Tuesday, March 23, 2010

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Seattle schools won't charge PTAs a fee on donations

A few days after Seattle Public Schools told parent groups they would be charged for giving money to schools, district officials said Monday that won't happen after all.

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Schools failing to guide young women into careers in science, math and technology

3.23.10 - Stephanie Rosenthal's elementary school teachers in Potomac, Md., gave her plenty of encouragement to pursue her interests in math and science but when she developed a passion for robotics early in high school, she had to chart her own course....

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Parents say special-ed kids falling victim in charter battle for space

Special education students are falling victim to the fierce battle to find space for charter schools inside city school buildings, parents and advocates say....

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Green Dot to close high school

Green Dot Public Schools, one of California's largest and most respected charter management organizations, plans to close one of its 16 Los Angeles campuses, officials announced Monday. ...

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Big-City Test Scores on Rise, Report Says

3.23.10 - A new report from a Washington-based advocacy group for urban districts sees progress among big-city students on state tests and NAEP. ...

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Irregularities emerge in Dallas ISD textbook selection process

Dallas school officials set out in the fall to buy more than 500,000 new reading and literature textbooks, using a selection process that is supposed to be competitive and fair for publishers vying for the lucrative textbook deals. ...

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Fees considered for middle school sports

Athletics director Vicki Hamilton and some school board members are seeking ways to save a scaled-back middle school sports program without forcing cuts in other Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools programs....

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Miss. officials defend canceling prom after same-sex date request

ABERDEEN, Miss. — School officials who canceled a prom after a lesbian student asked to bring her girlfriend told a federal judge yesterday that there were issues with the event even before that. ...

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Archdiocese of Baltimore plans bilingual school

The Archdiocese of Baltimore will open its first bilingual immersion program at a Highlandtown elementary school this fall, officials announced Monday. ...

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Kids get the message on veggies, exercise

Milton Delgado oozed enthusiasm into a hand-held microphone Monday as more than 400 children at Lancashire Elementary School in Brandywine Hundred sat on the floor of the multipurpose room in front of him...

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Supremes: Music can be banned if it even sounds religious

A public school has banned performance of an instrumental version of "Ave Maria" at its high-school graduation simply because the superintendent fears it might sound religious – and the U.S. Supreme Court is allowing the ban to stand by refusing to hear the case....

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Cowardice on vouchers and the plantation values of liberals!

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Willingham on Obama's vision for education

Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham reviews President Obama's new vision for rewriting No Child Left Behind. He says that interventions proposed for the lowest-achieving schools will result no in a race to the top, but a scramble from the bottom. ...

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Fixing No Child Left Behind

3.23.10 - The Obama Administration wants to revise the No Child Left Behind education law, which is understandable because the law has flaws. But it's too bad many of the proposed fixes would weaken the statute ...

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Caleb, embattled HISD principal, looks to retire Aug. 31

Mable Caleb, the embattled Houston ISD principal accused of overseeing cheating on state tests, financial fraud and stealing equipment, submitted on Monday her notice to retire effective Aug. 31....

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Teacher fired from Houston private school for egging on assault

A teacher has been fired from a Houston private school for encouraging her students to punch a 5-year-old classmate during a field trip, the school's director said. ...

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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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Rise & Shine: Suspect bus firms could get another $420 million | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Suspect bus firms could get another $420 million

by Philissa Cramer

The budget that state lawmakers are set to pass cuts $1.4 billion from education. (Times)
The city school board green-lighted $420 million in contracts to allegedly corrupt bus companies. (Post)
A Queens mom is suing after her 4-year-old was allowed to walk home alone from PS 147. (Daily News)
Special education students are big losers in the charter school space wars, parents say. (Daily News)
The Green Dot charter school chain is closing one of its Los Angeles schools. (L.A. Times)
As Chicago schools chief, Arne Duncan kept a list of politicians’ school choice favors. (Sun-Times)
The Wall Street Journal worries that the Obama administration’s education plan is weak on penaltie

Timing is Everything Especially for School Improvement � The Quick and the Ed

Timing is Everything Especially for School Improvement

States across the country are somewhere in the process of identifying the schools that will be eligible for a share of the $3.5 billion in School Improvement Grants (SIG). Making this type of investment in turning around the lowest performing schools in the country is long over due. But, the current disregard for the planning and implementation time that some of these reforms take puts the entire investment at risk. The Department of Education should rethink this crazy timeline, and extend the time requirements by a year to give these reforms a chance to actually have the intended impact.

