Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times

Education of a Point Guard Comes Full Circle

By GEORGE VECSEY

Marc Serota for The New York Times

Kenny Anderson played for Georgia Tech before becoming an N.B.A. vagabond. He now lives in Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Nineteen years after leaving Georgia Tech for a career in the N.B.A., Kenny Anderson is about to earn a college degree.

New York High School League Is Posting Pitch Counts

By HARVEY ARATON and ANDREW KEH

Whether the number of pitches that a teenage boy is allowed to throw should be left to trust or should be a matter of prescribed rule has become the subject of intense debate.

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A Digital Boot Camp to Groom Talent for Agencies

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

A new program at the University of Colorado, Boulder, called Boulder Digital Works focuses on creativity and technical skills for new media.

Upload a Prom Dress Photo, and Hope

By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

Don’t Steal My Dress groups on Facebook exist so girls will know which dress not to buy.

Colleges Seeing No Downturn in Freshman Acceptances

By JACQUES STEINBERG

The selective colleges that have reported their respective admission yields have so far experienced any drop in midst of the sluggish economy.

In New York’s Suburbs, Teachers Feel Budget Ax

By WINNIE HU

Cost-saving measures like wage freezes and pay cuts have spread even to upscale suburban communities.

Facing History, Data, and Ourselves � InterACT

Facing History, Data, and Ourselves � InterACT

Facing History, Data, and Ourselves

by David B. Cohen

One of the most rewarding parts of my teaching experience has been my ongoing relationship with Facing History and Ourselves, an organization based outside of Boston that has a track record of more than thirty years engaging teachers and students in deep scholarship around profound moral and ethical issues. The organization’s founder, Margot Stern Strom, was a teacher who realized that there had to be a better educational approach to hard history, such as the Holocaust. Through Strom’s leadership, Facing History and Ourselves developed a pedagogical approach that focused on German society between the wars, and asked some challenging questions about causes of the Holocaust: how did an educated and civilized German public become the perpetrators and bystanders in a genocide? What were their underlying concepts of themselves, as individuals and as a nation? Whom did they classify as “us” and “them” – and what were the implications of those classifications as the Nazis seized power and began laying the groundwork for the Final Solution? The teaching methods involved introducing key concepts through a personal approach, but ultimately relied on critical

Intel event blends generations of people passionate about science, engineering - San Jose Mercury News

Intel event blends generations of people passionate about science, engineering - San Jose Mercury News

Intel event blends generations of people passionate about science, engineering

Pros see annual Intel event as key to field's future

San Jose elementary and middle school students beat hundreds of other schools in a virtual stock market game.

98-year-old Kansas woman to earn master's degree

Finalists named for chancellor spot at San José/Evergreen college district

UC Berkeley protesters block entrances to California Hall

L.A. Unified, education: L.A. Unified barred from budgetary teacher layoffs at 3 schools - latimes.com

L.A. Unified, education: L.A. Unified barred from budgetary teacher layoffs at 3 schools - latimes.com

L.A. Unified barred from budgetary teacher layoffs at 3 schools By Jason Song, Los Angeles Times Court ruling is meant to help the poor-performing campuses, which have been badly hit by the fiscal crisis. Arizona bill targeting ethnic studies signed into law By Nicole Santa Cruz, Los Angeles Times Gov. Jan Brewer signs the bill that bans schools from teaching classes designed for students of a particular ethnic group. School districts may appeal the law, which becomes effective Dec. 31.

EDUCATION Headlines from L.A. Now More graduation speakers boycott UC ceremonies05/12/2010, 12:49 p.m. Long Beach school district issues pink slips to hundreds of teachers05/12/2010, 9:09 a.m. Michigan recruiters search for a few good students at San Diego Marine base05/12/2010, 8:07 a.m. San Diego school board condemns Arizona's illegal-immigration law05/12/2010, 7:14 a.m. Hunger strike at UC Berkeley winding down, strikers say05/11/2010, 6:48 p.m. Protests over Fremont High reforms move to school district05/11/2010, 5:47 p.m.

"Positive model" for states weighing teacher reforms Education - The Denver Post

Education - The Denver Post

"Positive model" for states weighing teacher reforms05/13/2010Other states have nibbled away at education reforms, but the bill passed Wednesday by Colorado's legislature to change the way teachers are evaluated and earn tenure is being hailed by reformers as a national model.

Broomfield High wrestling coach accused of sex with student05/13/2010 - Last year's state high school wrestling coach of the year was arrested Wednesday and charged with having sex with an underage student.

Black professor at CU dental school alleges longtime racial bias 605/13/2010 - A black professor at the University of Colorado dental school is alleging a 29-year pattern of discrimination — asserting he has been paid less than white colleagues and subjected to snubs and racial jokes.

Salazar to deliver commencement address at Denver school 405/12/2010 - U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will deliver the commencement address at the Denver School of Science and Technology, a home-state consolation prize resulting from the President's High School Commencement Challenge.

