Bruce Baker's "Adding Up the Spending" shows that New York City charter schools serve, on average, far fewer students who are classified as English Learners or who are very poor. These students are more expensive to educate, meaning that charters have more than a $2,500 per student head start over non-charters in their neighborhoods [assuming a static per-pupil
Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) Connects College Campuses to Union Movement | 
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AFL-CIO Media Outreach fellow Jennifer Angarita joins Chris Hicks, Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) coordinator, to discuss the parallels between campus and community organizing.
Founded in 1999 as a joint initiative between Jobs with Justice and the United States Student Association, the Student Labor Action Project (SLAP) engages student activists with economic justice campaigns in their communities and campuses.
Across the country, students in local SLAP chapters meet to organize around issues that affect both students and workers. Currently, campuses are working together to campaign against dramatic state budget cuts that threaten the layoffs of thousands of workers and increase fee tuitions, which leave students with astronomical amounts of debt.
As coordinator, Chris Hicks helps student activists build relationships with local unions and community and faith-based groups and Jobs with Justice coalitions. Hicks said:
SLAP supports the growing student movement for economic justice by making links between campus and community organizing, providing skills training to
With state finances in disarray, we need to have honest conversations to ensure that budget cuts do the least harm possible. But that’s not possible unless we can even broach a conversation about class size. Unfortunately for many advocates, class size can’t be discussed. Just like raising taxes is never an option for many on the right, raising class size will always be scorned by certain advocates — no matter the circumstances.
Compare the spin from the Twitter account of Leonie Haimson, head of New York City advocacy organization Class Size Matters, and the actual Washington Postinterview with DC Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson:
Kaya Henderson, head of DC schools, wants to maximize class sizes & claims will not create “shock to the system” http://wapo.st/hgoDXm
From Huffington Post, 2.1.2011
A group of Chicago high school students has decided to take Rahm Emanuel to task for his education policy.
Cristina Henriquez, Gerardo Aguilar, and Alexandra Alvarez appear in a YouTube video, uploaded Sunday, entitled "Invest in Our Public Schools." The spot attacks Emanuel for his praise of the city's charter schools, and backs rival candidate Miguel del Valle for supporting neighborhood schools.
"I go to Roger C. Sullivan High School," says Henriquez. "This is not one of the schools Rahm Emanuel cares
Panelists at the Jan. 31 event included Morehouse President Dr. Robert Franklin; distinguished educators from the Atlanta area, Christopher Watson and Derrick Dalton; filmmaker and Morehouse alumnus Spike Lee; and Georgia Congressman John Lewis.
ATLANTA—On Monday, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan renewed his call for more black men to pick up the chalk and teach.
Joined by filmmaker Spike Lee, Duncan issued the invitation during a town hall meeting and panel discussion hosted by Morehouse College and moderated by MSNBC contributor Jeff Johnson. The event was part of the Department of Education’s TEACH campaign, designed to raise awareness of the teaching profession and get a new generation of teachers to join the ones who are already making a difference in the classroom.
One Morehouse student spoke about the importance of African American students seeing caring, responsible and honest black men in positions of authority, because it helps them to recognize what is possible. The student argued that right now not enough of these positive images are visible to today’s youth.
During the town hall, Duncan stressed that the need for black male teachers is the greatest in elementary and middle schools. Panelists echoed this sentiment, many recalling that they did not encounter a black male teacher until late in high school or college.
Spike Lee represents the third generation in his family that attended Morehouse. Lee has been a strong advocate for black men entering the teaching profession.
An overarching theme of the town hall was the importance of education as a civil right. Georgia Congressman John Lewis remarked on the apt timing of the town hall, taking place on the cusp of Black History Month. He recalled that for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others at the center of America’s struggle for civil rights, education was paramount. He also recounted the many ways in which Dr. King served as a teacher for those around him.
Morehouse student Anthony Gayles affirmed the importance of education in the struggle for civil rights, saying, “Education is the greatest equalizer…if we are successful in extending quality education to every citizen, there will be no more excuses. No one will be able to say that I didn’t get a chance.”
Gayles and Morehouse student Carlton Collins started the Morehouse Education Association, an organization on campus dedicated to steering new graduates into careers in education.
On a personal note, this was my first visit to Morehouse College—the only all-male historically black college in the country—and I cannot overstate how impressed I was with the students there. Sitting on the campus that produced Dr. King, I couldn’t help but look at this group of smartly dressed, articulate black men and think, “Look how far we have come.” Still, faced with the startling fact that black males represent 6 percent of the U.S. population yet 35 percent of the prison population and less than 2 percent of teachers, I can’t help but think, “How far we have to go.”
If the young men who attended Monday’s town hall are any indication, all of America has reason to be hopeful.
Jemal Graham ,Teaching Ambassador Fellow
Jemal Graham is a Classroom Teaching Ambassador Fellow who teaches math in Brooklyn, N.Y. View video of Jemal speaking about the importance of teaching.
View video of Secretary Duncan’s speech at historically black Xavier University, where he launched the TEACH campaign.
Read Arne Duncan’s “Call to Service” lecture at Harvard University.
Local control of schools implies to many Americans the existence of a small group from the community to oversee elementary and secondary education in order to safeguard and promote the well-being of students. This vision of the school board is synonymous with democracy in the minds of people. Yet, the arrangement does not always optimize learning outcomes and put youngsters on track for fulfilling and productive lives, stirring up questions about whether there are more effective ways to govern schools.
