Redistricting CA: Our Once in a Decade Opportunity to Map California's Future

Redistricting CA: Our Once in a Decade Opportunity to Map California's Future

Why Should I Care?

It is important that elected representatives listen to the public’s interests in order to ensure that our votes matter.  A critical step is to draw district lines that keep communities intact.  The way district lines are drawn affects how politicians represent constituents’ interests.  When communities are kept whole, we have a greater ability to hold [...]

How Will It Work?

In 2008, the voters passed Proposition 11, the Voters First Act.  For the first time, a new 14-person commission called the Citizens Redistricting Commission will draw the state district maps.
The California State Auditor will help create the Citizens Redistricting Commission.  From December 15, 2009 to February 12, 2010, the Auditor will accept applications from interested [...]

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Schools Matter: Philanthrocapitalists Go Hollywood With Production of "Waiting for Superman"

Schools Matter: Philanthrocapitalists Go Hollywood With Production of "Waiting for Superman"

Philanthrocapitalists Go Hollywood With Production of "Waiting for Superman"

As a not-so-subtle, though unconscious?, reference to the good ole' days that led up to the rise of national socialism, the new documentary, Waiting for Superman, features a number of Superman wannabes, including Michelle Rhee, Bill Gates and Eli Broad's boy, Steve Barr. And how well the film's poster inadvertently captures the venture philanthropists' self-imposed blindness to America's urban devastation in favor of a more lucrative focus on producing white-like compliant children whose psychological bubbles are bathed in sweet incandescence rays from above that are worthy of a Microsoft ad. Nothing can stop you, boys and girls, if we can find the right superman to inspire you and to get your mind right. Onward, positive psychology soldiers!

The film is executive produced and financed by Participant Media, which was founded by venture philanthropist and former Ebayist, Jeffrey Skoll. Participant Media's current CEO is Jim Berk. Who is Jim Berk? Well, his recent job history, anyway:

Prior to Participant, Jim was Chairman and CEO of Gryphon Colleges Corporation, where he was responsible for the formation, platform acquisition and establishment of a private company operating for-profit post education schools.

Education Week: RTI Said to Pay Off in Gains for English-Learners

Education Week: RTI Said to Pay Off in Gains for English-Learners

Chula Vista, Calif.

Fernando Lujo and Hector Martinez are only in 1st grade, but already educators at Lillian J. Rice Elementary School have mapped out different instructional paths for them.

A few months ago, both of the English-language learners had limited awareness of how to sound out words, according to a screening test. Fernando was assigned to an hourlong intensive reading “clinic” four days a week and was soon reading on grade level, so he graduated from the extra lessons last month. Hector was put in the reading clinic as well, but made only limited progress, so the school’s reading expert now meets with him one-on-one for a half-hour four days a week.

Educators here in the Chula Vista Elementary School District determined what kind of instruction the boys needed through a “response to intervention” process, which provides extra help to struggling students with an aim of reducing the number of referrals to special education. As RTI catches on throughout the country, the district is on the cutting edge in its focus on how the approach applies to English-language learners, who make up 36 percent of the K-6 district’s 27,450 students.

Politics K-12 - Education Week Bureau of Indian Education Schools Want In On Race to the Top

Politics K-12 - Education Week

Bureau of Indian Education Schools Want In On Race to the Top

Bureau of Indian Education schools, which are run by the U.S. Department of the Interior, would automatically get a slice of the highly coveted $4 billion Race to the Top and $650 million Investing in Innovation funds under a bill introduced this week by Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

McCollum's release on the bill says essentially that it was an oversight on Congress' part to exclude BIE schools from the original funding. And it points out that RttT is supposed to help the neediest kids and that there are a lot of those in Indian Country.Under the measure, the BIE schools could get at least 1 percent, and up to 5 percent, of the overall funding.

But it's unclear from the bill whether the money would directly go to all BIE schools, or whether they would have to compete with one another for it, asstates are doing. If they just get the money free and clear though some type of formula, it's tough to imagine states who have spent months filling out lengthy grant applications for their piece of the pie being okay with that.

Early Learning Key Part of Race to the Top Education Reform Conversation | California Progress Report

Early Learning Key Part of Race to the Top Education Reform Conversation | California Progress Report

Earlier this week, California joined the competition for federal Race to the Top education reform funds, and early childhood education advocates were pleased to see that early learning is a key component of the state education reform agenda that is laid out in the application.

In vying for its share of the $4.35 billion in federal funds, California mentions early learning repeatedly throughout its 129-page application – a recognition that early learning programs play an important role in making the state competitive for a share of the funds.

