Monday, July 12, 2010

N.J. teacher retirement applications more than double amid budget cuts | NJ.com

N.J. teacher retirement applications more than double amid budget cuts

Published: Monday, July 12, 2010, 6:55 AM Updated: Monday, July 12, 2010, 6:59 AM

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ED MURRAY/THE STAR-LEDGERKevin Stinson, a high school social studies teacher in Leonia during the protest in Trenton against Chris Christie on May 22, 2010. State figures show a spike in teacher retirement applications this year.

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TRENTON -- More than 5,400 New Jersey teachers have filed applications to retire so far this month, already more than double the amount of applications filed in July 2009, according to a report on MyCentralJersey.com.

July is typically the busiest month for teacher retirement applications after schools let out for the summer with an average of 2,701 filings over the last three years, the report said, citing figures from the state Treasury's Division of Pension and Benefits.

This July, however, 5,444 teachers have filed for retirement, bringing the total for the year to 6,840 applications, the MyCentralJersey.com report said. The total retirement applications in 2009 was 3,671, the report said.

Rutgers University saves agriculture school costs with Delaware cow herd partnership

By The Associated Press

July 12, 2010, 5:31AM

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The fields and long red barns at the University of Vermont will soon house fewer cows as low milk prices, high costs and budget cuts have forced the university to sell its herd. Other institutions, including Rutgers University, are doing the same, have found other ways to cut costs, as high feed, fuel and labor prices... Full story »

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One-year salary buyout offer is not enough for most eligible Rutgers University professors

By Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger

July 09, 2010, 8:45PM

Less than 14 percent took offer Full story »

Once reluctant cash-strapped districts clamor for reform dollars | California Watch

Once reluctant cash-strapped districts clamor for reform dollars

by Corey G. Johnson

Corey G. Johnson

Roughly 164 of the 188 schools on the state's persistently low-performing list have pledged to implement reform in exchange for a cut of a $416 million grant, according to data released this week by the California Department of Education.
The Oakland and San Diego Unified school districts were among those school districts who flooded the state office last week with applications indicating their willingness to participate in the School Improvement Program. Both Oakland and San Diego initially refused to vie for the funds over concerns about the mandated improvement

Walgreens moving to sell beer and wine near college campuses

by Erica Perez

Erica Perez

A couple of years ago, officials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison went after the local Walgreens drugstore for a display that advertised most of the paraphernalia necessary to play the ubiquitous college drinking game of beer pong.
The offending display included plastic cups and ping pong balls but was noticeably missing one important ingredient: the booze. Walgreens didn't have a liquor license. Still, that didn't make much of a difference to UW-

UC online degree proposal rattles academics

Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, July 12, 2010

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Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

UC Dean Christopher Edley advocates an online program.

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Taking online college courses is, to many, like eating at McDonald's: convenient, fast and filling. You may not get filet mignon, but afterward you're just as full.
Now the University of California wants to jump into online education for undergraduates, hoping to become the nation's first top-tier research institution to offer a bachelor's degree over the Internet comparable in quality to its prestigious campus program.
"We want to do a highly selective, fully online, credit-bearing program on a large scale - and that has not been done," said UC Berkeley law school Dean Christopher Edley, who is leading the effort.
But a number of skeptical faculty members and graduate student instructors fear that a cyber UC

UC online degree proposal rattles academics

Taking online college courses is, to many, like eating at McDonald's: convenient, fast and filling. You...

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Stanford genotype class asks: What's your type?

When Stanford University School of Medicine became the first medical school in the nation this summer to...

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National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Defining Effective Teachers

Defining Effective Teachers

The administration's blueprint for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the law that governs K-12 education, calls for states to develop definitions of "effective teachers" and "effective principals." Student growth and classroom observations, according to the blueprint, should be included in the definition.

What do you think should define an effective teacher or principal? Will these definitions lead to systems with better educators?

-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com

Nation & World | Gates Foundation puts its stamp on education | Seattle Times Newspaper

Gates Foundation puts its stamp on education

Across the country, public education is in the midst of a quiet revolution.

By Nick Anderson

The Washington Post

KIICHIRO SATO / AP

Bill Gates meets with Nelson Smith, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, last month in Chicago. The Gates Foundation "has influence everywhere in absolutely every branch of education," said Tom Loveless, a Brookings Institution education analyst.

Bill Gates wins teachers' applause

TAMPA, Fla. — Across the country, public education is in the midst of a quiet revolution. States are embracing voluntary national standards for English and math, while schools are paying teachers based on student performance.

It's an agenda propelled, in part, by a flood of money from a Seattle billionaire prep-school graduate best known for his software empire: Bill Gates.

