Friday, November 5, 2010

NJEA president to address N.J. teacher's convention about Christie administration snub | NJ.com

NJEA president to address N.J. teacher's convention about Christie administration snub

Published: Friday, November 05, 2010, 12:18 PM Updated: Friday, November 05, 2010, 12:34 PM

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Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerNew Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian appears at the podium with three members of the New Jersey State Board of Education on Thursday.

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ATLANTIC CITY — New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian is expected to address the Christie administration’s latest snub of the union during an address at the annual teacher's convention in Atlantic City today.

On Monday, acting Commissioner of Education Rochelle Hendricks e-mailed Keshishian declining an offer made six weeks earlier to speak with thousands of New Jersey teachers about the challenges facing public education in the state. Hendricks pegged her decision to the union’s disinterest in reform.

NJEA president Barbara Keshishian talks about Gov Christie and Education Commissioner

Keshishian said Thursday that the

ASCD Inservice: In Case You Missed It

The Answer Sheet - Who’s NOT on Forbes powerful people list -- but should be

Who’s NOT on Forbes powerful people list -- but should be

Go down the Forbes magazine list of the 68 most powerful people in the world and you will find presidents, kings, prime ministers, chancellors, a supreme leader (of North Korea), Pope Benedict XVI (No. 5) and the Dalai Lama (No. 39), business titans, bankers. The chief of staff of Pakistan’s Army is on the list (N0. 29), as is China’s propaganda chief (No. 32); Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (No. 40); the chairman of Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (No. 43); New York Times executive editor Bill Keller (No. 50); drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera (No. 60); media personality Oprah Winfrey (No. 64).

This Week In Education: Desegregation: Chicago's Income-Based Deseg Plan, Take Two

Desegregation: Chicago's Income-Based Deseg Plan, Take Two

by Alexander Russo

After last year's income-based deseg plan made parents miserable and reduced diversity in popular magnet schools (for black kids in particular), Chicago knew it had to make some changes or risk losing even more families to the suburbs than it already has. But nobody's sure that the new plan, announced just yesterday, is going to do any better at balancing fairness, excellence, and diversity goals that are all pulling in different directions. (And there's not much wiggler room in a city who's school system lags behind others like New York, whose student body at this point is just 9 percent white and 10 percent nonpoor, and whose head, Ron

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: Deconstructing Decoding Election 2010: IN STATES, GOP WINNERS MAPPING COURSE FOR K-12 GOP VICTORY MAY PROMPT FEDERAL FUNDING, POLICY SHIFTS

Deconstructing+Decoding Election 2010: IN STATES, GOP WINNERS MAPPING COURSE FOR K-12 + GOP VICTORY MAY PROMPT FEDERAL FUNDING, POLICY SHIFTS

In States, GOP Winners Mapping Course for K-12

BY SEAN CAVANAGH | EDUCATION WEEK | HTTP://BIT.LY/97O9G7

Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks at his victory party in Buda, Texas, on Nov. 2. —LM Otero/AP

November 5, 2010 - The big incoming crop of Republican governors and state lawmakers will inherit bleak conditions for funding school programs and face potentially vexing decisions about whether to pursue the ambitious education proposals crafted by their predecessors, often with bipartisan support.

Many of those victorious GOP candidates campaigned on time-tested conservative platforms, emphasizing a return to local control over education and resistance to what they see as state and federal overreach.

But they will also take office during a dynamic time for education policy.

Many states have pursued major changes to policies for charter schools, teac

Pension fraud. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Pension fraud.

NOVEMBER 5, 2010

tags: Illinois, Pension, Retirement, Social security

by Fred Klonsky

The real story of public employee and teacher pension fraud are the lies that demagogue politicians tell.

The Southtown’s Phil Kadner has a column today. But here are some highlights:

In Illinois, pubic employees who have state pensions do not receive their social security benefits, even if they are fully vested in the social security system, like me.

Queens Teacher: To Obama: What Happened to Change?

To Obama: What Happened to Change?

by Queens Teacher

Popout

We've come a long way haven't we, Mr. President?

What happened to "change"? What happened to getting rid of NCLB? We changed alright. We went from NCLB to RTTT. NOT the change educators and parents wanted.

I cried the moment CNN announced Obama the winner. I really did. Tears of joy that the tyranny against

Anti-Gay White Supremacists Sponsor Mississippi Schools | Gay Rights | Change.org

Anti-Gay White Supremacists Sponsor Mississippi Schools

by Michael A. Jones

Ever heard of the Council of Conservative Citizens (CCC)? They're not quite as famous as, say, the Ku Klux Klan, but let's just say that the two groups probably play in the same softball league. Founded in the mid-1980s as a second coming of what used to be called White Citizens Councils, the CCC spreads what they consider a biblical belief that people of different races, different sexual orientations, and different religions should be segregated.