Advocates were also happy to see that among the 800 local educational agencies that signed agreements to address each of the Race to the Top reform areas, nearly a third also committed to improving the quality of early childhood education by helping students make better transitions between preschool and kindergarten, a voluntary element of the agreements.

Central Valley Business Times

Central Valley Business Times:

"• Donna Cherry, 54, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Before and After School Advisory Committee. Since 2009, she has served as associate superintendent for the Elk Grove Unified School District.
Previously, Ms. Cherry was director of learning support services for the Elk Grove Unified School District from 2005 to 2009 and principal for John Reith Elementary School from 2001 to 2005.
This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Ms. Cherry is a Democrat."

Sacramento Press / A road map to the strong mayor debate

Sacramento Press / A road map to the strong mayor debate

Developments affecting Mayor Kevin Johnson’s strong mayor initiative have been highly controversial and complex.

Several entities have weighed in on the initiative, including the Sacramento City Council, the Sacramento County Superior Court and the Sacramento Charter Review Committee. Government officials, attorneys and citizens have interpreted the initiative in a variety of ways.

Here’s a road map to make sense of some of the key events in the strong mayor debate:

Johnson’s Day One Plan: Before taking office, Johnson promotes a strong mayor form of government in his “Day One” plan. An executive mayor system would mean that one leader would be accountable, Johnson says.

“Explore a change to the city charter moving to a strong mayor structure,” the plan states. “We need a single point of accountability in our city and to know where the buck stops. We should engage in a dialogue to determine if we can improve our city government through a different governance structure.”

February 2009: The City Council unanimously forms the charter review

Notes from the news, Jan. 22 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Jan. 22 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Teachers accept new contract The Notebook blog
The contract includes two three percent raises, ties some compensation to student performance, and introduces a new mentoring and evaluation system.

See also: Philadelphia teachers approve new contract The Inquirer
Teachers OK contract: Two 3% hikes over 3 yrs. Daily News
Teachers say yes to new contract Philadelphia Metro
Should the PFT contract be public? It's Our Money
Performance bonuses put Phila. teachers pact on cutting edge Philly.com
Philadelphia teachers approve new 3-year contract AP via PhillyBurbs.com

Former city schools chief disputes criticism The Inquirer
Former CEO Paul Vallas said the federal government encouraged schools to use grant money in "more flexible ways."

See also: Philly Schools Misspent $17M in Aid: Audit NBC Philadelphia
Phila. School District may have mispent $140 million WHYY
And now from the Paul Vallas school of crisis management . . . Young Philly Politics

Editorial: Getting rid of bad apples The Inquirer
Calls for improved evaluation systems for teachers.

Schools Matter: "Fight Now or Kiss Your Country Goodbye"

Schools Matter: "Fight Now or Kiss Your Country Goodbye"

"Fight Now or Kiss Your Country Goodbye"

Sign the petition at SaveDemocracy.net. From Raw Story:

WASHINGTON -- Responding to the Supreme Court's ruling Thursday to overturn corporate spending limits in federal elections, progressive firebrand Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) immediately highlighted a series of moves to "avoid the terrible consequences of the decision."

"If we do nothing then I think you can kiss your country goodbye," Grayson told Raw Story in an interview just hours after the decision was announced.

"You won't have any more senators from Kansas or Oregon, you'll have senators from Cheekies and Exxon. Maybe we'll have to wear corporate logos like Nascar drivers."

Grayson said the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling -- which removes decades of campaign spending limits on corporations -- "opens the floodgates for the purchases and sale of the law."

"It allows corporations to spend all the money they want to buy and sell elected officials through the campaign process," he said. "It allows them to reward political sellouts, and it allows them to punish elected officials who actually try to do what's right for the people."

Principal no stranger to cheating scandals | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Principal no stranger to cheating scandals | Houston & Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

The Houston school district is investigating the former Key Middle School principal and several other employees accused of helping students cheat on state exams, misusing funds and abusing federal lunch rules.

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier announced on Thursday that he has asked the Texas Education Agency to conduct its own investigation into possible cheating at Key last school year. He also plans to share evidence with the Harris County District Attorney's Office about the alleged misuse of district money.

Grier said the school district's probe centers on six to eight former and current Key employees and could expand. Mable Caleb, the former principal of Key who now runs Kashmere High School, is one of those under investigation, her attorney, Chris Tritico, confirmed.

Caleb was embroiled in a cheating scandal at Key five years ago and nearly lost her job. In June, she was promoted to Kashmere and given a $15,000 raise.

“We've already been through this once,” Tritico said. “The district knows good and well that Mable has other people that are involved in testing. She delegates that duty. Mable Caleb did not cheat on the TAKS test.”