San Diego State University cuts deaf studies program | California Watch

San Diego State University cuts deaf studies program | California Watch

San Diego State University cuts deaf studies program

by Erica Perez

Erica Perez

A deaf studies program at San Diego State University and a fine arts program at Cal Poly Pomona are the latest to face the chopping block as constricted budgets have forced state universities to take a hard look at their program offerings.
The decisions shed light on the way different colleges are approaching the need for cutbacks.
At SDSU, low student enrollment was a deciding factor. The American Sign Language/deaf studies program is a tiny operation, with just 24 students enrolled, reports the Daily Aztec.
The eight students who are seniors will be able to take the classes they need to graduate from the program, but the other 16 students were told they needed to find other options.
The Daily Aztec interviewed one of those students, a mother of two deaf sons who uprooted her family to San

Bill to tax each teaspoon of sugar in soda left in limbo

by Christina Jewett

Christina Jewett

The evidence was there. UCLA researchers interviewed 47,000 California adults and children and concluded that those who drink one soda per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight compared to those who pass on pop.
It didn’t matter in a state Senate committee yesterday, though. A bill that would have tacked a penny tax on each teaspoon of sugar in soda was tabled indefinitely, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The bill by Dean Florez, D-Shafter, might have brought an additional $1.4 billion into state coffers, a legislative analysis shows. The money was meant to go toward community programs to promote activity and cut down on

Dallas ISD may go to voters for property tax hike | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Dallas ISD may go to voters for property tax hike | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News

Dallas ISD may go to voters for property tax hike

10:49 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 12, 2010

By DIANE RADO / The Dallas Morning News
drado@dallasnews.com

Grappling with declines in property taxes, meager reserves and the prospect of no pay raises next school year, Dallas ISD is considering asking voters to raise taxes for schools.

Local property taxes largely fuel school budgets, and every penny added to DISD's tax rate would raise about $7.1 million, according to district budget documents. The tax rate is applied to the taxable value of property.

If voters were willing to approve an additional 8.5 cents, the district would reap $58.9 million – enough to cover 2 percent pay raises and performance bonuses for teachers, and replenish district fund balances with $26 million, the documents show.

Nothing is certain and the idea is preliminary. Trustees are just beginning their review of a recommended budget for next school year, and are scheduled to discuss the district's tax rate at a board briefing meeting today.

The recommended budget for the district's main operating funds

The Education Report How much do school districts in California spend on teachers?

The Education Report

How much do school districts in California spend on teachers?

By Katy Murphy
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 6:28 pm in budget, teachers, union contract
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Throughout the contract dispute with the school district, Oakland teachers have pointed out not only how well (or poorly) they are paid, but how much of the district’s budget is devoted to their paychecks.

By law, unified school districts in California must spend at least 55 percent of their expenses on the salaries and benefits of classroom teachers and instructional aides. For elementary school districts it’s 60 percent; for high school districts it’s just 50 percent.

Oakland Unified fell short in 2008-09, as the union was quick to note. The data

Improving the District, step by step…Teaching Citizenship � SCUSD Observer

Improving the District, step by step…Teaching Citizenship � SCUSD Observer

SCUSD Observer

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Last week the Sacramento Bee printed an article about Beth Tinker, now a 57-year-old pediatric nurse, who as a teenager was one of the plaintiffs in a seminal United States Supreme Court case concerning schools and democratic speech.

While the Bee focused on the person and the politics, it is actually the language of the Court’s opinion that warranted attention. We talk a lot about what we want to transmit to children through education. Scholastic aptitude and academic achievement are foremost. But we also want our school system to impart certain skills and knowledge that will help our children grow and prosper throughout their lives.

Many education advocates discuss education in terms of the skills and knowledge that are relevant to the 21st century economy. And economic security and prosperity are essential goals of the system. But the Tinkercase highlights another important facet of our education system. Our schools train our children how to be active, participatory citizens in our local and national democratic communities. The court’s opinion realizes a schoolhouse that teaches youth the skills and knowledge to contribute to our democracy. And, this citizenship lesson is relevant still today.

The court finds three principles that our schools embody in teaching citizenship. First, students are an integral part of our collective political community. Children should engage in policy discussions. Political arguments about leadership and community values necessarily include youth and children. They can be taught

