Budget cuts push some classrooms way over capacity -- latimes.com

Budget cuts push some classrooms way over capacity -- latimes.com:

"The impact of California's budget cuts has varied from school to school. Because of the patchwork of federal and state funding for education, some campuses have felt the pinch far less than others. But at schools like Fairfax, hard hit by the $6 billion in education reductions enacted by the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, this is shaping up to be one difficult year.

'I'm very frustrated,' Collier said. 'I mean, it's a good class -- it's an honors class, and the kids are really good. But it's unreasonable to ask me to teach a class of 48 kids and give attention to everybody.'"

Remembering 'Norma Rae' Crystal Lee Sutton

Remembering 'Norma Rae' Crystal Lee Sutton:

"She was a warrior to the end, Price said.

'I've never seen any woman fight cancer as hard as she did. She was in a wheelchair in the last few months, and she wanted me to push her to a protest about a school's teacher cuts.'

Last year, a Burlington Times News reporter asked Sutton how she'd like to be remembered. 'It is not necessary I be remembered as anything,' she said, 'but I would like to be remembered as a woman who deeply cared for the working poor and the poor people of the U.S. and the world. That my family and children and children like mine will have a fair share and equality.'"

NSBA and NEA Publish Undocumented Students Legal Issues Guide « Docuticker

NSBA and NEA Publish Undocumented Students Legal Issues Guide « Docuticker:

"The National School Boards Association (NSBA), with a generous grant from the National Education Association (NEA), released a publication designed to help school districts answer questions about the legal rights of undocumented students in public K-12 schools. Legal Issues for School Districts Related to the Education of Undocumented Children offers practical information for schools as they deal with this complicated issue.

Sixteen national education organizations have signed onto the guide, which will go to every school district in the United States and is available on NSBA and NEA’s websites. The guide provides answers to 13 questions that school districts face as they navigate the growing trend of undocumented student enrollment."

Full Document (PDF; 717 KB): http://www.docstoc.com/docs/11634376/NSBA-and-NEA-Undocumented-Students-Legal-Issues-Guide

Kids Celebrate Reading | Literacy News

Kids Celebrate Reading Literacy News:

"Originally created as a one-day event to celebrate the joy of reading on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, NEA’s Read Across America has grown into a nationwide initiative that promotes reading every day with more than 45 million participating annually.

“As teachers and parents, we know that kids who read – and are read to – do better in school and in life,” said NEA President Reg Weaver."

Frisco, other Dallas-area districts are emphasizing preschool programs | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | News: Education

Frisco, other Dallas-area districts are emphasizing preschool programs News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News News: Education:

"'Fewer children who receive early childhood education are entering the juvenile justice or welfare system. They are going to college. When they start early, more succeed.'
And, she said, Americans are finally recognizing it.

'Economists, business leaders, Bill Gates, all the major folks are out there touting the benefits of early education,' Johnson said, including the current administration."

Bloomberg mailer attacks Thompson with fuzzy facts

Bloomberg mailer attacks Thompson with fuzzy facts:

"Education statistics are notoriously malleable, and Team Thompson has argued that Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel Klein have cooked the books.
Expect to be buried under an avalanche of education statistics for the next six weeks. Bloomberg will point to better performance, helped by money and control that Thompson never had.
Thompson will say the mayor has turned schools into testing mills that ignore arts and music - though in his first TV ad, he never mentions his time as board president.
Which argument wins the election?"

Race To The Top puts too much pressure on schools | Delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Race To The Top puts too much pressure on schools Delawareonline.com The News Journal:

"It’s precisely in the 5,000 chronically failing public schools targeted by the initiative that this particular mandate needs to be debated most openly. These schools are almost always located in inner cities and in rural areas. They are overwhelmingly populated by poor students who come from chaotic backgrounds."

When teachers inherit classroom after classroom of these students year after year, it’s extremely difficult to focus on instruction. That’s because of the powerful effect of out-of-school factors on learning. Too many poor students go to school each day without a nutritious breakfast, without sufficient sleep and without parents who are involved in their education. As a result, teachers are forced to perform triage rather than teach.
This bleak situation has long existed, but the recession has increased the number of students who are homeless and who have lost access to health care. About 1.6 million people, including 340,000 children, were homeless across the nation before the recession began, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. With unemployment on the rise, the situation will only get worse.

azdailysun.com Top Stories

azdailysun.com Top Stories:

"The private school tuition organizations take advantage of a different state tax credit than do mainstream public and charter schools. The latter allows tax credits for donations to extracurricular programs, and it has drawn criticism that it primarily benefits schools in more affluent areas where residents can afford to make donations."

Sun Gazette Newspapers - from Archives - Arlington > News

Sun Gazette Newspapers - from Archives - Arlington > News:

"“We need more parents trained to advocate for their kids, and we need volunteers,” said Dr. Talmadge Williams, a former president of the Arlington NAACP and chairman of Parent Allies for Student Success (PASS). The group on Sept. 10 held its second-annual graduation ceremony, honoring 42 parents who spent weeks learning to be a bigger part of their children’s academic lives."

Teachers say parental involvement makes a difference in how children do at school - The Morning Sun News: Serving Clare, Gratiot and Isabella counties

Teachers say parental involvement makes a difference in how children do at school - The Morning Sun News: Serving Clare, Gratiot and Isabella counties:

"And indeed, the terminology may be so new that few parents have even heard of it. How many, after all, know what the word 'regrouping' is as it relates to elementary school arithmetic?

