Let teachers vote again - Hawaii Editorials - Starbulletin.com

Let teachers vote again - Hawaii Editorials - Starbulletin.com:

"Hawaii's school system has been boxed in by a teachers labor contract with potentially catastrophic legal, learning and political ramifications. Teacher furloughs instead of ordinary pay reductions to meet state constitutional budget requirements have produced outrage. Teachers should be allowed to vote to amend the contract to meet education needs."

The contract calls for 17 furloughs, all but three on days of instruction to children, for the current school year and 17 for the next. Teachers retain their current hourly pay, but their reduction of 34 workdays results in a wage reduction of 8 percent.

We urged earlier this year that the Lingle administration give priority to education in determining which areas of government should be most spared by the current budget crisis. The administration instead subjected all areas of state government to the same budgetary goals. The implications of the furloughs for teachers were not fully appreciated when the contract was ratified.

Attorneys for parents challenging the furloughs in court express justifiable concern that children are being deprived of adequate education because of the days off. They point to a survey by the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities finding that all teacher furloughs initiated in 25 states are on non-instructional days.

Costs driving school reform; Michigan school districts struggle to adapt as revenues continue to fall | Kalamazoo News - - MLive.com

Costs driving school reform; Michigan school districts struggle to adapt as revenues continue to fall Kalamazoo News - - MLive.com:

"KALAMAZOO — School parents, brace yourself for larger class sizes — maybe even college-size lectures at the high school level.

Figure you’ll pick up much more of the tab for sports and other extracurricular activities, assuming they aren’t cut.

Small districts, the pressure to consolidate is going to be intense.

The reason: With state revenues in free fall, Michigan school districts could see their operating revenues drop 10 percent or more by fall 2010.

To put that reduction in perspective: A district could eliminate its athletic program and bus service and still need to find more savings.

“Fifty kids in a physics class. No sports. That’s what we’re headed to,” said Ron Fuller, superintendent of the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency."

Bill Gates makes big push on education reform - Education- msnbc.com

Bill Gates makes big push on education reform - Education- msnbc.com:

"WASHINGTON - The real secretary of education, the joke goes, is Bill Gates.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been the biggest player by far in the school reform movement, spending around $200 million a year on grants to elementary and secondary education"

Now the foundation is taking unprecedented steps to influence education policy, spending millions to influence how the federal government distributes $5 billion in grants to overhaul public schools.

The federal dollars are unprecedented, too.

President Barack Obama persuaded Congress to give him the money as part of the economic stimulus so he could try new ideas to fix an education system that most agree is failing. The foundation is offering $250,000 apiece to help states apply, so long as they agree with the foundation's approach.

Race to the Top: Teachers left behind?: The Swamp

Race to the Top: Teachers left behind?: The Swamp:

"In 'the race to the top,'' no child will be left behind, we're assured, but a lot of low-performing teachers - as measured by the poor performance of their students - may be
The government has set aside $4.5 billion, as part of the $787-billion economic stimulus, to spur public schools toward better achievement. As states compete for grants under the 'Race to the Top'' program, they are being held to a standard that took root during the Bush administration, with its requirements that schools demonstrate yearly progress, and has blossomed in the Obama administration, which also is setting measurements for progress.

And for both the No Child Left Behind initiative that Bush won during his first year in office and the Race to the Top initiative that Obama's Department of Education is sponsoring in his first year, that means more student testing. It's a clear indicator of the common goals at work that Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and school reformer, and former president's brother, has heartily endorsed the work that Obama's education department is doing."

Autism's comfort zone :: Geneva Sun :: News

Autism's comfort zone :: Geneva Sun :: News:

"It was raining bacon and eggs, and Julianna Perrault couldn't have been more delighted.

'Ha!' she exclaims loudly. She then looks at her mother, Victoria, and offers a bright smile."

Later, when another scene on the screen tickles her funny bone, she loudly laughs and begins vigorously rocking back and forth in her chair.

Throughout the early morning screening of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" on a recent Saturday morning at AMC Cantera 30 in Warrenville, 13-year-old Julianna is free to do as she wishes. When she asks her mom questions about the color of someone's eyes, it's OK she's not whispering.

Yes, it's OK she's talking during the movie.

