignments done, since her family has no reliable Internet service at home. She could work after classes in her Fairfax County school's computer lab, but it is open just two days a week. The library has free computers, but time online is limited if it's busy. Finding rides is tough."

US charter schools 'state' case to NY - NYPOST.com

US charter schools 'state' case to NY - NYPOST.com:

"Charter-school operators from other states are urging New York's elected officials to increase the number of charter schools allowed in the state or risk having them set up elsewhere, letters obtained by The Post reveal.

Directors at the highly regarded MATCH Charter Public School in Boston, Citizens' Academy in Cleveland and The SEED Foundation in Washington, DC, have all said they won't even consider opening shop in New York without an assurance that there will be charters left to issue above the state's current limit of 200."

To date, 36 charters remain unclaimed, but that number is expected to be cut in half as early as next month with the approval of 18 new schools.

"Given the state's looming charter cap, I can't justify investing time to explore the interest in bringing a Citizens' Academy to New York City," said Perry White, the school's founder and executive director, who is looking to replicate the academy's 11-year-old model. The Citizens' Academy Charter Elementary is one of just 11 schools in Cleveland -- out of 150 -- that was rated "excellent" by the state, according to White.

MATCH offers its students a minimum of 10 hours of one-on-one tutoring per week on top of a long school day and a small, intimate environment. The SEED schools are college-preparatory boarding schools that target poor urban kids who largely hail from single-parent or no-parent households.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/us_charter_schools_state_case_to_zeUxz8GQwWHjsdYFn0AGaP#ixzz0Z0eSyXNP

Letter - Teachers and Tenure - NYTimes.com

Letter - Teachers and Tenure - NYTimes.com:

"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plans to use student test scores in the ranking and firing of New York City teachers pits teachers against students to cut the state budget (front page, Nov. 26).

Moreover, we take issue with his analogy regarding cardiac surgery and teacher performance. What has most improved cardiac surgery outcomes is collaborative effort among teams of cardiac surgeons to learn best practices from one another, and not a punitive quest to fire outliers."

Student learning, like patient experience, is multifactorial and multidimensional. The quest for better quality is not about teaching to the test, nor avoiding the sickest patients or the most disadvantaged students.

Improving quality means finding ways for doctors and patients, students and teachers and their communities to openly identify areas of weakness that are most fruitful for improvement, not creating incentives to hide or paper over.

To excel, teachers, like students and schools in need of improvement, need support, not threats.

Gordon D. Schiff

Virginia Casper

New York, Nov. 29, 2009
The writers are, respectively, and a physician and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School; and a teacher educator on the graduate faculty at the Bank Street College of Education.

Scholarly Investments - NYTimes.com

Scholarly Investments - NYTimes.com:

"THEIR company names were conspicuously absent from their nametags, but that is how these hedge fund managers and analysts — members of a field known for secrecy — preferred it. They filled the party space at the W Hotel on Lexington Avenue in late October, mostly men in their 30s. Balancing drinks on easels adorned with students’ colorful drawings, they juggled PDA’s and business cards, before sitting down to poker tables to raise money for New York City charter schools."

Working the room, the evening’s hosts, John Petry and Joel Greenblatt, who are partners in the hedge fund Gotham Capital, had an agenda: to identify new candidates to join their Success Charter Network, a cause they embrace with all the fervor of social reformers.

“He’s already in,” Mr. Petry said as he passed John Sabat, who manages a hedge fund for one of the industry’s big stars. (Like Voldemort in the Harry Potter novels, no one in the group would name him aloud.)

“I wasn’t hard to turn,” said Mr. Sabat, 36, whom Mr. Petry drafted last year to be a member of the board of Harlem Success Academy 4, on East 120th Street, the latest in its network of school in some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Boards agree to donate or raise $1.3 million to subsidize their school for the first three years. “You can’t talk to Petry without taking about charters,” Mr. Sabat added. “You get the religion fast.”

Inequities found in area Advanced Placement course choices | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Inequities found in area Advanced Placement course choices News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"By the time she graduates, senior Cindy Santillan will have taken 21 college-level Advanced Placement courses at the School of Science and Engineering at Townview – a feat made possible by the extraordinary menu of courses offered at her high school."

From Latin, to microeconomics, to art history, to an array of rigorous math and science courses, the 400 students at the magnet school can pick from 30 AP subjects – more than any other high school in Dallas. In the North Texas region, only the much-larger Plano Senior and Plano West Senior high schools offer as many AP choices.

The AP courses are key in building impressive transcripts and giving students an advantage in the competitive college admissions process. Students who pass AP exams can also earn college credit and save themselves thousands in tuition dollars.

