Big Education Ape

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Parents and Civil Rights Groups Applaud Race to the Top Law

Parents and Civil Rights Groups Applaud Race to the Top Law:

"After calling a special session and introducing a bi-partisan legislative package, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last week signed historic education reform legislation making California highly competitive in President Obama’s national $4.35 billion Race to the Top education reform and funding competition. On July 24th, 2009 President Obama and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced federal eligibility and competitiveness requirements for states to compete for the single largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. History.

Bi-partisan measures SBX5 1 by Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) SBX5 4 by Senate pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) ensure California can submit a highly competitive application for up to $700 million in funding for California schools and education reform measures designed to improve the state’s lowest performing schools."

Ca. Gov. Schwarzenegger Announces 760 Local Education Agencies Set to Participate in State’s Race to the Top Plan to Date : Tue, 12 Jan 2010 : California Newswire™

SACRAMENTO /California Newswire/ — Governor Schwarzenegger today announced that to date, 760 local educational agencies have submitted memorandum of understandings (MOU) to partner with the state’s Race to the Top application. The participation of these local educational agencies will ensure that the state’s application is highly competitive for up to $700 million in much needed federal education funding by demonstrating broad statewide impact and support. In addition to the historic and statewide education reform legislation signed recently by the Governor, Race to the Top calls on local education agencies to voluntarily partner with the state through an MOU to take the first steps in implementing the reform agenda championed by President Obama and Governor Schwarzenegger to better California’s education system.

“President Obama

called for positive change, and the 760 local education agencies already partnering with the state show that California’s education community has embraced that call,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “Paired with the historic legislation I signed to empower parents and transform under-performing schools, this level of voluntary participation will improve California’s education system and help ensure our state is highly competitive in the Race to the Top.”

Chris Prevatt: Race to the Top -- Buyers Beware

Every American leader, from Barack Obama to Arnold Schwarzenegger, would agree that if there's one lifelong lesson to be learned from the implosion of the housing market, it is that before you sign on the dotted line, you'd better know what you're getting yourself into. You'd better ask clarifying questions. You'd better read the fine print. And you'd better make absolutely sure that there are no hidden clauses or trap doors that take you and those dependent on you to the dog house.

While our local districts are comprised of well intentioned, highly educated and reflective leaders who are doing their best to find resources to fill the budget shortfall, we are perplexed that some districts agreed to submit a "Memorandum Of Understanding" with the Governor's Office to participate in California's application for the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) competitive grant program. Many of our local teachers' associations hope that since more than half (60%) of school systems in California did not sign on to the State's MOU, that there is change in the RTTT program language so that district leaders, teachers, parents and stakeholders can work together with their local districts to come up with solutions that are based in research-supported strategies for all.

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News � New Statewide Activist Group Rises in California

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News � New Statewide Activist Group Rises in California:

"The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), a new statewide grassroots activist group, opened its doors this week in the wake of California ACORN's inability to function. ACCE’s creation, and the process of developing a new organization in California, ensures that working families will continue to have a powerful voice in Sacramento, dashing the hopes of Fox News and other right-wing media who hoped to weaken grassroots power by de-funding ACORN. A number of former California ACORN staff are now working for ACCE, but the new organization has installed a series of strict financial and oversight controls whose absence long plagued ACORN nationally. Among these oversight bodies is an Advisory Council headed by Keith Rohman, president of the Los Angeles City Human Relations Commission. Rohman is also the founder and president of Public Interest Investigations, Inc., which is retained by public entities and nonprofits to investigate allegations of misconduct. Amy Schur, one of the nation’s top grassroots organizers with years of experience throughout California and in the world of Sacramento politics, will be ACCE’s first Exec"

Sacramento-area schools say Schwarzenegger wants cuts they're already making - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento-area schools say Schwarzenegger wants cuts they're already making - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"California school superintendents spent the early part of this week huddled with staff, trying to figure out what the governor's budget proposal means to their districts.

Of the $1.5 billion Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants cut from the state's K-12 school districts next year, $1.2 billion would come from district administration. Targeting superintendents, school boards and other central expenses, he said he wants to spare more classroom cuts."

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Sacramento Press / UC Davis student reported missing in Haiti Quake

University of California-Davis officials say doctoral student Starry Sprenkle along with her 20 month year old daughter and husband are among those missing in the wake of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti.

