Elected officials joining UFT lawsuit got campaign contributions from the union - NYPOST.com

Elected officials joining UFT lawsuit got campaign contributions from the union - NYPOST.com:

"Two teachers unions made campaign contributions to nearly all the elected officials who signed on to the UFT's lawsuit challenging the city's plan to close 19 public schools, The Post has learned.

Nine of the 10 state and city politicians who joined the suit -- filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court -- have received a total of $45,000 from the United Federation of Teachers or New York State United Teachers since 2006.

The contributions ranged from a high of $10,750, for state Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) since 2006, to a low of $500, for city Councilman Erik Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) in 2009.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew denied any link between the funds and the officials' backing, calling a suggestion of undue influence 'ridiculous.'

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer -- who got nearly $4,000 and major union support in his 2005 election bid -- also called the notion 'complete nonsense.'"

With Doubts on Crime Data, Questions About Bloomberg Policy - NYTimes.com

With Doubts on Crime Data, Questions About Bloomberg Policy - NYTimes.com

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an engineering major in college, has never been shy about proclaiming an unerring faith in statistics.

He created 311 as a way to collate data, and improve the lives of New Yorkers. He has whipped out education data to justify extending mayoral control, reward star employees and close laggard schools. Rarely does a month go by without Mr. Bloomberg citing data analysis as the marrow not just of his administration, but also of his private-sector career and his philanthropic foundation.

“I’m a great believer in the wisdom I learned in my first Wall Street job: In God we trust,” he said at a philanthropy conference in Atlanta last May. “Everyone else, bring data.”

But what if the data were somehow skewed?

That question has emerged as one of the by-products of a survey conducted by two criminologists that has raised doubts about the integrity of the New York Police Department’s highly regarded crime tracking program, CompStat. Relying on the anonymous responses of hundreds of retired high-ranking police officials, the survey found that tremendous pressure to reduce crime, year after year, prompted some supervisors and precinct commanders to distort crime statistics.

The survey did not address critical issues, like when the manipulation of the data was supposed to have occurred. So it is impossible to ascertain whether much of the skewing might have happened shortly after CompStat was started in 1995 under Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, or whether it may have continued or even worsened since Mr. Bloomberg took office in 2002.

The Educated Guess One spot to shop for free digital texts

The Educated Guess

One spot to shop for free digital texts

Posted in Community Colleges

It’s about to get a lot easier for instructors at community colleges to start using free digital textbooks in their courses. And once they do, the rest of the nation will  follow – eventually.
This week, the Open Educational Resources Center for California went online. The web site will act as a clearinghouse for community college faculty interested in free digital textbooks but  unsure how to use them. They’ll find links to the 450 or so texts now available,  and soon they’ll see peer reviews of many of the titles. The course materials and textbooks are openly licensed or available in the public domain.
(Read more and comment on this post)

Board to hear charter school audit report

Board to hear charter school audit report:

"Lompoc Unified School District administrators have the unenviable duty of being responsible for the financial stability of charter schools inside the district — charter schools like Manzanita, which LUSD has very little control over.

Tonight’s meeting of the LUSD Board of Education will include presentation of Manzanita Public Charter School’s inaugural audit report, detailing the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
Another report, Manzanita’s “First Interim Report,” is also to be presented to the public and to the board at the meeting. The interim report reflects the school’s general ledger through Oct. 31, 2009.

Review of both of the charter school’s documents is “the right and responsibility” of the school district, according to district staff."

School staff says no to charter to safeguard state funds - Pasadena Star-News

School staff says no to charter to safeguard state funds - Pasadena Star-News:

"Staff at Pasadena Unified School District will recommend that the district board reject a petition for an Aveson Charter School in Northwest Pasadena, claiming the school could siphon millions of dollars away from the financially strapped district, Chief Academic Officer Alice Petrossian said Monday.

'We're declining in enrollment and while the district recognizes the importance of education options we don't need a charter school for programs the district already offers,' Petrossian said.

The board will consider the request for an Aveson International School for the Arts tonight.

The proposed school would be the third operated by Aveson Charter School in the Pasadena Unified district borders."

Response: Spread the Financial Aid Around >>

Response: Spread the Financial Aid Around >>:

"Recently, the Acting Director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS), Christopher Shultz, wrote a piece in the New U to clear up some misconceptions about how UCI apportions financial aid. Although recent studies have found that public research universities are shifting their funding priorities from need-based to merit-based grants that are awarded disproportionately to wealthy students, Mr. Shultz claims that the findings are not true of UCI.

