Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Ark. school official accused of anti-gay screed - Boston.com

Ark. school official accused of anti-gay screed

By Jill Zeman Bleed

Associated Press / October 27, 2010

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—A member of a northern Arkansas school board, commenting on campaign to get people to wear purple to show support for bullied gay and lesbian youth, purportedly posted on Facebook that the only way he would wear purple is "if they all commit suicide."

The Arkansas Department of Education on Wednesday condemned the alleged posting by Midland School Board member Clint McCance.

The Advocate, a magazine that reports about gay issues, first reported about the posting on its website. The Facebook page has been disabled, but The Advocate posted

Schools Matter: More Superlies from "Superman"

More Superlies from "Superman"

by Jim Horn

Posted by Valerie Strauss:
By Caroline Grannan

“Woodside is a great school." -- Emily Jones

The movie “Waiting for Superman” tells the stories of five students around the country who are desperate to escape their “failing” public schools and get into the shining charters that are portrayed as their only chance of success – or at least that’s the tale the movie tells.

One of those stories takes place in my neck of the woods, here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The one white middle-class student among the five kids in the movie is Emily Jones, who lives on the suburban San Francisco Peninsula.

School closings: Top 5 issues | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

School closings: Top 5 issues

by Helen Gym

Over the past few weeks, the School District has been holding focus group sessions on a “facilities master plan” – aka, for the rest of us, a school closing plan – and folks, believe me, based on where the District is going, your opinions need to be heard.

Let’s face it: the District has done a miserable job about school closings in the past. School closings are always going to be painful, yes, but the District’s last-minute timing, failure to give communities options and benefits, and refusal to share information have turned troubling situations into traumatic ones – and unnecessarily so.

This Week In Education: Policy: Is Education As "Broken" As The Rest Of DC?

Policy: Is Education As "Broken" As The Rest Of DC?

by Alexander Russo

#dfer #edujobs #rttt There's lots of talk out there on the campaign trail about how "broken" Washington is but not much if anything about if and how our education policy development process might be flawed beyond repair or just within reach of fixing. One reason is that Congress hasn't done much on education lately, or at least since the first flurry that created ARRA and RTTT. Committee folks who've been working on fixes to NCLB have been

Quote: What A Students' Union Would Bargain For

by Alexander Russo

"Say there was a students' union. Might they ask that the dropout rate be lowered? Might they stay at the negotiating table until it was below 50%? We ought to ask kids whether they think the status quo is working.." -- Bill Gates in Parade

We Need Your Help Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento City Council 2010

Patrick Kennedy, Sacramento City Council 2010

It is down to the wire with only one week left and our campaign needs your help now more than ever before.

We will be walking precincts and calling voters every day through next Tuesday. If you can spare ANY time, please let us know.

This Saturday will be a big push to get out the vote. After walking, everyone is invited to join us for a volunteer/community barbecue. We'll start at the Campaign Headquarters:

Date: Saturday, October 30, 2010
Time: 9:30AM – 12 Noon
Location: 5385 Franklin Boulevard, Suite P (Near the Corner of Franklin and Fruitridge in the Franklin Center)

I hope you will join us. It will be a fun way for you to join neighbors and friends and make a difference for our City.

Please call Kenny Alvarado at 509-0986 or email him at Kenny@patrick-kennedy.com to volunteer any day you are available.

Thank you,

Patrick Kennedy

Coverage of last night’s FNE meeting � Failing Schools

Coverage of last night’s FNE meeting

OCTOBER 27, 2010

by Sabrina

EdNews Colorado has a good article about last night’s meeting regarding the turnaround plans for schools in the Montbello & Green Valley Ranch neighborhoods. I wish someone had included video of more of the parent & community questions; this crowd was not convinced that DPS is looking out for them or their kids.

I’m pressed for time today, so I can’t give a really thoughtful write-up just yet, but one piece of this whole thing is bugging me. On spec, the ideals expressed in the two community/coalition plans and DPS’ plans are well-aligned. Key differences emerge when you look at two issues: labor and accountability.

There is no solid evidence to suggest that DPS can’t accomplish its stated goals while keeping the existing schools and staffs largely intact. Given the shakeups in leadership, and poor communication between school staff and central office people, there has not been a true assessment of the quality of the staff at each school. What we do know is that there has been a negative culture and climate (largely the result of poor leadership) in many of these schools for

Julie Woestehoff: 'We are the Revolution!'

Julie Woestehoff

Public school parent advocate, Chicago

Posted: October 27, 2010 01:50 AM

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Have the Whittier Moms started something??? Istheir win over the Chicago Public Schools' effort to trample their school, their community, and their children's future giving others the idea that they, too, can stand up and fight???

Folks all over the nation seem to be getting wise to the Waiting for Superman propaganda, and getting mad about the lies and manipulation Arne Duncan and Friends are using to destroy the very foundation of democratic public education.

My local paper, The Hyde Park Herald, quotes a local mom:

"'I've seen some good charter schools, and I've seen some others that are not so great -- charters are not the sole solution to improvement in education.'"

The mom is also a displaced charter school teacher, so she probably knows what she's talking about.

On page 3, a candidate for alderman advocates, "moving away from the business model approach

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Wednesday, October 27, 2010