Thursday, December 31, 2009

Legislation will take hard look at schools

Legislation will take hard look at schools:

"State Sen. Jeffrey E. Piccola, R-Dauphin, yesterday said he'll introduce legislation to take a firmer line with low-performing school districts, warning that may involve closing some schools and dissolving some districts.

Mr. Piccola, chairman of the Senate Education Committee, said other options include merit pay for teachers and administrators, converting struggling schools into charter schools and bringing in outside management groups.

Some of the language reflects the U.S. Department of Education's get-tough stance in inviting states to compete for $4 billion in Race to the Top funds."

School reforms — the beginning, not the end | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies

School reforms — the beginning, not the end | hometownlife.com | the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers and Hometown Weeklies:

"Our state and our schools need to be reinvented. The governor and Legislature are to be commended for making progress on school reform by striking a deal on landmark legislative ideas that have been kicking around the state capitol for a decade. Clearly, the up to $400 million of “Race to the Top,” U.S. Department of Education dollars provided the right amount of inducement to help strike the deal. The legislation expands the number of high-quality charter schools — including two new e-learning “cyber schools” — raises the dropout age from 16 to 18, and gives the state stronger authority to take over 5 percent of the state's academically worst failing schools."

KHSD board says no to Obama charter school - Bakersfield.com

KHSD board says no to Obama charter school - Bakersfield.com:

"Kern High School District trustees on Wednesday unanimously shot down a petition for a proposed charter school named after our nation's president.

All five board members rejected the idea of Barack H. Obama Leadership Academy based on district input that it did not meet California Education Code standards for the establishment of a charter school.

During a special board meeting, trustees commented that the petition was 'inherently weak,' 'fiscally irresponsible,' 'ill conceived,' 'not feasible' and 'not thought through.' District staff outlined its findings and analysis in a 15-page report."

School districts reluctantly join Race to the Top: Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley sign up for federal education reform - ContraCostaTimes.com

School districts reluctantly join Race to the Top: Santa Cruz, Pajaro Valley sign up for federal education reform - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"WATSONVILLE - In spite of uncertainty about mandates and funding, Santa Cruz County's two largest school districts are signing on to the latest education reform plan.
The County Office of Education also has signed up for Race to the Top, a $4.3 billion federal program aimed at improving student achievement.

Districts must signal their intention to participate by today and have until Jan. 8 to sign an agreement with the state. More than 700 of the state's approximately 1,000 public school districts had joined the effort by Wednesday.

If California wins a Race to the Top grant - and in the competition between states, there's no guarantee - school districts would get a cut of the money in exchange for implementing new academic standards and accountability measures, including controversial teacher evaluations."

Capitol Alert: California given high marks for charter schools

California given high marks for charter schools

California, Minnesota and the District of Columbia are the only school systems to receive "A" grades on their receptivity to charter schools from the Washington-based Center for Education Reform, a pro-charter school organization.

The state-by-state evaluation was released in response to Race to the Top, President Barack Obama's education reform initiative that includes more emphasis on charter schools, which are public schools that operate independently of school district administration. Its release also coincides with the stateAssembly's debate this week on how to qualify California for Race to the Top grants, in which expansion of charter schools plays a central role.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, among others, favors lifting a state cap on charter schools but teacher unions are generally reluctant. But without loosening or lifting the cap, California may be ineligible for the new federal grants.

"Every state's education law has certain legal components that play key roles in deciding whether that state does what its law's title suggests

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

S C T A Annual Crab Feed

S C T A Annual Crab Feed

Do you like crab? Dancing? Wine?

Bidding on auction prizes? Winning “stuff” in raffles?

The SCTA Annual Crab Dinner is our big event that brings teachers and the community together to raise funds for scholarships.College tuition and fees are higher than ever and our scholarship program is a way that teachers and SCTA can help.

Well then…

S C T A

Sacramento City Teachers Association

Annual Crab Feed

Scholarship Fundraiser

Saturday, February 6 from 5-10pm

Elk's Lodge, 6446 Riverside Blvd in Sacramento, CA

View Google Map

sold out last year, so buy early and often

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

SCTA at 916-452-4591

Education Week: Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans

Education Week: Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans:

"Teachers’ unions in at least two states are threatening to withhold endorsements of their state’s Race to the Top applications, which could jeopardize the states’ chances of winning the coveted federal dollars.

