In haste, charter school bill slips

Nasty change puts a snag in charter schools bill - The Boston Globe

As the state Senate rushed last month to pass a bill that would expand the number of charter schools in certain districts, it added an amendment that would probably prevent them from opening in Boston, Lawrence, and several other cities where the quality of education has long been a concern.

The amendment, added in the final hours of debate without any analysis of its impact, creates a second set of criteria to determine which school districts would be eligible for new charter schools. Instead of basing eligibility purely on low MCAS scores, as originally proposed, the amendment would also require the district to show that it is among those slowest to improve their scores.

The effect of the amendment is to dramatically shrink the number of districts eligible for new charter schools, from the projected 33 districts to about four, according to an analysis by the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association.

No charter school bill has been enacted; the House has yet to take up the measure.

The Mayor, the Teachers and the Tests

Letters - The Mayor, the Teachers and the Tests - NYTimes.com

Re “Mayor to Link Teacher Tenure to Test Scores” (front page, Nov. 26):

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to include test scores in the teacher tenure decision is ill conceived. The teacher’s effectiveness is only one component of what goes into a student’s test score. Teachers cannot select their students, but most do their best with whomever they are given to work with.

The mayor’s plan will result in teachers’ doing whatever they can to avoid teaching high-risk students, like those with poor attendance, poor reading and math scores, and poor work habits, attitudes or discipline. The incentive to influence scores in unprofessional ways will only increase, as will a lack of collegiality among teachers.

Healthy, organic and cheap school lunches? Order up

Healthy, organic and cheap school lunches? Order up - USATODAY.com

OAKLAND — On the combination plate of problems plaguing the USA's public schools, few are as intractable as this: Can you serve fresh, healthful meals each day to millions of kids without breaking the bank, or must you resort to serving up deep-fried, processed, less expensive junk?

For more than a decade, big food thinkers have chewed on this, making it a cause célèbre. But most often they find that feeding kids well requires one simple thing: more money.

Islanders rap the knuckles of schools boss

Islanders rap the knuckles of schools boss - SILive.com

Two hundred bring grievances and suggestions to Klein's town hall meeting

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Frustrated educators, parents and community leaders presented a laundry list of needs for Staten Island's school district at a town hall-style meeting with Schools Chancellor Joel Klein yesterday evening.

The nearly 200 who packed the room at the Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex, Sunnyside, said their children were being shortchanged, and they were angry that they were being stonewalled and lied to by the Department of Education.

Education Department gives $500k to three brand-new '21st century' schools, despite budget cuts

Education Department gives $500k to three brand-new '21st century' schools, despite budget cuts

The Education Department quietly forked over $500,000 to three pet schools, even as most schools lost tens of thousands of dollars in budget cuts.

The three brand-new "21st century" schools got the extra funds outside the normal budgeting process after private donations that the schools had been hoping for did not materialize, sources told the Daily News.

The schools can use the extra cash to hire consultants, buy computer equipment, pay teachers to work more hours - anything that helps them "align" with the Education Department's "21st century vision."

Green Dot charter schools founder repays group $50,866 -- latimes.com

Green Dot charter schools founder repays group $50,866 -- latimes.com:

"Local charter school founder Steve Barr, a national figure in school reform, has repaid his organization more than $50,000 after an internal review determined that expenses he had charged were undocumented or unjustified.

The repayment was disclosed in a tax return filed this year by Green Dot Public Schools, which Barr launched in 1999.

Barr stepped aside this fall as board chairman of Green Dot but remains on the board and on staff. The expense problem had nothing to do with Barr's change of role, said Shane Martin, who replaced Barr as chairman."

Efforts under way to stem U.S. school dropout problem

Efforts under way to stem U.S. school dropout problem - Yahoo! News

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Jesus Garcia dropped out of high school and figured he was destined for prison or a life shortened by violence -- until he found an alternative school that became the family he never felt he had.

"Without this school, kids would be dealing drugs, dying, gang-banging, all of it. Without this school there would be no leaders, no mentors," Garcia, an aspiring chef, told a group of former dropouts who have re-enrolled in alternative schools.

Some 30 percent of Americans drop out before finishing high school. They are more likely to be unemployed, receive public assistance, commit crimes and go to jail than those who graduate. They also are less healthy and have a lower life expectancy, according to research presented at a Columbia University conference

How to raise minority participation in Advanced Placement

Class Struggle - How to raise minority participation in Advanced Placement

My colleague Nelson Hernandez reports on the extraordinary progress Montgomery County has made raising both participation and success in college-level courses in high school. Black and Hispanic students in the county are also doing significantly better on AP tests than minority students in the rest of the state

High Court Weighs Student Loan Case

High Court Weighs Student Loan Case : NPR

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard the case of a young man who — finding himself in dire economic straits — declared bankruptcy on his debts, which included a student loan. Then, 17 years after a court first approved his bankruptcy, the lender contacted him and said that he still owed them money.

College grads' average debt exceeds $23,000

College grads' average debt exceeds $23,000

A group that tracks college loan debt yesterday served up some sobering news for students on two fronts.

The average debt nationally among graduating seniors with loans reached $23,200 last year, a sum that has grown by about 6 percent annually since 2004, according to The Project on Student Debt based in Berkeley, Calif.

And graduates saddled with those loans likely are having a harder time finding a job to pay them off, given a third-quarter 2009 unemployment rate of 10.6 percent for graduates 20 to 24 years old That's the highest national rate for that group in the 10 years data has been available.
Pennsylvanians at least can take comfort knowing their state does not carry the biggest average campus debt. That distinction fell on the District of Columbia, according to the Project's study of debt released yesterday.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09336/1017694-298.stm#ixzz0YXSJc2RW

Stymied by Stimulus?

