Sacramento Press / Mayor Johnson learns from trip to New York City

Sacramento Press / Mayor Johnson learns from trip to New York City

Mayor Johnson learns from trip to New York City

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson advice on what makes other cities successful at a meeting in New York City.

Johnson also met with NBA Commissioner David Stern and Macy’s CEO Terry Lundgren.

"You have to be responsive to the needs of your city," Johnson said that Bloomberg told him. "You have to not only prioritize, but you have to be able to implement, execute and actualize whatever those happen to be."

Johnson listed public safety, education, job creation and economic development as the city's top priorities. There are other issues that Johnson will be looking at.

"Then he said that (there are) things that aren't your priorities that you should be thinking about," Johnson said. "In Sacramento, we've been hit pretty hard by the foreclosure crisis. So, how are we as a city responding to the needs of people in Sacramento, who are losing their homes?"

When Johnson met with Lundgren, the Macy's CEO assured that he supports his store in the Westfield Downtown Plaza mall.

"We had a frank and very straightforward conversation," he said. "He's very committed on the vision we have for the Downtown Plaza. I let him know that

Famed "No Excuses" Teacher Dies At 79 This Week In Education

This Week In Education

Schedules: 120 Districts Already On Shortened Week

"Nineteen states have at least one district on a four-day week...Some of the 120 U.S. districts on four-day weeks report improved student achievement." - Chicago Tribune editorial

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March 31, 2010 | Posted At: 07:54 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Daily News

News: Famed "No Excuses" Teacher Dies At 79

Teacher who inspired 'Stand and Deliver' film dies AP: "Jaime exposed one of the most dangerous myths of our time - that inner city students can't be expected to perform at the highest levels," Olmos said. "Because of him, that destructive idea has been shattered forever."...Anger turns toward staff in bullying case Boston Globe: Enraged by revelations that staff members at South Hadley High School knew that Phoebe Prince was the target of withering harassment long before her death, residents and public officials yesterday angrily accused the school system of neglecting vulnerable students and called on top administrators to resign... Windy City Cloud Shadows Duncan EdWeek: The political standing of the former chief executive officer of the Chicago public schools probably will not suffer unless it is determined that he or his office pressured school authorities to admit specific students during his tenure...New Civil Rights Rules Unveiled EdWeek: The U.S. Dept. of Ed. has announced that districts will have to collect data in several new categories that relate to students' civil rights...Wake County, N.C., Board Rejects Diversity-Based Assignment Plan EdWeek: Police removed protesters last week from a heated Wake County, N.C., school board meeting in which board members voted to abandon a student-assignment and diversity policy with roots dating back three decades... Education" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(51, 153, 204); ">School Cafeteria Doubled as Nightclub NYT: School district officials in Philadelphia say a charter school’s cafeteria was used as a nightclub on weekends.

Nation & World | Girl's suicide increases urgency to prevent teen bullying | Seattle Times Newspaper

Nation & World | Girl's suicide increases urgency to prevent teen bullying | Seattle Times Newspaper

Girl's suicide increases urgency to prevent teen bullying

Phoebe Prince's suicide raises questions about Massachusetts schools' role in preventing harassment. Forty-one other states, including Washington, have anti-bullying laws of varying strength.

By Seattle Times news services

Phoebe Prince, 15

Phoebe Prince's family had moved recently to Massachusetts from a small town in Ireland. She entered high school last fall.

Prosecutors and classmates say the taunting started when the 15-year-old freshman had a brief relationship with a popular senior boy. Some students reportedly called her an "Irish slut," knocked books out of her hands and sent her threatening text messages, day after day.

Prince hanged herself from a stairwell at her home in January, leading to charges Monday against nine teenagers, including two boys charged with statutory rape and a clique of girls charged with stalking, criminal harassment and violating Prince's civil rights.

The charges are an unusually sharp legal response to the problem of adolescent bullying, which increasingly is conducted in cyberspace as well as in the schoolyard and has raised questions about educators' role in prevention.

South Hadley High School officials won't be charged, even though the district attorney determined the girl's

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What ever happened to pay-for-grades schemes in N.Y & Chicago

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What ever happened to pay-for-grades schemes in N.Y & Chicago

What ever happened to pay-for-grades schemes in N.Y & Chicago

Disappearing Act

2008 was the year of pay-for-grades. Remember? It was the hottest idea, heavily touted by the Ownership Society entrupreneurial crowd and headline news in the mass media. Joel Klein spent $40 million on his market worshiping scheme in N.Y. schools. But a new study shows the program was a flopand is quietly being dropped. Accountability? Never with these guys. Exxon-Mobile pushed the program in Arkansas, Alabama,

New Study Shows That Paying Students For Higher Test Scores Doesn’t Work | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

New Study Shows That Paying Students For Higher Test Scores Doesn’t Work | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

New Study Shows That Paying Students For Higher Test Scores Doesn’t Work

Filed under school reform

Last September, I wrote a post titled Conditional Cash Transfers, Parents, And Schools in my other blog, Engaging Parents In School. It talked about a new program that was becoming fashionable called conditional cash transfers. These are payments made to families to encourage them to do things like go to doctor appointments, and to children for increased school attendance and higher standardized test scores.

