Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Education Week: Blogs

BLOGS

Find these blogs on edweek.org:

Lesli A. Maxwell, who reports on state policy for Education Week, tracks education policy and politics across the 50 states.
(Active January 2010-present)

New! Rick Hess Straight Up

Education policy maven Rick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute think tank offers straight talk on matters of policy, politics, research, and reform.
(Active February 2010-present)

New! Walt Gardner's Reality Check

Walt Gardner taught for 28 years in the Los Angeles Unified School District and was a lecturer in the UCLA Graduate School of Education.
(Active February 2010-present)

Bridging Differences

Leading education thinkers Deborah Meier and Diane Ravitch engage in an ongoing conversation about what matters most for today's students, educators, and policymakers.
(Active February 2007-present)

Curriculum Matters

A wide-ranging forum for discussing school curriculum across the subject areas with Education Week reporters Catherine Gewertz and Erik Robelen.(Active June 2008-present)

Digital Education

Education Week reporters Katie Ash and Kathleen Kennedy Manzo cover tech topics and trends in K-12 education. (Active September 2008-present)

District Dossier

Education Week reporter Dakarai Aarons reports on news and trends in the nation's school districts. (Active August 2009-present)

Inside School Research

Veteran reporter Debra Viadero dissects findings affecting schools and shares news about education research for audiences extending far beyond the Ivory Tower. (Active March 2009-present)

LeaderTalk

The first group blog by school leaders for school leaders, LeaderTalk expresses the voice of the administrator in this era of school reform. (Active December 2008-present)

Learning the Language

Mary Ann Zehr is an assistant editor at Education Week. She tackles difficult policy questions, explores learning innovations, and shares stories about different cultural groups on her beat. (Active February 2007-present)

On Special Education

Education Week's Christina A. Samuels tracks news and trends of interest to the special education community, including administrators, teachers, and parents. Former Education Weekspecial education reporter Lisa Fine (pictured) is guest-blogging while Christina is on leave for the 2009-10 academic year. (Active January 2008-present)

Politics K-12

Michele McNeil and Alyson Klein provide regular coverage of political developments that affect education at the federal and state levels.(Active September 2007-present)

The School Law Blog

News and analysis on legal developments affecting schools, educators, and parents, written by Mark Walsh, contributing writer to Education Week, who has been covering legal issues in education for more than 17 years. (Active January 2008-present)

Teacher Beat

Stephen Sawchuk comes to the teacher beat at Education Weekafter covering federal education policy. (Active August 2008-present)

Why Boys Fail

Richard Whitmire, a former editorial writer at USA Today and president of the National Education Writers Association, is a frequent commentator on national education issues. (Active January 2010-present)

Schools Matter: Gates Revives Tuckerism, the Plan to Make Senior High School for Elites Only

Gates Revives Tuckerism, the Plan to Make Senior High School for Elites Only

In 2006 dweeb oligarch, Bill Gates, funded the writing of a plan to undercut American public high schools and to create an outlet for working class students to test out of high school and into a voc ed after 9th or 10th grade. The plan was called "Tougher Choices for Tougher Times," and it offered a vision of high school as contract charter schools that are funded at the state level without local input or oversight. Here is a review of Tuckerism by EPI, and here is part of a post from last year on how the plan was moving forward, all the help of the prostitutes who run the NEA:

Did I say something about union sellouts earlier today? Bracey just posted at ARN the Ed Week link below that announces the NEA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers have split the spoils from the corporate charter school blitzkrieg that is now being

Sacramento Press / Welcome Back Springtime on the Farm

Springtime will soon be in the air and you and your family are invited to get take a break from the 9 to 5 and city life to experience the awakening of life. The Center For Land-Based Learning at the Farm on Putah Creek is hosting Welcome Back Springtime at the Farm on Putah Creek Sunday March 28, 2010 from 10:00am – 4:00pm.

The Center For Land-Based Learning is a non-profit whose stated mission is to “engage youth in learning experiences on the land that foster respect for the critical interplay of agriculture, nature and society.”

Under the leadership of Mary Kimball, Executive Director, the Center uses a network of farms, ranches, and natural ecosystems as educational laboratories for inner city, suburban and rural high school students. The staff of educators, Land-Based Learning Graduates, and working farmers imparts an appreciation for where food comes from and knowledge about environmental stewardship. Connecting students to their own communities while developing leadership skills and the ability to work cooperatively in diverse groups are just a few benefits students experience while in the program. In the end, the development of future farmers, environmentalists, and caretakers of our earth and its resources is the true goal of this important organization.

Springtime is a wonderful time to experience everything the Farm on Putah Creek has to offer you and your family. There are miles of

Sacramento Press / Day at the Museum: Come Celebrate, Honor and Meet California’s Remarkable Women—All Day Long

On Thursday, March 4th, California First Lady Maria Shriver and The Women’s Conference are partnering with The California Museum to celebrate National Women’s History Month with an extraordinary all-day free event – Day at The Museum. The California Museum will be open for a free day of education, inspiration and empowerment.

