by Frederick M. Hess • May 26, 2010 at 8:52 am
Cross-posted from Education Week
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California Congresswoman Judy Chu's office has issued a fierce indictment of the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. The report, with pretensions of quasi-scholarly cred, has attracted the notice of some SIG advocates. Chu's analysis, with the assistance of a couple dozen exceptionally vague citations, argues, "Instead of providing teachers and administrators with the tools necessary to build better schools, the [SIG] models deprive schools with the flexibility necessary to respond to the specific needs of their students." Chu references the Commission on No Child Left Behind approvingly, arguing that the Commission "has asserted that it is critical to fully understand and to comprehensively address students' behavioral, social, and emotional needs as well as their academic needs," and she argues that any such effort should precede "punitive" measures.
Chu wants us to back off the teachers and to promote the "bigger and bolder" crowd's call for increased attention to the students' mental health, community engagement, and so on. In her own words, "Research has shown that the environment a child grows up in will have a powerful influence on how they will approach school. Support and wraparound services for children not only have to be provided, they have to be integrated into a
The standards for math and reading are part of a national effort.
Maybe it’s the advent of spring, or the promise of prom, but more students are engaging in public displays of affection at school--and it isn’t only the adults in the building who are getting embarrassed and annoyed. Kids are complaining that their friends are grossing them out. Where should the line be drawn?
Impose transparency on the holistic system used by selective colleges--a subjective judgment based on several factors--and the result is no less maddening. The admissions office would have to issue statements like "the candidate's extracurricular involvements were not as intense and her teacher recommendations not as impressive as those of candidates we accepted."
Maryland Superintendent of Schools Nancy S. Grasmick (AP).
Prospects for school funding help wilt in U.S. Senate Reuters: Senator Tom Harkin said on Tuesday he would drop plans to attach a $23 billion public education fund to a supplemental defense spending bill, bowing to Republican opposition and procedural complications... Virginia may pass on U.S. education grant contest Richmond Times Dispatch: A major factor in the state's deliberation on whether to reapply for grant money is the Obama administration's push for states to adopt common national standards in reading and math... Education" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/us/26brfs-BOARDAPPROVE_BRF.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">Board Approves Reinstating Teachers NYT: The board of the Central Falls School District approved an agreement on Tuesday to allow teachers at a troubled high school to keep their jobs after all of them were fired... Deal reached to end Hawaii school furloughs AP: Gov. Linda Lingle and the state's political leaders ended the state's infamous school furloughs Tuesday, grabbing hold of a serendipitous deal that involves a $10 million bank loan and forces no one to give ground... Virginia to Expand Post-High School Tracking EdWeek: The state's massive data system would link to college and workforce data through a $17.5 million federal stimulus grant...
Recently, Teresa Ghilarducci wrote an interesting article concerning teacher bashing in which she made the cogent observation that “Attacking your workforce is not an effective way to improve quality, produce a better product, and attract top talent—a bright young replacement would notice the disrespect. So why do people think attacking teachers is a route to education reform” (http://chronicle.com/blogAuthor/Brainstorm/3/Teresa-Ghilarducci/85/)?
She was responding to Stephen Brill’s article attacking teacher unions and the tenure system for ruining America’s public education system while glorifying the virtues of charter schools and claiming, in essence, that the only thing that matters in education is good teachers. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Race-t.html)
After reading Ms Ghilarducci’s article, I realized that while she attained her goal of very effectively demolishing Brill’s argument concerning the effectiveness of charter schools, there was much more that should be noted.
Like Ms Ghilarducci, I, too, agree that teacher quality matters. That is axiomatic. The real problems lie with attracting and retaining high quality teachers. Charter schools have not succeeded any better than have the public schools in attracting and retaining high quality teachers as demonstrated by their failure to out perform the public schools in significantly improved student achievements as compared to those obtained by the traditional public schools.
I tried to add to Ms Ghilarducci’s analysis when I discussed this with my correspondents on e-mail.
This is what I wrote. I am adding a few extra comments and some editorial changes.
