Schwarzenegger to seek federal help for California budget -- latimes.com

Schwarzenegger to seek federal help for California budget -- latimes.com:

"Reporting from Sacramento - Facing a budget deficit of more than $20 billion, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to call for deep reductions in already suffering local mass transit programs, renew his push to expand oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast and appeal to Washington for billions of dollars in federal help, according to state officials and lobbyists familiar with the plan.

If Washington does not provide roughly $8 billion in new aid for the state, the governor threatens to severely cut back -- if not eliminate -- CalWORKS, the state's main welfare program; the In-Home Health Care Services program for the disabled and elderly poor, and two tax breaks for large corporations recently approved by the Legislature, the officials said."

Year in Review: Edutopia's Staff Picks | Edutopia

Year in Review: Edutopia's Staff Picks | Edutopia

It was a year filled with historical events (the election of Barack Obama) and miraculous moments (the heroism of Captain Sullenberger) and celebrity shockers (the death of Michael Jackson). But for us at Edutopia, 2009 was another year of inspiration and awe as we went around the country to meet and tell the stories of amazing students, teachers, administrators, and parents trying to improve our public schools. You never cease to surprise us with your dedication and passion and ingenuity!
And so we asked our staff to tell us which stories made the biggest impressions on them. Here are some of our favorites from 2009:
Betty Ray, community manager:
Edutopia Welcome Lounge: Thank-a-Teacher Discussion
"The Edutopia community expresses gratitude for the teachers who inspired us the most."
Cindy Johanson, chief operating officer:
"The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom"
"I love this column, because it's so practical, but especially for the response from readers -- more than 135 tips and comments!"
David Markus, editorial director:
"A Louisiana School Leader Answers the Call of Duty" (magazine title: "Call of Duty")
This profile packaged a slew of Edutopia core values and virtues (social and emotional learning, project learning, technology in the classroom, professional development) and illuminated them through the compelling story of one heroic New Orleans prinicipal, who overcame enormous odds and enabled all those around her -- especially her students -- to achieve as they had never before. To me, that is the definition of inspiration.
Amy Erin Borovoy, video coordinating producer:
Opening Minds Through The Arts
"I love watching the faces of the kids light up as they experience the connections between their core academic subjects and performing arts. Nothing beats second graders singing opera!"
YES Prep Boasts a College-Bound Culture
"The passion of these teachers is so clear -- this story puts a face on the goals of every great educator. It's very moving to see how the hard work of everyone at this school in Houston pays off."
Milton Chen, executive director:
Opening Minds Through The Arts
"Shows how reading and writing skills depend on surrounding children with a rich linguistic environment and how opera singers can work with teachers to create it."

Read More:Year in Review: Edutopia's Staff Picks | Edutopia

Rancho Cordova Installs New Mayor and Vice Mayor — The Rancho Cordova Post

Rancho Cordova Installs New Mayor and Vice Mayor — The Rancho Cordova Post:

"Ken Cooley, a member of the Rancho Cordova City Council since the City incorporated in 2003, was sworn in as Mayor at the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on December 21st. Robert McGarvey, also a Council Member from the City’s beginning, was sworn in as Vice Mayor.

California State Assembly Member Alyson Huber performed the swearing-in ceremony for the new Mayor and Pastor Mike Mitchum from the Rancho Cordova Neighborhood Church swore in the Vice Mayor.

The new Mayor is the California State Senate’s top advisor on insurance matters as principal consultant to the Senate Banking, Finance, and Insurance Committee. Before that, Cooley was a long-time counsel to State Farm Insurance and a top advisor on banking and insurance for the California Assembly. He has been very active in the League of California Cities and was appointed by the Governor to the California Seismic Safety Commission."

Parents To Protect School Over Holidays - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Parents To Protect School Over Holidays - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento: "SACRAMENTO, Calif. --

More than two dozen parents are working a night job at their child's school over the holiday break.

Parents of students at Westlake Charter Elementary volunteered to patrol the campus during the holiday break after a rash of school break-ins.

School leaders said since the school year began they have been targeted by vandals six times and have had more than $20,000 in damage and stolen equipment."

Parents, like Phil Nanni, said he feels parents have to make sure the school is well protected.

THE DAILY RIFF'S "PERSON OF THE YEAR" IN EDUCATION - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

THE DAILY RIFF'S "PERSON OF THE YEAR" IN EDUCATION - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:

Larry Rosenstock wins because he speaks to all of us
personally and profoundly:
 students, parents, teachers, administrators,
and everyone who cares about education.

Rosenstock wins because if more people knew about his successful schools,
they would be clamoring for them in their own backyards.

