Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Rise & Shine: Education jobs bailout bill hits a stumbling block | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Education jobs bailout bill hits a stumbling block

by Philissa Cramer

After another day of talks, there’s still been no charter cap bill deal. (Daily News, GothamSchools, Post)
State Sen. John Sampson said he thinks New York could win Race to the Top’s second round. (NY1)
The Daily News puts the burden on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to stop the state from losing again.
The head of a welfare group says the city needs charters schools that serve the neediest children. (Post)
At the same time charter supporters want the cap lifted, there are questions about oversight. (Times)
Police chief Ray Kelly unveiled a program to prosecute students who attack school safety officers. (NY1)
Debbie Almontaser, the ex-principal of the Khalil Gibran school, won’t sue over being fired. (Times)
Students at Riker’s Island’s public school participated in a cooking contest. (GothamSchools, NY1)
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin is letting go of plan A for the education jobs bill he is sponsoring. (Reuters)
Hawaii reached a budget deal that will end the state’s practice of shortening the school year. (AP)
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says teachers unions are used to getting everything they want. (Post)
The Times says rational teachers in Texas should ignore politicized social studies standards.

Remainders: Brooklyn parents call for more school options

by Philissa Cramer

A bill to help states forestall teacher layoffs may have more than just Republican opposition.
Parents in Brooklyn’s District 13 are petitioning the city to add more elementary school options.
Teachers who have been in the rubber room found last night’s “Law and Order” finale sympathetic.
The Onion AV Club says the episode broke with L&O routine and ended too “overheated.”
The Daily Politics has a partial list of Bloomberg’s public school graduation engagements.
Diane Ravitch lists her top 10 reasons why states and districts should tune out Race to the Top.
In the community section, Alexander Hoffman questions the question: why bother with merit pay?
Leonie Haimson and Mona Davids argue against the bill being touted by charter school supporters.
Econ class in Texas comes with an emphasis on the “free market and its benefits.”
Illinois wants to make teachers learn more and get higher test scores before entering the classroom.
Fordham’s Andy Smarick says goodbye before heading off to be NJ’s Dept. Edu Commish.
A new report from Ball State Univ. finds the states are underfunding charter schools.
And HS grades are a good predictor of college success, but only if the grades mean anything.

At a Rikers Island school, inmates turn into “cheftestants”

by Maura Walz

Vivian TK, 38, makes spicy chicken pastelitos in a Riker's Island training kitchen today.

A student makes spicy chicken pastelitos in a training kitchen at Island Academy, a high school for incarcerated students on Rikers Island.

A clock ticked down, and two teams of women in chef’s jackets scurried around a kitchen, rolling pastry dough and sauteing fish. Corn chowder simmered on a stove and buttermilk biscuits baked in the oven. When the clock hit zero, the anxious cooks presented their creations to accomplished visiting chefs, who tallied their judgments of the meals’ creativity and flavor.

Education | Seattle Central Community College appoints a new president | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle Central Community College appoints a new president

Seattle Central Community College has named a California educator as its new president. Paul Tracy Killpatrick, the superintendent-president at Lake Tahoe Community College, was named after a national search. He starts this summer.

By Seattle Times staff

Seattle Central Community College has named a California educator as its new president.

Paul Tracy Killpatrick, the superintendent-president at Lake Tahoe Community College, was named after a national search. He starts this summer and will replace Mildred Ollee, who is retiring after seven years as Seattle Central president.

Killpatrick has worked in Lake Tahoe since 2008 and served for six years as president of the community college in Elko, Nev. But the bulk of his career has been spent at colleges in the Northwest.