Sylvia Wright and Dr. Rice were asked to speak on behalf of Starry's family and the UC system. Check out the video and maybe someone find Starry and her family.

Starry's research in Haiti is Ecological Restoration - Detailed information about her project: http://www.ecologicalrestoration.info/gallery4.asp

Photo courtesy Starry's family.
Video by: Chris Morrow

Follow Chris on Twitter: www.twitter.com/morrowchris

or direct link here: http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-384099

Education panel gets an earful

Education panel gets an earful:

"AUSTIN — After hearing scores of Texans give conflicting advice Wednesday on what to include in new public school history textbooks, the State Board of Education now will have to decide a lot of questions.

The 15-member board will take preliminary votes starting Thursday on new standards for the public school social studies curriculum that will influence history, government, geography and economics textbooks that will be in use by 2013 and last at least a decade.

Texans offered their views at a seven-hour public hearing on a long list of issues: the impact of ethnic minorities, the concept of states' rights, whether the nation's roots are secular or religious, America's role in a global society and why students should be taught about “American exceptionalism,” the idea that the United States is unique among world civilizations through history."

Education bill for federal funds passes without charter school amendment - WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY |

Education bill for federal funds passes without charter school amendment - WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY |:

"FRANKFORT, KY (WAVE) - Like many states, Kentucky is scrambling to meet a deadline to try to win millions of federal dollars for education. A bill which passed the House unanimously on Monday ran into trouble in a Senate committee when some senators tried to amend the bill to allow public charter schools in Kentucky.

Kentucky is one of only 11 states that does not allow public charter schools. That could hurt the state's chances of winning that federal money, but some lawmakers argued there was not enough time to study that issue and meet the January 19 deadline."

Haiti Earthquake "Strange," Strongest in 200 Years

The magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Haiti yesterday is the strongest earthquake to hit the region in more than two centuries, geologists say. (SeeHaiti earthquake pictures.)

While earthquakes are not uncommon in the Caribbean island country, the recent Haiti earthquake's intensity surprised experts.

"It's quite strange" from a historical perspective, said Julie Detton, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey.

Haiti is part of the island of Hispaniola, which also hosts the Dominican Republic. The last major earthquake to strike Haiti's side of the island was in 1860.

Yesterday's initial earthquake, which struck at about 5 p.m. local time yesterday, spawned dozens of aftershocks, about 15 of which were magnitude 5 or greater.

Whether the earthquake could trigger other major quakes is not known.

"It's not something that we can project is going to happen," Detton said.

"But definitely if you're moving two [plates] in one area, you're building up stress and strain in another."

Haiti Earthquake: Seismic Stresses

The Haiti earthquake was caused by the release of seismic stresses that had built up around two tectonic plates.

Save the Children

http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2010/haiti-relief.html?print=t

American Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org/

United Nations Food Programme

https://www.wfp.org/donate/haiti

No voice for teachers | The Education Report

Steven Weinberg, a retired Oakland middle school teacher, critiques the lack of teacher participation and other problems in the crafting of “standards,” the content that is taught and tested in schools.

There are a number of problems with the standards that are now being used to guide K-12 education throughout the United States. As I wrote in November, the standards are too long and detailed, and they make it difficult for teachers to cover material in enough depth to give students the best possible education.

This problem is a natural result of the process used to develop these standards. State (and now federal) standards are designed by large committees drawn from a sizable geographic area. Teachers, whose jobs do not allow them to travel frequently to attend such meetings, are poorly represented on these committees.

According to a letter in the October 28, 2009 issue of Education Week, only one teacher sits on the panel of 80 producing the national standards for high school graduation. The other positions are held by college professors, business leaders, and — most unfortunately — the companies that stand to profit by writing tests for the standards.

Committees, by their nature, have to accommodate a variety of viewpoints. When you have many people involved, with their own ideas about what should be included, one of easiest ways to reach agreement is to keep making the standards longer so that everyone’s interest is satisfied. Without the input of teachers who will need to implement the standards, the list can quickly get too long.

Education Notes Online: Randi Races to the Bottom: Don't Expect the UFT to Rise Above

Here is another in our "UFT/AFT as Vichy collaborators" series:

I hope no one was surprised that Randi Weingarten oday made it clearer than ever that she was an education deformer. Now some people have been fooled by her successor's phony militancy - there is a UFT election coming - and Mike Mulgrew has to look more militant than Weingarten. Well, it wouldn't take much.