Remainders: Ethnic studies classes banned in AZ schools | GothamSchools

Remainders: Ethnic studies classes banned in AZ schools | GothamSchools

Remainders: Ethnic studies classes banned in AZ schools

by Maura Walz

• Thousands of schools, districts and non-profits were expected to submit i3 grant apps by today’s deadline.
• Arizona’s governor banned “ethnic studies” classes, outlawing Tucson’s schools’ Chicano history program.
• The Times’ Freakonomics podcast visits a School of One classroom at the Bronx’s I.S. 339.
• Joanne Jacobs suspects that educational leadership is harder to teach than business management.
• SeeThrough NY published a list of more than 1,000 retired state educators’ pensions.
• The UFT’s New Action party, which supported Mulgrew, opposes the new teacher evaluation plan.
• Here’s some evidence that Miss Brave has a future lawyer among her second graders.
• The field of education research took some knocks last month, Debra Viadero reports.
• Sen. Tom Harkin doesn’t think an emergency teacher jobs bill is the place to address questions of tenure…
• …While Rick Hess thinks Harkin’s teacher “bailout” bill is a silly idea all around.
• Ed Reform Now is running new ads protesting seniority-based layoffs and has a new website, too.
• Teachers at Chicago’s first unionized charter reached a tentative contract agreement.
• A UFT member takes issue with Eva Moskowitz’s claims about charter schools and special ed students.
• Celebrity chef Rachael Ray helped Sen. Gillibrand lobby for more federal money for school lunches.
• And Ray will join Mayor Bloomberg to promote school gardens at P.S. 29 tomorrow. (No link)

Brown declines to investigate Peralta Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Brown declines to investigate Peralta

By Matt Krupnick
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 05/12/2010 04:28:29 PM PDT

Updated: 05/12/2010 04:28:30 PM PDT

The state attorney general's office has turned down a state senator's request that it investigate the Peralta Community College District.

In a letter sent Wednesday to Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, a deputy of Attorney General Jerry Brown suggested the senator instead contact Alameda County prosecutors and the Fair Political Practices Commission.
Dutton, the incoming Senate Republican leader, had asked Brown to look into issues first raised by the Bay Area News Group. The group last year published a series of stories revealing, among other things, Peralta Chancellor Elihu Harris' role in steering a no-bid contract to a friend a business partner.

Should Portland, and other districts, do more to educate rich and poor side by side? | OregonLive.com

Should Portland, and other districts, do more to educate rich and poor side by side? | OregonLive.com

Should Portland, and other districts, do more to educate rich and poor side by side?

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

May 12, 2010, 5:35PM

Faith Cathcart/The OregonianStudents at Benson High aren't happy about a proposed high school plan that would limit enrollment at their diverse magnet school. They're not the only ones who think the plan needs improvement.As the Portland school district moves to redo its high school attendance patterns with an eye to increasing equity, some parents are beginning to question whether Superintendent Carole Smith's plan will result in too much socioeconomic segregation.

Her plan would improve the degree of economic isolation -- but not by much, some critics say. Four of the city's high schools would have more than 60 percent of their students from low-income homes, while the other four would have rates as low as 10 percent to 30 percent.

How timely, then, that Education Week newspaper just published this fascinating story about a national trend among school districts to do

NorthJersey.com: West Milford parents, students protest potential school closings

NorthJersey.com: West Milford parents, students protest potential school closings

West Milford parents, students protest potential school closings

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

BY BARBARA WILLIAMS

THE RECORD

STAFF WRITER

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WEST MILFORD — Nearly 50 parents and students marched in a biting mist outside town hall Wednesday afternoon to protest a school board proposal for massive tax cuts likely potentially leading to closing one of six elementary schools by September.

TYSON TRISH / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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West Milford public school students Katie Scala, left, and Erica Martin make their case to passing motorists while protesting school budget cuts in front of town hall.

Children held signs saying “I’m not a tax dollar, I’m your future” while adults hoisted posters calling trustees “The Board of Dread.” Some motorists traveling Union Valley Road beeped while others ignored the group.
“We want to make people aware of what’s going on,” said parent Sharon Brooks. “Classrooms are already overcrowded. How does closing a school help my child?”
The plan to cut almost $2.5 million from the voter-defeated school tax for 2010-11, including closing a school if need be, was introduced by newly elected school board Vice President James Foody at last week’s annual board reorganization. Four other trustees supported Foody — making up a majority — and they issued the directive to Superintendent Bernice Colefield to find ways to reduce the district’s $68.5 million budget.
“We have 800 less kids than we did five years ago,” Foody said earlier Wednesday. “I think we can close a school and free up resources that can be used in other areas.”

TYSON TRISH / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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West Milford public school students and parents protest school budget cuts.

Foody, who won a board term along with David Richards and his wife, Donna Richards, in the April 20 election, waged a campaign that encouraged voters to defeat the proposed $50.6 million general fund tax levy. They promised to eliminate waste they say exists in the district.
Hours after being sworn in, the new trustees joined fellow board members John Aiello and Barbara Carter in issuing the directive. Foody noted it was Colefield’s idea to close a school.
Colefield conceded last week she initially included closing a school with other items as possible ways to reduce costs after she found out the state was cutting $3.2 million in aid for the school year.
“But I made that list back in February and March,” Colefield said. “Here it is May and they want to close a school in three months. That’s insane.”
Colefield was out of the district Wednesday and couldn’t be reached.
The Township Council is expected to lop $750,000 — the equivalent of about 5 cents per $100 on the tax