Gov. O'Malley deserved his NEA award

Gov. O'Malley deserved his NEA award

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

This month, educators across Maryland -- and across the country -- celebrated Gov. Martin O'Malley's leadership on public education as he received the National Education Association's America's Greatest Education Governor Award.

In the July 9 editorial "Mr. O'Malley flunks," The Post exhibited a profound misunderstanding of the reasons for the award as well as Maryland's recently enacted Fairness in Negotiations Act (FINA), which governs collective bargaining in Maryland education.
Mr. O'Malley has been active in the Democratic Governors and National Governors associations, mobilizing governors to lobby for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the education jobs bill. And despite difficult economic conditions, Mr. O'Malley's budgets resulted in school construction investments more than double those during the previous administration. He became the first governor to fully fund Thornton, 2002 Maryland legislation that added $1.9 billion in school funding, and his budgets have frozen college tuition for the 2007-2011 school

Is UC regent's vision for higher education clouded by his investments? - Los Angeles Times

Is UC regent's vision for higher education clouded by his investments? - Los Angeles Times

Is UC regent's vision for higher education clouded by his investments?

Richard C. Blum's ownership of about $700 million in stock of two firms that run for-profit schools raises the question of whether his holdings are consistent with his role as a UC regent.

July 13, 2010

• 
  
  Allen J. Schaben, Los Angeles Times

Conflicts of interest almost always involve money, but sometimes they raise more questions about the subjects' perspective than about their wallets.

Consider the large investments University of California Regent Richard C. Blum has made in two for-profit higher education companies, Career Education Corp. and ITT Educational Services Inc.

Blum's San Francisco investment firm is the largest shareholder in both firms, owning nearly 20% of Career Education and more than 10% of ITT Educational.

The firm's combined holdings in these two stocks is valued at about $700 million, based on their recent market prices. That sounds like a lot of money, but I think we can concede as a matter of courtesy that Blum, who is a billionaire and the chairman of the real estate firm CB Richard Ellis, probably wouldn't take any action as a regent merely to juice the value of those holdings.

But what do these investments say about Blum's vision for higher education? Should an important official of what is arguably the most prestigious system of public higher education in the world also be a leading financial backer of an

AFT Convention in Seattle – Day 4 � JD2718

AFT Convention in Seattle – Day 4 � JD2718

AFT Convention in Seattle – Day 4

by jd2718

Day 4 of the Convention was the shortest. The morning session started a little after 9:30, and wrapped up near 1, and that was it.

Credentials were updated (I think?) and election results announced. The Progressive Caucus swept. The opposition from Detroit got about 5%. Barbara Bowen (PSC) was the leading vote getter, followed by Karen Lewis (CTU Local 1), well ahead of the rest.

International relations was first group of resolutions on the agenda. And Afghanistan was prioritized #1 out of the committee. The NYSUT resolution had been recommended, and all the debate was about two amendments.

The first amendment said that this is, for the United States, a war of choice, not a war of defense. The second amendment removed from the resolved section language that muddied when we wanted the war to end, and further removed a full resolved advising the armed forces on how to conduct the war on terror. Three PSC leaders spoke powerfully for the amendments. Leo Casey moved to a mike in front of a mike with a UFT delegate. He defended the weaker version of the resolution, and the next speaker dutifully ended debate. Even the weakened resolution was an anti-war resolution, of a sort. We’ll have to strengthen it in two years.

The second resolution was on Iran. A delegate from New Jersey who had spoken on this resolution in committee

Toronto to Close Noted Comparative Literature Center Quick Takes: July 14, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: July 14, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Toronto to Close Noted Comparative Literature Center The University of Toronto is Center for Comparative Literature as part of a plan to save money and consolidate certain areas in the humanities, *The Globe and Mail *reported. While the university says that the changes reflect the way comparative ...

When Students are Homophobic Dean Dad

ABC’s and Ph.D.’s: Sabbaticals Dana Campbell

D.C. elementary schools lose ground on test scores; secondary gains continue

D.C. elementary schools lose ground on test scores; secondary gains continue

By Bill Turque

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 14, 2010

After two years of significant gains across the D.C. school system, elementary students lost ground in reading and math test scores this year, a setback to Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as she seeks to overhaul the city's schools.

