Troubled Natomas schools get aid from Sacramento County education office - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Troubled Natomas schools get aid from Sacramento County education office - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"In a letter to Natomas Superintendent Steve Farrar dated Monday, County Superintendent of Schools David Gordon states: 'It appears the district will not be able to meet its financial obligations for this year or next.'

He said a review of budget and enrollment projections for Natomas Unified found that the district's financial situation had worsened since it submitted its 2009-10 budget in June. He said enrollment was overstated, savings had not materialized and there were unexpected expenditures."

White House seeks comments on education law - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

White House seeks comments on education law - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"That means millions of children are a long way from reaching the law's ambitious goals. The law pushes schools to improve test scores each year, so that every student can read and do math on grade level by the year 2014.

Opponents insist the law's annual reading and math tests have squeezed subjects like music and art out of the classroom and that schools were promised billions of dollars they never received."

Systemwide protest planned for University of California -- latimes.com

Systemwide protest planned for University of California -- latimes.com:

"Bob Samuels, president of UC-American Federation of Teachers, which represents more than 4,000 lecturers and librarians, said the union's contract forbids members from canceling classes. But he expects many teachers to raise the budget issues during class and said some might move their sessions elsewhere to avoid crossing picket lines.

The goal is not to shut down UC, but 'to create enough resistance and difficulty so people talk about the issues,' said Samuels, who is a UCLA writing instructor and has been warned that he may be laid off next school year because of the cutbacks. He and other UC critics contend that the most painful austerities could be avoided by reducing top executives' salaries and tapping financial reserves that UC leaders insist already are spent on educational purposes."

UC Walkout: Trapped in a Partisan Cul-de-Sac? : Indybay

UC Walkout: Trapped in a Partisan Cul-de-Sac? : Indybay:

"Proponents of a UC walkout tomorrow have yet to place the reasons for the crisis of the UC system in a broader, national context.

Tomorrow, many faculty throughout the University of California system will participate in a walkout on the first day of class. After raising registration fees, known elsewhere as tuition, 9.3% in May, UC President Mark Yudof has recommended an additional 30% increase to fully take effect by the fall of 2010. UC campuses have already laid off 884 employees, and plan to lay off an additional 1,006 more. Most employees that remain are now participating in a furlough plan that will result in salary reductions between 4% and 10%."

Gavin Newsom: Let's get our priorities straight

Gavin Newsom: Let's get our priorities straight:

"With the upcoming University of California walkout, we asked our Facebook community recently how the impending UC and CSU cuts were affecting them. The response was overwhelming:
Stephanie from SF State needed only two classes to graduate with her bachelor's degree. But one of the courses was eliminated -- graduation will have to wait until next year."

Obama education chief Duncan to push schools reform - USATODAY.com

Obama education chief Duncan to push schools reform - USATODAY.com:

"In a speech to be delivered Thursday in Washington to more than 150 education, business, civil rights, charitable and social services groups, Duncan plans to invoke the Rev. Martin Luther King's 1963 letter from a Birmingham jail that made the case for non-violent civil disobedience as state and local governments dragged their feet in integrating schools and communities. Duncan will tell the group that after 50 years of school reforms, court rulings and 'watershed' reports, 'we're still waiting for the day when every child in America has a high-quality education that prepares him or her for the future.'"

Sacramento mayor hosts town hall meeting - Latest News - sacbee.com

Sacramento mayor hosts town hall meeting - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson will hold a town hall-style forum tomorrow night at California Middle School in Land Park.

Among the topics the mayor will discuss are the homeless, K Street development and his strong-mayor proposal.

The event runs from 7 to 8 p.m. California Middle School is located at 1600 Vallejo Way, at Land Park Drive."

Ground Game on Schools

Ground Game on Schools:

"Beneath all this headline turmoil, Obama is overseeing a quiet upheaval in the nation's approach to education from preschool through college. I've been somewhat skeptical of the president's ability to pull this off, questioning his determination to stand up to two political giants: the student-lending lobby and teachers unions.

The final results aren't in. The biggest challenge -- overhauling the No Child Left Behind law -- has no clear legislative path in sight. But when the National Education Association unloads on an Obama administration proposal to promote charter schools and teacher accountability as a 'series of top-down directives,' you know the administration is doing something bold."

Education | Seattle Children's rolls out a mobile lab to spread word: Science is cool | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education Seattle Children's rolls out a mobile lab to spread word: Science is cool Seattle Times Newspaper:

"The first science-lab-on-wheels on the West Coast rolled up to Seattle's Northgate Elementary Tuesday, and fourth- and fifth-graders, looking like miniature scientists in aprons, latex gloves and safety glasses, successfully isolated their DNA."

Erasures on D.C. Tests Apparently Concentrated in Six Schools - washingtonpost.com

Erasures on D.C. Tests Apparently Concentrated in Six Schools - washingtonpost.com:

"Forty-five of Washington's 150 public schools had at least one classroom with an elevated erasure level in 2008, according to the analysis, disclosed by District officials this month. A closer examination of the data shows that suspicious erasures were most heavily concentrated in third-, fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms at a half-dozen schools: Aiton Elementary (seven classrooms); Marie Reed Elementary (six); Takoma Education Campus (five); Langdon Education Campus (four); J.O. Wilson Elementary (four); and Bowen. Five of the schools made gains that exceeded citywide averages. Langdon's scores held relatively steady."

