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Monday, June 14, 2010

Conn. graduation appeal won't be heard beforehand - Boston.com

Conn. graduation appeal won't be heard beforehand - Boston.com

Conn. graduation appeal won't be heard beforehand


June 14, 2010
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HARTFORD, Connn.—The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has decided not to immediately hear the case of a Connecticut school district that wants to hold high school graduations inside a megachurch.
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In denying the town of Enfield's request, the court noted that the Board of Education had already decided to hold the 2010 graduations on school grounds even if they won the appeal.
The town wanted the court to overturn the temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall, who found that holding the June 23 and 24 graduations at the 3,000-seat First Cathedral Baptist Church would amount to an unconstitutional government endorsement of religion.
Judge Hall is expected to hear the full lawsuit before next year's graduation plans are set.



GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

He never lost sight of his dreams

Steven Rinaldi set ambitious goals when he began at East Boston High School: Graduate among the top of his class in four years and attend a top college. (By James Vaznis, Globe Staff)

Salem plans Horace Mann charter high school

Salem is preparing to seek state approval to open its own charter school even as organizers of the Road to Success Charter High School ready a revised plan for a charter school serving Lynn and Salem. (By John Laidler, Globe Correspondent)

Metco students, parents upset by school cutbacks

School officials in Lincoln and Sudbury voted last week to merge two of their three Metco programs, a cost-saving measure that has angered Boston students and parents who say they were excluded from the process and are worried about the future of the program. (By James O’Brien, Globe Correspondent)

Volunteers say fund-raising blitz for Arlington public schools a one-shot deal

They raised more than $492,000 since April to lessen the blow of budget cuts on Arlington’s public schools, but volunteers behind the Bridge the Gap campaign said last week there will not be a repeat performance next year.(By Brock Parker, Globe Correspondent)

Newton North graduates final class before building’s demolition

The graduation ceremony for the last class of seniors to make their way through the 1970s-vintage Newton North High School on Lowell Avenue took place elsewhere, at the Conte Forum on the Boston College campus. But the aging building wasn’t far from anyone’s thoughts. (By Sarah Thomas, Globe Correspondent)

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New York Charter Schools Attract Few Hispanics - NYTimes.com

New York Charter Schools Attract Few Hispanics - NYTimes.com

New York Charter Schools Lag in Enrolling Hispanics


Librado Romero/The New York Times
Second graders at the Carl C. Icahn Charter School 1 in the Bronx.



When charter schools began opening in New York a decade ago, they were hailed as a better opportunity for children in poor neighborhoods, where failing schools had been the norm. But while charter schools are open to all, they have catered to one demographic group far less than another.

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Librado Romero/The New York Times
Fourth graders at the Carl C. Icahn Charter School 1 in the Bronx. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein praise New York’s charter schools.
Although Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in New York City’s public schools, there are almost twice as many blacks among the 30,000 charter school students, an analysis by The New York Times shows.
The issue is a sticky one among charter school advocates, who say the most important aspect of any school is that it educates the students who attend. But officials at the city’sEducation Department acknowledge that charter schools should better reflect the city and say that they are working to attract to the schools more immigrants, including those from Latin America. This year, for the first time, the city produced a directory of charter schools, translating it into eight languages.
“We’re talking about a group of schools that in the grand scheme of things are relatively new and are seeking to connect with students who are going to require extra efforts to reach,” said Michael Duffy, the head of thecharter school office of the Education Department.
The makeup of the schools has also attracted attention from state legislators. A law enacted last month to increase the number of charter schools in the state required that the schools enroll more students who are still learning English, as well as more special education students, although it is unclear how those provisions will be monitored or enforced.
In many ways, the demographics reflect the history of charter school growth in the city. The schools, which are privately run but publicly financed, almost immediately gained major backing from powerful black politicians and clergy leaders. The first ones were concentrated in and around Harlem, not only because of its large concentration of struggling schools, but also because its proximity to the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side would make it easier to attract teachers, attention and affluent

Is Chicago the Flip Side of DC? | Intercepts

Is Chicago the Flip Side of DC? | Intercepts

Is Chicago the Flip Side of DC?

Click here to read:
1) Is Chicago the Flip Side of DC?
2) Current and Former Union Staffers Worried About Their Pensions
3) Last Week’s Intercepts
4) Quote of the Week

Cradle to Grave Employment – and Beyond?

First, we have this story from Ripon, California, which is noteworthy not because it is unusual, but because it is common. News10 in Sacramento has the video report:
But the New Jersey Supreme Court went that story one better by overturning the 2005 firing of school custodian

Hillsboro School District offers help understanding school finances | OregonLive.com

Hillsboro School District offers help understanding school finances | OregonLive.com

Hillsboro School District offers help understanding school finances

Published: Monday, June 14, 2010, 4:58 PM Updated: Monday, June 14, 2010, 5:12 PM
As Hillsboro School District prepares a draft of cuts for the 2010-11 school year, it released abudget primer for folks to better understand district finances.