What people must understand is that the AFT and UFT are one - the UFT totally controls the AFT and Unity Caucus controls both organizations. And both Weingarten and Mulgrew are creatures of the caucus. So do not expect Mulgrew to distance himself too far from Weingarten's statements today, though the dance he will make around it should be fun to watch.

Some reactions to the speech from teacher Marjorie Stamberg and parent Leonie Haimson:

Treat religions evenly in curriculum revision for Texas schools—Jews & Hindus stress

Treat religions evenly in curriculum revision for Texas schools—Jews & Hindus stress

Jews and Hindus have urged the Texas State Board of Education to treat all the major religions and denominations evenly in its Social Studies curriculum, which is currently under revision.

Rabbi Jonathan B. Freirich, prominent Jewish leader in Nevada and California; and Rajan Zed, well known Hindu statesman; in a statement in Nevada, said that opening-up the Texas schoolchildren to major world religions, Native American spirituality, and non-believers’ viewpoint would make them well-nurtured, well-balanced, and enlightened citizens of tomorrow.

Freirich and Zed (who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism) argued that Texas was a very diverse society and it also made a good business sense to know the beliefs of “others” in a global community. Moreover, students should have knowledge of the entire society to become full participants in the society and it also helped advance Board’s goal “to provide the best possible education to public school students”.

Headquartered in Austin, State Board of Education establishes policy and provides leadership for the Texas public school system. Gail Lowe is Chair of the 15-member elected Board while Commissioner of Education Robert Scott is its Chief Executive Officer. Texas public school system consists of over 4.7 million school children, 630,000 educators and other employees, over 8,200 campuses, 1,229 school districts and charter schools. Texas is second largest state of USA.

Number of free, noncredit courses on Web increasing | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/12/2010

Number of free, noncredit courses on Web increasing | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/12/2010:

"A stay-at-home mom in Maine. A physics teacher in an under-supplied school in Quito, Ecuador. A food-service-supply salesman in Lancaster, laid up for months with little to do after a hang-gliding accident. And two out-of-work West Philadelphia men looking to take an intellectual journey from their living room.

They are among millions around the world who have been attracted to Yale University's free courses on the Web, complete with audio and video lectures, syllabi, and supplementary materials.

'It was such a great thing to me,' said Steve Ziegler, 40, of Lancaster, who during his recovery watched Ivy League English-class lectures on Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian, which quickly became one of his favorite books. 'I was able to get more out of something that I love because Yale put these courses online.'"

Fresh Air Or Hot Air? | The New Republic

Fresh Air Or Hot Air? | The New Republic:

"It's been a good week for Randi Weingarten. In a speech Tuesday morning at the National Press Club, the president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) voiced support for some major education reforms--most notably, tying students' test scores to teacher evaluations and making it easier to fire bad teachers. And the speech is already garnering a lot of positive buzz: Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who stopped by the event, praised her for 'showing courage,' and New York Times columnist Bob Herbert said that her proposals, if implemented, would 'represent a significant, good-faith effort [for teachers' unions] to cooperate more fully with state officials and school administrators in the monumental job of improving public school education.'"

Center for Education Reform - CER Press Release

Another 5,000 Charters Needed:
Parental Demand for Charter Schools Surges 21% in One Year

As more low-income and minority parents seek to remove their children from traditional public schools that chronically underperform, waiting lists for America's public charter schools have grown dramatically, a report released today reveals. According to The Center for Education Reform (CER), an average of 239 children are waiting to enter each charter school in America, demonstrating a 21 percent surge in parental demand for charters over last year.

Because laws in most states either limit the number of students who can enter charters, prohibit multiple authorities from authorizing the creation of charters, or limit the number of schools themselves, demand for charter schools now dramatically outpaces supply, the Annual Survey of America's Charter Schools 2010 indicates. In fact, 65 percent of U.S. charter schools have waiting lists, up from 59 percent in 2008, and some schools' waiting lists are more than three times the size of the schools themselves. The average charter school size is 372 students and it is estimated that the number of students on waiting lists would fill another 5,000 charter schools.