In my post, I shared that, though I thought these funds could be used more effectively to fight poverty in other ways, I really couldn’t complain about putting a few more bucks in the hands of poor families — for non-school related efforts. I wrote about how I thought it was damaging to children and schools when it was connected to education benchmarks, and my post connected to studies that showed that. In another post, I wrote more specifically about my objections to paying students for increased test scores.

New York City had started a heralded, and expensive, conditional cash transfer program heavily focused on school-related objectives. The program just announced the results of an evaluation of the program and

Two new programs to help cut Philadelphia truancy | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/30/2010

Two new programs to help cut Philadelphia truancy | Philadelphia Inquirer | 03/30/2010

Two new programs to help cut Philadelphia truancy

By Kristen A. Graham

Inquirer Staff Writer

Every day, about 12,000 Philadelphia students are out of school with no excuse.

Every year, the Philadelphia School District, city courts, and the Department of Human Services spend $15 million on truancy-prevention programs.

Historically, a lack of coordination among the three means that many students still slip through the cracks - leading not just to truants, but also to dropouts. There are about 95,000 children under DHS care in city schools and in out-of-school programs.

"When you try to get two really large institutions to work together at a kid level, it's really difficult," said Lori Shorr, Mayor Nutter's chief education officer.

To try to fix that, two new, privately funded initiatives will focus on supporting at-risk students in school. They will be announced today by the Department of Human Services.

A new Education Support Center will track the educational progress of students in DHS's care, watching for early warning signs and helping smooth communications between the city agency and the district. The center will be funded by a $600,000, two-year grant from the William Penn

Phila. charter school doubles as after-school-hours club

The cochair of the state Senate Education Committee yesterday called on the Philadelphia School District to immediately close a West Philadelphia charter school and relocate its students following news reports that a nightclub operates in the building after school hours.

Specter calls for stronger federal privacy laws

The alleged use of cameras in school-issued laptops for surveillance shows a need to extend the type of privacy protections found in federal wiretap laws to images, U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (D., Pa.) said here yesterday.

Camden schools eligible for federal funds

Nine Camden schools could get a share of nearly $66.7 million in federal funds awarded to New Jersey to help turn around the state's lowest-performing schools.

Teachers and Coaches: An NBA Analogy � InterACT

Teachers and Coaches: An NBA Analogy � InterACT

Teachers and Coaches: An NBA Analogy

Controversy erupted recently in the world of educational reform when a school decided to fire all of its teachers due to the low academic performance of their students. The Central Falls High School firings laid direct blame on the teachers for perpetrating a culture of underachievement. Many nouveaux ed-reformers applauded this action, calling it bold and brave, with even the President stating “if a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn’t show any sign of improvement, then there’s got to be a sense of accountability…and that’s what happened in Rhode Island.” In other words, I approve and support this action.

Firing entire faculties may or may not be a step forward in improving educational communities. But it does bring a key issue to mind: to what extent are teachers responsible for their students’ accomplishments? If teachers refuse to accept 100% of the responsibility, is it because they are against our nation’s capitalistic values of work and competition, and want lifetime employment without ever bearing the blame for the faulty products they are alleged to produce? This avenue of thought led me to think about other professions and situations where leaders or mentors were

Haas Newsroom - Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley

Haas Newsroom - Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley

UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Rejoins The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management to Foster Diversity

03/30/2010

The Consortium, an alliance of leading American business schools and corporations aimed at fostering diversity among graduate business students and corporate leaders, has made changes to its mission that have allowed the Haas School to become a member once again after a seven-year hiatus.

