KOCH OUT News | www.kochwatch.org

News | www.kochwatch.org

AP: 2 Wisconsin Democrats keep their Senate seats *-By Scott Bauer* *August 16, 2011-* MADISON, Wis. — Two Democratic Wisconsin state senators targeted by Republicans survived their elections Tuesday, ending a tumultuous summer of recalls spurred by anger over how lawmakers reacted to Gov. Scott ...

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wirch retains Wisconsin Senate seat in recall vote *-By Georgia Pabst* *August 16, 2011- *Longtime Democratic legislator Robert Wirch beat back a challenge from Republican political newcomer Jonathan Steitz in Tuesday's recall election in Senate District 22 in the Kenosha County area. Wirch, 67, was ...

Al Jazeera: Fault Lines: The Top 1%

Huffington Post: The Koch Brothers And The Battle Over Integration In Wake County's Schools *-by Trymaine Lee* *August 15, 2011-* The stakes in the battle over the Wake County Public School System in North Carolina couldn’t be higher. On one side are the billionaire brothers, Charles and David Koch, and the Tea Party and libertarian groups ...

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Special prosecutor named in Prosser/Bradley altercation *Allegations of chokehold in Wisconsin Supreme Court chambers to be investigated* *-By Patrick Marley* *August 15, 2011*- *Madison* - Sauk County District Attorney Patricia Barrett will serve as special prosecutor in the investigation of a physical ...

Sam Seder: ALEC Using Taxpayer Funds to Destroy Government

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Videos For Educators In 2011 — So Far

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Videos For Educators In 2011 — So Far

The Best Videos For Educators In 2011 — So Far I usually just do a year-end list of The Best Videos For Educators and many other topics, but it gets a little crazy having to review all of my zillion posts at once. So, to make it easier for me — and perhaps, to make it a little more useful to ...

Gallup Poll On Education Issues Just Released Every year since 1969 Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup have done a poll on education issues. I’ve previously posted on the results from the last two years. They just released this year’s results and, instead of reinventing the wheel, I’m just going to ...

Here’s A Short List Of Articles Describing Alternatives To High-Stakes Testing — Help Me Find More I’ve been trying to identify the best articles/posts that describe alternative ways to assess student learning other than high-stakes testing, and would love suggestions from readers for others. I’ll put them all together in a “The Best…” list. ...

Teachers Must “Focus Attention On Relationships Among Ideas, Facts & Procedures” Thanks to Jason Flom on Google+, I learned about a new article titled Closing The Teaching Gap. In it, the authors describe their research and observation of mathematics teachers from around the world and compare what they saw in “high achieving” ...

DFER’S August 2011 Monthly Report to the FEC « DFER Watch

DFER’S August 2011 Monthly Report to the FEC « DFER Watch

DFER’S AUGUST 2011 MONTHLY REPORT TO THE FEC

Posted by ken libby on August 17, 2011 · Leave a Comment

DFER’s August 2011 monthly report to the FEC is available here. The report covers all activity between 7/1/2011 and 7/31/2011.

The PAC recorded $10,100 in receipts during the June reporting period. John Arnold and Laura Arnold (TFA National Board of Directors) both gave $5,000 to the PAC. DFER received an additional $100 in unitemized receipts.

DFER recorded $1,721.63 in total disbursements during the reporting period. Education Reform Now Advocacy received $746.59 for “payroll” and $186.64 for “payroll taxes & employee benefits”. Global Payments was paid $49.90 for “credit card processing fees”. Strauss/Baker was paid $500 (half federal and

Responding to Jason Glass | Truth in American Education

Responding to Jason Glass | Truth in American Education

Responding to Jason Glass

by Shane Vander Hart

I would be remiss to not continue with a (online) debate I’m currently having with Jason Glass who is the Director of the Iowa Department of Education. I had to set it aside last week to focus on straw poll activities, but now I wanted to pick it back up. I critiqued a speech he gave to the School Administrators of Iowa Conference, and he responded in kind with snarky post titled, “Caffeinated Conspiracy Theories.”