The information spells out where the district has been and where it's going.


In addition to the 2009-10 budget and the coming year's budget, the district offers a 12-page retrospective dating back to its birth as a unified district in 1996.

For those with little time, or a short attention span, there's a two-page "Budget Situation in a Nutshell" as well as a question and answer section. Don't worry, there's also a glossary of financial terms.

Last week, the Hillsboro School Board approved a $176 million general fund budget for the coming

Remainders: New RTTT applications had more union buy-in | GothamSchools

Remainders: New RTTT applications had more union buy-in | GothamSchools

Remainders: New RTTT applications had more union buy-in

  • Every state applying for RTTT round 2 got more union buy-in this time. (EdWeek)
  • To stave off a strike, Chicago will borrow $800M to give teachers 4% raises. (Sun-Times)
  • In NYC, school-based positions have been cut more than Tweed positions. (Leonie Haimson)
  • Principals are suing to block the new 55-25 retirement incentive. (CSA Blog, scroll down)
  • NYSUT lobbyist Melinda Person is a triathlete, and on 40 under 20 list. (City Hall)
  • A new study suggests that kids with more friends do better in school. (USA Today)
  • Jay Mathews wonders about the aftermath of a powerful principal’s retirement. (WashPost)
  • A Boston principal and a school head in Niger have things in common. (Mike Goldstein)
  • A blind teacher says she was attacked for protesting special ed cuts. (Suite 101)
  • Obama is making a personal effort to boost the federal edu-jobs bill. (EdWeek)
  • Could weak accountability kill the charter school movement? (Flypaper)
  • A profile of a Florida school literally praying for budget help. (WSJ)

NorthJersey.com: Teacher of Year among those let go after school budget cuts

NorthJersey.com: Teacher of Year among those let go after school budget cuts

Teacher of the year fired in Lincoln Park due to budget issues
Sunday, June 13, 2010
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The borough's school budget took a toll in the form of a very high attrition rate for its staff members, but one of the 25 that won't be coming back next year earned teacher of the year.
Amanda Valente received the Teacher of the Year award for the middle school on June 8 from Superintendent of Schools James Grube and Board of Education President Perry Mayers. Valente won't be returning to the district next year, due to budget constraints.
PHOTO BY SID JOHNSTON
Amanda Valente received the Teacher of the Year award for the middle school on June 8 from Superintendent of Schools James Grube and Board of Education President Perry Mayers. Valente won't be returning to the district next year, due to budget constraints.
Middle School teacher Amanda Valente was awarded the Teacher of the Year for the middle school at the June 8 award ceremony. Due to the budget constraints from the fiscal crisis affecting New Jersey, Valente was among the 25 teachers fired.
The borough lost revenue from many sources this year, including $953,036 in state aid, which was a 46.74-percent loss from last year's state aid of $2,039,000. In addition, the BOE was unable to get the local teachers' union, the Lincoln Park Education Association (LPEA), to agree to any concessions, which LPEA president Matt Spencer previously said would have been "illegal" and "would only be enough to possibly save three to four positions."
Valente was one of the rising stars in the school district. She previously was one of the organizers that helped the Middle School children raise money for a soup

SCUSD and SCTA reach tentative agreement � SCUSD Observer

SCUSD and SCTA reach tentative agreement � SCUSD Observer

SCUSD Observer

SCUSD and SCTA reach tentative agreement

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Today at 3 p.m. at Theodore Judah, Superintendent Jonathan Raymond, SCUSD Board President Ellyne Bell andSCTA President Linda Tuttle announced in a press conference the details of a two-year contract designed to save teachers’ jobs and to keep class sizes small.

The deal includes:

  • a mutual understanding to keep K-3 class sizes small with a 1/25 ratio
  • teachers will be asked to give up the equivalent of 3 furlough days in salary. Each SCTA member will effectively pay back approximately $950 per year to the district in order to “give back” or retain teachers currently holding pink slips
  • teachers will be asked to increase their monetary contributions to their retiree health benefits packages
  • the board is being asked to consider a parcel tax measure to go on the ballot, possibly next year

SCTA’s 3000 members have not yet seen the details on paper. SCTA volunteers will deliver the proposed contract to members beginning tomorrow and the final vote will be tallied by late Thursday evening.

This two-year agreement will push out the previously scheduled 2011 contract negotiations for SCUSD and its teachers’ union.

Tuttle described the compromises as a “stop gap measure” to immediately bring back teachers and also to concede to parent partners’ demands for small class sizes in the elementary grades.

Raymond believes the furlough concession is a “huge part” of the agreement because roughly $2.3 million will be saved in district coffers. The school year calendar will not change. Teachers will be working three days a year, essentially without pay
.