Thursday, April 22, 2010

Minn. Union Head in Hot Seat Over Seating - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Minn. Union Head in Hot Seat Over Seating

By Stephen Sawchuk on April 22, 2010 2:25 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

You'd think that people would've learned by now that appearance is nine-tenths of the game in politics.

Strangely, an official of Minnesota's state teachers' union was placed at the same table as legislators at a recent hearing on the state's Race to the Top bid, not with other witnesses. Republicans on the committee flipped out, proclaiming it a sign of the union's undue influence on education policy.

Education Minnesota chief Tom Dooher didn't ask any questions of the lawmakers, according to news reports, and claims that he didn't know where he was to be seated until he arrived in the chamber. Lawmakers, nevertheless, promptly passed a procedural rule to prevent lobbyists from sitting at the same table as legislators.

Awkward stuff because the union has been a key opponent of legislation

This Week In Education Video: Scott's Tots On "The Office

This Week In Education

Video: Scott's Tots On "The Office"

by Alexander Russo

Last week's rerun of "The Office" showed lamebrain boss Michael Scott visiting the kids to whom he'd unwisely promised college tuition if they graduated and -- almost as good -- made fun of the goofy chants and songs that teachers get kids to do and put on YouTube. Here's a snippet:

Remarks by The First Lady at Take Your Child to Work Day Event | The White House

Remarks by The First Lady at Take Your Child to Work Day Event

by The White House

East Room
10:36 A.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA: Hi, guys! How are you? It’s good to see you. How are you guys doing? Hi. It’s Bo! All right, so Bo is the highlight of the visit today. All right, come on, Bo, come on. Bo, Bo, come on, come on, come on. All right. Okay, I'll make sure he gets to come around to everybody. Bo, sit down, stay.
Hey, how is everybody doing?
AUDIENCE: Good!
MRS. OBAMA: That's good. Well, welcome to the White House. How many guys -- of you guys have done this -- did you do this last year? That's good.
So we’re going to make this much more informal than we did last year. I mean, in the last year I talked a little bit, and then you got to ask questions, but the truth is, is that it’s more interesting to talk and answer your questions. So we’re going to do that today.
But let me just welcome you all today. This is an important day for all of us because your parents spend so much time here helping me and the President, and we know that a lot of times they do it because you all make the sacrifices to be here. You guys are helping us just as much as your parents are. So first of all I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being patient and making sure that you’re doing what you’re supposed to do at home so that your parents can do what they need to do here.
Sit down, Bo.
So let’s just start. Do you guys have questions? Why don’t we start with questions.
All right, you in the front.
Q Do you like living in the White House?
MRS. OBAMA: The question is: Do I like living in the White House? And yes, it’s fun living in the White House.
(Bo barks.) (Laughter.) Bo likes it, too. Bo likes living in the White House, too. Some of the most fun parts about living in the White House is getting to share the house with so many people. I mean, we have thousands of people who come here every month just to visit, and it’s really fun to meet a lot of people and to make sure that they feel like this house is special for them, and to share it with everybody else. So it’s been a lot of fun. There are a lot of good things about it.
All right, let’s get a hand. You, young man, in the blue shirt. Yes, you, blue shirt.
Q How does it feel --
MRS. OBAMA: We’ve got a mic. Do we have a mic, too, so that everybody can hear your question?
Q How does it feel being the First Lady?
MRS. OBAMA: How does it feel being the First Lady? I think it feels like being me, you know? You don't change as a person just because you have a different job, you know? So what’s your name?
Q Isaiah.
MRS. OBAMA: Isaiah. So you know how you feel, Isaiah, right? And you feel that way whether you’re at home or at school or at the park or whether you’re with your friends. It’s like you’re always Isaiah, right?
So I think I feel the same way, too. I still feel like who I am; that, you know, I got to take care of my kids and I want to do a good job as First Lady. I want to make sure that I’m making my country proud. But I still feel like me. Does that make sense? All right.
All right, in the aqua blue, pigtails, hands up.
Q Since it’s Earth Day today, what are you doing?
MRS. OBAMA: Say that again?
Q What are you doing for Earth Day?
MRS. OBAMA: For Earth Day. Oh, I think we’re having a reception this evening. Sometimes it’s hard for me to keep up with all the things that we’re doing. There’s a reception here this evening for Earth Day.
And Sasha brought home some energy-efficient bulbs that we have to put in the house. So we’re going to do some bulb replacement. All right?
All right, you right there.
Q Do you miss Chicago?
MRS. OBAMA: You know, the question, do I miss Chicago -- yeah, there are some things that I miss about Chicago. I miss -- but I think the things that I miss about Chicago are the things that I would miss anywhere. And one of the things that the President and I can’t do is sort of just walk down the street by ourselves, you

Chasing Experienced Teachers From the Classroom | NEA Priority Schools Campaign

NEA Priority Schools Campaign

Chasing Experienced Teachers From the Classroom | NEA Priority Schools Campaign

Chasing Experienced Teachers From the Classroom

April 20, 2010 by Kevin Hart
Filed under PSC Featured News

Education Research Report: Katrina students show strong performance gains after four years in Texas schools

Katrina students show strong performance gains after four years in Texas schools

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

A new study has found that students who relocated to Texas because of Hurricane Katrina have made significant academic progress during the past four years and are performing slightly better than a demographically and economically matched set of Texas students.