Ah yes, conspiracy theories. He wrote:

Let’s first set the record straight about the Iowa Core and the Common Core. I don’t expect Shane and I to ever see eye to eye on this and that’s ok – in this

A Thorough Takedown of Vouchers in Colorado and Why it Matters in Florida | Scathing Purple Musings

A Thorough Takedown of Vouchers in Colorado and Why it Matters in Florida | Scathing Purple Musings

A Thorough Takedown of Vouchers in Colorado and Why it Matters in Florida

by Bob Sikes

Perhaps I misread Emily Sirota. Her August 2 Huffington Post piece was filled with ed reformer “excuse” taunts and led me to draw the conclusion that she, too, was on the market solutions bandwagon. But anyone who posts such an effective dismissal of vouchers and the motivation of their backers while outing an advocacy group with a cleverly misleading name is worth mentioning.

Sirota’s piece speaks to Denver’s voucher fight and the details she provides mirror facts on the ground in Florida. Writes Sirota:

Make no mistake about it: my longtime opposition to vouchers has always been driven by the cold

Parents know better than lawmakers what’s best for their children | Thoughts on Public Education

Parents know better than lawmakers what’s best for their children | Thoughts on Public Education

Parents know better than lawmakers what’s best for their children

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Posted on 8/16/11 • Categorized as Charters, Parent activism, State Board of Education

By Maureen Schultz

Across the nation, education reform is the topic of conversation among families and teachers, legislators and even the courts. The discussion has turned into unrest among parents who know their children deserve a high-quality education, but are not seeing results.

Today, parents and children are fighting back against the “norm” — they want more from California’s education system. They know every child is unique and processes information in different ways. For this reason, parent options in public education are vital in today’s fast-

California moves on SIG grants without feds - by Kathryn Baron

by Kathryn Baron

After a month of fruitless negotiations with the U.S. Department of Education (ED), and with the new school year beginning, California education officials took matters into their own hands Tuesday. They sent a letter to districts with grants to turn around California’s worst-performing schools explaining what they think federal guidelines require them to do. The [...]

Child Nutrition Advisory Council - Commissions & Committees (CA Dept of Education)

Child Nutrition Advisory Council - Commissions & Committees (CA Dept of Education)

Child Nutrition Advisory Council

Background, bylaws, member information, meeting agendas, and meeting minutes for the Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC).

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CNAC Invitation to Submit Applications (Posted 16-Aug-2011; DOC; 37KB; 2pp.)
The State Board of Education (SBE) is currently seeking applications for appointment to serve on the Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC).

Apply online by September 31, 2011.

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Bylaws | Composition | Term | Members
Meetings | Agendas | Minutes

Background

Education Code Section 49533 establishes the Child Nutrition Advisory Council (CNAC), the members of which are appointed by the State Board of Education. The mission of the CNAC is to provide proactive leadership for the enhancement of health and nutrition education for California’s youth. The CNAC is committed to:

• Ensuring that all youth in California have access to high-quality, nutritious, and
  appealing meals and that child nutrition programs promote students’ involvement.
• Promoting a plentiful supply of healthful, high-quality food for California’s youth
  in its role as monitor of the distribution of donated food commodities.
• Advocating the inclusion of nutrition as a strong component of a comprehensive
  integrated school health program.
• Nominating its members for state and national advisory councils and maintaining
  communication with these bodies.
• Maintaining a communication network among allied organizations.
• Monitoring federal and state laws and regulations and advocating changes when
  appropriate.

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Bylaws

The bylaws of the Child Nutrition Advisory Council.

Composition

The CNAC is composed of 13 individuals representing different segments of the child nutrition community, including one representative of each of the following:

• State Department of Education
• School administrators
• School board members
• School food service directors
• School food service supervisors/managers
• Classroom teachers
• Curriculum coordinators
• Nutrition education specialists
• Lay persons
• Child care food program sponsors
• Secondary high school students
• Recognized parent-teacher organizations
• Qualified consultants specializing in nutrition, education, child care, or health and welfare

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Term of Office

The CNAC members serve for a term of three years, except the student representative, who serves a one-year term. Members may be re-appointed.

Members

CNAC Members | DOC (Posted 11-Jun-2009; 60KB; 2pp.)

Frequency of Meetings

The CNAC generally holds a one-day meeting every other month. Periodically, the CNAC has a two-day meeting that may include new member orientation, planning, and goal-determination.

