Thursday, January 28, 2010

Matsui Announces Sacramento Region to Receive $5 Million Towards Green Innovations — The Rancho Cordova Post

ast week, Congresswoman Doris Matsui announced that Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and local partners will receive $5 million in federal grant funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) for the installation of California’s first ‘Solar Highway,’ a co-digestion facility, and three anaerobic digesters. This funding was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“Today’s project announcement serves as a milestone for those in the Sacramento community who have strived to push our city forward as a clean-tech capital,” said Rep. Matsui. “With the added aid of these federal dollars, local stakeholders are able to progress further in spurring the local economy through investments in clean, green energy alternatives. This is an excellent example of a partnership that will benefit generations of Sacramentans, and Americans, for years to come.”

SMUD is already a leader in renewable energy. The funding will be applied to developing four renewable technologies that push the envelope and provide affordable energy solutions for customers. “The grant allows SMUD to demonstrate the nexus between the efforts of a public power utility and its program partners, to bring vision to reality and value to customers,” said SMUD General Manager & CEO John DiStasio.

The technology of collecting energy from solar panels within the vicinity of the public

Teacher Magazine: Report: Teachers and Policymakers Differ on Effectiveness Measures

Teachers’ views on how instructional effectiveness should be measured, as well as how it could be improved, are not well-aligned with current education policy initiatives, according to a new survey report.

The survey, conducted by Learning Point Associatesand Public Agenda, found that the most popular indicator of instructional effectiveness among classroom educators is student engagement in coursework, with 92 percent of public school teachers surveyed rating it as a “good” or “excellent” measure.

By contrast, only 56 percent of teachers rated student performance on standardized tests as a good or excellent teacher-effectiveness indicator, making it the least popular option. Teachers with less than five years experience were more likely than experienced teachers to be opposed to this approach.

Other indicator options included how much students are learning in comparison with students in other schools (with 72 percent good or excellent rating) and feedback from principals or administrators (71 percent). No single indicator was rated as “excellent” by a majority of the teachers surveyed.

Race to Top fails students | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Race to Top fails students

Funding smaller class sizes improves achievement more than federal program

In the days following Michigan's submission of its Race to the Top application for federal school money, many have been quick to point a finger of blame at the Michigan Education Association for recommending that our locals not sign on to the state's plan.

To be sure, we were as interested as the next in any extra funding our schools could receive. But in the end, the price was just too great -- we could not support a plan that is not in the best interest of our students, especially one crafted with political objectives instead of educational goals and without regard for strategies proven to help struggling schools.

The future of Michigan's students is more important than any negative press.

The real regret, though, is that Race to the Top could have been so much more.

If the program -- and Michigan's part in it -- were truly about raising the achievement of our state's students, it could have done some real good. We could have taken what has already been shown to work and used the federal money to help fund it here. If Michigan were serious about "Racing to the Top," our plan would have looked much different -- and been much more effective.

First, school districts would have been required to reduce class sizes and would have received the funding to support them.

This is no secret -- smaller class size leads to higher student achievement. Major research studies in Tennessee and Wisconsin have shown that not only do students in classrooms with fewer than 18 students outpace their peers in performance, but the results last, with continued benefits throughout their academic careers.

And yet, many students here in Michigan sit in classrooms nearing 40 students, more than double the amount that research has shown to be optimal.

The second key component of a real "Race to the Top" is:

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20100127/OPINION03/1270316/1008/opinion01/Race-to-Top-fails-students#ixzz0dvEGjj4c

Op-Ed Columnist - Kids in Crisis (Behind Bars) - NYTimes.com

We all have blind spots, and I think one of mine — shared by many other Americans, perhaps including you — has to do with prisons.

