Groups Rally Behind Cesar Chavez As Jobs Are Cut - KRDO.com Colorado Springs and Pueblo News, Weather and Sports

Groups Rally Behind Cesar Chavez As Jobs Are Cut - KRDO.com Colorado Springs and Pueblo News, Weather and Sports:

"PUEBLO - Job cuts at the Cesar Chavez Academy and Dolores Huerta Preparatory High School took students and staff by surprise on Friday.

NEWSCHANNEL 13 learned that several coaches were let go following the final bell on Friday. It left teams showing up for practice with nothing to do but console each other. According to sources, that upset students and staff alike because of there was such little forewarning.

The job cuts are part of a plan to make up for a $1.5 million dollar budget shortfall. It reportedly includes 29 staff members but only two teacher positions. Administrators, teachers and staff we tried to talk to all refused comment or didn't return our call. Word from the chief financial officer within the network is that they tried to make cuts that would have the least impact on the classroom"

Repeal of school reform law rejected - Bangor Daily News

Repeal of school reform law rejected - Bangor Daily News:

"Maine voters have rejected a move to repeal the state’s school district consolidation law — and they did so in convincing fashion.

With 87 percent of the state’s precincts reporting early Wednesday morning, the vote was 284,117 to 201,203 — or 58.5 percent to 41.5 percent — against repealing the law.

“We’re all very disappointed by the vote,” said Skip Greenlaw, chairman of the Maine Coalition to Save Schools, which mounted the drive to repeal the law. “I suppose when you can spend $300,000 on television ads and we had no money for ads, this is what happens. We know we were right, but a lot of people were not able to hear our message, and that’s unfortunate.”"

Pew Identifies States, Like California, in Fiscal Peril

Pew Identifies States, Like California, in Fiscal Peril:

"Washington, D.C. - 11/11/2009 - A report released today by the Pew Center on the States shows that some of the same pressures that have pushed California toward economic disaster are wreaking havoc in a number of other states, with potentially damaging consequences for the entire country. Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Wisconsin join California as the 10 most troubled states, according to Pew’s analysis, 'Beyond California: States in Fiscal Peril'.

These states' budget troubles can have significant repercussions for their residents: higher taxes or fees; layoffs or furloughs of state workers; longer waits for public services; more crowded classrooms; higher college tuition and less support for the poor or unemployed. They also pose challenges for the nation as a whole. Together, the 10 states account for more than one-third of America's population and economic output. And actions taken by state governments to balance their budgets–such as tax increases and drastic spending cuts—can slow down the country's recovery."

California spends $7,500 per student and a whopping $47,000 per prisoner -- you do the math

California spends $7,500 per student and a whopping $47,000 per prisoner -- you do the math:

"California’s first rate educational system used to be the mark to meet for other states, but those days are long gone. While the powers in Sacramento have not positioned us dead last in per pupil spending – the fifth largest economy in the world does rank a paltry 47th…ahead of only Utah, Nevada, Texas and Arizona.

With more than 6.2 million students California has almost 2 million more students than the next most populous state of Texas. Running a school system of this scope and size is a daunting task and is not the only challenge California faces. The state also has the highest percentage of English learners in the nation and is close to the top in the number of students living below the poverty level."

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Let teachers teach

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Let teachers teach:

"Parents, do you know where your teachers are?

If your children attend any of the nine elementary schools within the Sulphur Springs Union School District, your child's teacher may be found performing yard duty instead of the important duties she or he is trained to provide.

This is like a symphony conductor being ordered to become a theater usher, seating all the concert guests before taking the podium to lead the orchestra."

Picture the pilot of a jumbo jet also serving as the baggage handler, or a bank president rolling pennies. You get the picture.Parents, are you aware that your child's teacher is wasting valuable classroom preparation time, parent communication time and extra student attention time on such an inappropriate chore?

If I had a child in the district, I'd be bombarding the district office with e-mail, phone calls and petitions demanding a better solution.Yes, all California schools are in a budget dilemma - but how many other districts are taking their best and brightest assets and squandering their talent?

Education for foster youth is key

Education for foster youth is key:

"Overcrowded prisons continue to be a costly issue for Californians as we struggle with a catastrophic economy and budget crisis. In recent news, we learned that the state is being ordered to cut its inmate population by 44,000. Yet little attention is given to how we got into this crisis. Yes, some have talked about the “three strikes” law and probation problems and the lack of facilities to house prisoners. But few have examined the underlying cause for why so many people are turning to a life of crime.

