Several states stay off charter-school bandwagon - Boston.com

Several states stay off charter-school bandwagon - Boston.com

Several states stay off charter-school bandwagon

In this photo taken Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010, Christina Williams, left, drives her sleeping son Stephen Herb, 12, to school in Sandpoint, Idaho, where he is in the 6th grade, from their home in Clark Fork, Idaho. Williams drives about 140 miles roundtrip each day to her son's charter school. "It's killing my poor little car, but it is so worth the drive to me," said Williams. "He was not getting the education he needed." (AP Photo/Young Kwak)

By Jessie L. Bonner and Dorie Turner

Associated Press Writers / May 11, 2010

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BOISE, Idaho—In her small timber town in northern Idaho, Christina Williams enrolled her son in the closest public school because she had few other choices near her home.

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But as she watched him struggle for years -- many mornings prying him out of bed and forcing him to go to school -- Williams sought an alternative to the traditional classroom. The single mother now drives about 140 miles roundtrip each day to her 12-year-old son's charter school in Sandpoint.

"It's killing my poor little car, but it is so worth the drive to me," Williams said in a telephone interview. "He was not getting the education he needed."

Williams would like a closer alternative, but Idaho allows just six new charter

GothamSchools - What to expect from today’s teacher evaluation agreement

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

Parent ire grows over city plan to shuffle space at ASL school

by Maura Walz

A prolonged battle against the city’s plan to shuffle space at five Manhattan schools spilled onto the sidewalks of East 23rd Street yesterday.

The plan to relocate Chelsea’s Clinton School for Artists and Writers into the building shared by the American Sign Language and English Lower and Secondary Schools has drawn fierce criticism from parents at all of those schools. City officials have argued that even with the Clinton School in their building, the ASL schools will have ample space to maintain their unique sign-language based instructional program. But parents contend that moving the Clinton School’s nearly 300 students into the building will create overcrowded classes and prevent students from seeing each other as they sign.

GothamSchools is a running conversation about what works and what doesn’t in NYC schools. Learn more about us.

What to expect from today’s teacher evaluation agreement

by Maura Walz

A new teacher evaluation system that’s likely to become state law could mean that, for the first time, school districts will fire teachers if they repeatedly fail to boost their students’ test scores.

But to do that, the state and school districts will have to track student work in more detail than they ever have before. And state and city teachers union officials sold the idea as a way to create better professional development for teachers and principals.

The Education Report Oakland honors high-achieving black students

The Education Report

Oakland honors high-achieving black students

By Katy Murphy
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010 at 3:24 pm in achievement gap, high schools, middle schools, students
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photos courtesy of the Oakland Unified School District

Each year, African American students drop out of Oakland’s public schools with disturbing predictability, a phenomenon that Superintendent Tony Smith has decried in his speeches and vowed to “interrupt.”

An annual event held at an East Oakland church calls our attention to those who are thriving despite a dropout crisis in which more than one-third of the city’s black high school students quit early.

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Before bargaining begins (again), Oakland teachers to “line the lake”

Portland cleared to get federal funds for English as a Second Language restored | OregonLive.com

Portland cleared to get federal funds for English as a Second Language restored | OregonLive.com

Portland cleared to get federal funds for English as a Second Language restored

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

May 11, 2010, 2:52PM

Portland Public Schools, which was subjected to a rare cutoff of federal funding for its English as a Second Language program, has been cleared to have that funding restored after convincing state monitors that it has fixed or will fix chronic failures to meet federal standards.

Despite repeated written notices to fix serious flaws in its ESL program over several years, Portland continued not to offer English language learners in every school full access to grade-level instruction on the core curriculum and daily research-based instruction to learn English, state monitors found.

Other problems included uneven standards for deciding when students were ready to exit the program and putting some teacher assistants, rather than certified teachers, in charge of teaching students learning English, the state said.

This spring, the school district submitted complete and convincing written plans to better train teachers and teaching assistants, to rewrite school schedules and to upgrade its methods for determining which students are ready to exit the program, the state declared.