The stakes of these reforms is high, and much of the theory of action of the administration’s agenda hinges on these types of reforms being successful. I believe that any of these four turnaround approaches can be successful, but implement details are critically important to the success of any school turnaround effort. And, if these reform efforts fail, it will not only waste a lot of money, it will also damage the creditability of school turnaround models, and damage the credibility of the overall school accountability movement. So the stakes are high, and a rush job will do more damage than good. The federal government should create the space for schools and districts to take their time and get it right. This program should not be so focused on spending money quickly to create jobs and fuel the economy, the other $90 billion of the education stimulus funds was to meet that goal. For these funds, let’s take our time, do the planning, fix the collective bargaining agreements, and other preparatory changes to give these reforms every opportunity to succeed.

Can schools stop obesity? Should they even try? | Get Schooled

Can schools stop obesity? Should they even try?

2:17 am March 23, 2010, by Maureen Downey

As an editorial writer, I met with representatives of national groups advocating dozens of good and worthy causes, from physical fitness to drug awareness to improved civics literacy.

Schools can get rid of vending machines with sugary drinks, but aren't students going home to sodas and chips?

In many cases, ground zero for the advocacy groups was the schoolhouse. Advocates felt that they needed to reach children to achieve the necessary changes/improvements.

But if all these well-meaning groups prevailed, we’d have two options: Reduce the class time for actual reading and math instruction or expand to a 12-hour school day.

I still wonder how much of what is ailing America can be addressed by schools. Is obesity one of those problems?

An AJC story today reports that the obesity epidemic is soaring among children, with 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls classified as extremely obese in a California study. (I noticed this a few weeks ago when I was looking at the Website of a Georgia nature center. The video

Step up for D.C. vouchers - washingtonpost.com

Step up for D.C. vouchers

PARENTS LOVE IT. Students benefit from it. But neither the White House nor most Democrats in Congress had the backbone to support a unique program that provides vouchers to low-income D.C. families in search of better educational opportunities. Now the question is whether D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) -- who has made education his priority -- has the guts his party leaders lack and will seek to save this worthy program.

The Senate last week all but decreed the demise of the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program when it rejected, in a 55 to 42 vote, a measure that would have permitted the enrollment of new students by reauthorizing the program for another five years. Introduced by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), the measure was vigorously opposed by the teachers unions. Hence, only three Democrats -- Mark Warner of Virginia, Dianne Feinstein of California and Bill

Improve education, fire bad teachers - Ulrich Boser and Robin Chait - POLITICO.com

Improve education, fire bad teachers

Across the country, tight state budgets are forcing dramatic cuts in education. Some districts have laid off hundreds of teachers. Others have shut down schools. Last week, for example, California issued pink slips to almost 22,000 teachers. But states and districts could take a smarter, more effective approach in trimming education budgets, particularly when it comes to teacher layoffs. Most use a “last hired, first fired” approach that does not look at teacher effectiveness. The result is that many schools could end up pushing out some of their highest-performing teachers while keeping their least effective ones.

This problem is much deeper than the issue of teacher layoffs. Far too few schools and districts focus their reform efforts on improving teacher effectiveness.

According to a new report by the Center for American Progress, many teachers essentially have jobs for life because of the tremendous challenges of removing ineffective teachers. Indeed, most districts fire only about 1 percent of tenured teachers a year for poor performance.

But we know some teachers should not be teaching. While most educators work to meet student needs, a recent survey of teachers found that almost 60 percent said there were educators in their schools who failed to do good work and were just going through the motions.