Elsewhere in the auditorium — where the lights are turned up and the volume dialed down to a comfortable level — a young boy runs up and down the stairs of the stadium seating. Later, he makes his way through the rows of chairs.

AMC Theaters, in partnership with the Autism Society of America, host monthly Sensory Friendly Films. These movie screenings provide families affected by autism and other disabilities a chance to see a movie in a safe and accepting environment.

Building a future: Students and city benefit from ROP class - Chico Enterprise Record

Building a future: Students and city benefit from ROP class - Chico Enterprise Record:

"CHICO -- At a passing glance, the IT-1 room at Chico High School appears to be just another ordinary classroom.

About a dozen students in T-shirts and jeans filter in from their lunch breaks, chatting about football games, English homework and the upcoming weekend.

They all carry backpacks, barely have their driver's licenses and slide into their seats to begin their assignments.

But these are anything but ordinary students and lessons."

Editorial: Sac High turnaround can't be ignored - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee#Comments_Container#Comments_Container

Editorial: Sac High turnaround can't be ignored - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee#Comments_Container#Comments_Container:

"Closing a school and turning it over to a nonprofit to run as a public charter school is not for the faint of heart. It requires a strong school board willing to back an inevitably controversial decision. It requires a charter organization willing to withstand withering criticism in its sensitive startup years by those tethered to the status quo.

But it is an option, one among many dramatic actions that school boards and communities can take to turn around their lowest-performing schools.
On these pages over time, we're featuring a number of alternatives for turning around chronically underperforming schools."

Opinion: Obama seems to be delivering on education reform - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: Obama seems to be delivering on education reform - San Jose Mercury News:

"A few weeks ago, 'Saturday Night Live' teased President Barack Obama for delivering great speeches but not actually bringing change. There's at least one area where that jibe is unfair: Education.

When Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan came to office, they created a $4.3 billion Race to the Top fund. The idea was to use money to leverage change. The administration would put a pile of federal money on the table and award it to a few states that most aggressively embraced reform.

Their ideas were good, and their speeches were beautiful. But the challenge was going to be standing up to the teachers' unions and the other groups that have undermined nearly every other reform effort."

Alisal trustees feud 'embarrassing' - MontereyHerald.com :

Alisal trustees feud 'embarrassing' - MontereyHerald.com ::

"Upheaval on the board

For the past month, relations among the five Alisal Union board members and top administrators have become so fractious that district business has practically come to a standstill.

On Oct. 12, trustees Gary Karnes, Juan Flores and Lupe Ruiz-Gilpas hastily approved 25 items ranging from a teacher's agreement to a multi-million-dollar renovation project, all while board President Meredith Ibarra kept yelling and banging her gavel, attempting to silence the board majority."

On Wednesday, facing an agenda that included possible disciplinary action against Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas and a flurry of other items just as controversial, Flores, Karnes and Ruiz-Gilpas announced they would not attend that night's meeting, forcing it to be cancelled. When meetings don't take place contracts don't get authorized, payments are not made, even student field trips can be cancelled.

After the Oct. 12 special meeting, Zendejas expressed relief that at least major projects could go forward.
"It was controversial, but the fact that the majority took action was very helpful. Some businesses were becoming irate."

In some classrooms, books are a thing of the past | CapeCodOnline.com

In some classrooms, books are a thing of the past CapeCodOnline.com:

"AGOURA HILLS, CALIF. — The dread of high school algebra is lost here amid the blue glow of computer screens and the clickety-clack of keyboards.

A fanfare plays from a speaker as a student passes a chapter test. Nearby, a classmate watches a video lecture on ratios. Another works out an equation in her notebook before clicking on a multiple-choice answer on her screen.

Their teacher at Agoura High School, Russell Stephans, sits at the back of the room, watching as scores pop up in real time on his computer grade sheet. One student has passed a level, the data shows; another is retaking a quiz.

'Whoever thought this up makes life so much easier,' Stephans says with a chuckle."

Schwarzenegger Passes Hollywood Tax Credits While CA Nears Bankruptcy | People Magazine Daily

Schwarzenegger Passes Hollywood Tax Credits While CA Nears Bankruptcy People Magazine Daily:

"Arnie says, “Hasta La Vista, Taxes!”