White House economist: 'F--- up' conservative prof

White House economist: 'F--- up' conservative prof:

"According to a university colleague, former president of Harvard and current White House economist Larry Summers once asked for help to 'f--- up' one of the school's conservative professors.

Summers' colleague, Cornel West, is a radical race relations instructor who is now a professor at Princeton after departing Harvard in the wake of a dispute with Summers. Obama named West, whom he has called a personal friend, to the Black Advisory Council of his presidential campaign. West was a key point man between Obama's campaign and the black community.

In his recently released memoirs, 'Brother West: Living and Loving Out Loud,' West claims that Summers invited West into his office and asked him to help undermine Harvard government professor Harvey Mansfield, who had professed conservative views."

Deployments Taking Toll on Military’s Children - NYTimes.com

Deployments Taking Toll on Military’s Children - NYTimes.com:

"After eight years of war, children with parents in the military are reporting signs of emotional wear and tear from long and repeated deployments, a new study shows.

The study by the RAND Corporation found that children in military families were more likely to report anxiety than children in the general population. The researchers also found that the longer a parent had been deployed in the previous three years, the more likely their children were to have difficulties in school and at home."

Class Struggle - Why can't regular schools expand learning time?

Class Struggle - Why can't regular schools expand learning time?:

"I got an advance look at the first ever count of U.S. public schools that have significantly expanded learning time. The report by the National Center on Time & Learning, released today, reveals a surprisingly large number--655--give students an average of 25 percent more time than the standard six-and-a-half hours a day, 180 days a year. But I was disappointed that only about 160 of that group are regular public schools.

The District has 18 schools on the list, more than in all but ten states. But they are charter public schools. The majority of D.C. children are still in regular schools. They have not had a chance to see what a big jump in learning time might do for them."

DPS teachers decry $10,000 deferment | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

DPS teachers decry $10,000 deferment freep.com Detroit Free Press:

"The 3-year tentative agreement, outlined during a heated 2-hour union meeting at Cobo Hall, would save the deficit-ridden district $62.8 million, Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager for Detroit Public Schools, said after the meeting. It also would eliminate the need for DPS to file bankruptcy, he said.Members will vote over the next two weeks.

Bobb said the deferred pay -- the issue that raised the most hostility Sunday -- is not a wage cut but will reduce DPS cash-flow problems while placing those wages in protected accounts.
Money will be returned upon the employee's departure.DFT President Keith Johnson urged teachers to consider that rejecting the contract could lead to bankruptcy, in which job protection could be disregarded.'I suggest you go back to the negotiation table,' Kimberly Porter, a teacher at Cass Tech High, said amid cheers."

District may pay millions for consulting firm to stay

District may pay millions for consulting firm to stay:

"The consulting firm hired for a four-month review of Maricopa Community Colleges could be in line for a multimillion-dollar contract to stay on with the college system, overseeing implementation of its own recommendations.

An Arizona Republic examination of e-mails between MCCCD Chancellor Rufus Glasper and Colleen Clark, the president of the Maricopa County Community College District governing board, reveal that Clark has asked Glasper for input on the value of keeping Alvarez & Marsal consultants in the Valley as part of an 'extended relationship.'

At least one board member is openly critical of the idea, suggesting the district can put the recommended changes into effect. It also has raised questions, e-mails suggest, about whether such a contract would need to be competitively bid."

Sacramento Press / Google Wave Hit’s The River City (Sacramento)

Sacramento Press / Google Wave Hit’s The River City (Sacramento):

"What is a Google Wave? Why do I need a Google Wave Account? I’m just learning Facebook and Twitter, how does it compare to those social media sites? All of those are very good questions, let’s take them one at a time.

What is a Google Wave? A Google Wave is a great many things and in its simplest form, it is a (hosted) document as a conversation. Google Wave is a new online communications tool that enables groups of people to edit and discuss documents simultaneously on the web. The Google Wave team says Wave is 'what email would look like if it were invented today.' Google Wave is Google’s ambitious attempt to change the way we collaborate with each other."

85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media « emergent by design

85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media « emergent by design

85+ Resources: Educator Guide for Integrating Social Media

Capistrano Unified teachers protest proposed 10% pay cut -- latimes.com

Capistrano Unified teachers protest proposed 10% pay cut -- latimes.com:


"Teachers angry at the Capistrano Unified School District's proposal to cut their pay by 10% held a rally Saturday to protest the move.

The demonstration, which took place near the Mission Viejo Mall, drew more than 300 people, according to organizers of the event. It marked the latest in a series of actions highlighting teachers' dissatisfaction with contract negotiations and the school board.

Capistrano Unified needs to slash about $25 million from its 2010-11 budget, board officials have said. They have suggested cutting teachers' pay by 10% and making the decrease retroactive to July by deducting it from upcoming paychecks."

