REGION: Testing improvements attributed to teachers, increase of data

REGION: Testing improvements attributed to teachers, increase of data:

"'We're moving forward,' said Jim Growth, a member of the California Teachers Association's board of directors and a teacher in Chula Vista. 'It's good news for everybody.'
Teaching strategies and curricula vary from district to district and from classroom to classroom, but local school officials said it's ultimately up to teachers and parents to boost student performance.

'Where the work takes place is in the classroom,' Growth said. 'California has thousands and thousands of very hardworking teachers who, in spite of all of the politics, continue to move forward and put their best foot forward.'

Teachers are becoming more familiar with what students are expected to know in each grade level, which has also helped to bring up test scores, said Sally Bennett-Schmidt, assessment coordinator with the San Diego County Office of Education. State education officials rewrote the tests in 2003 to align them closer to academic standards that were adopted a few years before."

L.A. Unified OKs pay incentives for some administrators -- latimes.com

L.A. Unified OKs pay incentives for some administrators -- latimes.com:

"Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - The Los Angeles Unified School District has instituted a pay incentive program for high-level administrators, a move that is largely symbolic now but that some officials and board members hope will pave the way for more merit-based compensation in the future.

'I don't believe everyone is the same and I do believe there are individual skills and they should be rewarded,' said Supt. Ramon C. Cortines. 'I would hope some of the bargaining units would pick this up on their own.'"

NEA Attacks Administration's Education Reform Plan | 44 | washingtonpost.com

NEA Attacks Administration's Education Reform Plan 44 washingtonpost.com:

"The union, which boasts 3.2 million members, charged that Race to the Top contradicted administration pledges to give states more flexibility in how they improve schools. 'We find this top-down approach disturbing; we have been down that road before with the failures of No Child Left Behind,' the union wrote in its comments, 'and we cannot support yet another layer of federal mandates that have little or no research base of success and that usurp state and local government's responsibilities for public education.'"

Strong-Mayor Talks Heat Up At Council - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Strong-Mayor Talks Heat Up At Council - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento:


"After a suggestion by Councilmember Ray Tretheway, the council voted unanimously to delay the discussion for two weeks while Teichert seeks advice from the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the FPPC had not yet received a request from the Sacramento City Attorney's office.
Executive Director Roman Porter said if requested, the agency could provide an informal opinion during the two-week time frame."

Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Obama and Duncan: Unanswered Questions

Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Obama and Duncan: Unanswered Questions:

"The skeptical person could conclude that it isn't Duncan's supposed 'new approach' to school reform--an approach that all evidence shows failed conclusively--that prompted his choice, but perhaps his ability to mask failure with corporate-speak laced 'initiatives' that give liberals the sensation that schools are 'innovating' and provide a good bulwark against criticism from teachers' union and public school advocates.

That would be the skeptical person. I'm going to give the President the benefit of the doubt and say that it was because they played basketball together."

LAUSD Board Approves School Choice Plan Amidst Cries of 'Recall' - LAist

LAUSD Board Approves School Choice Plan Amidst Cries of 'Recall' - LAist:

"The LAUSD's Downtown meeting room was packed with people, many of whom were there to express dissent about the plan and how the District handled engaging the public in the pre-vote discussion process. The meeting ran 'more than four hours of debate' and included 'often- heated public comment,' ahead of the vote, which saw only Marguerite LaMotte voting against the plan, according to the Daily News. Often, as Board President Monica Garcia and Aguilar spoke, the crowd issued cries of 'recall,' and implying they should be jailed, according to one Twittering attendee."

LA Board of Education plans on privatizing over 250 LAUSD K-12 schools

LA Board of Education plans on privatizing over 250 LAUSD K-12 schools:

"President of United Teachers Los Angeles, A.J. Duffy has stated that he believes the LA city Board of Education school choice plan is privatizing public education. Duffy has expressed his discontent with the school choice plan and believes the bad performance of the over 250 schools is just an excuse to break up the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). In addition, Duffy supports his argument with a Stanford study released this past spring that concludes 30 percent of nationwide charter schools are doing worse than non-charter schools.

