Monday, October 25, 2010

Adults often oblivious to children’s bullying | EdNewsColorado

Adults often oblivious to children’s bullying

Written by Rebecca Jones on Oct 25th, 2010.

The federal Health Resources and Services Administration's "Stop Bullying Now!" campaign offers extensive resources for parents, schools and students.

The relentless bullying Kevin Jennings endured as a high school freshman nearly brought his academic career to a premature end.

A high school counselor dismissed his complaints as groundless. His mother never learned what was happening until the first day of his sophomore year, when he simply refused to return to school, and he at last revealed his secret torment to her.

Fortunately, Jennings’ mother went to bat for him and didn’t back down. She demanded officials let her son transfer to a different school, which they were reluctant to do. She held him out of classes for a week until school officials relented, and he resumed his education in a new school, where he felt safe and where no more bullying occurred.

Today, Jennings, 47, is the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and director of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. A career educator, he has dedicated his life to ensuring that

Monday Churn: Far Northeast on deck

by EdNews staff

What’s churning:

“Fear and lies:” Nearly two weeks after a contentious community meeting in Far Northeast Denver, The Denver Post this morning published a scathing editorial criticizing the critics of a sweeping school overhaul plan and questioning their motives. The Oct. 12 meeting was disrupted by protesters who argued that the “transformation” plan for Montbello High School, Rachel Noel Middle School and several feeder elementary schools would force some student out of neighborhood schools and relied too heavily on charter schools.

The Post editorial calls this a “campaign of fear-mongering and outright lies to scare parents in Montbello and Green Valley Ranch…It is a shameful tactic, made even more disgraceful by the support we’re told it is getting from a few Denver Public School board members who apparently will do anything to undercut DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg.”

The next meeting of the Far Northeast Denver Community Committee is slated for tomorrow evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rachel Noel Middle School. The school board will hold a “special public comment” meeting on the

Spotlight on Ideologies at the Extreme in New Jersey � School Finance 101

Spotlight on Ideologies at the Extreme in New Jersey

by schoolfinance101

About a week ago, I characterized “reformy” ideologies in a way that I myself even thought was extreme – so much so, that later on I added caveats to my description to say that this really isn’t what most “reformers” are advocating, but rather “reform” at the extremes.

Reformy Ideology #1: Teacher quality is the one single factor that has the greatest effect on a child’s life chances. Get a bad teacher or two in a row, and you’re screwed for life. The “best possible” way to measure teacher quality is by estimating the teacher’s influence on student test scores (value-added). Hiring, retention and dismissal decisions must, that is, MUST be based primarily on this information. This information may be supplemented, but value-added must play the dominant single role.
Reformy Ideology #2: Charter schools are the answer to most of the problems of poor urban school districts. Take any poor, failing urban school district, close those dreadfully failing schools and replace them as quickly as possible with charter schools and children in the urban core will have greatly

Queens Teacher: New York City plan to grade teachers with 'value-added' data is destructive

New York City plan to grade teachers with 'value-added' data is destructive

by Queens Teacher

New York City plan to grade teachers with 'value-added' data is destructive, says Diane Ravitch

By Diane Ravitch

The New York City Department of Education is rating every teacher in grades four through eight based on their students' reading and math performance gains. Claiming it has no choice under Freedom of Information Laws, it now wants to release the ratings - with the teachers' names attached - to the press. A court will decide the question next month.

On the surface, this may sound like a good idea. If students make great gains on tests between one year and the next, doesn't that prove that their teacher is effective? If their scores stagnate or decline, isn't it the teachers'

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: WEEKEND QUOTABLES

WEEKEND QUOTABLES

by Mike Klonsky

Jobs, jobs, jobs...

Pres. Obama turned to Apple billionaire Steve Jobs, last Thursday, for some education advice.White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters,

“They discussed American competitiveness and education, especially reforms such as the President’s Race to the Top initiative.” (USA Today)

You didn't have to be a fly on the wall to know what Jobs told the prez. It's likely the same thing he been saying for years about the problem with education:

I believe that what's wrong with our schools in this nation is that they have become unionized..."

According to some reports, Jobs is looking for support to keep congressional regulators away from Apple's door. Will Obama oblige? Good bet.

From Rand Paul's college frat newsletter

"Penguins and minorities tend to do badly on ACT, SAT, and other standardized tests." (Matt

This Week In Education: Events: Fear-Mongering Educators Dominate DC Rally

Events: Fear-Mongering Educators Dominate DC Rally

by Alexander Russo

After nearly a month of debate over the validity of the Fear-Moderation Spectrum (FMS) and the fairness of public listing of individual names attached to their FMS scores, here's a revised and expanded list of who in education reform is going to this weekend's Colbert/Stewart rally on the Mall and which side of the aisle they're slated to be sitting on.