He's been vice president of instructional support at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Ore.; and

Charter Schools Not Interested in School Turnarounds � The Quick and the Ed

Charter Schools Not Interested in School Turnarounds

by Rob Manwaring

A recent EdWeek blog seems to confirm the continued lack of charter school presence in the school turnaround space. Basically, KIPP has said thanks, but no thanks to the charter schools as turnaround option. This should not come as a surprise. In a recent Ed Sector report on school restructuring under NCLB, only 0.3% of schools chose the charter conversion option for school turnaround. And, when Los Angeles Unified put a group of 12 of its lowest performing schools up forauction earlier this year in its School Choice Initiative, only one charter school organization submitted a bid, and that bid did not win. This is in a district with one of the most healthy charter school communities.

Should we be concerned about the lack of charter school interest in the turnaround business? Yes and No. It would be great if the charter sector were at least experimenting with this more, so that there was a broader opportunity for innovation in this space. We have a lot to learn about the turnaround business, and having some of the CMO taking on this challenge would provide an opportunity for learning. At, the same time, the highly

Voters face tough choice: pay up or shutdown

Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

E-mail

Comments (231)

Font | Size:

88Share

0digg

Mike Kepka / The Chronicle

Students walk the halls of Encinal High School in Alameda, where if Measure E, a school tax, does not pass, the school could face closure. It is one of two main high schools in the city.

IMAGES

View Larger Images

MORE EDUCATION

San Francisco Ballet School Student Showcase 05.23.10
Program helps ex-foster youth navigate college 05.22.10
Ethics of UC Berkeley's gene testing questioned 05.21.10

Alameda voters embark today on a monthlong, mail-only election to decide whether taxes will be raised to support public schools. Both sides describe the outcome as Armageddon for the quiet island city.
Measure E is a parcel tax that would give Alameda some of the highest school taxes in the Bay Area: Homeowners would pay $659 a year and business owners would owe up to $9,500 annually per parcel.
If it passes, many small business owners, already struggling with the recession, say they'll be forced to close, stripping Alameda of its mom-and-pop charm. If the measure fails, the district's superintendent warns that half the schools in town would close.
"If this doesn't pass, all bets are off in Alameda," said Encinal High School Principal Mike Cooper, a fifth-generation Alamedan. "We're watching the collapse of public education. We've been trying to make this work, but something's got to give."

Oregon faces $563 million budget hole, Governor promises layoffs | Oregonlive.com

Oregon faces $563 million budget hole, Governor promises layoffs

By Harry Esteve, The Oregonian

May 25, 2010, 7:51PM

Gov. Ted KulongoskiSALEM – Shock waves from the recession continue to wreak havoc in Oregon, punching a big hole in the state budget and prompting Gov. Ted Kulongoski to order hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to schools and other state programs.

The cuts, if they stand, could eliminate school days, idle some state police troopers, and lead to pay freezes and benefit rollbacks for state workers.

"There will be layoffs," the governor stated flatly.

Although Congress could come through with additional money for troubled states, Kulongoski said he can't count on a federal bailout.

'Not acceptable:' Nearly one-third of Oregon high school students drop out

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

May 25, 2010, 7:42PM

Torsten Kjellstrand/The OregonianPortland high school student Alex Madsen, 19, focuses on completing an assignment during his lunch break at the Meek campus of Alliance High, a district-run alternative school. A member of the class of 2009, Madsen nearly dropped out during his junior year at Benson High but rallied and will graduate next month. "The big thing the diploma means to me is I got it done. I got to where I need to be."

More Scrutiny for Charter Schools in Debate Over Expansion Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times

More Scrutiny for Charter Schools in Debate Over Expansion

By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE and JENNIFER MEDINA

A review of public documents shows that many charter schools have spent money in questionable ways.

Yale Patron Held in Scheme That Benefited the University and Its Baseball Team

By JOHN ELIGON

John D. Mazzuto gave the university $1.5 million worth of stock in a company he controlled, but prosecutors said the shares were worthless.

In 2003, Lawrence H. Summers, center, announced Elena Kagan was succeeding Robert C. Clark, left, as dean of Harvard Law.