Over the years, I’ve written many columns about Guantánamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and torture, not to mention the abuses that go on in Chinese and North Korean prisons. But I’ve never written about the horrors that unfold in American prisons — especially juvenile correctional facilities — on a far larger scale than at Guantánamo.
Consider Rodney Hulin Jr., who was a 16-year-old when he was convicted of arson. A first-time offender and a slight figure at 5 feet 2 inches tall and some 125 pounds, he was sent to a men’s prison. There, he was the smallest person around. Within a week, he was raped, according to an account by Human Rights Watch, an advocacy group. The prison doctor ordered an H.I.V. test, since up to one-third of the inmates were H.I.V.-positive.
Rodney asked to be placed in protective custody, but he was denied. His father, Rodney Hulin Sr., picks up the story: “For the next several months, my son was repeatedly beaten by the older inmates, forced to perform oral sex, robbed, and beaten again. ... He could no longer stand to

POLITICO Interview: Arne Duncan - Mike Allen - POLITICO.com

“Inside Obama’s Washington”

A POLITICO Video Series

January 27, 2010

(Recorded January 26, 2010)

Interviewer: MIKE ALLEN, Chief White House Correspondent, POLITICO

Guest: ARNE DUNCAN, United States Secretary of Education

CHAPTER 1

MR. ALLEN: Welcome to POLITICO's video series: "Inside Obama's Washington." I'm Mike Allen, Chief White House Correspondent, and we're here at the Education Department with its leader, Arne Duncan. Mr. Secretary, thank you for having us in.

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Well, thanks for the opportunity. Good to see you.

MR. ALLEN: The President has announced a freeze for a big slice of spending. How's that going to affect education?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Well, education's always been a priority for the President, so we feel very, very good about where we're going to net out. We're always going to make tough choices, and things that aren't working, we're going to stop investing in. But things that are working, we want to continue to push very hard.

MR. ALLEN: And what's an example of something where you believe you can pull back, something that's not working?

SECRETARY DUNCAN: Well, the budget will be forthcoming next week, but there will be a number of things where if we're not seeing the results we want for children, we think we have a moral obligation not to just perpetuate the status quo, but to invest scarce, scarce dollars in those priorities that are really making a difference in students' lives.

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

7 College admissions myths

Here are seven issues about college admissions that Lee Coffin, dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment at Tufts University, calls "myths." He discusses issues such as whether "optional" really means "required," whether colleges check Facebook pages, whether colleges say they will only use the highest admissions test scores but really will look at the worst ones, whether coaches can actually grant school admittance to a desired athlete... and more.

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New, deeper AP program

[This is my Local Living column for Jan. 28, 2010.]

If someone told you the College Board was about to rip apart the SAT and rebuild it, would that excite/surprise/aggravate/frighten you? Me too. It’s about to happen, not to the SAT, but to our nation’s second-most influential test, Advanced Placement, with large consequences for our high schools and colleges.

The AP program has such a tight grip on the school curriculums of suburban areas such as ours that it has come close to inspiring the same fear and consternation as the SAT and ACT. [See my new rankings of all Washington area schools, based on AP and International Baccalaureate test participation, this Monday on this blog and in the Post.]

I think that’s good. AP is better than the SAT or ACT. It is a challenging series of courses in three dozen subjects ending in three-hour exams, independently written and graded with many essay questions, that can earn college credit and encourage thought and analysis. Many experts say AP could be even better, and they are about to have their way.

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One newspaper, two stories

Many of you may have noticed something more than a tad odd Tuesday morning in our coverage of Chancellor Rhee's now immortal commentsto "Fast Company." My story, which appeared on the front of the Metro section, said that Rhee had yet to explain or elaborate, and that there would be no comment until later in the day. My Monday evening blog entry said pretty much the same thing.

The editorial page told a different story. Citing "information released by the chancellor's office on Monday," it said that of the 266 teachers laid off in October, six had served suspensions for corporal punishment, two had been absent without leave on multiple occasions, and one was on administrative leave for allegedly having sex with a student.

So, after asking DCPS about this since Friday--and being promised a response all day Monday--I read the answers in an editorial. Channel 4's Tom Sherwood also had Rhee's explanation on the air Monday.