Tea and education to solve Afghan crisis - Taiwan News Online

Tea and education to solve Afghan crisis - Taiwan News Online:

"Mortenson believes causes of religious extremism, such as ignorance, illiteracy, joblessness can be blunted by education"

Greg Mortenson doesn't need to rely on think tanks or arcane policy documents to find the road to a better Afghanistan. The mountaineer-turned-school builder from Montana - recently nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize - depends on what might be called his own show-of-hands index, based on his visits to speak with children in the United States and Afghanistan. In the past few months alone, he's spoken to tens of thousands of them.

"I always ask American schoolchildren how often they talk with their grandparents about the important events of history in the past. Invariably, maybe 10 percent at most will raise their hands," he says.

He poses the same question in the remotest corners of Afghanistan, where he has successfully erected 80 schools, many of them focusing on education for girls. There, the range of responses he receives seems to reflect the social health of a particular community.

In rural villages where the Taliban has not exerted its will on the community, Mr. Mortenson says perhaps 80 percent of kids respond affirmatively. But in areas where home-grown and foreign Taliban fighters have established brutal strongholds, sometimes with connections to Al Qaeda, almost no child raises a hand.

As President Obama pledged another 30,000 U.S. troops Dec. 1 to root out terrorists in Afghanistan, Mortenson is suggesting that effort must go hand in hand with another: grass-roots education.

California Comprehensive Center at WestEd

California Comprehensive Center at WestEd:

Parent Involvement

Involving parents in school decisions and activities is a key principle embedded in Title I of the NCLB Act. Schools must include parents in their school improvement planning process and are encouraged to develop strategies to reach out to parents.

Guidance, Regulations, Legislation, and Announcements

Guidance

Non-Regulatory Guidance, Title 1, Part A, Parental Involvement   
For specific information on parental involvement, refer to section A1-A14.

Regulations

Final Regulation, Title 1- Improving The Academic Achievement Of The Disadvantaged   
For specific information on parental involvement, refer to page 71732.

Legislation

Final Legislation, Public Law print of PL 107-110, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; Title I, Part A, Subpart 1, Sec. 1118. PARENTAL INVOLVMENT   

Announcements

Department to Provide More Educational Options for Parents (March 2004)   

For Information Specific to California:

Parent/Family/Community
Information resources for parents, family, and the community.

California State Action Plan for School, Family, and Community Partnerships (State APP) Draft revision dated November 17, 2009 (PDF; 1.7MB; 52pp.)

Title I Parental Involvement Information and Resources
Information and resources on parental involvement requirements under Title I for administrators, teachers, parent involvement liaisons and other stakeholders and partners.

Other Resources

Useful Links

Family Involvement in Children's Education: Successful Local Approaches   
Lists elements of successful local approaches for involving families in education, insights about establishing and sustaining parent-school partnerships, examples of successful partnerships, and general resources.

Guide to Tool Kit for Hispanic Families   
Informs all families of the roles schools and teachers will play in their child's education and provides them with resources to support their child's education. Developed by the US Department of Education.

National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools   
Offers to parents and communities research-based information that can be put into practice to increase student achievement. The "Connection Collection" under the Resources tab is an easy-to-use searchable publication database.

Parent Information and Resource Centers (PIRC)   
Provides parents, schools, and community organizations with information on NCLB and links them to their nearest PIRCs, which provide training, information, and technical assistance to strengthen partnerships that help all children achieve high academic standards. Sponsored by the US Department of Education.

What NCLB Means for Parents (in English)   
Explains to parents what high standards mean and do, what to look for in test scores, how to hold schools accountable for results, how to prepare children to be strong readers, how to help children with homework, and where to turn for help in specific academic subjects. Developed by the US Department of Education.

What NCLB Means for Parents (in Spanish)   
Explains to parents what high standards mean and do, what to look for in test scores, how to hold schools accountable for results, how to prepare children to be strong readers, how to help children with homework, and where to turn for help in specific academic subjects. Developed by the US Department of Education.

TEA set to intervene in S.A. charter school district

TEA set to intervene in S.A. charter school district:

"A state-appointed official soon could be calling the shots at the School of Excellence in Education charter district — unless officials can give the Texas Education Agency a compelling reason by next week not to name one.

Citing ongoing financial problems, the agency released its decision Friday to place a conservator at the district. It's Bexar County's largest charter system with eight campuses and about 2,100 students.

“As a result of School of Excellence in Education's continued deficiencies in the area of financial performance, I am compelled to exercise my authority and intervene,” Education Commissioner Robert Scott wrote in a letter dated Nov. 30."

Strongest voucher schools thrive - JSOnline

Strongest voucher schools thrive - JSOnline:

"Michelle Lukacs grew up in Mequon and worked as a teacher in Milwaukee. Then she was a teacher and guidance counselor in Jefferson. She got a school principal's license through a program at Edgewood College in Madison.