The district accomplished that during a trying time for its ESL department. Diana Fernandez, the head of ESL and immersion education, says in a complaint filed with the state that the school district is trying to fire her for poor performance but that it really is trying to get rid of her because she is

Oregon City superintendent Roger Rada to retire at end of 2010-11 year

by Nicole Dungca, The Oregonian

Roger Rada, who has been superintendent of the Oregon City School District since 2004, will retire at the end of the 2010-11 school year.

University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere proposes using $1 billion bond sale to finance university for 30 years

Text rumor causes scare at Junction City High School

by The Associated Press

Officers went to the home of the student accused of making the threat. He was suspended sometime after he reportedly told a female classmate on April 29 that he would shoot her boyfriend in 12 days.

Paterson, education administrators call for reform – Capitol … | Educational New York

Educational New York

Indispensible Information on all Educational Needs in New York!

Paterson, education administrators call for reform – Capitol … | Educational New York

Paterson, education administrators call for reform – Capitol …

by Educational America

Paterson said that New York’s higher education system is one of the most highly moderated in the nation, and that unshackling our schools would provide New York with more jobs and keep more state-educated students within our borders. … “ The higher education system is the most important ‘child’ of the state.

See more here:

Governor Paterson Calls for the Passage of the Public Higher …

by Educational America

Kenneth Adams, President and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, Inc., said: “SUNY and CUNY are essential to creating an Innovation Economy in New York . Governor Paterson’s Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation …

Continued here:

university of london institute of education at Lauren Barnes journal

by Educational America

New york colleges tuition rankings, columbia university has an foriegn supreme state time more than a building such, with the oldest discos chalking the missing quality. Public policy and administration, have held the game a earthy …

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Write Angle: How social media is transforming education

by Educational America

The digital education model is now being extended to primary and secondary schools. Last month, The New York Times reported that half the public schools in Kansas City will close for good this September due to low enrollment and budget …

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Write Angle: How social media is transforming education

adult education classes in new york – Ethan Murphy

by Educational America

Plans of linguistic circumstances think freedom subjects and education novels. The traditional disease, in faculty to the possible, is not hard in origin and substantially complete of random history in light

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My Minerva Moment

My Minerva Moment

THE GREAT MAY GIVEAWAY HONORS THE MINERVA AWARDS®

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On June 2, The Women’s Conference will announce the extraordinary winners of the seventh annual Minerva Awards. These Remarkable Women & Remarkable Legacies have recognized a problem, identified the solution, and pursued it with strength, courage, perseverance and compassion.

Each one of us has experienced that moment when we first realized that we have the ability to make a difference and transform the life of someone we love, someone less fortunate or someone in need. That's your Minerva Moment!

So tell us –

When did you realize for the first time that you could make a difference? What was yourMinerva Moment?

Share your story in 200 words or less in the comments section below and you could win two special Guest Passes to The Women’s Conference 2010, a chance to interview Maria Shriver backstage and a $200 gift card from Target.

Don't miss an opportunity to experience this transformative event with 30,000 other Architects of Change just like you.

Eva Moskowitz: bill lifting charter cap gives away “too much” GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

Eva Moskowitz: bill lifting charter cap gives away “too much”

by Anna Phillips

Harlem Success Academy CEO Eva Moskowitz took her fellow charter school supporters to task today for backing a bill that would force the schools to admit more special education students.
In an email sent to leaders of the city’s charter school movement, Moskowitz said that charter schools already serve the same percentage of special education students that district schools do. Her email came after the State Senate voted to more than double the state’s charter school cap on the condition that charter schools serve at least half the percentage of special education students that their nearby district schools do.
Though Department of Education officials and the charter school lobbying group, Education Reform Now,

California Day of the Teacher Honored - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

California Day of the Teacher Honored - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Salutes State's
Educators on California Day of the Teacher

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today expressed his deep appreciation for the state's more than 300,000 teachers who are working hard during challenging times to prepare California students for fulfilling and productive futures. California's Day of the Teacher is Wednesday, May 12.

