GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools:

"The head of the union chapter at Jamaica High School said teachers there have been expecting the school’s closure for years and criticized the city for planning to open new small schools without offering help to the struggling large one.
James Eterno, a history teacher at Jamaica for 24 years, said teachers anticipated bad news after the school received a D on its progress report this year. But signs that the 1,500-student high school was in trouble had been apparent for years, he said"

D.C. charter schools frustrated with city in search for home - washingtonpost.com

D.C. charter schools frustrated with city in search for home - washingtonpost.com:

"Walking through a vacant District school building Thursday, Mary Shaffner could visualize the peeling paint replaced by fresh blackboards. Dusty hardwood floors marred by bird droppings could be polished to a gleam. Teachers and students would once again fill the halls of the Franklin School.

But to the developers also attending Thursday's open house, a hotel or condominiums might be more attractive, and it's likely they'll get their way. Two applications from charter schools to use the building have been rejected, including one from Shaffner's Yu Ying Public Charter School. The city said the renovation costs were too high, and there's little indication a new application will be accepted this time around."

The Educated Guess » Assembly bill to State: Keep hands off bulk of Race to the Top dollars

The Educated Guess » Assembly bill to State: Keep hands off bulk of Race to the Top dollars:

"Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Julia Brownley may be offering what it takes to pique school districts’ interest in the federal Race to the Top competition: a promise of more money.

Her bill, ABX5-8, would require that at least 80 percent of dollars from the Race to the Top be reserved for school districts. That’s 30 percentage points more than the minimum of 50 percent that the federal regulations call for. That would mean a lot less money for the Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and the state Department of Education, which may have been coveting a very green Obama Christmas."

Entire Los Rios District faculty wins success award - News

Entire Los Rios District faculty wins success award - News:

"The faculty of the Los Rios Community College District was presented the Student Success Award for creative approaches towards student success on Nov. 21.

Every year Dr. Jack Scott, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges League, gives a California community college district's faculty the award.

Cosumnes River College's Vice Chancellor of Education and Technology William Karns said that a community college district must meet a length roster of requirements to be considered for the award."

A Change in Plans - The Daily Californian

A Change in Plans - The Daily Californian:

"Once every decade, the state Legislature revisits the blueprint for California's public universities-the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. And this once-in-a-decade event couldn't be coming at a more appropriate time. With frustration rippling throughout the system, it's time for legislators to take responsibility for their role in creating this crisis in the first place.

The easy route for legislators, who will be convening hearings on various issues starting Monday, would be to praise the current system and wash their hands of culpability. Yes, California has been a world-renowned model for public higher education-until now. As our elected leaders, they've got to assess the system honestly and recognize the critical state our universities are in."

In his testimony Monday, we hope that UC President Mark Yudof refrains from spewing overly cheery news-he owes it to the university to be frank about the problems we face. The testimony is an opportunity for Yudof to be a truly independent advocate for the university, and he ought to take advantage of it.


As much as we support the ideals behind the master plan, it's clear that the system is much different than it was 50 or even 20 years ago. Legislators must come to terms with the reality of the situation, and the role the state has played in systematically defunding higher education.

The Maneater – Students should get involved with budget

The Maneater – Students should get involved with budget:

"Before Thanksgiving break, CNN ran headline after headline about University of California students protesting raised costs for higher education. Students protested outside the budget vote confirming a 32-percent hike in undergraduate tuition fees. Their voices were heard, and they made a splash, media-wise, but they'll still be paying $585 more in January and another $1,344 next fall.

Around the same time, MU students got some news: Gov. Jay Nixon and university system presidents agreed to cut budgets in exchange for freezing in-state tuition for the next academic year. The announcement secured little comfort for graduate and out-of-state students, but it was better news than what coastal students heard."

Views: Engineering Needs Flexibility - Inside Higher Ed

Views: Engineering Needs Flexibility - Inside Higher Ed:

"Two years ago, my daughter, Katherine, and I appeared on the cover of ASEE Prism magazine. A feature story by the American Society for Engineering Education on two generations of women engineers, perhaps? Not quite.

