Chicago school boss Ron Huberman has ordered the heat turned off inside Whittier School field house in an attempt to freeze neighborhood parents out of a building they've been occupying for nearly a month, round the clock to prevent demolition. The gas shutoff left the field house without heat or hot water, just as night

Technology opens students, teachers to new avenues for learning - The Boston Globe

Technology opens students, teachers to new avenues for learning

October 5, 2010

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WOULD encourage Carlo Rotella (“Tuition lost on the techno-dependent,’’ Op-ed, Sept. 27) to explore Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a process of making course concepts accessible and skills attainable regardless of learning style or physical or sensory abilities. I can tell readers what students are paying for at Lesley University: faculty who design and deliver information and offer various ways to represent essential course concepts using the available technology, from laptops to iPods; faculty who know how to get students to participate by encouraging them to use cellphones to respond to a discussion

How CSU judges itself with a controversial student test | California Watch

How CSU judges itself with a controversial student test

by Louis Freedberg

Louis Freedberg

More than 200 colleges across the country, including all California State University campuses, have been using a controversial technique to judge the effectiveness of college instruction on student performance.

For the past three years, CSU's 23 campuses have participated in a little-publicized project using the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which employs a "value-added" approach to measuring students' abilities on a range o

Los Angeles, Shasta counties get federal funds to cut sodium

by Joanna Lin

Joanna Lin

Two California counties will receive more than $775,000 in federal funding to reduce sodium intake in their communities, particularly at restaurants and schools.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday announced $1.9 million in grants for sodium-reduction initiatives, including $363,366 to

Insider blog tracks public salaries, from city clerks to governors

by Agustin Armendariz

Agustin Armendariz

A blog catering to private investigators has compiled an impressive list of links to various sources of public employee salary data around the country.

In the wake of the salary scandal in Bell, uncovered by the Los Angeles Times in June, state officials have called

After allegations, reconstructing Whitman's immigration stance

by Chase Davis

Chase Davis

New allegations this week that Meg Whitman employed an illegal immigrant housekeeper for nine years have sent reporters and political operatives scrambling to find foot-in-mouth moments from her vocal, hard-line stance on immigration.

You can read more about the allegations here.

Video: Hating On Urban Prep - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Video: Hating On Urban Prep

by Alexander Russo

Is it possible that all of us who've bashed Urban Prep for its ridiculous string of great press and its 100 percent graduation rate just haters? It's worth considering, if just for a moment. There's an awful habit in education (and other fields) of tearing down other peoples' success and making excuses for our own weaknesses -- and comparing things to the ideal rather than the real. What if Urban Prep's graduation rate is only 80 percent, when all is said and done? That's still an awful lot better than most schools do for poor black boys.

This Week In Education: Video: "Simpsons" Zuckerberg Encourages Dropouts

Video: "Simpsons" Zuckerberg Encourages Dropouts

by Alexander Russo

Popout

In the episode, Zuckerberg does his own voice and encourages Lisa's friend to drop out rather than stay in school - "I'll get the best kind of degree," the Harvard dropout tells Lisa. "Honorary, baby!"

After the Forum with Diane Ravitch | Seattle Education 2010

After the Forum with Diane Ravitch

by seattleducation2010

Directly after the forum with Diane Ravitch this evening there will be an opportunity to stay and discuss what we heard in an informal setting.

In the area outside of Pigott Auditorium there are tables and an opportunity to get coffee, tea and maybe a little something to eat where we can sit and share our thoughts.

Schools Matter: " . . . attending a KIPP network school is a job."