But it's the disconnect between the editorial page and the news section that I feel requires some kind of explanation. So let me try.

Continue reading this post »

Charter schools win ruling The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper

Charleston's charter schools notched a major legal victory Wednesday in terms of the money and services the school district must provide them, but their fight might not be finished.

A ruling from Circuit Judge Roger Young could mean that millions of dollars would be taken from neighborhood schools and given to charter schools. But some school officials said they still don't think Young answered the crucial question: What should a charter school receive from the district?

The Charleston County School Board plans to hold a special meeting early next week to decide whether to appeal.

At issue is Act 189, a piece of

legislation applicable only to Charleston County. It prohibits the district from denying a charter school anything that is otherwise available to a public school.

The district sued the state on the constitutionality of the law and contended that it was special legislation that conflicts with and supersedes the state's charter school law. Young ruled that the law was valid.

Statewide law calls for charter schools to pay their bills, such as teachers' salaries, rent and transportation, with an amount of money determined by formula; charter schools receive the average of what the district receives per student.

14 Phila. schools eligible for improvement program | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/28/2010

14 Phila. schools eligible for improvement program | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/28/2010:

"Setting the stage for more dramatic change in city classrooms, the Philadelphia School District yesterday announced that 14 chronically low-performing schools are eligible for radical restructuring in the fall.

An undetermined number of the nine elementary, two middle, and three high schools, scattered throughout the city, will open under outside managers, as charters, or as district-run schools with big changes in the school day, staffing, and curriculum.

'We're saying enough is enough,' Benjamin W. Rayer, the district's chief of charter, partnership, and new schools, said at a public announcement of the overhaul plans.

Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said she saw the movement as positive, not punitive.

'This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these school communities to have some say over their destiny,' she said.

But it's hardly the first time an administration has promised sweeping reform for city schools."

L.A. Unified unveils revamped 'report cards' evaluating its schools - latimes.com

L.A. Unified unveils revamped 'report cards' evaluating its schools - latimes.com:

"L.A. Unified unveils revamped 'report cards' evaluating its schools

The new product updates an effort to make school performance more transparent."

L.A. school officials unveiled a more user-friendly school "report card" Wednesday that is more focused on information than public relations. The new product updates an effort that began last year, when Supt. Ramon C. Cortines sought to make school performance more transparent, even when the data revealed disappointing results.

Last year's report cards, however, were difficult to read and had not yet incorporated features such as an annual survey of parents, students and school staff. Officials acknowledged the ongoing need to improve response rates on these surveys at many schools.

The data for high schools include the percentage of ninth-graders who move to the 10th grade -- a key indicator of whether a school is reaching troubled students. That information could be more reliable, in fact, than dropout rates, which remain subject to manipulation. The revised report also includes student proficiency rates for special programs at a school, such as a magnet program. But still missing are proficiency rates for a school once students from higher-scoring special programs are removed from the calculation.

EducationNews.org - Teachers Union Spending Spree

1.28.10 - RiShawn Biddle - What price will Barack Obama and the DNC will pay to keep control of Congress? But for the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and suburban school districts, it may mean at least $27 billion and perhaps, even more.

Teachers Union Spending Spree

What price will Barack Obama and the DNC will pay to keep control of Congress?

As a string of electoral losses put the president and his Democratic majority in Congress on the defensive, they will have to turn to their longstanding allies -- the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers -- to get the money and manpower they need to stave off further losses in November. But given their annoyance with Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for their advocacy of Race to the Top, their help won't come cheap.

For President Barack Obama, Scott Brown's victory over Martha Coakley in the U.S. Senate special election could at the very least lead to a drastically scaled-down version of his healthcare reform plan. But for the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and suburban school districts, it may mean at least $27 billion and perhaps, even more.
Even as Obama proclaims he has listened to voter discontent by freezing some domestic spending, the president made sure to assure teachers unions (along with school districts and the school reform movement) that more federal money would flow into their coffers. This includes his announcement in his State of the Union address of a $4 billion increase in Title I funding as well as another $1.5 billion for the federal Race to the Top school reform effort.

