Teacher Beat: Duncan Calls for Multiple Measures in Evaluation

Teacher Beat: Duncan Calls for Multiple Measures in Evaluation:

"Education Secretary Arne Duncan made a particular point yesterday of underscoring that teacher evaluations should be based on 'multiple measures' that would include student achievement alongside other factors, such as peer evaluations.

He was speaking at conference here in Washington for state officials hosted by the National Comprehensive Center on Teacher Quality.

Frankly, the multiple-measures comment shouldn't come as a big surprise if you've been paying attention. A number of other ED officials have made the same point in other forums. But a lot of the state officials told me they were nevertheless glad to hear the message. They noted that the Race to the Top proposed criteria make a big deal about incorporating student achievement, but are silent on other teacher-evaluation criteria."

Education Week: Accept No Substitutes for Real Decentralization

Education Week: Accept No Substitutes for Real Decentralization:

"Is anyone recommending that General Motors repair itself by retraining its workers, or by adopting performance-based compensation for them? Are people advocating that we solve the nation’s health-care problems by altering the curriculum in schools of medicine?

The answer to both questions is no. Why, then, does it make sense for us to attack the problems of urban schools with equivalent measures: improving teacher training, adopting merit pay, or changing the curriculum and books?"

General Motors got into trouble by being overcentralized in its management, and the debate over health-care reform is largely about whether centralization will make it better or worse. When big organizations get into real trouble, the issue is often about centralization.

Urban school districts are dysfunctionally centralized, and putting improved subsystems of selection, training, and compensation into them cannot overcome the larger problem. To see how inappropriate are the currently voguish palliatives, we need only to observe what happens when principals are given the freedom to spend their budgets as they see fit, staff their schools as they think best, and arrange curricula and schedules according to the desires of their teachers.

Education Week: Conflict of Interest Arises as Concern in Standards Push

Education Week: Conflict of Interest Arises as Concern in Standards Push:

"A respected literacy-research organization is asking that a process be put in place to make more transparent potential conflicts of interest that writers of the common national academic standards* might have, and to address them.

The Literacy Research Association sent a letter Oct. 21 to the groups overseeing the development of common standards that, among other points, expresses concern that many of the authors are “representatives of multiple commercial entities that stand to profit enormously from selling curricula, instructional materials, assessments, and consultancies as the standards are rolled out.”"

Such connections should be “explicitly revealed and addressed,” says the letter from the group, formerly called the National Reading Conference.
While the letter does not cite specific names, a significant number of people selected to write the standards, which are geared initially toward college and career readiness, are representing ACT Inc., and the College Board. The authors’ names and primary affiliations are listed on the project’s materials.



*The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a joint effort by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in partnership with Achieve, ACT and the College Board. Governors and state commissioners of education from across the country committed to joining a state-led process to develop a common core of state standards in English-language arts and mathematics for grades K-12. The first step of this initiative is developing college- and career-readiness standards followed by K-12 standards.
These standards will be research and evidence-based, internationally benchmarked, aligned with college and work expectations and include rigorous content and skills. The NGA Center and CCSSO are coordinating the process to develop these standards and have created an expert validation committee to provide an independent review of the common core state standards, as well as the grade-by-grade standards.

http://www.corestandards.org/

Putting the Customer First in College

Putting the Customer First in College:

"The U.S. higher education marketplace is complex. It boasts multiple stakeholders, among them taxpayers, parents, federal and state governments, colleges and universities and of course the students. But there is only one real customer—the individual who chooses to pursue an education.

Students make customer choices based on available information, interests, abilities and life circumstances that will mostly determine whether they succeed in obtaining an education with a meaningful credential. The problem is our higher education marketplace today does not account for this customer focus that is so important to success. In large measure, this is because education policies that guide this marketplace are largely crafted by the dominant voices in higher education—colleges and universities with the resources to sway elected officials. Students as customers have no voice in this policy conversation."

Bringing a customer focus to higher education would empower students as customers and, especially for low-income students, provide information and support to make postsecondary education a viable option amid their work and life responsibilities. Customer focus can help build a student-centric higher education system that delivers quality, flexible learning experiences that lead to educational credentials for personal growth and career success.

