Monday, September 26, 2011

by john thompson

The Hechinger Report notes some seriously bad news about the Charlotte Mecklenburg schools, which won the Broad Prize for excellence last week. The CMS "failed dismally in meeting academic targets for 2011." And the number of Charlotte schools ranked by Newsweek as among the nation's top dropped from 13 to two. The biggest blow, however, is CMS's rating on the "School Choice, School Quality and Postsecondary Attainment" by Gates scholar Tom Kane and other economists, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The

Teaching: The New Yorker Takes Another Look At Coaching

by Alexander Russo

New Yorker writer Atul Gawande -- he's the guy who wrote the book about checklists -- has a new article out about the use of coaches in nontraditional areas like surgery. This isn't a new idea in education, of course, though coaching / master teacher programs are expensive and not always effective. Great teachers don't always make great coaches, and in many cases programs haven't been able to pick their own coaches because of work rules or other reasons. For what it's worth, I couldn't have written my Green Dot book without my developmental editor, David Lobenstine, and have benefitted greatly from working with an organizational coach named Susan Wallace. (A blogging coach would be great, too, but I haven't found anyone willing to take me on.) Press release below. Link may require subscription.

In the October 3, 2011, issue of The New Yorker, in “Personal Best” (p. 44), Atul Gawande explores the world of coaching and asks whether coaches could benefit professionals in

Quote: "The Planning Fallacy"

by Alexander Russo

Most people overrate their own abilities and exaggerate their capacity to shape the future.-- NYT columnist David Brooks (The Planning Fallacy) from 9/15

NCLB Waivers - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education)

NCLB Waivers - Year 2011 (CA Dept of Education):

Torlakson Issues Statement on NCLB Waivers

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson issued the following statement today regarding the proposal made by US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan regarding state waivers to No Child Left Behind:

"Today's announcement represents an acknowledgement by the Administration that the one-size-fits-all policies of No Child Left Behind are unworkable.

"We are carefully examining the proposal, which would appear to cost billions of dollars to fully implement, at a time when California and many other states remain in financial crisis.

"I would hope that the Administration is prepared to provide the funds necessary to implement these provisions, or provide greater flexibility to California, which already has a strong school accountability system in place.

"With bipartisan support for a new generation of accountability systems that measure growth in student achievement over time, I will continue to advocate for Congress to approve a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act."

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Outlines Schools of the
Future Report, Hails Completion of Solar Project
at San Mateo Union's Aragon High School

SAN MATEO—California should retool its school construction process to foster 21st century learning, streamline school-building regulations to help create jobs, and change state law to encourage campuses to install solar and other renewable power systems, according to a report released today by a State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

Torlakson announced the release of the Schools of the Future Report and highlighted key recommendations at a ceremony to dedicate a solar power system installed at Aragon High School and the five other campuses in the San Mateo Union High School District.

"Our students deserve to learn in schools designed for the 21st century—not relics of the past," Torlakson said. "California can lead the way, and help our schools save money and create good jobs in the process. The solar power system coming online today at Aragon High School shows that the time to create the schools of the future is now."

San Mateo Union Board President Stephen E. Rogers served as co-chair of Torlakson's Schools of the Future Team, and helped lead the effort to install solar power at the district's campuses, paid for by a local bond measure approved by voters.

"Our project proves a central theme of the Schools of the Future Team's report: that schools can embrace clean, renewable energy while putting more money into the classroom and creating new opportunities for our students to learn about the environment," Rogers said.

The 17,000 solar panels installed on school roofs, along with other energy-efficiency measures already put in place, are expected to save and generate 3.72 megawatts—enough power to offset 48 percent of the energy needs at the schools, saving the district $1.2 million in annual energy costs.

The project also included developing sustainable energy curriculum, supplies, and equipment for use in district classrooms, allowing students to learn firsthand about renewable power systems and energy efficiency.

PG&E provided grants and training in support of the project, and helped the district fast track the effort.

Torlakson created the Schools of the Future Team to bring together creative thinkers from schools, labor, and business to examine the planning, design, and financing of school construction projects as well as fostering sustainability and energy efficiency.

The 90-member team compiled its recommendations into the 90-page report that Torlakson made public today. The complete report is available online at: Schools of the Future Report (Posted 23-Sep-2011; PDF; 1MB; 92pp.)