In a letter printed as an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat , Florida Education Association President Andy J. Ford discouraged local union affiliates from signing an agreement to implement a state plan that, among other things, would require districts to base teacher evaluations and compensation bonuses heavily on student test scores.
“Any sense of collaboration is absent in your proposal,” Mr. Ford wrote in the Dec. 17 letter to Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith. “Your approach is prescriptive,..."

An Open Letter to Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith -

Finally, the Arne Duncan Chicago Schools reform myth is exposed

Finally, the Arne Duncan Chicago Schools reform myth is exposed:

"However, what I do find contemptuous is when guys who are lucky enough to get a chip in the big game without earning it look back at those who haven’t and say: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I did. Duncan has spent the better part of last year traveling the country and challenging ‘ate up’ urban educators to duplicate his Chicago Public Schools (CPS) success by doing as he did. The problem is, there was no success. And those of us, who call the People’s Republic of Chicago, home, know it. Finally, the cardboard school reform of the Duncan era, which followed the smoke-and-mirrors of the Paul Vallas regime, has been officially ‘outed.’"

2009 Local News in Review, Part 1 — The Rancho Cordova Post

2009 Local News in Review, Part 1 — The Rancho Cordova Post:

"Rancho Cordova community members have experienced their fair share of joy and struggles during the past year. Over the next few days we will be re-capping the biggest news stories of the year. From a series of attempted kidnappings near Rancho Cordova schools in January to the release of the NTSB investigation of the Christmas Eve explosion that rocked a Rancho neighborhood just last week, we’ll be covering the stories that are the most relevant and important to you.

In January, a Rancho Cordova man shot a female neighbor then shot himself. The apartment complex in which the man lived was evacuated and it was later learned that the woman who was shot had threatened to report the man to Child Protective Services. January also saw the permanent appointment of Kathleen E. Redd, as the Chief Financial Officer of GenCorp Inc. Two Rancho Cordova teen mothers with their infant children went missing at the end of January, but were found days later."

9 California mayors press for Race to the Top bill

9 California mayors press for Race to the Top bill:

"The mayors of California's biggest cities are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to meet a fast-approaching deadline to compete for federal education funds."

The mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento released a joint letter on the issue Tuesday. They were joined by the mayors of San Jose, Fresno, Long Beach, Santa Ana and Anaheim.
The mayors are asking state leaders to pass a bill that would allow California to compete for a share of $4.3 billion in education reform funding. The competition — known as "Race to the Top" — was set up by the Obama administration to improve schools.
California has three weeks left to qualify for the competition. Lawmakers have indicated they plan to take up the measure in the new year.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/29/state/n185153S79.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0bBVYGuNm

Class Struggle - Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish

Class Struggle- Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish:

"Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish

Stuck at the bottom of the bag of reports I promised to read over the holidays is a survey by Nancy C. Rhodes and Ingrid Pufahl of the Center for Applied Linguistics, entitled 'Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools.' It has a clear message, part good, part bad.

The good news: Spanish language instruction is growing, something to cheer because we share this hemisphere mostly with people who speak that language. Two of my children are fluent in Spanish and use it in their jobs, which makes me proud and hopeful for the future.

The bad news: all the other languages important to the future of the planet are either losing popularity in our schools, or making only tiny gains from very low levels. The only language in which I have any facility is Mandarin Chinese, certainly a biggie in international affairs but a pygmy in American education. It is taught in only 3 percent of elementary schools and 4 percent of high schools with foreign language programs."

Superintendent to regents: Providence can’t afford Hope High School reforms | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Superintendent to regents: Providence can’t afford Hope High School reforms | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal:

"PROVIDENCE — While acknowledging that Hope High School has made dramatic gains, Schools Supt. Tom Brady says the district can no longer afford to devote so many resources to one of the city’s many high schools.

In a letter to the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, Brady recognized that Hope’s teachers and leaders have made significant strides in improving the school’s climate and culture but said that the academic model adopted five years ago is too costly to maintain.