In most sectors of our economy, customer focus is paramount, as it should be in education, too. Customer focus could yield a more student-centric system through the development and dissemination of user-friendly “truth-in-education” information that helps students make “best-fit” choices regarding which education provider to select based on customer preferences such as: academic quality, price, convenience, learning style, beginning education level and the anticipated return on their investment in education. After all, an estimated 60 percent of undergraduate students are not on the “four-years-and-graduate” program, instead attending classes in a variety of non-traditional ways at multiple institutions over many years.

Customer focus has an additional benefit. Understanding how students make choices and actually experience higher education in many different ways would benefit all the other stakeholders who invest in a students’ education, among them parents, taxpayers, and the educational institutions themselves.

Developing a student-centric focus for higher education and using it to empower customer choice will require a neutral, independent voice that is equally capable of gathering U.S. Department of Education data and analysis to provide critical customer information as well as providing a national voice to help students find the best education providers given their needs and educational desires. The Department of Education should take on this ombudsman role by forming, a quasi-independent, Office of Consumer Protection in Higher Education. This new office should:

Produce a College Customer Bill of Rights that enforces truth in advertising regarding: academic quality, student services and support and flexibility and convenience.
Ensure that mandated federal data gathering, assembly, analysis and presentation are conducted in ways that empowers students with usable customer information.
Be an ombudsman for students with state officials and regional accrediting agencies to integrate and publish “truth-in-education” customer data and direct student customers to the appropriate officials when they have grievances with their education provider.

It is time our nation had public policies and institutions that provide for the needs of their customers, the students, by building a student-centric higher education system.

Support the Center for American Progress

Calif. Finance Director To Step Down - Politics News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Calif. Finance Director To Step Down - Politics News Story - KCRA Sacramento:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California Finance Director Mike Genest said Monday in e-mail that he is stepping down from his post.
Genest is leaving after one of the worst financial crisises California has ever faced.

'The state we serve has gone through some difficult times lately,' Genest said in a message to fellow staff members.

'As we continue to sort out our fiscal situation, this department will be instrumental in leading the state through the challenges that remain ahead,' Genest said in his message.
Sources tell KCRA 3 that Genest will retire by the end of the year."

There's still time to register!

East Bay LGBTQ Welcoming & Inclusive School Forum and San Francisco Elementary School Fair and Forum

NEW INFORMATION EVERY YEARHELP GET MORE LGBTQ PARENTS AT YOUR SCHOOL AND MAKE IT MORE WELCOMING AND INCLUSIVE!

Our Family Coalition is pleased to invite you to participate in our annual San Francisco and East Bay Welcoming and Inclusive School Forums.

These forums are designed to give school administrators, teachers and parents an introduction to some of the innovative and groundbreaking strategies to creating inclusive and welcoming environments for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) parents and their children which is needed now more than ever.

East Bay School ForumRegister: Click here!

When: Thursday, November 5, 5:30pm-8:30pm

Where: Malcolm X Elementary School, 1731 Prince Street, Berkeley (map it)

Dinner and childcare on site included, $5 per person suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds

San Francisco Elementary School Kindergarten Fair and Forum *Register: Click here!

When: Saturday, November 14, 11:30am-3:30pm (School Fair 11:30am-1:00pm, Forum 1:30-3:30pm)

Where: Rosa Parks Elementary School, 1501 O'Farrell St., San Francisco (map it)

*The San Francisco School Forum will feature a school fair where public and private schools from the area will be tabling. Parents are encouraged to ask their schools to participate. To register your school for the school fair tabling portion of this event, click here.

Lunch and childcare on site included, $5 per person suggested donation, one one turned away for lack of funds
Help us promote this important event!

We need your help to encourage your schools parents, teachers, and administrators to attend this important event. Please forward this email to parents, teachers, and school administrators you think may be interested in attending.

Our Family Coalition promotes the rights and well-being of Bay Area lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer families with children and prospective parents through education, advocacy, social networking, and grassroots community organizing.

