Saturday, April 10, 2010

Eight Hillsboro School District schools will background check all volunteers under test program | OregonLive.com

Eight Hillsboro School District schools will background check all volunteers under test program

By Wendy Owen, The Oregonian

April 10, 2010, 4:00AM

BENJAMIN BRINK/The OregonianParent Robin Olafson is among the roughly dozen volunteers who help out daily Indian Hills Elementary in Hillsboro. Starting in mid-April, Hillsboro School District is testing a program that requires parent volunteers to have statewide criminal records checks. Olafson helps kindergartners Kylee Green (right) and Parker Kelson.HILLSBORO -- By the end of this school year, more volunteers will have passed through Hillsboro schools than employees.

The 2,400 teachers, secretaries, custodians and administrators have had their fingerprints taken and names checked for arrests and criminal convictions; most of the thousands of classroom volunteers and event chaperones have not.

They simply sign in at the main office, get a badge and visit a classroom to assist a teacher. Or they stop by after school to help load band instruments or hop on a bus to chaperone the drill team.

But that will change in mid-April at eight district schools, as they test a program to background check all volunteers -- from grandmas to Intel engineers.

The basic records check will not require fingerprints, but it will require a date of birth and either a Social Security number or an identification number. If it works, the district plans to expand the program to all 33 schools in the fall.

Schools are joining a growing number of organizations that check the backgrounds of their volunteers. Beaverton and Tigard-Tualatin school districts have had districtwide programs in place for at least two years.

Charter-school report puts blame on School District | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/09/2010

Charter-school report puts blame on School District

By Martha Woodall

Inquirer Staff Writer

City Controller Alan Butkovitz said Thursday that the Philadelphia School District had failed to monitor 67 charter schools, leaving both it and the taxpayers "extremely vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse."
Releasing a long-awaited report that looks in depth at 13 charter schools and at the district's charter oversight office, Butkovitz also proposed amending state law to reduce opportunities for fraud.
"In spite of the numerous problems uncovered at individual charter schools, the biggest problem lay clearly with the school district's Charter Office," he said at a news conference. "There was a complete and total failure on the part of the Charter Office to monitor charter schools and hold them accountable for how they spend taxpayers' dollars. . . ."
Butkovitz said the report, based on a 14-month fraud investigation, disclosed "questionable practices, suspect relationships, and potential vulnerabilities." He called on the district to exercise the oversight called for by the 1997 state law that created charter schools.
As The Inquirer reported this week, investigators in Butkovitz's office found financial and ethical problems at all 13 schools they examined, including excessive salaries for chief executives, compliant boards whose members were handpicked by school chiefs, inflated rents, and rampant conflicts of interest.
Butkovitz said that except for when schools' operating charters were up for renewal every five years, the district provided only "minimal oversight" of ongoing school operations, which cost city taxpayers $300 million a year.
Benjamin W. Rayer, chief of the district's Charter Office, responded that Butkovitz's review began prior to his arrival

Christie seeks cap on N.J. public college tuition

TRENTON - Gov. Christie wants to cap tuition and fee increases at the state's four-year public colleges and universities at 4 percent, after proposing to cut the schools' state aid by nearly 18 percent.

L. Merion official acknowledges race factored in plan

Lower Merion's top school official on Thursday acknowledged instances in which racial factors figured in the sifting and ultimate selection of a controversial redistricting plan.

Annette John-Hall: Not a shortcut, 2 students find

As students at Widener University's School of Nursing, Barbara Prosser and Sabrina Whitaker were already on their way to fulfilling their dream of becoming registered nurses.

Grant to help Oakland's Fremont and Castlemont campuses - Inside Bay Area

Grant to help Oakland's Fremont and Castlemont campuses

By Kelly Rayburn and Katy Murphy
Oakland Tribune

Posted: 04/09/2010 06:34:41 PM PDT

Updated: 04/10/2010 05:34:15 AM PDT

OAKLAND — A $382,639 state grant recently awarded to the city will be used to tackle gang violence and boost graduation rates on two Oakland high school campuses, Mayor Ron Dellums' office said this week.

The grant, which comes from the California Gang Reduction, Intervention and Prevention Program, is designed to help students on the Fremont and Castlemont campuses by putting them on a path to become teachers or social workers.