Stymied by Stimulus? | The Texas Tribune

As the first version of the state budget circulated at the beginning of the 2009 session, school advocates had a reason to get excited. The budget included $1.9 billion in new education funds, most of it going directly to schools via weighted formulas for distribution. There was only one problem.

The money didn’t exist.

“It was a deficit budget as written,” said Scott Hochberg (D-Houston), who chaired the Appropriations subcommittee on Education.

How the economy is failing students

How the economy is failing students - Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

The Clark County School District has always struggled with its sky-high population of poor children. The number of homeless students is expected to reach 8,000 by the end of the academic year, a 30 percent increase. And a full 44 percent of the district’s students receive free or reduced-price lunches, a commonly used indicator of childhood poverty.

Family poverty, in turn, is correlated with lagging student achievement.

California to Use Deflation in Assessing Property Taxes

California to Use Deflation in Assessing Property Taxes - NYTimes.com

LOS ANGELES — Long used to manageable property tax bills, California homeowners have been lamenting over the last few years that their assessments did not reflect the enormous slide in the value of so many homes here.

Now, for the first time in more than 30 years — since a law was enacted limiting the amount property taxes could rise — property tax bills will reflect negative price inflation, reducing most homeowners’ tax bills come January.

Opponents sue to stop strong mayor plan. KJ probably thrilled.

Sacramento News & Review > Blogs > SNOG > Opponents sue to stop strong mayor plan. KJ probably thrilled. > December 1, 2009

If Kevin Johnson wins his strong mayor campaign, he may look back and say that today was pivotal.

This morning KJ’s opponents filed a lawsuit against the city to try and get Johnson’s strong mayor initiative (SMI) taken off of the ballot. In the process, they may be giving up some of the moral (and political) high ground they had.

Lawsuit challenges Sacramento's strong-mayor initiative

Lawsuit challenges Sacramento's strong-mayor initiative - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's strong-mayor proposal should be removed from the June 2010 ballot because it violates the state constitution, a lawsuit filed Tuesday states.

Opponents of the proposal said it calls for sweeping revisions of the city charter. According to the lawsuit, revisions can be proposed to voters only by a governing body such as a City Council or elected charter commission – not through the initiative process.

Marcos Breton: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is his own worst enemy

Marcos Breton: Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson is his own worst enemy - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

If Kevin Johnson could have avoided serious injuries as an NBA player, who knows where he would be now?

The fiery point guard for the Phoenix Suns might have made the Basketball Hall of Fame, led a different life and never become mayor of Sacramento.

Salida Union scrambling after $760,000 error found - Local - Modbee.com

Salida Union scrambling after $760,000 error found - Local - Modbee.com:

"SALIDA -- A $760,000 miscalculation could lead to a deeper round of budget cuts for the 2010-11 school year.

Officials at the 2,900-student Salida Union School District recently stumbled across a budget gap of nearly three-quarters of a million dollars.

The error presents a daunting task for district officials, who estimated the need to trim $1.3 million from next year's budget before the additional shortfall."

WE’RE MAD AS HELL AND WE’RE FIGHTING BACK!

WE’RE MAD AS HELL AND WE’RE FIGHTING BACK!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

FIGHT FOR YOUR STUDENTS. FIGHT FOR YOUR PROFESSION.

LAUSD IS TRYING TO:

•  give away our schools to outside operators

•  force “furlough” days and 12% salary cuts on employees

Giving away schools to outside operators will hurt students by closing the doorsto many students and handing sites over to unaccountable outside operators.

Furlough days and salary cuts will hurt students by driving teachers out of LAUSD and further deprofessionalizing teaching.

WHO WILL BE HURT MOST BY THESE ACTIONS? Our students.

WE’RE MAD AS HELL AND WE’RE FIGHTING BACK!

OUR STUDENTS CAN’T TAKE ANY MORE CUTS

On December 8, the LAUSD School Board will be voting on the District budget for 2010-2011 and beyond. UTLA will be out in force to protest the giveaway of schools and any more cuts to the classroom. Be there!

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Picketing and rally after school

In front of LAUSD Headquarters

333 S. Beaudry, Los Angeles, 90017

Please remember: Don’t schedule parent conferences on December 8. Your School Leadership

Council has the contractual right to set the schedule for parent conferences.

LGBT Bigotry Through Academic Intolerance | NEWS JUNKIE POST

LGBT Bigotry Through Academic Intolerance NEWS JUNKIE POST:

"This is the story of Dan DeLong, an honors English teacher in Piasa, Illinois. Last month, Mr. DeLong gave his students an assignment that asked them to read a paper on homosexuality in the animal kingdom. His quick suspension brought the issues of LGBT bigotry and academic freedom to the forefront.

The paper titled “The effeminate sheep and other problems with Darwinian sexual selection” was written by a professor at Stanford University, published in a popular science magazine, and readily available in most public libraries. The article is an interesting analysis of the evolutionary ramifications of homosexuality in the animal kingdom."

Capitol Alert: Assembly plans session on 'Race to the Top' bill

Capitol Alert: Assembly plans session on 'Race to the Top' bill:

"The Assembly is set to take another step toward taking up 'Race to the Top' legislation tomorrow, when it will convene for the first reading of its version of legislation aimed at ensuring California schools are eligible for the federal competitive grants.

Assembly Speaker Karen Bass informed lower house offices yesterday that a check-in session was scheduled for Wednesday.

The Assembly is set to introduce at the session its version of the 'Race to the Top' legislation, spokespersons for Bass and Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica, said Monday."