At Harvard, Kagan Aimed Sights Higher

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Elena Kagan’s dealings with Lawrence H. Summers, a top U.S. economic adviser and the former president of Harvard, reveal intense ambition and political skill.

Post a Comment | Read (69)

Ex-Principal of Arabic School Won’t Sue City

By JENNIFER MEDINA

Debbie Almontaser will not sue the Department of Education, she said Tuesday, despite a ruling from a federal commission that the city discriminated against her by forcing her to resign in 2007.

Rhode Island: Board Approves Reinstating Teachers

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The board of the Central Falls School District approved an agreement on Tuesday to allow teachers at a troubled high school to keep their jobs after all of them were fired.

Elena Kagan got marks that were low — for her — in her first term at Harvard Law.

A B-Minus? The Shock! The Horror!

By CHARLIE SAVAGE and LISA FAYE PETAK

Elena Kagan received marks that were low — for her — in her first term at Harvard Law, but they did not derail her career.

Document: Elena Kagan's 1983 Harvard Law Report Card

BOOKS ON SCIENCE

Higher Education and the Pursuit of Living High Off the Hog

By NICHOLAS WADE

“Tech Transfer” is the deceptively mild title of a mordant satire about scientists and universities and how they do business.

TELEVISION REVIEW

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: 'SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!'

'SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!'

by Mike Klonsky

Thousands of Chicago teachers rock City Hall

As they completely surrounded City Hall, some teachers chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, Mayor Daley

City panel hears of more targeting of immigrants at schools Philadelphia Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer

TOP STORY

Under revised budgets, districts make do with much less

In Cherry Hill, Mount Misery is back, but four Spanish teachers and two reading coaches are out. In Rancocas Valley, an adult-education program that lasted a half-century appears to be truly gone.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Report Card on the Schools

The Inquirer's annual survey of education in the region, with a searchable database of school and district information, and multimedia profiles of area students and high schools.

A Doorway Back

With the dropout problem in Philadelphia at crisis proportions, a chance-of-a-lifetime program offers 40 select students a shot at breaking the cycle of failure. But can they take advantage?

City panel hears of more targeting of immigrants at schools: Refugee students from Iraq are the latest target of violence in the Philadelphia School District, an advocate told a city panel Tuesday.
Lower Merion's laptop tracking system easily hacked: A Seattle-based security firm says it needed just hours to hack into a version of the laptop tracking system that the Lower Merion School District used, suggesting that tech-savvy outsiders could have commandeered the computers and watched students through their webcams.
Ex-S. Phila. principal still on district payroll: Former principal LaGreta Brown is gone from troubled South Philadelphia High School but remains on the School District payroll at $124,000 a year, officials confirmed.
24 South Jersey schools to get state aid: Ten schools in Burlington County and 14 in Camden County are in line for a total of $11.4 million in capital-improvement money, state officials announced Monday.
Ackerman names principals for overhauled schools: Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman on Monday named the principals of the six schools that will be radically overhauled under her supervision.
N.J. taxpayers question school administrators' pay: Lately, when Cheryl Gismonde logs onto her Facebook account, she often finds messages that veer wildly from the usual array of restaurant recommendations and photos of other people's children.
Challenged to ease challenges of others: Who would have a thought a cartoon cow and some high school kids could reach through the silent and remote world of Dennison Perez?
Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills: In national urban testing, 61 percent of fourth graders scored below basic in reading.
Philadelphia schoolchildren fall into the middle of the pack or lag other pupils in 17 other big-city districts in reading, according to test scores released Thursday.
Ackerman set to make top-level changes: Under scrutiny in recent months for her administration's handling of violence and other issues, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman will soon announce major changes to her senior leadership team.
On recheck, thousands of N.J. students fail graduation test: Thousands of New Jersey students may still be in jeopardy of not graduating, based on results of rescored alternative high school exit exams that state education officials released Wednesday.

Latest News and Comment from Education