Education, R&D Are Among White House Cyber Czar's Goals - Yahoo! News

Education, R&D Are Among White House Cyber Czar's Goals - Yahoo! News:

"Educating Web users about risks, working better with other governments, and increasing federal support for cybersecurity research and development will be among the top priorities for the new U.S. White House cybersecurity director.

Howard Schmidt, on the job for a week, said Wednesday that one of his goals is to create a national cybersecurity education campaign to help Web users protect themselves. Although Schmidt's focus will primarily be on protecting U.S. government networks, his office will work closely with private groups to educate Web users and businesses about better cybersecurity practices, he said during a speech at the Congressional Internet Caucus' State of the 'Net conference.

Schmidt asked conference attendees for their help in creating a national cybersecurity campaign.

Education is important, he said, but end-users shouldn't bear all the responsibility for protecting their computers. He called for better security at businesses and from vendors that kept tough security decisions away from end-users."

Investment Losses Cause Steep Dip in University Endowments, Study Finds - NYTimes.com

Reflecting the difficult financial environment for higher education, university endowments lost an average of 18.7 percent in the last fiscal year, the worst returns since the Great Depression, according to a study of hundreds of public and private institutions.

The study, by the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund, a nonprofit organization that manages university investments, also found that in the last year, many endowment managers increased the move from traditional fixed-income instruments and stocks into alternative investments like private equity, hedge funds, venture capital and private-equity real estate — all of which performed badly in fiscal 2009.
Unusually, the universities with endowments over $1 billion had the greatest decline, an average of 20.5 percent. Harvard, Yale and Stanford, the wealthiest universities, all lost more than 26 percent of their endowment values.
At the same time, the study found, debt rose, especially at the largest universities, and gifts declined.
The 2009 losses in endowment income come on top of an average loss of 3 percent in fiscal 2008. The three-year average return, which most universities use to determine how much of their assets to spend, was negative 2.5 percent, compared with the five-year average of 2.7 percent, and the 10-year average of 4 percent.

Administration pushes to rework No Child Left Behind law - washingtonpost.com

The Obama administration launched an effort Wednesday to rewrite the No Child Left Behind law, with a proposed increase in federal spending, a pledge to make the Bush-era school reform program more flexible and an appeal to Republicans for bipartisan cooperation.

To grease the legislative wheels, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said, the administration will reserve $1 billion to fund programs that may emerge through a revision of the 2002 law. In addition, he said, President Obama is proposing to raise elementary and secondary education spending by $3 billion in the fiscal year that begins in October.

The 2010 State of the Union Address

President Obama speaks about restoring security for middle class families after a lost decade of declining wages, eroding retirement security and escalating health care and tuition costs. January 27, 2010

The Education Report Smith’s budget cuts proposal, dissected

The Education Report

Smith’s budget cuts proposal, dissected

Some highlights from the Oakland school board discussion on Superintendent Tony Smith’s proposal for cutting $39 million from the general purpose budget. Note: District staff will bring back a report, later, on the “restricted” side of the budget, as well as the impact of the proposed cuts on individual school budgets.

9:05 – Tony Smith: “This is ongoing work and getting clear on what are our priorities … We’re going to keep working on this… Just to be clear, we will keep working on this until we come to board for the vote (in June).”

8:55 – Jumoke Hinton Hodge: “I want to support the direction that this is going in. … Let’s keep going down this road, but I feel comfortable and safe on this particular path.”

8:50 – David Kakishiba: “Upkeep of the facilities has always been the number one complaint we receive as school board members…. I need some degree of confidence that we’re not going in the toilet around our facilities.” Read the rest of this entry »

EducationCEO's Blog What’s best for our kids?

EducationCEO's Blog

What’s best for our kids?

