Education News & Comment

Education News & Comment:

"Dear Parent and Community Leaders:

We are currently accepting applications for the current session of the School, Family and Community Partnership Leadership Academy. The Leadership Academy is a leadership development program that promotes excellence in education and is sponsored by the Sacramento City Unified School District in partnership with the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).

The goals of the program are to raise participant awareness of how the educational system works, enhance communication and collaboration with school and district staff, promote interaction and networking among parent and community and to develop the leadership capacity of participants to lead effectively and strategically."

Please forward the attached brochure (application inside brochure), and session outline to parent leaders in your school, your district advisory committees, or to administrators, teachers and/or community organizations and members who you think would benefit from this training.

Applications are due by October 20, 2009 at the Office of Parent Engagement and Support Services (see brochure). On October 27, 2009 applicants will be notified if they were accepted into the program. The first training session begins on November 2, 2009 (see enclosed session topics and dates). The program selects 20-25 participants per training cycle.

If you have any questions, please call me at (916) 643-7912.

Manuel Guillot

Director Parent Engagement and Support Services

Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis appointed ambassador to Hungary - Latest News - sacbee.com

Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis appointed ambassador to Hungary - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama today named Eleni Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and developer from Sacramento, as his ambassador to the Republic of Hungary.

The president said he was confident that she'll be part of a team that 'will work to keep our nation safe at home and strengthen our partnerships abroad.'
Tsakopoulos-Kounalakis is a civic leader, philanthropist and president of AKT Development Corp., one of California's largest land development firms."

Houston schools slow to add Bible elective 2 years after law | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Houston schools slow to add Bible elective 2 years after law Houston & Texas News Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"Two years ago state lawmakers made it OK for schools to provide elective Bible classes but, so far, few Houston-area school districts have taken them up on the offer.

The 2007 law requires schools, beginning this year, to include some Bible literacy in history and literature classes. Bible classes are optional but encouraged under the law. The thinking is that educated students must be familiar with biblical references and themes that pervade culture and society.

“It's not like a Bible study like you have at church,” said Gale Drummond, assistant superintendent of secondary education for Conroe ISD. “It's about looking at the Bible and its influence in Western civilization.”"

Schwarzenegger OKs school bill required by US law - Yahoo! News

Schwarzenegger OKs school bill required by US law - Yahoo! News:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California is removing a legal ban on using the results of student achievement tests to evaluate teachers, under a bill signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The bill lifts a barrier that prevented California from applying for $4.5 billion under the federal Race to the Top program. Schwarzenegger says more legislation is needed beyond the bill he signed Sunday. He has called lawmakers back into special session this fall.

California still has to qualify for the federal money in competition with other states.

To do so, education officials say the state must approve other reforms, including removing a cap on the number of charter schools, improving poorly performing local schools, and giving the state more authority to intervene in failing schools."

Obama Becomes Japan’s English Teacher - NYTimes.com

Obama Becomes Japan’s English Teacher - NYTimes.com:


"TOKYO — When Utako Sakai was changing the background music in her beauty parlor recently, she did not opt for the classical piano pieces she usually chose.

A CD of President Barack Obama's inaugural speech has sold a half million copies in Japan, leading publishers to flood the market with over a dozen language-learning titles centered on his oratory. Instead, she picked her favorite CD: “President Obama’s Inaugural Address,” released by Asahi Press, a Japanese publisher of language books. She says the speech lifts her spirits and helps her to learn English all at once.

“All our customers love it,” said Ms. Sakai, who is based in Ayase City, in Kanagawa Prefecture, outside Tokyo."

Sacramento Press / Town hall suspicious of strong mayor proposal

Sacramento Press / Town hall suspicious of strong mayor proposal:

"Participants in a town hall meeting on Thursday held at Caleb Greenwood Elementary School expressed skepticism and suspicion about the 'strong mayor' proposal endorsed by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

'I suspect that it [the strong mayor initiative] is a power grab, but I suspect that something will come out of [the town hall meeting] and I'll be able to make a rational decision,' said resident Mike Montgomery.