Headquarters: 870 Market St., Ste. 872, San Francisco, CA 94102

East Bay Office: 344 40th St., Oakland, CA 94609

http://www.ourfamily.org/

· 415-981-1960

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Find a Flu Shot Near You

Find a Flu Shot Near You:

"Flu Shot Locator
Seasonal flu vaccine is widely available. H1N1 vaccine is being shipped now. States are posting new information every day about availability, distribution to priority groups and where to get vaccinated. There is also information on State planning and preparation efforts, as well as general flu information here.

Click your state or use the drop-down box to learn more.

HHS is working with the states and interested partners to build a zip code-based flu clinic locator covering both H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines. This new locator will be available here and on most state Websites in the near future."

H1N1 (Swine) Flu Virus: Facts for Parents (& Expecting)

Pregnant and recently pregnant women are a priority group for the H1N1 flu vaccine. More…

Vaccinating children is a priority. Flu is more dangerous than the common cold for children. More…

Antiviral Drugs to Treat H1N1. More…

Clinicians should consider these facts before prescribing antivirals. More…

Do not stop breastfeeding if you are sick. Your breast milk is good for the baby. More…

The symptoms for all flu, including H1N1 flu, are similar. However, be on the lookout for signs of serious illness. More…

Don’t wait; call your doctor immediately if your child gets sick with flu-like symptoms. More…

Relieve the symptoms of H1N1 flu with certain over-the-counter medications. More…

Emergency medical care may become necessary. Know the signs. More…

Talk to children about H1N1 flu. More…

Flu during the school year. More…

Vaccinating Children

All people from 6 months through 24 years of age are a priority group for the H1N1 flu vaccine. Getting your child vaccinated as soon as possible is the best method for protecting him or her from the flu. Use our Flu Shot Locator to get vaccinated where you live.

There are separate vaccines for seasonal flu and H1N1.

Children should get both vaccinations as soon as possible.

Flu vaccine will be available in different settings, such as vaccination clinics organized by local health departments, healthcare provider offices, schools, and other private settings, such as pharmacies and workplaces.

The 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine is expected to have a similar safety profile as seasonal flu vaccines, which have a very good safety track record. Over the years, hundreds of millions of Americans have received seasonal flu vaccines. More information on vaccine safety

The H1N1 vaccine is provided at no cost by the government. Some, but not all, clinics may charge to administer the vaccine.

More information on vaccine cost

For more information on priority vaccinations see CDC Advisors Make Recommendations for Use of Vaccine Against Novel H1N1.

Sacramento Press / Top Johnson Advisor Resigns To Work For Nestle

Sacramento Press / Top Johnson Advisor Resigns To Work For Nestle:

"Michelle Smira, a Republican strategist and consultant to mayor Kevin Johnson, resigned from her position on October 22. Below is her letter of resignation:

Dear Mayor Johnson,

It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve as a volunteer in your office, the Office of the

Mayor. The opportunity to serve as your liaison to various organizations and to meet with constituents on your behalf has been very rewarding. Thank you for this opportunity.

I believe strongly that the people of Sacramento voted overwhelmingly for you to represent us as Mayor because we wanted change. What has become apparent is that we desperately need change. I will be stepping away as a volunteer in your official office to further help promote these goals in the community. I believe that the only way to ensure that Sacramento is truly “a City that Works for Everyone” is if you are in fact leading our City. We need to change our antiquated structure and I will be there to help educate our community on the issue.

It has been a wonderful experience working with you at City Hall and I look forward to again helping in this capacity at a later date.

Thank you,
Michelle Smira"

CAVALA: Legalizing ‘Tommy Guns’ For Street Gang Members? - California Progress Report

CAVALA: Legalizing ‘Tommy Guns’ For Street Gang Members? - California Progress Report

CAVALA: Legalizing ‘Tommy Guns’ For Street Gang Members?