Furthermore, the OFAS is actually in a “partnership” with students and our families to make sure that a university education is affordable without undue burdens of work and debt. To take this claim seriously, I’d like to offer to Mr. Shultz several easy ways that the OFAS can indeed be a “partner” to students.

First, provide students with clear statistics. The Shultz article packed several disjointed figures into one paragraph; a whirling mish-mash of numbers that don’t amount to anything. All that was clear was that about one in twelve need-based grants go to students from families in the top 15 percent of the income population. Why are families who can afford a private school education being given need-based aid? Or, why do one-third of merit-based grants go to those same families?"

In pennies and dollars, South Bay schools raise tens of thousands for Haiti - San Jose Mercury News

In pennies and dollars, South Bay schools raise tens of thousands for Haiti - San Jose Mercury News:

"In pennies and dollars, with a few large bills sprinkled in, Silicon Valley schools are rapidly filling a treasure chest to help quake-stricken Haiti.

Within days of the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, South Bay schools were placing donation boxes in classrooms, collecting shoes and planning bake sales. And despite the tightened grip of a recession at home —and the worst financial crisis to hit California education in decades — the total has reached tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.

'Haiti was already a suffering country,' said Los Altos High student Diana Chou, 17, who helped start a fundraiser at her school. 'Regardless of the fact that we're in a recession, it just seemed so much more important to get resources there.'"

ACLU Accuses Professor Of Anti-Gay Preaching | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel

ACLU Accuses Professor Of Anti-Gay Preaching | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel:

"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has advised a public community college in California it must end improper religious-based anti-gay instruction by a staff science professor.
The civil rights group alleges that Professor Dr. Bradley Lopez's introductory health class is more preaching than teaching.

Lopez, who teaches at Fresno City College (FCC), “presents religiously-based and anti-gay views as 'science' or 'fact',” the ACLU said in a statement.

Lopez is accused of giving lectures where he taught that being gay is a “biological misapplication of human sexuality” and said that the “recommended treatment” is “psychological counseling” or “hormone supplements,” presented gay men and lesbians as a threat to society, used Bible passages as “empirical” evidence that life begins at conception, and asserted that abortion is “the leading cause of death in this country.”"

Former CSU authority writes about the ‘people’s university’�|�Daily Titan

Former CSU authority writes about the ‘people’s university’�|�Daily Titan

Don Gwerth, Ph.D. Photo courtesy of Don Gerth

“I have been calling the Cal State University the ‘people’s university’ of California since the 1960s,” said Don Gerth, former president of Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Sacramento.

Gerth recently published “The People’s University: A History of the California State University,” a book tracing the history of Cal State University after friends and family urged him to do so.

Retiring in 2003, Gerth ended his 45-year career but not his love for CSU.

The book covers the long history of the CSU, which dates as far back as 1857 when the CSU began teaching elementary school teachers in San Francisco.

The school then moved to San Jose, where the comprehensive CSU program was created and formally established in the 1960s – making San Jose State University is the oldest university in California.

The book consists of anecdotes from the system’s early faculty, staff and students.

The text is focused on the “Master Plan,” a plan created in 1960 that under-lied the roles of the University of California (UC), CSU and the California Community Colleges (CCC).

“The CSU system focuses on the needs of California and its citizens for an educated populace and universities, which address the civic and economic development of the state,” Gerth said.

Gerth said the CSU system set the standard for higher education nationally and around the world, and is well-respected and often copied. Gerth said that he, with the help of his wife, researched, interviewed and worked with small focus groups for the purpose of his book.

The “Master Plan” is embraced because it provides students the opportunity to choose what educational path is right for them. Gerth said that in the 1930s, California’s public policy recognized the need for a broader access to higher education. “The system as we know it now was created by the Legislature in the 1960s,” Gerth said. The Master Plan was composed of what were then 10 institutions that were united by the creation of the Board of Trustees.

Open Letter to Officials Concerning ASUC - Daily Nexus

Open Letter to Officials Concerning ASUC - Daily Nexus

To Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, UC President Mark Yudof, California Legislators and Regents of the University of California,

This is a call to regulate closed sessions by legislative bodies of the Associated Students of the University of California.

Various California laws express the clear opinion that open meetings are a vital part of democratic government. The Brown Act ensures local governments conduct their business publicly and has included community colleges by an Attorney General opinion in 1992. The Bagley-Keene Act lays out procedures all state agencies — including the UC Regents — must follow in closing a meeting. The Gloria Romero Open Meetings Act applies to the governing councils of all Cal State schools. The only public higher education legislative council in this state unregulated by an open meeting act is ASUC. While existing laws could have been applicable to ASUC, a 1983 Attorney General opinion exempted bodies with powers delegated by the Regents. As a result of this decision, the letter of the law permits our student representatives to conduct business as secretly as they like.

