2-21-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter:

Tony Bennett's Chewytrain Lands in Camden

by Doug MartinOne of the most embarrassing moments of Tony Bennett’s rein as Indiana’s corporate school chief (and there were many) was when his partner Dale Chu (better known as @chewytrain), happy as a teenage girl at a Jonas Brothers' concert (one of the Jonas Brothers, by the way, loves to perform at for-profit school Rocketship events), tweeted his admiration of the filthy rich out to privati

19 by Doug Martin / 39min hide  //  save

Our focus should be on protecting children from the impact of poverty.

Published in the Wall Street Journal, February 21.Response to: "A progressive education" (Editorial, Feb. 14)Your editorial sends the message that our public schools are failing. They aren't. When researchers control for the effects of poverty, American schools rank near the top of the world. Our overall scores are unspectacular because the child poverty rate in the U.S. is very high, 23

1 by skrashen / 1h 

Students of Democracy in Colorado and Around the World: Two Videos

by Jim Horn / 1h 

Parthenon Group Advises Schools, Education Industry, and Investors: How Could They Ever Lose?

The billions of ready cash from No Child Left Behind provided an  dollar-powered incubator for the birth of the modern day education industry.  State and local education agencies in search of quick solutions to meet NCLB’s impossible demands desperately turned to business solutions, ranging from direct instruction products to more expansive plans for corporatization of schools and school governanc

by Jim Horn / 1min 

2-20-14 Schools Matter

Schools Matter: Meaningful work or coercion?Sent to the Oregonian, Feb. 19Joanne Yatvin's description of how "Meaningful work keeps students in school," (Feb. 18) includes small class sizes, sports teams that allowed all comers to join and play, teacher collaboration with time to meet during the school day, plays and musical events that included all interested students, emphasis on build

by mike simpson / 25min 

2-21-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):

At UTLA forum, a few issues break out within the mudslinging

Warren Fletcher, Leonard Segal, Kevin Mottus and Alex Caputo-Pearl at the forum last night The third UTLA presidential forum held at union headquarters last night was the most well attended — about 70 members made it for the two hour question and answer session — and it also proved to be the most contentious and mud-slingingest. For any given question, only a handful of the 10 candidates managed t

by Vanessa Romo / 20min hide  //  save

No easy fix for California’s teacher pension crisis

Via the Los Angeles Times | By Chris Megerian WEST SACRAMENTO — When the glass-sheathed headquarters of the California teachers’ pension fund opened five years ago, it was supposed to help anchor developments along the blighted riverfront on the capital’s outskirts. But as Jack Ehnes, the fund’s chief executive, looked out from a top-floor conference room on a recent afternoon, he could see patche

20min 

Morning Read: An effort in CA to return bilingual education

California senator proposes restoring bilingual education Sixteen years after California voters approved an initiative requiring public school instruction in English, state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced a measure Thursday to repeal the requirement of Proposition 227. Lara’s proposal would place an initiative on the ballot that would give parents a choice to have their children rece

20min 

2-20-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): After 22 plaintiffs’ witnesses in Vergara, it’s the defendants’ turnIn a trial that began in late January and was supposed to take 20 court days, plaintiffs in Vergara v California used the first 16 to put on their case, as Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu heard from 22 witnesses through yesterday. Testimon

by mike simpson / 22h 

Why Do Kids Act Out? Oakland Classrooms Try Healing Instead of Punishment | Alternet

Why Do Kids Act Out? Oakland Classrooms Try Healing Instead of Punishment | Alternet:

Why Do Kids Act Out? Oakland Classrooms Try Healing Instead of Punishment

As executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, Fania Davis sees programs like hers as part of the way to end the school-to-prison pipeline.

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Photo Credit: Suzanne Tucker via Shutterstock.com

February 20, 2014  |  

 

Tommy, an agitated 14-year-old high school student in Oakland, Calif., was in the hallway cursing out his teacher at the top of his lungs. A few minutes earlier, in the classroom, he’d called her a “b___” after she twice told him to lift his head from the desk and sit up straight. Eric Butler, the school coordinator for Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY—the author is executive director of the organization) heard the ruckus and rushed to the scene. The principal also heard it and appeared. Though Butler tried to engage him in conversation, Tommy was in a rage and heard nothing. He even took a swing at Butler that missed. Grabbing the walkie-talkie to call security, the principal angrily told Tommy he would be suspended.

“I don’t care if I’m suspended. I don’t care about anything,” Tommy defiantly responded. Butler asked the principal to allow him to try a restorative approach with Tommy instead of suspending him.

Butler immediately began to try to reach Tommy’s mother. This angered Tommy even more. 

2-21-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Data Walls in Classrooms (Coming to a School Near You?)