The cover story focused on how, at a time when the ranks of women faculty and deans in engineering have increased, the percentage of women who earn bachelor’s degrees in engineering is in decline. The lesson, supported by facts and data, is that our nation, our crumbling infrastructure and our ability to lead globally in the future are at risk because too few young people are choosing to study engineering. We will continue to lose talented would-be engineers who are female, as well as some who are male, until we change the traditional undergraduate engineering curriculum, one that is overly structured and lacks flexibility."

BUSD Trails State Averages in Fitness. Category: Front Page News from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday December 03, 2009

BUSD Trails State Averages in Fitness. Category: Front Page News from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday December 03, 2009:

"Results of the 2009 Physical Fitness Test released Monday by the state Department of Public Education show Berkeley public schools trailing their peers in six fitness categories.

Thirty-four percent of Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) fifth-graders met the criteria for all six areas of the test compared with 29 percent statewide. However, only 31 percent of seventh-graders met the same criteria compared with 34 percent throughout California.

Just 13.8 percent of ninth-graders met the criteria compared with 37.9 percent statewide"

Report shows wide disparity in college achievement - washingtonpost.com

Report shows wide disparity in college achievement - washingtonpost.com:

"A new report, billed as one of the most comprehensive studies to date of how low-income and minority students fare in college, shows a wide gap in graduation rates at public four-year colleges nationwide and 'alarming' disparities in success at community colleges."

The analysis, released Thursday, found that about 45 percent of low-income and underrepresented minority students entering as freshmen in 1999 had received bachelor's degrees six years later at the colleges studied, compared with 57 percent of other students.

Fewer than one-third of all freshmen entering two-year institutions nationwide attained completion -- either through a certificate, an associate's degree or transfer to a four-year college -- within four years, according to the research. The success rate was lower, 24 percent, for underrepresented minorities, identified as blacks, Latinos and Native Americans; it was higher, 38 percent, for other students.

Public News Service

Public News Service:

"LAS VEGAS - Only a month ago, Gov. Jim Gibbons said Nevada had no chance to score hundreds of millions of dollars in 'Race to the Top' federal education money. Now, however, the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA) is proposing a solution.

Nevada has a law that prohibits linking teacher evaluation to student achievement, which automatically disqualifies the state from applying for the cash. NSEA President Lynn Warne suggests changing that law, which would put the state back in the competition for up to $175 million"

Parents Unite Behind Race To The Top Funds | KPBS.org

Parents Unite Behind Race To The Top Funds KPBS.org:

"SAN DIEGO — Groups of San Diego County parents are uniting behind an education reform strategy that could earn California $700 million of federal stimulus grants."

The federal grants are called Race To The Top funds. California stands to get a chunk of the $4 billion program. However, state lawmakers must first change a number of education laws so California can be eligible.

Changes to those laws allow the state to lift a cap on charter schools, link teacher performance to student test scores and turnaround failing schools.

A growing number of San Diego County parents are pushing community leaders to support the changes. Groups such as Californians for Quality Education and Voices For Our Kids are backing the Race To The Top movement.

Teaching Reforms Should be Based on Research and Experience | California Progress Report

Teaching Reforms Should be Based on Research and Experience California Progress Report:

"The State Assembly Education Committee is currently considering legislation regarding the federal “Race to the Top” education funding program. The Legislature should not pass a bad law just to compete for federal funding. In a year that Governor Schwarzenegger and the legislature have made billions of dollars in catastrophic cuts to school funding, it is ironic that the Legislature is rushing to adopt bad policy to compete for a relative pittance in federal funding.

The money offered by the federal government will not begin to replace what has been taken away. Legislators are rushing to make permanent changes without a solid basis in facts or research in return for the possibility of three years of funding."

Judge: Only 'Bigots' Would Pull Their Kids Out of LGBT Education Programs / Queerty

Judge: Only 'Bigots' Would Pull Their Kids Out of LGBT Education Programs / Queerty:

"Alameda Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch is Queerty's favorite person today. Might he be yours? Charged with overseeing challenges from parents who don't want their kids to be forced to learn about LGBT tolerance, Roesch found a cute name for such people responsible for the upbringing of human beings: 'bigots.' Adorable!"