Torlakson said that while many elements of the report would require additional study and review, he would move to carry out several key recommendations, including:

Support a future statewide facilities bond measure to fund new construction and modernization projects throughout the state that will invest in students and teachers and create jobs.
Examine regulations to ensure they are streamlined, promote safe and sustainable schools, and meet the needs of today's students.
Highlight best practices for school facilities by creating a Web page with links to research on creating learner-centered, safe, sustainable schools that are centers of the community.
Sponsor legislation to encourage schools to install solar and other renewable energy systems. Torlakson is sponsoring SB 843 (Lois Wolk D-Davis), which would lift the cap on the size of school solar projects and allow school districts to aggregate renewable energy generated at one school—or at an off-site solar farm—to offset costs at other campuses.
Establish a Green Schools Award. Torlakson said the California Department of Education (CDE) would partner with the U.S. Department of Education in the pilot year of their Green Ribbon Schools award, which was announced earlier this month.
Taking a leadership role helping schools become energy efficient. Torlakson named CDE architect Diane Waters as Energy Liaison. Waters will serve as a clearinghouse for best practices and advocate for schools while working with the state's Energy and Public Utilities commissions.

Torlakson also said his office would review the Team's other recommendations regarding legislation, including creating a 21st century schools renovation program, increasing modernization funding for renewable energy, and restoring dedicated and sustained school maintenance funding.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Sly Stone homeless: Soul music star living in camper in L.A. - latimes.com

Sly Stone homeless: Soul music star living in camper in L.A. - latimes.com:

Sly Stone homeless: Soul music star living in camper in L.A.

Sly Stone makes appearance at Grammy Awards

Soul music legend Sly Stone, best known as the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, has squandered his fortune and is living homeless on the streets of Los Angeles.

"I like my small camper," Stone told the New York Post in an article co-written by William Alkema, director of a documentary about the band. "I just do not want to return to a fixed home. I cannot

Circular Reasoning at the Gates: Education Nation off to a Confusing Start - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Circular Reasoning at the Gates: Education Nation off to a Confusing Start - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Circular Reasoning at the Gates: Education Nation off to a Confusing Start

by Anthony Cody

Last September NBC brought us the first Education Nation, developed in coordination with the release of the pro-charter documentary, Waiting For Superman. The network ran into a few bumps in the road, catching flak when itwas pointed out that panels were loaded with "superheroes" like Michelle Rhee, and critical voices like Diane Ravitch, and those of classroom teachers, were largely absent.

This year, NBC has made an effort to be a bit more balanced and inclusive of teachers voices, and the Teacher Town Hall yesterday made a start in that direction.

On a stage dominated by the largest golden hood ornament I have ever seen, Brian Williams interviewed mostly teachers, while Tamron Hall roamed about the audience taking comments from the crowd.

The comments from the teachers present are worth a listen, but my mind kept dwelling on the interview with

National Dialogue on Improving Federal Websites - by IdeaScale

National Dialogue on Improving Federal Websites - by IdeaScale:

Help create the .gov you deserve

Dialogue open Sept. 19-30, 2011

The federal government wants to re-invent how it delivers information and services online, and we need your help. We want to bring the best of the web to the .gov domain. So share your ideas to help us answer:

What practices, policies, and principles should guide federal websites?

Join the conversation with web experts, policymakers, and everyday citizens. Results will directly inform recommendations for a National Web Strategy, developed by the .gov Task Force.

Today at 1:00 ET join the Content in Other Languages discussionand at 4:00 ET we will discuss Services and Transactions

Schools Matter: Test the Homeless!

Schools Matter: Test the Homeless!:

Test the Homeless!

by skrashen

Test the Homeless

Posted as a comment on The Answer Sheet, 9/25/11

WAPO.st/ouGKnS

boblesch

how about a little funding for adult literacy and GED programs in poor areas. kids who's parents are avid readers are far better readers than children of illiterates. family literacy programs are carrying a pretty good success rate as they teach young children and parents at the same time. the seriously at risk groups of children come from homes where reading and education in general, are not valued. and then there is the group that is homeless - our nation's biggest shame - but that a comment on an article no one wants to write about

Comment by S. Krashen:

More funding for adult literacy and GED programs in high poverty areas? Absolutely. A big part of this should be

Shanker Blog » The Education Reporter's Dilemma

Shanker Blog » The Education Reporter's Dilemma:

The Education Reporter’s Dilemma

by Matthew Di Carlo

I’ve written so many posts about the misinterpretation of testing data in news stories that I’m starting to annoy myself. For example, I’ve shown that year-to-year changes in testing results might be attributable to the fact that, each year, a different set of students takes the test. I’ve discussed the fact that proficiency rates are not test scores – they only tell you the proportion of students above a given line – and that the rates and actual scores can move in opposite directions (see this simple illustration). And I’ve pleaded with journalists, most of whom I like and respect, to write with care about these issues.