Read this article by Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post.  It should cause you to consider what is coming.   Following on the heels of that article is her next one where one privacy expert says this could violate FERPA.Really, the photo, from Caledwell County Schools in North Carolina, says it all. In some places, parents and teachers are getting tired of embarrassing kids. New England Public R

by Melissa Westbrook / 2h hide  //  save

Urgent: Contact Senator Murray's Office Today on NCLB Waiver

Education Week is reporting that Senator Patty Murray will be meeting this weekend with Education Secretary Arne Duncan about Washington State waiver request for NCLB.  Really good insights from Education Week:Washington State is in the unfortunate position of being just one of four that had its NCLB waiver put on "high risk" status by the U.S. Department of Education. The Evergreen Stat

by Melissa Westbrook / 4h 

Update on NW Center Kids and Cascade Parent Partnership Building Tug-of-War

Here's the latest on this story:From My Northwest: So far, the only response from the school district came in an email saying they'll let Northwest Center know the next step after enrollment numbers are in on March 7. By that time, Northwest Center will have just three months left to figure out a plan. From The Stranger Slog, now we have a Seattle legislator involved:The Northwest Center understan

1 by Melissa Westbrook / 4h 

Friday Open Thread

A new initiative is coming on student data privacy in Washington State but here's the latest from California via the NY Times.  California has always been a frontrunner on this issue and this bill may be one that our Legislature could use as a template (along with the bills now going in Georgia, NY, and Colorado).  This is an issue that is gaining steam.     This says it all:“We don’t want to limi

by Melissa Westbrook / 4min 

2-20-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum

Seattle Schools Community Forum: More Legislative UpdatesFrom Mary Griffin of the Seattle Special Ed PTA: SHB 2605 is a step backwards in Washington state’s efforts to make our education system more transparent and accessible for parents. That’s because this bill will make it harder, not easier, for parents to know and understand school district policies regarding restraint and isolation of studen

by mike simpson / 22h

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Calif. pension battle brewing. Sounds eerily familiar.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Calif. pension battle brewing. Sounds eerily familiar.:

Calif. pension battle brewing. Sounds eerily familiar.

UC service workers, members of AFSCME Local 3299,  picket at UC Irvine Medical Center. The union has scheduled a five-day walkout starting March 3. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times). 

IN L.A. THIS WEEK… The weather's different, but the education issues sound pretty much the same here in Cali as they do in the IL tundra. The proposed so-called "pension reform" sounds eerily familiar. Like IL, the state has failed to meet it's payment obligations. Schools, for their part, are wary of paying more for pensions after suffering budget cuts during the recession.

It's a revenue crisis, not a pension crisis but "reform" always seems to mean placing the burden squarely on the backs of the retirees and sparing the wealthiest and the corporations any new tax increases.

The L.A. Times reports:

Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders are pledging to repair and replenish the $181.1-billion retirement system that is supposed to finance more than 

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Scrutiny in California for software in schools

Education Headlines

Friday, February 21, 2014

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.

Rialto Unified superintendent’s fate remains undecided

The school board met again Wednesday night without deciding the fate of Superintendent Harold Cebrun, who has been out on leave for more than five months.

Alpine strike to enter second day

The first day of a teachers strike in the Alpine Union School District ended with differing conclusions: Administrators described a smooth Thursday at all five campuses, while picketing teachers said many students didn’t show up for school and that some classes lacked substitute instructors.

School board to discuss Local Control Accountability Plan

The Riverside school board will discuss preparation of its Local Control Accountability Plan at a special meeting Monday, Feb. 24. All California school districts must create a plan to go with the state’s new Local Control Funding Formula.

Schools grapple with Obamacare’s effects on substitute teachers

Inland school districts are trying to figure out what to do about new federal health care rules that call on them to give benefits to some substitute teachers.

Legislation would make child abuse reporting training mandatory in California schools

Next month, the state Assembly education committee will begin discussing legislation to require that school employees receive child abuse reporting training every year.

Antioch High baseball coaches placed on administrative leave after 'inappropriate conduct' allegations surfaced

In response to allegations made by parents of players, Antioch High principal Louie Rocha has placed five Panthers baseball coaches, including head varsity coach Ben Juarez, on administrative leave while the Antioch Unified School District investigates the matter.

California senator proposes restoring bilingual education

Sixteen years after California voters approved an initiative requiring public school instruction in English, state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) introduced a measure Thursday to repeal the requirement of Proposition 227.

Scrutiny in California for software in schools

A leading California lawmaker plans to introduce state legislation on Thursday that would shore up privacy and security protections for the personal information of students in elementary through high school, a move that could alter business practices across the nearly $8 billion education technology software industry.

