Wednesday, March 31, 2010

More violence and failure at S. Philly High: What hasn't changed at all | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

More violence and failure at S. Philly High: What hasn't changed at all

by Helen Gym on Mar 31 2010

Photo: Harvey Finkle

Student at an SRC meeting in December.

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It's been almost four months since the Dec. 3 violence at South Philadelphia High School. How are things going?

Two weeks ago, a recent immigrant Chinese student testified at the School Reform Commission about ongoing violence at the school.

He and his brother had arrived at Southern post-Dec. 3, but heard about the violence on their very first day. Earlier this month, his brother’s head cracked against a wall after two students at the school kicked a bathroom door into his face as he was coming out. The boy’s parents received an urgent call from their son inside the school, but were turned away by school security while they struggled to explain why they were there.

Following the testimony at the SRC the parents got a call from the school to return

The Allure of “Magic Bullets” in School Reform � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

MARCH 31, 2010...7:00 AM

The Allure of “Magic Bullets” in School Reform

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I doubt if I am the only one who gets fatigued from the constant use of the phrase “magic bullet” in school reform. Most often the words disparagingly describe reforms that once pumped up hopes for solving serious school problems and then missed the target or created much collateral damage.

Remember “Career Education” in the 1970s; “restructuring schools” in the 1980s; “systemic school reform” in the 1990s. Don’t forget “choice” in the 1990s when John Chubb and Terry Moe pronounced it as a “panacea.” And for the past decade, champions of “magic bullets” have touted “teacher pay-for-performance,” Reading First, Teach for America, and principals as instructional leaders. I could go on and on but the point of very smart people believing in one “magic bullet” after another that turned out to be duds raises a few obvious questions.

1. What is the origin of the phrase?

2. Why do policymakers, practitioners, parents, and reform-driven folks hunt again and again for the next magic bullet?

3. Are “magic bullets” unique to education?

What is the origin of the phrase? If you guessed the field of medicine, you are correct. Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) used “magic bullet” to describe a chemical that “would seek out and specifically destroy invading microbes or tumor cells.”He and another researcher discovered a treatment for syphilis called Salvarsan that destroyed the bacteria causing the disease while not killing healthy cells.

“You go to the school, you sign up to do a job, they tell you what to do” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Larry Ferlazzo

“You go to the school, you sign up to do a job, they tell you what to do”

Filed under school reform

I’ve just posted in my other blog, Engaging Parents In School, about the fight a group of parents is waging to be able to create a PTA in a Texas school district. The headline of the post is a quote from one of the parents.

You might want to read “You go to the school, you sign up to do a job, they tell you what to do.”

Southeastern University Implosion Update � The Quick and the Ed

Southeastern University Implosion Update

by Kevin Carey

Last month I wrote about how Southeastern University in Washington, DC finally collapsed in de-accreditation after being allowed to persist in mediocrity and failure for far too long, leaving a trail of drop-outs, loan defaults, and frustrated students in its wake. Now comes news that seven of those students have sued the university for fraud in DC Superior Court–or to be more precise, sued theGraduate School, which absorbed the remnants of Southeastern after the university’s doors shuttered last fall. The plaintiffs are asking for $10 million in punitive damages and millions more in compensation. You can read the complaint here.
I don’t know how strong the case is from a legal standpoint. But its’s worth considering some excerpts from the particulars, all of which ring true:

In exchange for the promises made by the Defendant, the Plaintiffs paid substantial amounts of money in tuition, books, and cost. The amounts of money paid by the Plaintiffs and collected by the Defendant (as a result of the false promises, representations and omissions made by the Defendant) varied from as low as Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) to as high as Forty One Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($41,500.00). The Defendant represented to the Plaintiffs that they would make significant salaries upon graduation.

And:

The Defendant…represented that is “prepares students for a successful and rewarding career…by focusing on academic and professional preparation in a supportive environment.”
Defendant also represented that it possesses learning resources that include “interactive”

Featured Product: CENTER FOR THE FUTURE OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

California Teacher Workforce Data Now Available

The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning now provides online access to the data sets used inThe Status of the Teaching Profession 2009, the most recent annual report on California's teaching workforce. The content, platform and format for the site were designed especially for use by policymakers, academic researchers, philanthropic organizations, journalists and others interested in public education in California.

