Thursday, March 4, 2010

This Week In Education

News: Possible Compromise In Central Falls

by Alexander Russo

Rhode Island school nears compromise on mass teacher firings Nick Anderson WP: The instructors have offered support for a longer school day, as well as more rigorous evaluations and training, among other steps.

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Teacher firings ripple past Central Falls’ border Boston Globe: Boarded-up tenements are common, the main park is marred by X-rated and other offensive graffiti, and many of the narrow, crowded streets in the state’s smallest and poorest city are riddled with potholes.
Union Victory in L.A. Schools Showdown Ups Ante LA Times: After edging out charter operators in a high-profile contest to manage 30 schools, the teachers’ union is now under pressure to deliver.

Duncan Covers Familiar Territory in ESEA hearing Politics K12: Not only were there no new specifics, there were very few new phrases from the secretary.
Click below for a few more headlines.
House approves bill to limit physical restraint of students Nick Anderson WP: The House approved a bill Wednesday to limit the physical restraint and seclusion of students in schools, a response to an investigation last year that found numerous reports of students abused or killed through such disciplinary measures.

Teachers Feel Ignored In Education Debate NPR: The survey "Primary Sources: America's Teachers on America's Schools" asked some 40,000 U.S. public school teachers for their opinions on testing, merit pay and other issues. The results show many teachers feel ignored in the debate over how to improve America's schools.
3 LA teachers removed over choice of black heroes Cristina Hoag AP: Three Los Angeles elementary school teachers accused of giving children portraits of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul to carry in a Black History Month parade have been removed from their classrooms, a school district spokeswoman said Wednesday.
High School Cancels DMX's Church Fundraiser TMZ: DMX's upcoming "gospel rap extravaganza" at an Arizona high school was just canceled three days before it was set to go off ... and it's all because the school just realized the arrest plagued rapper was involved.
First lady tours Miss. schools to tout health Shelia Byrd, Associated Press: First lady Michelle Obama visited Jackson, Miss. Wednesday and watched children play on swings and a jungle gym at a school whose programs have been lauded for fighting obesity by keeping kids active.

Rise & Shine: In digital era, few schools still taking class pictures | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: In digital era, few schools still taking class pictures

by Philissa Cramer

Even before the end of kindergarten registration, some popular schools are already full. (Daily News)
The custodian at Thurgood Marshall Academy is accused of embezzling $30,000. (Daily News, Post)
Budget watchdog Charles Brecher: NYC should “stop paying teachers who do not teach.” (Daily News)
Page Six questions why the Times’ Diane Ravitch article didn’t mention her ex-husband, Richard. (Post)
A handful of city public schools are among the holdouts who haven’t given up class pictures. (Times)
New York is not likely to be among the first-round Race to the Top winners announced today. (Post)
Chicago is making space at elite schools for top students from struggling schools. (Chicago Sun-Times)
The Obama Administration appears to be starting with a blank slate in rewriting NCLB. (Times)
The House approved a bill that would limit some forms of physical discipline in schools. (Times)
A national survey found that students are reporting a big drop in bullying. (Wall Street Journal)
Officials and teachers in Central Falls, R.I., have agreed to restart negotiations. (Providence Journal, AP)

Statewide Protests March Forward - The Daily Californian

Across the state of California, students, teachers, professors and unions will demonstrate today in order to convince lawmakers and the public to invest in public education.

In the past six months, UC Berkeley has been an important hub of activism against state divestment in the UC system, as well as public education in general. Today's statewide day of action marks the first time a statewide day of protest will incorporate people from across California in support of the broader cause of public education, from Kindergarten through doctoral program.

In addition to rallies at other university campuses, community colleges and cities throughout the state, the day's events include a rally on the steps of the state Capitol in Sacramento and a protest in front of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office in San Diego.

"(March 4) is the moment where everybody understands the importance of the idea of a public education," said Kevin Wehr, an assistant professor of sociology at Sacramento State University who has been helping to organize the rally in Sacramento. "We have gotten to the crisis point and people are finally paying attention."

The lack of a singular authority coordinating events has meant that various groups will be taking different approaches toward reaching their respective goals. But one area of agreement is the need to "defend" public education.