'Regrouping is another word for old fashioned borrowing and carrying,' Philson said. '(Some of the terminology) may be new to us too. Parents need not be afraid to ask.'"

Suzanne Fields: Facts being diluted in name of diversity | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle

Suzanne Fields: Facts being diluted in name of diversity democratandchronicle.com Democrat and Chronicle:

"A new report by the American Textbook Council, an independent research organization that monitors the quality of textbooks, is a new wake-up call. In 'Textbook Troika: How publishers, activists and multiculturalists keep students in the dark about Islam,' Gilbert T. Sewall, the director of the council, documents the malign influence Muslim activists exert on social studies texts. Not only do texts distort historical fact, but 'disinterested scholarship' is in jeopardy, threatened by a gathering perfect storm of academic failure and fatuousness."

Scary California stories aren't true - The Denver Post

Scary California stories aren't true - The Denver Post:

"No self-respecting state would want that. The massive budget cuts, the IOUs, the celebrity governor autographing government-surplus sale items . . . yikes! Just the thought makes your blood curdle.

The 'change makes us California' story is intended to scare us, but like many good tales, it's blatantly untrue. Budget reforms will not transform us into the Golden State. Almost the opposite is true. In many ways, Colorado is already like California, and if we don't change, more California-type problems are likely."

Emily Young: Initiative overload ruining California » Redding Record Searchlight

Emily Young: Initiative overload ruining California » Redding Record Searchlight:

"Also contributing to our state government woes is a representative democracy that is not functioning properly. According to think tanks watching these things, California's election districts are frequently producing little two-party competition, and state legislators tend to come from the two parties' ideological poles.
Furthermore, California is the only state where passing a budget and passing a tax increase both require a two-thirds majority vote in each house. As a result, the minority party has more power than is true in other state legislatures. With one-third plus one votes, it can block programs since most legislation has budget implications. Hence, the California Legislature's lack of accomplishments and annual budget fights."

» The Political Mechanics of ACORN The Speakers Lobby « FOXNews.com

» The Political Mechanics of ACORN The Speakers Lobby « FOXNews.com:

"ACORN is the acronym for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. It’s a community organization that says its mission is to assist low and middle-income families with housing, health and voting issues. ACORN’s come under heavy fire for alleged voter fraud in the 2008 presidential election. Some of its employees are now under criminal indictment. And the heat’s intensified in recent days. Undercover videos are plastered all over the internet showing ACORN employees willing to help filmmakers James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles posing as a pimp and a prostitute as they seek aid to set up cathouses. The Census Bureau announced earlier this month it was severing its ties with ACORN. It’s believed ACORN has received $54 million dollars in federal assistance in the last 15 years."

Schools shakeup | Editorials | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Schools shakeup Editorials PE.com Southern California News News for Inland Southern California:

"The Legislature should start by giving local districts more power to make decisions, instead of setting policy from Sacramento. The state needs to streamline an overgrown education code that puts more emphasis on administrative paperwork than good education practices.

The state also needs to change an education financing system that dispenses money without regard to needs, costs or educational goals. And the Legislature should give districts more flexibility to use school money to meet local needs, instead of dictating spending priorities from the state Capitol."

California must lead way, education chief urges - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

California must lead way, education chief urges - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"California has an eighth of all the students in the country. You can't overstate how important California's success as a state is to our success as a country. I do absolutely think California is at a crossroads, a fundamental fork in the road. This is a time where we need real courage and real leadership. The status quo isn't going to get us where we need to go. California has to, at its heart, decide: Is the state going to continue to lead the country? Or is the state going to retreat to the sidelines or take a step backwards?"

Politics at play in county schools association formation - San Jose Mercury News

Politics at play in county schools association formation - San Jose Mercury News:

"Before that happens, however, the association will have to tackle numerous questions, including whether there should be proportional representation for districts based on size and whether charter schools will have direct membership. Some area educators also have suggested the county education board shouldn't be allowed to join.

So far, organizers have welcomed the county's participation but are dismayed by its hesitation. Organizers have further argued that, based on how the Santa Clara County School Board Association and similar organizations are designed, each school district should have only one vote."

Gerald W. Bracey: State's exit exams deserve a failing grade - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Gerald W. Bracey: State's exit exams deserve a failing grade - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"The impact was disproportionately large for minorities and for girls. This is important because while it might be thought that minorities suffered from attending lower-quality schools, girls are distributed over all schools. The researchers were also able to rule out that minorities and girls might have been counseled into less-demanding courses that didn't prepare them as well for the test."

Rick Braziel: The time to act is before the dropout gets arrested - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Rick Braziel: The time to act is before the dropout gets arrested - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"Fortunately, a lot can be done to bring dropout rates down. First, kids who start school ready to learn are much less likely to fall behind and off track. Quality preschool has been shown to boost graduation rates by as much as 44 percent and cut crime significantly. It's a place where kids learn to interact with each other, respect authority and become responsible for their actions before entering an academic school environment. For example, when a child takes a toy from a classmate and then gets reprimanded, that child learns the value of sharing."

The Conversation: Education chief wants a transformation - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

The Conversation: Education chief wants a transformation - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"The bottom line for public education is that whatever difficulties swirl around a school and a community – principal turnover, changing curriculum, poverty and violence, student troubles at home – the classroom has to be a refuge of learning. And those in it have to have, as Duncan puts it, 'a fundamental, unalterable belief that every child can learn.'"