However, according to a state-sponsored evaluation of charter schools by a California based non-partisan group, Legislative Analyst, charter schools have raised academic achievement for students. Charter schools particularly serve to assist disadvantaged students, such as individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds or historically neglected races, such as Native Americans, who have a dropout rate of 31%."

VOA News - Going Digital: California's Textbook Project

VOA News - Going Digital: California's Textbook Project:

"Six of the ten were published by the CK12 Foundation. Co-founder Neeru Khosla says the nonprofit group had been developing digital science and math books for about two years. The foundation paid teachers and other education professionals to write and edit them. The money came from a group financed by the Khosla family. The AMAR Foundation also supports projects in India.

California cannot require schools to use the digital textbooks. Individual school districts will have to decide for themselves.
Susan Martimo, a California Department of Education official, says she does not expect widespread use right away. Her best guess is that some schools with a lot of technology will be the first to use them, but only in addition to their traditional books."

State legislators vow to qualify for U.S. education grants : State : Ventura County Star

State legislators vow to qualify for U.S. education grants : State : Ventura County Star:

"Since U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan began circulating proposed guidelines for the program in late July, most of the attention in California has focused on Duncan’s threat to withhold funding to any state that does not allow the use of student test scores as part of its evaluation of teachers. Duncan has specifically cited California as among the states that wouldn’t qualify.

But lawmakers and education officials speaking at a special legislative hearing on the program Wednesday described the issue as a “tempest in a teapot,” in the words of the legislator who wrote the law that includes the language Duncan cites as objectionable."

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, vowed lawmakers will do what is necessary to prevent Californians from becoming “bystanders in the Race to the Top.” Echoed Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles: “If we have a firewall, let’s remove it. If we don’t have a firewall, in plain English, let’s just say so.”

Parents, are you ready to be involved? - St. Petersburg Times

Parents, are you ready to be involved? - St. Petersburg Times:

"There are so many things parents can do, such as attending conferences and open houses; volunteering to work in the classrooms, offices or libraries; participating in the PTA; supporting the sports program and club activities of the school; sending items needed in the classroom such as refreshments for parties or items for a treasure chest; and offering to do projects at home to be sent into the classroom.

Ask your children what they are studying, be aware of when progress reports and report cards are sent home, make sure your child completes homework assignments, check classroom work, sign papers and return them when due. The list goes on and on."

Education campaign reminds parents to “Be There” | ajc.com

Education campaign reminds parents to “Be There” ajc.com:

"Be There, a national multimedia campaign, encourages parents to use everyday situations as “teachable moments” and thus improve student achievement without ever visiting a school.
“There’s a large section of parents who aren’t coming to school either because of conflicts in their schedule, they’re busy with two jobs or just don’t feel they fit into the PTA clique,” said David Voss, creator of the campaign. “That doesn’t mean they should simply delegate education to the schools.”"

State's teachers not always to blame for test scores : Opinion : Ventura County Star

State's teachers not always to blame for test scores : Opinion : Ventura County Star:

"Removing the charter school cap and increasing parental options could be steps toward improving the system, whose failures (and examples of success) are cataloged in a new report by Oakland-based Education Trust-West. But using test data to judge teachers’ performance could evolve into simplistic finger pointing unless it’s done fairly and contextually.

Testing data seemingly introduce dispassionate objectivity into the evaluation process. Each kid’s abilities are as individual as fingerprints, however. Learning is also affected by many other factors, most of which are beyond the control of the teacher, such as cultural influences, parental involvement, taxpayer financing, administrative support and availability of textbooks."

Report calls for overhaul of California community colleges' transfer process -- latimes.com

Report calls for overhaul of California community colleges' transfer process -- latimes.com:

"More than 2.7 million Californians are students in the state's sprawling network of community colleges. Some are enrolled in vocational classes or pursuing two-year degrees, while others seek a path into a four-year institution. But relatively few make the jump -- in the 2007-08 school year, 106,666 students successfully transferred to a University of California or California State University campus, or to private or out-of-state colleges.

Now, a new study finds that the obstacles California community college students face in transferring are endemic and require an overhaul of the transfer process."

