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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

12-18-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:




Standardized Public Education
In his recent thread on the outlines of what ed reform is pushing for, Charlie included this in a comment as another facet:Standardized Curriculum - Reformers push the idea of standardized curricula, not only across classrooms within a school, but across schools within a district, across districts within a state, and, with the Common Core, across all states in the country. Standardized Curricula l
by Melissa Westbrook / 14min 


Washington State and Transparency in Public Records/Meetings
From Representative Gerry Pollet:I will be prime sponsor in House of AG Bob Ferguson's open government agenda bill (HB 2121).We've spent the past year collaborating and refining the bill to require that public officials take an on-line training to learn their obligations to the public to meet in open public meetings, and ensure that the public has access to public records. Watch the AG's news conf
by Melissa Westbrook / 12min 
12-16-13 Seattle Schools Community Forum
Seattle Schools Community Forum: JAMS Meetings; Past and PresentI know there was a JAMS meeting on December 11th and someone requested a thread to talk about that one.Also, there is another Jane Addams' Middle School "launch/intro" at the JAMS library this Wednesday Dec. 18th at 6:30pm.Meet the wonderful principal, Paula Montgomery, and hear about the exciting work being done. Lots of Q&
by mike simpson / 22h


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FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

California measure would replace seniority with performance for teacher layoffs






Education Headlines

Wednesday, December 18, 2013
FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

California Connections Academy adds staff based on growth

A San Joaquin County virtual school has recently added eight new credentialed teachers to serve students in the Lodi and Galt area.

Exiting Orland school boss to get more than $247,000

According to a summation of the cash settlement, which along with the agreement was originally withheld by the district, von Kleist will receive $247,100. Chris von Kleist, recently exited Orland Unified School District superintendent, didn't leave his post with empty pockets.

Desert Sands Unified Wi-Fi funds OK'd

The Desert Sands Unified School District will use Common Core preparation funds to buy 6,000 Google Chromebooks and install wireless Internet at the six mid-valley schools that do not have it today.

Parents wants board to remove Abraham Lincoln Elementary principal

A small but passionate group of parents have demanded that the Desert Sands Unified School District remove the new principal of Abraham Lincoln Elementary for refusing to call an ambulance for a bleeding student.

California measure would replace seniority with performance for teacher layoffs

A ballot measure submitted by a political consultant for education advocate Michelle Rhee seeks to remove seniority as a factor when California school districts lay off teachers, requiring instead that decisions be based on performance and student test scores.

Liberty Union High School District battles feral cat problem

Public health concerns have prompted Liberty Union High School District to hire professional trappers in its latest effort to remove the dozens of feral cats that roam campuses.

USDA awards $220,000 to Placerville Union schools in tragedy aftermath

Nearly three years after Principal Sam LaCara was gunned down by the school janitor in his office at Louisiana Schnell School, the U.S. Department of Education announced Tuesday it is giving Placerville Union School District close to a quarter-million dollars to “restore a sense of safety and security.”

Early education highlighted in Assembly Democrats’ budget priorities

Greatly expanding transitional kindergarten so that it is available to all 4-year-olds is listed among the top fiscal priorities of Assembly Democrats in the coming year.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Search coming soon for new Anaheim schools superintendent

Anaheim Union High School District’s board of trustees met Thursday night, rarely mentioning their controversial 3-2 vote earlier this month to fire Superintendent Elizabeth Novack.

Out-of-county charter programs take root in O.C.

Five-year-old Harrison Chong started kindergarten at the Orange County Language Academy four months ago, and his mother can't rave enough about what the county's first public Korean dual-language immersion program is doing for her son.

New app keeps parents in touch at Folsom Cordova Unified

The Folsom Cordova Unified School District has launched a mobile application giving parents, students and employees access to district resources and information, including school news, lunch menus, athletics, maps and message capabilities.

