Send school aid directly to charters, panel says | Columbus Dispatch Politics

Send school aid directly to charters, panel says | Columbus Dispatch Politics

Send school aid directly to charters, panel says

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Advice intended to ease animosity among officials of public schools

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010 02:59 AM

BY JIM SIEGEL

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Today's political news

• Teachers union has its own labor trouble
• 
  
  

hose who dream of a day when Ohio's traditional districts and charter schools will work harmoniously know it is unlikely under a funding system in which districts get monthly reminders that their state funding is being siphoned away.

A subcommittee of the School Funding Advisory Council, the group tasked with looking at ways to improve the state's system of paying for education in Ohio, recommended yesterday that funding for charter schools go directly to those schools instead of passing through the traditional public schools.

Under the current system, Columbus, for example, gets a monthly payment from the state for all students living in the district, but it must send some of that money to charter

Queens Teacher: Before the Storm - What Happens When a School is Targeted for a Turnaround

Queens Teacher: Before the Storm - What Happens When a School is Targeted for a Turnaround

Before the Storm - What Happens When a School is Targeted for a Turnaround

by Queens Teacher

Popout

This video clip is adapted from a PowerPoint presentation I created for a Teachers' Letters to Obama electronic

AM News: Still No Chief Academic Officer - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

AM News: Still No Chief Academic Officer - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

AM News: Still No Chief Academic Officer

by Alexander Russo

"Principals and teachers at Chicago Public Schools are gearing up for the school year that begins next week, and some say they're doing it without a needed chief education officer." (CPS Principals Feeling 'Lost at Sea'WBEZ)

Obama must stick to his guns on education - CNN.com

Obama must stick to his guns on education - CNN.com

Obama must stick to his guns on education

By Ruben Navarrette Jr., Special to CNN

September 2, 2010 8:39 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Navarrette: Obama is engaging in election-year wooing of distraught teachers unions
• He says unions who backed Obama are put off by reforms that target teacher performance
• Obama pouring money into education funding, but some balky unions turn away
• Navarrette: Obama must stay focused, not compromise on reform to win midterm support

RELATED TOPICS

• Education Policy
• Arne Duncan
• Race to the Top
• Barack Obama
• Elementary and High School Education

Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a nationally syndicated columnist, an NPR commentator and a regular contributor to CNN.com. Watch CNN's "Fix Our Schools" coverage all this week for concrete, unique solutions to the U.S. education crisis.

San Diego (CNN) -- It's back-to-school time, which means some in the media have gone back to asking: "What's wrong with our schools? And how can we fix it?"

But it's also an election year. That has President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan -- both of whom have shown themselves to be deeply informed about what's wrong with our schools and how to fix it -- trying to make peace with a powerful Democratic ally. Unfortunately, this ally also happens to be one of the things that's wrong with our schools: some of the teachers unions.

Here's the background:

ASCD Inservice: When I Quit Giving Homework

ASCD Inservice: When I Quit Giving Homework

When I Quit Giving Homework

Response to "Do All Students Need Homework?":

Over the past several years, I have dramatically reduced the amount of homework I assign. I don't even use the word homework. If I ask students to read outside of class, I simply say tonight's reading, or if I ask students to write outside of class, I call it tonight's writing.

Because I rarely ask kids to do homework, most of my outside class work involves an activity like interviewing a parent, watching a brief video on YouTube, looking up information, or performing an activity.
It's interesting to note that since I quit assigning homework, I don't cover substantially less in class. I've discovered that student attitudes about class and their readiness for class have improved. In one particular unit, I used to assign a significant amount of outside reading, writing, and research on a student-selected topic. Now, the only outside activity I ask students to do is to discuss and reflect on

Queens Teacher: Accept it: Poverty hurts learning: Schools matter, but they're not all that matters

Queens Teacher: Accept it: Poverty hurts learning: Schools matter, but they're not all that matters

Accept it: Poverty hurts learning: Schools matter, but they're not all that matters

by Queens Teacher

Accept it: Poverty hurts learning: Schools matter, but they're not all that matters
BY Pedro Noguera

Thursday, September 2nd 2010

There has been a fierce, ongoing debate among educational leaders about how to teach poor children: One side has argued that we must address the wide variety of social issues (like poor health and nutrition, mobility, inadequate preparation for school, etc.) that tend to be associated with poverty. The other side has argued that

San Fernando Valley Sun - Allegations of Fraud Prompt New Rules for Charter Schools Must Now Comply

San Fernando Valley Sun - Allegations of Fraud Prompt New Rules for Charter Schools Must Now Comply

Allegations of Fraud Prompt New Rules for Charter Schools Must Now Comply

Written by Andres Chavez Sun Staff Reporter

Thursday, 02 September 2010

Principal confesses fraud to board member The Los Angeles Unified school board Tuesday unanimously approved new regulations intended to tighten the district's oversight of charter schools. The new rules cover the approval and renewal of the independent schools and the procedures for shutting them down if they miss academic benchmarks, engage in fraud, or are fiscally irresponsible. California law gives charter schools a great deal of autonomy. But LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said having clear rules would help effective charters run better and help the district identify problems with less effective schools sooner. The Board's action was prompted by two sets of allegations of mishandling of

The test score witch-hunt in LA | SocialistWorker.org

The test score witch-hunt in LA | SocialistWorker.org

The test score witch-hunt in LA

Jessica Kochick, a teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, looks at the anti-union agenda behind "value-added" evaluation of teacher performance.

