Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Gov. Paterson says he'll win budget fight - NYPOST.com

Gov. Paterson says he'll win budget fight - NYPOST.com:

"See you in court.

That's the message Gov. Paterson delivered yesterday to the teachers union and other critics threatening to file suit to block his move to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars to schools to keep the cash-starved state afloat.

'I don't have any [concerns],' Paterson said when asked about lawsuits expected to be filed as early as today by the New York State United Teachers.

Paterson said he's confident he'll be upheld in court, and blamed lawmakers and advocates for opposing his initial deficit-reduction plan that would have shielded poor school districts from steep cuts and put state finances on a sounder footing."

Seeing Politics in Proposal to Cut Student Transit Subsidy - NYTimes.com

Seeing Politics in Plan to Cut Student Transit Aid

It was the question on the lips of many New York politicians on Tuesday, but Gov. David A. Paterson may have phrased it best: “Who wants to take MetroCards away from kids?

The culprit, it appeared, would be theMetropolitan Transportation Authority, which is expected to approve an austere budget on Wednesday that would, amid other significant cuts, phase out the free bus and subway rides considered a basic right for half a million students who commute to school in the city. Authority officials say that such a cut would come to save the agency about $170 million a year.

But amid the outrage, some transit advocates acknowledged that proposing a cut that would hit riders on an emotional level may be the best chance for the cash-strapped agency, which is facing a nearly $400 million budget shortfall, to eke out additional money from the political powers that often hold it at bay. “Of all the issues that they put on the table, this is the one that may demand that the city and state intervene,” said Neysa C. Pranger, a spokeswoman for the Regional Plan Association, a transportation advocacy group.

Free and discounted student MetroCards get priority for funding after MTA drops benefit

A glimmer of hope emerged Tuesday that city students will get to keep their free and discounted MetroCards - even though the MTA says it can't afford the program.

Gov. Paterson said the benefit - which helps about 585,000 kids get to school every day - would be first in line for money if there's an uptick in state revenue next year.

"The first thing I will do with added revenue is target them back to the MTA in order to relieve the young people from losing their MetroCards," Paterson said during an appearance in the Bronx.

A spokesman for state Senate Democrats went further, saying legislators may try to rescue the program by cutting other areas.

"As we work towards 2010-2011 budget, it's conceivable we will take steps to keep the program intact if at all possible," Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Democratic leadership in Senate, told the Daily News.

"Any attempts to restore the program would mean reductions would have to be made in other budgetary areas, and this is something we would certainly like to do," Shafran said.

The cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority dropped the bomb last week that it planned to end the longtime benefit.

Under a budget plan expected to be adopted by the board today, students would pay half fares in September 2010 and full fares starting September 2011.

The Associated Press: NYC school kids face paying to ride to school

The Associated Press: NYC school kids face paying to ride to school:

"NEW YORK — The cash-strapped agency that runs New York City subways and buses is considering a proposal to end the more than 60-year-old practice of giving free rides for schoolchildren, a move that could cost half a million students nearly $1,000 per year in transportation fees.

The proposal before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board to end free rides for schoolchildren has parents wondering how to get their children to school.
'This is a crisis,' said Kevin McCall, a neighborhood activist who led a protest against the proposal in front of a Brooklyn high school on Tuesday. 'This is totally insane. It would make parents have to choose between food and any other necessity or a"

Fewer college grads want to teach - San Bernardino County Sun

Fewer college grads want to teach - San Bernardino County Sun:

"A new report finds that fewer college graduates are becoming teachers in California and many teachers lack the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the classroom.
The report was released Monday by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at UC Santa Cruz.

It says the number of people enrolled in teacher education programs fell from 78,000 in 2002 to 52,000 in 2007. The number of preliminary teaching credentials issued dropped from 27,000 in 2004 to 19,000 in 2008.

Even before the report came out, Pomona Unified School District officials had concerns about a shortage of teachers, district spokesman Tim McGillivray said."

Teachers, others could face retirement changes - Salt Lake Tribune

Teachers, others could face retirement changes - Salt Lake Tribune:

"When Bill Broderick retired from his job teaching math last school year, he wasn't necessarily looking for another one.

