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Monday, June 21, 2010

Teachers, city reach extra-hour agreement Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

Teachers, city reach extra-hour agreement

By James Vaznis
Globe Staff / June 21, 2010
Boston school officials announced yesterday that they had reached a tentative agreement with the teachers’ union on a plan to overhaul the city’s 12 underperforming schools, in a new state negotiating process that attempted to resolve a divisive battle over compensating teachers for working extra hours.
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The agreement calls for having teachers work about an extra hour a day, equaling 190 hours over the school year, while paying them an extra $4,100 a year. The pay rate is less than half what the union sought, but greater than what Superintendent Carol R. Johnson initially proposed: no extra pay at all.
The agreement includes a number of other proposals, such as using MCAS results to finan cially reward teachers whose students raise their academic performance.
High school teachers will also be judged on student attendance and graduation rates.
Johnson and Mayor Thomas M. Menino issued statements praising the agreement as a strong step forward in overhauling the schools’ instruction and

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

Teachers, city reach extra-hour agreement

Boston school officials announced yesterday that they had reached a tentative agreement with the teachers’ union on a plan to overhaul the city’s 12 underperforming schools, in a new state negotiating process that attempted to resolve a divisive battle over compensating teachers for working extra hours. (By James Vaznis, Globe Staff)

NIH to examine payback on research grants

The National Institutes of Health spends more than $21 billion a year on research grants, much of it going to Massachusetts scientists. But it’s unclear how much benefit all this taxpayer spending brings. (By Karen Weintraub, Globe Correspondent)

The agony of a girl who just wanted to fit in

Lexi was new to school and intent on being accepted. Then the pictures surfaced and the torment began. It wasn’t a bullying case where the fault was always obvious, or the school failed to react. It was one that shows the grave complexity of this threat to teen life and how hard it can be to combat. (By Jenna Russell, Globe Staff)

Urban schools are focus of BC gift

Boston College will launch an innovative training program for school principals in January to improve urban education and prepare more low-income students for college, with a $20 million donation from Fidelity vice chairman Peter Lynch and his wife, Carolyn. (By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff)

Case deepens immigration debate

CAMBRIDGE — The memory is a blurry snapshot in his mind. Eric Balderas was 4 years old, curled up under covers on a raft. He could see the sun poking through the sky, hear whispers above him, and feel the swell of the Rio Grande below. (By Maria Sacchetti, Globe Staff)

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Some Useful Oil Spill Links | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Some Useful Oil Spill Links | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

School is first to dump principal and teachers | California Watch

School is first to dump principal and teachers | California Watch

School is first to dump principal and teachers

Come September, a school in the northern shadows of San Diego that has been plagued with low test scores will dump its principal and the majority of its teachers.
The Escondido Union School District announced last week that Felicita Elementary, a 700-student school on the state's list of persistently underperforming campuses, will overhaul its leadership and teaching staff as it applies for up to $2 million in federal funds earmarked to support education reform.
Escondido joins Santa Ana and San Bernardino as the only districts so far to agree to the state's voluntary education reforms – measures which have sparked debate among some. The reforms, which include such ideas as school closure or converting the campus into a charter, are linked to the acceptance of federal School Improvement Grants.
Of the 188 schools on the state list, only 17 have agreed to try the reforms. Felicita will be one of the first to

California Watch launches Politics Verbatim

One of the most gratifying things about California Watch is the speed at which we can embrace innovation. And then go for it.
Today, we’re unveiling a website built by our own Chase Davis called Politics Verbatim. This new site will attempt to track every quote, promise and statement made by our two major candidates for governor in California – Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman.

