Mayor, please explain this school reform thing - Bill Boyarsky

Mayor, please explain this school reform thing - Bill Boyarsky

If wants parents to support his plan to convert 250 Los Angeles schools into charter schools, he needs to explain why he thinks this would be an improvement.

I sort of understand charter schools. Basically, private organizations—Green Dot is the best known—take over public schools and, using public funds and donations, run them free of many of the LAUSD rules and restrictions. But I can't tell you how they work and I have a lot of questions about them. More important, most parents do too.

The mayor has to answer these questions. He got the school board to approve the scheme. Here are some questions parents—or grandparents like me—want answered:

Why are charter schools better? Education scholar Diane Ravitch wrote in the Times that "Charter schools vary in quality from excellent to abysmal." You told Patt Morrison on KPCC that the schools would "meet a metrics driven plan" on making improvements. That's no answer.

Will parents have anything say in running the schools? Be specific, without all the clichés about consultation.

Chris Prevatt: Schwarzenegger Sets Trap for Obama's "Race to the Top" Education Initiative

In the 1985 action film, Commando, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays John Matrix, a commando who uses a little humor when taking revenge on the bad guys, "Remember when I said I'd kill you last... I lied!" Though this is a forgettable little line, President Obama should pay attention to it because he is about to be played by someone who really believes he is an action hero.

I first wrote about Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans for education in California in my August 16, 2009 article "The Shock Doctrine hits Public Education". On August 20, Governor Schwarzenegger called on California's legislators to adopt sweeping education reforms that would dramatically reshape the beleaguered public education system and qualify the state for billions of one time monies which President Obama, has dubbed "Race to the Top." A smiling governor, flanked by jubilant education advisors said, "I want to congratulate President Obama for standing up for education reform. I absolutely agree with the four basic education principles he outlined today, including the need for data systems that allow us to measure student and teacher success by the results they achieve."

How To Help Kids With Homework - Education News Story - WEWS Cleveland

As the school year begins, so does the homework season. But homework doesn't just involve students -- parents also should play a role.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, parents should assist their children in daily homework by making sure they have a quiet, well-lit place to complete their assignments.

Parents should also make sure their child has all of the materials he or she needs to complete their homework and they should also help them manage their time to make sure assignments get completed on time.

The U.S. Department of Education also tells parents to know when to help and when to watch. It recommends that parents guide their child without giving them the answers. It also says that when a child brings home an assignment that requires parental involvement, make sure you participate.

It's also important to encourage your child while they do their homework, the U.S. Department of Education says. It suggests to praise your child for good work and to also be aware of their frustration level or when they are struggling to understand an assignment. The U.S. Department of Education also recommends staying in touch with your child's teacher so you know what the assignments are and what they are meant to teach.

Bobb wants mayor to run Detroit schools | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Key to his vision is achieving radical reforms in the teachers union contract that would challenge cherished provisions, such as seniority.

"It's the Holy Grail for the union," Bobb said. "For us, it is a monumental problem."

Great teachers with less than 10 years of experience are losing their jobs while some longtime, but ineffective, teachers are retained, he said. Principals need to be able to keep the best teachers, he said.

Using the teachers' contract in New York City as a model, Bobb wants to create a special "chancellor's district" for the lowest performing schools -- an estimated 50-54 schools out of the district's 172. The schools would operate under new rules: no seniority for teachers, extended school days and prescribed teaching techniques.

Performance-based bonuses would be instituted for schools that achieve goals. Everyone, including custodians and cafeteria workers, would be eligible, based on a formula.

The Answer Sheet - New Rules for Back- to-School Night

The Answer Sheet - New Rules for Back- to-School Night:

"This really happened:

An administrator at a school in Montgomery County welcomed several hundred parents at back-to-school night by relating his extensive experience as an educator and as a soldier.
Then he said, “So you can see I am very qualified. So, do I know more than you do about the curriculum? Yes I do. Do I know more about [student] placement? Yes I do. Do I want your opinion? No I don’t.”

The crowd was effectively cowed.

This, admittedly, is not the best way to start off a back- to-school night--but it points to two problems that too often ruin the evening when parents and teachers get together at the start of the near year. The two problems: the parents and the teachers."

Newark school offers alternative path to learning - NJ.com

Newark school offers alternative path to learning - NJ.com:

"'I like hands-on. That's how you learn,' McNeil said. 'They are offering something I cannot get out of regular high school.'

