Monday, March 22, 2010

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Mar. 22

Submitted by Erika Owens on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 09:37 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

District's South Philly High story unravels The Notebook blog
Helen Gym wrote about "relentless pattern of school and District misrepresentation."

Phila. principals to work 12 months under new pactThe Inquirer
In 100 high-need schools principals will be required to work 12 months rather than 10, and will receive a 20 percent pay increase for doing so.

Finally, a detailed guide to school budgets The Notebook blog
The guide explains how funds are allocated to schools.

Power play: Parent group has big fans Daily News
Profile of the recently formed Parent Power group of concerned parents and guardians in the District.

Natl. science ed. conference: Friday The Notebook blog
Science teacher Timothy Boyle gave daily updates about the National Science Teachers Association conference in Philly this weekend.

See also: Natl. science ed. conference: Saturday The Notebook blog

Another Modest Proposal A Good Day Teaching blog
Teacher blogger Kristin Luebbert shared a suggestion she saw on another blog: treat police officers in high crime areas like teachers in high need schools. Fire them all and only rehire a max of 50%.

Two Pa. Senators Critical of Waiving School Snow Days KYW

Oprah to defend herself in school suit New York Post

District Narrows Superintendent Search WFMZ-TV Allentown

Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.

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Notes from the news

New Health Care Reform Resources | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

New Health Care Reform Resources

Posted at 7:04 am under health

Several new resources came online this morning about health care reform, and I’ve added them to The Best Online Resources For Learning About Health Care Reform:

FACTBOX-US healthcare bill would provide immediate benefits is from

From the Vault: December 16, 1996 | Intercepts

From the Vault: December 16, 1996

Here is the EIA Communiqué for December 16, 1996. I’ve added a couple of embedded links to supporting documentation.

The following information came from the latest NEA Board of Directors meeting, held on Friday and Saturday, December 13-14:

Media. On Thursday, Dec. 12, NEA headquarters staff provided a training session on how to deal with the media. Emphasis was placed on dealing with issues raised on talk radio. Directors were instructed to circulate a list of tips to their locals that included NEA’s standard arguments against vouchers, parental rights, etc. The tips should show up at state affiliate meetings next month.

Election post-mortem. Since this was the first board meeting since the November elections, a briefing was conducted by NEA’s Governmental Relations staff. Of the 322 House candidates recommended by NEA, 198 won — a 61 percent rate. Thirteen of 29 recommended Senate candidates won — a 45 percent rate. An NEA-conducted poll found that 64 percent of respondents felt NEA had gotten its message across effectively.

1997 agenda. NEA will link its agenda to the education issues Americans support: children’s health and safety; preparing students for the jobs of the future; and strengthening public education. Expect NEA’s advertising, editorials and advocacy to incorporate any or all of

NCLB: What Next For The Duncan Blueprint? This Week In Education

This Week In Education

Update: Latest News, Links, & Tidbits

Tidbits and links often show up on Twitter before they make it to the blogosphere. So you should take a peek at my Twitter updates here if you want to know what's going on behind the scenes. Or ignore this and keep reading.

Photo: Duncan In Denver

In Denver for a fundraiser for US Senator Michael Bennet, EdSec Duncan stopped by at a Denver school.

NCLB: What Next For The Duncan Blueprint?

There's still no in-depth analysis of the Duncan blueprint out there though I know a few folks are working on producing one. (As often happens, things fell off sharply after the first day coverage and the reaction and process stories.) I am hoping someone will do a side by side with current law or a comparison with the Miller discussion draft from two years ago. But there are a couple of things worth noting in the meantime. Four points and some questions at the end:

1-Putting out the blueprint makes this an official Obama priority but also could mean there's a little less buy-in from the Committee chairs (at least until they put out a chairman's mark if that's what happens next). Far as the Hill is concerned, this is still Obama's bill to sell, not theirs.

2-Remember that the blueprint was put together by a Duncan team made up in large part of former

Schools Matter: Will Resegregationist Republicans Kill Diversity in Wake County Tomorrow?

Will Resegregationist Republicans Kill Diversity in Wake County Tomorrow?

from Schools Matter by Jim Horn

In September 2007, thousands marched in Jena, Louisiana against nooses hung in trees and the racist treatment of students who had the audacity to react to such threats. Now a much bigger noose looms in Wake County, NC as five Republican members of the nine-member Board of Education cast a final vote on whether they will strangle the integrated school lives of Wake County's children, thus returning the consolidated school system to an era of separate and unequal.

Where will the marchers be tomorrow? How strong will the public voices be heard at this ridiculous indignity sponsored by the racist fringe Party of hate-filled thugs? Will Wake County citizens allow this vote to go forward? Will they vote to recall the Board President and have new elections? Where does the majority of Wake County citizens stand on this issue that threatens the moral and economic future of Raleigh and Wake County?

