Monday, April 26, 2010

With Nowhere Else To Cut, Teachers Are Next To Go : NPR

With Nowhere Else To Cut, Teachers Are Next To Go

by LARRY ABRAMSON

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Weekend Edition Saturday

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April 24, 2010

Tens of thousands of teachers across the country could receive pink slips in the next few weeks. After cutting their budgets to the bone and exhausting millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds, school districts have resorted to staff cuts to balance their budgets. New Jersey, California and Illinois are among the hardest-hit states.

SCOTT SIMON, host:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. Im Scott Simon.

School districts across the country say they're facing teacher layoffs of historic proportions. If that sounds like a headline from last year, it was. But in 2009 the stimulus package saved many education jobs. Now most of that rescue money is gone, and more than 100,000 teachers stand to lose their jobs.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

LARRY ABRAMSON: Projected layoffs in California: 26,000. In New Jersey: more than 6,000. Illinois: 20,000.

Unidentified People: Save our state, save our state, save our state, save our state...

ABRAMSON: In Springfield, Illinois, thousands marched on the state capitol Wednesday, demanding a tax increase to prevent more cuts to education. Teacher Don Dixon from Champagne, Illinois says his school is already coping with disastrous reductions.

Mr. DON DIXON (Teacher): You know, we just laid off 153 people in the second round. The first round we laid off about 50, and it's only going to get worse.

ABRAMSON: In New Jersey, Governor Chris Christy is dueling with the teachers union over the

Notes from the news, Apr. 26 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Apr. 26

by Erika Owens

Budget woes hit schools hard and harder The Inquirer
Pennsylvania is in a better position than other states because of legislated increases in education funding and how it has chosen to use stimulus funds.
Rendell campaigns in area for more school aid The Inquirer
Rendell toured the Philly burbs to rally support for his budget, which again includes increases in state funding for education.
Williams Ramping Up Campaign WDUQN
The gubernatorial candidate supports school choice and says he won't commit to funding the "costing out" report.
Catchment Maps Available Online A Very Public Education blog
The maps are one of many improvements to the school profile pages on the District's site.
Pa. Education Sec. to Head Allentown's School District KYW
Zahorchak will leave his post May 7. His replacement has yet to be named.
See also: Ed. Sec. Zahorchak heading for Allentown The Notebook blog
Phila. School District to Hold Public Budget Meetings KYW
DOE Auditors: Philly Grants 'High-Risk' Fox 29
Phila. Schoolteacher Inducted into Teacher Hall of Fame KYW
Knowing Your Kids A Good Day Teaching blog
Black woman leads former whites-only Philly school AP via Washington Post
Pa. Worker Gets 7.5 Years in Teen's Starvation Death KYW
6 Reasons I Surround Myself with People Smarter Than I Am Philly Teacher blog
New Film Highlights Serious Problems in Public Schools KYW
Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.
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Notes from the news

One-stop shop for college now open at City Hall

by Erin Gilbert

Sidebar Article:

Featured Title:

From the April edition

Author:

by Michelle Welk

In Philadelphia, only 20 percent of the population has a bachelor’s degree.
A college graduate can expect to earn at least $2 million over his lifetime. A high school dropout will make less than one-fourth of that.

College in California: Better, or More, or Other? | California Progress Report

College in California: Better, or More, or Other?

from California Progress Report by christine

By Peter Schrag
By now it’s pretty clear that not only is the California’s 50 year-old Master Plan broken but that the state’s whole higher education system faces a set of critical choices in direction, mission and funding:
Chose elitist excellence over access, especially at Berkeley, UCLA and maybe UC San Diego?
Or, greatly expand access to meet California’s impending shortage of trained people, as recommended in last week’s report from PPIC, the Public Policy Institute of California? Or create a whole new profit-making University of California “cyber campus” offering UC courses and degrees through the Internet and other new technologies all over the world?
read more

Prop 16 - A Monopoly Wants To Stay That Way

from California Progress Report by christine

By Dave Johnson
Proposition 16 is being sold -- and sold, and sold, and sold -- as a "right to vote." TheProp 16 website makes it sound so reasonable,