But the Granite Technical Institute was looking for someone like him: an experienced educator with the skills to teach computer programming. He decided to apply and started his new job shortly after retiring.

'We are being sought after,' Broderick said of teachers like himself who return to teaching after they retire, earning pension payments, reduced salaries and 401(k) contributions. 'The people who have been hired back are bringing experience you can't get anywhere else.'"

Mass. school denies suspending student for drawing - Yahoo! News

Mass. school denies suspending student for drawing - Yahoo! News:

"TAUNTON, Mass. – A Massachusetts school district on Tuesday night denied a father's claims that his son was suspended for drawing a stick figure of Jesus on a cross.

The Taunton School District said in a written statement that the second-grade student was never suspended over the sketch and that a drawing circulated to reporters by the boy's father, Chester Johnson, is not the same one that was discovered by the teacher.

The district also denied that the boy and his classmates had been assigned to draw something that reminded them of Christmas or any other religious holiday."

Education bill weakened, critics say - The Boston Globe

Over the past two months, more than 20,000 teachers and their supporters have bombarded Beacon Hill with letters, e-mails, and telephone calls, urging legislators not to give superintendents unprecedented authority to ignore union rules as they overhaul troubled schools.

So far the lobbying has paid off. The education bill approved by the Senate last month eliminated several controversial proposals, including a provision that would have allowed superintendents to dismiss any teacher at a failing school regardless of job performance.

Now, as the fiercest education debate in 16 years heads to the House, groups of business executives, parents, and school leaders say the bill has been so watered down that it will do little to help improve the education of students in the state’s worst schools. Instead, they say it puts the interest of teachers above their students.

“There is no leader of any organization that could make effective changes with those kinds of handcuffs,’’ said Linda Noonan, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. “It’s almost like a bad bill would be worse than no bill.’’

Class Struggle - A holiday guide to books for kids

Class Struggle- A holiday guide to books for kids:

"I share this secret only with recluses like myself who lack the imagination to conceive of any gift better than a book. If you are buying for a child — particularly if you are in a last-minute Christmas shopping panic — scan this list compiled by a company called Renaissance Learning.

It is an amazing document. Parents who keep track of what their children are doing in school, particularly in this area, might be vaguely aware of Renaissance Learning and its famous product, Accelerated Reader, the most influential reading program in the country. It was started 23 years ago by Judi Paul and her husband, Terry, after she invented on her kitchen table a quizzing system to motivate their children to read."

Why don't American love their museums any more? | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Why don't American love their museums any more? | delawareonline.com | The News Journal:

"The words “museum” and “mausoleum” sound an awful lot alike. And according to two recent studies out of Washington, D.C., if America’s museum directors and curators don’t make some fundamental changes in the way they do business, their institutions might soon become tombs."

Last Thursday, the National Endowment for the Arts published the sixth in a series of surveys it has conducted since 1982 that seek to measure public participation in the arts. The news was not good. The NEA found a notable decline in theater, museum and concert attendance and other “benchmark” cultural activities between 2002 and 2008. In 2002, 39.4 percent of people 18 and older participated in such events within the previous 12 months. Last year, that number had dipped to 34.6 percent. Sure, the economy probably has something to do with the drop. But if you look deeper into the study’s numbers, you will see that by and large cultural institutions are having a difficult time keeping pace with the demographic changes that are reshaping the American population.

Elizabeth Merritt was one culture observer who was not the least bit surprised by the NEA’s new statistics. She directs the Center for the Future of Museums, a year-old initiative of the American Association of Museums in Washington. To put it bluntly, her job is to devise strategies to protect museums — once called “the most powerful and useful auxiliary of allsystems of teaching” — from “creeping irrelevance.” Because museums tend to be more democratically oriented than, say, opera or ballet, she feels a strong compunction to prod the people in her field to become more observant and responsive to the changing public around them

Group sues to block illegal immigrants from getting in-state tuition | Monday Education | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Attorneys for an anti-illegal immigration organization are challenging a Texas state law that allows illegal immigrant students to attend colleges and universities at in-state rates, saying it violates federal law.

David A. Rogers, a lawyer for the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas, an organization that opposes illegal immigration, said the lawsuit filed on Monday in Harris County District Court marks the first direct court challenge of the Texas law.