Plus, we'll have a number of special guests including astronaut Sally Ride, environmental activist Erin Brockovich, and Iron Chef Cat Cora. It's going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

(This is a great opportunity for all those who have been unable to make it to The Women's Conference in Long Beach. Tickets sell out fast, the trip is a bit of a committment from Sacramento, etc. But, the event is here! In downtown Sacramento! A free open house version of The Women's Conference is AMAZING in my book.)

All are invited to drop in at any time during the day and to bring friends, family and colleagues. You - women, sisters, mothers, girlfriends, and men (yes, men can come too!) - will have an opportunity to meet and be inspired by the many remarkable women who have shaped – and are continuing to shape – our state through arts, sports, public service, business, literature, cuisine and philanthropy.

The event will begin early with an old fashioned Meet-and-Greet over coffee, as attendees will have the opportunity to meet California's women elected officials. Included in some of those officials are Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass and SF District Attorney Kamala Harris.

Full Circle Fund’s Rx for schools The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

Members of the Full Circle Fund, a Bay Area philanthropy made up of socially active leaders and entrepreneurs, has joined the call for giving school districts more autonomy and taxing authority.

Granting local voters the power to pass a limited surcharge of the property tax rate is one policy recommendation of “EACH: A Vision for California’s Future.”The 11-page policy platform is the product of nine months of work by the 60-member Education Circle, one of four study groups within the Full Circle Fund.
A property surcharge would directly challenge of the limits imposed by Proposition 13. It also could create equity problems – and likely lead to a lawsuit – since rich communities would more readily pass such a measure. So the Education Circle also urges establishing a state matching fund as an incentive for low-wealth communities to raise revenue. The platform also urges bringing up California’s level of funding to the “national norm” and includes a useful graph that compares states’ per student spending relative to its teachers’ salaries.
(Read more and comment on this post)

‘Strong mayor’ plan for California’s Capital City weakens, withers under scrutiny, is withdrawn | California Progress Report

‘Strong mayor’ plan for California’s Capital City weakens, withers under scrutiny, is withdrawn

By Dan Aiello
California Progress Report

Sacramento’s new mayor has abandoned for now his effort to put a measure on the June ballot asking voters for more power, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Former NBA star Kevin Johnson first proposed as candidate revising the city’s charter to replace Sacramento’s council form of government with one where the mayor is granted the authority to hire and fire city employees, issue executive orders and hold veto power over legislation.

The 'strong-mayor' initiative, if mere political strategy, effectively diffused the issue of candidate Johnson's lack of experience - since neither he nor his two-term opponent were experienced with 'strong mayors' government - while implying by default that no mayor before him, including his opponent, had been any of the litany list of words voters associated with 'strong.'

As true governance reform, however, Johnson's dream initiative

Happy Birthday Stimulus! Now, What's Next? - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Happy Birthday Stimulus! Now, What's Next?

By Michele McNeil on February 17, 2010 11:43 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Today is the one-year anniversary of the economic stimulus package, which infused an unprecedented $100 billion in new federal aid into education. To me, the biggest effect so far has been how it saved states from making scary-deep, Draconian cuts to K-12 budgets. It remains to be seen how much impact the stimulus will have on Race to the Top-style reforms.

Rather than looking back, or celebrating the birthday, as countless others are doing in statement after statement, I want to look ahead and examine the biggest question marks out there as we go into the stimulus package's second and final year. Here's what makes my list:

Who will win Race to the Top?
How gutsy will the Department be in holding winning states accountablefor their Race to the Top promises, especially as states face increasing budget pressure and become desperate for more money to plug budget holes?
When you're talking about $100 billion in education aid, including some high-profile competitions (e.g. Race to the Top), there's bound to be a scandal. What will it be? And how good will the Department of Education, which has been fairly deft at managing communications crises, handle said scandal?
As Secretary Duncan, via the stimulus package, tries to force states and school districts to embrace merit pay--and knowing that changing how we evaluate teachers is very difficult work--will

Cortines' Scholastic entanglement - latimes.com

Cortines' Scholastic entanglement - latimes.com:

"L.A. Unified's superintendent needs to give up his paid position with Scholastic Inc."

The chief of the Los Angeles Unified School District should not be in the employ of a major outside vendor for his schools. It's that simple. Supt. Ramon C. Cortines must relinquish his position with Scholastic Inc., and the school board should apply any pressure needed to make that happen.

Cortines has served for 15 years on the board of the publishing company, according to a recent report by Times staff writer Howard Blume. Since coming to work for the district in 2008, Cortines has earned more than $150,000 a year for serving on the board, while Scholastic has made $5.2 million in contracts with the district as its main supplier of reading intervention curricula.

No one should need a primer on why this is a disturbing situation. The reaction of school board President Monica Garcia -- "I don't know what is interesting here" -- is dismaying. Here's one thing we find interesting: The head of L.A. Unified -- a district with abysmal reading scores -- cannot involve himself in key decisions about reading intervention contracts for which Scholastic is competing.