The Effect of the Oil Rig Disaster on California Politics

from California Progress Report by christine

By Brian Leubitz
Over at CalBuzz, they're taking a look at how the Louisiana oil rig explosion might affect the Tranquillion Ridge project, coastal drilling, and the political landscape in general:
Now, the metastasizing oil spill* in the Gulf of Mexico, and the apparent loss of the lives of at least 11 oil workers that followed a blow-out on a rig on Tuesday night - Earth Day -

I’m not your stepping stone… � SCUSD Observer

SCUSD Observer

Schools Matter: US DOE Office of Inspector General: Charter School Fraud and Embezzlement Update

US DOE Office of Inspector General: Charter School Fraud and Embezzlement Update

by Jim Horn

Click page to enlarge. Truly inspired by Wall Street banksters and casino capitalists. Download report here.

School For Sale!

by Kenneth Libby

Now that a major news outlet has finally paid attention to the business practices of Dennis Bakke and his management company (with a well-deserved round of applause for Stephanie Strom), reporters and school districts may begin to more carefully scrutinize the company's dealings.

Someone in Arizona might want to keep their eyes on an Imagine School currently listed for sale in Sierra Vista. The asking price is $6.3 million, with 5 years left on the lease. The listing also claims Imagine makes $456,968/year in income from the tenant (Imagine School at Sierra Vista). Here's a PDF flier about the property.

Virginia Demands More Failure from Disabled: Cancels Portfolio Assessments

by Jim Horn

From WaPo:

Virginia education leaders moved this week to introduce a standardized test for students with disabilities and phase out a widely used alternative that many officials say is undermining the state's accountability system.

Wall Street: Massively Fraudulent Sociopaths

by Jim Horn

Here's the link to the Bill Moyers interview with Bill Black. It runs about 25 minutes. Here is a clip:

. . . BILL MOYERS: Why did it take so long for the Securities and Exchange Commission, the SEC, to kick into gear on this? I mean, have they kicked into gear?

WILLIAM K. BLACK Well, they haven't kicked into gear fully, or they'd be naming Blankfein and other senior leaders of Goldman. And they've, as you just mentioned, they've only gone after a junior person. And there would be, if they were really in gear, there would be criminal charges here.

The Educated Reporter: Making the grade: story ideas.

Making the grade: story ideas.

by Linda Perlstein

Okay, yeah, sorry about the headline. Such an easy fallback title that shows up practically everywhere.

The topic, though: so much there! Over the last five years or so, school districts have taken a hard look at the way students are graded. Efforts to make grades more “meaningful” butt up against efforts to leave no child behind, as a lawsuit in Austin demonstrates. Minimum-grading policies that set a floor of 50 may seem like coddling, but then again, isn’t the 0-100 scale, with a 40-point range of acceptability and 60 points of failing, sort

Transgender Student Slashed In Campus Restroom � Student Activism

Transgender Student Slashed In Campus Restroom

by Angus Johnston

Police are reporting that a 27-year-old transgender student at CSU Long Beach was slashed in a men’s room on campus earlier this month.
Although the attack took place ten days ago, the university only made it public this Friday.
The student’s assailant addressed him by name before the attack, asking him whether he was that person. The victim of the assault did not recognize his attacker, but was able to provide police with information enabling them to create a sketch.
Police have not said whether they are investigating the incident as a hate crime. The Long Beach Post has,

NP STRIKE: District, NPEA headed to court - The ReporterNews: Serving North Penn, Indian Valley and neighboring communities

NP STRIKE: District, NPEA headed to court

Published: Monday, April 26, 2010

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By DAN SOKIL

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LANSDALE - Today is the day a hearing in Montgomery County Court could send the North Penn School District's 13,000 students back to school.

And a judge could order the district's school board and the North Penn Education Association to negotiate a new deal with each other.