When compared with all Texas students, the Katrina students perform as well or better than the Texas students on reading performance and the gap in mathematic performance narrowed substantially.

“I was so proud of the Texas public schools when they took in the students who evacuated their homes because of Hurricane Katrina. But today, I am even more proud of these schools and our educators because they have made a real and lasting difference in the lives of these children,” said Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into coastal states in August 2005 creating major damage across the southern United States, 46,504 evacuees from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida suddenly enrolled in Texas public schools.

Texas schools opened their doors and provided not only academic services but clothing, counseling and other

Teachers Ought To Tweet � The Quick and the Ed

Teachers Ought To Tweet

by Renee Rybak

Last week, I stumbled on an article by edu-tech blogger Laura Walker on the reasons why teachers should be on Twitter. She lists everything from professional development to keeping up with the latest news coverage and sharpening communications skills (write it in 140 characters and you can write anything…). I couldn’t agree more: Teachers ought to tweet. Why? Well, for many of the reasons Walker lays out, but I have a few more ideas of my own to add.

Student Engagement. Contrary to what you might think, there is no age prerequisite for using Twitter. In fact, young people (ages 12-17 and 18-24 year-old, in particular)are Twitter’s fastest growing audience segment. Why not use Twitter to as a teaching tool? Every classroom has a shy student—the one who doesn’t want to be called on, or thinks her question is too stupid to bring up. Teachers could leverage Twitter in their everyday teaching to reach those students in the classroom, or even after hours, when students are attending to homework. Likewise, using Twitter in the classroom can encourage student collaboration or foster a sense of school community.
Documenting a Lesson. Ever heard of live-tweeting at a conference or event? Normally this means tweeting relevant facts, or interesting sound bites from a live event for the benefit of those “followers” who can’t be there themselves. In other words, note-taking for the masses. I can’t imagine this same concept wouldn’t have some utility in a classroom—both for teachers and students alike. For teachers, it’s could be a built-in feedback mechanism on their lessons. For students, it’s another way to take (and share)

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

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Posted: Thursday, April 22, 2010 8:07 am

Rain was so not in the San Diego orientation video. Stay in and stay dry with the newsblitz:

The race to unseat incumbent school board member John de Beck is on. It's the first time that de Beck hasn't had the backing of the teachers union. One of his challengers is questioning whether his sharp tongue has translated in getting things done.
Some Escondido teachers will be spared from layoffs because others retired, the Union-Tribune reports.
SDNN writes about different efforts to stop hate in schools.
Eleven struggling schools are undergoing overhauls in San Bernardino, the Sun reports. They're making the changes because California listed them as persistently low achieving schools earlier this year. This is the sort of thing that San Diego Unified has pledged to avoid unless it makes sense for the schools.
Class sizes have grown in Sacramento-area schools, the Bee reports. This reflects a

“Union-Led Conference Targets Family Engagement in Schools” | Engaging Parents In School...

“Union-Led Conference Targets Family Engagement in Schools”

by Larry Ferlazzo

The National Education Association just published an article on a conference last week about parent engagement. It begins:
The Tennessee Education Association in partnership with the National Education Association and 22 other organizations in the state, hosted the Tennessee Family/School/Community Engagement Summit this month, a dialogue on policy and practice for improving family engagement in school
You can read the entire article at the link.

Ed. Dept.'s 'Soviet Judges' Review of Race to Top Scores - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Ed. Dept.'s 'Soviet Judges' Review of Race to Top Scores

by Michele McNeil

There's been a lot of talk about how fair the scoring was in the first round of Race to the Top. Did reviewers follow the guidance and always award the correct number of points? Did a few outliers skew the results? Did some states get the luck of the draw and benefit from a bunch of easy graders, or did others draw the short end of stick and get all of the hard graders?
The Education Department, as part of its technical assistance seminar in Minneapolis yesterday for state applicants, said it did its own statistical analysis to examine these issues. Joanne Weiss, the department's Race to the Top guru, called it the "Soviet judges" review (in a nod to notorious figure-skating scoring scandals of years past). UPDATE: For a summary of their review, fast forward to slide 15 of this PowerPoint presentation the department did yesterday.
In any competition that involves judgment calls, there will be easy graders and hard graders. The department checked to see if all of the easy graders were concentrated on one panel (e.g. the winning ones) or vice versa.