With representatives elected by the students and multi-million dollar budgets of student fees to spend at their discretion, ASUC cannot be described as anything less than a legitimate government. This alone necessitates transparency, but the need for oversight has been compounded by recent incidents. ASUCSB’s Legislative Council has abused the power to eject the public, holding closed meetings for the second consecutive week without offering sufficient rationale for their closure. Regardless of the subject matter of these closed sessions, it is disturbing that the group entrusted with student money and governance has no legal obligation to conduct business openly.

Further allegations have plagued ASUCSB, including the alleged trashing of a rented villa while on a student fee-funded retreat. While the transparency promised on the campaign trail should compel the responsible individuals to admit their mistakes, the public has instead been kept entirely in the dark as ASUCSB members close ranks in an attempt to protect them behind legal procedure and stonewalling. Student demands for accountability can be heard loud and clear — a Facebook group entitled “Hold Associated Students accountable for their actions” garnered almost 1,400 members one day after its creation. In this current budget crisis, students bristle at the idea of ASUC spending 

State bills reintroduced, aim to make CSU and UC records open to public�|�Daily Titan

State bills reintroduced, aim to make CSU and UC records open to public|Daily Titan:

"State Sen. Leland Yee, (D-San Francisco), reintroduced two bills Jan. 5 that will bring greater transparency to the state of California’s public higher-education institutions, require foundation records to be open to public inspection and will also seek to protect whistleblowers in the Cal State University/University of California systems.
According to a press release on the senator’s Web site, the first bill, SB 330, is a reintroduction of SB 218, and if approved, will require campus auxiliary organizations like Associated Students Inc. to be subject to the California Public Records Act, subsequently allowing for more accountability at UC, CSU and community college campuses.
The second bill, SB 650, is a reintroduction of SB 219, and will provide UC and CSU employees who report waste, fraud and abuse, with the same legal protections as other state employees.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both bills SB 218 and SB 219 in October 2009."

Oakland teachers authorize strike | SocialistWorker.org

Oakland teachers authorize strike | SocialistWorker.org:

"MEMBERS OF the Oakland Education Association (OEA) voted by a 94 percent margin to authorize a one-day strike, and by an 89 percent margin to support the March 4 Day of Action against education budget cuts.


The union is in the stage of bargaining called fact-finding, which comes after the two sides reach an impasse. The move to authorize a strike comes after a year and a half of fruitless negotiations with the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). In addition to authorizing a strike, members voted unanimously to oppose the district's 'last, best and final offer.'"

The district's offer is based on the logic that there is no money, and only cuts are on the table. However, a document authored by the OEA's bargaining team proves that there is enough money to settle the contract. The problem is that the district's priorities are testing, corporate consultants and administrators, rather than teacher retention and quality education for students.

Here are a couple examples of spending where the money would be better used to reduce class sizes and pay teachers a competitive salary:

-- The OUSD spends $10 million a year for "benchmark testing" and test prep materials.

-- More than $5 million is paid out to consultants to outsource jobs like professional development and curriculum coaching.

-- The district makes annual payments of $6 million toward its debt to the state of California.

-- Perhaps most outrageous, OUSD pays million-dollar fines to the state for exceeding the 8-to-100 administrator-to-teacher ratio mandated by law.

The district's offer has a pay freeze for the 2009-2010 school year, but re-openers in the 

Obama proposal to change NCLB gets thumbs-up from San Gabriel Valley, Whittier educators - Whittier Daily News

Obama proposal to change NCLB gets thumbs-up from San Gabriel Valley, Whittier educators - Whittier Daily News:

"President Barack Obama's proposal to overhaul the No Child Left Behind Act this year is being roundly praised by San Gabriel Valley and Whittier-area educators, who say they'd welcome a new federal accountability system to measure schools that is based on annual progress.

As it stands now, NCLB sets specific testing targets for math and language arts that rise each year, with the overall goal of having 100 percent of students proficient in those two areas by the 2013-14 school year.

But in his budget plan, Obama proposed judging schools differently, by looking instead at student growth and schools' progress from one year to the next."

Michael Rebell: Educational Budget Cuts: Unconscionable -- and Unconstitutional

Michael Rebell: Educational Budget Cuts: Unconscionable -- and Unconstitutional:

"This past fall California laid off 20,000 teachers, resulting in average class sizes in Los Angeles high schools of 42.5. Teachers in Hawaii were 'furloughed' and classes canceled for 17 straight Fridays, In Illinois, 30,000 children lost preschool services, bilingual education was cut 25 percent and teacher recruitment in hard-to-staff schools was substantially reduced.

