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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

The Daily Churn: Wednesday | EdNewsColorado

The Daily Churn: Wednesday | EdNewsColorado

The Daily Churn: Wednesday

by EdNews staff

What’s churning:

Colorado’s beat-down at the hands of federal Race to the Top evaluators not only cost the state $175 million in education reform funds, it set off a round of finger-pointing and recrimination that looks likely to continue for a while. The Denver Post’s lead editorial this morning leveled a blast at the Colorado Education Association for opposing the state’s second-round R2T application. Term-limited State Rep. Michael Merrifield, a Manitou Springs Democrat and teachers’ union stalwart, told the Post that supporters of last spring’s teacher evaluation

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Texas Digest: iTunes education channel launched

Texas Digest: Traffic fatalities down 11 percent; iTunes education channel launched

Texas Digest: Traffic fatalities down 11 percent; iTunes education channel launched

COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS

Updated: 12:09 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010

Published: 8:53 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2010

EDUCATION

iTunes school channel launched

Texas students can now download podcasts, videos and other multimedia lessons directly from iTunes through a new online program aimed at providing free, supplementary coursework that can be accessed anywhere, state officials said Tuesday.

The Texas Education iTunes U channel allows teachers to upload material from their classes to help students understand new concepts or do more research in a specific subject area.

Students and parents can access the material through home or school computers, and those with iPods can download the

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Sacramento schools rank high and low in exit exam - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com

Sacramento schools rank high and low in exit exam - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com

Sacramento schools rank high and low in exit exam

By Melody Gutierrez and Phillip Reese
mgutierrez@sacbee.com
Published: Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B

West Campus High School proved again why it's one of the most sought-after schools in the Sacramento area after posting top scores on the California High School Exit Exam.

Just over a mile away, Hiram Johnson High School proved why it remains a top priority for Sacramento City Unified School District officials after posting among the worst results in the state.

Same district.

Similar neighborhood.

Different admissions policy.

West Campus is an open enrollment campus, where students must meet grade-point average requirements in order to apply. Among schools with more than 200 10th-graders taking the 2009-2010 exit exam, West Campus had the lowest percentage in California of sophomores

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/25/2980793/sacramento-schools-rank-high-and.html#ixzz0xcai6wIz

POPULAR COMMENT
As Diane Ravitch demonstrates in her book DEATH/LIFE OF GREAT AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM, it is POVERTY that is the most significant factor weight on student performance -- NOT the teachers. Hiram Johnson serves the single most impoverished area in the SCUSD system, with a confluence of ESL learners and other challenges manifested in the culture of poverty that surrounds the school and plagues its student body. If these issues are not addressed, Hiram Johnson, and other similarly situated schools stand to perpetuate poverty, enabled by a school board that diverts resources, for example, to under the table loans and other maintenance for charters that, were it not for student cherry picking and other window dressing fakery, would result in similar underperformance, or allows a Superintendent to hire PR firms to PR things for him, instead of focusing on cultivating a partnership with district teachers. We should stop the chicanery of certain charters, especially that one founded by our now mayor, and place these resourcers back where they belong -- with PUBLIC SCHOOLS and the front line teachers who mightily attempt to overcome the astonishing challenges they confront every day in the classroom.

-- shlomovonglickstein



Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/08/25/2980793/sacramento-schools-rank-high-and.html#ixzz0xcaqj7TW
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Blog U.: Going to Educause - Student Affairs and Technology - Inside Higher Ed

Blog U.: Going to Educause - Student Affairs and Technology - Inside Higher Ed

Going to Educause

By Eric Stoller August 25, 2010 8:15 am

It's a good thing that the 2010 Educause Annual Conference is in October because it reminds me of Halloween candy -- so many amazing goodies to discover! For folks who are not familiar with Educause, the annual conference has a bit of everything for anybody who is interested in technology:

"Whether your focus is on administration, teaching and learning, information technology infrastructure, information systems, cybersecurity, policy, library systems or information technology leadership, there's something at the annual conference for you."