The data released Tuesday did reflect encouraging news for middle and high schools, which extended gains in reading and math proficiency on the District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System. Officials said the three-year record of double-digit growth in secondary schools' test scores -- an average gain of 14 percentage points in the reading pass rate and 17 points in the math rate -- surpasses the norm for big urban school districts.
But the dip of between four to five points in elementary scores halts an upward two-year trend. From 2007 to 2009, elementary pass rates had risen about 19 points in math and 11 points in reading.
The decline comes at an inopportune moment for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, who is in a hotly contested Democratic primary battle with D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray. Fenty hopes to demonstrate to voters that the city's school system, among the nation's

Foundation plays a key role in education changes

The Gates Foundation plays a pivotal role in funding new approaches to the education system.

MORE ON EDUCATION

• D.C. elementary school scores decline
• Camps serve kids with special needs
• WP Editorial:Funding Gray's plan
• Police: Huguely knew Love was injured
• Fairfax to close Clifton Elementary
• Rhee to expand standardized testing
• Principal transforms Sousa Middle
• County spars over funds for poor kids
• Fenty aims to cut special-ed costs
• Gray outlines education agenda
• Landon shaken by bad behavior
• Rhee: Gray less committed to reform
• Military families want support for kids

Miriam Everett will work on a program, funded by the Gates Foundation, to evaluate her fellow teachers (Phelan M. Ebenhack).

On Facebook, Telling Teachers How Much They Meant - NYTimes.com

On Facebook, Telling Teachers How Much They Meant - NYTimes.com

On Facebook, Telling Teachers How Much They Meant

By SUSAN FEINSTEIN

Nicole Fruge for The New York Times

Darci Hemleb Thompson, 49, reconnected with a former teacher from Long Island, Alice D'Addario, through Facebook.

People who have been out of school for decades are expressing sentiments they dared not express in their youth.

ON EDUCATION

A Chosen Few Are Teaching for America

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Teach for America has become an elite brand that will help build a résumé, and in a bad economy, guarantee a good paycheck.

• Times Topics: Teach for America

THE APPRAISAL

Parents’ Real Estate Strategy: Schools Come First

By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY

Developers who sell apartments near good schools should chip in more to help build classrooms, parents say.

“Simple Guide Tool” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Simple Guide Tool” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Simple Guide Tool” Simple Guide Tool lets you create a video/audio/text chatroom for up to four people, and lets you talk and show Google Maps and its Street View of different locations of your choice. Boy, if you had a sister class somewhere, it would be a great tool ...

There Will Be Fewer Posts Than Usual The Rest Of The Week… I’m part of a group of teachers working with The Center For Teaching Quality that’s preparing a policy report on Teacher Working Conditions and how they relate to student learning, and will be going to North Carolina for a related meeting this week. ...

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Daily Education & Technology News for Schools 07/14/2010

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Daily Education & Technology News for Schools 07/14/2010

Daily Education & Technology News for Schools 07/14/2010

by coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher)

• 
  The Creativity Crisis - Newsweek - Annotated
  "For the first time, research shows that American creativity is declining. What went wrong - and how we can fix it."
  tags: education creativity innovation
  
  • 1990 is when the overzealous drive for standardized testing and curriculum began. Go figure. - post by Jeffrey Fuller
  • We say that we do the same as far as problem based learning, but our problem is how to get kids to pass a standardized test. In truth, other countries are taking on learning methods that we discarded in the late 1980s, we are taking on a learning approach that they have abandoned after 1000 years of practice. Our own educational leaders are all in denial about this. - post by Jeffrey Fuller
  • Edutainers, don't get your hopes up for synchronized dance interpretation of math problems. Using

Education | What UW means to the state? $9.1 billion | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | What UW means to the state? $9.1 billion | Seattle Times Newspaper

What UW means to the state? $9.1 billion

The University of Washington's economic impact on the state each year is $9.1 billion, according to a study commissioned by the UW to quantify the institution's benefit to the state.

By Nick Perry

Seattle Times staff reporter

The University of Washington's economic impact on the state each year is $9.1 billion, according to a study commissioned by the UW to quantify the institution's benefit to the state.

In its report, consulting agency Tripp Umbach found that the UW employs 29,000 people and is the state's third-largest employer — behind Boeing and Microsoft. The report said the UW is responsible for employing 6 percent of the entire Seattle labor force.

However, whether the UW can fairly be compared with private companies remains a point of debate. After all, most UW workers are, in fact, employees of the state of Washington.

The report, commissioned to "better articulate the benefits of a global research institution" was sought to emphasize the importance of the UW at a time when it faces cutbacks and the likelihood of a brutal state budget session next year.