The importance of teacher effectiveness has been heightened by President Barack Obama’s blueprint for improving the No Child Left Behind Act. The administration has recommended important reforms,

CUSD isn't alone in its fiscal distress - Chico Enterprise Record

CUSD isn't alone in its fiscal distress

By ROGER H. AYLWORTH - Staff Writer

Posted: 03/23/2010 12:09:40 AM PDT

CHICO — The Chico Unified School District is part of a growing fraternity of financially fragile California school districts.
Information released Monday by the California Department of Education says there has been a 17 percent increase in the number of districts that may not be able to cover their bills over the next two years.
According to the state figures, CUSD is one of 12 districts in the state with a "negative certification," which means "based on current projections, the school district, or county office of education, will not meet its financial obligations for fiscal year 2009-10 or 2010-11.
In an interview earlier this month, Kevin Bultema, assistant superintendent of the Butte County Office of Education, said while the number of districts in economic distress is disturbing, it is worth noting there are roughly 1,500 districts statewide and the number in trouble isn't large by comparison.
Across the board, economic problems for California schools can be traced to years of significant and continuing state funding cuts.
In Butte County, according to Bultema, districts have suffered an 18.355 percent cut in actual revenue from the state since the 2007-08 academic year.
The assistant superintendent said statewide most of the districts are "getting it done," in terms of providing an education and paying the bills.
Since the districts can't control the amount of revenue coming in, their only option in a time of decreasing income is

Students statewide ‘March in March’ | Daily Sundial

Students statewide ‘March in March’

March 22, 2010

By Yazmin Cruz

Sacramento – Students and faculty from across the Golden State who rallied on the steps of the Capitol against budget cuts were encouraged by speakers to continue their activism even after the March in March event was over.

The event’s master of ceremonies Reid Milburn, student senate for California community colleges president, said change depended on the more than 15,000 students that marched to the Capitol on March 22.

“It doesn’t end here. It’s up to each one of you to go back and talk to legislatures,” Milburn said. “It’s up to us to rescue education.”

Dom Lupisan, a CSUN grad student and college counselor, said he attended the rally in support of education.

Lupisan, 27, said he thought the rally was more effective than the March 4 protest as students were taught through workshops how to effectively lobby.

“We have an understanding of why we are here and we are all on the same page and know this is a prolonged battle,” Lupisan said.

A.S. Attorney General Neil Sanchez, a philosophy major, said the fight for education would continue at CSUN.

Sanchez, 22, said student involvement was crucial but to get students to participate a “grassroots effort” would have to take place.

Dozens Protest Rising Cost of Education at Fresno City College - 3/22/10 - Fresno News - abc30.com

FRESNO, California (KFSN) -- Dozens of students and teachers marched at Fresno City College angry about the rising cost of education.

| Watch Video Above for Extended Coverage |

Governor, lawmakers agree to early budget package - Los Angeles Times

Governor, lawmakers agree to early budget package

The measures include tax breaks for new home buyers and green-technology companies, and diversion of $1.1 billion in transit funds to pay down the estimated $20-billion deficit.

March 22, 2010|By Shane Goldmacher

Reporting from Sacramento — After weeks of bickering over how to cut the deficit-ridden budget, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers agreed Monday to trim $1.1 billion from mass transit but give new tax breaks to home buyers and green-technology companies.

The governor, who signed part of the package into law Monday evening, said the tax incentives -- which could add to the budget woes -- are crucial to the state's economic recovery.

"The package of bills as written will provide significant benefit to the state's general fund and will help put Californians back to work," he said in a statement. He expects to sign the rest of the package later in the week.

The linchpin of the legislation is the tax credit of up to $10,000 for first-time home buyers and those purchasing newly built homes. It would take effect May 1.

Another element of the package would allow companies that buy green-technology manufacturing equipment to avoid sales tax on those purchases for 10 years. It would start immediately.

The agreement came after Schwarzenegger announced last week that he would not approve the transit-reduction

San Ysidro School District May Be Unable To Pay Bills - San Diego News Story - KGTV San Diego

San Ysidro School District May Be Unable To Pay Bills

SAN DIEGO -- The San Ysidro School District is among 117 statewide that may be unable to pay its bills in the next couple of years, the Department of Education announced Monday.
The school district filed a "qualified certification" with the state regarding its financial outlook for this fiscal year and the next two.
Each March, school districts are required to report on finances. A positive certification means a district will meet its financial obligations. A "qualified certification" means the district may or may not be able to pay its bills, depending on other factors; and a negative declaration means the district will be unable to meet all its obligations.