Here is a list of some of the sessions that piqued my interest as I was browsing through the Educause 2010 conference schedule. While I might not be able to attend all of them, they certainly caught my attention:

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Why I’m not crying for Louisiana and Colorado � School Finance 101

Why I’m not crying for Louisiana and Colorado � School Finance 101

Why I’m not crying for Louisiana and Colorado

by schoolfinance101

Many of the “reformers” out there are whining and fist-thumping about the surprise omission of Louisiana and Colorado as Race to the Top Winners. After all, Louisiana has been a heavy favorite from the outset of RttT, and Colorado… well Colorado took the amazingly bold leap of adopting legislation to mandate that a majority of teacher evaluation be based on value-added test scores. That’s got to count for something. Heck, these two states should have gotten the whole thing? Here’s Tom Vander Ark’s take on this huge surprise loss:http://edreformer.com/2010/08/co-la-surprise-losers/

Now here’s why I find it somewhat of a relief that these two states did not find themselves in the winners’ circle (not that I can identify a great deal of logic to support those who did… but…).

I’ve written numerous times about Louisiana’s public education system, and that state’s support or lack-thereof

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14 teachers sue over Missouri virtual schools cuts - Boston.com

14 teachers sue over Missouri virtual schools cuts - Boston.com

14 teachers sue over Missouri virtual schools cuts

By Chris Blank
Associated Press Writer / August 24, 2010
Text size – +

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.—Fourteen teachers have filed a lawsuit over state budget cuts that cost them their jobs with Missouri's virtual schools program.

According to the lawsuit, cuts last year to the virtual schools program led teachers to be laid off despite contracts guaranteeing them jobs for longer, and officials did not make the impending financial difficulties known.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday, and the attorney general's office said it had not yet received a copy of it.

Students from kindergarten through high school can take Internet-based courses through the Missouri Virtual Instruction Program. Gov. Jay Nixon announced that he was halting funding for the school's second semester last year as part of

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

Mass. offers schools some help to combat bullying

The state Education Department released a model antibullying plan yesterday to help local schools develop their own policies to protect students from being picked on. (By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff)

Court halts president’s stem cell expansion

A federal judge in Washington yesterday temporarily blocked the Obama administration’s efforts to expand stem cell research, ruling in a case brought by a former MIT scientist and others who oppose embryonic stem cell research. (By Stephen Smith and Tracy Jan, Globe Staff)

Vandals strike school in Lynn

Vandals trashed a Lynn elementary school during the weekend, dumping paint, spraying fire extinguishers, shattering glass, overturning desks and copiers, and spewing classroom materials throughout the building, according to Deputy Superintendent Jaye Warry. (By Jeffrey Fish, Globe Correspondent)

More parents saving for college

The number of parents who are saving to pay future college costs is up, but the percentage of costs those savings will cover is slipping down. (By D.C. Denison, Globe Staff)

Students urge more cultural training for Boston teachers

One student says an eighth-grade teacher in Roxbury scolded classmates for speaking Spanish among themselves, exclaiming: “You are in America; we speak English here.’’ (By James Vaznis, Globe Staff)

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Rendell defends salaries of Ackerman, Greene | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/24/2010

Rendell defends salaries of Ackerman, Greene | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/24/2010
Lower Merion webcam plaintiff's attorney again demands payment Despite a hostile initial response from the Lower Merion School District, the lawyer handling the webcam lawsuit against it repeated his demand Monday to be paid more than $400,000 while the case is pending.
Rendell defends salaries of Ackerman, Greene Gov. Rendell is paid $167,850 less than Philadelphia schools chief Arlene Ackerman and $135,850 less than Philadelphia Housing Authority executive director Carl R. Greene.
Upper Darby students pick up donated supplies The start of school was still a week away for students at Bywood Elementary School in Upper Darby, but fourth-grader Makhi Simms and his sister, Bryanah, were already walking into the cafeteria on Monday morning, getting ready for the year to come.
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‘Race to Top’ Winners Are Mostly in the East - NYTimes.com

‘Race to Top’ Winners Are Mostly in the East - NYTimes.com

Eastern States Dominate in Winning School Grants

By SAM DILLON

Many educators in states that did not win or even participate in President Obama’s Race to the Top competition said the rules favored densely populated eastern states.