" . . . attending a KIPP network school is a job."

by Jim Horn

For some parents like corporate manager, Indria Hollingsworth, climbing onto the corporate gerbil wheel can never start too soon for her daughter. From the Dallas South News:

. . . .Attending KIPP isn’t easy. It’s flat out hard work. Not only for the KIPPster, but for the KIPP Parent as well. From extended school days, 7:30AM – 5:00PM, school every other Saturday,

Why I Teach…In a Minute-and-a-Half � InterACT

Why I Teach…In a Minute-and-a-Half

by Kelly Kovacic

Over the past year, I have had the wonderful opportunity to meet with teachers, administrators, students and community members across our state. I have also had the chance to deliver a number of speeches on topics and issues that are important to me. The speeches include a collection of personal experiences and people I have encountered during my journey as an educator to help explain,

The Answer Sheet - The nutty demonization of Randi Weingarten

The nutty demonization of Randi Weingarten

It's not easy being Randi Weingarten these days. First, the film “Waiting for Superman” by Davis Guggenheim wrongly portrayed the president of the American Federation of Teachers as the face of the dastardly opposition to school reform. Then NBC turned her into a punching bag during last week’s “Education Nation,” when she was put in the position of being chief defender of traditional public schools against an army of aggressive attackers who blame unions for the ills of urban districts and see charter schools as public education's salvation. Then an anonymous column on Huffington Post equated Weingarten with Osama bin Laden. Yes, bin Laden, the terrorist. And a number of readers posted comments agreeing with the sentiment

Monday, October 4, 2010

Obama’s Blueprint For Reform Is Very Weak On Parent Engagement/Involvement | Engaging Parents In School...

Obama’s Blueprint For Reform Is Very Weak On Parent Engagement/Involvement

October 4th, 2010 by Larry Ferlazzo

The Washington Post just ran a column about a new book several education researchers have written severely criticizing the research base of President Obama’s “Blueprint For Reform,” his successor to No Child Left Behind.

Here’s a quote from that column:

For example, it says, “Family involvement is crucial to education, but the evidence for a causal link between student achievement and the type of parent involvement discussed is ambiguous and suspect. The proposals for safe schools boil down to increased local flexibility and increased gathering of survey data, neither of which can be expected to improve outcomes.”

That got me thinking that I should get around to actually reading what the Blueprint says about family involvement/engagement. And, boy, I was surprised to see how weak it really is.

It has three main components:

1. Replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone in twenty

Politicians and other things that make me cranky… � Failing Schools

Politicians and other things that make me cranky…

OCTOBER 4, 2010

by mariasallee

My writing of late has been sidelined by the fact that I find myself in the midst of some professionally-related dramas that I can’t properly discuss without most likely revealing my true identity. Suffice it to say that there are many distractions from planning engaging instruction and implementing lessons, interactions, observations, and assessments in my classroom. In the midst of it all, I got an e-mail that really annoyed me. If you’ve been following the current trends regarding education and what many politicians are saying, you’re probably a little cranky too. Chris Romer is the guy I’m annoyed with today, after he sent me a cute little e-mail “Grab ‘em

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Big victory in Chicago court case

Big victory in Chicago court case

by Mike Klonsky

Federal judge orders CPS to rescind teacher firings

The Chicago Teachers Union won a major victory in its battle stop the mass firing of tenured teachers. In June, the Chicago School Board passed a resolution giving schools chief Ron Huberman the power to layoff teachers without regard to the district's collective bargaining agreement with the union.

In the ruling, United States District Judge David H. Coar called on the Chicago Public Schools administration

NYC Public School Parents: We’re still waiting for Superman here in Charterland

We’re still waiting for Superman here in Charterland

by Leonie Haimson

Magicians often use smoke to distract their audience and achieve illusion. The result leaves audiences not only captivated but also mystified. In the film “Waiting for Superman,” charters are held out as the potential saviors of our public school system, despite the fact that nationally, they do no better and often worse than district public schools. (See this study, for example.)

Moreover, because they float outside the normal governance system and are privately managed, terrible charter schools sometimes are allowed to continue, despite poor performance. Too often, their wealthy supporters use their money

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

AP Poll: Americans support community colleges Education Week: From the Wires

FROM THE WIRES

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Huberman tries to freeze out Pilsen parents

Huberman tries to freeze out Pilsen parents