Kenneth Bernstein: Of Generals and School Superintendents

Kenneth Bernstein: Of Generals and School Superintendents

Kenneth Bernstein

Maryland high school government teacher

Posted: January 5, 2011 03:57 PM

Of Generals and School Superintendents

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Read More: Anthony J. Tata , Army General , Julius Becton , Superintendents , Wake County Public Schools ,Education News

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The superintendent of the school system in which I teach in Prince George's County, Maryland, according to the 2009 annual report, had a budget of $1.7 billion, serving more than 127,000 students, with roughly 18,300 employees, of whom about 9,000 were teachers.

In the U.S. Army a Major General, with two stars, might well command a division with 10,000 - 15,000 employees. It may consist of two to five Brigades, each of which might be led by a one-star Brigadier General.

Does the span of control of our superintendent and the budget and number of employees for which he is responsible qualify him to lead an Army

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Upcoming Schedules: ISTE 2011 Schedule, Flat Classroom Conference

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Upcoming Schedules: ISTE 2011 Schedule, Flat Classroom Conference

Upcoming Schedules: ISTE 2011 Schedule, Flat Classroom Conference

by coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher)

Image by Julie Lindsay via FlickrISTE 2011
Just put in acceptances for the following items at ISTE 2011.

Julie and I will be teaching our DigiTeacher workshop again on Sunday morning, June 26th from 8:30-3:30. DigiTeacher: Digital Citizenship within a Project-Based Learning Environment. Registrations for that should be opening up pretty soon. It was a great class last year and you'll get a flavor of how we do project based learning in the workshop as well.

Bookmarks, PLN's and More: How to SuperCharge Your learning Network with Diigo founder Maggie Tsai - 12:15 - 1:15 pm Tuesday 6/28/2011 - this always fills up. Last year Julie and Maggie did the BYOL - this year Maggie and I will do it and I'm psyched. With Delicious "dying" or whatever is happening it will be one you want to join us for.

Wonderful World of Wikis for Intermediate and Advanced - Tuesday 6/28/2011 from 2-3 pm with Wikispaces co-founder Adam Frey. In this Adam and I will be sharing how to create scalable wikis and also the tips and tricks

Robert Reich (The Shameful Attack on Public Employees)

Robert Reich (The Shameful Attack on Public Employees)

The Shameful Attack on Public Employees

In 1968, the sanitation workers of Memphis tried to form a union. The city resisted. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support them. That was where he lost his life. Eventually the sanitation workers got their union. And in subsequent years millions of public employees across the nation got similar protection.

It’s far more convenient to go after people who are doing the public’s work - sanitation workers, police officers, fire fighters, teachers, social workers, federal employees – to call them “faceless bureaucrats” and portray them as hooligans who are making off with your money and crippling federal and state budgets. The story fits better with the Republican’s Big Lie that our problems are due to a government that’s too big.

But the right’s argument is shot-through with bad data, twisted evidence, and unsupported assertions.

They say public employees earn far more than private-sector workers. That’s untrue when you take account of

Queens Teacher: Stanford Professor Discusses Reforms

Queens Teacher: Stanford Professor Discusses Reforms

Stanford Professor Discusses Reforms

by Queens Teacher

Popout

Two groups have the ability to stop the downward spiral our public schools are in: professors and parents.

Update: New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools 1-5-11

New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

Get Involved- Read Education News

Parents 4 democratic Schools

• Larry Cuban: Don’t Believe the Hype on Education Reform – The Bay Citizen
• Retracted autism study an ‘elaborate fraud,’ British journal finds – CNN.com
• You Got to Be Kidding « City School Stories
• Davis County Clipper – Parental engagement recognized by Governor
• Gregoire: Put K-12, higher ed under one dept. to save $
• State Board of Education appoints acting commissioner – Norwich, CT – Norwich Bulletin
• New Jersey’s low-income students lag behind in language and math tests | State | NewJerseyNewsroom.com — Your State. Your News.
• Education Week: From the Wires
• In case you missed it: Top headlines, strikes, iPads | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
• 6 New Year’s Resolutions That Could Lower Your College Tuition – US News and World Report
• Ky. bill seeks to reward math, science teachers – Boston.com
• Community college group moving to larger Sacramento offices – Latest News – sacbee.com
• Seattle Public Schools community blog: Gregoire Wants to Consolidate State Education
• Quick Hits (1.5.2011)
• After Five Suicides, Students Counsel Each Other – The Bay Citizen
• Are we connectors? | Connected Principals
• Answering the Essential Student Question: Why Do We Need to Learn This? – ED.gov Blog
• Local News | Gregoire calls for new education department | Seattle Times Newspaper
• Eduwonk » Blog Archive » Suspend Disbelief All Ye Who Enter Here!
• Find out how your school scored on NJ ASK, HSPA – NorthJersey.com
• N.J. Supreme Court weighs constitutionality of Christie’s education cuts | NJ.com
• This Week In Education: POTUS: Late Return To School For Obama Girls
• Track the legislature on EdNews | EdNewsColorado
• Hechinger Report | Rick Hess takes aim at reformers and status-quo defenders in new book
• Hard-pressed States Move to Suppress Labor-Unions

Stopping a runaway train. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Stopping a runaway train. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Stopping a runaway train.

by Fred Klonsky

Who knows what goes on behind closed doors?