The town hall meeting, which attracted about 50 people, included a thorough presentation of the strong mayor proposal that has been placed on the June 2010 ballot. The presentation was by members of the Charter Review Committee, a group created by the City Council to research and draft an alternative to the strong mayor proposal."

City Charter Review panel hears draft final report

What: The Sacramento Charter Review Committee, which is formulating an alternative to Mayor Kevin Johnson's strong-mayor ballot proposal, lists on its agenda reviewing a minority report and a draft of the ad hoc committee's final report.

When: 6 p.m.

Where:Council chambers, New City Hall, 915 I St., Sacramento

Education? You be the judge | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA

Education? You be the judge PressDemocrat.com The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, CA:

"Meet Supreme Court Justice Irene Waters. With her pursed lips and dark hair pulled back in a bun, she bears a passing resemblance to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In her jurisprudence, however, Waters may be more like Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who cast the swing vote in many key cases before retiring in 2006."

Waters is more animated than either of those two justices, and even more so than Justice Antonin Scalia.

But Waters wasn’t there for the official start of the court’s new term this week. She’s a member of the fictional high court in “Supreme Decision,” an online game designed to teach schoolchildren about the judicial branch. (We told you she was animated!)

O’Connor, the nation’s first female justice, has a new job description: video game promoter. Frustrated by the fact that two-thirds of Americans are unable to name the three branches of government, among other lowlights of the state of civic knowledge, she is spearheading a project called Our Courts, which develops Web-based games aimed at teaching seventh- and eighth-graders about government.

Community must be involved with education in Harrisburg | Our Views & Yours - PennLive.com - - PennLive.com

Community must be involved with education in Harrisburg Our Views & Yours - PennLive.com - - PennLive.com:

"Urban districts have been pushed and pulled through the child-centered curriculum, school and community, No Child Left Behind, unified curriculum, outcomes-based instruction and other approaches to remedy embedded issues with the focus on the teachers doing a better job. While I agree that there are some teachers who can and should do more daily, they are not alone.


Parents, students and adults in our communities need to join in with the efforts of doing more. Nothing will be more helpful to coming out of the abyss of urban decay we currently find ourselves in than a buy-in from the main stakeholders in our communities: parents, students and community representatives.


These stakeholders have to promote the reality of students’ best interests being served when there is community expectation of excelling in school and the workplace. This commitment means having the discipline to study outside of the school walls and time frame."

Is President Obama Continuing Conservative Education Policies? -- New York Magazine

Is President Obama Continuing Conservative Education Policies? -- New York Magazine:

"“Duncan’s plan is cut from the same cloth as the education policies of the Bush administration,” said Sara Bennett after watching the show from her Park Slope home. “It is misguided, disastrous for schoolchildren, and has no basis in sound research.” A Legal Aid lawyer turned activist and the mother of a tenth-grader in a public high school, in 2006 Bennett co-authored The Case Against Homework, which helped launch what came to be known as the “anti-homework movement.” Parents from all over the country, but especially in the gentle strongholds of enlightened parenting like Park Slope, Santa Monica, Berkeley, and Mercer Island near Seattle, began organizing against what Bennett and others have called a “skyrocketing” increase in the amount of homework kids are assigned. They see it as a symptom of a deeper problem—the pressure placed on teachers by school districts to improve their students’ test scores and thereby secure state and federal funding. Many of the movement’s activists are directing their fire toward Duncan’s plan, which they claim will only further enslave children to homework and testing and create a homogenized “monoculture.”"

Children are being left behind -- latimes.com

Children are being left behind -- latimes.com:

"What needs reform just as badly as the schools, however, is the No Child Left Behind Act, a well-meant but ham-handed law that actually encourages schools to lower their academic standards and that often leaves behind the students who most need help. That revision cannot wait; it must take place in tandem with the grant program. Neither the federal government nor schools can measure success without reasonable, consistent targets.

Fortunately, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has started talking about overhauling No Child Left Behind. Though the details have not been worked out, Duncan has found the right focus: The law's method of determining whether schools have met their goals is rigid, unrealistic and counterproductive."