Most California state programs and departments are suffering from billions of dollars in spending cuts, but the film and TV production industries will soon be receiving millions of dollars in tax credits thanks to Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The money for the credits was set aside in February during the state budget negotiations. The budget also included a change in the way corporate taxes are calculated by 2011"

Internal Affairs: Los Altos a hotbed of youth violence. Or maybe not. - San Jose Mercury News

Internal Affairs: Los Altos a hotbed of youth violence. Or maybe not. - San Jose Mercury News:

"The real danger in schools report? Author's accuracy

The Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco last week trumpeted a study, 'Not As Safe As You Think,' that insisted public schools underreport campus dangers.
IA was astounded at the numbers in the report, which listed the state's 100 worst schools based on suspensions and expulsions in four categories. Shock turned to incredulity when we noticed that among the state's (allegedly) most dangerous schools was Santa Rita elementary, in that bastion of inner-city violence — Los Altos.

Despite being one of Santa Clara County's top performers on state tests last year, the school was listed as having had 244 cases of discipline for violence, injury and weapons. Not even close, said Los Altos Superintendent Tim Justus, who hadn't seen the survey until alerted by IA. (The school reported three suspensions for violence or drugs.)"

John Dewey: Education's Charles Darwin - thestar.com

John Dewey: Education's Charles Darwin - thestar.com:

"Toronto spent the past week debating education, wringing its collective hands over a proposal to introduce boys-only schools. Would it be a step forward toward progress, or a move back toward segregating the sexes?

If the boys schools are meant to better suit students' needs, then there's a good chance the idea would have garnered support from at least one big-time reformer, John Dewey."

Dewey was born 150 years ago last week, in 1859 – the year Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species. It would later be seen as a prophetic coincidence. Darwin was one of Dewey's deepest influences.

This Dewey – not to be confused with Melvil Dewey, of the library classification system – is widely considered the most important philosopher of education of the 20th century, founder of the progressive education movement. Yet while his 90th birthday in 1949 was treated as an international event, with U.S. President Harry Truman sending him a personal note, Dewey is today something of a forgotten figure.

Going to school in North America once meant learning by rote. Times tables, Latin declensions, the dates of battles, Keats's "Ode to a Grecian Urn" – it was all mindlessly repeated by students and memorized, usually in an authoritarian setting.

Editorial: State raid on redevelopment agencies likely unconstitutional - ContraCostaTimes.com

Editorial: State raid on redevelopment agencies likely unconstitutional - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"ONE OF THE MOST egregious elements of last July's state budget agreement was what almost surely is an unconstitutional raid on redevelopment agency funds. The Legislature and governor approved budget bill ABX4-26, which authorized taking $1.7 billion in redevelopment funds for fiscal 2009-10 and another $350 million in fiscal year 2010-11.

This isn't the first time the state has tried to grab local redevelopment funds to help balance its budget. In 2008, the Legislature voted to transfer $350 million in redevelopment revenue to state coffers to help fulfill California's education funding obligations and thus balance last year's budget.

However, last April a Sacramento County Superior Court ruled that the state raid was unconstitutional. The state objected, but dropped its appeal, leaving the court ruling intact."

Lynn Guenther: Making school fun can be seriously rewarding - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Lynn Guenther: Making school fun can be seriously rewarding - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"Alan Pagano's column Oct. 18 was a sad reminder of what our students are faced with today -- a narrow drill and kill approach to education focused primarily on performing well on the federally mandated No Child Left Behind multiple choice standardized test. Students and their schools are evaluated by test scores in the name of accountability -- and funding is tied to those numbers. High-stakes testing has indeed sucked a great deal of 'fun' and innovation out of today's school experience.

With enormous amounts of time being spent on math and reading which are on the test, subjects like science, history, social studies, art, music and PE have been curtailed and sometimes completely eliminated. This is especially prevalent in low-scoring schools serving disadvantaged students who often don't have opportunities to enjoy extracurricular activities. A well-rounded education is no longer valued; it doesn't translate into numbers and money. Less federal regulation and more local control has become a privilege reserved for charter schools that have the time for alternative teaching strategies and tapping into the tremendous local resources we have."

Special sessions define Schwarzenegger's tenure | MyDesert.com | The Desert Sun

Special sessions define Schwarzenegger's tenure MyDesert.com The Desert Sun:

"SACRAMENTO — A day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn into office in 2003, he capitalized on his popularity by calling state lawmakers into three special legislative sessions, each of which succeeded."