"The Day of the Teacher is an opportunity to remember and thank those who taught us to read and write, to appreciate the arts and the sciences — and encouraged us to try again and again when we struggled," O'Connell said. "Teachers are mentors and role models who helped shape the people we've become and are helping our six million students meet their full potential.

"It is a tough time to be a teacher. The state budget crisis is forcing many districts to issue pink slips to thousands of teachers. Those that remain are making do with fewer supplies and resources yet more students in their classrooms. Many are being asked to take furlough days and pay cuts.

"We must continue the fight to protect education funding. We cannot afford to shortchange our students by depriving them of the most valuable resources we have to offer: our teachers who work on a daily basis to prepare our children and young adults for the challenges of the 21st century. On this Day of the Teacher, let us resolve to give our teachers, our schools, and our students the thanks and the support they deserve."

The Association of Mexican American Educators, Inc. (AMAE) and the California Teachers Association (CTA) are co-sponsors of the California Day of the Teacher that originated from Senate Bill 1546 authored by former Senator Joseph Montoya (D-El Monte) and adopted in 1982. The legislation was based on the Mexican and Latin American "el Dia del Maestro" festivities that are held in honor of teachers.

The AMAE has chosen as its 2010 theme: Teachers Amaze!

The CTA 2010 theme is: California Teachers: Creating Brighter Futures

Here are Top Ten Ways to Honor Teachers:

1. Send your children to school well rested and ready to learn.
2. Help your children with their homework at night and check to ensure all assignments are completed.
3. Volunteer your time.
4. Parent involvement in your children's school is vital to the success of your own children as well as the success of the entire school.
5. Organize donations for classroom supplies. On average, teachers spend $400 of their own money each year on their students. Encourage teachers to develop a wish list for classroom supplies and help organize donations.
6. Donate new or nearly new books to the school library. Determine what is needed to improve the library and organize contributions to fill that need.
7. Send a thank you note to a teacher who has made a difference in the life of your child.
8. Have a party or reception at your children's school to honor the teachers.
9. Report to the principal what a great job your child's teacher is doing.
10. Just remember to thank them for all they do.

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Honors School Nurses; Notes Budget Crisis Impact on Nurses in California Schools

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today urged all schools to honor nurses serving California students during National School Nurse Day on Wednesday, May 12.

"Can you imagine one adult taking care of 2,155 children?" asked O'Connell. "That's what we ask of our 2,901 school nurses in California who serve the state's 6.3 million students, some of whom have debilitating physical conditions that demand specialized health care. These health care professionals are often students' first line of defense against illness. That's why I ask you to join me in honoring school nurses for all the great work they do to help keep our children healthy in school and ready to learn."

As of 2008-09, the latest data available, there are 2,901 nurses working in the state's 10,223 schools. School nurses are responsible for addressing the health, development, and disease control of all students, and are often the only source of health care for disadvantaged children. They must also meet the needs of nearly 678,105 children with multiple and severe disabilities currently enrolled in the state's public schools. In the past few years, school nurses had to take on the added responsibility of watching out for the deadly MRSA infection and played a critical role in stemming the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus.

"In light of these added responsibilities, the evidence is abundantly clear that we need more school nurses," added O'Connell. "But with the reality of $17 billion in state education funding cuts over the past two years, and the proposal for an additional $2.4 billion in cuts this year, I am saddened that school nursing jobs are often one of the first to be cut by the budget ax."

There is no requirement in California for each school or even each school district to have a school nurse. On any given school day, there are 7,000 schools where a nurse is not present. About half of California's school districts have no nurses at all. The decision to hire a school nurse is made at the local level. The National Association of School Nurses determined California ranks behind 40 other states and the District of Columbia in the number of school nurses to students ratio.