He edged out Geoffrey Canada by a hair, but that is another story.  Michelle Rhee, Arne Duncan, POTUS Obama are higher on the news-maker scale (Time's criteria), but we went for the person hitting the most chords.  Rosenstock walks the talk.  He is guided by principles that defy conventional wisdom in education.  

Rosenstock is founding principal and CEO of High Tech High in San Diego, which has been called a "great liberal arts school in disguise".  In other words, it's not your father's tech school.  With a college entry rate of 100%, this charter school (now a group of schools in southern California) is envied because it dispels many accepted notions of "what works" in education both in practice and by results.   

Education Week: Teaching for America

Education Week: Teaching for America:

"As a Teach For America corps member, I taught up to 32 kindergartners, without recess, in a rat-infested South Bronx basement. My school’s staff was cracking under intense scrutiny, because fewer than 30 percent of our students were on grade level. With a 60 percent staff-turnover rate and a majority of new teachers on an emergency credential, the experienced, expert teacher my students deserved was not waiting in line for my job.

I did the best I could. I worked tireless hours. I built a respectful classroom community and strong relationships with families. Using culturally relevant pedagogy, I worked to ensure that my students were on a 1st grade reading level at the end of the year."

Education Reform and the States - Part 1of 5

Amherst, MA (PRWEB) December 23, 2009 -- Education reform is a national priority. Pearson, the education, services and technology company, is stimulating discussions of school reform issues with today's launch of a series of video interviews with nationally recognized education leader David Driscoll, Ed.D. The company's Evaluation Systems group, the most experienced provider of standards-based teacher certification testing programs, developed these thought-provoking videos with the former Massachusetts Commissioner of Education to contribute to the national conversation on the most effective ways to improve student achievement.


In these five Web video segments, Driscoll addresses a wide range of school reform topics from his perspective as a leader in education for more than 43 years. He began his career as a secondary math teacher and then served in district leadership roles, as a state commissioner of education, president of Council of Chief State School Officers and is now the chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which oversees the National Assessment of Educational Progress: The Nation's Report Card. Driscoll discusses key areas of school reform, including state education initiatives; the role of teachers, principals and educator preparation in school improvement; and the best strategies for transforming education in the future.

"The national conversation about how to reform education has reached new heights over the past several years," said William Gorth, Ph.D., president of the Evaluation Systems group of Pearson. "We developed this video series to help education, community and government leaders consider the potential that initiatives such as the movement toward common core standards and efforts to improve teaching can and will have on student achievement. Who better than Dr. Driscoll, with his experience in education reform at all levels, to lead this discussion?"
Part 1 of 5 - A conversation with Dr. David Driscoll, past president of the Council of Chief State School Officers and 22nd Commissioner of Education for Massachusetts, on education reform, the experience in Massachusetts, lessons learned, implications for other states, and how to move reform ahead. For related information, see http://teacher.PearsonAssessments.com

Alonso's focus on principals carries benefits and risks -- baltimoresun.com

Alonso's focus on principals carries benefits and risks -- baltimoresun.com:

"Over half a century after the best-selling book 'Why Johnny Can't Read' shocked the nation, poor Johnny still can't read - or compute. Neither can poor Tyesha or Juan or millions of other predominantly low-income children of color.

This national tragedy is not because of lack of effort. For the past 25 years, the condition of public education has been regarded as a national crisis. In the name of reform, countless strategies have proliferated, most famously (or infamously) the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). It is impossible to find a single large, urban school system that has not been flooded over the years by an overflowing stream of reform initiatives."

The American Spectator : Bargaining for Reform?

The American Spectator : Bargaining for Reform?

Considering its role in sparking the most-important teachers union strike in American history five decades ago with its shutdown of New York City's schools, and the years it has since spent making teaching the public sector profession most-insulated from performance management, the American Federation of Teachers is an unlikely name to be found among the wonks and advocates at the helm of reforming America's public schools.

But these days, the nation's other national teachers union is getting some qualified praise for supporting a handful of initiatives that tip-toe toward the prescription of more-rigorous curriculum standards, standardized tests, school choice and consequences advocated by the school reformers the union has long opposed. Whether or not the AFT will fully embrace school reform -- or simply backslide into its inveterate support of traditional education concepts -- is another matter entirely.

In October, the AFT shocked the education world when its New Haven, Conn., local agreed to a new contract that would allow the New England city's school district to offer merit pay to the best-performing teachers and allows for the conversion of laggard schools into charter schools. Given the longstanding hostile opposition to performance pay of any kind, the concession even made normally skeptical education scholar Andy Smarick of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute call it "a set of very exciting developments."

My Turn: Predictable failure of school reform | burlingtonfreepress.com | The Burlington Free Press

My Turn: Predictable failure of school reform | burlingtonfreepress.com | The Burlington Free Press:

"The Vermont DOE is again engaged in studying the efficiency and effectiveness of our public schools. Unfortunately, this is likely to follow the 'predictable failure of educational reform' unless we consider fundamental changes in the governance and organization of our schools."