Texas is one of 10 states in the nation that have laws offering in-state tuition to illegal immigrants who meet certain criteria, including graduating from a local high school and pledging to legalize their immigration status as soon as possible.

The lawsuit specifically names the University of Houston, Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems. A spokesman for UH declined to comment on Tuesday, citing the pending litigation. HCC officials said a copy of the lawsuit was under review by their attorneys. A Lone Star spokesman said the college was not prepared to comment Tuesday afternoon.

Classrooms become new battleground for Google, Microsoft

Classrooms become new battleground for Google, Microsoft:

"As they plunged into a project on ancient Egypt this fall, Jay Martino's Cupertino Middle School students probably didn't realize they were on the front lines of a high-stakes battle between Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp.

But the sixth-graders, who did their entire research project on a 'walled' network of student Web sites using document-sharing software and e-mail provided by Google for free, are among the thousands of students worldwide that Google and Microsoft are fighting over."

Laney College students protest budget cuts, fee hikes - 12/15/09 - San Francisco News - abc7news.com

OAKLAND, CA (KGO) -- It is not just the California State University system proposing major fee increases for students, community colleges across California are raising their tuitions as well. On Tuesday night, students in the East Bay protested plans by the Peralta Community College District to increase tuition by nearly a third -- a hike that affects 30,000 students.

The community college students are fired up over the proposal to increase tuition by $6 per unit, followed by $13 million in cuts to staff, classes, and services.
"I know how it is for people who are trying to get help and can't afford their books. It's tough. It makes getting an education even harder," said Leonard Hutton, a Laney College student.

Elluminate Web Conferencing for Education Enables Academic Institutions to Expand Reach, Reduce Costs, Maintain Competitive Advantage, Drive Technology Adoption, and More

Elluminate Web Conferencing for Education Enables Academic Institutions to Expand Reach, Reduce Costs, Maintain Competitive Advantage, Drive Technology Adoption, and More: "PLEASANTON, Calif. - (Business Wire) Elluminate, Inc., the leading provider of web, audio, video, and social networking products designed for teaching, learning, and collaboration, today announced that a growing number of higher education institutions and systems are implementing multi-purpose Elluminate solutions enterprise-wide to support both academic and business objectives. These include expanding reach and access, reducing costs, facilitating technology adoption, leveraging limited resources, maintaining competitive advantage, and creating a culture of collaboration.
System-wide implementations of Elluminate solutions include California Polytechnic State University, California State University in Sacramento, CCC Confer (California Community Colleges), Chattanooga State University, Curtin University of Technology, Empire State College, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Portland State University, San Jose State University, State Fair Community College, UniversitLaval, University of Alaska, University of Iowa, and University of Wyoming."

U. of Phoenix agrees to pay $67.5 million - UPI.com

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- The Universityof Phoenix has agreed to pay $67.5 million to settle a suit by two whistle-blowers over its recruitment policy, federal officials said Tuesday.
Mary Hendow and Julie Behn, both former employees, sued under the False Claims Act in federal court in Sacramento, the U.S. Justice Department said. They will receive $19 million, with the rest going to the U.S. Department of Education.
The university will also pay $11 million to the women's lawyers, bringing the total payout to $78.5 million.
Hendow and Ben charged the university violated federal regulations that bar employees involved in recruitment and admissions at post-secondary institutions that receive federal aid from having pay tied to the number of students they bring in.
Phoenix, a for-profit institution owned by the Apollo Group, has more students than any other higher education institution in North America and is the biggest recipient of federal aid for college students. But a 2005 study found only a small percentage of the students who enter receive degrees, The Sacramento Bee reported.

Herdt: 3 percent of students, 100 percent of controversy� Ventura County Star

Herdt: 3 percent of students, 100 percent of controversy� Ventura County Star:

"There are 10,129 public schools in California, attended by about 6.3 million students. There are about 850 charter schools, attended by about 200,000 students.

The current hang-up in Sacramento over accessing up to $700 million in federal funds to improve education for these 6.5 million kids is mostly about the 3 percent who attend charter schools.

For all the bluster that has emanated in recent weeks from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and others, the controversy over legislation to bring California into compliance with federal Race to the Top funding guidelines is mostly about charter schools."

