Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Former Washington D.C. schools chancellor hesitates in accepting offer to become N.J. education chief | NJ.com

Former Washington D.C. schools chancellor hesitates in accepting offer to become N.J. education chief

Published: Wednesday, October 20, 2010, 6:15 AM

Jessica Calefati/The Star-Ledger
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file photosGov. Chris Christie and former Washington D.C. education chief Michelle Rhee.

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TRENTON — Washington, D.C.’s former schools chancellor is seriously considering an offer from Gov. Chris Christie to become the state’s next education commissioner, but family concerns may prove an insurmountable stumbling block for her, two people familiar with the negotiations said.

When state officials initially approached Michelle Rhee, she quickly turned down the offer, thinking the governor wanted her to make a lateral move and run the Newark Public Schools, something Mayor Cory Booker wanted, Newark school officials said. Even Oprah Winfrey endorsed the possibility of Rhee becoming Newark’s next superintendent.

In fact, the Christie administration wanted Rhee to consider the vacant state education commissioner’s post, a more attractive offer to her because it signified a step up on the ladder of national education

McClatchy High rethinks 'small-school' approach - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com

McClatchy High rethinks 'small-school' approach

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B

Eight years after McClatchy High School divided into small learning communities, mixed results have prompted school leaders to explore revamping their approach.

Sacramento City Unified School District broke up all its large comprehensive high schools starting in 2001 using millions of dollars in grant money to make schools within schools, where all students are assigned to themes such as arts and media or business.

The approach, called small learning communities,

After massive cuts, higher ed funding rises in new California budget

By Laurel Rosenhall - Published: 12:00 am

A wave of mass student protests, a new lobbying strategy by university leaders, and the governor's desire to leave a positive legacy in education during his final year in office led to a remarkable turnaround for California's public colleges in the budget he signed earlier this month.

Obama signs order boosting Latino education

By Margaret Talev - Published: 12:00 am

WASHINGTON – Two weeks before elections in which Democrats in several states are nervous that depressed turnout by Latino voters could cost them their jobs, President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed an executive order to improve Latino children's educational opportunities.

Jury exonerates defendants in Sac City Unified pension case

By Melody Gutierrez - Published: 12:15 pm

A Sacramento County civil jury on Monday exonerated the pension consultant and lawyers who advised the Sacramento City Unified School District during creation of a now dismantled pension plan for administrators.

Speaker asks First 5 program for stopgap child care funds

By Kevin Yamamura - Updated: 7:57 am

Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez is requesting the state's First 5 program help finance child care for 55,000 children after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ended a state subsidy this month as part of his budget vetoes.

Natomas schools' choice: Cut, or see state takeover

By Diana Lambert - Published: Tuesday, October 19 2010 - 12:00 am

Natomas Unified School District faces being taken over by the state if officials there can't persuade teachers and staff to take big pay cuts by a Nov. 30 deadline for balancing its budget.

UC Davis names new vice chancellor of research

By Laurel Rosenhall - Published: Tuesday, October 19 2010 - 12:00 am

UC Davis named a new vice chancellor of research on Monday, marking the first major appointment since Chancellor Linda Katehi took the helm of the university last year and a significant step in her plans to restructure the campus.

The Answer Sheet - The Chamber of Commerce's flawed 'Superman' school reform guide

The Chamber of Commerce's flawed 'Superman' school reform guide

In a shameless act of movie flacking, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce just published a guide for business leaders on school reform that is linked to and reinforces the skewed vision of public education portrayed in the movie “Waiting for Superman.” Meddling in an area about which it obviously doesn’t know much, the chamber issued a guide called “The Superman Approach: A business leader’s guide to effective education reform.” The guide mimics the movie in extolling charter schools and test-driven data while portraying teachers unions as evil. It does this in part by comparing what the mild-mannered Clark Kent would do with his more dynamic alter-ego, Superman (obviously forgetting that the two are actually one and the same and that the superhero uses both approaches). It really does this, addressing the business leader who reads this as an 8-year-old; I’m not making it up:

UTLA Acquired Independence Deficiency Contracted From LAUSD ( UTLA Deficiencia Adquirida Independencia contratados de LAUSD) - Perdaily.com

UTLA Acquired Independence Deficiency Contracted From LAUSD ( UTLA Deficiencia Adquirida Independencia contratados de LAUSD)

by Leonard

(en español después) UTLA is designed to fail, because it sees itself as subservient or at the very least deferential to LAUSD. If you know that LAUSD is a failed culture, any organization like UTLA which only reacts and never posits its own definition of what professional teachers should stand for is doom to failure along with LAUSD, because it has no specific program around which it can organize its rank and file. Is there any wonder that most teachers are profoundly apathetic or depressed?

Without a proactive approach, Superintendent Cortines or his successors have never respect UTLA President A.J. Duffy (nor were his predecessors John Perez or Day Higuchi respected). They have all had the same motto, "Let's see what the District says." Do any of you think Juli

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Early and often. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Early and often.

by preaprez

The AFL-CIO and the rest of organized labor is working hard to save the Democrats’ butts this election. In These Times asks if there will be a return on the investment or just more attacks on us whiners?

Delaware senate teabagger candidate Christine O’Donnell is surprised to hear that the first amendment to the US Constitution guarantees the separation of church and state. She is so loony you have to figure the

Pertussis (whooping cough) Immunization Requirements Health Services & School Nursing - Health (CA Dept of Education)

Health Services & School Nursing - Health (CA Dept of Education)

Pertussis (whooping cough) Immunization Requirements (PDF; Outside Source)
Information about the new pertussis vaccination requirement for students in grades seven through twelve that becomes effective July 1, 2011.