Involving the largest possible number of people in the day's

Campus to restart streaming of instructional video content / UCLA Newsroom

Campus to restart streaming of instructional video content

By Phil Hampton March 03, 2010

UCLA is taking steps to restore the streaming of previously purchased instructional content behind password-protected course websites, a practice the campus believes is permitted under various provisions in the federal Copyright Act.

Campus officials temporarily suspended the practice in January as a good-faith gesture while UCLA attempted to resolve a copyright claim with a trade association. After carefully reviewing options and implications, UCLA has notified the Association for Information Media and Equipment (AIME) that it intends to restore the service.

"Course instruction long ago ceased to be bound by the walls of the classroom, and we are obligated to provide students with appropriate instructional content in whatever medium helps to foster an effective learning environment," said Jim Davis, UCLA vice provost for information technology and chief academic technology officer. "We're well aware the outcome of this dispute could affect other educational institutions, and it's important that UCLA take a leadership role and demonstrate just how critical the appropriate use of technology is to our educational mission."

Campus officials say the instructional uses in which UCLA engages are permitted under the fair-use limitation on the exclusive rights of a copyright owner. For example, UCLA's practices are consistent with landmark court rulings that allowed video recording of television programs for viewing at a later date (so-called "time-shifting") and the transfer of musical content from one device to another ("space-shifting").

The safe harbor of the TEACH Act, which permits transmissions of content for educational purposes, and the face-to-face exemption of the Copyright Act also support UCLA's uses.

Campus officials estimate that streamed content will return to course websites during the 2010 spring quarter. Faculty are first being asked to specify the educational purpose of making videos available as part of their instruction.

"While we believe our previous protocols were consistent with applicable laws, this modification provides an extra layer of assurance and transparency so that we can resume streaming videos as soon as possible rather than prolonging the impact

Students Storm Sac | City on a Hill Press

“Are you fired up?”

Hundreds of demonstrators on the north steps of the Capitol building echoed a response to this galvanizing inquiry: “We’re fired up!”
As the 66th California State Assembly speaker was sworn into office on Monday, student protesters literally made their voices heard in the halls of the state Capitol.
“While we appointed a new assembly speaker we could hear you,” California Labor Federation secretary and treasurer Arch Palaski told City on a Hill Press in reference to the demonstrators. “Your voice is being heard.”
Monday, March 1 was Lobby Day at the Capitol, where chancellors and students advocated for higher education. This day kicked off a week of action in defense of public education, and was a precursor to a statewide strike on Thursday, March 4.
The March for Higher Education on Thursday is a “K through Ph.D.” action that will include University of California students as well as all members of the California education system.

UC President Mark Yudof and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal accompanied student lobbyists to meetings with members of the legislature throughout the day.
Though Monday’s activities were focused on lobbying, student demonstrators rallied both inside and outside the Capitol. One demonstration, a sit-in at the office of Assemblyman Jim Neilson (R-Yuba City), resulted in the arrest of five UC students.
Second-year Gabi Kirk, one of three UCSC students among the five UC students arrested, described the scene as nonaggressive.
“The coolest thing for me was how beautifully calm and peaceful it was,” Kirk said. “Protests don’t need to be loud and in-your-face — sometimes they can involve students sitting in business suits in an office reading books.”
The five students were arrested for assembling without a permit, and were

Opinion: When “Done” is not enough

The administration and faculty at the University of California San Diego began the year as they always do, looking inwards. This year, plans were begun to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the campus. Those plans have been diminished if not scuttled by this very public airing of what is its unfinished business.

The spontaneous protests led by African-American students this week demonstrates the presence of racial and class tensions present at all levels on the La Jolla campus that have been left unaddressed ever since the university’s founding.

The protests and subsequent demands were in response to two racially-charged incidents propagated by fellow students: one on campus and one off campus. A UCSD-authorized fraternity held what they were calling “Compton Cookout” in order to grotesquely stereotype African-Americans, especially women. This was followed by an equally distasteful program on student-run television.

Noose found hanging in UCSD library

A noose was then discovered hanging in the library, and soon afterward a statue in front of the library was found with a Ku Klux Klan hood affixed to it.

The sponsors and attendees at the recent “Compton Cookout” stirred a pot much deeper than the massive reservoir of ignorance and insensitivity they displayed by hosting such a despicable event. Their boorish behavior highlights the longstanding criticism leveled at college fraternity organizations as closed, myopic societies with a long history of exclusion and anti-social behavior.