"Too many of our young people are dying as a result of gang violence," Dellums said in a statement, adding that the effort "will allow us to wrap our arms around youth" by providing support and career opportunities and creating a caring environment at the two campuses.

Specifically, the money will be used to create 70 part-time jobs for Oakland youths who will be placed in jobs in after-school programs or social service agencies as a possible first step toward becoming teachers or social workers, Dellums' office said.

It also will establish facilities at the Fremont and Castlemont campuses to offer career advice to students and adults. And it will provide participating students the opportunity to enroll in a Summer Bridge program aimed at building math and literacy skills.

Officials hope to reduce gang involvement by 75 percent among participating students and increase graduation rates so that 85 percent of those taking part go onto higher education.

Paul Seave, director of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's

Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy, said in a statement: "This project has the refreshingly high but reasonable

Friday, April 9, 2010

California Revises Rules on Paid Internships - NYTimes.com

California Labor Dept. Revises Guidelines on When Interns Must Be Paid

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Published: April 9, 2010

RelatedCalifornia’s labor department has issued updated guidelines on whether internships should be paid or unpaid, with the new rules giving employers slightly more latitude not to pay them.

The Unpaid Intern, Legal or Not(April 3, 2010)

In an advisory letter to a program that teaches information technology, the department’s top lawyer reinterpreted the criteria on compensation for internships, and, in a nod to employers, said interns need not always be paid when they do some of the same work as regular employees.

Many wage and hour regulators maintain that interns must be paid if their work is of “immediate advantage” to the employer, but the California agency’s top lawyer advised that such an advantage can be offset — and the intern not be paid — if the employer provides close supervision and lays out money for training.

Over all, the guidance from the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement was emphatic that for internships to be unpaid, they must be educational and predominantly

Your Money: Working Financial Literacy Into the Classroom

by By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD

While more states are beginning to require personal finance instruction, there aren’t enough that do, experts say, and the quality is inconsistent.

News10.net | Legislative analyst: State community college fees should rise

News10.net | Sacramento, California | Education Home

Education News

Legislative analyst: State community college fees should rise

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The California Legislative Analyst's Office is recommending state community colleges can help resolve their budget woes by increasing some student fees by 60 percent.

Megan Fox slams Schwarzenegger, California education

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Megan Fox and her sometime boyfriend, actor Brian Austin Green, took aim at Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, protesting California school budget cuts in a new video online.

Folsom Lake College SIFE prepares for San Francisco competition

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The Folsom Lake College SIFE will showcase 13 community-based business projects on April 6 in a competition in San Francisco.

Officials hope UC Merced expansion will spur jobs

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Merced officials are hoping expansion plans at UC Merced will help brighten the city's employment picture.

Humboldt State may cut entire programs

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Among the programs that could be eliminated at Humboldt State University are chemistry, computer science, fisheries biology, nursing, philosophy and physics.

California Administrators Take Aim At Activists’ Wallets � Student Activism

California Administrators Take Aim At Activists’ Wallets

April 9, 2010 in Students

When students at San Francisco State University took over that campus’s business school building in December, the university responded with force. Administrators brought police from campuses across the state to the scene, broke a window to gain access, and arrested eleven student activists.

In the weeks after the arrests, administrators and students worked out a deal to resolve the charges. Ten of the eleven students signed on to the agreement — admitting their participation in the occupation, accepting a semester’s academic probation, and promising to pay the university restitution for damage.

No exact figure for the restitution was agreed upon, but students were promised that the amount would be minimal. Students say they were told they would be charged for minor physical damage like scratches to walls, and that the total assessment would be no more than $50 per student.

But when the university finally billed the group not long ago, the figure was nearly fifteen times that high — $744.25 per student, $8,186.71 in total. The fee included not just cleanup from the damage done by the students themselves, but also the replacement of the window the cops chose to break and even the lodging costs for housing non-local police.

Reached for comment this week, university spokesperson Ellen Griffin acknowledged that the university had promised the students that charges

Local News | Superintendent Dorn asks forgiveness from students, state | Seattle Times Newspaper

Superintendent Dorn asks forgiveness from students, state

In his first interviews since his arrest March 21 for drunken driving, Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn said he hopes his mistake will prevent others from making the same one, especially students.