As schools struggle, California politics slow education reform - USATODAY.com

SACRAMENTO — To education reformers, a $4.3 billion school funding competition from the Obama administration seemed like just the push California needed to start making long overdue changes to restore academic luster to the state's public schools.

But the drive to dramatically turn around a faltering system that serves more than 6 million children has run into political reality in a Legislature dominated by special interests. The result could leave the state with the nation's largest public school system ill-positioned to compete for the so-called Race to the Top funds.

RACE TO THE TOP: Education grant propels states to change

Officials estimate California stands to gain up to $700 million.

Lawmakers meeting in a special session on education called by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are considering competingDemocratic bills. Both are intended to clear the way for California's federal application and to deal with some of the same issues, such as increasing the number of charter schools, revamping state tests and restructuring the worst-of-the-worst schools.

Opinion: Bass sells out school kids in favor of teacher unions - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: Bass sells out school kids in favor of teacher unions - San Jose Mercury News:

"Assembly Speaker Karen Bass' feet are so firmly planted on the wrong side of school reform that it makes me wonder what on earth could make the first black woman leader of the California Assembly turn a blind eye to the plight of minority children in public schools. The sad answer: Her Democratic caucus' loyalty to unions.

The state of public education could not be any more desperate for black children. I, too, am a black woman, and I sit on the California State University board of trustees with Karen Bass. We know that 81 percent of California's black seniors graduate high school ineligible to apply to a state college, and yet Karen Bass finds herself stuck leading a chorus of cynics deriding President Barack Obama's $4.3 billion Race to the Top education reform challenge."

Put power over California's schools in hands of parents -- latimes.com

Put power over California's schools in hands of parents -- latimes.com:

"They should be able to trigger actual reforms at failing schools, a concept that would help the state compete for federal 'Race to the Top' dollars."

Let me tell you about my recent trip to Sacramento. It is a story about why we need a revolution.

Earlier this month, Senate leaders introduced a "parent trigger" into California's "Race to the Top" education reform legislation.

Under the policy, parents at a systemically failing school could circulate a petition calling for change. If 51% of the parents signed it, the school would be converted to a charter school or reconstituted by the school district, with a new staff and new ways of operating. The concept recognized a truth that school officials often discount: Parents are in the best position to make decisions about what's right for their kids.

Last week, the parent trigger legislation moved to the Assembly Education Committee, chaired by Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica). Thousands of parents sent letters, made calls, staged protests and showed up to testify before her committee about the importance of parents taking back power over our schools.

We told the committee about how 50% of kids in L.A. public schools aren't graduating and 90% aren't going to college. We talked about innovative models -- at both charter and traditional public schools -- that apply the same amount of money to the same kind of kids and send them to college instead of prison. We explained that we can't wait any longer for half-measures and pilot programs because our kids need great schools now.

Brownley seemed to agree with parents that they needed real power over the education of their own children, and it felt as if we finally had the momentum to enact meaningful change.

Asian Americans drive Army recruiting boom in L.A. -- latimes.com

Asian Americans drive Army recruiting boom in L.A. -- latimes.com:

"Asians have traditionally joined the military at the lowest rate among all races, but -- lured by job security, college aid and, for some, citizenship -- they are signing up in larger numbers. Their enlistments rose 80% in L.A. County."

On a chilly Saturday morning this month, the future soldiers of the U.S. Army huffed and puffed through push-ups, sit-ups and stretches in Whittier Narrows Regional Park in South El Monte.

There was the gangly white kid with the blond buzz cut and the buffed-out Latino dude, head draped in a black bandanna.

And then there was Jennifer Ren, small, slight and bespectacled, an immigrant from China who gamely kept up with the guys and sees the Army as a ticket to U.S. citizenship and a job in accounting and finance.

Down the training line was Christopher Ly, the son of Chinese immigrants from Vietnam who figures that the Army will help pay for a hoped-for Stanford University education and an eventual career as an Army lawyer.

Gery Denniswara, a Diamond Bar high school senior and Jakarta native, sees the Army as a way to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

Ren, Ly and Denniswara helped drive the biggest Army recruitment boon for Los Angeles in two decades -- led by an 80% increase in Asian enlistments in the last year. Asians have traditionally joined the military at the lowest rate among all races.

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