Monday, November 15, 2010

New Yorkers Favor Tax Increases Over Health, Education Cuts, Poll Shows - Bloomberg

New Yorkers Favor Tax Increases Over Health, Education Cuts, Poll Shows

By Michael Quint - Nov 15, 2010 9:44 AM PT

More than half of New York state voters oppose spending cuts in education or health care, “even if it means raising taxes,” according to a Siena Research Institute poll.

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo, who faces a $9 billion budget gap next year, “is going to have his work cut out for him” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. Opposition among legislators to spending cuts delayed approval of this year’s budget until August, four months after the start of the fiscal year.

Cuomo was elected Nov. 2 with 61 percent of the vote after campaigning on promises to freeze taxes and state workers’ salaries. He is required to submit a budget by Feb. 1 for the fiscal year that begins April 1.

At a press conference last week, Cuomo, a Democrat, repeated his opposition to raising tax

Public School Chic: How Saving American Education Became Cool - Peter Osnos - National - The Atlantic

Public School Chic: How Saving American Education Became Cool

NOV 15 2010, 1:00 PM ET

Paramount Vantage

Mayor Bloomberg's surprise appointment last week of Cathie Black, Chairman of Hearst Magazines, as the new chancellor of New York City's schools highlighted a striking trend in our national panorama. Black replaced Joel Klein, who had served for eight years, the longest run of any school leader in the city's history. Klein took a job in the office of the chairman of News Corporation (think Rupert Murdoch) to develop educational initiatives that Murdoch has now made a personal priority. So there you have it: Black moves from the Hearst Tower to the Department of Education, and Klein shifts to the inner sanctum of News Corporation.

Sometime in the past decade or so, saving public education moved into the stratosphere of social status. Bloomberg says he has known Black for 20 years or so, mainly as a friend on the classy side of the media scene. After she was elevated out of operational control at Hearst last summer

Retired Colo. teacher defends unions and tenure | EdNews Parent

A retired Dougco teacher’s take on tenure

by R. Kim Herrell

There has been much discussion of late about teacher tenure and whether it impedes reform and the quality of public education by protecting bad teachers. EdNews Parent expert and retired Dougco teacher R. Kim Herrell shares his personal views on the subject.

You would think this would be simple to answer, but in the three school law courses I have taken, the issue of teacher tenure has been one of the most hotly debated. Some folks in the general public, led by others with a clear anti-union agenda, seem to think that it is a magic forcefield that makes teachers untouchable, at least from firing. In my opinion, that is simply not the case. It has never been that way, but it sure can look that way if procedures aren’t followed.

In my first school law course, we were asked to equate tenure with “due process.” Teachers who didn’t behave for three years would have to be told why they were being fired and could counter the firing at a hearing. The administration and district could move for dismissal, though, of a teacher anytime during those first three years: first week; first semester; first year; second; third.

That doesn’t sound so bad to me.

Due process itself, however, is a little more complicated. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that the government may not “deprive any person

Michigan Update « DFER Watch

Michigan Update

by kennethlibby

Information on the Michigan page was last updated in June 2010. A few happenings since then: DFER-MI picked up two big donations in late June/early July: $20,000 from “A. Alfred Taubman Restated Trs” and $10,000 from Gilda Jacobs for Senate (July Triannual report). The PAC donated $15,000 to Andy Dillon for Michigan (gubernatorial candidate) and … Read more

In the Classroom: Parent involvement key to students' success, educators say | MLive.com

In the Classroom: Parent involvement key to students' success, educators say

Published: Monday, November 15, 2010, 10:00 AM

Bob Wheaton | Jackson Citizen Patriot
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Nick Dentamaro | Jackson Citizen PatriotKimberly Mackey, left, and her daughter Aja Tate prepare to leave Kim Simpson's classroom after their parent-teacher conference. Simpson, a fourth-grade teacher at Bennett Elementary School, stresses the need for interaction and open communication between students, parents and teachers.

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At the end of a 30-minute parent-teacher conference, Kim Simpson and Kimberly Mackey agreed their conversation needs to continue throughout the school year.

“I think keeping good communication with Kim is key — open communication,” said Mackey, whose daughter Aja Tate, 9, is in Simpson’s fourth-grade classroom at Bennett Elementary School in Jackson.