Urban Academy is one of five alternative high schools the Newark school district, in partnership with several nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, will open Thursday.
The five are in addition to two alternative programs that started last year. Plans are in the works to open three more next fall.

This year, the five new high school programs, which will be run at district facilities around the city, will accommodate 875 students who have dropped out or are at-risk of leaving school. The models replace the decade-old Twilight program, which offered night courses for dropouts."

Innovation proposals aim to transform Michigan education | Detroit Free Press | Freep.com

Innovation proposals aim to transform Michigan education Detroit Free Press Freep.com:

"This reimagine process has the potential to radically transform education in Michigan, where a quarter of students fail to graduate high school on time. Student achievement has seen only modest gains in some subjects, and has actually worsened in others. A troubling 40% of high school students failed the reading portion of the Michigan Merit Exam the last two years.

The reimagine plans could help Michigan win a slice of more than $4 billion in federal funds pledged for states with promising plans to innovate education."

Ethics in the Classroom: What You Need to Know

Ethics in the Classroom: What You Need to Know:


Ethics and morals are often associated with religion, but schools can also provide important lessons in ethical thinking and action.

“There’s a big fear out there that somehow teaching ethics in school will seep into students a particular religious viewpoint,” says Dr. Bruce Weinstein, aka The Ethics Guy. “But ethics must be taught and are being taught in school. It’s impossible not to teach ethics in a school.”

Weinstein, who writes a weekly column for BusinessWeek.com and recently released the popular book Is It Still Cheating if I Don’t Get Caught?, says if schools have a code of conduct, they are teaching ethics.

"According to Weinstein, there are five basic principles of ethics that are common to all faiths:
Do no harm
Make things better
Respect others
Be fair
Be loving"

SCUSD Observer: Corporate "School Reform" comes to Sacramento Thursday

SCUSD Observer: Corporate "School Reform" comes to Sacramento Thursday

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visits Sacramento this Thursday, September 3 to headline Kevin Johnson's Education Summit.Following last week's release of Johnson's white paper, which supposedly "aligns with Secretary of Education Duncan’s plan for national reform", Duncan will be sharing his plan this Thursday at the Tsakopoulos Library Galleria at 5:00 p.m.

September 3, 2009 Meeting

September 3, 2009 Meeting: "September 3, 2009 Meeting



Regular Meeting

Agenda Now Available
Time: Location:
September 3, 20094:30 Closed session
6:30 Open Session Serna Center Community Rooms
5735 47th Ave.
Meeting Documents:Online meeting Video/Archive
Agenda
Minutes
During a Regular Board of Education meeting, click HERE to watch the meeting live.
PLEASE NOTE: This video service is designed for high speed internet access.

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This meeting of the Sacramento City School Board is being videotaped in its entirety and will be cablecast without interruption on Metro Cable 14, the government affairs channel on the Comcast and SureWest Cable Systems. Today’s meeting will be replayed Sunday, September 6 at 9am & Monday, September 7 at Noon on Channel 14, and will be webcast at www.sacmetrocable.tv. A video copy is also available for check out from any library branch.
Members of the audience wishing to address the Board should fill out a speaker identification form located in the back of community room and give to the Clerk. Please speak into the microphone when addressing the Board, and state your name for the record."

CAForward

CAForward:

"It’s Time to Move California Forward
Californians are fed up — with a broken system of government that caters to the special interests rather than people, with politicians who spend more time fighting than solving problems, and with spending too much on things that don’t work while short-changing real priorities.
California Forward is bringing people together to reclaim our power as citizens to make our government work again. But we need your help today to reform California.
Our goal is simple: government that’s small enough to listen, big enough to tackle real problems, smart enough to spend money wisely in good times and bad, and honest enough to be held accountable for results.
Please stand with us: Sign our online petition to the right, and help us show the politicians in Sacramento that Californians are demanding real change."

Say NO to Censorship - Let's Not Rewrite American History

Say NO to Censorship - Let's Not Rewrite American History (Education - Change.org)

There is an education war going on in Texas that you need to know about and get involved with. The TX State Board of Education is currently preparing to adopt new social studies curriculum standards. These standards have major national implications as Texas is such a major purchaser of textbooks and their state’s required curriculum drives the content of textbooks produced nationwide.