The answer is lack of educational opportunities. The relationship between the educational path verses the criminal path is a clear one.

Consider one subgroup: foster youth. Surveys report that well over half of California’s inmates were in the foster care system at one time. Even though 70 percent of foster youth desire a college experience, nationally only half of them even get a high school degree. Of those who do, only 3 percent end up on a university campus. Of this 3 percent, only half of them actually succeed in earning a four-year degree. The rest – 98.5 percent are underemployed at best or unemployed, with a disproportionate number on public assistance or homeless – both situations that are often a pathway to crime."

College crisis is a disaster California can't afford

College crisis is a disaster California can't afford:

"In a disaster flick that opened this weekend, supposedly based on prophecies left behind by the Maya, 2012 is the year that California will crash into the Pacific, during a swirl of cataclysmic events that reshapes the world.

Assuming that the Maya or their Hollywood interpreters weren't right and we actually survive 2012, California may face a disaster of its own making within the next 15 years or so, much quieter than the widescreen version but capable of its own form of devastation.

Call it the Education Apocalypse."

Six in 10 California community college students give up transfer plans, never making it to universities - Oroville Mercury Register

Six in 10 California community college students give up transfer plans, never making it to universities - Oroville Mercury Register:

"As California's universities cut back slots for incoming freshman, they are still touting one route to a bachelor's degree that remains wide open: Start off at a community college and then transfer to UC or CSU.

But a new analysis shows that fewer than half the students who undertake that path ever reach their goal, waylaid by financial, personal and procedural potholes.

Only 40 percent of California's degree-seeking students are ready to transfer to universities after community college, according to the state's latest annual accountability report for community colleges. Silicon Valley schools do somewhat better — with success rates that range from 48 percent at San Jose City College to 68 percent at De Anza and Foothill colleges."

Dads give babies headstart | The Courier-Mail

Dads give babies headstart The Courier-Mail:

"But increasingly research is showing that the things fathers bring to the equation can make enormous differences to their children's lives.

Dr Bruce Robinson, co-ordinator of The Fathering Project at the University of Western Australia, has spoken to thousands of fathers and father figures about ways they can engage with their children and the rewards that it brings.

'In general, mothers tend to spend their time worrying about the kids. 'Have you got clean knickers, have you eaten your vegetables, have you brushed your teeth?'. Whereas dads tend to be a bit more laid-back,' Robinson says.

'Those differences are good, so long as they are two good parts of one thing."

Homeless man has key role in Sacramento debate - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Homeless man has key role in Sacramento debate - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Rudolph John Kraintz's gray eyes smolder as he stands outside his tent north of downtown Sacramento, rolling a cigarette with tobacco-stained fingers.

'I'm trying to work within the system, but the system is a mess!' he declares.

Scraggly, rumpled and destitute, having lived outdoors for the better part of seven years, Kraintz has become a most unlikely political force."

Rhee Says She's On The Hook For A Fenty Loss - D.C. Wire -

Rhee Says She's On The Hook For A Fenty Loss - D.C. Wire -:

"Rhee Says She's On The Hook For A Fenty Loss
If Mayor Adrian M. Fenty loses his 2010 re-election bid, he will have someone to officially blame--besides himself. D.C. Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee told an audience at the Newseum Friday afternoon that she would feel 'very responsible' if he served only one term.

The admission came at the Bloomberg Washington Summit, a day-and-half series of journalist-conducted conversations with CEOs, elected officials and assorted big thinkers. During her appearance, Washington Post editorial writer Jonathan Capehart reviewed some of the flashpoints of her eventful tenure--including school closures, central office firings and teacher layoffs--and concluded that while she's 'broken some dishes in this town and a lot of folks aren't happy' she still enjoyed the full support of the mayor who appointed her."

........Pressed for details about her recent engagement to Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson, she said they would discuss a wedding date this weekend and that the imposing diamond on her finger was three carats. Of Johnson's proposal, she said only:
"I have to say it was very effective."

Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age - Day 1

Forty years after the "War on Poverty" and twenty-five years after "A Nation at Risk," a new forum has been designed to advance a new paradigm for learning by harnessing the largely untapped potential of digital media. Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age brought together 200 of the nations top thought leaders in science and technology, informal and formal education, entertainment media, research, philanthropy, and policy to create and act upon a breakthrough strategy for scaling-up effective models of teaching and learning for children.

Check out our opening night including a welcome speech from Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, opening remarks by Martha Kanter, Under Secretary of the US Dept of Ed, and a fiesty panel discussion featuring Linda Darling Hammond, Joel Klein, Mitch Kapor, Jonathan Miller and Ram Sriram.

And don't miss the final event, our keynote speech by Geoff Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone

For more about the event, please go to: http://www.google.com/events/digitalage
Category: Education

Cornucopia of Primary Sources Links: The National Archives | Ecology of Education

Cornucopia of Primary Sources Links: The National Archives Ecology of Education:

"In a fantastic session at NCSS Annual Conference, a couple of education specialists from the National Archives and Records Administration presented a small sampling of the incredible wealth of primary source materials available for free. From Nixon’s resignation letter to Regan’s landmark Berlin speech (his speaking copy!), they employed resources that can bring history alive for students of all ages."

Below are a host of links provided during the presentation.

National Archives Sites:

Digital Vaults: A rich and varied arm of the National Archives Education wing. (Mixed metaphor, just to keep you on your toes.) Lots to explore and personalize!

Pathways Challenges: Engaging mysteries at several levels of difficulty for exploring resources related to a specific theme.

Create Your Own Pathways Challenge: You can create posters, movies, and other media to engage your students in primary sources around a theme of your creation.

National Archives Education Team’s Delicious Account: Hundreds of links to primary source documents, ideas for teaching with documents, and information about education programs at the National Archives.

National Archives Education Team’s Delicious Account for National History Day: Numerous links to primary sources pertaining to National History Day.

National Archives Education Team’s Delicious Account Primary Sources: Their links to primary sources.

Archival Research Catalogue (ARC): This link will take you to the site for finding resources relevant your course of study or instruction. Deep, rich resources avaialble, as well as a student/teacher page.

US National Archives Flickr Account: Images that bring the history to life. A picture is worth a thousand words, afterall.

National Archives Videoconferences: Bring a professional into your classroom or to fauculty professional development! An opportunity only available thanks to the advent of the internet.

Collaborate with National Archives: Help them help you.

Coming Attractions: Docs Teach (still in development, but will be incredible I think!)

Teachers pick the documents and primary sources they want to use

Then, they assemble the materials on site to create multi-media lessons

Use with students (blow their minds)

Preserve for future use

Or,

Find lessons assembled by other teachers

Create variation to meet specific needs

For more information contact Dave Rosenbaum, Education Specialist (david dot rosenbaum at nara dot gov)

Child abuse a national issue | Spokesman.com | Nov 14, 2009

Child abuse a national issue Spokesman.com Nov 14, 2009:

"Too often, the simple joys of a child’s life in Spokane that many of us take for granted in our own families are far beyond the reach of even our closest neighbors.

Tragically, thousands of children die each year in the U.S. at the hands of family members or others living with them. A report out this month from the Every Child Matters Education Fund shows that more than 10,000 children in the U.S. died from abuse and neglect from 2001 to 2007. Experts say that number could be as much as 50 percent higher because of varying definitions of abuse and neglect in the states, as well as inconsistent record-keeping and data-collection methodologies. Child abuse prevention leaders say this makes it almost impossible to know the real number of children experiencing abuse and neglect in America."

Safe Routes to School Report Aims to Rally State, Local Support

Safe Routes to School Report Aims to Rally State, Local Support:

"A report released this week gives results from 10 pilot projects that offer best practices and lessons learned for communities and schools wishing to tap into federal funds for developing safe biking and walking paths for students, especially in low-income areas with high crime rates."

But first, state departments of transportation must be on board, said Deb Hubsmith, director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, which authored the report.
“We need to ensure that state level policies are set up in such a way that they help low-income communities that are most vulnerable to childhood obesity,” she said.

But, while targeting rising rates of childhood obesity remains a key goal, more attention is being turned to keeping children safe from crime on their way to and from school.

The goal of the partnership, which launched in 2005 after the federal Safe Routes to School program was implemented as directed by current surface transportation act, SAFETEA-LU, is to help states to develop action plans and policies and allocate federal and matching state Safe Routes funds for assisting local schools in cite planning and school wellness programs.