The off-campus party sponsored by a fraternity at UCSD has been roundly and rightly criticized as hate speech that creates an unhealthy environment on a campus with the worst record for diversity in the entire UC system.

Given that record, it was not surprising that the media reported that Chancellor Marye Anne Fox replied to the non-negotiable student demands with the repeated verbal statement, “Done! Done! Done!” There was no evaluation of their complaints, no community discussion, no decision of what to do with the chief instigators of the “Compton Cookout,” and no faculty or staff evaluation of the feasibility of complying with such a wide-ranging set of demands.

No, the strategy was short-termed – get the embarrassing matter off the table as quickly as possible. Regrettably,

Getting Ready to March Over Education Cuts - Bay Area Blog - NYTimes.com

Getting Ready to March Over Education Cuts

By ANNA BLOOM AND RACHEL GROSS

Anna BloomMorgan Bradley, 21, left, and Andy Johnston, 21, two fraternity brothers from Alpha Tau Omega stencil “Cal Greek” on the mural on wheels.

Ramon Quintero, a geography major at the University of California, Berkeley, hopes his 1979 Toyota mini-motor home becomes more than the place he slept in last semester to save rent money and more than just a mural on wheels.

Mr. Quintero has become somewhat well known on campus: He was arrested during Berkeley campus protests in December and the university found him affordable housing so he moved out of the vehicle. He wants his vehicle, dubbed “St. Rita,” in honor of the saint of impossible cases, to float down the streets of Sacramento, then Berkeley and finally Oakland on Thursday, sending a message of fellowship to the disparate groups around the state participating in the protest of cuts in state support for education.

Rallies and marches are planned for Thursday around the state. In the Bay Area, a march has been planned on Mission Street in San Francisco towards the Civic Center where a rally has been planned for 5 p.m. Another march along Telegraph Avenue from Berkeley to downtown Oakland begins at noon. There will also be rallies at Laney College, the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland and in Sacramento.

Organizing, at least at Berkeley, has had its own complications, including quarreling factions, last week’s violent riots as seen on YouTube and a recent history of unwieldy takeovers of campus buildings that have ended in arrests and wariness on the part of police and administrators at the University of California.

At the University of California, Santa Cruz and Laney College, one of four community colleges in the Peralta Community College District, organizers have gone to classes to give “pep talks” to students to encourage

Students Prep For Day Of Action To Protest Cuts - News Story - KTVU San Francisco

Students Prep For Day Of Action To Protest Cuts

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Rallies, marches, walkouts and other actions are planned throughout the Bay Area and the state Thursday in response to cuts to public education, including a rally that could bring thousands of people to San Francisco's Civic Center.Posted: 10:37 pm PST March 3,2010Updated: 2:58 am PST March 4,2010

In the Bay Area, thousands of people are expected to attend events in San Francisco and at UC Berkeley with additional rallies scheduled in a half-dozen other cities.

Students at De Anza College in Cupertino have put up al "tent city" to protest the state budget cuts to education. The De Anza protest started Sunday and is set to culminate with hundreds of students boarding buses Thursday morning and heading to a larger protest in San Francisco.

"I won't be able to go to a UC here in California because they're raising the tuition 32 percent. I can't afford that, so I'll have to go out of state to go to college," said De Anza student Laura Bullock.

Another student, Kenny Li also expressed his frustration.

"California was ranked top 5 in the nation three decades ago. Now we're ranked bottom five in the nation," said Li.

That frustration is shared by many students, teachers and parents involved in public education. At San Francisco's Sheridan Elementary School, students were busy making signs for Thursday's events.

"We're hoping the public education system in California will help him and other children to excel to succeed," said San Francisco resident Neil Matsui, who has a son in kindergarten.

The uncertainty over funding of public education is a strong motivator for many who plan to take part in the day of action.

"We're shortchanging the students," said third grade teacher David Scott.

No-Child Law Is a Highlight of Hearing on Education - NYTimes.com

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is presiding over the rollout of the largest competitive grant program in his department’s history, a vast expansion of the government’s direct loan program for college students and sweeping new expenditures on failing schools, teacher quality and other big initiatives.

Times Topic: No Child Left Behind Act

Everyone agrees it is a hugely ambitious agenda.

So it was not surprising that the first question Mr. Duncan faced from lawmakers on Wednesday in an appearance before Congress was whether the Obama administration would also would try this year to rewrite, or reauthorize, the main law on federal policy on public schools, No Child Left Behind.