Statewide, 114 districts filed qualified certifications this year, up from 19 last year, according to the state Department of Education.
A dozen districts filed negative certifications this year, compared to three a year ago, education officials said."Massive state budget cuts are crippling our public school system's ability to operate," said Jack O'Connell, the state superintendent of public instruction. "Public education in California received $17 billion less in state funding than anticipated over the last two budget years. School districts already have

Video: San Ysidro School District Faces Bill-Paying Problem

State: SFUSD can meet financial obligations | San Francisco Examiner

State: SFUSD can meet financial obligations

By: Mike Aldax

03/22/10 12:34 PM PDT

Despite its projected $113 million, two-year budget deficit, the San Francisco Unified School District did not make a California Department of Education list released Monday of school districts that may be “unable to meet future financial obligations.”

The state releases the semi-annual list as an “early warning system” on the fiscal health of school districts. While SFUSD has been grappling with its current deficit – mulling cuts to programs, teacher layoffs and the like – it has steered clear from the Department of Education’s “negative” and “qualified” certification categories of the report.

Outside Texas, alarm over textbook changes - Los Angeles Times

Outside Texas, alarm over textbook changes

The state's Board of Education votes for conservative new social studies standards, raising concern that students nationwide could be forced to learn from the same books.

March 22, 2010|By Richard Fausset

Reporting from Atlanta — When Texas' conservative-leaning Board of Education voted for new social studies standards this month, parents, teachers and lawmakers far beyond the Lone Star state -- particularly the liberal ones -- took notice.

With the changes, Texas' curriculum is likely to de-emphasize the concept in U.S. history of separating church and state, and the influence of Thomas Jefferson on 18th century world history. It would also cast a positive light on conservatives, such as Phyllis Schlafly and the late Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

Concerned observers have warned that those ideas could seep into textbooks throughout the country, because Texas is one of the nation's largest textbook buyers. In California last week, state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) announced that he was working out the details of legislation that would inoculate California students from the Texas version of history.

"While some Texas politicians may want to set their educational standards back 50 years, California should not be subject to their backward curriculum changes," he said.

But it is far from clear that non-Texans will be subjected to the proposed changes, once they are finalized, as expected, in May. Though none of the three major K-12 textbook publishers -- Pearson Education Inc., Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and McGraw-Hill -- would comment for this article, observers of the $8-billion industry offered differing views on the likelihood that Texas could wield such influence beyond its borders -- in part because the textbook business, like American history itself, is a fluid affair influenced by commerce, culture, legislation and technology.

SJSU students join thousands in Sacramento rally against budget cuts - News

SJSU students join thousands in Sacramento rally against budget cuts

SACRAMENTO - More than 120 students from SJSU took part in a vocal rally and protest in the state capital, joining thousands of other students from colleges across California on Monday.

"We decided to voice our opinions and let Sacramento know that we are here and we don't like the budget cuts," said Lukogho Kasomo, a senior political science major. "We want to see money put back into education."

Julian Rosenberg, president of Students for Quality Education, said he has also witnessed first-hand the effects of the current budget crisis.

"It feels like we're not even at school, but at war because I have lost so many friends along the way that won't graduate," said Rosenberg, one of the organizers of the SJSU contingent.

He said the rally addressed those issues and put pressure on the legislators of California to change how the state handles education.

The event was organized by the Student Senate for California Community Colleges and the California State Student Association to protest fee increases and budget cuts for California colleges as well as cuts in state sponsored financial aid

College cuts fire students up - Vallejo Times Herald

College cuts fire students up

By Sarah Rohrs/

Posted: 03/23/2010 01:00:15 AM PDT

Chanting "No more cuts!" and "Education should be free!" Solano Community College student Tara Norman joined a large crowd of college and university students Monday for a boisterous rally and protest in Sacramento against more cuts to higher education.

More than 1,000 college students from across California converged on the Capitol to decry slashed budgets and rising fees at public universities and community colleges.

"I was excited to see so many people were there caring about higher education and we were all there for the same cause," Norman said.

The March on March for Higher Education included students walking from Raley Field in West Sacramento to the North Steps of the Capitol to demand more funding for public education.