And there's worse to come. Even after plugging budget holes with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds -- intended to stimulate innovation and create opportunities for low-income students -- 39 states now report midyear shortfalls and project additional large gaps for FY2011. New York Governor David Paterson has proposed cutting the base budget by $1.4 billion next year."

Proposed oil tax divides education leaders - San Jose Mercury News

Proposed oil tax divides education leaders - San Jose Mercury News:

"An East Bay lawmaker wants to tax oil pumped from the California ground and give the proceeds to colleges and universities, but the proposal has run afoul of the very people it was supposed to help.

Assembly Bill 656 initially would have taxed companies 12.5 percent for oil and gas extracted from the state. The money would have been divided among the three public systems: community colleges, California State University and the University of California.

But the bill's other requirements — including an inequitable division of the money and a mandate that it be spent only on classroom instruction — riled some education officials. The lawmaker advocating the tax, Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, has since gutted the bill, but said he plans to bring back the original proposal soon.

'We didn't have the votes in the Assembly,' Torrico said. 'But we've always treated this bill as part of a larger campaign to raise awareness.'
College and university leaders agree that Tor"

RealClearPolitics - Education & the Fallacy of "Fairness"

RealClearPolitics - Education & the Fallacy of "Fairness":

"A recent flap in a Berkeley high school reveals what a farce 'fairness' can be. Because this is ultra-liberal Berkeley, perhaps we should not be surprised that a proposal has been made to eliminate four jobs as science teachers and use the money saved for programs to help low achievers.

In Berkeley, as in many other communities across the country, black and Latino students are not performing as well as Asian and white students. In fact, the racial gap in academic achievement at Berkeley High School is the highest in California-- no doubt a special source of embarrassment in politically correct Berkeley."

11,000 people respond to Sac City schools online surveys - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

11,000 people respond to Sac City schools online surveys - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee:

"Keeping class sizes small and closing the achievement gap among students seem to be the biggest concerns of parents, students, teachers and community members filling out a pair of surveys about the Sacramento City Unified School District, Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said Monday.

More than 11,000 people had taken the surveys as of last week, including more than 4,200 students. Today is the last day the district will collect answers to the online surveys (available at www.scusd.edu)."

Take Survey Now

Take Survey Now

 

Go to Sacramento City Unified School District Web Site

Sacramento Press / Access Sacramento and Sacramento Music Alliance Help Haiti - Concert & Telethon

Sacramento Press / Access Sacramento and Sacramento Music Alliance Help Haiti - Concert & Telethon:

"Access Sacramento is hosting a 3 hour telethon on Friday February 26 in our TV Studio. We will be putting together crews to tape record three, one-hour programs that will then playback from 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM that same night.

Produced in partnership with the 'Buck-up or Shut Up!' event organized by the Sacramento Music Alliance, our combined efforts will ask local viewers to remember Haiti and ocntinue to donate. The devastating earthquake that killed so many and left so many more families homeless, will take many years to rebuild. Let's not forget them - Haitians of all ages still need our help.
Sacramento musicians are joining together with Access Sacramento to bring this appeal to local viewers. There are three ways to help. Attend - Volunteer - Donate"

Sacramento Press / Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce Installation & Awards Dinner

Sacramento Press / Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce Installation & Awards Dinner

The Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce’s 17thAnnual Installation Dinner was held Feb. 4th at the Sheraton in downtown Sacramento. Over 600 guests enjoyed passionate speeches by guest George Takei and 2010 SACC Honoree, West Sacramento Mayor, Christopher Cabaldon who focused on the power of strong leadership.  


The SACC was honored to present the  2010 awardees: Kaiser Permanente (Corporate Steward Award); Fast Signs of Elk Grove (Small Business Award); Asian Resources (Vu Nguyen Heroism Award) and Megan Franks, Rancho Cordova Marriott (Ambassador of the Year).


 The SACC Installation Dinner is held each February and includes the installation of new Board Members of the Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce.”

Hearts for Haiti | The Education Report

Hearts for Haiti | The Education Report

Hearts for Haiti

By Katy Murphy
Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 1:03 pm in high schools, middle schools, students,teens, the arts.

Kids at Oakland’s Bret Harte Middle School are showing their love this month by raising money for victims of the earthquake in Haiti. So far, they have raised more than $700 for Oxfam, according to teachers at the school. Each heart represents a student’s contribution.

At Oakland School for the Arts, Graciela Olguin and her classmates organized an online art sale to raise money for the American Red Cross’s Haiti relief efforts. They set up this Web site, and generated more than $300 as of late last week.

If your school has undertaken a similar project, tell us about it.