They say that mixing races is "rebelliousness against God." They say that black people are "genetically inferior" to white people. They call gay people "perverted sodomites." They call immigrants "a slimy brown mass of glop."

This Week In Education: Roundup: Bullying Damages Kids' Brains

Roundup: Bullying Damages Kids' Brains

by Alexander Russo

Hurtful Words Damage Brain Psychology Today: Taunting and other verbal abuse experienced by middle school children from their peers leaves a structural imprint on the developing brain, according to a new study published on-line in advance of print in the American Journal of Psychiatry... The Empathy Deficit Boston Globe: Even as they become more connected, young people are caring less about others... Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science Much of what medical researchers conclude in their studies is misleading, exaggerated, or flat-out wrong. So why are doctors—to a striking

Let the infighting begin — Joanne Jacobs

Let the infighting begin

by Joanne

Democrats don’t agree on school reform, writes RiShawn Biddle in his analysis of the mid-term elections.Republican infighting has just begun.

The fact that so many Democrats lost despite the $24 million spent by both unions on their behalf in the last week (and $40 million by the NEA alone this year) is one more sign that the NEA and AFT are no longer useful to the party. That President Obama’s school reform agenda remains the only popular aspect of an overall agenda that has been largely rejected by voters this year — along with the fact that reform-oriented candidates such as Joe Manchin and Chris Coons have won their respective races — also means that the two unions will have fewer supporters inside the party ranks.

Centrist and progressive Democrat school reformers see education as a civil rights issue, which makes improving teacher quality a civil rights issue. “But the NEA and the AFT are the biggest obstacles to the much-needed overhauls in teacher recruitment, training and compensation that are critical to the school reform

Queens Teacher: Nightmare from Teachers College

Nightmare from Teachers College

by Queens Teacher

Nightmare from Teachers College

May 3, 2007
By Carol Iannone

Columbia Teachers College continues to exert its deleterious influence on New York City’s public schools through the ever inventive techniques of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, adopted by Mayor Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein in 2003 in place of sound, proven, phonics-based instruction. Next year “literacy coaches” will be unleashed upon many teachers in a coercive effort to fulfill project head Lucy Calkins’s desire to “radically transform schools.” The coaches, probably young women in the main, will stand next to experienced teachers in front of their classes in order to train and instruct them in Calkins’s techniques. Resistance is anticipated, but principals must force teachers to comply.

An experienced New York City public school teacher emails with rising alarm:

The word really needs to get out; the situation is atrocious. Thanks to TC [Teachers College] and Bloomberg, we

This Week In Education: AM News: Duncan Claims Boehner Connection

AM News: Duncan Claims Boehner Connection

by Alexander Russo

US Education Chief Upbeat Despite Election Blow AP: "I have a good relationship with (incoming House Speaker) John Boehner. I've known Boehner for years, I look forward to continuing to work with him."... Grijalva Vows To Defend Public Education From White House-GOP Alliance Huffington Post: "Arne Duncan's four prescriptions for fixing public schools, which were essentially to privatize, close them... we rejected them as a caucus on that committee," said... Settlement will boost education at L.A. County probation camp LA Times: A civil rights lawsuit alleged that students were punished for asking for instruction and that teachers routinely missed classes at Camp Challenger in Lancaster... Federal Study Tests Early-Grade Math Programs EdWeek: The largest experiment to date comparing commercial math curricula gives a slight edge to two popular programs... Ohio Principal Defends Controversial Political Field Trip AP: A school district on Thursday suspended a principal and a teacher without pay for violating district policies during a field trip in which students were brought to an elections office, given Democratic literature and allowed to vote... Indiana Charter Flooded With Dropouts Who Want A Second Chance Huffington Post: Indianapolis' Excel Center set its enrollment at 200 students when it opened its doors this fall to give high school dropouts another opportunity to earn a diploma, reports Take Part. Just months later, more than 800 people are eagerly waiting to get in.

The Record: Talk to teachers - NorthJersey.com

The Record: Talk to teachers

Friday, November 5, 2010

THE RECORD

GIVEN EVERYTHING else Governor Christie has done to downsize the influence of the New Jersey Education Association, it is merely a snub. But it's a big one.

For the first time in modern history, the state's top education official won't be speaking at the union's annual convention, which concludes in Atlantic City today. Acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks informed union leaders that she won't address them so long as they resist "fundamental change," or until "the NJEA is willing to work with the Christie administration as a true partner in an effort to reward good teachers instead of protecting bad teachers," among other provisos.

It is a foolish, bitter move, a wasted opportunity to directly speak to the very teachers whose on-the-job performance will determine whether any school reforms will ultimately be successful.

Time and again, the governor has shown he isn't interested in a true partner when it comes to school reform. The only education official who actually did partner with the teachers union — former Commissioner Bret Schundler — was publicly

D.C. Schools Insider - Charter financial analysis draws fire

Charter financial analysis draws fire

Tom Nida was on the hot seat in late 2008 when a Washington Postinvestigation revealed his financial connections to the schools he regulated as chairman of the D.C. Public Charter School Board.