William C. Thompson Jr. Promotes Changes in Schools in Run for Mayor - NYTimes.com

William C. Thompson Jr. Promotes Changes in Schools in Run for Mayor - NYTimes.com:

"Declaring that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s “corporate model” has failed students and parents alike, William C. Thompson Jr., the Democratic nominee for mayor, pledged on Tuesday night to hire educators to run the school system, shrink class sizes and get parents more involved in the education process."

The Answer Sheet - A Troubling Trend in D.C. Schools

The Answer Sheet - A Troubling Trend in D.C. Schools:

"Reporters like to declare a trend when they see at least three examples of the same phenomenon.
Based on the rules of trends, The Answer Sheet sees a troubling trend involving D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and what seems to be her difficulty in being forthcoming.

Example #1: Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) announced last week that budget cuts in the District were suddenly forcing them to cut up to $40 million from D.C. schools and that teachers would have to be laid off just as the new year was starting."

District Dossier: Bloomberg's Education Record at Issue in NYC Mayoral Race

District Dossier: Bloomberg's Education Record at Issue in NYC Mayoral Race:

"In Thompson's major policy address on schools last night, Thompson said he would focus more attention on English-language learners, 'fix' the curriculum so teachers aren't 'teaching to the test' and work on reducing class size.

His first priority? Hiring an chancellor with 'a solid and extensive education background'—a jab at current chancellor Klein, who is a former Justice Department antitrust lawyer."

Education Week: New York Test Scores Raise Eyebrows

Education Week: New York Test Scores Raise Eyebrows:

"The recent news that 97 percent of New York City public schools got an A or B under the district’s grading system might be seen as reason for celebration, but critics suggest the grades hold little value and highlight the need to rethink the state assessment system.

The results, they say, reveal far more about flaws in the city’s so-called “progress reports” —and the state testing regime that largely drives them—than they do about the quality of education in the 1.1 million-student district."

Education department ignores superintendent-in-district law: Critics

Education department ignores superintendent-in-district law: Critics:

"One of the few changes to mayoral control passed in Albany this past summer hasn't been put into effect, advocates will charge at a City Council hearing on Wednesday.
After changes to the law, school superintendents were to be assigned duties only in their local district so they could focus more on parents' concerns.

But advocates said superintendents are still forced to oversee schools outside their geographic districts, making them less in control."

Mayor Bloomberg's boast on graduation rates is misleading, according to study

Mayor Bloomberg's boast on graduation rates is misleading, according to study:

"Mayor Bloomberg's claim that graduation rates are up at small schools he created after shuttering large dysfunctional ones is misleading, a new study asserts.

The study, done at Columbia University's Teachers College, questions a key vehicle Bloomberg hopes to ride to a third term as mayor.

A recent TV ad from the Fund for Public Schools, which Bloomberg founded to funnel private money into public schools, cites Evander Childs High School as an example of a 'turnaround school.'"

MinnPost - Minneapolis School Board drops The Big One

MinnPost - Minneapolis School Board drops The Big One:

"The Minneapolis School Board dropped the big one Tuesday night, finally voting through the plan that will close four schools and eliminate the transportation-heavy 'open choice' program. Those decisions are among several changes certain to throw wrenches in family school planning all over town. The Strib's Emily Johns reports: 'Gone is the citywide school choice system, a patchwork of magnet and community schools that developed over decades as a way to deal with federal and state integration laws. The Minneapolis school district currently transports 74 percent of its students to school, and spends $33 million on transportation every year as its buses criss-cross the city.' She says 200 people showed up for the decisive meeting."

Do we need a longer school day? | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Do we need a longer school day? Philadelphia Public School Notebook:

"Proponents of a longer school day point to other countries that have longer school days and/or school years that appear to correlate with greater academic achievement. The experience of some charter schools, notably KIPP, that have incorporated a longer days is also frequently cited. These schools, which have boosted student achievement as measured by standardized tests, argue that a longer day is necessary to make up the deficit so many urban students have in reading and math."

WKMS: Possible Education Expansion in Kentucky (2009-09-23)

WKMS: Possible Education Expansion in Kentucky (2009-09-23):

"According to the National Education Association, charter schools are publicly funded schools that have been freed from some of the rules and regulations that apply to public schools. These schools have been most successful in urban areas, but U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan believes the rural areas of America are ready for charter schools. With the new Race to the Top fund, the possibility of these schools reaching rural areas in Kentucky is greater each day. Caleb Campbell has more."

'No Child Left Behind' needs another look - NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA

'No Child Left Behind' needs another look - NewburyportNews.com, Newburyport, MA:

"When some of the top-rated public schools in the nation have a hard time achieving the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind act, should we be concerned that the American education system is incapable of keeping pace?

Or should we be more concerned that bureaucrats and lawmakers have set goals that are unrealistically high?

Certainly there are elements of both in the debate over No Child Left Behind. As Newburyport's middle school enters the growing ranks of schools considered in need of 'restructuring' due to its test scores, we should consider that the rigid and punitive standards don't necessarily reflect reality."