Staff support provided by:

Nutrition Services Division
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 1500
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-445-0850 or 800-952-5609

Principal staff contact:

Cynthia DeBolt
Nutrition Services Division
cdebolt@cde.ca.gov
916-322-7586

Study: 1 in 5 U.S. children live in poverty - CBS News

Study: 1 in 5 U.S. children live in poverty - CBS News

Study: 1 in 5 U.S. children live in poverty

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Shae Hill holds her daughter Fredderio, 3 months, inside a store May 7, 2009 in Glendora, Mississippi. For the tenth year in a row, Mississippi ranked worst in the nation in child well-being. (Getty Images)

(AP)

LAS VEGAS - Karla Washington worries how she will afford new school uniforms for her five-year-old daughter.

Washington, an undergraduate student, earns less than $11,000 a year from a part-time university job. The salary must cover food, rent, health care, child care and the occasional splurge on a Blue's Clues item for her only child.

"My biggest fear is not providing my daughter with everything that she needs to be a balanced child, to be independent, to be safe, to feel like she is of value," said Washington, 41.

2011 ACT scores show problems with college readiness - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011 ACT scores show problems with college readiness - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011 ACT scores show problems with college readiness

by Valerie Strauss

Newly released ACT scores on tests used for college admissions show that only 1 in 4 graduates of the class of 2011 who took the exam met four key benchmarks that supposedly show readiness for success in the first year of college.

The scores, being released today, show that the achievement gap between the top-scoring students — Asians and whites — and the lowest scoring — African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians — has grown slightly between 2007 and 2011.

Taken together, the snapshot of the 2011 graduating class revealed by the scores shows huge college readiness issues — that is, if you believe that a high-stakes college admissions tests can adequately tell that story. (More on this later.)

Read full article >>

What the Teachers Are Themselves « Cooperative Catalyst

What the Teachers Are Themselves « Cooperative Catalyst

What the Teachers Are Themselves

by zoeweil

For my blog post today, I’m sharing a recent post I wrote for Care2.com, an online community for people passionate about creating a better world. Here’s an excerpt from What the Teachers Are Themselves:

“There’s a couplet by Rudyard Kipling that shines a sometimes too bright light on one of the biggest truths we educators must confront:

No printed word, nor spoken plea can teach young minds what they should be.
Not all the books on all the shelves – but what the teachers are themselves.

Mahatma Gandhi said something similar when asked by a reporter, “What is your message?” and

Daily Kos: Teacher Prep Week

Daily Kos: Teacher Prep Week

Teacher Prep Week

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

began on Monday. We reported at 8:30 for coffee, donuts, and bagels and a chance to settle down and greet one another, followed by the first of many meetings this week. By the end of the meeting we had our keys and could go to start setting up our rooms - of course I had not waited, arriving at 7 AM, getting a custodian to unlock my door so I could at least unload my car.

I did not leave school yesterday until 5:30 PM. People don't realize how much there is to do. Retrieve personal items of furniture from a locked office, get books from the book room, starting decorating your walls. In my case I had to totally rearrange the desks in the room to work for my style of instruction - teacher's desk in a back

Looks like Kenosha County coming through

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Kenosha County is reporting results for their county faster than either AP or Journal-Sentinal.

And with 27/95 precincts reporting, the Dem has jumped ahead

Candidates Votes %
Robert W. Wirch (DEM) 11268 54.46
Jonathan Steitz (REP) 9395 45.4
Write-in 29 0.14

and yep, with 46 precincts in:

HechingerEd Blog | New poll: Public trusts teachers, likes technology and school choice

HechingerEd Blog | New poll: Public trusts teachers, likes technology and school choice

New poll: Public trusts teachers, likes technology and school choice

by Hechinger Report

A new public opinion poll on the nation’s public schools reveals a number of interesting findings. The poll, conducted every year since 1969 by Phi Delta Kappa and Gallup, asked 1,000 people about a variety of education topics—from trust in teachers to the use of technology in classrooms.

You can find all of the poll’s results here, but we’ve distilled the essentials for you:

Most people trust public-school teachers and want them to have more freedom in the classroom. Even though a solid majority (68 percent) of respondents said most of the news they hear about teachers is bad, an