Now is the time of the year when parents sit down with teachers for annual conferences to find out how their children are doing and what improvements they need to make.

Educators say it’s important that parents continue to keep in touch with their children’s teachers after the conferences are completed.

“I definitely think there should be

Society for New Communications Research Names Sacramento Press for 2010 Excellence in... -- SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

Society for New Communications Research Names Sacramento Press for 2010 Excellence in New Communications Award

Local online publisher honored in Media Division of Online Publishing/Blogging category

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sacramento Press is pleased to announce it has received the 2010 Excellence in New Communications Award in the Media Division of the Online Publishing/Blogging category. The prestigious awards program is sponsored by the Society for New Communications Research and honors individuals and organizations that are pioneering the use of social media and Internet communications technologies in business, media, nonprofits/NGOs, education, government and technology.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091008/TSPLOGO)

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091008/TSPLOGO)

The award was presented to Ben Ilfeld, co-founder of The Sacramento Press, at the 5th Annual SNCR Research Symposium & Awards Gala held at Stanford University on Nov. 4-5. The Sacramento Press, the Sacramento Local Online Advertising Network (SLOAN), Deal Ticket and Bay Area Publisher Partnership (BAPP) are all divisions of Macer Media.

The Sacramento Press submission for the SNCR award said the organization was founded to:

Provide an outlet for hyper local, neighborhood-based editorial coverage.
Encourage a plurality of voices and points of view.
Create a platform for collaboration among newsmakers, readers, writers, advertisers and publishers.
Establish a strong local media ecosystem.
Create a sustainable media business model with multiple revenue streams.

"The Sacramento Press program exemplifies the mission of this awards program, the innovative and successful use of social media and new communications, and we are honored to recognize Ben and his team through this awards program," commented SNCR Senior Fellow Paul Gillin, chair of SNCR's Excellence Awards committee.

"Over the past 10 years, we've seen corporate media conglomerates put the squeeze on hyper local news coverage. In the face of dwindling advertising and reduced readership, they've cast aside neighborhood news in favor of infotainment," said Ilfeld. "At

World Battleground, 1000 years of war in 5 minutes

Hechinger Report | Grading teachers is no easy assignment

Grading teachers is no easy assignment

by Erin Richards

MPS teacher Norma Mortimer works with students Candase Franklin (left), Dion Jones (rear) and Tayler Artis on their group analysis of a short story in her English class. (Angela Peterson/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

Norma Mortimer moves about her high school classroom with confidence born of 41 years’ experience.

Directions to students are clear; she knows when to push for an answer and when to let a question hang.

The English teacher formerly taught music, composed and arranged marching band music, and performed at the

Protestors call on top state official to reject Black as chancellor | GothamSchools

Protestors call on top state official to reject Black as chancellor

by Maura Walz

Justin Wedes, a former city teacher who started an online petition asking State Education Commissioner David Steiner not to grant Cathie Black the waiver she needs to become chancellor, spoke on the steps of Tweed Courthouse Sunday. On the left was Michael Meyers, director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition. To the right was civil rights attorney Normal Siegel.

Parents and civil rights advocates gathered on the steps of the Department of Education headquarters yesterday to protest Mayor Bloomberg’s appointment of publishing executive Cathie Black as the next schools chancellor.

Their objections to Black’s appointment were two-fold: firstly, that Black lacks the educational experience necessary to lead the nation’s largest public school system; and secondly, that the mayor that the mayor chose a friend and kept the selection process hidden from the public and much of his staff.

“This unlimited claim that Cathie Black is the best is unsupported and untested in any school setting, in any

CA Court to Rule on In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students « Student Activism

CA Court to Rule on In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students

by Angus Johnston

California’s Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling today on whether undocumented students who are residents of California must be charged out-of-state tuition in the state’s public colleges and universities.