By Bill CavalaA veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento


Well, he didn’t really say that. But he wrote a law review article that concluded that if you can carry it, you can bear it (Constitutionally). Which means the decades old ban on automatic weapons should be repealed (we shouldn’t have Unconstitutional laws on the books), which means that street gang members – as long as they have no criminal convictions – should be able to buy and carry “Tommy Guns.”

If I were to mail such a charge, however, Harmer would surely run to the press to claim his position had been slanted, mischaracterized, and distorted.
And he’d be right.

But it’s John Garamendi, Harmer’s Democratic opponent, who has the right to cry ‘foul’.

The Republicans took a quote made in the context of the State’s budget - long before Garamendi became a candidate for Congress – to the effect that it would take a mix of tax increases and spending cuts to solve the budget problem. Ultimately, the Republican Governor and the two Republican Legislative leaders agreed with Garamendi.

Somehow that statement morphed into a demand that we “gut” Prop 13 and “tax people out of their homes” – the characterization of an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal cited in a hit piece against Garamendi (as evidence).

Not that it matters, but Garamendi has never advocated raising the property tax on residential property.

PCL INSIDER: Assemblymember Nava Calls On Big Oil To Pay Its Fair Share - California Progress Report

PCL INSIDER: Assemblymember Nava Calls On Big Oil To Pay Its Fair Share - California Progress Report

PCL INSIDER: Assemblymember Nava Calls On Big Oil To Pay Its Fair Share

By Traci SheehanExecutive DirectorPlanning and Conservation League

On Monday, the Planning and Conservation League (League) joined Assemblymember Pedro Nava as he announced the introduction of new legislation designed to ensure that big oil companies that operate in California compensate the state for extracting oil. The bill, known as the Oil Industry Fair Share Act, ABX6 1 (Nava), brings California in line with other oil producing states by requiring oil companies to pay a severance tax of ten percent. Every other major oil producing state, including Alaska and Texas, have this tax.

The revenue generated by the proposed tax would go into the state's general fund and help balance the budget. Along with the League, Mr. Nava was joined by representatives from Environment California, senior groups, school workers and nurses. These groups all asked the legislature to pass the Oil Industry Fair Share Act to help prevent more severe cuts to vital state services, noting that big oil currently gets a free ride while residents throughout the state are asked to sacrifice to help balance the budget. The measure is estimated to contribute $1.5 billion to the general fund annually.

THE WATER SPECIAL SESSION IS ON!

P/PV Program Areas | Crime Reduction and Reentry | Publications | Publication Detail

P/PV Program Areas Crime Reduction and Reentry Publications Publication Detail:

"In 1999, seeking to reduce Philadelphia's homicide rate and put youthful offenders on the path to a productive adulthood, various Philadelphia agencies and organizations, including Public/Private Ventures, partnered to form the Youth Violence Reduction Partnership (YVRP). The project's goal is to steer youth, ages 14 to 24 and at greatest risk of killing or being killed, toward productive lives through increased support and supervision. This report describes YVRP and presents early evidence the initiative may be reducing homicides."

Catch Emily Alpert @ voiceofsandiego.org. for the Best in Ed News

Bright and Early


Stop raiding the leftover Halloween candy for a minute and catch up on all the education news you missed while you were trick-or-treating:

The Union-Tribune writes about the dreamed-of high school in Alpine.

Schools could begin inoculating children against swine flu as early as next week, KPBS reports.
San Diego News Network fields more questions from parents about how their kids can meet the standards to apply for the University of California and California State University systems.

A Julian parent created a "green party kit" to replace disposable plates and cups used for classroom parties and got profiled in National Geographic for her work, the North County Times reports.

Also in the North County Times: Escondido high schools are preparing for more construction.
A San Jose-area school district has ousted their superintendent after questions cropped up about his spending, the Mercury News reports. The problem is that it cost them another $120,000 to do it -- plus his health benefits.

Parcel taxes and school construction bonds will be popping up on ballots for voters to approve or deny across Southern California as school districts try to gather more funds, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Merc zeroes in on two such school districts with parcel taxes going before voters in their area.

