Wednesday, December 1, 2010

End 6 percent PERS pick-up to help balance Oregon's budget, Gov. Kulongoski says | OregonLive.com

End 6 percent PERS pick-up to help balance Oregon's budget, Gov. Kulongoski says

Published: Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 10:53 AM Updated: Wednesday, December 01, 2010, 11:01 AM

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Michael LloydGov. Ted Kulongoski, in his final weeks at the helm of state government, is recommending some stiff budget cuts to attack a projected $3.5 billion shortfall.

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Outgoing Gov. Ted Kulongoski is calling for an end to one retirement plan for public employees and a cheaper health insurance program for state workers as part of a series of recommendations aimed at saving the state more than $2 billion over the next two years.

The governor, in an update of his "reset" report, issued a set of recommendations this morning that he says would help shrivel the $3.5 billion shortfall that has been projected for the 2011-13 state budget cycle.

The recommendations, however, are sure to cause strife within the unionized ranks of state workers and teachers, because they hit those groups hard in the pocketbook.

"No governor before me has had to hand off a more difficult fiscal challenge to his successor," Kulongoski said in a statement accompanying his recommendations, "but I am able to do so with a roadmap that identifies some next best steps that meet that challenge more than half-way."

The report calls on Gov.-elect John Kitzhaber the Legislature to terminate the PERS Individual Account Program and along with it the state pick-up of the 6 percent employee contributions to

Batts Asks Feds to Pay for Cops in Schools - The Bay Citizen

Batts Asks Feds to Pay for Cops in Schools

Oakland police chief wants federal funding for a pilot program to reach young people

By BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE

Proposed Government Pell Grant Cuts: Hardly A Class Act | Poverty in America | Change.org

Proposed Government Pell Grant Cuts: Hardly A Class Act

by Ashley Eberhart

Over on the Education blog this week, writer Carol Scott explained how the federal Pell Grant program, which currently helps over 9 million college students pay for their education, is currently facing a $5.7 billion funding gap. The expected cuts could result in drops of $845 per student annually -- and, with the impending expiration of the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit program, it all adds up to a loss of about $3,345 per year -- about $13,000 over the course of a student's undergraduate education.

Why do we care about this issue over at Poverty in America? Because the people affected by the proposed cuts are the United States' low- to middle-income families. The education gap in this country will only widen if we stop providing support to families who couldn't otherwise afford college. College graduates can make $1 million more over the course of a career than they could with just a high school degree, experience lower rates of unemployment, are more likely to have a successful marriage -- all ways to break cycles of poverty, even those

Senator Reid Files Cloture With Major Changes to the DREAM Act

by Prerna Lal

Late last night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed a motion for cloture with a new final version of the DREAM Act, S. 3992, that would given young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The legislation could be voted on as early as Saturday.

Many proponents are perturbed by restrictions in the new bill, but the leadership appears open to the new compromises -- the question is whether this will be enough to win over support from wavering Senators. Under the changes by Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the bill's primary sponsor, the DREAM Act will provide undocumented students will conditional non-immigrant status, which act like a temporary visa, rather than conditional legal residency. The adjusting students would thus likely not qualify for the health benefits enacted by Congress last year.

Durbin also removed the portion of the legislation that would have allowed states to set their own requirements for

Keep The Science In Science Textbooks, Louisiana Teachers Say

by Carol Scott

Science teachers in Louisiana are stepping up to the plate and asking for something that should be a given: the permission to teach, well, science.

The issue in question is a series of high school life science textbooks up for approval by the state's board of education. They've been targeted by a group that attacks the books' inclusion of evolution, arguing that the books should include disclaimers and teach about creationism as well. An advisory panel approved the books last month; next week, the state board will hold a final vote.

Taking a stand for the books is the Louisiana Coalition for Science, a group of educators who include Dr. Jason

DFER HISD Candidate Loses; Johnson In Doubt? « DFER Watch

DFER HISD CANDIDATE LOSES; JOHNSON IN DOUBT?