This new and important resource provides access to data that are publicly available through the California Department of Education but compiled and analyzed in unique ways for the Center by SRI International. Use of the data sets, which are not found elsewhere, is available free of charge.

This new resource allows users to examine the preparation and experience of California’s

On Cesar Chavez Day, Rediscover Cesar Chavez California Progress Report

California Progress Report

On Cesar Chavez Day, Rediscover Cesar Chavez

By Randy Shaw

When California in 2000 became the first of eight states to declare March 31 as Cesar Chavez Day, the goal was to connect the honor with a curriculum that would educate students about Chavez. Yet ten years later, it is clear that young Californians know little about Cesar Chavez, and that those raised outside the West Coast and Southwest know even less. Millions of Americans even think Barack Obama invented the “Yes We Can” rallying cry, unaware of its roots

With AB 2492, Ammiano Closes A '$7.5 Billion' Commercial Property Tax Loophole

By Dan Aiello
California Progress Report

The idea of a revision to the state’s property tax law - established with passage of Proposition 13 - is not new to Sacramento. It was born, say revision proponents, with the post-Prop 13 realization that what defines a commercial property sale would not

Jaime Escalante: An educator who stood and delivered for kids | Kevin Johnson

Facebook | Kevin Johnson

Jaime Escalante: An educator who stood and delivered for kids

I just learned that a great American educator, Jaime Escalante, lost his battle with cancer. I am saddened by the loss of this remarkable educator, and wanted to take a minute to reflect on his contributions to students. Through his students' remarkable success on the AP Calculus exam, Escalante proved that poor and minority kids could perform at the very highest levels academically.
Our community must take this lesson to heart. Until we truly believe that ALL Sacramento students can learn--regardless of background or zip code--we will continue to suffer from crippling achievement gaps in our city and region.
While most people know that Edward James Olmos played Escalante in the movie "Stand and Deliver," fewer people know that Mr. Escalante ended his teaching career as a math teacher at Hiram Johnson High School. Mr. Escalante retired from teaching several years ago, but I took a minute today to look at the current student results at Hiram Johnson.
As I reviewed the reports, I was blown away to learn that last year at Hiram Johnson, only one out of every three ninth grade students could read at grade level. Looking at the math results, I saw that only 15% of the students who took the end of course Algebra exam were proficient or above.
Superintendent Jonathan Raymond has identified Hiram Johnson as a priority school for next year. I fully support his vision and efforts to turn around Johnson and six other failing schools. Escalante told his students: "Determination. Plus discipline. Plus hard work. That is the path." The adults in Sacramento need to follow that path as we make difficult decisions and commit to truly put the interests of children first.
Jaime Escalante spent the last few months of his life in Sacramento with his son. As Sacramentans, we must take up his struggle for educational equity. Education is the civil rights issue of our time. I ran for Mayor to improve education for students in Sacramento and I will be calling on all of us in the coming year to step up and make a difference for our children.

Lake Wales News > Opinion > Our Viewpoint > Make civics a vital part of education

Lake Wales News - Opinion - Our Viewpoint Make civics a vital part of education

Make civics a vital part of education

Published:

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 10:08 AM EDT

Civics 101: How a bill becomes a law.

At its simplest form in a bicameral legislative system, a bill must pass one chamber, then another before it is sent to the chief executive for signature.

A bill labeled HB (House Bill) 105 passed the Florida House of Representatives with a unanimous vote last week, which means that it has overwhelming bipartisan support. It will now be taken up by the Senate, where a companion bill labeled SB (Senate Bill) 1096 is sponsored by State Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, the state senator who represents much of our readership's district.

The measure -- given the fancy, official title, "Justice Sandra Day O'Connor Civics Education Act" -- deserves Senate support during this year's legislative session and eventually the signature of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. The reason is simple: It is needed to help ensure that young Floridians become better citizens.

Detert's bill would make civics content part of language arts curriculum in all grades in public schools. The act also would make civics a required one-semester course for all the state's seventh graders.