The Post reported that while he was chairman, the bank where he worked as a loan officer lent more than $55 million to charter schools, their developers or landlords. It meant, in essence, that as those charter schools thrived, so did United Bank's loan portfolio. Nida denied any wrongdoing, citing his recusals on some votes. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles found that he did not violate District conflict of interest laws, although he recommended that the board tighten up its ethics guidelines.

It nevertheless caused some heartburn when Nida, who stepped down from the board in February, unveiled what amounted to a collective balance sheet for the 57 publicly funded, independently operated

NJ Spotlight | Christie Moves to Block School Districts from Circumventing His Caps

Christie Moves to Block School Districts from Circumventing His Caps
Do school boards have to honor salary caps that won't go into effect until February?

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By John Mooney, November 5 in Education |Post a Comment

While Gov. Chris Christie has made noise about demanding new salary caps for school superintendents, Englewood is reportedly negotiating a salary for its new superintendent of around $200,000. Somerville hired a new one at $175,000. Both exceed the caps for comparably sized districts.

But since Christie’s caps must go through the review process and would not be effective until February, that has left local school boards -- and the Christie administration -- with the quandary of what to do until then.

No Last-Minute Rush

Christie this week said that acting Education Commissioner Rochelle Hendricks has informed

30 Percent of State Public Schools on Federal 'Needs Improvement List'
As state and federal standards change, more New Jersey schools fall afoul of No Child Left Behind

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By John Mooney, November 5 in Education |Post a Comment

As state and federal standards change, more New Jersey schools fall afoul of No Child Left Behind.

The growing number of New Jersey schools falling short of achievement targets set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act may be as much about changing state and federal standards as it is about the schools.

The state this week released the latest list of schools falling short of the federal government’s target achievement levels for “adequate yearly progress.” An additional 209 schools have missed the targets and landed on the ”needs improvement” list. That brings the total to 657 schools, or close to a third of all public schools in the state.

But state officials also conceded that the measures used under the controversial federal law have

Advice to Jerry Brown (continued) | Thoughts on Public Education

Advice to Jerry Brown (continued) - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Finish CALPADS; appoint accountability-savvy members to the state board; focus on assessments; listen more to teachers; reform the finance system. That was yesterday’s advice (not to be confused with “so yesterday”) to Jerry Brown on this page from nine leaders in education. Today, an additional dozen voices in education, some of them familiar to readers of this blog, [...]

Most parcel taxes defeated this week - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

California voters continue to be generous when it comes to renovating and building schools. But at least in the latest election, they refused to spend any more money running them. Only two of 17 K-12 parcel taxes on Tuesday’s ballot got the two-thirds majority needed to pass, although a couple came excrutiatingly close. Even in usually [...]

The Answer Sheet - A 'doable' solution to teacher quality

A 'doable' solution to teacher quality

This was written by Steve Peha, president of Teaching That Makes Sense, an education consultancy based in Carrboro, N.C. He writes regularly about education policy on the National Journal Education Experts Blog. A creator of educational materials, he is the author of three books: Be a Writer, Be a Better Writer, and Reading Allowed. By Steve Peha Everybody’s talking about teachers—and much of the talk isn’t flattering. We know good teaching makes a difference. But a divisive dialogue has erupted about how to get more of it. The popular line, expressed by big city school leaders like Michelle Rhee, and catalyzed by Davis Guggenheim’s incendiary documentary “Waiting for Superman,” is to get rid of bad teachers. Economist and education policy expert Eric Hanushek agrees. According to his research, removing a small percentage of our worst teachers, and replacing them with average teachers, would bring our students up to top levels.

Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, November 5, 2010

NJEA president to address N.J. teacher's convention about Christie administration snub

Published: Friday, November 05, 2010, 12:18 PM Updated: Friday, November 05, 2010, 12:34 PM

In Case You Missed It

Deconstructing+Decoding Election 2010: IN STATES, GOP WINNERS MAPPING COURSE FOR K-12 + GOP VICTORY MAY PROMPT FEDERAL FUNDING, POLICY SHIFTS

In States, GOP Winners Mapping Course for K-12

BY SEAN CAVANAGH | EDUCATION WEEK | HTTP://BIT.LY/97O9G7

Pension fraud.

Charter financial analysis draws fire

Christie Moves to Block School Districts from Circumventing His CapsDo school boards have to honor salary caps that won't go into effect until February?

No Last-Minute Rush

30 Percent of State Public Schools on Federal 'Needs Improvement List'As state and federal standards change, more New Jersey schools fall afoul of No Child Left Behind

Christie Moves to Block School Districts from Circumventing His Caps
Do school boards have to honor salary caps that won't go into effect until February?

30 Percent of State Public Schools on Federal 'Needs Improvement List'
As state and federal standards change, more New Jersey schools fall afoul of No Child Left Behind