Hubsmith added that the report, “Safe Routes to School State Network Project: Final Report, 2007-2009, Making Change Through Partners and Policies,” is designed to help states structure a Safe Routes blueprint that will trickle down to the local level and, in doing so, set a precedence nationwide.


Safe Routes to School National Partnership (SRTSNP).

CCRI is spread too thin to train 21st-century work force, report finds | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

CCRI is spread too thin to train 21st-century work force, report finds Rhode Island news projo.com The Providence Journal:

"With more than 70,000 Rhode Islanders out of work, hard questions are being asked of the state’s only community college and its ability to train Rhode Islanders for 21st-century jobs.

Is the Community College of Rhode Island preparing students for jobs of the future or the jobs of the past? Is CCRI equipped to lead the state in training students for jobs in allied health, information technology, advanced manufacturing and green industries? Can the state offer the college adequate resources to do what needs to be done?

Can CCRI respond quickly enough to changing market needs?"

Seattle PostGlobe | News | Seattle | State schools chief appears ready to signal big retreat on academic requirements

Seattle PostGlobe News Seattle State schools chief appears ready to signal big retreat on academic requirements:

"Education leaders may have to wait until next Thursday to hear the details, but state Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn will likely call for a big retreat on long-planned science and math requirements for high school graduation. Well-informed education reform sources told the PostGlobe that they expect Dorn to say he wants an indefinite postponement of the science requirement.

It also appears he could ask for more than a year's delay in the requirement that students pass a standardized math test to graduate high school.

The PostGlobe confirmed that a leader of the Office of the Superintendent Public Instruction's work on the science requirements will leave the department. Mary McClellan, the science director of teaching and learning, said she is resigning over 'philosophical' differences. She didn't elaborate and an office spokesman said he could not comment on personnel matters."

Nevada out of ‘race’ for innovation funding - Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Nevada out of ‘race’ for innovation funding - Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun:

"It’s official: Nevada has been shut out of the “Race to the Top,” a federal grant program offering $4.35 billion to improve the nation’s public schools.

Keith Rheault, Nevada’s superintendent of public instruction, said Thursday “it’s looking pretty hopeless ... they won’t even let us come to the starting line.”

To compete for the grants, states must, among other qualifying criteria, allow the use of student test scores in the evaluation of their teachers. During a special legislative session in 2003, Nevada lawmakers passed a last-minute bill that explicitly prohibited using test data in teacher evaluations."

Who Needs Mathematicians for Math, Anyway? by Sandra Stotsky, City Journal 13 November 2009

Who Needs Mathematicians for Math, Anyway? by Sandra Stotsky, City Journal 13 November 2009:

"The statistics on U.S. math performance are grim. American eighth-graders ranked 25th out of 30 countries in mathematics achievement on the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which claims to assess application of the mathematical knowledge and skills needed in adult life through problem-solving test items.

We do better on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), whose test items are related to the content of school mathematics curricula. (Differences in participating countries aren’t significant.) But according to Mark Schneider, a former commissioner of education statistics at the Department of Education, the United States lags behind too many countries in “overall mathematics performance and in the performance of our best students.”

And achievement gaps between different student groups within the United States, Schneider says, are “about the same size or even bigger than the gap between the United States and the top-performing countries in TIMSS.”"

School junk food -- chicagotribune.com

School junk food -- chicagotribune.com:

"I am a pediatrician on Chicago's North Side and have two children who attend a Chicago Public Schools school, Inter-American Magnet. I became the chair of our school's fledgling parent nutrition committee this year.

Our committee hasn't even met once this year yet, but in trying to recruit members, I have been asked several questions by parents regarding the quality and selection of food offered at our school's breakfast and lunch."

One mom of a kindergartener told me that her child comes home with her home-packed lunch uneaten because she is bused to school and then eats Froot Loops and a doughnut for breakfast. As a parent, I rarely let my kids buy school lunch until another parent applied for and won a grant for our school that started a lunchtime salad bar.

Now my kids get salad bar twice a week and love it. (Mind you, they will not eat vegetables I pack from home.) I still do not let them eat the school lunch on other days as it is filled with what I call "carnival food": nachos, pizza, corn dogs. I have had discussions about the food selection and the point has been made that the intersection between healthy school food and food that kids will eat is very narrow.