Being part of The Consortium is another way to show that UC Berkeley and the Haas School of Business are welcoming of all forms of diversity,” says Dean Lyons. “We want to reflect the diversity of business today at our school.”

iversity is a key goal of the Haas School of Business. Participation in The Consortium is one of several ongoing Haas School efforts in this area, including an annual diversity conference, diversity workshops for prospective students, and the Women in Leadership club and conference, among others.

he Haas School of Business originally joined The Consortium in 1993, but withdrew in 2003 as a consequence of Proposition 209, which prohibits public institutions from participating in programs that give preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. At that time, The Consortium awarded fellowships to African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. But it expanded its mission in 2005 to include all US citizens and permanent residents who demonstrate

California CIO Teri Takai Named U.S. Defense Department IT Chief

California CIO Teri Takai Named U.S. Defense Department IT Chief

Mar 29, 2010, By Matt Williams, Associate Editor

California CIO Teri Takai, one of the highest-profile leaders in state and local government IT, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to become CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), according to a White House statementMonday, March 29.

Takai's expertise on IT consolidations -- she led statewide efforts in California and Michigan -- appears to be a good fit for her new role at the DoD, which has several consolidation initiatives planned, including the deployment of a single e-mail system and network for the U.S. Army. Takai's official title at the Defense Department will be Assistant Secretary for Networks and Information Integration.

Over the past few months, Takai's future plans had become an open question. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is in his final year in office because of term limits. Takai, serving as a gubernatorial appointee, could've been replaced in early 2011 by a new administration.

Steve Fletcher, the CIO of Utah and president of the National Association of State Chief Information Officers, applauded

Radical Teacher Jaime Escalante Dies | VivirLatino

Radical Teacher Jaime Escalante Dies | VivirLatino

Radical Teacher Jaime Escalante Dies

7:16 PM BY BIANCALAUREANO · UNCATEGORIZED

30Mar2010

At the age of 79, the man who inspired Latino youth in California to reach their full potential through mathematics and science, has died. Radical teacher and educator, Escalante was first introduced to many of us in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.

An immigrant from La Paz, Boliva his first stop was Puerto Rico before settling in California. He died in Reno, Nevada after batteling cancer. Please take the time toread about Escalante’s life and efforts to encourage and support Latino youth and their/our education.

In the spirit of radical and revolutionary teachers, I encourage each of us to take some time and remember a teacher/educator/tutor who has shaped our identity

To fix schools, adults need to grow up - Home - The Orange County Register

To fix schools, adults need to grow up - Home - The Orange County Register

To fix schools, adults need to grow up

If only life were like the elementary school on the "South Park" cartoon.

On the TV show, the wacky adults mess up, only to have life bounce back with the magic of animation.

Educators and their supporters from Anaheim Elementary Education Association and Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association protest cuts to the education budget earlier this month.

ROD VEAL, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

MORE PHOTOS »

More from David Whiting

• To fix schools, adults need to grow up
• Wood carver finds memories in walking sticks
• Helping Marines, one box at a time
• Save water, get paid
• Triathlete, 73, tells how to turn back time

But fixing education for children in Orange County and the rest of California is far more challenging. It's time for adults to get real.

Some 1,500 teaching positions were eliminated last year in Orange County. In March, an additional 2,219 layoff notices went out to local teachers and other educators in an effort to meet a combined $365.3 million projected deficit for the 2010-11 school year.

It's as if we expect life to somehow just get better in the next episode.

If you doubt we may be heading into a crisis consider California had the second highest student-teacher ratio (20.8 to 1) in the nation in 2007, the latest report by the federal National Center for Education Statistics. And that was before the layoffs.

We're also seeing cuts in music, art, PE and vocational education. Even our legislators agree we've cut to the bone.

Looking for solutions – or at least some hope – I'm visiting with teachers, legislators, school boards and parents. Today, we're hearing from teachers. Why are teachers first? Because they're in the trenches. Legislators are next.

In past years, unions claimed they had solutions. This year is different.

To be sure, the educators had a few suggestions. Take money out of cash reserves, for one. But they admitted the sum wasn't much when compared with what is needed to restore education to what it was just

UC system continues to battle a fiscal crisis | 89.3 KPCC

UC system continues to battle a fiscal crisis | 89.3 KPCC

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Students held protests at California campuses last fall in light of education cuts.

UC system continues to battle a fiscal crisis

March 30, 2010 | Brittany Knotts | KPCC

Download

The state's higher education systems are trying to provide students a future amidst a fiscal crisis.

California faces a very tough fiscal situation that has extended to education from the elementary level all the way up to the college and university level.

Last fall students walked out on University of California and California State University campuses across the state to protest fee increases and course availability cuts. Now the UC regents have formed the Commission on the Future to figure out how best to deal with the budget crisis.

Several ideas have been thrown around including the creation of three-year degrees, online courses and many types of annual fee increases.

Nick Roman spoke to Russell Gould, the chairman of the UC Board of regents, on Patt Morrison’s program. Gould attributed most of the issues facing the UC system to the way the state has handled its own fiscal crisis.