The TX State Board of Education has hired 6 "experts" to determine what will be in the books their schools use. Some of these "experts" are arguing that the state’s social studies and history textbooks are giving "too much attention" to some of the most prominent civil rights leaders in US History, namely Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall.

David Barton, one of these "experts," claimed Cesar Chavez "lacks the stature, impact and overall contributions of so many others." He went on to say Chávez is not a role model who "ought to be held up to our children as someone worthy of emulation."

The same "expert" wants to eliminate Thurgood Marshall, a prominent Civil Rights leader who argued the landmark case that resulted in school desegregation and was the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court justice. He wrote that the late justice is "not a strong enough example" of an important historical figure to be presented to Tex

FLASHBACK: "All you have to do is care"—Kennedy's Final Words on Education #BATsACT #RealEdTalk #EDCHAT #P2 #Cheats4Change

"All you have to do is care"—Kennedy's Final Words on Education 

In one of Ted Kennedy's final interviews, with BigThink, he spoke about his ideals and hopes for the future of the education system, explaining that when he goes to schools and colleges, he's struck by the spirit of young people who want to help solve problems. Kennedy stresses that one of the most important parts of the Education Bill just passed is loan forgiveness for those who want to go on work in the community to help solve problems: whether it's as a teacher, nurse, or on an Indian Reservation. Kennedy is saying: If you can get to college, debt shouldn't be a barrier to allowing you go on to help solve the nation's problems. He expressed confidence that this country will be safe as long as the spirit of kids who want to make a difference endures.

You don't have to be a senator to make a difference, all you have to do is care. —Ted Kennedy

Education Week: Ed. Dept. Seeks Stiff Conditions on Turnaround Aid

Education Week: Ed. Dept. Seeks Stiff Conditions on Turnaround Aid

Title I and Turnarounds

Under proposed Education Department guidelines, school districts, with a few exceptions, would have to adopt one of four “rigorous interventions” to qualify for some of the $3.5 billion in Title I school improvement grants that would be spent over the next three years.

Turnaround Model: This would include among other actions, replacing the principal and at least 50 percent of the school’s staff, adopting a new governance structure and implementing a new or revised instructional program.

Restart Model: School districts would close failing schools and reopen them under the management of a charter school operator, a charter management organization or an educational management organization selected through a rigorous review process.

School Closure: The district would shut down a failing school and enroll its students in high-achieving schools in the district.

Transformational Model: Districts would address four specific areas: 1) developing teacher and school leader effectiveness, which includes replacing the principal and requiring student achievement growth to be used to reward and dismiss teachers, 2) implementing comprehensive instructional reform strategies, 3) extending learning and teacher planning time and creating community-oriented schools, and 4) providing operating flexibility and sustained support.

Education Week: Turnaround Schools That Work

Education Week: Turnaround Schools That Work

The regulations under which the federal government will award $3.5 billion in Title I school improvement money, announced by Secretary Duncan last week, include four turnaround models that allow states and districts some flexibility in how they deal with failing schools. But the rules also contain strong incentives to choose the models that focus on changing staff and governance. ("Turnaround Grants Facing Tight Leash," same issue.)

Changing the principal and teachers in a school isn’t enough, in part because many years of research have confirmed what all parents know: Kids learn from one another as well as from the teacher. In high-poverty schools, a child is surrounded by classmates who are less likely to have big dreams and, accordingly, are less academically engaged and more prone to acting out and cutting class. Classmates in high-poverty schools are more likely to move in the middle of the year, creating disruption in the classroom, and they are less likely to have large vocabularies, which can rub off on peers on the playground and in school.

Parents are also an important part of a school community. Students benefit when parents regularly volunteer in the classroom and know how to hold school officials accountable when things go wrong. Low-income parents, who may be working several jobs, may not own a car, and may have had bad experiences themselves as students, are four times less likely to be members of a PTA, and are only half as likely to volunteer.

Education Week: Rural Areas Perceive Policy Tilt

Education Week: Rural Areas Perceive Policy Tilt

In this rural community where the unemployment rate is nearly 14 percent and there’s no movie theater for miles around, school administrators say money isn’t the recruitment tool it is in the big city.

And when Mr. Duncan talks about states’ needing to embrace charter schools to give parents more educational options, he may not be envisioning places like South Dakota or Montana, where half the school districts have just a few hundred students—and little demand for public school alternatives.

