Federal stimulus helps special ed, struggling kids in Portland area – OregonLive.com

Federal stimulus helps special ed, struggling kids in Portland area – OregonLive.com:

"More than half a million Oregon students head back to class this week, beginning a recession-tinged school year that will be marked by teacher furloughs and layoffs, fewer electives and extracurriculars, and swollen class sizes.

What's gotten less attention is federal stimulus money that is enabling many schools to add teachers and beef up programs that educators say will pack an instructional punch.
Oregon schools received roughly $150 million from the stimulus to spend this school year on special education and in schools with concentrations of low-income students. Portland-area districts report they have used the money largely to hire instructional coaches and teachers, hundreds of new jobs in all."

Analysis: Furor over speech typifies polarization - Yahoo! News

Analysis: Furor over speech typifies polarization - Yahoo! News:

"WASHINGTON – The furor over President Barack Obama's start-of-school speech to the nation's students — challenging them to work hard, earn good grades and stay in school — typifies the country's widening rift over politics and social issues.

It's certainly an unwelcome distraction as the president prepares to address both houses of Congress and the nation Wednesday about his embattled attempt to overhaul the health care system, which has taken a hammering from Republicans and some middle-of-the-road Democrats."

Dating back to his campaign for president, some Obama opponents have tried to paint him as a "socialist." Since winning the White House, the attacks have continued over his attempts to invigorate the tumbling economy with a $787 billion stimulus.

Far-right critics now charge that Obama would use his back-to-school remarks Tuesday to indoctrinate youngsters into his alleged "socialist" agenda.

Fox News Channel commentators Michelle Malkin and Glenn Beck have been prominent in attacking the speech. Florida Republican party chairman Jim Greer said he was "absolutely appalled that taxpayer dollars are being used to spread President Obama's socialist ideology."

Even Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, a moderate and potential presidential contender in 2012, said Obama's speech was "uninvited" and raises questions of content and motive.

Schools going green big-time -- baltimoresun.com

Schools going green big-time -- baltimoresun.com:

"CALIFORNIA, Md. - - Approaching Evergreen Elementary, it's clear right away that there's something different about this new school. A pair of silo-like structures squats in front of the two-story brick building - cisterns storing rainwater for flushing the toilets. Then there are the cactuses and other plants growing atop the entrance canopy - put there to soak up more rain."

Evergreen represents the latest in green school design in Maryland. The $20 million elementary school, which started classes last week in this woodsy, suburban community in St. Mary's County, has been designed and built to save bundles of energy and water, and to reduce the building's impact on nearby streams and wetlands. It's also been planned to hammer environmental consciousness home to its 600 students. It is, contends county School Superintendent Michael Martirano, the greenest school in the state.

He might get some argument on that - Montgomery County has built or rebuilt four schools now with enough energy-saving and environmental features to qualify for the second-highest rating given by the U.S. Green Building Council. But there's no doubt that green schools are starting to spread across the state.

St. Mary's school officials say Evergreen, like the Montgomery schools, is in line to get a "gold" rating under the green building council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, rating system. Among other features, it boasts a geothermal heating and cooling system, waterless urinals and low-flow faucets, and a white reflective coating on the flat portions of the roof to keep the building from needing as much air conditioning in warm months.

Changing face of school principals - The Boston Globe

Changing face of school principals - The Boston Globe:

"“It feels like flying a plane while we’re building it,’’ said Kelly Hung, who this week begins her second year as principal at Phineas Bates Elementary School in Roslindale. “This job can completely consume you. It’s never ending."

You wake up at night thinking about it.’’

At 33, and with a new baby at home, Hung, the 10th youngest out of 135 principals in the Boston public schools, in many ways personifies the changing face of today’s school principal.

As aging principals retire, young ones like Hung, who has only a few years of real classroom experience and a brief tenure as an interim principal on her résumé, are being hired to replace them. At issue is whether their enthusiasm and energy outweigh their inexperience to improve their school’s performance.

“There’s no question that there’s a national movement toward hiring younger principals,’’ said William Horwath, acting assistant superintendent for human resources at the Boston School Department.

A new 10-year survey of K-8 principals by the National Association of Elementary School Principals obtained by the Globe shows that almost 60 percent of principals are age 50 or older.