The regents asked for an update on Hope after more than 50 teachers, students and staff implored them to prevent the high school’s academic model from being dismantled."

Cleveland schools CEO Sanders and union leader need to talk, right away -- editorial | Opinion, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - - Opinions, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com

Cleveland schools CEO Sanders and union leader need to talk, right away -- editorial | Opinion, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - -Opinions, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com:

"One of the first things we learn as children is how to play nice.

We learn to share. We learn to listen.

That kind of respect means fewer meltdowns on the playground -- and, later, on the job.

It is a lesson that high-ranking adults in the Cleveland schools need to review. Immediately.

CEO Eugene Sanders' long-awaited strategy for transforming the schools hasn't yet been revealed, but the work leading up to it didn't go as well as anyone would have hoped. The district's information sessions with parents fell short of expectations -- on both sides -- and the Cleveland Teachers Union has become increasingly restless about what it calls a lack of involvement in the planning and designing."

CMS hopes to use no-interest loans to build schools, save millions - CharlotteObserver.com

CMS hopes to use no-interest loans to build schools, save millions - CharlotteObserver.com:

"Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders hope no-interest school construction loans from federal stimulus money could help build two new schools and renovate or expand four others.

CMS wants to sell $52 million of the special bonds this summer. No-interest loans could save Mecklenburg taxpayers $12 million to $15 million in the long run.

But uncertainties about the federal plan remain. Nearly a year after the school construction bonds were approved as part of the federal stimulus package, few school districts in the state or across the country have found institutional investors willing to buy them."

House bill gives superintendents more power to fire teachers - The Boston Globe

House bill gives superintendents more power to fire teachers - The Boston Globe:

"The Massachusetts House of Representatives appears poised to consider an overhaul of the state’s most troubled schools next week, as members take up a bill that could represent a major setback for teachers unions."

The proposed bill would give superintendents extraordinary powers to ignore teacher contract provisions in firing teachers for good cause at underperforming schools.

It would also allow superintendents to impose changes in workplace rules, such as extending the school day, at those schools if negotiations break down, key House leaders said in a telephone briefing yesterday.

Unlike a Senate version approved last month, the House bill does not establish an arbitration process for teachers to appeal those changes by superintendents.

Rising property values fuel Dallas ISD's first 'Robin Hood' payment | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Rising property values fuel Dallas ISD's first 'Robin Hood' payment | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News:

"For the first time, Dallas taxpayers had to give some of their money to less-affluent school districts in 2008-09, part of Texas' share-the-wealth school finance system that critics and proponents say is out of whack.

Some say the fact that Dallas schools had to pay the 'Robin Hood' payment last school year is proof that the formula doesn't make sense. Nearly 90 percent of DISD schoolchildren are poor, and the school district has been struggling with deficits.

For 2009-10, projections show that Dallas taxpayers will not have to send their money away."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Do schools need more male teachers?

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Do schools need more male teachers?:

"Do schools need more male teachers?

Only one in four school teachers are men, according to a 2008 report.

Ronald Maggiano is somewhat unusual in the teaching profession. That is because he is male.

Maggiano is an award-winning teacher in the Social Studies Department at West Springfield High School in Virginia. He has taught in public and private schools for 25 years.

In a piece on his blog called “The Classroom Post,” he calls for more males to enter the profession.

Here's why:"

Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs | News | East Bay Express

Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs | News | East Bay Express:

"Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.

The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse."

Public Sector Unions Are Killing California � The Foundry

Public Sector Unions Are Killing California � The Foundry:

"Before 1990, [California and Texas] grew much faster than the rest of the country. Since then, only Texas has continued to do so. While its share of the nation’s population has steadily increased, from 6.8 percent in 1990 to 7.9 percent in 2007, California’s has barely budged, from 12 percent to 12.1 percent.

Unpacking the numbers is even more revealing—and, for California, disturbing. The biggest contrast between the two states shows up in “net internal migration,” the demographer’s term for the difference between the number of Americans who move into a state from another and the number who move out of it to another. Between April 1, 2000, and June 30, 2007, an average of 3,247 more Americans moved out of California than into it every week, according to the Census Bureau. Over the same period, Texas saw a net gain, in an average week, of 1,544 people."

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