Certainly not the rank-and-file teachers who will be most affected by what kind of so-called reforms get adopted. The General Assembly is notorious for last-minute deals that rarely work in our favor. So, why should it be different this time?

Going in to this lame duck session the teachers unions’ leadership had two goals.

Like with the runaway train in the movie Unstoppable, they hoped to be Denzel. Perhaps they could keep the

Teachers union: Elect school board members, not appoint

Teachers union: Elect school board members, not appoint

by Wendell Hutson

Teachers, parents, students and community groups are urging state legislators and Chicago’s next mayor to revamp the current school board to include elected members.

By doing so, Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said it would allow for more input from parents who have children attending public schools.

“By establishing an elected school board it would give democracy a choice,” Lewis told the Defender at a Dec. 29 press conference and rally held at the Thompson Center. “The community needs to be a part of the school board and that can be best achieved by having a student, parent and community resident as members.”

Norm Bobbins, Peggy Davis, Roxanne Ward, Clare Munana, Dr. Tariq Butt and Alberto Carrero Jr. are members of the current school board. Mary Richardson-Lowry serves as the board’s president. All of them were appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Lewis and community organizations are proposing that members consist of three residents from the South Side, two from the West Side, two from the North Side, two school teachers, one academic professional, one paraprofessional, one school staffer and one person from

Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown appointees shake up California Board of Education

Capitol Alert: Jerry Brown appointees shake up California Board of Education

Jerry Brown appointees shake up California Board of Education

The state Senate will not confirm two people former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed to the state board of education, leaving room for Gov. Jerry Brown to appoint seven new people to the board today.

The result is a shake-up on the board that sets policy for the state's public schools, with the loss of a member who supported reforms -- such as the "parent trigger" law that allows parents to overhaul low-performing schools -- and the addition of a member from the California Teachers Association, which opposes such changes.

The Senate chose not to confirm Ted Mitchell and David

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/01/comings-and-goings-on-the-stat.html#ixzz1ACjfL3vT

Dorn: Gregoire's education plan 'a smokescreen'

Dorn: Gregoire's education plan 'a smokescreen'

Dorn: Gregoire's education plan 'a smokescreen'

Dorn

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn was not amused by Gov. Chris Gregoire's plan to overhaul Washington's public school system.

He released the following statement shortly after Gregoire's Wednesday news conference:

In a press conference this morning, Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed creating a state Department of Education that would oversee the many "silos" that make up our entire education system, from early learning to K-12 to higher education.

I'm pleased that the Governor is focused on education, and I have worked closely with her on many issues. I agree wholeheartedly that we need to streamline some of the processes.

I'm concerned, first of all, that I heard the proposal the same time as the media did. The conversation I had with the Governor this morning did not reflect what she said

Cuomo proposes two new Race to the Top-style grants for NY | GothamSchools

Cuomo proposes two new Race to the Top-style grants for NY | GothamSchools

Cuomo proposes two new Race to the Top-style grants for NY

by Maura Walz

Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed two new competitive education grants during his State of the State address today.

Two more Races to the Top could be coming to New York — this time courtesy of Governor Andrew Cuomo.

In his first State of the State speech today, Cuomo proposed creating two new competitive grant funds for state school districts, worth $250 million each.

The first grant would reward districts that boost students’ academic performance. The second would go to districts that find ways to cut costs that don’t affect the classroom.

It’s not yet clear if the addition of the grant competitions would alter the state’s current formula-based education model. But the governor was critical of the model, which he said gives districts no incentives to improve.

“Competition works,” Cuomo said, pointing to the state legislature’s passage of a charter cap lift bill as part of its

New law labels interns 'highly qualified teachers'

New law labels interns 'highly qualified teachers'

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By TERENCE CHEA

The Associated Press
Tuesday, January 4, 2011; 5:55 PM

SAN FRANCISCO -- Civil rights advocates are blasting new federal legislation that allows states to classify teaching interns as "highly qualified" teachers and regularly assign them to schools with mostly poor, minority students.

The measure, which remains in effect until the end of the 2012-13 school year, was signed Dec. 22 by President Barack Obama as part of an unrelated federal spending bill.