Most important, starting in 2012, middle-schoolers would have to pass the civics course to move on to high school. Thirty percent of their grade would be their score in a statewide, standard test. In 2013, the end-of-course test scores will be factored into a school's overall grade. In 2014 and afterward, students would have to pass the standard test to get a passing grade in the course and move on to high school.

That last provision goes a little too far. We'd prefer to see the test score blended into a student's final grade and agree that the test scores should be incorporated into the school's grade. But the overall idea of the legislation is sound: It would move social studies and civics to a level with

Race to Top Winners Include STEM in Agendas - Curriculum Matters - Education Week

Race to Top Winners Include STEM in Agendas

By Erik Robelen on March 31, 2010 11:16 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

As you've probably heard by now, Delaware and Tennessee were the only two states to win first-round grants in the federal Race to the Top Fund competition.

There's a lot of material to wade through in their applications outlining what they aim to do (235 pages for Delaware, 264 for Tennessee), but I'm going to focus here on STEM education, which is featured in both plans. Careful readers of this blog may recall that this was one of the criteria upon which applications would be judged. States could earn 15 of the 500 points for having an emphasis on education in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

At the risk of sounding snarky, you'll perhaps notice a heavy dose of buzzwords and phrases in the Race to the Top applications: "groundbreaking," "partnership," "college-readiness," "cross-disciplinary," "cutting-edge approaches," "sustainable innovations," "rigorous academic curriculum," "student-focused support," and, well, you get the idea.

In any case, here's a taste of what Delaware has in mind on the STEM front.

"Over the next four years, Delaware plans to increase rigor in STEM coursework, promote college-readiness in the core areas of science and mathematics, and to further integrate technology to engage students," that state's application says.

Dysfunctional state government dooms chances for Race to the Top education dollars in near future

BY GLENN BLAIN
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU

Wednesday, March 31st 2010, 4:00 AM

Roske/AP

A politically weak Gov. Paterson and a dysfunctional state government damages New York State's chances for education dollars, observers say.

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ALBANY - New York is unlikely to improve its bid for Race to the Top dollars anytime soon - because state lawmakers have already won their own race to the bottom.

New York's notoriously dysfunctional state government is made more so by looming elections and a politically weak Gov. Paterson, all but dooming New York's chance of winning a next round for the critical education dollars, Albany watchers say.

"The special interests have not gone away," said Barbara Bartoletti, the legislative director for the League of Women Voters of New York.

She noted the warring factions are "going to be giving big bucks to get their agenda done."

The state on Monday failed to win a $700 million pot of educational gold from the Obama administration, setting off a new round of all-too-familiar finger-pointing in the state capital.

Gov. Paterson and charter school supporters blame the rejection on the Legislature's failure to raise the state's cap on charter schools and allow student performance data to be used in evaluating teachers.

The state's powerful teachers unions opposed both measures.

Paterson has pleaded with the Legislature to take action before the second Race to the Top application deadline on June 1.

Lawmakers have been noncommittal.

"That's something that has to be discussed by the senator with members of the (Democratic) conference," said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson.

Senate officials argue that charter schools and teacher evaluation

Gov. Chris Christie and education; Raise the gas tax; Bury the power lines | NJ.com

Gov. Chris Christie and education; Raise the gas tax; Bury the power lines

By Letters to the Editor/The Star-Ledger

March 31, 2010, 5:07AM

David Gard/For The Star-LedgerTeachers and students protest Gov. Chris Christie's school aid cuts in Mendham.Free-market education

Gov. Chris Christie is absolutely right: Teachers should not get a free ride on the taxpayers’ backs. We should earn our money the same way electricians, chiropractors and lawyers do.

Charter schools and vouchers aren’t the answer because, as the governor points out, schools just breed mediocrity and corruption. A free-market education system will promote competition and our clients will hold us accountable.

The only difficulty I foresee is putting a dollar value on my education services. A contractor is charging me $900 in labor to spend one day replacing some windows in my home, so I do have some idea of what I can charge parents when I teach a child a skill like reading comprehension.

As a former lawyer, perhaps Christie could advise me how to create my fee scale and calculate my billable hours.