Diane Ravitch Joins Four Education Pundits to Debate Impact of Waiting for Superman

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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Los Angeles CA (PRWEB) October 19, 2010

Today, BAM Radio Network, the education station online, announced that is has begun airing a special program titled "Waiting for Superman: Fact or Fiction?" The segment features Former U.S. Assistant Secretary, Diane Ravitch; Valerie Strauss, education writer at The Washington Post; Debra Viadero, associate editor atEducation Week; Justin Snider, a contributing editor at The Hechinger Report; and Jay Mathews, education columnist at The Washington Post, who also appeared in the movie. The panel discusses the diverse responses the controversial movie is eliciting among audiences outside, inside and across the education field.

"The important point that we should take away from this discussion is the link between

The Answer Sheet - Missing from reform debate: The power of caring

Missing from reform debate: The power of caring

This was written by Dorothy Stoneman, founder and president of YouthBuild USA, a youth and community development program that addresses core issues facing low-income communities: housing, education, employment, crime prevention, and leadership development.There are 273 YouthBuild programs in 45 states, Washington D.C., and the Virgin Islands. By Dorothy Stoneman So far, I find the public discussion about “Waiting for Superman” missing the fundamental question: What makes for a great school where students feel safe, cared about, and eager to learn? We are woefully off the mark when the conversation is all about superintendents and principals needing power to fire inept teachers and not about using their power to create a caring, learning community. The morning after seeing the movie, I asked students at Washington DC’s YouthBuild Charter School: “Somehow your regular public high schools didn’t work for you and you left. Why is this school working for you?”

DFER Endorses SCUSD School Board Candidate � DFER Watch

DFER ENDORSES SCUSD SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE

Posted by kennethlibby on October 19, 2010 · Leave a Comment

From the website of Sacramento County Unified School District board candidate Andrea Corso:

ANDREA “ANDIE” CORSO ENDORSED BY DEMOCRATS FOR EDUCATION REFORM

September 20, 2010

Andrea “Andie” Corso Endorsed by Democrats for Education Reform

SACRAMENTO, CA- With six weeks left in the Sacramento City Unified School District Board race, Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) endorse Andie Corso for Sacramento School Board, District 2.

DFER, a nationally recognized political action committee, aimed at returning the Democratic Party to its place as a champion of children in America’s public education system. Andie Corso is the only school

Budget Crisis - California Teachers Association

After being tardy by a staggering 100 days, the governor and legislators on Oct. 8 passed the 2010-2011 budget bill. After suffering $17 billion in cuts over the past two years, public education is still being decimated. This budget includes the suspension of the voter-approved minimum funding guarantee Proposition 98, which defers hundreds of millions in funding that our schools desperately need now. This will be especially hard felt in the classrooms as it is the life-line for basic education funding. However, while this budget is devastating, schools are targeted to get more than what was originally proposed in the governor's May Revision by about $300 per student, and schools will eventually get the deferred dollars back.
General information on the 2010-2011 California State Budget

CTA President David A. Sanchez's letter to the California Legislature

InsideEd: Did 'Superman' defeat the BTU contract? - Education news and issues in Baltimore that affect students and teachers, from kindergarten to college - baltimoresun.com

Did 'Superman' defeat the BTU contract?

I joined a group of Baltimore City teachers and educators from around the region Monday at the Landmark Theatre to view the controversial new documentary, "Waiting for Superman," a film whose exposure of longstanding failures in public education has recently spurred a negative discourse in the district.

Last week, Marietta English, president of the Baltimore Teachers Union, cited the documentary, in part, for the defeat of a radical, reform-centric contract that teachers voted to reject. She said the contract was proposed at a time when "fear, frustration and distrust are at an all-time high," adding that "the situation has not been helped by the movie 'Waiting for Superman' and the teacher bashing that has occurred since its release."

In his first public statements about the movie since its release, city schools CEO Andres Alonso said the movie's "fundamental truth is effectively right" in that poor, black and Hispanic children should not be prisoners of their ZIP codes when it comes to access to education. He said that fundamental truth

“School Reform” Manifesto: The Reality Check – Lily's Blackboard

“School Reform” Manifesto: The Reality Check

Oct 19th, 2010

by Lily.

Last week the Corporate Model School Reformers issued a manifesto. Like most manifestos, it’s simple and slick … and wrong.

And like most of what we get from Madison Avenue, let the buyer beware. Look past the platitudes and read the fine print. (User Guide: Platitudes underlined; fine print Translations in italics; followed by Reality Check):

Remove archaic rules on hiring teachers. (Translation: Anybody can teach.) Reality: Corporate School Reformers never talk about doing what Finland has done to reach its top international rank. In Finland, it’s harder to get into a college of education than a law school. Their preparation is rigorous. All teachers earn master’s degrees. All complete residencies under the tutelage of master teachers. Finland makes it impossible to hire an unprepared teacher.

Easily replace veteran teachers with “new, enthusiastic” teachers.(Translation: Younger is better than Older.) Reality: The Corporate School Reformers are biased against career teachers even though research shows that it takes time to learn the art of teaching. My first year teaching was probably my least effective year.
Models built around churning new teachers into tough schools and churning them out after a year or two leave those schools in the worst possible predicament. Schools need experienced teachers who will stay the

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Wednesday, October 20, 2010