From the News Observer:

Wake urged to save 'a jewel'

National Journal Online -- Education Experts

Sizing Up The New Blueprint

The Obama administration received mixed reviews last week when it unveiled the blueprint for its upcoming rewrite of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind law. Lawmakers gave Education Secretary Arne Duncan a largely warm reception when he testified before Congress, and many stakeholders were pleased the process is moving forward. But both of the nation's largest teachers unions were disappointed. "What excited educators about President Obama's hopes and vision for education on the campaign trail has not made its way into this blueprint," Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement. Notably, the proposal lacks specifics about college- and-

Historic vote for community colleges, too The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

Historic vote for community colleges, too

Posted in Community Colleges

Along with passing historic health care for the uninsured, the House on Sunday night folded in substantial money for the underappreciated segment of American higher education: community colleges.
The reconciliation bill that the House passed and sent to the Senate paired both health care and college student loan reforms. At least $2 billion in savings from having the federal government, not private lending institutions, operate student loans will fund grants for community colleges over the next several years. An additional $2.5 billion will be committed to historically black colleges and institutions primarily serving Hispanic students, but many community colleges in California should qualify for some of that money, too.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on March 21st, 2010

Students fail to pursue college aid

Posted in Uncategorized

The Legislative Analyst and others make a strong case that fees at the state’s community colleges, currently the lowest in the nation, should be raised to provide more revenue for the system. But this should happen only if the state plowed back some of the money to hire more college financial aid officers and guidance counselors in high school.
A study released this week by the Berkeley-based Institute for College Access and Success underscored that need. As many as a half-million community college students are failing to apply for federal Pell Grants. They’re losing out on as much as a half-billion dollars in aid.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on March 19th, 2010

How a lawsuit over school laptops evolved | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/21/2010

How a lawsuit over school laptops evolved

By Joseph Tanfani

Inquirer Staff Writer

Soon after Lower Merion schools started handing out laptops to high school students in 2008, a school board member had a question: Were any being lost or stolen?

The query, from Jerry Novick, drew a small smile from the technology chief, Virginia DeMedio.

"We did have a theft," she said. "And we have a way we can track them. . . .

"There were six that were taken. All but one came back."

Satisfied, the board moved on to other matters. No one mentioned that the district had tracked down those computers with a powerful software program that could secretly snap photos of the user.

That conversation, captured on video, hinted at the roots of the Web cam debacle to come: Lower Merion administrators' near-evangelical faith in the power of computers to remake education - and a corresponding blind spot on the potential hazards of their own use of technology.

Those perils became clear last month with the disclosure that the school had secretly snapped photos of a Harriton High School sophomore in his home - sparking a civil lawsuit, a federal criminal investigation, and an international uproar about privacy in the digital age.

A review shows that Lower Merion administrators blew past warnings of trouble and missed obvious opportunities to disclose the Web cam capability to parents and students.

Finding Distinction � InterACT

Finding Distinction

MARCH 22, 2010

tags: Education Success, Teaching and Learning

by Kelly Kovacic

Kind. Innovative. Fun. Challenging. Unique.

I’m sitting at a small table surrounded by a group of enthusiastic fourth grade students. Hands are raised and waving, extending from little bodies that keep bouncing up and down in small chairs. I don’t remember ever being this anxious to have my name called to answer a question.

The question I posed to this active crew was, “What is the one word that best describes your school?”

I can’t resist the boy, who almost looks like he is in pain as his entire body contorts in a bundle of thrusting arms and shaking legs. Maybe he needs a hall pass to the restroom. No, he just wants to shout out his answer: “Amazing!” And that word perfectly defines my own experience on his campus this warm spring day in March.

As 2010 California Teacher of the Year, I am part of a validation team for the California Distinguished Schools honors program. Prior to visiting two of the schools in San Diego County, I read through their applications, which highlight the signature practices they deem as “distinguished.” The applications were impressive with some common themes, but the schools seemed very different on paper. The first, an urban elementary school, located a few miles from downtown San Diego, receives Title I funding and has historically struggled with low-test scores

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education- Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Some closed D.C. schools won't reopen soon

Budget picture changed after promises were made to quickly renovate schools

MORE ON EDUCATION

D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee (TWP)

Inexcusable: Empty promises to a D.C. school

What can you say after you say that D.C. school officials have yet again let down a school community that has been trying for years to get decent conditions for its students and young children to learn in each weekday?

That it isn’t anybody’s fault, really, because the system never had enough money?