Cape Fear Business News – Wilmington NC Business News – Brunswick County – New Hanover County – Pender County – Columbus County – Southeastern North Carolina » Opinion: Benefits of Longer School Day, Longer School Year Do Not Add Up

Cape Fear Business News – Wilmington NC Business News – Brunswick County – New Hanover County – Pender County – Columbus County – Southeastern North Carolina » Opinion: Benefits of Longer School Day, Longer School Year Do Not Add Up:

"RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina law requires children to attend school a minimum of 180 days each year, with at least 1,000 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months. For years, state education leaders, school officials, and public school advocacy groups have urged the North Carolina legislature to raise these minimum requirements, thereby extending the school day and year.

Our state is not alone. Michael Van Beek of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy recently noted that education leaders in Michigan have been campaigning to lengthen the school day for public schools throughout the Great Lake State."

Central Valley Business Times

Central Valley Business Times:


"Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, who spearheaded the multi-year effort to establish the 10th University of California campus in Merced and served as its founding chancellor from 1999 to 2006, died Oct. 10 in Decatur, Ga., due to complications related to breast cancer, the university says. She was 66.

“We are deeply saddened by Carol’s passing,” says UC Merced Chancellor Steve Kang, who succeeded Ms. Tomlinson-Keasey in March 2007. “Simply put, UC Merced would not exist were it not for her visionary leadership, her tireless determination and her remarkable gift of persuasion.”"

Math and science conference for girls set Nov. 7 | fdlreporter.com | Fond du Lac Reporter

Math and science conference for girls set Nov. 7 fdlreporter.com Fond du Lac Reporter:

"The fifth annual Girls+Math+Science=Opportunities (GMSO) one-day conference for girls in Grades 6 to 8 has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7, at Moraine Park Technical College.
Agnesian HealthCare, Moraine Park Technical College and UW-Fond du Lac/UW-Extension Continuing Education are founding sponsors.The conference begins at 9 a.m. with an opening session followed by two workshops, a social luncheon, afternoon workshop and a closing presentation. The event concludes at 3 p.m."

Quick Takes: Schwarzenegger Vetoes Limits on Administrators' Pay - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: Schwarzenegger Vetoes Limits on Administrators' Pay - Inside Higher Ed:

"California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have barred most salary increases and bonuses for executives at the University of California and California State University systems in bad budget years, such as this one. In his veto message, the governor criticized the measure as too broad and intrusive. 'A blanket prohibition limiting the flexibility for the UC and CSU to compete, both nationally and internationally, in attracting and retaining high level personnel does a disservice to those students seeking the kind of quality education that our higher education segments offer. The regents and the trustees should be prudent in managing their systems, given the difficult fiscal crisis we face as a state, but it is unnecessary for the state to micromanage their operations.' The veto drew a sharp response from Sen. Leland Yee, sponsor of the bill and a leading legislative voice for closer oversight of the university systems. Yee noted that well compensated executives have continued to receive bonuses and raises even as the university systems face unprecedented budget cuts. “It is deeply disappointing that the governor wants to ensure top executives live high on the hog while students suffer,” Yee said. “The governor’s veto is a slap in the face to all UC and CSU students and the system’s low wage workers. His veto protects the UC and CSU administration’s egregious executive compensation practices and allows them to continue to act more like AIG than a public trust.”"

PR-USA.net - Attorney General Holder Announces $37 Million in Grants to Support Youth Mentoring Initiatives

PR-USA.net - Attorney General Holder Announces $37 Million in Grants to Support Youth Mentoring Initiatives:

"U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced more than $37 million in Recovery Act and Fiscal Year 2009 grants have been awarded to support organizations in developing, implementing and expanding youth mentoring activities.

'These funds allow us to invest further in the future of today's youth by providing mentoring opportunities to help children reach their full potential,' said Attorney General Holder. 'These grants will help steer young people away from criminal activities by providing them with healthy life alternatives, positive role models, and direct contact with caring adults.'