Despite the hard work of educators to meet countless demands of the educational system pulling them in disparate directions, our schools are failing our kids and our society. By trying to do everything, schools sometimes end up doing little very well. With over 30 percent of our students nationwide not graduating from school, huge numbers not proficient in basic skills, and endless streams of students saying they find school irrelevant, the current system is untenable.

It isn't as if there haven't been innumerable efforts to improve our schools. More testing, new programs, innovation grants, conferences, consultants, new regulations, cutting-edge technology, revised policies, new curricula, and on and on. As educational expert Michael Fullan observes, very few large-scale educational reform efforts have been effective. As Albert Einstein noted, the definition of

Opinion: California school reform: 'It's the teaching, stupid' - San Jose Mercury News

Opinion: California school reform: 'It's the teaching, stupid' - San Jose Mercury News:

"As the California legislative battle lines are drawn over school reform, and as attempts are being made to put the state on track to Race to the Top by seeking its share of the $4.3 billion federal fund, what seems to be sorely missing is any informed discussion on the strategy to improve teaching.

Recognizing the importance of teaching, No Child Left Behind emphasized the improvement of teacher quality as a central objective. The same emphasis is incorporated in the rules states must follow for the Race to the Top fund. A perfect application for a grant would earn a state a total of 500 points, of which 138 points, the largest chunk, are allotted for recruiting quality teachers and for evaluating their effectiveness. States must clearly articulate innovative strategies for improving classroom teaching.

But in putting together its application, California seems to be paying no attention to classroom teaching."

Coatesville investigates Graystone charter | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/22/2009

Coatesville investigates Graystone charter | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/22/2009:

"A Chester County charter school is being investigated by the Coatesville Area School District, which is requesting a wide range of information about its operations.

The district also has directed Graystone Academy Charter School not to purchase any real estate for a new site 'in light of the serious nature of our investigation.'

Graystone's lawyer said the school had complied with the request for information and was not about to purchase land anyway."

THE NEXT WAVE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

THE NEXT WAVE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:

"What Every Parent, Teacher & Administrator Needs To Know

The stereotypical image of the geeky nerd - the lonely male in a dark basement punching out computer code - may soon be a picture of the past. Instead, imagine both girls and boys learning, understanding, and embracing computer code as an everyday universal language and a necessary part of a well-rounded education. It's happening right now across the country, not in big waves yet, but it is happening.

Science is in the forefront of the news recently, with computer science gaining mainstream attention with its connection to future jobs and career enhancement. The link of computer science to science and math skills, logical thinking and problem solving is also a key driver to this conversation, which seems to building momentum even outside of tech circles. From The New York Times, click dates for full articles on Dec. 21st and Dec. 22nd:"

The Educated Guess � Open enrollment provision needs work

The Educated Guess � Open enrollment provision needs work: "Assembly Speaker Karen Bass’ office has been mum� about whatever progress there has been in resolving differences over SBX5-4, the compromise Race to the Top bill that the Senate passed last week.

One part of the bill that needs fleshing out through amendments involves a significant expansion of parental choice that Gov. Schwarzenegger� and Sen. Gloria Romero have pushed hard for."


Romero’s original bill, which died in the Assembly, would have given parents in the lowest 30 percent performing schools the right to transfer to a better school in another school district. The current bill scales back that right to the bottom tenth. But it still marks a major shift in state policy and philosophy – and a victory for Los Angeles parent groups that made their voices heard in Sacramento.

Just last summer, the advocacy group EdVoice looked like it was fighting a losing battle to renew a strictly voluntary parental choice program affecting only 5,000 students attending schools in districts that volunteered to take them.
Now, open enrollment will expand to theoretically hundreds of thousands of children. And all districts with space  for more students will be required to accept children from the worst schools, based on a lottery system.
Romero sold open enrollment as a civil rights issue, providing families stuck in failing schools the right to a good education. And she’s right.

But the language of the bill is largely aspirational. It lacks details on how the program would work. Sen. Joe Simitian, while voting for the bill, raised serious questions that need answers. Among them:

• How would be reimbursement work? Would the full tuition follow the student to the receiving district, or would it be partial? Would the sending district get the tuition for one more year after the student leaves, to soften the impact, as currently happens in declining enrollment dsitricts?

• Could a district claim financial hardship and deny an out-of-district admission? How would that be defined?

• What is the definition of available space? If a school technically has room for more students, but has limits on class size, would it have to abandon small classes to accommodate more students? Or reopen closed schools?

• Would largely wealthy basic-aid districts, like Palo Alto and Woodside, 

Education Week: Charter Schools: Education's Fox in the Henhouse?

