Thursday, February 4, 2010

Democrats for Education Reform: UCLA Civil Rights Projec

Democrats for Education Reform released the following statement on the newly released Civil Rights Project report on charter schools:
"The UCLA Civil Rights Project seemingly wants to block minority parents from choosing to enroll their children in better schools simply because it feels those schools aren't white enough. What's up with that?"

PTA Takes Action: Public Policy

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President’s Education Budget Eliminates Sole Federal Parent Engagement Program

On February 1, 2010, the Obama Administration released its FY 2011 Budget Request, which included an unprecedented $3 billion increase for education. While PTA applauds the historic investment in education, we are greatly concerned about the consolidation and proposed elimination of the Parental Information and Resource Centers (PIRCs). There is at least one PIRC in every state and territory. This program elimination affects all PTAs and parents. Under this consolidation, the sole funding stream for family engagement would be redirected to charter schools. Placing PIRCs under this fund means that there is no longer a dedicated funding stream for family engagement and PIRCs will not be able reach all families with children in public schools.

Elimination of PIRCs negatively impacts PTAs, schools and parents.

Why PIRCs matter:

They provide schools and districts with tools to effectively partner with parents.
They empower parents to advocate for their children and school reform.
They provide training and professional development on effective family engagement to districts and school staff.
They collaborate with state PTAs to engage all public school parents in their children's education.
They train family engagement coordinators in schools.
They convene parent leadership academies to equip parents with skills needed to help their children to succeed.

Annually, PIRCs served over 16.4 million parents by connecting them to their schools to improve their child's education. Parents need PIRCs. You can help! Please urge the Obama Administration, both of your Senators and Representative not to eliminate PIRCs.

Take Action

1	COMPOSE MESSAGE

Message Recipients:

Barack Obama (D), President

Your U.S. Senators

Your U.S. House Representative

Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, Secretary

Delivery Method:

Printed Letter

How to Address Corporate Political Spending After Conservative Supreme Court Ruling

In Citizens United v. FEC, the Supreme Court late last month ruled that corporations are permitted to spend unlimited amounts of money on independent political advertising in U.S. elections. While conservatives and libertarians are cheering the ruling as a victory for free speech, many progressives are warning of a coming flood of corporate money buying elections, and pushing for a legislative response.

The Court’s ruling is simple: Laws that prohibit corporations from buying political advertising, simply because they are corporations, violate the First Amendment. Hence, the63-year-old law prohibiting corporations from making “independent expenditures” expressly advocating the election or defeat of a federal candidate, as well as the prohibition of corporate “electioneering communications,” enacted by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, were struck down.

Corporations are now permitted to spend as much as they want to say whatever they want about candidates, at any time and in any medium, provided they do not coordinate their efforts with a candidate. The Court’s holding applies with equal force to the mirror-image laws that had limited the electoral spending of labor unions.

Because the Supreme Court has the final word on whether a law violates the Constitution, Congress cannot simply undo Citizens United. Only a future Supreme Court, or a new constitutional amendment, can take political speech rights back from corporations. It is difficult to predict how much of an effect Citizens United

Spoonful of Sugar: An Equity Fund for ESEA Title I, Part A

Download this memo (pdf)

Report: Bitter Pill, Better Formula: Toward a Single, Fair, and Equitable Formula for ESEA Title I, Part A

Interactive Graphic: Title I Education Spending

It’s never easy for Congress to revise the way a popular federal program is funded, but sometimes a “formula fight” is inevitable. This may be the case for Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act—also called Title I-A—which is already overdue for reauthorization. Some actors may relish a fight for its own sake, but there are constructive reasons for Congress to revisit the way Title I-A funds flow. Appropriations for Title I-A have grown by more than 60 percent in real terms since Congress last tackled this challenge in 1994, well before any accountability system tied the use of Title I-A funds to expectations, results, and consequences. It seems right and prudent to consider evidence that the program is shortchanging some schools before making further investments in it.

