The Education Report: California Distinguished Schools and American Indian charter investigation - Inside Bay Area

The Education Report: California Distinguished Schools and American Indian charter investigation - Inside Bay Area:

The Education Report: California Distinguished Schools and American Indian charter investigation

By Katy Murphy
Oakland Tribune

Posted:   04/08/2012 12:00:00 AM PDT

This is a sampling of The Education Report, Katy Murphy's Oakland schools blog. Read more atwww.IBAbuzz.com/education. Follow her at Twitter.com/KatyMurphy.

March 30: Congratulations to ACORN Woodland and Henry J. Kaiser Jr. elementary schools. They were among 22 in Alameda County and 387 statewide to be named 2012 California Distinguished Elementary Schools, an award given by Tom Torlakson, California Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Other nearby winners were Malcolm X in Berkeley; Amelia Earhart and Donald D. Lum in Alameda; Chabot, Independent, Jensen Ranch, Palomares and Vannoy in Castro Valley; and Hanna Ranch and Olinda in West Contra Costa.

The awards went to schools that showed academic excellence for all students and which have narrowed the achievement gap. I've posted a link to the full list on the blog.

"The schools we are recognizing today demonstrate the incredible commitment of California's teachers, administrators and school employees to provide a world-class education to every student, in spite of the financial 

Will an Oakland school district initiative slow teacher turnover, or make it worse?

By Katy Murphy
Oakland Tribune

Posted:   04/08/2012 12:00:00 AM PDT

Updated:   04/08/2012 05:10:03 AM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Oakland School District Superintendent Tony Smith speaks during an Oakland Unified School...

OAKLAND -- Ask students at McClymonds High School about their teachers and you'll likely hear this: They work hard, but they don't stay long.

"Since I've been here, we've never had steady teachers," said Da'Jon Ford, a junior at the West Oakland high school.

Teacher turnover is one of the greatest obstacles facing the city's struggling high schools, particularly those in the poor and working-class flatland neighborhoods of East and West Oakland. Many of the openings are filled with rookies who make a two-year commitment, or with teachers displaced from other positions in the district. Two years ago, all but a handful of the 

Women's march in Denver seeks end to minorities killing each other - The Denver Post

Women's march in Denver seeks end to minorities killing each other - The Denver Post:

Women's march in Denver seeks end to minorities killing each other

POSTED:   04/07/2012 04:46:58 PM MDT
UPDATED:   04/07/2012 11:32:53 PM MDT

By Jordan Steffen
The Denver Post

Bella Williams, 9, with Zaya Lunas, 7, riding piggy-back, join residents of the Park Hill Neighborhood and other supporters in the Endangered Lives Women's March beginning at the Prodigal Son at the Park Hill Community Center in Denver and marching to the Shorter AME church where a panel discussion addressing black on black violence will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2012. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

Maisha Pollard, daughter of Colorado State Representative Rhonda Fields, takes the mic to talk about her brother Javad Marshall who was murdered in Aurora in 2005. Pollard joined residents of the Park Hill Neighborhood and other supporters in the Endangered Lives Women's March beginning at the Prodigal Son at the Park Hill Community Center in Denver and marching to the Shorter AME church where a panel discussion addressing black on black violence will take place on Saturday, April 7, 2012. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

 Janeya Smith's husband was shot and killed near a bar in Denver's Montbello neighborhood in 2003. Five years later, her second husband was paralyzed after a 23-year-old robbed him and shot him in the back four times.

"My grandson has to grow up knowing his grandpa is not here, and even worse knowing he was murdered," said Smith as 4-year-old Evonte grinned up at her. "Nothing is going to make

Read more:Women's march in Denver seeks end to minorities killing each other - The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_20348285/womens-march-denver-seeks-end-minorities-killing-each#ixzz1rSNXwrV6
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse

Capitalism with a Feminine Face | Dailycensored.com

Capitalism with a Feminine Face | Dailycensored.com:

Capitalism with a Feminine Face

Written by stuartbramhallPolitics, World NewsApr 7, 2012

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Historically the IMF and World Bank, like the WTO, have been characterized by “faceless” leadership. Prior to the mid-nineties, only a handful of liberal intellectuals knew these powerful international institutions existed. Even after the 1999 Battle of Seattle effectively launched the antiglobalization movement, the leaders of these august institutions remained anonymous. When the IMF issued warnings against countries with excessive public spending, they originated from the agency itself, rather than IMF officials. Prior to his June 2011 arrest for alleged sexual assault, no one outside of France had heard of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who ran the IMF from 2007 and 2011.