Slate cards influence outcome of state schools chief race

Tony Quinn, co-editor of California Target and one of the most knowledgeable analysts of politics in the state, has an explanation for how a virtual unknown – Larry Aceves – came out as the top vote getter in the first round of the race for state Superintendent of Public Instruction.
A decisive factor, he says, were privately funded, and unofficial, slate cards many voters received in the mail,

Escondido changes checkpoints' name, not procedures

Only one city in California conducts checkpoints solely to catch unlicensed drivers.
And now even Escondido, a city of 130,000 north of San Diego, has announced it will no longer conduct the controversial roadway operations, which critics called discriminatory against Hispanics.
But that’s unlikely to change how the police department’s traffic division operates. The North County Timesreported on Friday that Escondido Police Chief Jim Maher ended those specific checkpoints earlier this year.
In December, the American Civil Liberties Union’s chapters in San Diego and Imperial counties sent a letter to the Escondido city attorney arguing the driver’s license-only checkpoints violate California law.
The city, however, will continue to check driver’s licenses in the course of searching out other offenses – altering

Sacramento Press / Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom

Sacramento Press / Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom

This weekend was the 9th Annual Juneteenth: A Celebration of Freedom honoring the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. It marked freedom from slavery for African Americans.
Locally to honor the occasion there was a one-mile run/walk event, a parade, Community Soldier Awards, a talent show, historical re-enactments, a fishing derby for kids and a gospel extravaganza on Sunday.
I spent a couple of hours at Juneteenth on Sunday. Here's some shots of my time there:

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued his official Emancipation Proclamation, which contrary to popular belief did not immediately free a single slave. The President had no power against the Constitution, and the USA was, and still is, governed by the rule of law. However, the Emancipation Proclamation had two effects. First, it disrupted agricultural economies as slaves fled the plantations, and second, it contributed to the collapse of the Confederate states. Without support from the British and French, the Confederacy collapsed on April 9, 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant. The remaining Confederate armies surrendered later in the month. Only five days after the collapse on April 14, President Lincoln was shot and then died the following day.
On June 19, 1865, the Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas announcing the war had ended, and all those enslaved were now free! From that moment in Galveston, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day had spread across the United States and beyond. Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.
At long last the rule of law was changed. On December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment’s completion of ratification prohibiting slavery to the U.S. Bill of Rights was implemented.
Today, Juneteenth’s national celebrations focus on African American freedom while encouraging self-development and respect for all cultures. In recent years, an increasing number of Juneteenth organizations have risen to take their place alongside older organizations with the mission to promote and cultivate knowledge and appreciation of African American history and heritage. As they continue to take on a more national and even global perspective, the events of 1865 in Texas are not only remembered, but celebrated.
SacPress Photos | Kati Garner

A Struggle to Educate the Severely Disabled Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times

New York University’s school in  Abu Dhabi will be downtown until 2014, when an island campus is expected to be completed.
Erin Callihan/NYU Abu Dhabi
New York University’s school in Abu Dhabi will be downtown until 2014, when an island campus is expected to be completed.
The new four-year university in Abu Dhabi drew more than 9,000 applicants and has accepted fewer than 200.
COMMENCEMENT SPEECHES
Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the commencement address at St. Lawrence University.

Wisdom of Leaders, Dreamers and an Expert at Kissing

A sampling of what was said to the graduates of 2010 in commencement addresses across the country.
Donovan Forde, left, is visited by his mother, Michelle Forde, and half-brother, Zion, at a nursing facility in New York.

A Struggle to Educate the Severely Disabled

School districts try to balance instruction in functional skills and academics with providing custodial care.

City Opens East Side’s First New Public School Building in 50 Years

East Side Middle School, which shares a plot with a new high-rise apartment building, will help relieve overcrowding.

Stimulus surge in store for Sacramento region - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

Stimulus surge in store for Sacramento region - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

Stimulus surge in store for Sacramento region

Published: Monday, Jun. 21, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Less than half of the $1.1 billion in stimulus money destined for the Sacramento area has been spent – meaning the federal government will play a significant role in propping up the local economy for years to come.
Money has been rolling slowly into the region for the past 16 months, part of an estimated $85


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/21/2836494/stimulus-surge-in-store-for-sacramento.html#ixzz0rUKzZL1T

