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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Damn Good Education Daily

Damn Good Education Daily
Damn Good Education Daily

educationceo.wordpress.com - “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7As I was laying in bed listening to the Tom Joyner Morning Show’s tribute to Dr. King...

EDUCATIONCEO



danagoldstein.net - American schools are more segregated by race and class today than they were on the day Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, 43 years ago. The average white child in America attends a school that is ...

Larryferlazzo
dailykos.com - First, let's set the scene, or if you will, the justification used for the actions advocated by the "reformers" funded by the Billionaire Boys Club. At least since a Nation at Risk in 1983, the Am...

teacherken



toped.svefoundation.org - By Community college trustees and administrators never expected to be exempt from budget cuts. Not next year. But they are particularly irked over how Gov. Jerry Brown is framing the 6.5 percent, $...

jfenster



nycpublicschoolparents.blogspot.com - With all the furor over Cathie Black's comments about “birth control” and “many Sophie’s choices” in relation to school overcrowding, I hope the larger issues are not ignored. There is a huge schoo...

DianeRavitch
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Clymer presses Philadelphia School District for answers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/18/2011

Clymer presses Philadelphia School District for answers | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/18/2011

Clymer presses Philadelphia School District for answers

By William K. Marimow and Martha Woodall

Inquirer Staff Writers

The chairman of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee has stepped up his efforts to get answers to questions about escalating problems in the Philadelphia School District.

State Rep. Paul I. Clymer (R., Bucks) sent letters Jan. 7 to Robert L. Archie Jr., chairman of the Philadelphia School Reform Commission, and to the four other commission members asking for answers to several "serious concerns." One, he said, is Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman's Dec. 13 decision to suspend six whistle-blowers "who were trying to save taxpayers' money about controversial no-bid contracts."

Shana Kemp, a district spokeswoman, said on Monday that Archie planned to respond soon.

"We need to address these issues; they're very serious issues," Clymer said in an interview on Friday. "We're extending an olive branch, saying, 'Let's see if we can work together.' If we don't get a serious response, then we'll have to pursue other alternatives." He declined to elaborate on what those alternatives might be.

Clymer's letter is the most recent development stemming from The Inquirer's Nov. 28 disclosure that Ackerman



Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/20110118_Clymer_presses_Philadelphia_School_District_for_answers.html#ixzz1BOTKjGdU
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else
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South Bend Tribune: Being your child’s ‘Superman’

South Bend Tribune: Being your child’s ‘Superman’

Being your child’s ‘Superman’

Expert panel discusses parents’ role in education.

By KIM KILBRIDE
Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND - For a child to be successful, a panel of education experts said Monday, it takes more than a parent’s involvement in school.

The key, they say, is for moms and dads to be engaged with their kids on a daily basis.

“The research is clear,” said James Husband, Parent Academy coordinator for South Bend schools. “When parents are engaged with their children and their children’s school, they (kids) do better.”
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BTU President Responds To Criticism Of Teacher Salaries | WBUR

BTU President Responds To Criticism Of Teacher Salaries | WBUR

BTU President Responds To Criticism Of Teacher Salaries

LISTEN NOW

BOSTON — A report by the Boston Foundation said the current payment system in Boston is outdated and salary increases in Boston are significantly higher than the average for other workers across the state. It’s another push to tie student test scores to teacher pay, as the foundation calls for an overhaul the teachers’ payment system in Boston.

“On average, Boston teachers received double-digit raises each of those four years, and they are now very well paid — the highest paid in the metropolitan area, and among the highest paid in the country,” said
Foundation president Paul Grogan.

But president of the Boston Teachers Union, Richard Stutman, said the report does not take into

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Educators urge more oversight of charter schools - NorthJersey.com

Educators urge more oversight of charter schools - NorthJersey.com
Educators urge more oversight of charter schools
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY JANUARY 18, 2011, 8:01 AM
BY LESLIE BRODY
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER

With the Christie administration poised to announce approvals for a new wave of charter schools today, some educators say the state needs to be more vigilant in making sure charters keep their promises to be models of reform.

Third-grade teacher Kim Wildt working on a reading assignment wit Nelson Rivera at the Community Charter School in Paterson.
ELIZABETH LARA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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Third-grade teacher Kim Wildt working on a reading assignment wit Nelson Rivera at the Community Charter School in Paterson.