The Historic Role of the IMF

The IMF was founded at the end of World War II at Bretton Woods. The 

Meet Mike Miles, the Colorado Springs superintendent who expects to soon lead Dallas ISD | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com

Meet Mike Miles, the Colorado Springs superintendent who expects to soon lead Dallas ISD | Dallas ISD Blog | dallasnews.com:

Meet Mike Miles, the Colorado Springs superintendent who expects to soon lead Dallas ISD

by Matthew Haag/Reporter

In the days after Dallas ISD trustees named Mike Miles the lone superintendent finalist, we've tried to learn more about him. I landed in Colorado Springs, where Miles is superintendent of Harrison School District 2, about 15 hours after the announcement. I spent three days in the city below Pikes Peak following Miles around and talking to his supporters and critics. I discovered that he is a polarizing leader. His supporters laud him for bringing a no-excuses approach to turning around what was one of Colorado's worst school districts. But his 

40% of school suspensions are for `defiance' - LA Daily News

40% of school suspensions are for `defiance' - LA Daily News:

40% of school suspensions are for `defiance'

EDUCATION: Bill would replace category with more specific behaviors.

By Christina Hoag The Associated Press

Posted:   04/07/2012 09:19:56 PM PDT

Updated:   04/08/2012 01:53:19 AM PDT

In this Thursday, March 22, 2012 photo, Janaye Esparza, right, and, Jamie Rodriguez, both seniors, who had issues between each other that were resolved short of suspension, talk with Ramiro Rubalcaba, assistant principal, at Garfield High School in Los Angeles. (Reed Saxon / The Associated Press)

School suspensions were once reserved for serious offenses including fighting and bringing weapons or drugs on campus. But these days they're just as likely for talking back to a teacher, cursing, walking into class late or even student eye rolling.
More than 40 percent of suspensions in California are for "willful defiance," or any behavior that disrupts class, and critics say it's a catchall that needs to be eliminated because it's overused for trivial offenses, disproportionately used against black and Latino boys and alienates the students who need most to stay in school.
"It's so broad it's not useful," said Marqueece Harris-Dawson, president and chief executive of the nonprofi

Could College Be Free? - Education - GOOD

Could College Be Free? - Education - GOOD:

Could College Be Free?

by Alexander Heffner

With college costs skyrocketing, a growing group of policymakers is coalescing behind an audacious plan: Make college free for anyone who can't pay.
It may sound impossible in an era of dwindling education budgets, but proposals in Michigan and California claim it can be done through tax credits or creative repayment setups. If either plan becomes reality, it could show a way out of the tuition crisis that's affected most public and many private universities.
The most elite private universities have long offered generous scholarships to low- and middle-income students out of their teeming endowments, with some—like Harvard and Princeton—promising a free ride without student 

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

Deasy’s year on the job: L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF PUSHES TO CHANGE SYSTEM’S CULTURE + smf’s 2¢

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 6 hours ago

Some see John Deasy as a dynamic leader morally driven to give all students a quality education. Others see a relentless taskmaster intolerant of dissent. He admits impatience but otherwise has no apologies. By Teresa Watanabe and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/HohY3y L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy jokes with Christopher Palma-Cruz, right, and Luisa Garcia at Figueroa Street

LET THEM EAT GOALS

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 6 hours ago

Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA Week of April 2-6, 2012 | http://bit.ly/I68M4T 4-06-2012  ::  The nation's public colleges and universities are starving for the resources they need to educate. But instead of getting new capacity, they are given ambitious and lofty goals. This contradiction was nowhere more evident this week than in Santa Monica. A large crowd of protesting students showed up

PARENTAL ENGAGEMENT PROVES NO EASY GOAL

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 6 hours ago

By Sean Cavanagh, Ed Week Vol. 31, Issue 27, Pages 1,16-17 | http://bit.ly/HpEdMc Yohana Martinez of Brookline, Mass., works on math exercises while her daughter, Isabella Martinez, 4, hugs her in a class for Spanish-speaking parents of Boston public school students at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School. The class is part of a program known as “Parent University,” aimed at encouraging

Surprise: PLAINTIFFS CLAIM EVALUATION LAW REQUIRES STUDENT DATA; MAYOR TONY AGREES.