School cuts postponed

The first stimulus dollars spent were awarded for "fiscal stabilization" – plugging state and local government deficits. The lion's share of that money went to school districts.
Local districts regionwide would have had fewer teachers, more-crowded classrooms and fewer academic offerings this past year without the $158 million they received in stimulus funding.
Elk Grove Unified got the most, about $21 million
"We've faced $100 million in budget reductions over a three-year period, and we're trying to keep people in place as long as possible," said Elk Grove Unified spokeswoman Elizabeth Graswich.
Sacramento City Unified used $19.2 million in stimulus dollars over the past year to shore up its budget. San Juan Unified received and spent $17.3 million.
With that stimulus money now gone, most districts are making cuts, particularly to teacher pay and benefits.
"In the absence of the stimulus, they've had to turn to concessions from the unions," said Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David Gordon.
O'Keefe said the federal money simply delayed by a year the school cuts playing out now. Michael agreed, but said that isn't a bad thing: While it lasted, the stimulus money helped a lot of kids and paid school workers, letting them continue to spend.
The rest of the stimulus money spent so far – about $170 million – has gone to a hodgepodge of


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/06/21/2836494/stimulus-surge-in-store-for-sacramento.html#ixzz0rUKsWqoH

Education | Washington educators, leaders aim for progress with new tribal curriculum | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Washington educators, leaders aim for progress with new tribal curriculum | Seattle Times Newspaper

Washington educators, leaders aim for progress with new tribal curriculum

As part of a 2005 law that encourages Washington school districts to teach the history and culture of Washington tribes, a partnership of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, tribes and school districts has developed a tribal sovereignty curriculum that will be available to all teachers this fall.
Seattle Times education reporter
Selected goals of tribal-sovereignty curriculum
Elementary school:
• Understand that there are more than 500 independent tribal nations and that they deal with the United States and one another on a government-to-government basis.
• Define tribal sovereignty as "a way that tribes govern themselves in order to keep and support their cultural ways of life."
• Identify the names and locations of tribes in their area.
Middle school:
• Understand that under the U.S. Constitution, treaties are "the supreme law of the land."
• Understand that tribes are subject to federal law and taxes, as well as some state regulations.
• Understand that levels of sovereignty vary from tribe to tribe and that there are continued threats to tribal sovereignty.
High school:
• Recognize landmark court decisions and legislation bearing on tribal sovereignty.
• Understand that tribal sovereignty works toward protecting tribes' ways of life and toward the development of their nations.
• Explain the governmental structure of at least one tribe in their community.
Source: Since Time Immemorial — Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum
Tribal-sovereignty workshops
In August, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is offering free teacher-training workshops:
Aug. 2: Squaxin Tribe's Little Creek Hotel, Kamilche
Aug. 3: Suquamish Tribe's Kiana Lodge, Poulsbo
Aug. 4: Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Community Center, Sequim
Aug. 9: Muckleshoot Tribal School, Auburn
Aug. 11: Tulalip Tribes' Administration Building, Marysville
Aug. 16: Kalispel Tribe's Northern Quest Hotel, Airway Heights
Aug. 18: Heritage University, Toppenish
Information
Contact the Indian Education Office at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 360-725-6160.
This is part of an occasional series highlighting promising programs, creative teachers and life inside local classrooms.
KINGSTON, Kitsap County — Randi Purser stands before a group of middle-school students, a dozen woodcarving tools spread before her. As she explains why she started carving a few years ago, she interweaves the history and culture of her tribe, whose reservation is just down the road from Kingston Middle School.
She tells the students how Suquamish tribal members once carved everything from totem poles to boxes and tools. How she dives for geoducks to make a living, under her tribe's treaty rights.
Purser's visit isn't just a one-shot glimp

Schools Matter: From the Asinine File...

Schools Matter: From the Asinine File...

From the Asinine File...


Here’s the context: While discussing the proposed tightening of regulation of Wall Street, [Mayor Bloomberg] noted that some of the union protesters who staged a rally against budget cuts this week outside City Hall had railed about “getting even with bankers.”
The mayor suggested that since taxes from Wall Street earnings and bonuses pay for their salaries, “our

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

Deep pockets

When Diane Ravitch, was asked whether the Kauffman Foundation’s plan to start a charter school is a positive development, she quipped in an e-mail message to Edweek:
“And what will they prove? That lots of resources make a difference and that every school should have someone with deep pockets to keep classes small and keep the school well-supplied with the best of everything...If they succeed, perhaps they will prove that we should do the same for every school.”
TFA grad, Marguerite
"My students need experienced teachers who know what works and can implement it effectively.