San Juan Unified School District facing 10 lawsuits

The San Juan Unified School District faces $17 million in claims over harassment allegations, with 10 lawsuits alleging that Superintendent Glynn Thompson created a hostile workplace.

Gov. Jerry Brown opposes gover

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Read the thank-you note from a student that gave a West Mesquite High School teacher goosebumps | Dallas Morning News

Read the thank-you note from a student that gave a West Mesquite High School teacher goosebumps | Dallas Morning News:

Read the thank-you note from a student that gave a West Mesquite High School teacher goosebumps

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A few days ago a friend forwarded the missive you see here, a note sent from a student to a West Mesquite High School teacher named Jennifer Davis. He was passing it along, said this friend, because he thought it was “pretty cool,” a touching thank-you that became its own little gift at this most wonderful time of the year.
Davis has given us permission to share it with the OK of her Algebra I student, 16-year-old Shayla Godbey. Says Davis, what made this missive most unexpected was its author: “Like she says,” Davis offers, “she’s not my most talkative of students.”
Davis, who grew up in Mesquite and attended North Mesquite High School, has been teaching locally for four years; before that she spent a year in Korea teaching English. She says she’s never received a 
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Plea deals in APS cheating case: Good legal strategy or... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com

Plea deals in APS cheating case: Good legal strategy or... | Get Schooled | www.ajc.com:

Plea deals in APS cheating case: Good legal strategy or admission of weak case? 




    Previous Posts

    By Maureen Downey
     I ran an opinion piece last month from former state lawmaker E. Wycliffe (Wyc) Orr, an attorney in Gainesville. He argued that the felony prosecutions of 35 educators implicated in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal was an expensive and ill-conceived overreach by the Fulton DA, writing:
    One of life's simplest lessons in education is to "look before you leap." Prosecution was a bad idea whose time had not come --- and shouldn't have. Too bad no one will intercede and reverse that ill-considered decision. But in today's political environment, government officials would rather that bad decisions persist regardless of the costs, than admit the error necessary for a reversal of course.
    I asked him about the spate of plea deals this week and last in the APS case in which defendants are pleading down to misdemeanors and walking out of court with probation.
    On Tuesday, former assistant principal Gregory Reid became fifth educator and the highest-ranking thus far to win such a deal. Fulton prosecutors dismissed racketeering and three other felony charges in exchange for his guilty plea and his cooperation. Reid pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of obstruction. The judge sentenced Reid to two years on probation and 
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    Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's consultant introduces California ballot measure

    Capitol Alert: Michelle Rhee's consultant introduces California ballot measure:

    Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee's  consultant introduces California ballot measure
    Rhee-lated $tory: Michelle Rhee answers Ravitch in New Book

    al$o $ee Rhee-lated $tory: Excerpts from "Rhee The Art of the Deal" a new $tory about Corporate Education Reform and the Woman that make$ it Happen!


    A ballot measure submitted by a political consultant for education advocate Michelle Rhee seeks to remove seniority as a factor when California school districts lay off teachers, requiring that they instead base decisions on performance ratings. Performance, under the proposal, would be determined in part based on student test scores.
    Those policy proposals have been at the core of Rhee's advocacy efforts as head ofStudentsFirst, a national group headquartered in Sacramento. Rhee, who is married to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, has said she established the group to try to counter the influence that teachers unions have in decisions about public education. Unions generally reject the idea that teachers should be rated based on their students' test scores, and prefer contracts that call for the most recently hired teachers to be the first let go during layoffs.
    The California ballot initiative was submitted Monday by Matt David, a political consultant to StudentsFirst. David was communications director to Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and worked on the presidential campaigns of Republican Senator John McCain and former Utah governorJon Huntsman Jr.
    David said he submitted the measure on his own behalf and that StudentsFirst has not yet endorsed it.
    "I would hope to get their support on this, assuming the language isn't changed (by the attorney general),"

    Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/12/michelle-rhee-pushing-california-ballot-measure-to-change-teacher-laws.html#storylink=cpy
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