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Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Answer Sheet - 1 in 6 U.S. students in high-poverty schools

The Answer Sheet- 1 in 6 U.S. students in high-poverty schools

1 in 6 U.S. students in high-poverty schools

A government analysis of U.S. schools shows that one in six public school students attend high poverty schools and that the percentage of high-poverty schools has significantly increased over the past decade.
It also confirms what we’ve long known: student achievement at high-poverty schools is lower than at other public schools.
The analysis of high-poverty schools was part of the 2010 Condition of Education, an annual report just released by the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics./a> The analysis looks at the latest available data on public schools.

Here are the conclusions from the analysis on high-poverty schools. High poverty is identified as those schools where 76 percent to 100 percent of the student enrollment is eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The data comes from 2007-08, the latest year for which nationwide information is available.
*One in six public school students attended a high-poverty school.
*Twenty percent of all public elementary schools and 9 percent of public secondary schools were considered high-poverty schools, compared with 15 percent and 5 percent respectively in 1999-2000.
*The overall percentage of high-poverty schools increased from 12 percent in 1999–2000 to 17 percent in 2007–08. There is some

Technology may help poor schools by starting with rich ones

For the first time I realized that the education reforms I write about, raising achievement in the inner city, are as Paul E. Peterson puts it turning standard marketing strategies upside down. Maybe they will work better, he suggests, if we let their 21st century promoters try them out in affluent schools, seeing what works best before moving to kids who really need something better than what they've got.

Nyankori a rare bird in DCPS wild


It was the bureaucratic equivalent of a Northern Spotted Owl sighting: a District of Columbia official apologizing for mistakes made.

"There have been mistakes. I'm ready to take the whip," Richard Nyankori, deputy chancellor for special education, said Wednesday evening at Randle-Highland Elementary School. And he took his whipping in a cafeteria filled with anxious parents who had been notified--virtually out of the blue, some contended--that the District wanted to end the private school placements they had secured because of the city's inability to meet their children's needs.
The city spends more than $280 million a year on private school tuition and transportation for about 2,700 students, more than a quarter of its total special ed population. Nyankori and Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee say that's way too many, and that some of them can have their needs met in less restrictive environments, as federal law requires. But the rollout of their "reintegration plan" ran into trouble when privately-

D.C. special education chief apologizes


EducationNews.org What does academy freedom really mean?

EducationNews.org:

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Global Citizen Conspiracy

5.26.10 - Ron Isaac - Police were called in Idaho recently to contain protesters whose outrage was fueled by their belief that the International Baccalaureate

Pols lift charter cap in big day for reform

5.29.10 - UFT president Mike Mulgrew said the bill incorporates reforms sought by the union bolstering oversight, banning for-profits, making charters more "open to the neediest...
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LAUSD to consider boycotting Arizona

5.29.10 - The Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education will consider Tuesday adding its voice to those of cities and community groups opposing Arizona's recently...
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5.29.10 - Mike Baker - Perhaps the most misleading, and frequently repeated, claim is that becoming an academy allows schools to "escape local authority control". ...
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Souter defends judicial activism Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

Everett students send new wings afluttering

Hundreds of butterflies took flight yesterday when students released them at the opening of the Madeline English School butterfly garden in Everett. (By Shana Wickett, Globe Correspondent)

Souter defends judicial activism

Retired Supreme Court justice David H. Souter, delivering the commencement speech at Harvard University yesterday, defended justices who interpret the Constitution and identify rights not explicitly mentioned in America’s founding document. (By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff)

230 Quincy teachers receive layoff notices

About 230 Quincy teachers received pink slips yesterday, but officials said the $2.3 million in wage concessions this week by the teachers union will end up saving some of those jobs. (By Molly A. K. Connors, Globe Correspondent)

Three new members join Sharon School Committee at Thursday’s meeting

Three new members are making their debut on the Sharon School Committee tonight, and with half of the panel seats being filled by new members, it represents quite a shake-up for the local school board. (By Emily Sweeney, Globe Staff)

Pentucket marching bands caps comeback with Washington, D.C., parade

When the marching band at Pentucket Regional High School in West Newbury was discontinued in 1999, its green-and-white uniforms were put in storage. (By Wendy Killeen, Globe Correspondent)

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS

After 40 years, give or take a few, Chicano Commencement endures Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Education - ContraCostaTimes.com

Local News | Ballard High School, preschool partnership to end | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Ballard High School, preschool partnership to end | Seattle Times Newspaper

Ballard High School, preschool partnership to end

When Casa Maria Montessori preschool moves out of Ballard High School at the end of June, it will mark the end to a learning partnership between Seattle high schools and preschools.
Seattle Times staff reporter
When Casa Maria Montessori preschool moves out of Ballard High School at the end of June, it will mark the end to a learning partnership between Seattle high schools and preschools.
Advocates say these programs — there were once three partnerships — gave high-school students invaluable insight into child care and early-childhood education.
But the district has been hammered by budget cuts — the closure comes at a time when the school district is laying off 85 central-staff office employees this year in an effort to cut expenses. The state also has cut K-12 funding throughout Washington during the past two years, and the district's subsequent cuts have included laying off dozens of teachers, closing schools, using savings and streamlining transportation.
It's a matter of space, too, said Ballard High School Principal Phil Brockman. School-enrollment numbers haven't increased during the past few years, but the school has a new program for students with autism that needs the preschool space.