California is one of several states that charge in-state tuition rates to longtime residents even if they are undocumented. An estimated 25,000 students are currently enrolled under that policy, even as the state has

This Week In Education: Obama: What Top White House Education Staffers Make

Obama: What Top White House Education Staffers Make

Being a public servant means not making as much as you could elsewhere and having your salary listed online. What do to Obama's top education staffers make? Melody Barnesmakes $172K, Roberto Rodriguez $120K, Heather Higgenbottom $150K. Education spokesperson Tommy Vietor(yes, *that* Tommy Vietor) got a 35 percent raise to $78K. I can't find the listing for Robert Gordon, though I'm told he's still the PAD for education spending at OMB. More about White House

GOVERNORS' GLOBAL CLIMATE SUMMIT 3 WEBCAST GGCS 3 at UC Davis

GGCS 3 at UC Davis

GOVERNORS' GLOBAL CLIMATE SUMMIT 3 WEBCAST

“BUILDING THE GREEN ECONOMY”

Nov 15, 10:30AM-12:30PM

California’s Fiscal Insanity: Another Reminder | California Progress Report

California’s Fiscal Insanity: Another Reminder

Posted on 12 November 2010

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By Peter Schrag

So whodunit?

There’s nothing surprising in the latest budget deficit projection from the Legislative Analyst’s Office -- $25 billion, in case you missed it, over some two years. Even the receding governor and legislators who cooked the current year’s budget couldn’t have believed the fiscal fantasies they worked into the mix.

To get through the current year’s budget problems, they relied on yet another set of temporary fiddles and fudges -- sales of state buildings and other assets; federal stimulus money, short-term tax increases -- all of which were only good for a year or two and are now expiring.

Among the ironic results is that while the schools will lose some $2 billion as the stimulus money runs out, the state won’t save a dime. If “the Legislature funds schools at the forecasted minimum guarantee in 2011–12,” the LAO report says, “it would mean billions of dollars in programmatic cuts to education but not contribute a single dollar to closing the $25 billion budget problem.”

Week In Review: What You Missed - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Week In Review: What You Missed Area 11's "Key Learning Targets" Is Proposal Unfair To High-Scoring White Kids? Illinois Defeats Latvia (Barely)Soccer Field For Cristo ReyCollege Ready? Not So Much, Says Tribune.Walk-Throughs [plus "Collaborative Planning"]Board Denies Teacher ...

Video: Teacher Suspended For Detailing Colleagues' Misbehavior Her remarks were caught on tape and uploaded onto YouTube by the folks who did the ACORN videos last year, presented as an expose of the NJEA called "Teachers Unions Gone Wild." Read all about it at GOOD (here).

AM News: Meeks, Davis Help Emanuel Out [image: Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for news2.gif] Clout St: Meeks jumps in Chicago mayoral contest Tribune: "A city that really works must have a leader," Meeks told supporters gathered at a University of Illinois-Chicago ...

Department Of Education Study Finds Teaching These Little Shits No Longer Worth It | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Department Of Education Study Finds Teaching These Little Shits No Longer Worth It

NOVEMBER 15, 2010 | ISSUE 46•46

Officials say these vicious little bastards are beyond any kind of help.

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WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Education released a comprehensive, nationwide evaluation of American schools Monday indicating that attempts to teach absolutely anything to these little shits is just a huge waste of everybody's time.

"We remain committed to providing every student in the country with access to a high-quality education," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan, adding that good schools are a key component to the success of American democracy. "But to be honest, none of that matters. We're not talking about promising young scholars here—we're talking about a bunch of fucking animals."

"We've basically flushed $11,000 down the toilet for every single one of these little bastards," Duncan continued. "Not to mention 18 years of my life."

Enlarge ImageSecretary Duncan

The study, which analyzed the effectiveness of both public and private schools, found that efforts to enlighten these terrors on the subjects of math, history, grammar, and science are as productive as slamming your head into a goddamn brick wall. The research also confirmed that the unbearable shits, who take everything for granted, consistently piss away each learning opportunity they're given.

"When I first started teaching, I would see the smiling faces in my classroom and get excited about nurturing their young minds," said Melanie Whitman, 35, a first-grade teacher quoted in the

Queens Teacher: Diane Ravitch Speaks to TFA & KIPP

Diane Ravitch Speaks to TFA & KIPP

REEP, KIPP and TFA Lecture Series from Jon Paul Estrada on Vimeo.

Diane begins her lecture at 10:38.

Once again, she exposes the education deformers by telling the truth.

DIANE RAVITCH FOR NYC SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR!!!

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Monday, November 15, 2010