Dan Walters: California workers have little to celebrate on Labor Day - State Columnist: Dan Walters - The Modesto Bee

Dan Walters: California workers have little to celebrate on Labor Day - State Columnist: Dan Walters - The Modesto Bee:

"Even public worker unions are finding the going tough in these recessionary times. Furloughs have become common. The once-impregnable California Correctional Peace Officers Association is losing a battle against sharp cuts in prison spending. The California Teachers Association has been unable to block deep school reductions. Last month, trustees of the giant Los Angeles Unified School District, defying its teachers union, voted to massively expand charter schools.

As the 2009 legislative session comes to a close, unions are engaged on several fronts. While the Service Employees International tries to win ratification of a state worker contract that would limit furloughs, local government unions are pushing a late-blooming bill to make municipal bankruptcy (such as Vallejo's) more difficult and other labor groups are trying to raise long-frozen benefits for injured workers."

Report shows negative effects of dropouts on economy | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

Report shows negative effects of dropouts on economy TimesDaily.com The Times Daily Florence, AL:


"The average annual income for a high school dropout in 2005 was $17,299, compared to $26,933 for a high school graduate.

Nationwide, more than 7,000 students become dropouts every school day. Annually, that adds up to almost 1.3 million students who will not graduate from high school on schedule.
In Alabama alone, an estimated 25,136 students from the class of 2009 failed to graduate on time.

'The state has a 40 percent dropout rate, which is absolutely unacceptable,' said Gary Dan Williams, Muscle Shoals Center for Technology director. 'It's everyone's problem, but with the standards in Alabama, the curriculum is designed strictly for college-bound students, and the bottom line is that many students aren't college-bound. The graduation standards are among the highest in the country, but we're letting those kids who can't handle the pressure get down about school and they're dropping out."

The picket line and America's workforce -- chicagotribune.com

The picket line and America's workforce -- chicagotribune.com:

"I was part of the mob.

Emotions ran high, as we were caught up in a hurricane of rage bearing down on one of the 'scabs.'

Everything that had been building inside me -- the frustration, the anger, the boredom -- came crashing down on me, then a 40-year-old history teacher.

It was 1987 and Chicago Public Schools teachers had launched what would be an almost monthlong strike against the Board of Education.

I had reported for picket-line duty with approximately 50 other Chicago Vocational High School teachers, just when school administrators and other workers who had decided to cross the picket line were filing into the building.

We booed and waved our signs as the principal and vice principal entered. But when two of our own followed, we crowded against the iron fence separating us."

Reeducating unions -- latimes.com

Reeducating unions -- latimes.com:

"Even with signs that the U.S. economy might be stirring, this is a strained Labor Day for the many Americans who are going without raises, and whose hours are being cut at the same time that they are asked to take heavier workloads -- and especially for those who are without employment.

Teachers find themselves in all these categories, across the nation and right here, where the dire financial condition of the Los Angeles Unified School District has led to layoffs or demotions from regular teaching to substitute, and where class sizes will be larger and other cutbacks will reduce salaries. On a bigger scale, the unions that brought teachers better pay, benefits and job security find themselves at a tipping point, their power under threat in ways that seemed barely possible a few years ago."

Face The Nation, 09.06.09

Duncan knocks No Child Left Behind

Education Secretary Arne Duncan knocked President George W. Bush's signature education bill, No Child Left Behind, saying that the bill is "very prescriptive" and discourages innovative teaching and that the state standards it calls for are often watered down and students that meet them are often nonetheless not college-ready.

The law is "desperately underfunded," Duncan said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation," and the $100 billion in stimulus funding has "staved off a catastrophe" of teacher and staff layoffs.

The push for national standards was a grass-roots movement, he said. "We are moving in the right direction ... to educate our way to a better economy."

"We have to raise the bar for everyone," he said. "We have to make sure that every student is college-ready."


http://www.politico.com/blogs/politicolive/0909/Duncan_knocks_No_Child_Left_Behind.html?showall

Cash-strapped California schools seek commercial sponsors to raise funds -- latimes.com

Cash-strapped California schools seek commercial sponsors to raise funds -- latimes.com:

"As strapped schools open across California, educators are turning to outside sources like never before in an attempt to ease the effects of multibillion-dollar cuts, giving rise to the new three Rs: retailing, raising money and recouping budgets.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials are courting the city's professional sports teams to blunt cuts to athletics programs. Beverly Hills trustees are considering logo T-shirts, hats and other apparel, counting on teenagers to snap up the merchandise because of the city's celebrity and the popularity of television's 'Beverly Hills, 90210.' San Diego County educators are selling the naming rights to two sixth-grade science camps. South Pasadena officials are wooing Hollywood producers to film TV shows at district headquarters."

