Monday, August 23, 2010

ACLU asks Supreme Court to hear Va alcohol ad ban - Boston.com

ACLU asks Supreme Court to hear Va alcohol ad ban

By Dena Potter

Associated Press Writer / August 23, 2010

Text size – +

RICHMOND, Va.—The ACLU of Virginia asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to review a federal appeals court ruling that upholds a ban on alcohol advertising in Virginia's college newspapers.

In a 2-1 ruling in April, a panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission ban is a minimally restrictive approach to combat problem drinking.

On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition asking the high court to review the ruling. The ACLU says the ban isn't constitutional because there is no proof it diminishes underage or binge drinking on campus.

"College students are bombarded with alcohol ads every day -- on television, on

Eduwonk � Blog Archive � Odds And Ends

Odds And Ends

by arotherham

Two Johns have two takes on the LAT value-added imbroglio worth checking out. John Fensterwald looks at the school district’s positioning, and John Merrow comes out in favor of naming names.

Who Should Have Access to Teacher Data? - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Who Should Have Access to Teacher Data?

by Stephen Sawchuk

The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, has weighed in on the Los Angeles Times' value-added project. She agrees that parents, teachers, and principals have the right to access this kind of performance data, but argues making such data public to the public at large isn't appropriate.

In some ways, the L.A. Times series is really a litmus test about data, its usage, and who gets to access it. And it's unclear whether other journalists or districts are going to follow the paper's lead and try to obtain these data or to make them public. In the past, getting access to such information hasn't been easy: Researchers

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

Governor Paterson Submits Plan to Distribute Education Jobs Program Funding

Governor David A. Paterson today submitted his plan to the United States Department of Education for distributing more than $607 million in federal funding from the recently passed Education Jobs Fund.

(Media-Newswire.com) - Governor David A. Paterson today submitted his plan to the United States Department of Education for distributing more than $607 million in federal funding from the recently passed Education Jobs Fund. The Governor submitted his plan just one week after President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.
As part of this plan, the Governor and the State's legislative leaders have agreed that the State will distribute the more than $607 million in funding to school districts according to the State's primary funding formulae to restore, retain and create teacher jobs.

"In this time of economic crisis, our State has been forced to make deep cuts across every area of our budget, including substantial cuts to education," Governor Paterson said. "These federal funds will help mitigate many of these cuts by retaining and creating teacher jobs. In just the week since this bill was signed into law, th

United for Peace & Justice�:�Fall 2010 Calendar

It's time to take the streets again!

Join the Fall Campaign for Peace, Jobs and Justice for All!

Spread the word and organize where and when you can this fall!

Fall Calendar of Action

Aug 28th: March in Detroit for Jobs

Aug 28th: 47th Anniversary of March on Washington to Reclaim King's vision of Peace and Justice

Sept. (date tba): next Minuteman III ICBM test launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, CA

Sept 14: Drones on Trial, Las Vegas Nevada

Sept. 21: United Nations International Day of Peace

Sept. 20 - 22: High- Level "Millennium Summit" (Millennium Development Goals to eradicate global poverty), United Nations, NY

Sept 25-27: Appalachia Rising Summit and action, Call for a moratorium on mountain top removal Washington DC

Oct. 2 - 9: Keep Space for Peace Week

Oct. 2: One Nation Working Together in Washington DC - ALL out for a major Peace and Justice

ASCD Inservice: In Case You Missed It

NH town to decide fate of elementary school - Boston.com

NH town to decide fate of elementary school

August 23, 2010

Text size – +

CLAREMONT, N.H.—The town of Unity, N.H., is meeting to vote on the future of its elementary school.

The state school board had voted unanimously to close the school on July 8 because of fire code and other safety violations.

The town is holding a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday at Stevens High School in Claremont to vote on whether to approve funds for a new school; renovating the old one; and tuition

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

NH town to decide fate of elementary school (AP, 6:08 a.m.)
40 years later, Wis. bomber is a 'ghost' (AP, 3:30 a.m.)
LA unveils $578M school, costliest in the nation (AP, 8/22/10)
Utility advising college students to be cautious (AP, 8/22/10)
School transfers rare in Conn under 'No Child' law (AP, 8/22/10)

LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS

Los Angeles to open costliest school in US, at $578m(Boston Globe, 5 a.m.)
Cardboard cutout keeps Conn. Army daughter close(AP, 8/22/10)
Conn. schools advised to add emergency drills (AP, 8/21/10)
Sector Snap: Corinthian results weigh on schools (AP, 8/20/10)
Ga. teachers group backs Democrat Barnes for gov (AP, 8/20/10)

LATEST HIGHER EDUCATION NEWS

Lyme disease finds new foothold inland (Boston Globe, 8/22/10)
Students offered bus discounts (AP, 8/22/10)
Lobstering brothers return to UMaine (AP, 8/22/10)
Colleges fight Obama education plans with boost in lobbying (Boston Globe, 8/21/10)
Feds question stability of Conn's Mitchell College (AP, 8/21/10)

College Dropout Factories � The Quick and the Ed

College Dropout Factories

by Ben Miller

Nestor Curiel is a higher education success story. The third of six children from an immigrant Mexican family, Nestor is currently enrolled at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he is on track to graduate with a degree in engineering. Nestor beat the odds–he came from a gritty working-class suburb near the South Side of Chicago and a high school where only 31 percent of students meet or exceed standards on state tests.