New State Charter Law Rankings Announced: Include Quality and Accountability Measures | National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Report Finds 24 States Risk Race to the Top Funding Because They Are Closed to New, High-Quality Charters

Washington, DC - The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools today released the first-ever ranking of all state charter school laws that is based on the full range of values in the public charter school movement: quality and accountability, funding equity, facilities support, autonomy, and growth and choice.

How State Charter Laws Rank Against The New Model Public Charter School Law,” assesses the strengths of each state’s charter school law against the 20 essential components of a strong law contained in the new model public charter school law released by the Alliance in June 2009. Evaluating each state law against each component – a total of 800 separate ratings – the Alliance ranks each law from strongest to weakest.

“State legislation really sets the bar for the charter school movement,” explained National Alliance President and CEO Nelson Smith. “When states combine equitable resources, real autonomy, and tough accountability, charter schools flourish and meet the high expectations of parents and policymakers. These new rankings not only show which state laws are making the grade, but also show how they do it: by paying attention to specific issues that are crucial to school and student success.”

As states prepare to submit applications for the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) grant program, the rankings provide clear indications of where some states excel and others come up short in charter-related policies.

Sacramento Press / Where's My High School?

Don't Take Your High School for Granted

If having an adequately equipped high school in the nearby vicinity is something that's always been available to you and your children, perhaps you should consider yourself lucky -- for students in the downtown Sacramento area, the push for a comprehensive high school continues. Community members from downtown and extending through East Sacramento, McKinley Park, Tahoe Park, College Greens, Oak Park and River Park are not taking no for an answer: their children need a school nearby, with all the music, sports, arts and other goodies that every high school student is entitled to.

A Multi-Layered Problem

The story behind the debate goes as follows: Sacramento High School, located nearest to the Oak Park neighborhood, existed as a public high school for over 150 years. In 2003, it was closed by the SCUSD Board of Education. The Board hoped to improve the school's low performance by re-opening it as a charter school associated with St. Hope Public Schools. Following this action, a lawsuit was opened by parents and teachers. The court ruled that the creation of the charter school was not in compliance with the law, and a court-ordered settlement required that the SCUSD create a new public high school by September 2008, which would encompass at least 500 students. The school would be called the Consent Decree

The Educated Guess � State saves when districts ditch small classes

The state is counting on districts abandoning the class-size reduction program to help bail out the state budget this year and next.
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget assumes that it can save $340 million this year and an additional $200 million next year, because districts will find themselves too pinched to accept the state subsidy. The state’s declining expenditure is a cagey form of a cut.
For 14 years, the state has provided money – up to $1,071 per child – if school districts agreed to a maximum of 20 students per class for kindergarten through third grade. This year, the Legislature loosened the rules, and agreed to pay a partial subsidy for classes up to 25 or more kids.
But the subsidy doesn’t cover costs even at that ratio; the program, while popular with parents and teachers, is also expensive for districts. Many districts have been backing out – at first one grade at a time, and lately exiting it altogether. According to survey by California Watch last fall, two thirds of the state’s largest school districts have already increased class sizes, with some schools going to 30 students per class.

Skeptical educators praise increase in school aid | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register

Skeptical educators praise increase in school aid | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register:

"The budget surprise Gov. Chet Culver promised Iowa's school officials Tuesday was one they actually welcomed, but it left one important question:
How realistic is it?
Culver said the budget he will send to legislators later this month will include money to back up a 2 percent education spending increase that had been approved by state lawmakers for the budget year that begins July 1. That's about $70 million."

He also wants to give schools $100 million from the state's cash reserves, nearly one-quarter of the state reserves projected for next year. Amounts would be determined by the state school-aid formula.
"This will be a real shot in the arm for some of our schools, especially in rural districts, which are already cash-strapped, with depleted reserves," Culver said in his Condition of the State speech.
School supporters applauded Culver's message but questioned whether he can back it up."They are so far in the hole," Washington Superintendent Dave Sextro said. "Where are they going to get that money?"

Leaders of the state's largest teachers union said the extra money could help save teachers' jobs.

D.C. Schools Insider - Special ed kids “missing to the system”

D.C. Schools Insider- Special ed kids “missing to the system”
Special ed kids “missing to the system”

Deputy Chancellor Richard Nyankori assured a federal judge last fall that some of the special education students removed from private schools for placement back in DCPS had not fallen off the grid.

“I don’t want the impression out there that somehow we have lost track of kids,” Nyankori told U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman.

But plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Blackman lawsuit now say that is precisely what has happened, and that Nyankori misled the court. In a report filed with the court late Monday, they say that at least 20 special needs kids once in private schools cannot be accounted for.

“He clearly misrepresented the facts,” said attorney Ira A. Burnim of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has committed to returning many of the approximately 3,000 special ed students currently in private placements

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else):

What makes an effective teacher?

“Teach For America” founder Wendy Kopp is going to Capitol Hill later today to explain the qualities that her organization believes make the most effectivev teachers in low-income communities.

Teach For America is a nonprofit organization that recruits newly graduated college students to spend two years teaching in low-income schools around the country. It’s been doing it for 20 years.

Using test score data, the organization has determined that effective teachers are those that employ the same strategies as successful leaders in any field--not specifically a classroom.

continue reading this post »

Class Struggle - Mr. Obama: Kill NCLB

Class Struggle- Mr. Obama: Kill NCLB:

"The anniversary of the signing of the No Child Left Behind last Friday reminded me that my long support for that landmark bipartisan law needs revision. The law has served its purpose. Instead of amending it, as the Obama administration and the Congress seem likely to do, let's dump it and try something different.

I wouldn't make such a radical suggestion if I didn't think the law's main elements would survive without it. All the states have been forced to establish annual testing that identifies which schools are not serving their students, particularly those with family and personal disadvantages. Any politician who tries to junk those tests is going to lose the next election to an opponent who asks the simple question: 'Don't you think our schools should be accountable?'"

Controversial sweetener removed from SFUSD chocolate milk

The controversial sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) will be removed from the chocolate milk provided in San Francisco Unified School District cafeterias as of the first week in February. Berkeley Farms, the dairy that supplies milk to SFUSD, agreed to reformulate the chocolate milk in response to repeated requests from SFUSD Student Nutrition Director Ed Wilkins.

There's lots of controversy about offering chocolate milk in cafeterias to begin with, but the use of HFCS inflamed the debate still more. It's widely believed that HFCS is more harmful than other sweeteners and that its effects on the body may be to blame for the obesity crisis, though the science doesn't unambiguously back that up.

"While we continue to have concerns about the milk having too much added sweetener in general, at least the concerns related specifically to HFCS have been eliminated," says

CPS' Project Protection: Hire citizen safety patrols :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

CPS' Project Protection: Hire citizen safety patrols :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education:

"The most dangerous stretches of streets around 12 Chicago public schools will be protected by the 'eyes and ears' of paid citizen safety patrols under one phase of a $60 million anti-violence campaign unveiled Tuesday.
Such groups also will be called upon to function as paid, pseudo 'truancy officers,' visiting the homes of truant kids at 38 of the system's most violent schools to find out why students are cutting school."
Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman made clear Tuesday he is reaching out to the community for help -- and offering jobs amid a dour economy in return -- as he filled in some details of an anti-violence plan sketched out in September.
A centerpiece is a "probability model" that identified 1,200 students as being at high risk of being shot, and pinpointed 200 of them as being at "ultra high risk."
Less than halfway into the school year, Huberman said, 50 percent of the ultra-high risk kids have stopped coming to school. And, he said, of the 102 CPS students shot this school year, 40 percent were among those at high risk or more of such a fate.
Under the plan -- bankrolled with two consecutive years of $30 million in federal stimulus dollars -- this school year $18 million will be focused on the 38 high schools with the biggest violence problems and plans their administrators and other have written to create a "culture of calm" on their campuses, Huberman said.

Phila. teachers union boosts Pa. chances for grant | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/13/2010

Phila. teachers union boosts Pa. chances for grant | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/13/2010:

"Pennsylvania's bid to get up to $400 million in federal stimulus money to boost public education has been significantly improved with a pledge by Philadelphia's teachers union to help implement the comprehensive reform plan and with its endorsement by the state's largest teachers union.

The $4 billion federal Race to the Top program, which Pennsylvania wants a piece of, was part of the economic stimulus act passed last year. States seeking a share of first-round awards must apply by Tuesday; initial grants will be announced in April, with another round later this year. New Jersey is also applying."

Texas braces for fight over social studies lessons - Yahoo! News

Texas braces for fight over social studies lessons - Yahoo! News:

"AUSTIN, Texas – Parents, teachers and activists will sound off Wednesday on how history — topics from the fall of the Roman Empire to Texas cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash — will be taught to millions of Texas children for the next decade.