Stop the Power Grab Update!

Sorry for crying wolf! this week.

I checked the agenda and the discussion of spending city dollars to fix the Mayor's initiative is not scheduled.

It's my understanding that the mayor made his loan a gift to avoid any further question of a conflict of interest on this issue.

We are expecting it to be on the agenda in the near future.

The agenda has to be published 72 hours before the meetings on Tuesdays.

I urge those of you who wish to be heard on this issue to visit the link below to keep track of the City Council's agenda. I'll be out of town next week and won't be able to raise the hue and cry.

Vigilance!

Thanks,

Stop the Power

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/clerk/council-agendas/

A good education starts at home | thestarpress.com | The Star Press

A good education starts at home thestarpress.com The Star Press:

"Parents, always remember that you are your children's' first and most important teachers. Most of what your children will ever learn, they learn from you before they ever start school. Even during the school week, three-fourths of every day -- and all of their weekends, holidays and vacations -- they spend in your care. The habits, attitudes and interests you teach -- and more importantly, model -- will always be the foundation of their sense of who they are, should be and can be.

Get to know, cooperate with and support your children's teachers. They have your children's welfare and learning at heart. They are dedicated professionals -- they didn't become teachers to get rich or even to get by. Of course they are only human; like you, they get tired and frustrated, they make mistakes, they have lives of their own with personal problems.

And they have not only yours, but whole classrooms full of other peoples' children, to handle. But together, you and they are your children's educational team, and educating children is a team sport. You can win only by team playing, and your score is what your children achieve. Treat your children's' teachers as you yourself would like to be treated."

Back to school: parental involvement is key to the best public schools

Back to school: parental involvement is key to the best public schools:

"What makes the best public schools? Here is a hint; it isn’t necessarily the wealth of the neighborhood. Again and again the answer seems to be parental involvement and participation.

When parents take the time to visit, communicate, volunteer or chaperone at their child’s school, it shows the teacher you take their jobs seriously. And, perhaps more importantly, you show your kid that “their job”, to work hard and do their best at school, is something that you expect and value highly.

In this day and age in many families, both parents work but you can still be involved. Conferences, Open House night, fund raisers, school plays and performances; any event that gets you in the school to see what your child sees everyday makes a huge difference."

Back-to-school tips: Parental involvement key to high performance - San Jose Mercury News

Back-to-school tips: Parental involvement key to high performance - San Jose Mercury News:

"Sixteen-year-old David Acosta hates to admit it, but said he knows why his mom helps him succeed in school: 'She gives me a hard time.'

The Options for Youth Hesperia student credits his mother's daily questioning with keeping him focused. He even confessed that her punishment — taking away his CD player and X box game system — helps him complete his assignments on time.

Educators across the Victor Valley insist that parental involvement is crucial to student success.

School spending would have to increase by $1,000 per pupil to achieve the same results that are gained with parental involvement, according to a University of New Hampshire 2008 study of more than 10,000 eighthgraders.

And there are simple ways parents help boost their child's performance — even for those commuting down the hill with hardly a minute to spare."

Cleanliness key to slowing swine flu

Cleanliness key to slowing swine flu

"OLEAN - Local school districts are looking at every measure possible to hold the H1N1 virus at bay. In the Olean district, even the spork will be deployed to fight swine flu.

“Swine flu has all of us thinking about how important it is to maintain a clean environment,” Olean Superintendent Dr. Colleen Taggerty said.
Cafeterias throughout the district will change the way eating utensils are distributed to minimize the chance of an outbreak.

“Sodexo, our cafeteria-management company, is looking into moving from plastic-ware dispensers, to sporks - spoon and fork in one - which will be individually wrapped,” she said.

Other precautions are being taken in area districts to prevent the spread of germs that could lead to an outbreak of H1N1."

CQ Politics | CQ Transcript: Education Secretary Duncan on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’

CQ Politics CQ Transcript: Education Secretary Duncan on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’

[*] SCHIEFFER: Today on “Face the Nation,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan on President Obama’s speech to school kids, swine flu, and fixing America’s educational system. President Obama’s upcoming speech to the school children Tuesday has created such an uproar that some schools are not going to show it. And some parents say they’ll keep their children at home.