No easy fix for California's teacher pension crisis

The state teachers pension fund faces a $71-billion shortfall, but Gov. Brown is willing to wait until next year to craft a remedy.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Fillmore teachers say district dragging feet on contract negotiations

More than 30 teachers came to Tuesday night’s Fillmore Unified School District board meeting to demand that officials negotiate a contract in good faith with their union representatives.

Construction firm TELACU bankrolling Centinela Valley school board campaigns, receiving millions in contracts

For a couple of moms from working-class families hoping to retain their seats on the Centinela Valley school board, it was a stark lesson in machine politics.

Eureka City Schools teacher talks continue: No agreement reached; upcoming mediation set

After failed negotiations, the Eureka City Schools District and the Eureka Teachers Association look to meet in early March with a mediator, according to district Superintendent Fred Van Vleck.

School district fires firm, demands money back

A company that was supposed to help clear environmental impact concerns on property that was to be the site of a third high school was fired Wednesday night by the Chico Unified School District board of trustees.

Committee urges Sacramento city schools not to sell closed campus sites without further review

A committee for the Sacramento City Unified School District has finalized recommendations for the future use of seven elementary campuses closed last year due to falling enrollment – urging that none be sold without further evaluation.

Fremont Unified school board members place $650 million bond measure on June ballot

The school district's aging facilities are in such need of major repair that board members have placed Fremont Unified's largest bond, a $650 million campus-improvement measure, on the June ballot.

Now online in Pleasanton: school district public records sought by public

Want to view Pleasanton school district employee salaries, a report on complaints about a principal, or other information disclosed in response to public record requests? All that is now available on the school district's Website.

Aerospace business corridor in El Segundo a cash cow for Centinela Valley school district

The Centinela Valley Union High School District serves a low-income population, but thanks to a quirky boundary line that juts into an unpopulated portion of El Segundo, the district has rare access to a gargantuan cash cow.

2-21-14 Engaging Parents In School All Week… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement":

California “PTA program creates parent advocates”

PTA program creates parent advocates is an article published in Ed Source describing a parent training program developing by the California PTA. It’s called School Smarts. The article provides a lot of information, including links, about the program.

by Larry Ferlazzo / 23min 

 

2-20-14 Engaging Parents In School All Week… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement"

Engaging Parents In School… | Going Beyond Parent "Involvement": Video: “Creating the Schools Children Deserve”A few days ago, I published a post titled St. Paul Federation Of Teachers Is National Model For Engaging Parents. This video is another example of why they are a national model:by Larry Ferlazzo / 1min hide  //  save“Parent Involvement in Early Literacy”Parent Involvement in Ear

by mike simpson / 18h

College and Career Ready or Not | EduShyster

College and Career Ready or Not | EduShyster:

College and Career Ready or Not

 How to talk to your little ones about art history

It is never too early to begin preparing your little ones for the jobs that will cease to exist in the future—even if you don’t actually have little ones. So imagine the frustration of successfully filling your little ones full of college and career readiness only to watch them choose the wrong choice: say art history, or poetry. Is there anythingyou can do to forestall this terrible fate? 

Chetty, chetty bang bang
Chances are, your career-ready kindergartener LUVS his or her teacher. [Brief pausewhile writer shakes her head.] You see, it may be time for a tough little talk with your youngster in which you explain that a *nice* teacher and a *highly effective* teacher are not one and the same, no matter how sweet she was when you had that little problem at nap time. Using brightly colored blocks (or *blocks* on your at-home Amplify tablet), quickly and 

Death of disabled 11-year-old boy leads to FCAT opt-out bill | www.wftv.com

Death of disabled 11-year-old boy leads to FCAT opt-out bill | www.wftv.com:

Death of disabled 11-year-old boy leads to FCAT opt-out bill

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Andrea Rediske

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — 

The death of an 11-year-old boy has led to a new state bill that would allow severely disabled students to skip the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

Ethan Rediske's parents were upset after being forced to prove their son was dying just so he could skip the test.

"There's nothing to describe it. When you know your child is going to do die and you're sitting next to his bed watching and waiting for those last few breaths," mother Andrea Rediske said.

Ethan Rediske, 11, died on February 7. He was the severely disabled boy whose parents were required to prove to theOrange County School District he was dying so he could keep his medical waiver in order to skip the FCAT.

"Nobody should have to do that, nobody should have to sit there with their child on their deathbed, worrying about paperwork," Andrea Rediske said.

Andrea Rediske was outraged and made a vow to try to change state law so severely disabled students like Ethan could get a full FCAT exemption. Now Florida state Rep. Karen Castor Dentel has filed a bill called the Ethan Rediske Act.

"I don't want anyone else to have to go through this," Andrea Rediske said.

The bill that was filed would include a "waiver of assessment results for certain students with