The State Board of Education begins hearing testimony, before a tentative vote this week on new social studies curriculum standards that will serve as the framework in Texas classrooms. But, as usual in votes before the conservative-led board, the wide-reaching guidelines are full of potential ideological flashpoints.

Early quibbles over how much prominence to give civil rights leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall, and the inclusion of Christmas seem to have been smoothed over in the draft now being considered. But board members are crafting dozens of amendments to be raised for consideration before the tentative vote, expected Thursday. The 15-member board won't adopt final standards until March."

With stimulus funds gone, Mass. schools brace for deep cuts - The Boston Globe

With stimulus funds gone, Mass. schools brace for deep cuts - The Boston Globe:

"School administrators across the state are crafting bleak budgets for the next school year and warning of steep cutbacks, including teacher layoffs, to cope with a probable sharp drop in funding from Beacon Hill and dwindling federal stimulus money.

Though schools grappled with thinned-down budgets last year, they got relief from a massive infusion of federal education dollars that is now all but spent, and officials are bracing for cuts that go deep into the classroom."

‘Baby Einstein’ Co-Founder Goes to Court Over TV Studies - NYTimes.com

‘Baby Einstein’ Co-Founder Goes to Court Over TV Studies - NYTimes.com:

"A co-founder of the company that created the “Baby Einstein” videos has asked a judge to order the University of Washington to release records relating to two studies that linked television viewing by young children to attention problems and delayed language development."

“All we’re asking for is the basis for what the university has represented to be groundbreaking research,” the co-founder, William Clark, said in a statementMonday. “Given that other research studies have not shown the same outcomes, we would like the raw data and analytical methods from the Washington studies so we can audit their methodology, and perhaps duplicate the studies, to see if the outcomes are the same."
Mr. Clark said that he had been seeking the information for years, but that the university had either denied his requests or failed to be fully responsive.
A spokesman for the university said its lawyers had not yet read the complaint and could not comment on the complaint.

Poison school pills - NYPOST.com

Will the Legislature do what's needed to qualify New York for some of the $4 billion in Race for the Top funds?

After months of wrangling, Albany will decide sometime in a 90-minute window on Tuesday, between 3 p.m., when the state Senate reconvenes, and 4:30 p.m., when the state's application is due in Washington, DC.

The federal competition will likely be won only by states that have adopted several education reforms that teachers unions hate, including good charter-school laws and the use of student-achievement data in evaluating teacher performance.

Amid the last-minute brinkmanship in Albany, the New York State United Teachers and its allies, including the so-called Alliance for Quality Education, are trying to insert poison pills into the deal.

Even in Albany, where few things truly shock anymore, NYSUT's brazen cynicism is raising eyebrows:

* NYSUT is trying to reopen the mayoral-control debate, settled last year after tortuous negotiations, by pushing to remove Mayor Bloomberg's authority to locate charter schools in Department of Education facilities.

As the union knows full well, ending co-locations would leave Bloomberg unable to fulfill his pledge to create 100 charter schools in New York City over the next four years.

The Legislature should simply declare the topic of co-location settled and move on.

New York City charter schools need to focus on the neediest

Most of New York City's 99 charter schools, which enroll 30,000 students, have gotten superior results on state tests. It is important to understand why many of them perform so well, since Mayor Bloomberghas promised to double the number of charters over the next four years.

Last fall, a report by economist Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University hailed the city's charter schools and suggested that any student who attended a charter school for nine years would be almost as well educated as a student in well-heeled Scarsdale. A new study by economistMargaret Raymond of Stanford has confirmed that many of the city's charter schools get higher test scores. Raymond found that 51% of New York City charters produced significant gains in math, but only 29% did so in reading.

Union president makes new proposals for teacher evaluations, discipline - washingtonpost.com

Union president makes new proposals for teacher evaluations, discipline - washingtonpost.com:

"The president of the nation's second-largest teachers union on Tuesday proposed a new way to incorporate student test scores into teacher evaluations and said she has asked a well-known mediator to develop methods of expediting disciplinary cases against teachers.

Randi Weingarten of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers gave a speech in downtown Washington that union officials described as a major effort to address flash points in labor-management relations."