Editorial: Students better in English, math - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Editorial: Students better in English, math - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"Despite budget cuts and the challenge of educating a growing immigrant population, California's public schools are soldiering on, and they are continuing to improve. One of the state's great unappreciated stories of the past 10 years is how much progress California students have made in mastering academic standards that are generally considered the toughest in the nation."

District superintendent announces he's retiring - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

District superintendent announces he's retiring - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"The announcement came after a closed session that included a discussion of his contract. His retirement takes effect at the end of November.
Farrar, 60, said he is retiring from the district to spend more time with his family.
'I am pleased with the many accomplishments Natomas Unified has achieved in my years here – our recognition and celebration as the second most diverse school district in the United States, our national role in the 'green schools' movement, our leadership in digital technology in the classroom and our passion for equity in education,' he said in a prepared statement."

Sacramento mayor at odds with city attorney's directive

Sacramento mayor at odds with city attorney's directive - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Teichert said the mayor did have a financial stake in the specific issue before the City Council on Tuesday: whether the council should draft an ordinance to fix what she described as a "potentially fatal flaw" in the strong-mayor ballot measure.

Right now, the mayor holds what is essentially the city of Sacramento's District 9 council seat. Passage of the strong-mayor initiative would make the mayor's position separate from the council and create a new council seat to fill that void. The initiative does not set a timeline for the election of that new seat – an omission Teichert says could result in the entire ballot measure being ruled unconstitutional.

Teichert told the council Tuesday it could remedy the problem by voting to place a companion measure on the June ballot specifying a timeline for the District 9 election.

Natomas Unified superintendent announces retirement - Latest News - sacbee.com

Natomas Unified superintendent announces retirement - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"Natomas Unified School District Superintendent Steve Farrar announced his retirement at the beginning of a school board meeting tonight."

On Women's Equality Day in U.S., a Global Focus

On Women's Equality Day in U.S., a Global Focus | OneWorld.net (U.S.)

"In any conflict around the world, women are usually the disproportionate victims and rarely are afforded justice," said Gerald LeMelle, executive director of the Washington, DC-based advocacy group Africa Action. "President Obama should seize the moment as President of the UN Security Council, build upon what the [United Nations peacekeeping force in Sudan] is doing effectively, and enable it to fulfill its mandate."

Charter school regulation is a mess

The Explorer -  Opinion > Charter school regulation is a mess

The bad news is, our charter school system is an unregulated mess, and I fear too much of the money will go into the pockets of people more interested in personal profit than educational quality.

The problems with our charter schools began 15 years ago with the original legislation. The people who wrote the law had two basic goals in mind. They wanted lots of charters up and running quickly, and they didn't want them "burdened" by regulation. Good schools would thrive, they reasoned, and the bad ones would fail.

The result of the legislation is, we have more charter schools per capita than any other state in the nation. As for regulation and oversight, our charter schools might as well live in a cow town in the Wild West where the sheriff is asleep with his feet propped up on his desk.

And instead of increasing quality, the lack of regulation has allowed unscrupulous school directors to cheat taxpayers and students while they enrich themselves.

How many charter schools are misusing state funds and giving their students an inferior education? It's impossible to say, because the state's Charter School Board isn't minding the store. But here are some examples I know of, taken from an excellent article in the Star a few Sundays ago, news reports over the past few years and material I've uncovered on my own.

The initiative might not hold up in court.

Strong Mayor Plan Could Face Legal Challenge - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

The report, signed by City Attorney Eileen Teichert, goes so far as to suggest that the initiative might not hold up in court.

It states, "A judicial challenge would likely either strike down the Strong Mayor Initiative in its entirety or delay its implementation until a judicial ruling is finalized."

The first issue that the report raises is the creation of a ninth seat on the Sacramento City Council. If approved by voters, the initiative would remove the mayor from the City Council and replace him or her with a new ninth council member.

But the report says it "fails to address when the ninth district election occurs" and therefore the effect "would be to disenfranchise ninth district voters, denying the 55,000 residents their fundamental right to vote and representation."

The report also says the initiative would create several "legal ambiguities" by taking away some powers of the Sacramento City Council without expressly giving them to the mayor. Examples of such powers are entering into contracts, negotiating labor agreements, and settling lawsuits.