“Every Monday or Tuesday when we come back to Congress, my colleagues come up and ask when we’re going to reauthorize, and between us, I don’t know if we have a complete answer yet,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Our position is we would really like to get this done this session of Congress.”

Is that your position? Mr. Miller then asked Mr. Duncan.

The secretary replied: “That is absolutely the goal. There is so much we can do to fix the current law.”

But questions remain. Neither the administration nor anyone in Congress has made public any new draft bill, and the ranking Republican member on the committee, Representative John Kline of Minnesota, congratulated Mr. Duncan for working with Republicans and listening to their ideas before writing one.

“Starting with a blank piece of paper is absolutely the right process,” Mr. Kline said.

Still, any effort at reauthorization beginning with a blank slate would take many months, and experts say any successful overhaul this year must culminate in August, before midterm elections gobble up the Congressional schedule. Administration officials say,

Race to Top’s $4.35 Billion Education Fund Chooses Few States - BusinessWeek

March 4 (Bloomberg) -- More than half of U.S. states won’t be in line today to receive grants from the Education Department’s $4.35 billion fund to improve student performance, Secretary Arne Duncan said.

Forty states and Washington, D.C. applied to the Race to the Top fund, the largest pool of federal discretionary education money in U.S. history. The grants, to be announced today, reward school systems for finding ways to strengthen academic standards, recruit better teachers, collect data on student performance and turn around failing schools that can be replicated across the country.

Most states won’t get any money because their proposals aren’t tough enough, Grover J. Whitehurst, who served in the Education Department under former President George W. Bush, said in an interview. Florida, Louisiana and Tennessee may prevail because of their use of technology to track student achievement over time, he said.

“Underlying the Obama administration’s specific proposals is an agenda for dramatic change of the public schools,” said Whitehurst, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, which analyzes U.S. public policy. “The reviewers will have been asking: ‘Is the state willing and able to change the status quo?’”

There will be “a lot more losers than winners,” Duncan said in testimony yesterday before the House Education and Labor Committee.

Gary Orfield: California's Charter Schools Earn a Failing Grade on Civil Rights

President Obama's education initiatives include major incentives for creating more charter schools. Policymakers at all levels of government are all currently touting charters as a big fix for our nation's troubled schools and California has made one of the deepest commitments to
charters. Before further expansion, however, Californians need to take a long look at some hard numbers.

There are, of course, some excellent and famous charter schools. In California, as well as nationwide, however, disturbing trends are emerging in charter schools where intense segregation is upending student body diversity and ignoring civil rights. Further, the lack of charter school data documenting the enrollment of English Language Learners makes it very difficult to know whether California's charter schools are equitably serving these students.

Charter schools stratify students by race, class and possibly language, and are more racially isolated than traditional public schools in virtually every state and large metropolitan area in the country, according to a report issued by the Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA. Because separate is still fundamentally unequal, and because integrated schools prepare all students to live and work in our extremely diverse state, charter school stratification matters.

The number of California students in charter schools has more than doubled from 2000-01 to 2007-08. By 2007-08, charter students accounted for 4.1 percent of all public school students in the state, higher than the national share. California has changed its law to permit rapid expansion of the state's charter sector, though the great majority of students will surely remain in regular public schools.

As in charter schools across the West and some Southern states, white students are over-represented in California's charters. More than half of California's public school students are

The Diamondback - Budget crisis: California dreaming

Budget crisis: California dreaming

By Matt Verghese

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The news coming out of California is sobering.

Fifty years after California passed the “Master Plan for Higher Education,” promising free higher education to all in-state residents, a generation of students will witness the state’s public higher education system crumble around them. Costs borne by students and their families have exploded. Academic and student services have been cut, and thousands have been simply turned away as enrollments are slashed and the admissions process becomes more competitive.

In the wake of these distressing and depressing conditions, a coalition led by students, faculty and staff has assembled in an attempt to actively resist. Holding on to no formal lever of power, the success of this unlikely alliance will be measured by the attention it brings to the rotten state of affairs in California’s higher education system. It is a system that has forsaken accessibility, crucified affordability and failed to demonstrate the long-term economic and social value of higher education; a system that continues to cling to dated ideas, refuses to innovate and sees itself losing its global competitive advantage.