Just as I was thinking about the topic for my next blog, inspiration came from a few places. I have been seriously considering applying to Harvard’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership program for a few reasons. First, the university covers tuition and provides a stipend. Secondly, if you take a close look at all of the people who are ‘allowed’ to shape and change educational policy, a large majority of them are Harvard graduates, whether they hold MBAs or PhDs.

This sends a very clear message. The fact that our president has a Harvard Law degree does not hurt either. Add to that the fact that I have a soon-to-be 15 year-old son. We have had the ‘What do you want to do after high school’ talk several times and I think we will have the extended version over the next few weeks. Here’s the dilemma: If he does decide to go to college, then Harvard is out of the question for me. At least for the next few years. If he decides that he wants to attend a community college instead, then game

The Educated Guess PPIC poll: Tax us to protect K-12 schools

The Educated Guess

PPIC poll: Tax us to protect K-12 schools

Two-thirds of adults surveyed in a Public Policy Institute of California poll say they support higher taxes to maintain funding for K-12 schools. And a full 82 percent, including a majority of Republicans polled, oppose cutting K-12 education to reduce the state budget deficit. No other part of state spending comes close to engendering such support in the poll, which was released Wednesday.
Gov. Schwarzenegger should keep those numbers in mind, because they’ll only go up in coming months, as school districts lay out next year’s severe budget cuts and, in March, when they send out layoff notices to teacher (Read more and comment on this post)

Concern Over Value of Hearing on New York School Closings - NYTimes.com

When state lawmakers voted last summer to renew Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s control over New York City schools, they included a compromise devised to respond to complaints that the public had little opportunity for meaningful input.

Before making decisions, the panel that oversees the system would hold more public hearings and more votes, although the mayor would still appoint a majority of its members.
To some, the first major test of the new system was an exercise in futility.
Despite hundreds of protesters gathered at Brooklyn Technical High School on Tuesday night for a hearing that stretched nearly nine hours, the Panel for Educational Policy voted to accept all of the mayor’s recommendations and close 19 schools for poor performance. All of the members appointed by Mr. Bloomberg voted for the closings.
As the decisions reverberated Wednesday through the hallways of the schools that will begin to close next fall, some students and teachers expressed frustration, anger and exhaustion. Before the vote, many of the schools held rallies, compiled statistics, sponsored petitions and sent students and teachers to testify at the hearing, to no avail.

Give churches space in vacant city schools: They're asking for equal access, nothing more

Give churches space in vacant city schools: They're asking for equal access, nothing more:

"Just before Christmas, I was paging through a newsletter from the Bronx Household of Faith, a small evangelical church that gathers on weekends in a New York City public school.

As I perused it, moved by the words and images, I couldn't help but wonder why the city Education Department has been fighting so doggedly in court, ever since 1996, to exclude this congregation and others from meeting in vacant school buildings on Saturdays and Sundays.

One photo in particular grabbed me: It showed Pastor Robert Hall talking to a homeless man. It was Hall and his co-pastor, Jack Roberts, who started Bronx Household of Faith in 1971, in a poor neighborhood a few subway stops north of Yankee Stadium. They founded the church to demonstrate how the Gospel of Christ could transform a community - reducing crime and drug use, rebuilding families and ultimately benefiting the entire neighborhood."

Mayor Says New York Teachers’ Next Pay Raise Must Be Smaller - NYTimes.com

Breaking a long-established pattern in labor negotiations, MayorMichael R. Bloomberg plans to demand that city teachers agree to a significantly smaller raise in their next contract or face the prospect of 2,500 job cuts.
The threat, which the teachers’ union immediately called unacceptable, promises to be one of the most contentious elements of Mr. Bloomberg’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The mayor is scheduled to deliver his budget address on Thursday, but his office released a few details on Wednesday night.The teachers are in the middle of contract negotiations. Over the last eight years, they have received a cumulative wage increase of 43 percent.
Mr. Bloomberg has long said he does not like to bargain in public. But as he begins his third term, he is adopting a different tactic, and plans to say Thursday that the teachers need to agree to a 2 percent raise for the first $70,000 in salary, or else face downsizing.

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