Current allocation patterns are hard to reconcile with the purpose of the program: to enhance the educational experience for children living in areas of concentrated poverty. Consider, for example, South Carolina’s Greenville County School District, which received $1,700 per low-income child served for fiscal year 2009, while its Calhoun County School District received only $1,266 per low-income child. Calhoun serves a higher concentration of low-income students than Greenville, so it seems clear that the four formulas currently driving Title I-A funds could better target school districts serving concentrations of low-income students. This example illustrates the formulas’ bias against small school districts. Other examples also show a bias toward wealthy states, especially those spending a relatively modest fraction of public revenue on elementary and secondary education.

"The Future Is Now" In Education Advertising - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

The following two video ads are not paid ads, nor are they endorsements of any sort. Also, The Daily Riff has no affiliation with these companies. With that being said, the commercials are good:

The first one- minute video below is from Kaplan University (a Washington Post Company and also related to the Kaplan test-prep business). What we liked was its relevance and its "the future is now" message. We saw a Kaplan ad during "Meet The Press" this weekend.

The second one-minute video below is by the New Zealand Lottery . . . just fun.
Reminds me how much I like the Kiwis (been there and is a great country).

The DC VOICE Ostrich: Community Schools Lead to Better Quality Teaching in the Classroom

Community Schools Lead to Better Quality Teaching in the Classroom

| author: The DC VOICE Ostrich

Recently, DC VOICE had a long conversation with a DCPS elementary school teacher, who by all indicators is a high quality teacher. It was a very interesting conversation, and it got us thinking. We started by asking our usual questions concerning how reform has affected schools’ operations and quality of instruction. This time here’s how the answers came back:

Did you get your books and supplies on time? Check.

Class size manageable? Check.

Building repaired? Check.

Administrative and instructional support? Yes.

Sooo…what do you need to improve the quality of your instruction?

Answer: Teachers need a range of supports for the non-academic needs of children: health care, mental health counseling, family supports. High teacher quality will not result in highly effective learning in the classroom, if these other needs are not met.

The solution to the problems that can’t be fixed with more books, spackle, and infinite professional development: community schools. How do community schools improve the quality of teaching? These are schools that have extended their hours and offer multiple services, not just to their students but to families as well. A well implemented community school model directly supports the learning process and helps make classrooms a high quality environment for both students and teachers. By partnering with one or more organizations and agencies that provide medical or social services, the community school can nurture a student’s development holistically. That can mean scheduling an eye exam for

Yale Plans Staff and Research Cuts to Close $150 Million Gap - NYTimes.com

Yale University announced on Wednesday that it planned a number of steps to close a remaining $150 million budget gap, including cutting staff, freezing salaries for deans and officers, reducing the number of graduate students — even turning down all thermostats to 68 degrees.

In a memo to the faculty and staff,Richard C. Levin, Yale’s president, and Peter Salovey, its provost, said the measures were necessary because of the drop in the endowment to $16.3 billion last June from its peak of $22.9 billion in June 2008.

“Actions taken last year eliminated more than half of the total deficit, but, as we communicated in the fall, a substantial gap of nearly $150 million remained as of last September,” they wrote. “This gap needs to be closed for the next and subsequent years.”

The memo did not specify how many staff positions would be eliminated. Last year, 100 employees, out of a work force of 9,200, were laid off because of similar financial pressures, and several hundred more positions were eliminated through attrition, said Tom Conroy, a Yale spokesman. Those cuts did not affect faculty positions; nor will the current round.

Laura Smith, president of Local 34 of the Federation of University Employees, which represents 3,400 clerical and technical workers at Yale, said the union would try to blunt the impact of any cuts on its members. “It’s disappointing over all that the university feels it has to do more cuts,” she said, noting that the union and Yale had reached agreement last April on a new contract with strong job security, eight months ahead of schedule.