You you'll recall, California's Alameda Unified School District, outside Oakland, is trying to implement Safe School Community Lesson 9, which would have K-5 students treated to six, 45-minute lessons a year about queers. You know, so the region doesn't create new generations of hate. But some parents didn't like that, so with conservative legal group Pacific Justice Institute, some 20 parents filed suit demanding they be able to opt their kids out of this brainwashing.

Sacramento Press / Town Hall on arena ideas draws 80 people

Sacramento Press / Town Hall on arena ideas draws 80 people:

"About 80 people turned out for a town hall meeting Thursday night to weigh in on plans for a new entertainment and sports complex. Business leaders and residents presented their ideas to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s 'Sacramento First' arena task force at the Sacramento Public Library downtown.

The task force is assigned to analyze developers’ ideas for the complex. The 12-member group includes real estate, finance and communications executives. Task force members are not paid."

Public Gives Imput on Sacramento Arena Ideas | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

Public Gives Imput on Sacramento Arena Ideas News10.net Sacramento, California News:

"SACRAMENTO, CA - Mayor Kevin Johnson is calling on all ideas for what exactly a Sacramento sports and entertainment complex should look like.

The first citizens' task force, assembled by Johnson, began evaluating proposals for a new sports and entertainment complex Thursday night during a public meeting at the Main Sacramento Library on I Street.

The goal of the town hall meeting, according to Johnson, was to identify issues needed to be addressed to develop a proposal for a world-class venue."

MPR Associates, Inc. -- Measuring Success, Making Progress

MPR Associates, Inc. -- Measuring Success, Making Progress:

Educational Improvement in California


Can California eliminate barriers to student achievement? The educational success of California students—especially those attending public schools and community colleges—has been a significant focus of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for nearly 10 years. As part of this work, the Foundation develops a set of priorities for its investments and chooses outcome measures to monitor. MPR Associates Inc., in partnership with The RP Group and CalPASS, has compiled and analyzed all relevant data to produce the measures reported on this website. The measures are widely recognized as being the best student success indicators with available data.
 
Indicators of Progress


With simple navigation, you’ll find indicators of college readiness among 11th- and 12th-graders as measured by assessments and course taking, the high school graduation rates of 7th- and 9th-graders, college enrollment rates, the progress of underprepared California community college students (CCC), the interim milestones of CCC students who don’t complete, and the completion and transfer rates of those who do.

OpenCongress - Track bills, votes, senators, and representatives in the U.S. Congress

OpenCongress - Track bills, votes, senators, and representatives in the U.S. Web Site -

The Educated Guess » AB 5x-8 now public

The Educated Guess » AB 5x-8 now public


AB 5x-8 now public

The office of Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has released Assembly Democrats’ version of the Race to the Top bill. Here is the text of ABX5-8.

The 73-page bill, sponsored by Education Committee Chairwoman Julia Brownley, would change state laws to conform with the requirements of Race to the Top, a $4.3 billion federal competitive program. It would:

Put in place the four options for transforming persistently low-performing schools spelled out in Race to the Top regulations;

Lift the cap in charter schools in exchange for requiring annual financial audits of charters and limiting renewal of charters that are facing sanctions for low academic performance;

Set the stage for moving away from strict reliance on standardized tests (annual STAR tests) in exchange for adopting “high-quality” assessments. The state would use Race to the Top money to develop these. It would also take advantage of the new CALPADS student data base to develop longitudinal measurements of student performance.

Authorize Superintendent of Instruction Jack O’Connell and the State Board of Education to adopt national common-core standards in math and English by September 2010. This is one of the requirements of Race to the Top.

The Education Committee received many recommendations for legislation during four hearings over the past two months. The resulting bill is surprisingly narrow in scope, design

Sacramento Press / Media Panel Dec. 9 at The Urban Hive

Community Journalism at its very Best

Journalism workshops

Sacramento Press / Media Panel Dec. 9 at The Urban Hive

Many of you have asked about workshops and events being posted on our site in addition to the email invitations. Here is some information about our planned December events.