While some charters, like North Star Academy in Newark, winner of a national Blue Ribbon for excellence, are shining successes, others underperform even in the most troubled districts.

Community Charter School of Paterson is a notable example; only 18 percent of its fourth-graders passed proficiency tests in language arts last spring and 33 percent passed in math, a problem its leaders attribute largely to growing pains. It opened 2 1/2 years ago.

Even charter boosters say the Education Department needs to set more specific standards and enforce them more carefully.

"In the past, the department's work on oversight was weak," said Greg Richmond, president of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which is

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More students choicing out of district | EdNewsColorado

More students choicing out of district | EdNewsColorado

More students choicing out of district

by Nancy Mitchell

A growing number of Colorado students are enrolling in schools outside their home districts, a trend fueled by the rise of statewide online and charter enrollment.

Nearly one in ten students this fall are attending a school either not located in, or not run by, the district in which they live, according to state figures released last week.

That includes thousands of students flocking to online schools based out of faraway districts and to nearby schools operated by the state Charter School Institute.

Learn more
  • Search our database to find how many students are leaving your school district – and where they’re going

Find your district’s choice numbers

by Nancy Mitchell

A growing number of Colorado students are crossing district boundaries to enroll in school. More than 66,000 students – or 8 percent of the state’s student enrollment – are choicing out of district this year, according to state records released Jan. 11.

Read the EdNews’ story “More students choicing out of district.”

To see the stats for your district, click on the name in the box below. You can see results for more than one

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The Answer Sheet - Videotaping teachers the right way (not the Gates way)

The Answer Sheet - Videotaping teachers the right way (not the Gates way)

Videotaping teachers the right way (not the Gates way)

This piece, written by teacher Larry Ferlazzo, provides important context to a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in which teachers are being videotaped while giving lessons and then evaluated by outsiders. Ferlazzo, who teaches English at Luther Burbank High School in Sacramento, explains why he thinks the Gates project takes the wrong approach and describes a different kind of videotaping exercise at his school that he finds useful. Ferlazzo writes a popular resource-sharing blog, and his third book, “Student Responsibility and Engagement in Your Classroom: A Practical Guide to Classroom Management and Instruction,” will be published this year. He is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network. This piece appeared on the Education Week Teacher website. By Larry Ferlazzo "Today is an opportunity for you to challenge and push me to become a better teacher, and a time for you to challenge and push yourselves to
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Mike Kirst on priorities, reforms

svefoundation | January 14, 2011 |

California State Board of Education President Mike Kirst sat down with Educated Guess blogger John Fensterwald after chairing his first Board meeting on Jan. 12 to discuss the State Board's priorities and how they fit into his view of education reform in a time of budget cuts


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While they’re still in training, intern teachers are not yet highly qualified | Thoughts on Public Education

While they’re still in training, intern teachers are not yet highly qualified | Thoughts on Public Education

While they’re still in training, intern teachers are not yet highly qualified

Posted on 1/18/11 • Categorized as Teacher Development

By Beverly Young

The recent posting “Alternate Route, Same Destination” by Catherine Kearney presents one perspective on the recent congressional action to reestablish California’s teachers who are still in training through an alternative program of preparation as “highly qualified.” This distinction is not merely one of words; the congressional action allows the continuance of California’s strange definition of these teachers: They are considered to be “highly qualified” in their profession before they are actually “fully qualified” and have completed initial preparation for their profession. Although I have worked with Ms. Kearney and truly respect her dedication to her work, I would like to point out several disagreements with her perspective as well as some factual errors regarding these programs and the congressiona

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The Illogic of School Turnarounds « InterACT

The Illogic of School Turnarounds « InterACT

The Illogic of School Turnarounds

by David B. Cohen

Is your school struggling? Do you have an idea why? Could a huge influx of new funding help you pay for improvements that help students? Okay, tell us your plan: we’ve got plenty of money to help turn your school around! But first, fire your principal.

What’s that? You think the principal is actually doing a good job under difficult circumstances? You think the school can succeed under the same leadership? You think continuity in leadership will help? Okay, we’ll still give you the money, but first, fire half of the teachers.

What’s that? You think that more than half of the teachers are actually doing a good job under difficult circumstances? You think that the school can succeed with the same teachers and that continuity will help

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