Education | King County judge rules that state isn't providing ample money for schools | Seattle Times Newspaper

A coalition of parents, school districts and teachers has won its argument in King County Superior Court that the state is not providing ample funding for public schools.

King County Superior Court Judge John Erlick presided over a two-month trial that started last September. The case is the biggest lawsuit over school financing in three decades, and most expect that however Erlick were to rule, it will be appealed.

"I think this decision is just the beginning of the conversation," said University of Washington Associate Professor Marge Plecki, an expert in school finance issues.

The plaintiffs sued because they think the Legislature has failed to live up to its duty, under the state Constitution, to provide ample funding for public education, leaving districts struggling to fill the gap with local levies, grants and other means.

Washington's Constitution says the state has a "paramount duty" to make "ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders."

Few — if any — other states are charged with giving education such a high priority. However, Washington ranks 42nd in the nation in per-pupil spending.

The state's attorneys argued that the state is living up to its Constitutional duty and that it's up to the Legislature, not the courts, to determine what's ample when it comes to education.

They also say that the lawsuit is moot because state lawmakers agreed last year to expand state support for public schools, and pledged to add more than $1 billion to the state education budget by 2018.

Eduflack: Finding Value in The Flat World and Education

Eduflack: Finding Value in The Flat World and Education:

"This week's Presidential budget is further raising attention on pressing education issues such as teacher quality, closing the achievement gap, and ensuring our communities have the systems in place to drive the levels of improvement we are so desperately thinking. With all of the rhetoric, both this week and in recent years, we seem to be focusing on promising ideas without necessarily looking for the research, evidence, proof, and data that should be separating the good ideas from the great ideas.

While Eduflack seems to spend a great deal of my time talking and opining, every so often I do find the time to actually read and learn from others. And even more infrequently, I actually find what I read to be of the sort of import that I want to make sure others are aware of it, positioning the latest book or article so it is influencing the current policy discussions. Today is such a day. The book is 'The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity WIll Determine Our Future.' And The Flat World and Education is brought to us by dear Eduflack friend Linda Darling-Hammond (who really needs no introduction)."

The Educated Guess: Report: rescind most mandated programs

The Educated Guess
Report: rescind most mandated programs
Tags: exit exam, LAO, mandates
Posted in State Budget

Recognizing schools’ financial plight, the Legislature and Gov. Schwarzenegger have given districts considerable latitude over how they can spend money for 40 programs known as categoricals. They include important programs: summer school, teacher training and textbook purchases

But when it comes to dozens of smaller, mandated programs – many unneeded – the governor and legislators have been devious. They have either allotted a token amount in the budget, creating IOUs now totaling more than $3 billion, or they have suspended the mandates year by year, creating headaches and confusion for local districts.
In a report issued this week, Education Mandates: Overhauling a Broken System, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, says, Enough. Eliminate dozens of the 51 mandated programs that are not critical, start paying back the money owed districts, and clarify the reimbursement system for ones that should be kept, such as expenditures related to the high school exit exam expenditures. Doing so would save the state more than $350 million yearly, the LAO said.
(Read more and comment on this post)

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

Thanks to everyone who turned out for our fifth anniversary last night -- it was a blast! It's an honor to be part of something like VOSD. Now for the newsblitz:

We blog that a demoted Sweetwater schools official could run for school board. We also give you a rundown of how much the candidates have raised and spent on another school board race. And we report that Shelia Jackson won't run for county supervisor.
Also in our blog: How does teacher pay in San Diego compare to elsewhere? And bits that got left on the cutting room floor from my story on counseling.
The Union-Tribune reports that students at Southwestern College are worried about their school going on probation.

Elk Grove Citizen : Elk Grove native is guest at State of the Union address

Elk Grove Citizen : News

Julia Frost is a former U.S. Marine who dreams of becoming an elementary school teacher. She is using her G.I. Bill funds to study at a North Carolina community college through a program that aids military families seeking a higher education.

All of these facts impressed Dr. Jill Biden enough to meet Frost and later invite her to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol.