Yet here I am, back on my soapbox again. This time the culprit is the recent release of SAT testing data, generating dozens of error-plagued stories from newspapers and organizations. Like virtually all public testing data, the SAT results are cross-sectional – each year, the test is taken by a different group of students. This means that demographic changes in the sample of test takers influence the results. This problem that is even

Want cheaper teachers? You won’t get what you won’t pay for. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Want cheaper teachers? You won’t get what you won’t pay for. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Want cheaper teachers? You won’t get what you won’t pay for.

by Fred Klonsky

At a recent Park Ridge board of education meeting a speaker got up and asked Board President John Heyde why they couldn’t get cheaper teachers. “You look for the cheapest paper,” she argued.

You can watch the video of the board meeting here. She starts at 3:09.

Her argument hinges on the assumption that by spending money on veteran teachers, the board is serving the interest of adults, not students.

Wisconsin shows the fallacy of her argument.

Wisconsin’s governor Scott Walker went after teacher unions, collective bargaining and teacher salaries.

The result? Teachers are leaving the profession in droves. And now there are no cheaper teachers to replace

Mexican-American Students Benefit from Speaking their Spanish - Hispanically Speaking News

Mexican-American Students Benefit from Speaking their Spanish - Hispanically Speaking News:

STUDY: Mexican-American Students Benefit from Speaking Some Spanish in School Environment

A new University of Missouri study shows that Mexican-American students who identify and practice speaking their native language have higher grades than those who are put in English-only environments in their schools.

“A real educational disparity exists because Mexican-Americans, along with other Latinos, are now the largest minority; yet, they still have the lowest high school and college graduation rates,” said David Aguayo, a doctoral student in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology in the College of Education. “I understand the reasons behind English-only efforts, but the research shows that if we don’t accept the cultural identity of these students in our schools, such as tolerating their native language, Mexican-Americans may not succeed.”

Aguayo compared survey results of 408 Mexican-American students. He examined whether the students were

The good principal. « Fred Klonsky's blog

The good principal. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

The good principal.

by Fred Klonsky

Michael Winerip at the NY Times addresses the question of what makes a good principal?

His approach is similar to the way I develop lesson plans. I start at the end and work backwards. I have a general idea of where I want to go. I teach and write the plan afterward, reflecting on how I and my students responded.

This works fine for me. But not so fine for defining principal or teacher quality.

Winerip found what he thinks is a good principal and then creates the definition based on what he likes about her.

Winerip’s approach is problematic. She might be a good principal for her school, but those qualities that make

Report links farm subsidies, obesity - Sacramento Bee

Report links farm subsidies, obesity - Sacramento Living - Sacramento Food and Wine, Home, Health | Sacramento Bee:

Report links farm subsidies, obesity

By P.J. HUFFSTUTTER
Los Angeles Times

Published: Monday, Sep. 26, 2011 - 5:52 am

Are farm subsidies making us fat?

Billions in taxpayer dollars are going to support high fructose corn syrup and three other common food additives used in junk food, according to a report released this week by the California Public Interest Research Group and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, both consumer advocacy groups.

The report, "Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food," makes the case that federal farm subsidies are helping feed the nation's obesity epidemic. The research shows that from 1995 to 2010, $16.9 billion in federal subsidies went to producers and others in the business of corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn starch and soy oils.

"If these agricultural subsidies went directly to consumers to allow them to purchase food, each of America's 144 million taxpayers would be given $7.36 to spend on junk food and 11 cents with which to buy apples each year - enough to buy 19 Twinkies but less than a quarter of one Red

“Accent monitors” no longer allowed Arizona classrooms | Being Latino Online Magazine

“Accent monitors” no longer allowed Arizona classrooms | Being Latino Online Magazine:

“Accent monitors” no longer allowed Arizona classrooms

English is my second language and although when I moved to the states as a child I worked to speak English perfectly (and I do) I’m reminded that my perfect English comes with accent when I hear yet again, “You kind of sound like JLo.” I love that I have a slight accent. It’s a tie to my culture and my roots and it has never held me back in any way, at least none that I’m aware of.

That’s not the case for Arizona teachers during the last 10 years. “Accent” monitors were routinely sent “to classrooms across the state to check on teachers’ articulation.” But facing federal civil rights investigations, the state to put a stop to

On the Irvine 11, Free Speech, and Campus Protest in the University of California « Student Activism

On the Irvine 11, Free Speech, and Campus Protest in the University of California « Student Activism:

On the Irvine 11, Free Speech, and Campus Protest in the University of California

by Angus Johnston

Ten Muslim students from the University of California were found guilty of misdemeanor charges Friday after a 2010 incident in which they disrupted and delayed a speech by the Israeli ambassador to the United States on the UC Irvine campus. The students, who could have faced jail time, were sentenced to probation and community service.