California’s problems may, at first, seem irrelevant to us here in this state. Gov. Martin O’Malley has advocated for higher education. Tuition was frozen for four consecutive years and student financial assistance increased, the state’s first dedicated funding source for higher education was established and significant investments were made in community colleges. The reward for this unwavering support has been a consistent rise in rankings of public colleges and universities and national recognition for the achievements of faculty, students and administrators.

Even in the midst of a stark budget crisis, support from Annapolis has been strong. The projected tuition increase could be as little as 3 percent for in-state residents, and legislation to limit future increases and provide a permanent reserve fund for higher education will likely earn majority approval in the Maryland General Assembly.

But we cannot become complacent. Our successes are dangerously fragile and can be overturned at the ballot box in November. Former Gov. Robert Ehrlich will undoubtedly challenge O’Malley, and students should fear the prospect. Maryland Republicans, not be outdone by Ehrlich, released a budget plan that specifically cut higher education and eliminated 1,000 jobs in the University System of Maryland.

Student leadership has been disastrous. The inability of the Student Government Association to decide its position on O’Malley’s budget is embarrassing and a one-night photo opportunity in Annapolis will not correct the perception that student leaders are disconnected and ineffective. SGA President Steve Glickman may think the Higher Education Investment Fund is the snake oil solution to our higher education conundrum, but it represents only a small part of a comprehensive funding model that may cost the state more than $800 million if fully implemented.

Teachers share their views on how to improve education | eSchoolNews.com

In one of the largest national surveys of public school teachers, thousands of educators agreed that today’s students aren’t college-ready when they graduate from high school. Teachers’ suggestions for solving this problem include clear, common standards; multiple measures of student performance; and greater innovation, including differentiated instruction and more use of digital resources.
The survey, titled “Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on America’s Schools,” was commissioned by Scholastic Inc. and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and conducted by Harris Interactive. More than 40,000 public school teachers in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade participated, and the results were released March 3.
The survey focused on the state of American education, the challenges facing students, and the tools and resources teachers need to face those challenges. Teachers gave honest opinions on issues such as student achievement, performance pay, technology use, and administrative support—and some of their answers might surprise school leaders.
“Teachers are a critical part of preparing our children for the future, and their voices are an essential addition to the national debate on education,” said Margery Mayer, president of Scholastic Education, during a webcast to discuss the survey results.
The survey reveals that, while teachers have high expectations for their students, they overwhelmingly agree that too many students are leaving unprepared for success beyond high school.
Teachers were nearly unanimous in saying that a high school diploma is not enough for today’s students. Ninety-three percent of teachers said schools must prepare students for more than high school graduation; at the same time, 9 in 10 teachers said not all of their students could leave high school prepared to succeed in a two- or four-year college.
Also, only 16 percent of teachers “agree strongly” that students enter their classroom prepared for on-grade-level work.
“A lot of teachers find it difficult when student enter the classroom unprepared for their grade level,” said Andrew Liss, a seventh-grade teacher at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Edison, N.J., “because that means you have to take your foot off of the accelerator and stop and sometimes reverse. However, it’s part of a teacher’s job to differentiate instruction and help those who fall behind.”
“Even though states have standards, that doesn’t mean every school’s curriculum will be aligned with those standards,” said Cate Dossetti, a teacher at Fresno High School in California. “It also comes down to: Are you teaching children vital skills, like critical thinking, that they can take with them throughout life, or are you teaching them a finite fact to know in order to fill in the correct bubble on a standardized test?”
Other survey findings debunk several commonly held myths about teachers’ views.
For example, the survey found that while higher salaries are important, teachers said they are less important than a supportive leader. Fewer than half of teachers (45 percent) said higher

Why the Bad Teacher Narrative Does Not Help Our Students, But Fixing our Budget Process Will . Category: Reader Commentaries from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday March 04, 2010

Why the Bad Teacher Narrative Does Not Help Our Students, But Fixing our Budget Process Will. Category: Reader Commentaries from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday March 04, 2010

Why the Bad Teacher Narrative Does Not Help Our Students, But Fixing our Budget Process Will

By Tracey Iglehart

Wednesday March 03, 2010

Please help to defend public education Thursday, March 4th by rallying at 2134 MLK Jr. Way beginning at 3:3opm. As educators across the state of California plan events on March 4th to defend public education, President Obama is proudly claiming that the firing of teachers at a Rhode Island High School is sound education reform and a necessary form of accountability.