She moved back to Milwaukee and decided to open a school as part of the publicly funded private school voucher program. She called it Atlas Preparatory Academy because she liked the image of Atlas holding the whole world up and because it was the name of a refrigeration company her husband owns.

On the first day of classes in September 2001, Atlas had 23 students in leased space in an old school building at 2911 S. 32nd St."

This September, Atlas had 814 students, a growth of 3,439% over eight years. It now uses three buildings on the south side and has grown, grade by grade, to be a full kindergarten through 12th-grade program.

Atlas' growth is explosive, even within the continually growing, nationally significant voucher program. Voucher enrollment over the same period has roughly doubled from 10,882 in September 2001 to 21,062 this fall.

The Atlas story underscores an interesting trend: The number of voucher schools in recent years has leveled off, and this year, fell significantly. But the total number of students using vouchers to attend private schools in the city has gone up, and a few schools have become particular powerhouses, at least when it comes to enrollment.

Many Asian students fear return to S. Phila. classes | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/05/2009

Many Asian students fear return to S. Phila. classes Philadelphia Inquirer 12/05/2009:

"Chaofei Zheng hiked up his shirt to reveal an angry bruise, about four inches long, on his right side. He pointed to a matching yellow-and-purple mark above his left eyebrow.
'I'm scared to go to school,' Zheng, 19, a freshman at South Philadelphia High School, said through a translator yesterday.

Zheng is one of several - community organizers say 30 or more - students who were attacked at the school on Thursday, targeted, they said, because they're Asian.

Racial violence at the school is not new, but students and activists say this week's attacks are emblematic of a problem that's not going away."

State Considers Shifting Charter-School Tuition Costs To Local School Systems -- Courant.com

State Considers Shifting Charter-School Tuition Costs To Local School Systems -- Courant.com:

"HARTFORD — - The State Board of Education is considering four proposals that would overhaul the law governing charter schools, including one that would shift the cost of tuition to local school systems.

The changes, meant to expand the number of charter schools, also are designed to increase the state's chances to get as much as $150 million in school-reform grants from the federal Race to the Top competition. States across the country are competing for $5 billion in federal stimulus money set aside to encourage school reform by expanding charter schools and tying teacher pay to student performance."

The most controversial proposal essentially would require towns to pay tuition for students attending the state's 18 charter schools. Now, the state pays $9,300 for each child attending a charter school. Under the new plan, cities and towns would pay for each local student who goes to a charter school.

The theory is that the towns would use money from state education cost-sharing grants to help pay for charter school tuition. Rather than pay for the child to attend a local school, the money would "follow the child" to the charter school.

Advocates say that plan would put charter schools on equal financial footing with traditional schools because charters are now given less money, on average, per student.

More Texas students taking, failing Advanced Placement exams | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

More Texas students taking, failing Advanced Placement exams News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"Robust Advanced Placement programs are often seen as a seal of quality for high schools. And in its quest for excellence, Texas has seen an explosion of the classes that offer the promise and prestige of college credit.

But the latest data show Texas high school students fail more than half of the college-level exams, and their performance trails national averages.

Some say Texas failure rates are higher because more students from an increasingly diverse pool take AP classes here. But high failure rates from some of the Dallas area's elite campuses raise questions about whether our most advantaged high school students are prepared for college work."

Internet addicts more likely to self harm - Herald Scotland | News | Health

Internet addicts more likely to self harm - Herald Scotland News Health:

"Teenagers who are addicted to the internet are more likely to self-harm than their peers, a new study has claimed.

Researchers from China and Australia surveyed 1,618 adolescents aged 13 to 18 from China’s Guangdong Province, asking them whether they pulled their own hair or hit, pinched or burned themselves. They then gave them a test to assess whether they were suffering internet addiction, a mental health problem that has been recognised since the 1990s.

The test found that about 10 percent of the students surveyed were moderately addicted to the Internet, while less than one percent were severely addicted."

With no limits in place, another college fee hike likely - ContraCostaTimes.com

With no limits in place, another college fee hike likely - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"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.'"

Members say school board shouldn't bicker - CharlotteObserver.com

Members say school board shouldn't bicker - CharlotteObserver.com:

"Facing its biggest leadership turnover in 14 years, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board will plunge quickly into decisions that can build or erode confidence in public education for years to come.
On the list:
Clean up a student-assignment process that has created months of anger and confusion. Make teacher performance-pay work. Figure out how to staff schools and honor construction promises in a lingering recession.
Before all that, though, members say they must forge a team that can dispel the board's reputation for sniping and grandstanding."

Qatar Tribune - Crisis in US Education

Qatar Tribune - Crisis in US Education :

"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 fouryear college."