The LAT also profiles a Pasadena high school that is trying to turn itself around.
The San Francisco Chronicle tells the appalling story of the gang rape of a teenage girl in Richmond and her classmates who did it. I'd like to think that the headline -- which says that the attack is seen as "nearly inevitable" -- isn't true.

The Educated Guess, a blog on school policy, writes about a hearing today on another bill aimed at helping California snap up a second batch of school stimulus funds. This one would give researchers access to state data systems.

States and school districts are beginning to worry about what happens when the stimulus money runs dry, Education Week reports. It's called the funding cliff. San Diego Unified, for instance, has used some stimulus money to pay salaries for teachers in a program to reduce class sizes. But when the federal money disappears, it must figure out how to cover those costs.

The Washington Post writes that tumult over education reform in the nation's capitol is nothing new.

The Chicago Tribune reports that schools there found an interesting way to get around No Child Left Behind requirements: Don't count struggling students as juniors so their scores don't count against them under the federal law.

-- EMILY ALPERT

Crib some notes on all things educational in San Diego, from the latest and greatest classroom innovations to scuffles on the school board, from school lunches to the teachers union.Reporter Emily Alpert hits the books, dials the decision makers and navigates the bureaucracy so you don't have to, keeping you posted throughout each day on the education beat.

Contact her at

emily.alpert@voiceofsandiego.org

twitter.com/emilyschoolsyou

Monday, November 2, 2009 6:45 AM PST

East Side school board ousts embattled Superintendent Nunez - San Jose Mercury News

East Side school board ousts embattled Superintendent Nunez - San Jose Mercury News:

"It took three special sessions and nearly 12 hours of wrangling behind closed doors, but trustees of the East Side Union High School District finally decided the fate of embattled Superintendent Bob Nunez: He was ousted from his $225,000-a-year job.

The ax officially fell at midnight on Halloween, although Nunez's pink slip was showing by noon Saturday, when the board announced its decision.

After an audit of Nunez's expenses by a San Francisco law firm that likely cost East Side Union — the largest high school district in Northern California — tens of thousands of dollars, Nunez was awarded a severance package that includes payment of $120,800 and health care benefits for four years."

School Clinics Could Open As Early As Next Week | KPBS.org

School Clinics Could Open As Early As Next Week KPBS.org:

"SAN DIEGO — San Diego County education officials say H1N1 school clinics might open sooner than later. That's because the county received an unexpected shipment of the swine flu vaccinations last week.

Almost 30 San Diego County school districts have agreed to provide campus space for county-operated vaccination clinics.

Those clinics will start inoculating kids beginning next week thanks to an unexpected shipment of 78,000 doses of the swine flu vaccination.

Jim Esterbrooks is with the San Diego County Office of Education. He says these clinics will cater to students and school staffers. He says the general public should not rely on them. Instead, they should call on their own doctors or community clinics."

Op-Ed Contributor - Teach Your Teachers Well - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor - Teach Your Teachers Well - NYTimes.com:

"ARNE DUNCAN, the secretary of education, recently called for sweeping changes to the way we select and train teachers. He’s right. If we really want good schools, we need to create a critical mass of great teachers. And if we want smart, passionate people to become these great educators, we have to attract them with excellent programs and train them properly in the substance and practice of teaching.

Our best universities have, paradoxically, typically looked down their noses at education, as if it were intellectually inferior. The result is that the strongest students are often in colleges that have no interest in education, while the most inspiring professors aren’t working with students who want to teach. This means that comparatively weaker students in less intellectually rigorous programs are the ones preparing to become teachers."

Perils of rating teachers--Part one, the District - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Perils of rating teachers--Part one, the District - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"In the last half of the 19th century, many inventors pursued the dream of building an airplane. Duds and crashes were frequent and skeptics numerous. Only a decade before the Wright brothers’ 1903 flight, British physicist and engineer Lord Kelvin had declared that “heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” American educators are similarly scrambling to create a teacher evaluation system that will raise the level of instruction and student achievement in the same reliable way that modern jetliners take us home for Thanksgiving. They have not been very successful.