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 7 hours ago

First salvo in suit against LAUSD over Stull Act By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | http://bit.ly/Hoe5QT 4/06/12  ::  Two briefs filed this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court argue that Los Angeles Unified is violating a state law requiring that student progress, including results of standardized test scores, be included in teacher evaluations. “By failing to assess teachers and

NATIONAL PTA SEEKS TO REVERSE DROP IN MEMBERSHIP

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 9 hours ago

By David Crary, Associated Press  National Writer, from the LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/Ik30vy This March 8, 2012 photo provided by the National PTA shows National PTA president Betsy Landers, foreground left, and president-elect Otha Thornton, right, at the National PTA Legislative Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Landers and Thornton both hope the PTA can reverse a steady decline

(notyet)LAUSD’S STUDENT PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM + ACCEPTABLE CHEATING POLICY

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 16 hours ago

from notyetLAUSD | http://bit.ly/I3rBsC Student Performance Incentive Program Thursday, March 29, 2012  ::  notyetLAUSD is pleased to announce a new incentive program to get students to take ownership and improve their CST scores. notyetLAUSD is modeling this new program based on LAUSD’s current system to promote excellence among its teaching and administrative staff. LAUSD has seen a

DETROIT HIGH SCHOOL PROTEST: Students Suspended After Demanding 'An Education'

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 20 hours ago

Huffington Post |  http://huff.to/HvKdk3 Seniors at Detroit's Frederick Douglass Academy Walk Out in Protest: MyFoxDETROIT.com 03/30/2012 4:16 pm Updated: 03/31/2012 9:53 am  ::  About 50 students were suspended Thursday from the all-boys Frederick Douglass Academy in Detroit, Mich. for walking out of classes in protest, demanding "an education." Among their complaints: a lack of

Daily Kos: A day of musical memory

Daily Kos: A day of musical memory:

A day of musical memory

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

because on this day we lost two significant singer/songwriters.
in 1976 Phil Ochs at age 35
in 1997 Laura Nyro at age 49
Let me start with Nyro.  Her album Eli and the Thirteenth Confession was released in 1968, after she had performed a number of songs that appeared on itat the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival.  Several of the songs from it became big hits, but not for her, rather for the Fifth Dimension.  Here she is at that festival, performing "Poverty Train"
Popout
Lots more to come.

Missouri Education Watchdog: Quahogs, Easter Eggs and The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 04.08.12

Missouri Education Watchdog: Quahogs, Easter Eggs and The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 04.08.12:

Quahogs, Easter Eggs and The Sunday Education Weekly Reader 04.08.12

by stlgretchen

Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 04.08.12.  

• I discovered doyle-scienceteachblogspot.com during the week and it is a great read.  The posting Clamming on Good Friday imparts the lesson for the Easter season (the physical meets the miraculous) and I hope you enjoy it.  This blog is worth reading on a regular basis. It should please readers there is a teacher of this caliber teaching children.  It's a treat in the proverbial Easter basket!

• Since  mentioning anything remotely about God or religion is taboo in public schools today (don't 

Schools Matter: Highs And Lows? More like a Year of Woe! Deasy has got to go.

Schools Matter: Highs And Lows? More like a Year of Woe! Deasy has got to go.:

Highs And Lows? More like a Year of Woe! Deasy has got to go.

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

I was interested in the fact that the scandal over Deasy's PhD hit the headlines at the same time he was hired by Gates. His financial connections with Robert Felner date back to his Santa Monica days ‐ Susan Ohanian
Last week the Los Angeles press was effusive with anniversary homages to Eli Broad and Bill Gates' personally selected poverty pimp, Superintendent John Deasy. Short on facts and long on neoliberal cheerleading, the articles paint the man who has shuttered libraries and killed programs depended on by countless desperate poor and immigrant families as some kind of thoughtful hero. The Huffington Post jumped on the bandwagon, paying political tribute to the pirate king. My comments on The Huffington Post's Lucy Blodget's gushing love letter to Deasy are duplicated here:

The debut has been disastrous. Deasy squandered hundreds