“There’s been an erosion in terms of priority of higher education,” he said. “Unfortunately it’s led to substantial fee increases like the 30 percent fee increase that was placed on students this year.”

Gould also added that other priorities, such as the state’s health care woes, have become more pressing to the state legislature than higher education has.

Gould advocated the exploration of all options during such a tight financial time and advocated the kind of change that would keep the UC system a well respected institution.

“It’s clear to me that we need to be a leaner, more focused institution if we’re to survive and still provide the kind of quality education that will driv

Pro-illegal immigrant studies won't end debate - San Jose Mercury News

Pro-illegal immigrant studies won't end debate - San Jose Mercury News

Pro-illegal immigrant studies won't end debate

By thomas d. elias

Posted: 03/31/2010 12:06:02 AM PDT

Updated: 03/31/2010 12:06:02 AM PDT

If the UCLA and USC professors whose studies early this year concluded that allowing illegal immigrants to stay in America would provide a huge boost to the economy thought their findings might end one of this country's longest-running policy and moral debates, they were sadly mistaken.

For the battle over illegal immigrants and whether they should be permitted some path to eventual citizenship actually heated up after those reports appeared.

On one side, the studies' authors and others insist that legalizing the currently undocumented would produce wage increases, increase tax receipts at all levels of government, up the consumption of consumer goods and create jobs.

The other side says that is probably baloney, but even if it's true, it would still come at the expense of American citizen workers who desperately want and need at least some of the jobs now taken by illegals.

What's constructive in all this is the perspective it lends to the longtime argument over how much illegal immigration costs state and local governments or whether the undocumented actually pay their own way via sales and gasoline taxes, property taxes (included in their rent payments) and other levies, including those on utility and telephone bills.

The anti-immigrant lobby argues that illegals cost California about $7 billion per year for services like public education and emergency medical care. But some studies say they pay in more than that in the obvious

taxes — plus an unknown amount in state and federal income tax. Plus, since many use counterfeit Social Security

Not just to praise Cesar - latimes.com

Not just to praise Cesar - latimes.com

Not just to praise Cesar

Cesar Chavez has been elevated to iconic status without his legacy having been critically examined.

By Miriam Pawel

Two years ago, a presidential contender touting his roots as a community organizer endorsed the idea of a national holiday to honor a legendary organizer.

"As farmworkers and laborers across America continue to struggle for fair treatment and fair wages, we find strength in what Cesar Chavez accomplished so many years ago," said Barack Obama, then on the verge of his own improbable victory. "It's time to recognize the contributions of this American icon."

An icon, according to Webster's, is "an object of uncritical devotion." And that's precisely the problem: Cesar Chavez has been elevated to iconic status, his name reverently placed on schools, streets and postage stamps, without his legacy having been critically examined.

Chavez merits an important place in the history books, as a civil rights leader, an inspiration for a generation of Chicanos and the founder of a movement that transformed thousands of lives. But the history is more complex than the hagiography, and more enlightening. His birthday, March 31, should be an occasion to educate new generations about Chavez's remarkable accomplishments, and to learn from his life in all its complexity and contradictions.

Chavez masterminded a grape boycott in which uneducated farmworkers fanned out across the country, persuaded millions of consumers to shun the fruit and forced growers to sign the first-ever labor contracts. Then he doomed the contracts by administering them poorly.

He taught workers how to exert power, then fired leaders who rose up from the fields to use their newfound power.

He brought the men and women who pick our fruits and vegetables into the public consciousness for

State considers additional sanctions for Alisal Union School District - MontereyHerald.com :

State considers additional sanctions for Alisal Union School District - MontereyHerald.com :

State considers additional sanctions for Alisal Union School District

Resignation, consulting fee under scrutiny

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In light of major changes made at Alisal Union School District last week, the California State Board of Education will meet today to consider possible additional sanctions for the district.

On Friday, the three-member Alisal board voted to accept the "voluntary resignation" of Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas, and named John Ramirez Jr. as interim superintendent through 2013.

But the state board had placed the district under a trustee March 11 — along with Greenfield Union School District — and officials expected no major changes in the district until a trustee arrived, said Executive Director Theresa Garcia.

"Sanctions are always immediate, the appointment of a trustee was immediate," Garcia said, even though a specific person was not named.

The state board's special meeting was called in response to the "major commitment of district resources prior to a specific trustee being announced," she said. "The expectations (from the state board) is that no major changes would take place until a trustee came and had the opportunity to review the district and make determinations on best use of its resources."

Having a new interim superintendent and removing Zendejas will cost the district at least $206,000 in her