Keep The Fear Alive (Colbert FMS 50%>): Davis Guggenheim, Diane

Legal fees climb at West Covina Unified's charter school - SGVTribune.com

Legal fees climb at West Covina Unified's charter school

By Maritza Velazquez, Staff Writer

Posted: 10/24/2010 10:44:10 PM PDT

WEST COVINA - Murky contract language and poor communication with its charter school's management company is costing West Covina Unified tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, according to district documents.

Edison Learning, Inc. manages the operations at San Jose-Edison Academy, the district's charter school. WCUSD oversees those operations to ensure it is in compliance with contract agreements and state law, according to Superintendent Liliam Castillo.

Rather than dealing with problems with a quick phone call, the district and the charter school have been using attorneys for correspondence, officials said.

"I would say that we have had sort of a lack of communication and responsiveness at times and that has caused some issues because when problems arise, they are the management company that is supposed to deal with

Bethel Park Teachers On Picket Lines - News Story - WPXI Pittsburgh

Bethel Park Teachers On Picket Lines

Posted: 7:36 am EDT October 25, 2010Updated: 7:46 am EDT October 25, 2010

BETHEL PARK, Pa. -- Teachers in Bethel Park are on the picket lines.

Channel 11 was there as the first teachers arrived early Monday morning outside the Bethel Park administration building.

The district and the teachers union could not come to a contract agreement over the weekend.

The head of the teachers union said she was hopeful the two sides would reach a deal before the strike.

"I felt we were pretty close. They had to come to some things we absolutely needed. They weren't able to come through," said Diane Smith of the Bethel Park Federation of Teachers.

Last week, the district prepared for the strike by notifying the parents of the district's more than 5,000 students.

The Answer Sheet - The real effect of teachers union contracts

The real effect of teachers union contracts

Teachers unions are a big target today of some school reformers who view these organizations as the biggest obstacle to improving student achievement. The film "Waiting for Superman" certainly did. So why are states without binding teacher contracts among the lowest-performing in the nation? Matthew Di Carlo, senior fellow at the non-profit Albert Shanker Institute, located in Washington, D.C., looks at this issue. Aversion of this post originally appeared on the institute’s blog. A follow-up to this post presented a supplemental analysis of the data.

By Matthew Di Carlo
For years, some people have been determined to blame teachers’ unions for all that ails public education in America. This issue has been around a long time (see here and here), but, given the tenor of the current debate, it seems to bear rehashing. According to this view, teachers unions negatively affect student achievement primarily through

Fear and lies on school reform - The Denver Post

Fear and lies on school reform

A campaign against charter schools in northeast Denver seeks to obstruct reform by scaring parents into keeping the status quo.

By The Denver Post

POSTED: 10/25/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

Opponents of school reform in far northeast Denver have launched a campaign of fear-mongering and outright lies to scare parents in Montbello and Green Valley Ranch.

It is a shameful tactic, made even more disgraceful by the support we're told it is getting from a few Denver Public School board members who apparently will do anything to undercut DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg.

DPS has produced a thoughtful blueprint for reforming schools in northeast Denver, using programs and tools that have proven successful in other parts of the city.

DPS board members ought to publicly disavow the misinformation campaign that says charter schools

New Jersey’s Governor and the Public Education Debate - NYTimes.com

New Jersey’s Governor and the Public Education Debate

By BRENT STAPLES

Published: October 24, 2010

REPRINTS

New Jersey’s governor, Chris Christie, has been bludgeoning the state’s teachers and their unions since he took office earlier this year. The name-calling has raised his profile nationally, and made him a darling of the right. It has also made rational conversation on school reform nearly impossible.

Times Topic: Chris Christie

Last month, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Facebook, seemed to address this problem when he announced that he was pouring $100 million into a school reform plan in troubled Newark, whose schools are controlled by the state. He said from the start that the plan would be a joint project of politicians, civic groups and the very teachers’ unions that Mr. Christie has been demonizing since Day 1.

The deal as it was originally announced called for Mr. Christie to cede some control of

NJ Spotlight | Church, State, and Charter Schools

Church, State, and Charter Schools
As an increasing number of religious institutions back charter schools, church and state issues may loom large

print |

email |

By John Mooney, October 25 in Education |2 Comments

The announcement came about halfway through yesterday’s service at St. Matthew’s AME Church in Orange, when the Rev. Reginald Jackson broke from the celebratory music and prayerful message to talk education policy.