To find out more information on the vital role school nurses play in the California school system, please visit the California School Nurse Organization at California School Nurses Organization (Outside Source).

Day of the Teacher - California Teachers Association

Day of the Teacher - California Teachers Association

Day of the Teacher 2010 wallpaper

1. Select your screen size to open up the wallpaper:
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2. Right click on the picture.

3. Select "Set as background."

This year's Day of the Teacher theme is "California Teachers: Creating Brighter Futures." It's important to remind the public that California's future depends on today's students succeeding. And if we are to ensure the success of those students, we must have the resources needed to provide a quality education.

“Day of the Teacher” arose out of legislation co-sponsored by CTA and the Association of Mexican American Educators. Sen. Joseph Montoya wrote the bill and it was adopted in 1982. California has patterned its celebration after the traditional “El Dia del Maestro” festivities observed in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

Send an e-card to a friend

If You Can’t Turn Around Poor-Performing Rural Schools… Revolutionize Them � The Quick and the Ed

If You Can’t Turn Around Poor-Performing Rural Schools… Revolutionize Them � The Quick and the Ed

If You Can’t Turn Around Poor-Performing Rural Schools… Revolutionize Them

by Forrest Hinton

A few days ago I described the depressing, dismal, distressing, dire state of K-12 education in Halifax County, NC—a rural county with nearly a quarter of its residents living below the poverty line. Just to refresh your memory, this is a school district where more than 4 out of 5 students qualify for free and reduced lunches, only 54.8% of kids graduate from high school, and a mere third of 8th grade students score at-or-above grade level on the state’s reading assessment. The chart below, from The Rural School and Community Trust, puts this school district’s penury in context with surrounding districts and with state and national rates for rural districts.

Unless you suffer from extreme delusions or incurable denial syndrome, you should agree that Halifax County’s

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading and viewing each day. The content of these Hits is not necessarily endorsed by the organization or any particular team member.

• Why has Randi Weingarten’s heart turned pink? (Change.org Education)
• Should a federal education jobs bill be tied to reform? The experts debate. (National Journal Online)
• Andrew Gillen has cognitive dissonance. How should private colleges set compensation? (CCAP)
• A shrinking education bureaucracy in the state of NY? (Gotham Schools)
• Are some people trying to fill their pockets with public funds? Yes, says Jay Greene, and it’s not the DFER. (Jay P. Greene’s Blog)

University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere proposes using $1 billion bond sale to finance university for 30 years | OregonLive.com

University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere proposes using $1 billion bond sale to finance university for 30 years | OregonLive.com

University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere proposes using $1 billion bond sale to finance university for 30 years

By Bill Graves, The Oregonian

May 11, 2010, 11:43AM

Thomas Boyd/The OregonianUniversity of Oregon President Richard Lariviere wants to give his university more independence from eroding state financial support.
The University of Oregon president wants to give the university more stability and independence by using nearly $1 billion in bond sales to run the school over the next three decades.

The proposal raises a "host of questions," said Paul Kelly, president of theState Board of Higher Education.

President Richard Lariviere has talked since he took office in July about seeking an alternative funding plan to give the university more control over its fate in the face of eroding state support. He is scheduled to present his plan to the university community on Friday. He previewed the bond proposal on April 29 in remarks at the university's annual Business Hall of Fame, the Portland Business Journal reported. He is scheduled to formally

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Anderson gets an earful in Elgin

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Anderson gets an earful in Elgin

Anderson gets an earful in Elgin

by Mike Klonsky

Arne Duncan's senior advisor, Jo Anderson, former director of the IEA,got an earful Monday when he met with teachers in Elgin, IL.

Jane Jorgensen, who teaches at Ontarioville Elementary, questioned why the federal government would bail out the auto and banking industries when 300,000 teachers across the country stand to lose their jobs next year."Why isn't the world freaking out?" she asked. "We're talking about the future here."

With a new Illinois law that ties student performance to teacher evaluations, passed this winter to