In 2005, HISD's investigation yielded no proof that Caleb actively participated in cheating on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, but then-Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra determined she should have known about wrongdoing. Several students who had previously struggled on the high-stakes

Missouri budget shortfall could prompt school cuts - Yahoo! News

Missouri budget shortfall could prompt school cuts - Yahoo! News:

"JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri's public schools may be forced to freeze salaries, expand classes, cut extracurricular activities or seek local tax increases to cope with a funding shortfall, education advocates warned Thursday.
K-12 schools — though spared from cuts in their basic state aid — still might have to scale back because of Gov. Jay Nixon's plan to provide barely one-sixth of the funding increase needed to meet the state's financing formula, said Brent Ghan, a spokesman for the Missouri School Boards' Association.
'This is a pretty dramatic shortfall,' said Ghan. 'The funding situation from the state is going to have an impact on schools statewide — there's no doubt about it.'"

Bill would require high school mascots to get Colorado OK - The Denver Post

Bill would require high school mascots to get Colorado OK - The Denver Post

A state lawmaker wants high schools with American Indian mascots to get approval to continue using them from a state board.

Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, who is one-quarter Comanche, said she doesn't want to ban team names. But she said she's concerned with American Indian mascots that are caricatures — "with a funny nose or something" — and wants communities to have a "healthy dialogue about their heritage."

Williams introduced a bill this week that would require all public and charter high schools with Indian mascots to "either cease using the American Indian mascot or obtain approval for the continued use of the American Indian mascot or another American Indian mascot from the Colorado Commission of

Read more:http://www.denverpost.com/ci_14243392#ixzz0dLhIPNWs

Ellington arts school staying put for now, Rhee says - washingtonpost.com

Ellington arts school staying put for now, Rhee says - washingtonpost.com:

"Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee, moving Thursday to quell a storm of protest, said that the District has no immediate plans to move the Duke Ellington School of the Arts out of Georgetown but that it hopes to eventually build a new facility to replace the school's century-old home.

'Ellington will stay in Georgetown for the foreseeable future,' said Rhee, who is scheduled to meet with members of the school's governing board Friday.

Rhee has been inundated with calls and e-mails from the school community since The Washington Post reported Sunday that the District had studied the cost of moving Ellington to the former Logan Elementary School building on G Street NE, near Union Station."

DPS receives $10 million grant from Gates Foundation - The Denver Post

DPS receives $10 million grant from Gates Foundation - The Denver Post:

"Denver schools on Thursday received the largest grant in district history — $10 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will help develop a new teacher evaluation system.

The money is, in effect, a lucrative consolation prize for Denver Public Schools, which in November lost out on a share of $290 million in Gates money being offered to help schools develop systems to improve teaching.

Those grants went to districts in Pittsburgh; Hillsborough County, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; and a group of Los Angeles charter schools.

DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg said that $10 million will help drive 'our work around recognizing, developing and rewarding excellent teaching, which is the single most important factor in improving our students' achievement.'

Now, Colorado school districts give teachers either 'satisfactory' or 'unsatisfactory' ratings on their evaluations, with an overwhelming number of teachers receiving the 'satisfactory' grade."

EducationNews.org - Robert Holland: Obama is bribing states to accept national curriculum

EducationNews.org - Robert Holland: Obama is bribing states to accept national curriculum


1.22.10 - Alongside the attempted federalization of health care in Washington, with details being hashed out behind closed doors, a parallel bid to nationalize K-12 education is going forward more subtly but just as surely.
Robert Holland: Obama is bribing states to accept national curriculum

Alongside the attempted federalization of health care in Washington, with details being hashed out behind closed doors, a parallel bid to nationalize K-12 education is going forward more subtly but just as surely.

“Sight unseen” is the mode of operation in both cases.
Members of Congress have had to vote on complex health-care-overhaul details they have not studied and sometimes not even seen. Similarly, states seeking to win juicy shares of the $4.35 billion in one-time education grants dangled before them by the Obama administration must agree to adopt a set of national education standards and a national test.
State and local school systems had until this past Tuesday to have their so-called Race to the Top (RttT) applications filed with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. His office has stated clearly, in writing, that states will have no real shot at this slush fund unless they have agreed to adopt “common standards” and “common assessments.”

Philadelphia teachers approve new contract | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/22/2010

Philadelphia teachers approve new contract | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/22/2010:

"The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers' rank and file last night approved a contract that includes pay raises and the district's most significant foray into the controversial issue of performance bonuses.

The vote, 1,831 to 885, came after a spirited closed-door meeting at the Liacouras Center, where some union members called for a postponement of balloting and expressed frustration about Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and working conditions in their schools.