Posted by kennethlibby on December 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Judith Cruz, a candidate DFER supported (although not financially, at least to my knowledge) in her campaign for a HISD trustee seat, lost a close run-off election to Juliet Kathy Stipeche.

In New York, State Sen. Craig Johnson is still awaiting the results of a recount. Crain’s New York claims a loss is “likely,” which would shift control of the senate to the GOP. Johnson is on the state’s

Schools Matter: NEPC Review of Heritage Report

NEPC Review of Heritage Report

It's not difficult to find an edu-pundit or politician pushing reform proposals based on the so-called Florida model. Jeb Bush pushed it as a governor and continues to push it through his foundation; Colorado Succeeds, the "business voice for education," wrote a policy paper titled, "Proving the Possible: A case study of Florida's K-12 education reforms and lessons for Colorado"; then-gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman boldly claimed "all roads lead to Florida" when it comes to education reform in bigger states; and the Education Equality Project teamed with Education Reform Now to author a review of all recent gubernatorial candidates that favored many of the same proposals. The common claim is that Florida is closing the achievement gap with this "cocktail of reforms."

There may be some lessons to be learned from the reforms in Florida, but there's also reason to be cautious about the conclusions some have already drawn from the changes. The

The Educated Reporter: EWA's National Awards for Education Reporting

EWA's National Awards for Education Reporting

by Linda Perlstein

Did you do some excellent education writing in 2010? Then enter EWA’s annual contest. Here is a little background on the contest, here are the categories, and here is where you enter. Note that we now have a category for non-journalists bloggers! Teachers, community members, wonks—have we got a prize for you!

The latest round in the DC schools revolt. Insurgents win teacher union election. « Fred Klonsky's blog

The latest round in the DC schools revolt. Insurgents win teacher union election.

by Fred Klonsky

The first to go was Mayor Adrian Fenty. He lost in spite of last minute support from Arne Duncan.

Then Michelle “the sweeper” Rhee jumped ship once her patron was gone and the new mayor had no intention of asking her to stay.

Now the third stage. George Parker, who headed the DC teachers union is gone, replaced by

A Coupla Rich Guys Sitting Around Talking « The Core Knowledge Blog

A Coupla Rich Guys Sitting Around Talking

by Robert Pondiscio
December 1st, 2010

Tags: Bill Gates, economic growth, Jonathan Alter, perfromance pay, teachers
Posted in accountability | No Comments »

Newsweek columnist Jonathan “We Must Fire Bad Teachers” Alter, who seems determined to be Bill Gates’ Boswell, believes along with his muse, that seniority “is the two-headed monster of education—it’s expensive and harmful.” (Hey, isn’t that true of columnists too?). Abolishing seniority rights is “a moral issue,” he writes. ”Who can defend a system where top teachers are laid off in a budget crunch for no other reason than that they’re young?”

“In most states, pay and promotion of teachers are connected 100 percent to seniority. This is contrary to everything the world’s second-richest man believes about business: “Is there any other part of the economy where someone says, ‘Hey, how long have you been mowing lawns? … I want to pay you more for that reason alone.’ ”

I’m no economist, but unless I’m very much mistaken there lots of other parts of the

California Teachers Association: Reform programs helped underperforming schools | abc7news.com

CTA: Reform programs helped underperforming schools

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

TAGS:

sacramento, education, lyanne melendez

Lyanne Melendez
More: Bio, E-mail, News Team

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The California's Teachers Association is crediting a reform program with helping to improve scores at the lowest performing schools in the state. The reform program is called California's Quality Education Investment Act. This is not new money -- these are funds that were owed to California schools by the state.

The report was put out by the California Teachers Association and it found there has been progress in helping at-risk students, but ABC7 found it isn't working as well as they say it is.

Nearly 500 California schools will end up sharing $3 billion dollars in state funds over seven years. It stems from a lawsuit from the California Teachers Association, the CTA, which argued kids were being denied their right to a high quality education.