Consistently low performing public schools can be mandated to implement 1 of 4 plans to improve the school’s performance, including the firing of an entire staff and then hiring back no more than 50% of that staff.

This is what the superintendent of Central Falls High School decided to do after teachers refused to agree to a plan that would impose the following conditions on them: add 25 minutes to the school day, require teachers to provide tutoring on a rotating schedule before and after school, require teachers to eat lunch with students once a week, have teachers submit to more rigorous evaluations, attend weekly after-school planning sessions with other teachers and participate in two weeks of training in the summer.

The teachers refused because these are conditions that should be negotiated rather than imposed on them, especially since they were being mandated to do all of this with very little compensation. They are being called things like “callous”, “lazy”, and “uncaring” because they want to retain control of their working conditions in a profession, which already demands much of them.

All too often, in the conversation about our public schools, the quick fix that reformers turn to is blaming the teacher. But this bad teacher narrative is not only harmful to those of us in the business of educating; it is also harmful to those we hope will gain an education, from pre-K students all the way up to young and old adults. By demonizing teachers, we stop looking at the complex reasons that schools are failing, thus preventing us from coming up with real solutions.

In Berkeley, our educators and public health officials have come together to create the 2020 Vision, which includes 9 goals to eliminate the achievement gap we have in our Berkeley schools. Combined, these goals look at issues of poor health; poverty; youth and parent engagement; family partnerships with schools and city services; engaging curriculum and intervention; evaluation and accountability; and early childhood programs to ensure kindergarten readiness.

Youth Radio -- Youth Media International: California's Crisis: Public Education for the Privileged?

Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.

By: Nathan Hadden and Nick Belizzi

Faculty, students, and supporters of California public education will be out in force at massive statewide protests for the March 4 Day of Action to Save Public Education. A 21-year-old UC Berkeley student from a working class San Francisco Bay Area family says local communities aren't represented at the university.

As Youth Radio has been reporting, student frustration with rising tuition is at a boiling point.

This UC Berkeley junior says all the classes in her ethnic studies major are impacted, even as expensive capital projects dominate the university landscape.

Education rallying begins early as K-12 and Cabrillo officials speak - San Jose Mercury News

ANTA CRUZ - Santa Cruz County's K-12 and community college leaders gathered on the steps of the county courthouse in the rain Wednesday to build momentum for local efforts in today's day-long statewide movement to draw attention to California's education crisis.

"The future of California depends on the quality of the public education system," said Santa Cruz County Office of Education Superintendent Michael Watkins, who called on union leaders, students and superintendents to speak on how the $20 billion state budget deficit has trickled down to their districts of a few thousand students.

Last year, federal funds and district rainy day funds helped shore up several districts, including hers, said Soquel Union Elementary School District Superintendent Kathleen Howard. This year, there are no such funds, and the district will be giving preliminary pink slips to one of every four teachers in the small district.

"We have to layoff teachers because we can't guarantee their jobs," she said.

Brian King, president and superintendent of Cabrillo College, agreed with Howard, who said administrators have become de facto budget experts, rather than educators.

"We're getting too good at this budget process," he said.

Cabrillo is in its third year of cuts.

UCSC students have protested in small numbers since January against fee hikes and the loss of programs. At dawn, they plan to gather at the foot of the school, and will stay there all

day, picketing, protesting, trying to block access to the campus in the name of an education that is becoming too expensive for some.

Governor supports peaceful student protests

Governor supports peaceful student protests

On the eve of massive student protests over education funding in California today, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he is glad students are speaking out and that he believed the rallies on college and high school campuses from Eureka to San Diego would remain civil.
"I think I have enough faith in our students ... that they are going to rally and let their voices be heard and do it within the law," the governor told reporters after a meeting with administrators and students from the University of California, California State University and community colleges.
The March 4th Day of Action to Defend Public Education, as the day has been labeled, is an idea hatched last fall on the UC Berkeley campus and has gone national. Across California and in dozens of states, thousands of students, teachers, parents and employees from elementary school to graduate school will hold rallies, marches and teach-ins to draw attention to what they say is the declining quality of the nation's public education system as budgets dry up.
Schwarzenegger told those gathered at the meeting in his office that he is making it a priority to find permanent funding sources for higher education in California, and called

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/03/BAM41CAK3L.DTL#ixzz0hDDVk6PI

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