At a news conference after the vote, PFT president Jerry Jordan said the contract 'goes a long way toward professionalizing the profession.'"

MPS finalists have checkered pasts - JSOnline

MPS finalists have checkered pasts - JSOnline:

"As the Milwaukee School Board prepares to vote on the next superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, records show that all three finalists have faced a variety of personal and professional struggles in their careers.

Candidates Gregory Thornton of Chester Upland Public Schools in Pennsylvania, Stacy Scott of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and Robert Alfaro of Clark County Public Schools in Las Vegas have been connected with bankruptcy filings, tax liens and low performance ratings by subordinates, respectively.

The board has called a special session Friday evening to discuss the candidates and the potential terms of employment for the next superintendent, and there are hints that they will reconvene to open session to vote on the new schools chief."

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

'Chasing' college acceptance

Many of you who have a child nearing college age (and even some of you with much younger kids) may already be anxious about the admissions process and may be wondering whether your child, who hasn’t cured cancer or started a successful business already, will get into a good school.

A new report, “Chasing the College Acceptance Letter,” gives some insight into what it calls “the college admissions game.” It focuses on the chances of the average student getting accepted to a competitive four-year college; according to the most recent national data available, the average applicant earned a 21 on the ACT, completed trigonometry and chemistry, and earned a 3.12 GPA. But it also looks at lower-achieving students and high-performing applicants seeking admission to elite schools.

Continue reading this post »

Elementary gifted ed made easy

Two weeks ago I explored the possibility that high schools could challenge all students, gifted or otherwise, without having gifted programs. Quaker Valley High School outside of Pittsburgh, for instance, seemed able to create new opportunities for a variety of kids by ignoring standard procedures that had outlived their usefulness, such as homework requirements or rules against taking more than one course in the same period.

One wise reader said, in effect: Yeah, but that will never work in elementary schools.

As if by fate, I received an email shortly after from Susan Ohanian, a delightful teacher, speaker, author and blogger whose work I love, even when she is portraying me as a test-addled idiot. We may disagree on policy issues, but we have shared tastes about what good teaching looks and sounds like. In her email, she described how she brought a free-form gifted non-program to an elementary school in Troy, N.Y.

Here is what she said. Don't forget to take a look at her blog atsusanohanian.org.

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YourNabe.com > Archives > Brooklyn Graphic > News > In defense of DOE school closings

YourNabe.com Archives Brooklyn Graphic News  In defense of DOE school closings

On February 11, I will begin my 39th year with the New York City public schools. I started as a teacher, and have served as an assistant principal, principal, deputy superintendent, and district superintendent. I am currently the Chief Schools Officer, a position in which I support and evaluate the 1,600 schools overseen by the Department of Education. Over these four decades, I have watched schools rise to greatness and great schools fall. That’s the cycle of a school system as we work to ensure that our classrooms are fulfilling their most basic obligation to educate children and put them on the path to graduation. Closing schools is a difficult, but necessary, part of this cycle.

During the past six years, the Department of Education has closed more than 90 schools that were incapable of reversing years of low performance. This year, we’ve proposed phasing out another 20 schools where turnaround efforts have failed to improve student achievement. We don’t take these decisions lightly. In some cases, these schools have storied histories and large numbers of faithful alumni. All have students and staffs who work hard and still believe in the school’s potential. But despite past successes and recent efforts, these schools all share something in common — they are failing to educate most of their students.

We consider many factors when determining whether to phase out a school. We study its performance trends over time. Some of the schools proposed for closure this year have been struggling for more than a decade, showing little if any progress despite an array of interventions. These may range from creating an assortment of enrichment programs, mentoring and tutoring services, reconfiguring grades and classes, lowering enrollment, or changing principals.

Education should make us equal - SignOnSanDiego.com

Education should make us equal - SignOnSanDiego.com

In 2009, there were 2 million California school children attending failing public schools, including 13 elementary, middle and high schools in the San Diego Unified School District. Since 1999, we have provided extra money – $2.4 billion – to 2,240 of those schools.

Still, 924 of those schools failed for seven years or more. And, over the last decade, only eight of them have turned around.

These schools banish generations of students into lives of poverty, silencing their dreams.

Among these failing schools in California are six named after Martin Luther King, Jr., three named after Rosa Parks and five named after Cesar Chavez. Those revered leaders would not stand for their names affixed to schools that send more kids to prison than to college. I will not stand for it either.

Our goal should not be to take their names off those schools, but to transform the schools into opportunities for success. Dr. King’s fateful speech, as we all know, painted a picture of equality, a dream. His dream, and ours, was to abolish classrooms made up of children who are held hostage in failing schools simply because of their ZIP codes, or because of the mortgage or rent payment their parents can afford.