What is going on? And are the schools prepared for the onslaught of swine flu this fall? Then to the deeper problems. We spend more per capita on students than any country in the world, yet our students lag behind those in most nations. Can our schools be fixed? Those are the questions for Education Secretary Arne Duncan .

Then, I’ll have a final word on a real mess of a summit. But first, Education Secretary Arne Duncan on “Face the Nation.”

Indoctrinating Our Children: Evolution (9/4/09)

In this segment from tonight's Fox News Special, Do You Know What Textbooks Your Children are Really Reading?, groups have been formed to counter the efforts of those who wish to teach creation over evolution.

http://www.foxnews.com

PREVENTING DROPOUTS IS EASY

PREVENTING DROPOUTS IS EASY:

"PREVENTING DROPOUTS IS EASY
By John Jensen, Ph.D."

"It is a good thing," my father told me, "to know what you are doing."

This thought is relevant to the unhappy condition of education in the US. We need look no further for the reason than the very focus of the just-released study about dropouts, “Graduating America: Meeting the Challenge of Low Graduation-Rate High Schools.” The three major factors, from which clues are extracted for understanding what practices to apply, are “patterns of geographic spread and concentration; state, district, and school characteristics; and socioeconomic, demographic, and political trends in the community.” That such effort has been applied to something so far off the mark is a symptom of the problem itself.

Studying correlations of external conditions with numbers of dropouts is nearly useless. If his peer group, or his mother, or his probation officer were such and such, or said this or that, what we really want to know is How did he respond?

If his probation officer was overheard saying, "I think he's on his way to a lifetime in prison," or his mother told him "No point in getting an education," or his peer group said "Hey, we got some really great stuff you'll like," the point isn't that we can correlate these messages with how many believe them and eventually lose their way. What's important is the difference between those and the others who say "All those people are screwed up. The guys in my class are screwed up. My mother is screwed up, and my probation officer is screwed up. I'm going to get my degree and get out of this sick place."

What's decisive isn't what happens to him or goes into him. What's decisive is how he personally responds. The implication of this is that we cease exploring among generalities and look at how we are guiding his particular response to external conditions.


http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10648603/The-High-Cost-of-High-School-Dropouts-What-the-Nation-Pays-for-Inadequate-High-Schools

Schools and scandal: Nothing Obama does is too dull to stoke the blogosphere’s outrage | Editorial | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Schools and scandal: Nothing Obama does is too dull to stoke the blogosphere’s outrage Editorial Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"Depending on which detractor you listen to, President Obama's planned speech to schoolkids this coming Tuesday is either “something you'd expect to see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein's Iraq” or an effort “to indoctrinate America's schoolchildren to his socialist agenda.”"

The speech's subject? It's a call to personal responsibility: Setting goals, staying in school, making good grades. Stuff that, if anyone else said it, would seem worthy and tedious, right up there with exhortations to cleanliness, politeness and flossing before bedtime.

But we're talking about Barack Obama. And to his dedicated opposition, nothing the president has ever done — starting with his birth — is too dull to inspire white-hot rhetoric. Next time he takes a deep breath, we expect to hear dark intimations that Mao and Hitler breathed, too.

Yes, the White House should have realized that in this super-heated climate, nothing is apolitical, and it should have done a better job vetting the optional lesson plans distributed to help teachers who choose to air the speech. The early version asked kids to write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president achieve his goals. Someone should have noticed that “help the president” — even to achieve a goal as innocuous as improving kids' education — sounds entirely too political.

Boston school boss has bold new plans

Boston school boss has bold new plans:

"The district is launching Parent University, a leadership program to help parents work with their children on classwork and receive job support, including help with resumes.
The Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury will house a new “re-engagement center” where dropouts can get individualized help as they return to high school. Johnson wants to cut the drop-out rate by more than half, reducing it to 3 percent by 2012. Mayor Thomas M. Menino has faced criticism from other mayoral candidates over the city’s 7.2 percent rate.
“We know that it won’t be enough to say, ‘Go to your old high school,’ ” Johnson said. “We have to give them individual support.”

Some of the changes could encourage parents to remain in the city rather than opt for the suburbs or private schools, said Karen Daniels, executive director of Step UP, an organization founded by Menino that brings together five Boston universities and colleges to provide support to 10 underperforming Boston schools. The K-8 model and Montessori schools are more commonly found in the suburbs, she said."