The university had previously suspended the Irvine Muslim Student Union in connection with the incident, and many observers — including Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of the UC Irvine law school — criticized the decision to bring criminal charges.

I agree with those who are dismayed by the verdict. The interruptions of Ambassador Oren were brief and non-violent, the students didn’t resist ejection, and the ambassador was eventually able to give his speech in full.

Breakfast for Achievement | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Breakfast for Achievement | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Breakfast for Achievement

by NEA Health Information Network

Editor’s Note: Today's post is from our partners at the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN). Each month, we feature a new column on a topic related to school health. Through this effort, we hope to inform the public of important health issues that impact schools and offer educators and parents resources to address them.

This post was authored by Lisa L. Sharma, Senior Program Coordinator at the NEA HIN. For additional information about this or other school health issues, contact her at lsharma@nea.org.

Did you know that the simple act of eating school breakfast can play a significant role in shaping students’ academic success?

The research is clear: eating breakfast at school helps children perform

I'm No Contrarian :: Frederick M. Hess

I'm No Contrarian :: Frederick M. Hess:

I'm No Contrarian

by Frederick M. Hess • Sep 26, 2011 at 8:38 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Last week, RiShawn Biddle penned an energetic critique of "Our Achievement Gap Mania" for his e-newsletter Dropout Nation. The impassioned attack echoed some of the more visceral reactions that the article has generated. I'm a fan of robust debate, but I do want to make sure that critics understand what I'm arguing and why I'm arguing it. In that light, it seemed useful to elaborate on three particular counts.

First, Biddle claims that I argue in National Affairs that "the achievement gap is a matter not worthy of addressing." That's simply false. Any reader of the piece knows I never say anything like that. I say that an emphasis on gap-closing is sensible, admirable, and laudable, but that it's been short-sighted, politically tone-deaf, and educationally destructive to ignore the implications of focusing monomaniacally on gap-closing. As I

Greek Student Activists Take Over State Television Studios During Evening News « Student Activism

Greek Student Activists Take Over State Television Studios During Evening News « Student Activism:

Greek Student Activists Take Over State Television Studios During Evening News

by Angus Johnston

Last night a group of at least fifty Greek student activists stormed the studios of their country’s state television network, taking over the room where the evening news was broadcasting live.

The students were leaders in a national wave of student protest that is sweeping Greece in opposition to fiscal austerity measures and proposals to privatize higher education in the country. Student protest has also been swelled by the recent repeal of Greece’s academic asylum law, which until last month barred police from setting foot onto the nation’s campuses.

Network officials pulled the broadcast from the air abruptly, switching over to a travel documentary after a short break, but home viewers were able to tell that something was happening in the studio before the feed went dark.

The students demanded airtime to read a statement on the current student protests in Greece, a demand that

Newsflash! “Middle Class Schools” Score… uh…in the middle. Oops! No news here! « School Finance 101

Newsflash! “Middle Class Schools” Score… uh…in the middle. Oops! No news here! « School Finance 101:

Newsflash! “Middle Class Schools” Score… uh…in the middle. Oops! No news here!

by schoolfinance101

I’ve already beaten the issue of the various flaws, misrepresentations and outright data abuse in the Third Way middle class report into the ground on this blog. And it’s really about time for that to end. Time to move on. But here is one simple illustration which draws on the same data compiled and aggregated in the Middle Class report on NAEP scores. For anyone reading this post who has not already read my others on the problems with the definition of “Middle Class,” and related data abuse & misuse please start there:

Joel Shatzky: Educating for Democracy: Diane Ravitch: Reforming the "Reformers"

Joel Shatzky: Educating for Democracy: Diane Ravitch: Reforming the "Reformers":

Educating for Democracy: Diane Ravitch: Reforming the "Reformers"

In the latest issue of the New York Review of Books, Diane Ravitch, who has been writing critically and incisively for the last five years about the inadequacies of the "School Reform" movement, wrote a review of a book by Steven Brill called Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools(New York Review of Books, (9/29/2011)www.nybooks.com. ) The review itself convincingly dissects Brill's book for what it is: an advocacy for charter schools, standardized testing and other measures of the so-called "reformers" who are, essentially, defenders of the economic status quo. Since there has been no measurable improvement in student scores, as determined by reliable tests like the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) over the last decade, one would hope that some sensible policies might be considered to replace those failed ones. And there seem to be a few glimmers of hope, although they are only glimmers.

Ravitch's review underlines the pattern of "reform" measures as a result of the No Child Left Behind law

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