Even if it were true that the system didn’t have enough money, that’s no excuse. In fact, there isn’t any excuse anymore for what has happened to the community at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School.

Continue reading this post »

Principal, teacher clash on cheating

Last week’s column, full of practical suggestions on how to limit cheating, did not seem controversial to me. Many teachers sent their own ideas. Many recommended small adjustments, such as having the questions in different order for different students, to hinder copying.

So I was surprised to hear from Erich Martel, an Advanced Placement U.S. History teacher at Wilson High School in the District, that his principal, Peter Cahall, was critical of him doing that.

Martel’s classroom, 18 by 25 feet, feels like shoebox to him. Some days he squeezes in 30 students, plus himself. That is 15 square feet per student, which Martel has been told is well below the district standard of 25 square feet. The cramped conditions led to a disagreement when Cahall assessed Martel’s work under the school district’s IMPACT teacher evaluation system.

During one post-evaluation conference Martel told Cahall what he did to frustrate cheating when students are so close together. He created two versions of the same test by putting the pages in different sequences, a method many teachers endorse. He showed Cahall a quiz on which he printed the questions in a smaller font, making them harder to read from the next chair over.

Continue reading this post »

Ed Buzz: The Region

McDonnell signs college lab school legislation (Richmond Times Dispatch)
Schools reduce police presence (The Examiner)
Montgomery College, schools brace for cuts (The Gazette)
P.G. County PTA reinstated (The Gazette)
Md. GOP: Don't raise dropout age (The Gazette)
Birth-control center finds home at T.C. Williams (Alexandria Gazette Packet)
Fairfax teacher quits over embezzlement charges (Examiner)
MoCo teachers say they are overwhelmed (Gazette)
Alex. considers new school boundaries(Examiner)
PG parents fear impact of school cuts(WJLA)
Md. lawmakers favor ed cuts (Baltimore Sun)

EducationNews.org - EducationNewsToday

EducationNewsToday

Teacher's ‘God’ banners at heart of legal dispute

Images of majestic mountains, cascading waterfalls and pastoral fields fill the walls of Brad Johnson’s math class at Westview High School in Rancho Peñasquitos.

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Districts need short-term power to raise taxes without voters' approval, Minnesota Rep. Greiling says

School administrators are staring down a triple-barreled threat. ...

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Huge changes to student lending

WASHINGTON -- Legislation hailed by supporters as the most significant changes to college student lending in a generation was included in the health care reform legislation taken up by the House on Sunday night....

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Riding therapy program gives Oklahoma kids chance for joy

MIAMI, OK — Christal Clary is quick to praise EquiSpirit Academy. And rightly so. The equine therapy program for disabled children has benefited both her sons, Braden, 14, and Gavin, 12. ...

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U.S. Grant High School faces transformation

The Oklahoma City School Board will consider reform options for one of the district’s most struggling schools tonight, and teachers at U.S. Grant High School said they are preparing for the worst....

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As schools shift, will bus costs fall?

Before Chris Malone won election to the Wake County school board last fall, he predicted that the system could save as much as $20 million annually by replacing diversity-related busing with a community-schools assignment system. ...

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Schools asked to try alternative discipline

A group of religious organizations and concerned citizens will meet with local education and court officials Monday night to promote alternative discipline methods as a way to stop “the school to prison pipeline ...

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Memphis school board to consider bus contract

The $20 million-plus bus contract to be considered tonight will save the district money but could put dozens of Memphians out of work. ...

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Longer recess sought to deter childhood obesity

Tucson man advocates legislation for required recess in Arizona schools. ...

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Jay Mathews: Principal, teacher clash on cheating

“You are creating an expectation that students will cheat,” Martel recalls the principal telling him after he showed his anti-copying measures. “By creating that expectation, they will rise to your expectation.” ...

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Some closed D.C. schools won't reopen soon

Budget picture changed after promises were made to quickly renovate schools ...

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Think Globally

Differential geometry can show us the shortest route between two points. ...

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Hundreds of teachers get layoff notices

Escondido teacher Kelly Solie was notified by her district last week that she may not have a job next school year...

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Teachers RISE to the occasion

As Pittsburgh Public Schools goes about putting performance pay into practice, it must face the challenge of crafting a fair way to evaluate teachers that will shutter the sense of a "gotcha culture" that long has pitted teachers against administrators. ...

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Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, March 22, 2010

Submitted by Erika Owens on Mon, 03/22/2010 - 09:37 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

Wake urged to save 'a jewel'

How a lawsuit over school laptops evolved

Finding Distinction

Some closed D.C. schools won't reopen soon

MORE ON EDUCATION

Inexcusable: Empty promises to a D.C. school

Principal, teacher clash on cheating

Ed Buzz: The Region

EducationNewsToday