Tonio Favetta, West Orange

No longer needed

I was shocked to learn from your editorial of the arrogant attitude the NJEA has toward considering a one-year wage freeze ("Freeze teacher pay," March 25). What kind of a lesson does it teach our kids when a piece of paper trumps shared sacrifice, social justice, decency and

Eduflack: Standing and Delivering

Standing and Delivering

by Eduflack

Yesterday, the education community received some sad news out of Los Angeles. Jaime Escalante, the famed calculus teacher depicted in the 1988 movie "Stand and Deliver," passed away.

Eduflack assumes that just about everyone in education policy has seen this movie, and knows the story of what "Kimo" was able to do for the students of Garfield High School. The tale is actually quite remarkable, and is incredibly told in WaPo's Jay Mathews book, "Escalante: The Best Teacher in America."

Escalante's story is about more than just getting a group of students, previously given up on by just about every corner of public education, to succeed on one of the hardest tests (AP Calculus) that high school student can take. In many ways, Escalante embodies many of the issues we face today. He was a mid-career transition teacher, giving up a corporate career to follow his passion for teaching. He demonstrated that it is possible to close the achievement gap, and it is possible by pushing students harder and accepting no excuses. The cinematic version of his tale forced many to better understand the issues of cheating on standardized exams and what sends up red flags. And Escalante was a textbook example of what is possible with an effective,

http://www.nsns.org/news/racial-strife-at-slu-students-drive-email-campaign

Racial Strife at SLU, Students Drive Email Campaign

Date: 3/31/2010 9:35 am

Recent racially-charged incidents on campus led students at Saint Louis University to drive an email campaign to university administrators last week. Over 120 emails demanding responsive action were sent to five top administrators, including SLU's president, vice presidents and a dean. Violent racial slurs had become more commonplace on campus, and some minor vandalism is also assumed to be connected to the tense campus climate.

“It seems the administration is just kind of like they know what they are politically supposed to say, and I want them to feel uncomfortable," said senior Tianyi Li. "I want them to feel embarrassed that they haven’t done their job.”
Earlier this semester, one black student reported hearing two male voices outside her door saying “F*** you, n*****,” while they ripped the name tag off her door. The students have since been identified and asked to leave campus, but the administration did not do anything to address racism on the campus at large following the incident.

The email campaign, organized by the unofficial student group Students for Social Justice, contained a list of eight demands including a new 24-hour hotline to assist students who feel threatened, immediate notification for students when discriminatory threats occur, and the establishment of a standard protocol for dealing with hate-related incidents.

“I really didn’t know what the motivation was to start the emails now in terms of timing, because we had not heard of any new incidents, so I didn’t quite know what their motivation was,” said Manoj Patankar, the Vice President of SLU's Frost Campus. “B

Tech: State & Local Superintendents On Twit This Week In Education

This Week In Education

Tech: State & Local Superintendents On Twitter

Here's a beginning list of state (@SSPIJack, @suptflanagan, @Tony_Bennett, @kycommissioner) and district superintendents (andreamerida, @canyonsdave, @colonelb, @pammoran,@johnccarver, @edubrew, @pammoran, @canyonsdave,@johnccarver, @colonelb, @Akee123, @ericconti) on Twitter. Are they any good at putting out interesting information about their thinking and experiences? I have no idea. Know any others who might be better? Let us know. Getting on Twitter is one thing. Putting out candid, useful information is another.

Schools Matter: ED Blueprint Reactions

ED Blueprint Reactions

by Jim Horn

Monty Neill posted a good sampling of reactions to the "Blueprint" at ARN:

The Forum on Educational ACcountability (FEA), which I chair, submitted its recommendations to the House Ed Comm on Friday; it includes evaluation of the Administration's 'blueprint.' . . . . And FairTest has its summary of these proposals on our website, off our home page at www.fairtest.org.

A number of groups affiliated with Rethink Learning Now (some of whom are signers of the Joint Statement on NCLB) submitted comments to the House.

Richard Rothstein's evaluation of the blueprint.

NEA sent a detailed set of recommendations, a summary is here [link to the whole document is

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010