The Recovery Act, signed into law by President Obama, provides the Office of Justice Programs' Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) with more than $12 million for local mentoring programs to reduce juvenile delinquency, violence, gang participation, school failure and dropout rates. The Recovery Act Local Mentoring grant recipients are:"

-- Turlock, Modesto, Merced Youth for Christ, Modesto, Calif. ($499,989)
-- Sacramento County Office of Education, Sacramento, Calif. ($494,534)
-- Fighting Back Partnership, Vallejo, Calif. ($500,000)

Union firing up protests at CSUS - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Union firing up protests at CSUS - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"A week of rallies, speeches, testimonials and teach-ins at California State University campuses begins today at Sacramento State. The statewide protests organized by the faculty union are designed to show how budget cuts are hurting the university and to urge support for a bill that would tax oil extraction to pay for higher education.

Facing historic budget cuts by the Legislature, CSU trustees had a $584 million deficit this summer. They furloughed employees, cut back on classes and services, reduced enrollment and raised student fees by 32 percent over last year."

Kumon Fills Gaps Left by U.S. Public Schools

Kumon Fills Gaps Left by U.S. Public Schools:

"Something magical is happening at the Largo Kumon Center located in Largo,
Maryland: students are studying beyond school grade level and actually enjoying it.

Not surprisingly, their parents have great things to say about Kumon.

One mom, Sandy Frazier, said: “Kumon gave my son the challenge that he needed. He wasn’t challenged in school. I started him in Kumon in the fourth grade and he reached algebra before middle school.”

Another mom, Kim McCarley, said: “We initially got our children into Kumon to help with giving them a foundation for math and reading. The thing we really like about Kumon is that our children don’t just learn math and reading, but it’s set up in a way that allows them to master math and reading. They don’t progress until they master something. Whereas in school, it’s once you have knowledge of, an awareness of, you move on. At Kumon, it’s once you master it. And I think that’s a big difference in that foundation for them.”"

The Associated Press: US education chief appeals for great new teachers

The Associated Press: US education chief appeals for great new teachers:

"CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan appealed Friday for a new generation of extraordinary teachers, calling education the civil rights cause of our time.

Duncan told about 100 prospective teachers at the University of Virginia that veterans, retirees and professionals seeking a second career must heed the call to teach. He said the need is especially acute for black men in the nation's classrooms.

'Put plain and simple, this country needs an army of great, new teachers — and I can think of no better place to start recruiting them than in Thomas Jefferson's hallowed halls,' Duncan told Curry School of Education students in the Jefferson-designed Rotunda, the academic heart of U.Va.'s Charlottesville campus."

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Schools Still Not Gauging What Works

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Schools Still Not Gauging What Works:

"San Diego Unified still needs a way to evaluate whether programs have worked, according to an internal report on instruction slated to go to the school board Tuesday.

Employees noticed the same problem earlier this year, in a similar report. The school district has introduced more innovative programs this year, such as a program to boost attendance and a mentoring program that is being expanded with stimulus money, but there is no systematic way to measure whether each program met its stated goals, the report found."

But fixing that could be a problem: "There are staffing resource needs in the area of Research and Evaluation associated with the development and consistent implementation of this process that would need to be addressed before undertaking a project of this magnitude," the report says. Translation: It would take more people to do that than San Diego Unified now has.

This finding was especially interesting to me after writing about the extinct High School Readiness Program, which suffered a lot of logistical problems and hasn't had a clear verdict of whether it worked. Another example might be the City Heights Educational Collaborative, which is an outside effort that didn't set clear goals.

Sacramento News & Review > Blogs > SNOG > Mayor Johnson not comfortable celebrating freethought > October 10, 2009

Sacramento News & Review > Blogs > SNOG > Mayor Johnson not comfortable celebrating freethought > October 10, 2009:

"But this year when Beverly Church, organizer of the local Freethought Day committee, asked new mayor Kevin Johnson’s staff for a similar proclamation, she was told it was a no-go. Something about wanting to remain “neutral” and that the mayor (or maybe just the mayor’s staff) were “not comfortable” with declaring Sunday Freethought Day.

The mayor is said to be a pretty religious guy, but that doesn’t seem like a good reason to stiff those people who don’t have invisible sky friends. Said Church:
“I’m really kind of surprised. This isn’t religion bashing. It’s a celebration of the separation of church and state, which is in our constitution.”"