Lasting several hours, it was the third such major protest this month.

Nearly 25 Solano College students took part, some carrying a large banner, and signs with such slogans as "Don't Kill My Education" and "No More Cuts. I Need My Education."

Nearly 30 students from Napa Valley College also participated, including Alex Shantz, who is worried about higher tuition and other fees.

"It was empowering to a lot of people," Shantz said. "People were demanding and were fired up. They are angry because the economy is bad and they are cutting so much for education."

Another student, Amoriah Hartley, 31, a sociology student at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, said

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

New Rector of Santa Clara University Jesuit Community Named

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 22, 2010 - Michael Zampelli, S.J., a faculty member since 1998 and currently the Paul Locatelli University Professor in the department of theatre and dance, has been named rector to the Jesuit community at Santa Clara University.

(Media-Newswire.com) - SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 22, 2010 — Michael Zampelli, S.J., a faculty member since 1998 and currently the Paul Locatelli University Professor in the department of theatre and dance, has been named rector to the Jesuit community at Santa Clara University.

As rector of the second-largest Jesuit community in the California province of Jesuits, Zampelli will serve as the religious superior for his 40 fellow Jesuits on campus. His role is to support and serve them in living their personal, communal, and apostolic lives as Jesuits. Jesuits are members of the Catholic order of priests, the Society of Jesus.

Appointed to his role by Fr. General Adolfo Nicolás, S.J., the superior general of the Society of Jesus in Rome, Zampelli will work closely with University President Michael Engh, S.J., in cultivating the Jesuit and Catholic mission of SCU.

He will be installed as rector on July 31. He replaces Gerdenio “Sonny” Manuel, S.J., who will complete his six-year term as rector in July. Manuel will take a year-long sabbatical while continuing his role as provincial assistant for higher education and director of studies.

“I am pleased to welcome Father Zampelli to his new leadership position in the Jesuit community at SCU,” said Engh. “I would also like to thank Father Manuel for his six years of service, which were distinguished by his graciousness, insight, service, and collaboration.”

“I’m looking forward to working with Father Engh as a representative of the Jesuit community, and to

Schools beef up security for web applications | eSchoolNews.com

Schools beef up security for web applications
As educators and students turn to internet-based applications that house student ID numbers, grades, and more, security becomes a key concern
By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor
Schools and colleges are using web apps for more than just eMail.
K-12 schools and colleges are adding extra layers of security to web applications that are being used for everything from eMail service to group assignments. The extra security is particularly desired as administrators use the applications to store sensitive information that could compromise student and faculty privacy.
Google Apps has risen to prominence in education’s move toward web-based tools that store massive amounts of data and allow for collaboration. Google announced in February that 7 million students—about half of all college students in the U.S.—now use the company’s applications, such as Google Sites, Google Docs, and Gmail.
With invaluable information stored online and vulnerable to any hacker who can figure out a single password, administrators are looking for ways to ensure that student and educator data are kept safe with more complex security methods.
The widespread use of web-based programs, a trend known as cloud computing, also has required students to remember a host of user names and passwords.
This prompts students to jot down user names and passwords on stray pieces on paper in a dorm room or office, which makes their online information

Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

EducationNewsToday

Can schools stop obesity? Should they even try?

Step up for D.C. vouchers

Improve education, fire bad teachers

CUSD isn't alone in its fiscal distress

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Governor, lawmakers agree to early budget package

The measures include tax breaks for new home buyers and green-technology companies, and diversion of $1.1 billion in transit funds to pay down the estimated $20-billion deficit.

San Ysidro School District May Be Unable To Pay Bills

State: SFUSD can meet financial obligations

By: Mike Aldax03/22/10 12:34 PM PDT

Outside Texas, alarm over textbook changes

The state's Board of Education votes for conservative new social studies standards, raising concern that students nationwide could be forced to learn from the same books.

SJSU students join thousands in Sacramento rally against budget cuts

College cuts fire students up

Schools beef up security for web applications

As educators and students turn to internet-based applications that house student ID numbers, grades, and more, security becomes a key concern

By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor

By: Mike Aldax

03/22/10 12:34 PM PDT