Placing the Blame as Students Are Buried in Debt Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times


Is it really worth $100,000 in debt to graduate from a top school? And is it responsible?
Nitya Rajendran at the survivors breakfast at Trinity School in Manhattan. The event is a tradition for seniors who started at Trinity as kindergartners.

On Graduation Day, Seniors Take Time to Feel Like Kindergartners Again

At an annual breakfast for graduating seniors, students at Manhattan’s Trinity School gathered to reminisce with their first teachers.

New York State Votes to Expand Charter Schools

Officials hope the move will give the state a better chance of receiving $700 million in federal grant money.
From left, the author Hilaire Belloc is said to have failed to get into All Souls College. But fellows included Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and Sir Christopher Wren.

Oxford Tradition Comes to This: ‘Death’ (Expound)

All Souls College is scrapping its one-word exam, on which applicants demonstrated their intellectual flexibility.

Towns Challenge New Jersey Voters’ Wishes

Going against election results, councils have adopted many defeated school budgets with few additional cuts.

Today’s Oil Spill Updates | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s Oil Spill Updates | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s Oil Spill Updates

Here are today’s additions to The Best Sites To Learn About The Gulf Oil Spill:
Critters Of The Gulf Oil Spill is a TIME Magazine slideshow.
Gulf Oil Spill Worst In History is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee.
CNN has a series of high-definition images.
Gulf oil spill by the numbers is a L.A. Times graphic. (thanks to Mrs. Ilgunas for the tip).
The Skinny On The Oil Spill is another infographic.
An Environmental Disaster Unfolds is a slideshow from The New York Times.
If Top Kill Fails, What’s Next? is a video from MSNBC.
Gulf Oil Spill Reaches Land, Surpasses Exxon Valdez is a series of photos from The Denver Post.

Newsweek Column On Charter Schools


NJEA, Christie administration reach compromise Philadelphia Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer

NJEA, Christie administration reach compromise

After months of battling with the Christie administration, New Jersey's largest teachers union announced Thursday that it would support the state's second-round bid for up to $400 million in federal education stimulus aid.

In a rare instance of cooperation between the administration and the New Jersey Education Association, negotiations led to compromises on some key areas in the state's Race to the Top application, according to union officials.

The announcement came just days before the application deadline Tuesday.

In the state's unsuccessful first try, the NJEA opposed New Jersey's application, and very few local association presidents signed on to their districts' letters of intent to participate. Though no one factor caused the state's application to fail, federal evaluators did take note of the dearth of labor support.

In a letter sent Thursday to state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, NJEA president Barbara Keshishian and executive director Vincent Giordano said they would recommend that all local presidents sign on this time.



Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20100528_NJEA__Christie_administration_reach_compromise.html#ixzz0pK280Txk
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L.A. teachers union rejects contest for federal school-reform grant | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

L.A. teachers union rejects contest for federal school-reform grant | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

L.A. teachers union rejects contest for federal school-reform grant

May 28, 2010 | 7:56 pm
The Los Angeles teachers union won’t sign the state’s application for federal Race to the Top school-reform grants, diminishing the state’s chances of claiming up to $700 million in grants tied to specific, but controversial reform strategies.
The grant has the potential to bind the state to future policies that would cost the state more than the one-time dollars would pay for, said A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. He added that the extra costs could strain school district finances and ultimately result in damaging budget cuts.
California fell short during the first round of competition for a share of the $4.35 billion in federal grants, but tried again at the urging of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and developed a new strategy. A few school districts would pursue reforms more specific and more aggressive than in the original state submission.
The approach was a calculated gamble because federal evaluators rewarded plans that reached as many students in a state as possible. The two winning states — Tennessee and Delaware — scored high marks for doing so.

A handful of school districts, including Los Angeles Unified and Long Beach Unified, expressed early interest. The number of school systems has since swelled to 123, along with dozens of independently operated charter schools. These school systems represent more than 1.7 million of the state’s 6.3 million students. That’s more students than in all but six other states. Unions in 17 districts also signed on.
But other unions followed the lead of the California Teachers Assn. and nonunion critics in opposing

The Education Report Oakland to offer new media program

The Education Report

Oakland to offer new media program

By Katy Murphy
Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 3:17 pm in high schools, students, technology, teens, the arts

Oakland International High School filmmakers (photo courtesy of KDOL)

This fall, Oakland students will have the chance to produce news magazine-style video journalism and documentaries about life and issues in Oakland in a new R.O.P. class supported by KDOL, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and local filmmakers.

Jeff Keys, the fine arts chair and new media teacher at Head Royce, will be coming to OUSD to direct the Media Enterprise Alliance.

To get a taste of the kind of projects they’ll do, check out this 12-minute pieceabout Oakland International High School. OIHS students worked with documentary filmmaker Pam Uzzell and UC Santa Cruz film program graduate Chris Guevarra to produce the segment.

Read the rest of this entry »

Denver Public school board battles over teachers | Colorado Classroom — The Denver Post

Denver Public school board battles over teachers | Colorado Classroom — The Denver Post