Schools Matter: Kentucky Weighs RTTT Bribe Against Potential Damage By Charter Schools

Kentucky Weighs RTTT Bribe Against Potential Damage By Charter Schools

by Jim Horn

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

. . . . That leaves charter schools as the "well, now, not so fast" possible addition to the session agenda. Where the dropout bill was subjected to three months-plus of public debate, charter schools didn't generate much conversation until the session's closing days, if not its closing hours, and only then because they were seen as being helpful in qualifying Kentucky for $175 million in federal Race to the Top funds.
Despite support from President Barack Obama, charter schools remain a divisive issue. Studies of them in various parts of the country have produced mixed results at best.
As a divisive issue, charter schools have the potential for once again blowing up budget negotiations because of lines drawn in the political sands. Passing a budget that averts a

Investment Policy Changes At California’s Public Pension Funds: Is Internal Reform Enough? | California Progress Report

Investment Policy Changes At California’s Public Pension Funds: Is Internal Reform Enough?

Posted on 22 April 2010

By Christopher Lund

Following the introduction of AB 2337 (the Socially Responsible Investment Act) by Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, CalPERS and CalSTRS recently proposed changes in their real estate investment policies with the goal of avoiding future investments in deals that rely, or result in, the displacement of residents in affordable housing, a practice commonly referred to as “predatory equity”.

Predatory equity is an inherently risky form of real estate speculation in which investors pay more for rent-regulated housing than can be justified by the actual rental income at the time of purchase. The business model is predicated on the eviction and harassment of tenants so that rents can be significantly raised through vacancy decontrol or so that properties can be converted to other uses such as condominiums.

Unfortunately, this practice has become a problem of both statewide and national importance in recent years, and has in many instances used public pension fund money as the primary source of equity. Beyond the ethical concerns raised by such practices, the investments have also proven to be financially unsound, with CalPERS and CalSTRS recently losing more than $700 million in deals in New York City and East Palo Alto.

While CalPERS’ and CalSTRS’ proposed real estate investment policy changes are an important first step, they do not sufficiently guarantee that these types of predatory investments will come to a halt.

California’s Great Recession and the Costs of War

By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California

California is on life support. Families are reeling from the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. The state’s social safety net - and the life sustaining services it provides - is needed now more than ever. But due to massive and ongoing budget deficits, rather than strengthening programs that are in such high demand – from health care to education to assistance to the poor – we are dismantling them.

To adequately and humanely address the economic pain felt by too many Californians and prevent the recession from deepening, new revenues are desperately needed. One

Prop 11 Citizens Redistricting Commission Showing Problems

By Robert Cruickshank

It was an ambitious idea that doesn't quite seem to be working out. Prop 11 was based on the concept that informed citizens, representing the state's diversity, would draw better maps for state legislative districts than the legislators themselves. Prop 11 narrowly passed in 2008, and is already the subject of both a repeal initiative and a initiative to create this kind of commission for the Congressional seats.

Whatever you think of the concept, it's not functioning as planned, as Torey Van Oot reports for the SacBee:

But with the supplemental application deadline closed, about 90 percent of initial

Professor Investigated for Sex Tourism Website � Student Activism

Professor Investigated for Sex Tourism Website

by Angus Johnston

A professor at Cal State Northridge has been revealed as the editor of a website that caters to men who travel to Thailand as “sex tourists” seeking prostitutes.
Kenneth Ng, a tenured associate professor of Economics, is himself a frequent sex tourist. He defends his site as constitutionally protected speech, but a former Justice Department expert on sex trafficking and child abuse says that federal law prohibits “enticing or coercing” individuals to travel internationally in search of prostitutes.
Ng started the “Big Baby Kenny” site after he was banned from blogging at a Thai website for encouraging men to seek sex from the “emotionally vulnerable girls” who congregated at a particular Buddhist shrine. (In that same

A Seat at the Table | Intercepts

A Seat at the Table

by Mike Antonucci

Minnesota lawmakers felt their Race to the Top application was adversely affected by insufficient teacher union buy-in. So they heeded the union’s repeated calls for “a seat at the table” by giving Education Minnesota President Tom Dooher, well, a seat at the table. Unfortunately, it was a seat at the legislators’ table during a committee hearing and Dooher is not only the union president, but a registered lobbyist.
Republican state Rep. Mark Buesgens said it was “like having Vito Corleone watching over his foot soldiers.”
The Democrats said the meeting was a working group and not a full committee hearing, so Dooher’s presence at the legislators’ table was not a breach of protocol. However, the Minnesota House voted 128-2 yesterday to bar

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Thursday, April 22, 2010