New York Wins Nearly $700 Million for Education

By JENNIFER MEDINA

Local officials who pushed for educational changes celebrated a victory in a competition for federal money.

Even at Commuter Schools, Dorm Life Beckons

By FERNANDA SANTOS

Queens College’s only dorm houses 500 students out of 20,000, and contains full kitchens, cable television, wireless Internet access and private bathrooms.

Officials in San Bernardino, Calif., had to scale back plans for a makeover at Pacific High School.

Drive to Overhaul Low-Performing Schools Delayed

By SAM DILLON

Negotiations among federal, state and local education officials have led to confusion about financing.

Dan Cohen, director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, is among the academics who advocate a more open, Web-based approach to reviewing scholarly works.

Scholars Test Web Alternative to Peer Review

By PATRICIA COHEN

The Internet is calling into question one of academia’s sacred rites: the peer- reviewed journal article.

Boyd Monson, 19, and his father, Roland Monson, at Grinnell College in Iowa, which holds a ceremony to formalize separation.

Students, Welcome to College; Parents, Go Home

By TRIP GABRIEL

Faced with parents who have a hard time saying goodbye to their freshmen, colleges formalize the split.

Western Schools Sprout in South Korea

By CHOE SANG-HUN

Parents in Asia and elsewhere want a more global curriculum for their children, and g

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We lost again in Race to the Top. Now what? | California Watch

We lost again in Race to the Top. Now what? | California Watch

We lost again in Race to the Top. Now what?

by Corey G. Johnson

Well, as of yesterday, the final bell rung on California's foray into Race to the Top. And the results were sobering: After two stabs at hundreds of millions in federal dollars, there's no cash to show for it.

The winners were Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia. California hoped to gain up to $700 million.

Now larger questions loom. What does the twice-abysmal performance say about the current state of California education? Will the results spur California education leaders to do a major self-reflection or a systemwide

Commissioner slaps more fines on UC Davis housing subcontractors

by Erica Perez

The state labor commissioner has ordered two subcontractors working on the UC Davis Tercero student housing project to pay nearly $1.5 million in back wages and penalties for labor violations – just a few months after two other subcontractors on the same project were accused of similar misdeeds.

An investigation by the California Department of Industrial Relations Division of Labor Standards Enforcement found that Nevada-based subcontractors Kings Drywall Inc. and JL Home Development had willfully broken prevailing wage laws. The investigation found that the companies had failed to report workers on their certified

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Education Research Report: Poll Underscores Need for Better Professional Development

Education Research Report: Poll Underscores Need for Better Professional Development

Poll Underscores Need for Better Professional Development

by Jonathan Kantrowitz
Ω


PDK/Gallup poll ranks teacher quality as nation's top education issue; cites professional development as key tool

Improving the quality of our nation's teachers is the nation's top education priority, and providing quality professional development is viewed as critical to achieving this goal, the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup poll has found.

The annual poll, administered for the Phi Delta Kappa professional association by the Gallup organization,
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Danny Westneat | This plan not making the grade | Seattle Times Newspaper

Danny Westneat | This plan not making the grade | Seattle Times Newspaper

This plan not making the grade

The best teacher I ever had probably would have flunked Seattle's proposed new system for grading its teachers.

Danny Westneat

Seattle Times staff columnist

The best teacher I ever had probably would have flunked Seattle's proposed new system for grading its teachers.

Check that: She was too smart to flunk. She probably would have just refused to go along with it.

Seattle Public Schools suddenly is at the forefront of the new wave in education: grading the graders. The district has proposed a way to pay, promote and perhaps fire its teachers, based on where they rate on a five-level effectiveness chart.

The impulse to do this is understandable. Everyone knows teachers are the most important cogs in the school machine. Yet currently they are paid and retained almost entirely on seniority and their advanced degrees.

But what's got everybody worked up is the way Seattle's teachers would be judged.

Some parts aren't all that controversial. Teachers have to meet traditional workplace goals

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