The Elk Grove native sat next to the vice president’s wife during the speech delivered on Jan. 27.

“It was amazing for the lack of a better word,” Frost said during a telephone interview the day after the address. “I was just absolutely honored that (Biden) wanted me of all the people there and of all the community college students in the nation.”
She clapped during points of Obama’s speech along with her fellow V.I.P. guests, citing military courtesy.

“You stand and clap if the person above you stands and claps, unless you’re one of the big

The Educated Reporter And you mean what?

The Educated Reporter

And you mean what?There is so much rhetorical sloppiness swirling around NCLB right now, it is impossible to know what anyone is talking about. Duncan complains that the current law is too prescriptive, but comments indicate new approaches that are even moreso. He calls 100 percent proficiency a utopian goal but wants to replace it with what he says is a higher bar: career and college readiness. How to judge that students are college-ready if not by giving them a test and seeing if 100 percent pass it? You’re awarded money if you make progress, and money if you’re failing. Joanne Jacobs sums some of it up.

What I take out of all the pieces written in the last week is that—aside from a growth model, which we all knew was coming—we really have no idea what

A new teacher, a new strength | The Education Report

A new teacher, a new strength

By dadiletta
Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 8:02 am in Dan Adiletta, middle schools.

As I get closer to my colleagues in my school, my district and in my department, I’m finding tremendous strength. I went to my professional development on Monday beleaguered—still with a box full of papers to grade. I’m stressed about my school closing, my shaky financial situation and how to manage my troubled students while increasing the academic rigor.

I’m not the only one. In fact, I found myself in a room heavy with worn faces. In that shared burden there was camaraderie, albeit in an exhausted form.

There’s a bond, too, among the history teachers. We met today to score the essays from the district assessment. This was an in-depth project that challenged students to interpret primary sources and form an evidence-supported argument. It’s the product of a department with very few resources but a determination to measure and push for further gains. We talked about the most important elements of history and how to best have children connect to it. Add to that the shared classroom strategies and now I’m excited for work tomorrow to start rolling out the second semester line-up.

Within my school st

Ignoring violations, parents want to keep a charter school open | GothamSchools

Ignoring violations, parents want to keep a charter school open | GothamSchools:

"Parents and students at an East New York charter school are pleading with the Department of Education to keep their school open after an investigation found that the school had violated its charter and its principal was expelling high-needs students.

Charter schools are rarely closed in New York City, but when they are it can inspire as much anger and confusion as the shuttering of a traditional public school. At a hearing at East New York Preparatory on Wednesday night, about 100 parents filled the auditorium to ask questions of DOE officials and speak out against the school’s proposed closure. Its embattled principal Sheila Joseph might have broken a few rules, they said, but in a high-crime, high-poverty neighborhood, a seat in her school was the only way out.

“In this community there aren’t many options for these kids,” said Leon Smillie, the father of a second grader. “This is a good option.”"

Schools Matter: The Fast Track to Resegregation: Corporate Charter Schools

Twenty years ago educators believed charter schools could be hothouses of pedagogical innovation outside the normal confines of public education. As with many other good ideas aimed at encouraging diversity of thought, corporate America appropriated the charter school movement as their own and even advertised louder about innovation and letting a thousand flowers bloom. By the end of the Bush reign, however, the charter movement had established a major beachhead with over 4000 schools in 40 states, mostly in urban America. And so by the time Duncan had been anointed by Eli Broad as Secretary, it was time to kill most of the thousand flowers and to scale up the penal pedagogy model based on total compliance that uses unlicensed and unqualified teachers to drill math and reading test prep in schools without libraries or real curriculums. Containment schools based on total compliance and psychological neutering that no parent in the leafy suburbs would dare send their children to.
According to Duncan, "This is not let a thousand flowers bloom. We only let the best of the best open schools. It should be a very rigorous, competitive process. The chance to educate our children is really a sacred obligation." Yet according to the only national

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