For more years than I care to remember, the far right developed a mantra that seems to have permeated our society which refuses to take responsibility for its
 Ericka Huggins holds up a plaque dedicated to her late husband, John J. Huggins Jr., one of two Black Panther members killed in a UCLA classroom in 1969. (Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times / May 26, 2010) |
A UCLA history class studying the 1960s was stunned to learn recently that a violent incident in the black power movement had occurred on the Westwood campus and that there was nothing to mark it.
So they and their instructor set out to memorialize two UCLA students, both Black Panther Partymembers, who were shot to death in Campbell Hall on Jan. 17, 1969, in an alleged dispute over leadership in a fledgling black studies program.
On Tuesday, two plaques honoring Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John J. Huggins Jr. as social justice advocates were unveiled in a Campbell Hall ceremony attended by relatives of the slain men, among others.
The deaths continue to generate debate about Black Panther power struggles and the motives of those involved. The alleged gunman, Claude "Chuchessa" Hubert, was never apprehended. Two brothers, George and Larry Stiner, were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and second-degree murder for their involvement; both received life sentences. They escaped from prison in 1974. Larry Stiner lived as a fugitive in Suriname for 20 years and then surrendered. His brother remains a fugitive.
The state Board of Education on Monday voted to gut its limits on class sizes over the next year in response to a deepening school budget crisis that has already forced thousands of teacher layoffs and shorter school years across the state.
The move prompted criticism among a majority of candidates for governor, especially Democrats in hot competition for the public school constituency.
But Republicans were decidedly split in their reactions — Karen Handel and John Oxendine called it was a bad idea, Nathan Deal described himself as “disappointed,” Jeff Chapman declared it “the best thing,” and Eric Johnson said “vouchers.”
We asked the major candidates to send us a paragraph or so of commentary on the topic. In alphabetical order:
DEMOCRATS
Attorney General Thurbert Baker:
“For a decade, our leaders have been on a spending spree with a credit card. Now the bill has come due, but instead of cutting government waste to pay for their spending, the politicians are cutting education, just like they always do. Education is the last
New Jesey is extending the deadline for school districts to appy for the $400 million education reform fund, 'Race to the Top'.
TRENTON — New Jersey’s second attempt to win up to $400 million for education reform through the federal Race to the Top competition will have the support of at least 290 school districts, but it remains unclear if the state’s largest teachers unions will sign on.
The state Department of Education released figures today showing 292 "local educational agencies," which include school districts and charter schools, endorsed the application for the competitive grant program, which provides money for innovative educational improvement. There are about 600 school districts statewide.
The state’s application includes a provision for teacher merit pay based on student achievement.
Last week, Deputy Education Commissioner Willa Spicer guaranteed a minimum of $100,000 to participating districts if the state’s grant application is accepted.
"We are nowhere near our final number," education department spokesman Alan Guenther said. "We expect to continue to receive (memorandums) throughout the week."
The state’s first Race to the Top application, filed in January, included 378
The May revision of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget proposal includes an additional $2.5 billion reduction to public school funding, on top of $17 billion in cuts over the past two years.
The human cost of these cuts is staggering. Across the state, the ability of teachers to deliver quality education is being drastically compromised. Many thousands of teachers and support personnel will have to seek other employment. Class sizes are skyrocketing. School librarians and school nurses are becoming scarce. Fewer janitors must rotate classrooms to clean instead of cleaning nightly. Art, music and adult education programs are being eliminated.
Students don't get a second chance at second grade. They should have the attention of a teacher when they need it. But when there are 29 other kids who need attention, instead of 19, that becomes difficult. Any adult who has attempted to take care of this many children knows each additional child matters in the effort to maintain order, let alone ensure that learning can occur.
This spiraling catastrophe's origins predate the recession. The recession has simply provided a tipping point.
California is becoming a much more unequal place. The wealthiest 1 percent of Californians, who earn at least $400,000 per year, now take home one-quarter of the state's income. This compares with 15 years ago, when the same demographic group received 13 percent. But the poorest one-fifth of California's
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