Rural school advocates say the federal priorities emerging under Mr. Duncan—a former chief executive officer of the 408,000-student Chicago public school system—favor education improvement ideas that are best suited to urban settings.

Initiatives such as the Race to the Top Fund competition fail to recognize the distinctive problems facing rural districts, which serve some 13 million students, or about one-quarter of the nation’s public school enrollment, according to the Rural School and Community Trust, based in Arlington, Va

School nurses in short supply

School nurses in short supply Cincinnati.com The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio has one nurse for every 2,377 students; Kentucky has one per 1,877, according to a 2007 survey by the National Association of School Nurses. Nationally, each school nurse cares for 1,151 students on average.

Most districts surveyed in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky have more nurses than the statewide average, but they still are far short of government standards.

Schools should have one nurse for every 750 students, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nurses will be able to handle a mass immunization effort, if it is mandated, said Kathy Inderbitzin, an executive board member for the Ohio Association of School Nurses. But there's still a critical shortage, she said.

"We're all kind of on pins and needles yet about the flu, to find out how it's going to affect the kids," Inderbitzin said.

Schools hire a wide range of medical workers to handle school health needs, from registered nurses with advanced degrees to nurse's aides. In both Ohio and Kentucky, nurses must complete a licensure program through the state education department to officially use the "school nurse" title.

In new accelerator schools, a diploma after two years

In new accelerator schools, a diploma after two years -- baltimoresun.com

Program designed for kids who fell behind, lowering drop-out risk

Baltimore Community School Principal Brian Jones said the school will concentrate on teaching students skills they need to graduate. So in English, the students will focus on learning to write coherent sentences and paragraphs as much as on the plot of the book they are reading. And in math, teachers will make sure students have basic arithmetic skills before moving to algebra.

Students choose to go to the school and went through a lengthy interview process this summer, Jones said, and he did reject a number of applicants. He wanted to be assured that the students really wanted to graduate from high school and that they are willing to abide by a few strict rules.

Students must wear uniforms and cannot take cell phones to school even if they are riding an hour across town on the bus, and Jones checks every student at the door in the morning to make sure they are carrying a three-ring binder. The binder is supposed to be evidence they are serious about doing their homework, keeping their papers together and taking notes. The halls of the school are spotless, the classes are small (no more than 22 students) and there is none of the chattering common in a large city public high school.

"So far, I really like the teachers. They are very hands-on, and they work with you. They offer e-mail addresses and coach classes," said Parris.

Learning Shouldn't Be Dictated by the School Calendar - washingtonpost.com

Learning Shouldn't Be Dictated by the School Calendar - washingtonpost.com

The academic calendar inspires similarly bad habits in schools. Parents and teachers conspire each spring to clean up weaknesses in the records of some children so they can be promoted to the next grade. Some urban high school teachers have told me of panic attacks every April, when only half of the senior class appears qualified to graduate. Extra-credit projects materialize. Grade book calculations are readjusted. Magically, the graduating class grows to about the same size as last year's.

Educators have been trying for more than a century to make lessons more like what students will find in real life. Philosopher John Dewey started a movement with a concept he called experiential education. His disciples have tried to introduce projects -- putting out a class newspaper has been a favorite -- so students learn by doing. You can find examples of this in many schools, but the old just-get-through- the-year mentality still reigns. It is difficult to cover all that I wanted to learn as a student, and I wanted my children to learn, in a nontraditional, project-driven format. Deborah Meier, Dennis Littky and other free-thinking educators have made headway with impoverished urban teenagers, but they are exceptions.

California School District Closes All 28 Libraries - 8/31/2009 - School Library Journal

California School District Closes All 28 Libraries - 8/31/2009 - School Library Journal:

"Pink slips were mailed in mid-July, and the library closures came three weeks after the start of the school year because the district was required to give its employees 45-days notice of their termination.

This blow to the library program comes six years after the district reassigned middle and high school librarians and halted subscription databases due to a lack of funds.
The district, located 20 miles east of Sacramento, recently invested $100,000 in Follett’s Destiny Textbook Manager program to help librarians automate textbook circulation, but the future of the program is now in doubt.

Linda Rodriguez, a library tech at Folsom High School for the last 18 years, was surprised that the district chose to reinstate freshmen athletics instead of saving the libraries. 'What a nightmare,' she told the local Sacramento Bee. “There is no accountability, and things are going to be cannibalized.'"