Nor does it remove the conflict for Cortines to distance himself from the process. The people who make the contract decisions obviously want to please their superintendent. Cortines might not care whether they pick Scholastic, but how is the staff to be sure? It may seem to those making the decision that the safest bet is to pick the company with which their boss is entangled.

That's not to impugn Cortines' integrity or the quality of Scholastic's products. (How could we not like the publisher that brought "Harry Potter" to America?) But the superintendent certainly should have made his connection with Scholastic clear in a very public way before accepting the job. Former board President Marlene Canter told Blume the board never examined Cortines' outside employment when it appointed him

L.A. schools chief Cortines calls for unity amid crisis and a culture of no excuses | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

L.A. schools chief Cortines calls for unity amid crisis and a culture of no excuses | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times:

"Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Ramon C. Cortines on Tuesday accentuated the positive amid dire financial realities in his first “state of the district” address before students, parents, school officials and dignitaries at Belmont High.

He chose the Belmont campus, west of downtown, because of the school’s steep rise in academic performance, but also spoke of the need to do better still, saying that only 52% of district students graduate in four years.

Cortines cited a looming $640-million budget deficit as a prime reason that warring district factions must work together.

“Too many times we focus on blaming each for not achieving our goals,” he said. “We point fingers at our students…administrators and our parents. And that has got to stop.”

Even in difficult financial times reforms will continue, he said, citing such efforts as the hard-fought competition between groups inside and outside the district to control 30 campuses. The bidding frequently has pitted teachers from traditional schools (which operate under union contracts) against independently operated -- and mostly nonunion -- charter schools."

Plugged-in generation multi-tasking big time - baltimoresun.com

Plugged-in generation multi-tasking big time - baltimoresun.com:

"Sixteen-year-old Arnold James has a hard time picturing life without his cell phone.

'It would probably be like drug addicts feel when they're getting off of drugs,' says the Wilde Lake High School student, who often uses his phone during school hours. 'Sometimes your cell phone is a relief from the busy-ness at school and all the assignments.'

American youngsters such as James are now using cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices for an average of 7 1/2 hours daily - more than the equivalent of a full day of school, according to a recent national study tracking entertainment media habits.

The Kaiser Family Foundation study found that children spend so much time multi-tasking - texting, sending and reading e-mail, watching videos and playing video games - that they actually pack nearly 11 hours of activity into 7 1/2 hours.

The Kaiser findings speak volumes about how accessible and widespread electronic gadgets are among young people, and how, often in the absence of strict parental supervision, they're redefining modes"

Citing conscience, Wake schools chief resigns - Local - NewsObserver.com

Citing conscience, Wake schools chief resigns - Local - NewsObserver.com:

"RALEIGH -- In already turbulent times for Wake County schools, Superintendent Del Burns abruptly resigned Tuesday, declaring that he could no longer 'in good conscience' work for the system he has served for decades.

That means the new Wake County school board majority, which has pledged to revamp the district and undo several of Burns' initiatives, faces another major hurdle: finding a new chief of day-to-day operations.

At the start of a school board meeting, Burns, 56, revealed his decision to resign. He had not given members prior notice.

Board member Anne McLaurin said she could understand why Burns would leave, considering"

This Week In Education: Media: More Reporters Join Twitter

Media: More Reporters Join Twitter

Looking for education reporters to follow (or bother) on Twitter? Here are a few recent entrants -- maybe you know others:

@BeachEdReporter: Lauren Roth Virginia Beach Education Reporter The Virginian-Pilot

@cathgrimes: Cathy Grimes Education team leader The Daily Press, Newport News, Va.

@dorieturner: Dorie Turner The Associated Press Atlanta Georgia

@davidmckay41: David McKay Wilson Freelance

@reporterdmurray: Dave Murray Grand Rapids Press

@JasonWermers: Jason Wermers The Item Sumter, SC

@WatchdogDiva: McNelly Torres Independent Investigative Journalist

@SarahCarrtp: Sarah Carp Times Picayune

There's also that massive but now outdated list of 100+ ed reporters on Twitter from last summer, which you can find here.

The Quick and the Ed

The Quick and the Ed
February 17, 2010

Student Loan Debt Collector Irony

The Sallie Mae agent trying to collect on defaulted loans held by college borrowers doesn’t need a college degree. See here and here. It’s worth keeping in mind when considering the jobs saved by preventing student loan reform versus the ones that could be obtained by the roughly one million additional students receiving an expanded Pell Grant.

Local Control?

In explaining why San Diego opted out of the state’s bid for $700 million in federal Race to the Top money, Richard Barrera, the school board president, said this:

“It’s a bad idea for folks in Sacramento to make education decisions in San Diego.”

In Fiscal Year 2007, the most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics, San Diego Unified School District received 47 percent of its revenues from the state government (Sacramento) compared to 44 percent coming from local (San Diego) taxes.

Posted by Chad Aldeman at 10:31 am | Tags: Local Control, San Diego, School Funding | No Comments

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