We've organized a media panel Dec. 9. and a Google workshop Dec. 15.

The media panel is a collaboration between the folks at the Urban Hive and The Sacramento Press. It will be held at the Urban Hive, Dec. 9 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

The panel features representatives from each type of news outlet and will focus on the changes each has had to make over the past few years with technology, the economy and social media. Each panel member will also be asked where they see the future of journalism is headed. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask their own questions during the panel as well.

The panel will consist of:

Jen Picard is the Senior Producer of Insight on Capitol Public Radio. Picard has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Humboldt State University. She's worked as a features copy editor and entertainment editor at the Appeal-Democrat newspaper in Marysville. Picard has been with Insight since July 2006 and has served as Senior Producer since January 2007. Picard lives in Sacramento with her photojournalist husband Max and her neurotic cat Smokey.

Nick Miller is arts editor at SN&R, Sacramento's alt-weekly magazine, where he assigns thousands of stories each year--send those pitches, stat! He's been in journalism for eight years. In his spare time, he enjoys sitting around in a Snuggie with his pug, Leroy, and watching NBA.

Anne Shulock is a reporter for Sactown magazine. After interning for Sactown in college, she joined the staff as an editorial assistant in 2008. She graduated from Pomona College in Southern California with a degree in Media Studies, focusing on art and film. In college, she spent a summer interning in the fashion department of CosmoGIRL! in New York City, where she mostly organized piles of earrings and skinny jeans and decided she didn't want to work in fashion.

Jon Schuller helped launch Sactown magazine in 2006 after graduating UC Davis with degrees in Spanish and English. In addition to managing the day-to-day operations of the office, he's also writes, researches, fact-checks and copy edits content for publication. Recently, he's helped research and develop an action plan for the magazine's upcoming digital presence and hopes to expand the brand's presence in social media. He also assists with the advertising team. And orders Post-It notes.

David Watts Barton, editor in chief of The Sacramento Press. Barton has been in local media his entire life. From teenage work in independent publications like Rock 'n' Roll News and Tower Pulse! Through his nearly 25 years at The Sacramento Bee, where he was the paper's first Pop Music Critic, Barton has made his living exploring and reporting on different aspects of his hometown's culture. For the last year, Barton has entered the world of online news, helping to shape and guide The Sacramento Press, first as Managing Editor, and more recently as Editor-in-Chief.

KCRA will also be a part of the panel. The representative is still being decided.

Food and drinks will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the workshop will begin at 7 p.m.

The Urban Hive is located at 1931 H Street in Sacramento.

Please RSVP by emailing journalism@sacramentopress.com, so we know how many people to expect.

We'll post something later this month with more information on the Google workshop.

Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you at the Urban Hive!

The AXA Foundation, a Proud National Sponsor of PTA

The AXA Foundation, a Proud National Sponsor of PTA, offers a signature program, AXA Achievement^sm, which provides resources that help make college possible through both access and advice.

Access: more than $1.3 million a year in scholarships
Advice: a comprehensive resource for information to help students and parents plan for college.

Two scholarships are presently being offered through AXA Achievement^sm:

• AXA Achievement^sm Scholarship, in association with U.S. News & World Report
  • 42 $10,000 scholarships – 10 $25,000 scholarships
  • Deadline is December 15, 2009
• AXA Achievement^sm Community Scholarship
  • 350 $2,000 scholarships offered each year
  • Deadline is February 15, 2010

The winners, known as AXA Achievers, are ethnically and economically diverse, but share these qualities:

• Ambition and drive
• Determination to set and reach goals
• Respect for self, family and community
• Ability to succeed in college

More information and downloadable applications, which can be filled out online, are available at www.axa-achievement.com.
A key element of AXA's partnership with PTA is AXA's offer of free workshops to PTA units on topics such as planning for college and other financial issues facing families. Visit the AXA website designed exclusively for PTA members, www.axa-achievement.com/PTA, to learn about the workshops that are available, and speak with your local PTA leadership about having a workshop presented to your PTA unit.