By Linda Shaw

Seattle Times education reporter

Randy Dorn plead guilty to one count of drunken driving, He spent 24 hours in jail and enrolled in an alcohol-awareness class.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn said he met with a group of high-school students Thursday and told them about his recent drunken-driving conviction as a cautionary tale.

At the end, he said he asked for their forgiveness.

On Friday, in one of his first interviews since his arrest March 21, Dorn essentially asked the state to forgive him, too.

"I don't want this to define who I am," he said.

Dorn has pleaded guilty to one count of drunken driving, even though his attorney told him he probably

“Be Niiiiiicccccceeeee” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Be Niiiiiicccccceeeee”

by Larry Ferlazzo

We have 2,300 students in our inner-city high school, which makes it difficult to know everybody. On top of that, we’re divided into seven “Small Learning Communities” (see What Are Small Communities?) of about 300-350 each, so that makes it even more difficult to know who students are outside your SLC.
As I walk around the school, though, it’s not uncommon to see students acting inappropriately with one another, or speaking inappropriately to another student. The vast majority of time, it’s not an “office-referral worthy” action of physical violence or threat that requires strong intervention. Generally, it might be a curse word told someone in passing, some quasi-friendly verbal kidding with a “bite,” or some physical “horse-play.” It would be easy just to pretend to ignore it.
Given that most of the time it involves students with whom I have no relationship at all, I needed to figure out how

The Best Sites For Learning About The American Civil War

by Larry Ferlazzo

Today is the 145th anniversary of the ending of the American Civil War. Here’s the description fromAnswers.com:
Apr 9, 1865. At 1:30 pm General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, commander in chief of the Union Army, ending four years of civil war. The meeting took place in the house of Wilmer McLean at the village of Appomattox Court House, VA. Confederate soldiers were permitted to keep their horses and go free to their homes, while Confederate officers were allowed to retain their swords and sidearms as well. Grant wrote the terms of surrender.

Financial Aid Rewards Those Who Do Everything Wrong (Sometimes) - Perdaily.com

Financial Aid Rewards Those Who Do Everything Wrong (Sometimes)

by Leonard

I was raised by a guy who graduated college the month before the Great Depression of 1929 hit. He always felt lucky to have a job and be able to support his family. My dad never quite forgot the insecurity he and his family went through during the 1930s. When we were kids during the 1950s, there was always too much food on the table, which I have come to realize was due to the fact that my father and his generation came from a time when one could not be sure of things as basic as food. My siblings and I would take this for granted.

I have always thought that my generation that came of age in the 1960s was able to ask the big questions about the glaring contradictions in our society between who we said we were and what we actually did, when it came to topics like social justice, war, and racism. We did not have to worry about the things my parent's generation did, because of the security we took for granted from the way we were raised. I didn't have a job pressing pants at 12 years of age like my father did. We had time to play, dream, and think, which allowed us to address the big

And the UFT election envelope please…. | GothamSchools

And the UFT election envelope please….

by Anna Phillips

The results are in for UFT president Michael Mulgrew, who won election to his first full three-year term by a landslide. But if you’re interested to see how the other candidates for officer and executive board positions fared, the American Arbitration Association’s official vote tally is posted below.

Mulgrew won 41,521 of 45,596 votes, or 91 percent of the vote. The actual number of voters was approximately 53,500, but because about 25,000 retired members voted — surpassing the cap of 18,000 — each of their votes counted for .72 of one vote.

The participation rate this year was about 32 percent — slightly higher than in 2007, when about 30 percent of union members voted. Of 114,000 active union members, about 27,500 voted. That participation rate of 24 percent is an increase from 22 percent three years ago, but still down from 29 percent in 2004. Of the union’s 53,000 retired members, about 25,000 voted, or about 47 percent, up from 38 percent in 2007.