Tripp Umbach found that each year, the UW generates $4 billion in direct economic activity and $5.1 billion in indirect activity. UW Medicine — which includes two hospitals and a medical school — accounted for 45

Rise & Shine: New report to detail state’s low test standards | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: New report to detail state’s low test standards | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: New report to detail state’s low test standards

by Philissa Cramer

• A forthcoming report details low standards on state tests. (Post, NY1, S.I. Advance)
• Some are skeptical about the state’s will to raise standards. (GothamSchools)
• Thieves stole laptop computers from PS 107 for the second time in a month. (Brooklyn Paper)
• City teachers are among many getting kudos from former students on Facebook. (Times)
• In D.C., scores are down at elementary schools but up at middle and high schools. (Washington Post)

Price tag for schools complex at former Ambassador Hotel site now tops $578 million Education - latimes.com

Education - latimes.com

Syracuse economist tapped to head Claremont Graduate University By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times Deborah A. Freund, a prominent expert on healthcare financing who at one time was a front-runner for chancellor at UCLA, will take over as president of Claremont in the fall. Price tag for schools complex at former Ambassador Hotel site now tops $578 million By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times It is the Los Angeles Unified School District's most expensive school project. The school board approves an additional $6.6 million in new expenses to already costly revisions. Is UC regent's vision for higher education clouded by his investments? Richard C. Blum's ownership of about $700 million in stock of two firms that run for-profit schools raises the question of whether his holdings are consistent with his role as a UC regent.

EDUCATION Headlines from L.A. Now Second lawsuit seeks billions more for California schools07/12/2010, 9:30 a.m. Low-achieving Fremont High reopens; most of its teachers are new07/06/2010, 4:31 p.m. UC president in unusual public dispute with several American Jewish groups07/06/2010, 3:24 p.m. Monica Garcia to serve fourth year as L.A. Unified board president07/01/2010, 1:54 p.m. Teachers, charters, others to bid for 17 new or struggling L.A. Unified campuses07/01/2010, 1:09 p.m. More potential for problems with L.A. Unified's payroll system, grand jury says06/30/2010, 2:27 p.m. More ...

Eduflack: Around the Edu-Horn, July 13, 2010

Eduflack: Around the Edu-Horn, July 13, 2010

Around the Edu-Horn, July 13, 2010

by Eduflack

RT @wpnick WP's Turque has it first: D.C. elementary scores declined this year under #edreform star #Rhee.http://bit.ly/b3CC1L

RT @markkerr Draft Framework for 'Next Gen' Science Standards Issued http://ow.ly/2azFs

The continued edujobs debacle --http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/39634.html

The myth of teacher tenure? http://tinyurl.com/2do2rm8

RT @jeneps Harkin takes #4profit battle to the oped page of the LA Times. "The threat of a new bubble..."http://bit.ly/d4tKfx

Can Gates Remake K-12 Education?

by Eduflack

Yesterday, Nick Anderson offered up a front-page story in The Washington Post on the influence and impact the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is having on education reform in the United States. For many, this was not new news (particularly since Libby Quaid and the Associated Press did a similar story about two years ago), but the size and scope was bound to attract attention. When we start to see the number of grants awarded, the total dollars doled out, and the influential individuals who have moved from Gates into either government or practitioner roles, and you start to see the possibility of the Gates Foundation and education improvement.

But Eduflack is struck by the same thinking that has dogged him for years. Anderson's well-written piece portrays the current K-12 public education environment and how the Gates Foundation needs to work within the confines of that system. It continues to be about refurbishing existing homes, not about tearing down and building new. And if anything was clear from the Anderson article, it is that Gates is in a position to do it its

Make Schools More Like Business? (Part 3) � InterACT

Make Schools More Like Business? (Part 3) � InterACT

Make Schools More Like Business? (Part 3)

by David B. Cohen

This post was originally conceived of as the second part in a series on the application of business thinking in the field of education, but then in a moment of blogger inspiration I put in a different Part Two and this piece became Part Three. If you haven’t read the prior entries, there’s no particular need to read them in order, but here are the links to Part One and Part Two. Taken collectively, I think they provide convincing evidence that the current trends in education “reform” are reflective of attitudes that do not make sense in the business world – despite what they tell us – and they certainly won’t work in education.
At the end of Part One, I mentioned Bob Sutton, a Stanford business and management professor, author of several books, and blogger at Work Matters. I highly recommend taking a look at anything on his blog – it never ceases to provide useful tools for reflecting the educational workplace. However, for the moment, I’m looking at his posts on the blog of the Harvard Business Review. In What Every New Generation of Bosses Has To Learn, Sutton argues that the real challenges and solutions in the workplace are not anything incredibly novel, or hard to understand. In an educational setting, I would ask this question about schools or systems in crisis: has