But Nestor could easily have slipped through the cracks. Despite hard work in high school and a grade point average of 3.6, he ended up at Chicago State University, a public four-year college located in the southern part of the city. The six-year graduation rate for Chicago State is 13 percent and more than 40 percent of students don’t

The Educated Guess � Community forums in East San Jose

Community forums in East San Jose

Posted in A to G Curriculum

Fewer than 4 out of 10 graduates of the East Side Union High School District, encompassing half of San Jose, qualify for a four-year university. Many of those who didn’t had no idea what courses were needed, before it was too late.

Explaining the A-G requirements required by the CSU and UC systems will be one part of a community dialogue of education that the Silicon Valley Education Foundation is sponsoring this week at four East Side Union High schools. The first is Monday, Aug. 23, at Oak Grove High School from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Parents of students in feeder districts are encouraged to attend as well.

For a full schedule, check here.

By John Fensterwald on August 23rd, 2010

LAUSD, teachers negotiating use of test scores

Posted in Teacher Development, Tenure, Turning around failing schools, pay

The Los Angeles Times’ impending plan to publish the performance rankings of 6,000 elementary school teachers, based on student test scores, has become the catalyst for sudden negotiations between Los Angeles Unified and its teachers union over teacher evaluations. One likely reason: Incorporating test scores into teachers’ personnel reviews could provide the legal basis in the future to deny releasing the scores, tied to individual teachers, to the public and to the Times.

The Times reported Sunday that United Teachers Los Angeles has accepted Deputy Superintendent John Deasy’s offer to restart talks on performance reviews of teachers. UTLA President A.J. Duffy declined to say whether that should include using test scores, although Duffy, who has flatly ruled out the use of test scores until now, is facing pressure to do so.

(Read more and comment on this post)

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Florida charter schools

Florida charter schools

by The Perimeter Primate

CHARTER SCHOOLS: MISSING THE GRADE (four-part series), March 25-28, 2007, The Orlando (FL) Sentinel

--- PART 1: ACADEMIC TROUBLES ---

Risky choices: Many charters prove poor options
Pat and Tammy Rasmussen had no idea they'd sent their son Daniel to one of the lowest-performing schools in Florida [Richard Milburn Academy in New Port Richey] -- until he came home one day and said he was helping teach math class…

…Administrators offered to pay their son $50 for each friend he persuaded to join…

More than 300 charters teaching about 92,000 students have sprung up, funded by $1.5 billion in local, state and federal taxes in the past three years alone. Eighty schools are operating in Central Florida.

But a statewide investigation by the Orlando Sentinel found that while many charters serve children

AM News: Civic Committee Hates CPS Budget - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

AM News: Civic Committee Hates CPS Budget

by Alexander Russo

Civic group gives CPS budget cool OK Sun TImes: "This is a short-term, adequate plan to close a large deficit and allow public schools to open this year, but it will not prevent further problems with CPS' future budget,'' Msall said... CPS looks to balance budget on shaky foundation, Civic Federation says Crain's: The group criticized plans to transfer the stabilization fund's entire $190-million kitty to the general fund, characterizing replenishment options as "unreliable" because they depend on the city of Chicago and the state, which also are cash-strapped... CPS Budget Plan Receives a Grim Warning WBEZ: Chicago Public Schools' $6.4 billion budget plan for the upcoming school year is getting a stern warning from a leading fiscal watchdog... First Public Charter High School in Chicago Suburbs Opens WBEZ: The first public charter high school in the Chicago suburbs will begin classes on Thursday... Students Lobby To Use Smart Phones In Classrooms Chicagoist: To bring smart phones to every CPS high school student, the report mentions a proposed outside funding plan... NBA star Dwayne Wade Gives Back to Chicago Kids WBEZ: NBA star Dwayne Wade talks about life before the NBA, and how he tries to give something back to Chicago youth... Fritchey wants surplus TIF funds to go to city's schools Sun Times: Fritchey said Oak Forest and Chicago Heights officials have in the past chosen to return unallocated TIF funds.

Lynne Cheney group gives UC Berkeley an 'F' in general education | California Watch

Lynne Cheney group gives UC Berkeley an 'F' in general education

by Erica Perez

Erica Perez

Just as the vaunted U.S. News and World Report rated UC Berkeley as the nation's top public university last week, a less-noticed ranking system from the conservative American Council of Trustees and Alumni gave UC Berkeley an "F" because it only requires students to take one out of seven core subjects as defined by the

In wake of Palin speech, lawmakers OK opening foundation records

by Chase Davis

Chase Davis

Fundraising foundations at public universities would have to open their books to public scrutiny under a bill passed last week by the state Legislature, though donors would still be able to request anonymity in most cases.

It was the second time in the last two years that the bill, carried by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, has been sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk. He vetoed it last year, citing a chilling effect on donors if their names were to be disclosed.

More schools accused of pay-to-play catch ACLU's gaze

by Corey G. Johnson

Corey G. Johnson

The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing three more Southern California school districts of illegally charging students to participate in cheerleading, athletics, and AP calculus classes.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Poway, Grossmont and San Dieguito school districts received letters from the ACLU this week demanding internal documents on their pay-to-play practices. The letters included such instances as:

Mandating a total of $1,691 in fees to be on the cheerleading team, plus another $600 to $700 to

Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, August 23, 2010