He persuaded lawmakers to float a $15 billion bond to close a budget deficit, reform workers' compensation and repeal a law giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.
Since then, special sessions have become a hallmark of Schwarzenegger's tenure. But his results have fallen far short of that initial success.

During six years in office, Schwarzenegger has called lawmakers into special session 16 times, including three this fall — the most of any California governor in history. Yet his success rate — measured by legislation produced from those special session — is the lowest of any governor in the modern era, according to an Associated Press review of legislative records dating back nearly a half-century.

Plan for nonprofit produce-handler part of local-food movement - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News | Sacramento Bee

Plan for nonprofit produce-handler part of local-food movement - Sacramento Business, Housing Market News Sacramento Bee:

"Sacramento-area farmers harvest a cornucopia of food each year – 3.4 million tons. More than 98 percent of this bounty is then shipped out of the region, and 2.2 million tons of food grown or processed elsewhere is hauled in to feed us.

Shawn Harrison sees that as a problem – and an opportunity. The executive director of Soil Born Farms in Rancho Cordova is at the hub of a movement to get more of Sacramento's bounty into Sacramento stomachs."

Make The Most Of Parent-Teacher Conferences - KYPost.com

Make The Most Of Parent-Teacher Conferences - KYPost.com:

"With millions of American children settled back into the routine of a new school year, it’s time for parents to get ready for parent-teacher conferences.

Walter Ingram of the Florence Huntington Learning Center says for parents, such an opportunity to meet face-to-face, one-on-one with your child’s teacher has many significant benefits - and should not be missed.

'Parent-teacher conferences are one of the most valuable tools available to parents,' says Ingram."

California’s Crisis of Higher Education : Indybay

California’s Crisis of Higher Education : Indybay

The story behind why there was a student walk-out at CSU-Fresno

On October 21, 2009 - hundreds of students at Fresno State walked out of their classrooms and held a rally at the university’s Peace Garden to protest the massive cuts to higher education and the California State University system. Students voiced their concerns with the unprecedented tuition increases, canceled classes, furloughed faculty and staff, and reduced enrollment opportunities. They then took their message to the sidewalks and streets of the campus calling out to students, faculty, and staff to take a stand and join the walk out.

Many did. By the time the march reached Shaw and Cedar Avenues, all four street corners were overflowing with students speaking out on behalf of themselves and the future of higher education in the state. “I hope that this walkout will increase community awareness that the budget cuts to the CSU are delaying our graduations, forcing would-be students out, and creating a precedent that "its ok" to cut education when really funding education gives back in more ways than one,” explained Whitney Thompson, a women’s studies major at Fresno State and a spokesperson for Students for Quality Education, the organization spearheading the event.

At the end of the march, the students presented Dr. Welty with a list of demands, which Welty indicated he would address at a later meeting. California is indeed facing a crisis of higher education, and the current solutions to the crisis being offered by the Chancellor’s office and administrators are only exacerbating the problems. For the first time in Fresno State’s history all admissions, including transfers, have been canceled for the spring semester.

In Fall 2010, the university announced that it will reduce enrollment by approximately 400 eligible students. The CSU system-wide is calling for a reduction of enrollment by 40,000 students over the next two years. High school students who have been told that if they do well in school they can earn a college degree are facing a broken promise because meeting the minimum eligibility requirements will no longer guarantee a student a place in the CSU.

For those students lucky enough to secure a seat in the classroom, they face the prospect of continued tuition hikes. Just this past year, students saw a 32% increase in their fees. This comes on top of multiple fee increases the last several years. Since 2002, tuition has increased 182%. Just recently the Chancellor’s office and the Board of Trustees announced the possibility of an additional 10% increase next year.

The Raw Story | Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund

The Raw Story Obama offers millions in Muslim technology fund:

"The White House Friday highlighted a new multi-million-dollar technology fund for Muslim nations, following a pledge made by President Barack Obama in his landmark speech to the Islamic world.

The White House said the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) had issued a call for proposals for the fund, which will provide financing of between 25 and 150 million dollars for selected projects and funds.

The Global Technology and Innovation Fund will 'catalyze and facilitate private sector investments' throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the White House said in a statement."