Many smart teachers have concluded the idea is a loser. They are artists, they say, whose work cannot be reduced to numbers for placement, pay and promotion."

Still, many people are trying to be teacher assessment’s answer to Wilbur and Orville Wright. Take, for instance, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and a team of educators led by Jason Kamras, the 2005 national teacher of the year. You can find their IMPACT plan, the result of input from more than 500 D.C. educators, by clicking on the “Teaching and Learning” tabhttp://dcps.dc.gov.

Will it crash and burn? Many think so. George Parker, president of the Washington Teachers’ Union, said “it takes the art of teaching and turns it into bean counting.” I have been sending the plan to experts around the country, however, and they are more optimistic than I expected.

My Teacher, My Hero True Stories of Great Teachers

Texas tells teachers' trainers they must make the grade, too | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Texas tells teachers' trainers they must make the grade, too Houston & Texas News Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"Texas is among the first states to toughen its standards for colleges of education and other teacher-training programs amid criticism that too many are “cash cows” that produce weak instructors.

Under a proposed new rating system, the programs would be held accountable for their graduates' effectiveness on the job — especially regarding student achievement. Teacher programs that repeatedly fall short of the standards could lose their state accreditation.

“Those programs that are doing poorly — and the result is poor teachers — ought to get sanctioned,” said state Sen. Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, who authored the bill this year requiring the more rigorous accreditation system.

The State Board for Educator Certification gave initial approval to the rules last month and is expected to finalize them in February."

Schools' zero-tolerance policies tested - USATODAY.com

Schools' zero-tolerance policies tested - USATODAY.com:

"Parents and elected officials across the USA are demanding that schools slacken zero-tolerance policies that are meant to reduce violence because strict adherence has lead to some students being forced out of school for bringing items such as eyebrow trimmers and a Cub Scout's camping tool to campus.

The most recent high-profile case involved Zachary Christie, a 6-year-old who was suspended for five days on Sept. 29 after he brought a camping utensil that was part knife, fork and spoon to Downes Elementary in Newark, Del. School officials considered it a dangerous instrument and suspended the boy, adding that he couldn't return to Downes until he completed at least 45 days at an alternative school."

The Thinkers: Teachers offered a lesson in urban vernacular

The Thinkers: Teachers offered a lesson in urban vernacular:

"Arnetha Ball recalls a time when a teacher in a mostly African-American classroom was taking roll and asked if a particular student was absent.

'No, he's not here,' a girl in the class said. 'He be missing the bus.'

The teacher corrected her. 'You mean, he missed the bus.'

'Well,' the girl replied, 'he missed the bus, but that's not what I was saying.'"

By using that particular piece of African-American vernacular, the girl actually meant "he misses the bus all the time," said Dr. Ball, a Stanford University expert in educational linguistics and the inaugural Dr. Barbara A. Sizemore distinguished professor at Duquesne University's School of Education.

Dr. Ball said teachers, especially those in urban schools across the nation, need to start understanding that African-American speech is its own language, with specialized words, grammar and ways of communicating.

"People may think it's all about slang," she said, "but it goes much deeper."

In the case of the roll-call anecdote, when the student said "he be missing the bus, she meant it's a habitual pattern, so when she was corrected by the teacher, she was aware that was not what she had meant to say."

As with any language, she said, "there's a much richer meaning if you can understand the intended colloquial meanings that go with the expressions."
Her years of research on the subject have not been aimed at promoting African-American vernacular at the expense of standard, academic English, but to show how understanding its patterns can enhance communication and teaching.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09306/1010095-53.stm#ixzz0ViYPYmSo

More districts use income, not race, as basis for busing - USATODAY.com

More districts use income, not race, as basis for busing - USATODAY.com:

"Struggling to improve schools that have large populations of poor and minority students and under legal pressure to avoid racial busing, a small but growing group of school districts are integrating schools by income.

More than 60 school systems now use socioeconomic status as a factor in school assignments, says Richard Kahlenberg, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, which studies income inequality. Students in Champaign, Ill.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Louisville have returned this year to income-based assignments."