In the past 2-<133>1/2 years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged more than $650 million to schools, public agencies and other groups that buy into its main education priorities.

The largest awards are powering experiments in teacher evaluation and performance pay.

The Pittsburgh, Pa., school district landed $40 million; Los Angeles charter schools, $60 million; and Memphis, Tenn., schools, $90 million.

The Hillsborough County district, which includes Tampa, won the biggest grant: $100 million. That has set the nation's eighth-largest school system on a quest to reshape its 15,000-member teaching corps by rewarding

Bellevue district's Cudeiro tackles oft-overlooked achievement gap

Three days a week while school is in session, the new Bellevue superintendent shuttles from one school to the next, taking the measure of the classrooms, the teachers and the principals.

This Week In Education: Video: HCZ Founder Highlights Charter Firing Power

Video: HCZ Founder Highlights Charter Firing Power

AM News: Schools Opting For Weakest Turnaround Model (Again)

by Alexander Russo

"Transformation" Most Popular School Improvement Model EdWeek: Schools receiving millions of dollars in federal money meant to reverse years of low achievement are overwhelmingly opting for "transformation," the least disruptive of four intervention methods endorsed by the USDE... Education" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">A Chosen Few Are Teaching for AmericaNYT: Teach for America has

become an elite brand that will help build a résumé, and in a bad economy, it’s a two-year job guarantee with a good paycheck... Beyond the Test-Prep Bounds WSJ: For the last 10 years, this New Jersey elementary school has stuck to a teaching system based on more visceral indicators: how a child treats peers, and aptitude in the school's garden, musical and athletic areas... Education" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">Students, Meet Your New Teacher, Mr. Robot NYT: Computer scientists are developing machines that can teach people simple skills, like household tasks and vocabulary... Education" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(34, 68, 187); ">Educational Hope vs. Teenage Reality NYT: Researchers measuring a home computer’s educational value to a schoolchild in a low-income household are finding that test scores tend to go down, not up... Duncan: Congress needs to act now on school money AP: U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is urging Congress to act soon to increase education funding because cash-strapped states can't wait until the fall to determine if they must lay off thousands of teachers.

Rise & Shine: Principal gave students a second try on state test | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Principal gave students a second try on state test

by Philissa Cramer

News from New York City:

The principal of Queens’ PS 86 let students answer state test questions a week after the test. (Times)
Large education nonprofits and local colleges have applied to open new charter schools. (Post)
Private school tuition for special needs students is a growing expense for the city. (Wall Street Journal)
Some hiring restrictions for teachers have been relaxed. (GothamSchools, WNYC)
A major donor wants each SUNY school to be able to set its own tuition. (Times)
Parents fought for air-conditioned school buses for special needs students and won. (NY1)
State Sen. Bill Perkins’ main opponent, pro-charter Basil Smikle, has raised $130,000. (Post)
A real estate developer has given more than $1 million for students’ summer jobs. (Wall Street Journal)
The Post says any administrator who lets a no-show student graduate should be fired.
The Post praises Gov. Paterson for vetoing a funding bill that would have capped charter school aid.

And beyond:

The Gates Foundation continues to play a major role in setting the education agenda. (Washington Post)
A New Jersey school tossed test prep to boost diversity and test scores. (Wall Street Journal)
The head of Britain’s schools inspectors says bad teachers can be good for students. (Mirror UK)
Teach for America continues to attract far more students from top colleges than it can accept. (Times)
Computers in the home might actually hurt poor students’ performance, a study says. (Times)
Sacramento’s superintendent is making his schools look and feel more corporate. (Sacramento Bee)

Ode to Mrs. Stringos-Arias, Arts Teacher � InterACT

Ode to Mrs. Stringos-Arias, Arts Teacher

by Martha Infante

Helen Stringos-Arias with unknown student, 1984

Thanks to social networking, I was recently informed that my elementary school arts teacher, Helen Stringos-Arias recently passed away. Her passing gave me pause, as a confluence of thoughts, ideas, and reflections about my elementary school experience came together in a coherent way. This, mostly due to the incredible efforts of a public school teacher in 1970′s East L.A.
Students at Lorena Street elementary in Boyle Heights lived in the heyday of arts instruction. I vividly remember participating in chorus, dance, orchestra, and drama classes on a weekly basis and constantly rehearsing for large performances in each of these disciplines. Our dance and drama teacher, Helen Stringos was known as a “tough love” teacher who demanded excellence from all of her students and was not scared to call you out if your effort was lackluster. In the classroom, she taught the gifted cluster of students and her instruction was

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Monday, July 12, 2010