September 2, 2010

The value-added model that the Los Angeles Times applied to teachers in its article is very controversial among experts

THE SCHOOL year in the Los Angeles Unified School District is about to kick off--with two unpaid furlough days due to budget cuts and union concessions--and teachers and parents are grappling with a debate over a recent Los Angeles Times article "Who's Teaching L.A.'s Kids?"

The article unveils a study of individual teacher effectiveness in LAUSD, based on a "value-added measure"--meaning how much "value" an individual teacher has added to a student's expected yearly growth as measured by California standardized reading and math tests. If a student's test scores

A Celebratory Road Trip for Education Secretary - NYTimes.com

A Celebratory Road Trip for Education Secretary - NYTimes.com

A Celebratory Road Trip for Education Secretary

By TRIP GABRIEL

Published: September 1, 2010

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PORTLAND, Me. — A chartered bus adorned with slogans about “Hope” and “Dreams” was rumbling through this part of the country this week, carrying a public servant who made regular stops to greet mayors and local television cameras.

Cheryl Senter for The New York Times

Education Secretary Arne Duncan after talking with school officials Tuesday in Manchester, N.H.

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Cheryl Senter for The New York Times

Mr. Duncan during a round-table discussion with school officials, teachers and parents at a Manchester elementary school.

No, Education Secretary Arne Duncanis not a candidate for office. But yes, his bus tour through Maine, New Hampshire and other Northeast states had all the trappings of a political campaign.

Mr. Duncan’s tour, coinciding with back-to-school season, was billed as a way to honor teachers. But the road trip also felt like a victory lap after last week’s announcement that nine states and the District of Columbia had won the Race to the Top, the Obama administration’s most prized

Mass. school districts reap benefits of federal funding, but some feel short-changed - The Boston Globe

Mass. school districts reap benefits of federal funding, but some feel short-changed - The Boston Globe

School aid called uneven

11 districts shut out of federal job funds

By John Laidler

Globe Correspondent / September 2, 2010

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While some local school officials are welcoming a pair of recent federal funding awards, several are contending that their districts were shortchanged.

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The state announced funding allocations from the $250 million that Massachusetts is receiving as one of 10 grant recipients in the second round of the federal Race to the Top competition. The local grants will go to communities that agreed to participate in the program and to spend the funds on school reforms.

Separately, the state announced funding from $204 million Massachusetts was allotted through a new $10 billion federal Education Jobs Fund program, created

GLOBE EDUCATION NEWS

Mass. school districts reap benefits of federal funding, but some feel short-changed

While some local school officials are welcoming a pair of recent federal funding awards, several are contending that their districts were shortchanged. (By John Laidler, Globe Correspondent)

Magazine ranks Westwood High School 11th best in state

Westwood High School, Dedham High School, and 10 other public high schools in the suburbs south of Boston have made Boston Magazine’s list of the 50 best public high schools. (By Michele Morgan Bolton, Globe Correspondent)

Advocacy group rallies for changes to Boston teachers’ contract

A coalition of students, parents, and advocates rallied on the steps of Boston School Department headquarters yesterday, calling for extended school days, more rigorous teacher evaluations, and a stronger voice for students and parents in school decisions as the city negotiates a new contract with teachers. (By James Vaznis, Globe Staff)

Citing misconduct inquiry, Harvard professor cancels classes

Harvard psychology professor Marc Hauser canceled a Harvard Extension School class on cognitive evolution that he was scheduled to start teaching yesterday and dropped plans to offer a spring class called “The Moral Sense: From Genes to Law.’’ (By Carolyn Y. Johnson, Globe Staff)

$197m later, Newton North opens

NEWTON — It began as a simple renovation project. It ended up the most expensive public school ever built in Massachusetts. (By Erica Noonan, Globe Staff)

LATEST EDUCATION NEWS WIRE UPDATES

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• Whitman criticizes Schwarzenegger for budget delay(AP, 9/1/10)
• NM agencies dodge furloughs in cutting budgets (AP, 9/1/10)

LATEST K-12 EDUCATION NEWS

• Miss. tax collections beat expectations in August (AP, 9/1/10)
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• DC Mayor faces stiff challenge in re-election bid (AP, 8/31/10)
• NH teen who zapped nipples during shop class sues(AP, 8/31/10)
• NH student shocked in shop class sues school (AP, 8/31/10)

Michigan neo-liberalism: creating the material conditions for privatization | Dailycensored.com

Michigan neo-liberalism: creating the material conditions for privatization | Dailycensored.com

Michigan neo-liberalism: creating the material conditions for privatization

by Danny Weil

The picture is of the K12, Inc. group as they happily hear the news of their new contract to open a 65,000 student body cyber charter school in the state of Michigan.

Neo-liberal policies and creating the new material conditions for privatized education: Grand Valley State University and the Citizens Research Council of Michigan

At their website, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan provides a small description of its organization:

“The Citizens Research Council of Michigan is a privately funded, not-for-profit public affairs research organization, founded in 1916. For over 90 years, the objective of CRC has been to provide factual, unbiased,