Education Week: Charter Schools: Education's Fox in the Henhouse?:

"Successful urban charter schools are showing that high demand, high support education works for all students—not just Jewish and Asian and upper-class kids, but all kids who commit to academic success. Some of these schools’ achievement gains are very impressive.

So why am I, a retired public school teacher of 34 years, cautious and suspicious?

Perhaps there’s a hidden agenda, one that may be revealed..."

Parents should pay for ignoring kids' education | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Parents should pay for ignoring kids' education | freep.com | Detroit Free Press:

"Mike Thomas arrives at Detroit's Chrysler Elementary every weekday at 2 p.m. He helps direct traffic. He tutors. He buys toilet paper."

Mike Thomas isn't the principal. He is a Detroit Public Schools parent. And every time he sees a news story about the failures of the district and how lazy parents are, he gets angry.

That's because the stories aren't about him. Complaints about teachers aren't about his wife, Shannon, who continues to work after school until 11 p.m. every night creating exciting lesson plans, grading papers and making sure her students have food and coats.

"The parents at our school -- we work hard," he said. "I know those parents you're talking about, but it's not us."

Ninety-three miles away from that school, state Rep. George Cushingberry, D-Detroit, lauds parents like the Thomases.

But he wants to do something about the other parents, the ones who are too young, or who don't read well enough to help their children. He is sensitive to those for whom poverty has been an obstacle.

But Cushingberry -- and I -- want something done to help teachers whose classrooms are filled with kids whose parents have let them down. Whether they are behaviorally challenged or just woefully, academically

Randalls Island play to hand control of ballfields to private schools nixed again

Randalls Island play to hand control of ballfields to private schools nixed again:

"Mayor Bloomberg's pay-to-play deal for Randalls Island ballfields has struck out again.

For the second time in two years, a judge has thrown out a City Hall contract that gives 20 Manhattan private schools exclusive use of half of all the renovated ballfields at Randalls Island Park during school days.

The deal is a 'major concession,' which the Parks Department must first submit to the local community board and the City Council, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Marilyn Shafer ruled Tuesday."

A Quiet End for Boys Choir of Harlem - NYTimes.com

A Quiet End for Boys Choir of Harlem - NYTimes.com:

"For more than three decades, they sang Mozart in Latin, Bach in German, and Cole Porter and Stevie Wonder in English, from Alice Tully Hall in New York to Royal Albert Hall in London."


For the audiences that marveled at theBoys Choir of Harlem, it was an additional wonder that the young performers with world-class voices had emerged from some of the most difficult neighborhoods of New York. December was always a busy month, as the choir toured the country’s premier concert halls and appeared on television Christmas specials.

But this year, the boys are nowhere to be found. Last week, Terrance Wright, a 39-year-old choir alumnus, picked up a microphone in front of the altar of Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church in Harlem, the choir’s last home, and delivered news that surprised few people but saddened many.

“Tell the people. Let it be known,” Mr. Wright said, glistening and exhausted after leading a Christmas concert by former singers in the choir. “There is no Boys and Girls Choir of Harlem.”
The choir’s last official performance was in 2007, around the time of the death of its founder, Walter J. Turnbull. But no one ever announced that it was gone. Board members and alumni had hoped to revive it, but they acknowledged last week that they had not had any success.

For a famous organization that politicians had vowed would outlive its founder, it had a quiet end. Many of the choir’s materials, like copies of handwritten scores and its trademark burgundy blazers, now sit in black garbage bags and open boxes

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Education | Efforts To Save Schools Gain Momentum

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Education | Efforts To Save Schools Gain Momentum:

"Although critics have accused the Panel for Educational Policy of being a rubber stamp for the mayor's policies, it's recently showed small signs of independence. NY1 education reporter, Lindsey Christ, filed the following report on why that means the 20 schools slated for closure may have a chance at a reprieve.
Thousands across the city are waging campaigns to save their schools. They say they're not just making noise, because the Department of Education no longer has the final say on school closures.

The recently-revised state law on mayoral control puts school closures in the hands of the Panel for Educational Policy, and advocates believe they may be able to convince the panel to keep their schools open."

Department of Education to launch free online SAT prep program for 11th grade students - NYPOST.com

Department of Education to launch free online SAT prep program for 11th grade students - NYPOST.com:

"Reeling from four straight years of plunging SAT scores, the city will offer a free online prep course for the exam to all 11th-graders in public schools, The Post has learned.

As many as 50,000 teens are expected to sign up for the new SAT tutorial, which will allow them to access test-prep materials and college-planning assistance from the Internet, according to city Department of Education officials.

The program -- expected to cost the city less than $350,000 -- is set to start within months and target kids taking the exam in spring and fall of 2010."