As of 6 p.m. Sunday evening, no new talks had taken place between the NPEA and the school board, but the union posted an update on its Web site NPennEA.org indicating the board may have been available all weekend.

According to the NPEA update, the union e-mailed school board President Vince Sherpinsky Sunday afternoon regarding a math error in the board's most recent contract offer, and heard back via e-mail within an hour.

"I find it interesting they're available to answer e-mails, but no one was available to get together and get our kids back to school tomorrow, and I'm disappointed this board seemingly wants this strike to go on for another two days," NPEA President Alan Malachowski said Sunday evening.

He reiterated statements made at Friday afternoon's union rally, that the NPEA will seek court-ordered mandatory bargaining in today's court hearing, and that the union could have called off its strike this weekend in time for school Monday had talks taken place, and had a tentative deal been reached with the board by Sunday night.

This Week In Education AM News: Internal Clashes Hinder RTTT Efforts

This Week In Education

AM News: Internal Clashes Hinder RTTT Efforts

by Alexander Russo

Unions, States Clash in Race to Top Wall Street Journal: Since the first winners were picked, spats have erupted from Florida to Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota and Colorado over demands that unions agree to proposals on merit pay and teacher evaluation to strengthen the state's chances of winning federal money... Teachers Next To Go NPR: After cutting their budgets to the bone and exhausting millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds, school districts have resorted to staff cuts to balance their budgets. New Jersey, California and Illinois are among the hardest-hit states... Education" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/education/24imagine.html" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">For School Company, Issues of Money and Control NYT: School boards and regulators are questioning how public money is spent by a commercial manager of charters.[Read below for more headlines]
Study: After genes, teachers help kids read faster USA Today: Genetics play the biggest role in determining how fast a child learns to read, but a good teacher can make a measurable difference as well, according ... NJ voters reject 59 percent of school budgets AP: The state pastime in New Jersey may be complaining about the state's highest-in-the-nation property taxes, but it's rare for voters to stand up against them....Black woman leads former whites-only Philly school AP: The private boarding school for underprivileged students now led by Autumn Adkins, who describes herself simply as "a black girl from Richmond, Virginia," would have excluded her in years past...

KYW Newsradio 1060 Philadelphia - North Penn Teacher's Strike Enters Week Two

North Penn Teacher's Strike Enters Week Two

by KYW's Mark Abrams
A strike by teachers in the North Penn School District (Montgomery County) enters its second week on Monday, keeping nearly 13,000 students out of the classroom. Both sides were scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
The union representing the district's more than 1,000 teachers sought to resume talks over the weekend with the district, but says the school board negotiator did not respond.
During an injunction hearing on Monday in Montgomery County Court, the board will seek an order to compel the teachers to return to the classroom by Wednesday, so North Penn can meet state requirements for 180 days of instruction.
The teachers union president says he will ask a judge during the hearing to order round-the-clock bargaining to resolve the contract dispute.
Teachers walked off the job after the district rejected an arbitrator's recommendations for a new contract.

North Penn teacher's strike limited by PA law | WHYY News and Information | WHYY

North Penn teacher's strike limited by PA law

Monday, April 26th, 2010

By: Tom Dreisbach
tdreisbach@whyy.org

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Teachers at North Penn School District in Montgomery County remain on strike this morning. But they'll have to go back to work Wednesday according to Pennsylvania law.

The limited strike is a byproduct of changes to the state's strike laws.

Ron Cowell is now President of the Education Policy and Leadership Center, a professional development program in Harrisburg. But in 1992, Cowell, as a state senator, co-authored Act 88, which said teachers could not strike for so long that it would shorten the school year.

“There were concerns about – particularly from a student standpoint – the students' schedule being disrupted and, in some cases, being shortchanged,” says Cowell, “that is, not getting 180 days of school."

Cowell says the limited strike time was a compromise, allowing teachers some avenue for exerting leverage while limiting disruption for students. He says that system has been fairly successful.

But, he says, in the absence of a binding arbitration process, the law means teachers can sometimes work for years without a contract.

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Monday, April 26, 2010