The legislation nullifies a Sept. 27 decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that California illegally classified thousands of teachers in training as "highly qualified" in violation of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Under that law, all students are supposed to be taught by "highly qualified" teachers who

This Week In Education: Duncan: How Duncan Stayed Out Of "Trigger" Debate

This Week In Education: Duncan: How Duncan Stayed Out Of "Trigger" Debate

Duncan: How Duncan Stayed Out Of "Trigger" Debate

by Alexander Russo

How did Arne Duncan succeed in staying out of the line of fire on the hot button "parent trigger" issue that's engulfing California and worrying the rest of the nation? In the past, he's weighed in on pretty much everything, from mass firings to posting teachers' value added scores to bullying to lunch schedules (joke!). In this case, he avoided getting in the middle of the fray by emailing deadlining reporters something so vague (and slightly off-topic) that his support was mentioned but (this is key) not quoted

DC Bureaucracy 1, Poor Kids 0: Hungry Kids Lose Afterschool Program | Education | Change.org

DC Bureaucracy 1, Poor Kids 0: Hungry Kids Lose Afterschool Program | Education | Change.org

DC Bureaucracy 1, Poor Kids 0: Hungry Kids Lose Afterschool Program

by Carol Scott

In Washington D.C. this week, a local nonprofit had to shut the doors of a popular afterschool program for low-income kids.

Why? Because nonprofit City Gate hasn't received any of the tens of thousands of dollars they've been promised from the city to give kids a safe place to go after school. They keep getting assurances from D.C. that the money will come, but it hasn't. City Gate can't pay their bills, the nonprofit's director, Rev. Lynn Bergfalk, told us today.

So on Monday, City Gate had to shut the doors of their afterschool program at the Merrick Center in southeast D.C. This means 40 kids in one of D.C.'s poorest neighborhoods lost a haven where they get homework help,

solidaridad: Marco Petruzzi and other Magnanimous Wealthy White Men

solidaridad: Marco Petruzzi and other Magnanimous Wealthy White Men

Marco Petruzzi and other Magnanimous Wealthy White Men

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

"We have no money. We're a non-profit. We don't have a rich guy that even [sic] gives us extra." — Marco Petruzzi (CEO Green Dot [Public] Schools) lying to children about astronomical donations by Eli Broad, William Gates III, The Walton Family, Reed Hastings, Donald Fischer.


In response to that scoundrel Petruzzi's quote in Howard Blume's latest piece.

The well heeled Marco Petruzzi pays himself a staggering $215,742 a year and then has the nerve to talk about "a fight for resources amongst the poor?" How absolutely despicable and disingenuous is that? He also pays Steve Barr $198,855 and has been known to give out gifts to his cronies like Ben Austin $94,475 (2007 990 PII-A) for "consulting." What a lucrative gig! How magnanimous of these wealthy white men to consider the poverty they so gleefully take advantage of.

Sadly most of this newly allocated money for special education will be pocketed by these charter charlatans

Bullied at School for Being Gay? The U.S. Justice Department 'Won't Stand for It,' High School Students Told | CNSnews.com

Bullied at School for Being Gay? The U.S. Justice Department 'Won't Stand for It,' High School Students Told | CNSnews.com

Bullied at School for Being Gay? The U.S. Justice Department 'Won't Stand for It,' High School Students Told

Wednesday, January 05, 2011
By Susan Jones

(CNSNews.com) – The U.S. Justice Department went into a public high school on Tuesday with a message for students: If you’re “different,” if you’re gay, and if you’re being bullied – don’t feel alone, don’t be ashamed, and don’t hesitate to call on the federal government for help if your school doesn’t stop the bullying.

“If you have been targeted for harassment or bullying because of your sexual orientation, because of your gender identity or expression, or simply because your classmates see you as different, I am here to tell you that the Civil Rights Division will not stand for it,” Tom Perez, the assistant attorney general for the Justice

The Answer Sheet - Resolutions someone should make for 2011

The Answer Sheet - Resolutions someone should make for 2011

Resolutions someone should make for 2011

This was written by Mike Rose, who is on the faculty of the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and is the author of "Why School?: Reclaiming Education for All of Us.” By Mike Rose The beginning of the year is the time to be hopeful, to feel the surge of possibility. So in that spirit I want to propose just over one dozen education resolutions that emerge from the troubling developments and bad, old habits of 2010. Feel free to add your own. 1) To have more young people get an engaging and challenging education. 2) To stop the accountability train long enough to define what we mean by “achievement” and what it should mean in a democratic society. Is it a rise in test scores? Is it getting a higher rank in international comparisons? Or should it be more? 3) To stop looking for the structural