Jackson told his congregation of about 200 that he had applied to the state Department of Education to open a charter school, drawing applause.

“We want a charter school that will provide opportunities for every child to be the best they can be,” he said.

And Jackson asked for a little help: “I want you to be in prayer that the charter school be approved.”

Another Chapter

In another chapter in the pastor’s venerable and outspoken advocacy for school choice, Jackson had instantly added an intriguing twist to the New Jersey’s charter school movement.

CTA outspends ACSA in superintendent race | Thoughts on Public Education

CTA outspends ACSA in superintendent race - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

In the surrogate battle in the race for Superintendent of Public Instruction, behemoth California Teachers Assn. has spent $3.4 million this year on behalf of its chosen one, Assembly member Tom Torlakson. This is more than double what the smaller Association of California School Administrators has spent promoting its favorite son, retired superintendent Larry Aceves [...]

This Week In Education: AM News: "Value-Added" Approach Spreads Into Higher Ed

AM News: "Value-Added" Approach Spreads Into Higher Ed

by Alexander Russo

Putting a Price on Professors WSJ: A 265-page spreadsheet, released last month by the chancellor of the Texas A&M University system, amounted to a profit-and-loss statement for each faculty member, weighing annual salary against students taught, tuition generated, and research grants obtained... 10 students burned as portable stove explodes at Torrance high school AP: Three of the gas-operated devices were being used in a classroom for cooking during a lunchtime fundraiser for UNICEF. Some students burned on their necks, faces and hands, and several of the injuries were considered serious... D.C. Teachers' Union election will affect survival of Rhee's initiatives Washington Post: District public school parents have a stake in the upcoming elections for leadership of the Washington Teachers' Union, which will have a major role in implementing some of outgoing Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's reforms... New charter, transformation schools proposed in city in 2011 Baltimore Sun: Seven charter schools and four transformation programs are being proposed to launch in Baltimore next year, many of which would focus on single-gender education and unique curriculums... Jindal orders $107M in cuts to balance La. budget Associated Press: Gov. Bobby Jindal said higher education, health care and social services will take the largest cuts Friday when he orders reductions to rebalance the budget and close a $107 million deficit... Teacher drops lawsuit in burning crosses case AP: An Ohio public school teacher accused of burning the mark of a cross on students' arms said Friday he dropped a lawsuit over his firing because it would have interfered with a public airing of his complaint in a different venue.

The Cozy Relationship of UTLA and LAUSD (La �ntima relaci�n de UTLA y el LAUSD) by John Adams - Perdaily.com

The Cozy Relationship of UTLA and LAUSD (La íntima relación de UTLA y el LAUSD) by John Adams

by Leonard

(Mensaje se repite en Español) In his disability retirement and final escape from LAUSD and UTLA's ability to retaliate against him, recently retired teacher John Adams has finally shared one of his experiences dealing with the Duplicitous Duo. For those of you who either don't think you can wait to retire to speak out or think that if you wait that long there will not be a teaching profession to retire from, I strongly suggest that you get an anonymous gmail or AOL account and share your outrage with Perdaily. It is the best weapon you have to avoid the further dismantling of public education. Four million teachers, their families, and supporters in this country know a better alternative and just need to express it. Or you could continue to let the minority blame you for their incompetence.

The Perdaily articles dealing with teacher retaliation, and UTLA aquiescence of such retaliation are District-wide.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

One rich guy who wants to pay higher taxes: Bill Gates Sr. | McClatchy

One rich guy who wants to pay higher taxes: Bill Gates Sr.

Sign up for email newsletters now!

Never miss a McClatchy story

By Brad Shannon | Tacoma News Tribune

Bill Gates Sr., the retired lawyer and wealthy father of the Microsoft co-founder, thinks Washington state's tax system is out of whack and needs repair.

The poor pay too much tax, the rich pay too little, Gates says. And the school system, which is such a springboard for future economic growth in high-tech Washington, suffers with too little funding because the wealthy aren't paying their fair share of the investment, he says.

Gates' solution — an income tax on adjusted earnings that exceed $400,000 a year per couple or $200,000 for an individual — is drawing protest from Washington business leaders and owners, as well as anti-tax allies such as Tim Eyman, who says the phrase "income tax" is politically toxic in Washington.

Initiative 1098 would give tax credits to an estimated 80 percent of Washington-based businesses and would cut the state share of property taxes by 20 percent for businesses and homeowners. Critics say I-1098 would harm

Latest News and Comment from Education