"As a result, these dollars were then sent back to the schools specifically to the lowest achieving schools in California with the idea this would help close the

The next round of school reform is on tap - LA Daily News

The next round of school reform is on tap

EDUCATION: Wednesday is application deadline to run 13 LAUSD campuses.

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer

Posted: 11/30/2010 08:02:44 PM PST

Updated: 11/30/2010 08:04:00 PM PST

After gaining control of just a handful of campuses during the inaugural run of Los Angeles Unified's "Public School Choice" plan, charter leaders vow to fare better during the second round of the reform effort.

Approved in the summer of 2009, the plan lets independent charters, nonprofit agencies and community organizations compete against district teacher- and administrator-led groups to run new and underperforming public schools.

Final applications are due Wednesday from those interested in competing for the 13 Los Angeles Unified campuses up for bid.

Charter advocates say they have developed a more cohesive and strategic approach to the contest this time around, which they think will earn them support from parents, community members and school board members.

"The charter community is aligned behind an approach that, unquestionably, is bringing great quality operators (and) terrific applications," said Jed Wallace, president of California Charter Schools Association. (It's an approach) that will engage the community and parents at a whole other level.

"Should the results of this round not be significantly different, then I think it would lead many to question

One-third of state's authorizers are getting out of charter school business | Minnesota Public Radio News

One-third of state's authorizers are getting out of charter school business

by Tom Weber, Minnesota Public Radio

December 1, 2010

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St. Paul, Minn. — Dozens of charter schools in Minnesota are looking for new homes. Not physical homes, but homes with an 'authorizer.'

Having an authorizer, or sponsor, had been an almost mundane requirement for charter schools -- until this year, when the state started implementing a new law designed to make authorizers more accountable.

Since the law took effect, several authorizers have decided to get out of the charter business.

Authorizers don't run charter schools, but by law, charter schools have always needed an authorizer to open. Prompted in part by reports of fiscal mismanagement by some charter school administrators, the new law makes authorizers more accountable for the financial and academic performance of their schools.

Advocates widely praised the changes when passed, but many say they've since

Christie Blasts Teachers' Unions ... Again - Chris Christie - Fox Nation

Christie Blasts Teachers' Unions ... Again

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie gave the keynote speech at the Jeb Bush Excel in Education Annual Summit in Washington, D.C. Tuesday night. In his 50-minute speech on education reform - one of Christie's most passionate topics - the governor left no room to question how he feels about teachers' unions, most specifically the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA).

In short: he doesn't like them.

Hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education, the audience was comprised of a wide range of VIPs in the education world, state lawmakers, former Florida Republican Governor Jeb Bush, and Bob Bowdon,

D.C. Schools Insider - Parker says Rhee not to blame for ouster

Parker says Rhee not to blame for ouster

By Bill Turque

Here are some other points that Washington Teachers' Union president George Parker made last night after he was defeated by Nathan Saunders:

Michelle Rhee's role in his demise: "I'm not blaming the chancellor. The decisions I made as president of this union I made based on what I felt was in the best interests of our teachers and children. So I don't blame anyone."

On the union's future: "We have a younger segment of our union membership that does not see unions as having meaning or purpose. Some kind of way we have to be able to embrace all of our teachers, both our veteran teachers and young teachers. We have to find a way to get more of our younger teachers active in the union and move the union in a direction that it understands that younger teachers have different goals and objectives. Some of younger teachers, for example

The Answer Sheet - Some Education Department spin

Some Education Department spin

By Valerie Strauss

It didn’t take long for the U.S. Education Department to try to link its school turnaround policy to the new report that says that the number of high school “dropout factories” has declined in the last decade.

On the same day that the report “Building a Grad Nation" was released, the department issued a press release saying:

“As the recently released "Building a Grad Nation" report provides a renewed call to action to address high school graduation rates, the U.S. Department of Education announced today that of the more than 700 schools receiving School Improvement Grants (SIG) to implement one of the four turnaround models this year, 48 percent are high schools.

"In the past, low-performing high schools have been almost totally ignored in most districts’ school turnaround efforts," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Yet nearly half of the 730 schools

Wednesday, December 1, 2010