Remainders: FL lawmakers send merit pay bill for gov.’s signature

by Maura Walz

The state budget director said school aid payments due in June may have to be spread out over time.
Florida lawmakers passed a bill that eliminates tenure for new teachers and uses a merit pay plan instead.
Concerns over pay-for-grades and merit pay show business models don’t work for schools, Mr. Talk says.
James Merriman praises NYSUT for speaking out against proposed cuts to SUNY’s charter authorizer.
Where do teachers go if they need to do work alone or make personal phone calls? Here’s a photo.
Actress Megan Fox’s viral video protesting California school budget cuts is pretty funny.
But Robert Ponsiscio calls Fox’s bluff, pointing out that Fox recently said she hated school.
And Leonie Haimson is hosting a parent conference tomorrow; the agenda is here.

Schools Matter: Massachusetts Set to Deny Diplomas to Almost 3,000 Special Education and ELL Students

Massachusetts Set to Deny Diplomas to Almost 3,000 Special Education and ELL Students

by Jim Horn

Why, you ask? Well, the State must uphold its "world class" tests that are designed, somehow, "to better prepare high school graduates for careers in the booming health and science fields and to help them more easily navigate an everyday world more reliant on technology." Never mind that these special ed students and immigrant students will be cut off forever from any decent career without high school diplomas that are being denied them because of a learning disability or a language deficiency. And they wonder why there is a dropout problem, yes? From the Boston Globe:

With less than two months to go before high school commencements, more than 4,100 seniors across Massachusetts have not met a new state graduation requirement: passing an MCAS

Achievement growth similar in Portland K-8, elementary and middle schools | OregonLive.com

Achievement growth similar in Portland K-8, elementary and middle schools

By Kimberly Melton, The Oregonian

April 09, 2010, 4:10PM

Achievement in Portland's K-8 schools has kept pace with achievement trends in Portland's K-5 and middle schools, according to preliminary datareleased this week. The results are the first part of a larger evaluation of the K-8 academic program and structure.

Portland Public Schools launched the K-8 reconfiguration nearly five years ago to cut costs and boost achievement by closing schools and merging many elementary and middle schools together.

These smaller schools were supposed to be better able foster relationships between the schools and families. The transition process, however, has faced several challenges. Some K-8's didn't have the proper equipment or materials, sometimes not even enough desks. Some students didn't have access counselors and others weren't offered algebra.

Portland has addressed several issues but is still trying to find ways to better support the K-8 school structure and make it successful. The achievement trends in those new K-8's, however, do show some promise.

At the middle school level, some K-8 schools are doing far better than the middle schools they replaced. As a middle school in 2004-05, 44 percent of Portsmouth students met state reading benchmarks. The district analyzed the data of middle school students in that neighborhood who would be

Oregon Trail School District offers IB program in Sandy for elementary grades

by Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

The school board approved an IB charter school last month for a fall opening. The school is offering one 25-student class per grade for kindergarten through fourth grade. A fifth-grade class will start the following year.

As foundation donations trickle in, Lake Oswego School District still faces budget troubles

by Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

Donations are slow for the Lake Oswego School District Foundation, and more cuts are on the horizon for the school district.

Salem teen, fascinated by travel since age 3, wins Oregon Geography Bee

by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

Map-loving seventh-grader Samuel Conte will represent Oregon at the national bee after he aced questions about the state of Saxony and a peace park straddling the U.S.-Canadian border.

The Education Report A new Oakland teacher, no longer new

The Education Report

A new Oakland teacher, no longer new

By dadiletta
Friday, April 9th, 2010 at 4:26 pm in Dan Adiletta
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Dan Adiletta, Explore Middle School teacher

I’ve got half the class laughing at a short, overzealous attempt at direct instruction. I had just broken up a fight in the hallway, then comforted a crying teenage girl (don’t let that drama steal your future!). My students struggle with sitting still for more than two minutes, but here they are composing position papers on the Divine Right of Kings. I love my job — even with the headaches that come with it.

Time has certainly passed quickly since Ifirst started in Oakland. I was placed as a social studies teacher at Explore Middle School with the help of Oakland City Teacher Corps, (OCTC).

It’s funny: At the training program they ran for us, accountability and teacher retention were repeated ad nauseam. I was brought in from Cleveland, Ohio to help a district that desperately needed highly qualified, committed teachers. So why, then, was I hired on a temporary contract? In my ignorance and naivety, I