In part, the issue revolves around who sits on school boards and how they attain those positions. There are few tests for service other than the usual requirements that one reside in the district and be a citizen. Members may
By Valerie Strauss
This letter was just sent to President Obama by more than 50 organizations -- including education, civil rights, disability, student, parent, and community groups -- about legislation in Congress thatwould allow teachers still in training to be considered “highly qualified” so they can meet a standard set in the federal No Child Left Behind law.
Dear Mr. President:
As organizations concerned with promoting educational quality and equity, particularly for students who have traditionally been least well served by our educational system, we are deeply committed
I am just back from EDUCON, where a lot of the talk was about new ways to learn, the new era of education to come, the loneliness of being an innovator in a largely innovation-averse sector.
One of the things I came away with was that we don’t still, after all these years, have good models for talking about what a highly effective school looks like and feels like, from a learner’s point of view. (And I mean all learners–not just kids.) So while I propose, as a given, a short list: the child/student is at the center of the enterprise, and the student is most important person in the school’s dynamic–here are additions to the list–a few other attributes of a highly effective “learning” school. These have been developed after years of culture-watching in breakthrough districts, in writing about innovative school models, and in working with leadership teams now engaged in real innovation.
1. The adults in the building are passionately engaged in learning. In my experience, when the adults in a school are really fired up learners–passionate about their own quirky projects and deeply interested in their
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the White House opened applications to the 2011 Race to the Top Commencement Challenge. Students from public high schools across the country are invited to demonstrate how their school prepares them for college and a career by going to www.whitehouse.gov/commencement and submitting an application. The winning school will host President Obama as their 2011 commencement speaker.
“I’m looking for the school that’s doing the best job of preparing students for college and careers,” said President Obama. “The winning school will understand that their number one priority is making sure that our kids are learning what they need to succeed in this 21st century economy.”
“Success happens in schools across the country every day,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “The Commencement Challenge is an extraordinary opportunity for students to share their school’s story and be rewarded for their commitment to preparing for college and careers.”
The White House once again partnered with Viacom and the Get Schooled Foundation to launch this year’s Commencement Challenge. In a video launching the challenge, Simon Boehme, the salutatorian from last year’s winning school - Kalamazoo Central High - and current freshman at the University of Michigan, came to the White House to discuss the Commencement Challenge with President Obama.
The application includes essay questions and statistical information that illustrate how schools are promoting college and career readiness for all students while establishing a culture of student success and academic excellence. Applications must be submitted by Friday, February 25th at 11:59 pm EST. More information, including the launch video, can be found at www.whitehouse.gov/commencement.
Last year, President Obama launched the first ever Race to the Top Commencement Challenge and encouraged public high schools across the country to show how they promote college attainment and career readiness. Over 1000 schools applied and more than 170,000 people weighed in on short videos and essays from the six finalists. President Obama selected the national winner from the three high schools with the highest average ratings (see 2010 finalists HERE). This year, the President has renewed the challenge, calling on high schools to share effective strategies on how they are preparing their students to win the future and achieve the goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
Tunisia ousted a dictator seventeen days ago, and its people are struggling toward democracy. The median age of the people of Tunisia is 29.
Egypt has seen millions of people take to the streets this morning, and appears to be on the verge of overthrowing its unelected President. The median age of the people of Egypt is 29.
Palestinian officials announced today that they will be holding their first municipal elections in five years “as soon as possible.” The median age of the people of the West Bank is 20, and the median age of the people of Gaza is
CPS' gifts to charities under scrutiny Former school board Presidents Michael Scott, shown left, and his protege Rufus Williams gave freely from private taxpayer-funded accounts to dozens of handpicked charities and nonprofits, many with no apparent benefit to CPS... Rules let educators get pensions along with salaries Some of Illinois' highly paid schools chiefs retire here, then jump to a new job in another state, thus picking up more than one check.. CPS Prepares for Rare School Closure Chicago Public Schools, which rarely close because of weather, are prepared to cancel classes
When he says that “the quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations,” President Obama ignores the fact
In education news this week, aliens from the planet Xalminator landed in Westlake, Indiana, at the forty-yard-line on the fighting Wolves’ football field. On their tour, the aliens remarked on the school’s foreign design and inhabitants.
“This startling system of bells ringing at 50-minute intervals, followed by another ring 5 minutes after each 50-minute bell appears to randomly move the students through a series of rooms, hallways, and doorways at a
I could have posted about the IEA budget hearings last night. Or the Chicago mayor’s race. Or a half dozen other issues of great importance.
But not today.
February 1st, 2011 will be remembered as the day the Egyptian people stood tall. And we can watch it all happen instantaneously.
I woke this morning and immediately went to Al Jazeera to watch the live feed from Liberation Square in Cairo. I
Trip Gabriel's NYT story (G.O.P. Governors Take Aim at Teacher Tenure) is yet another one of those "less than meets the eye" things that we've been getting a lot of lately, semi-speculative pieces where proposals and a handful of examples get conflated -- implicitly if not explicitly -- with things actually taking place. We saw this kind of speculative journalism happen with teacher layoffs last year and more recently with the "growing momentum" behind a NCLB reauthorization. Sure, Governors in Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Nevada and New Jersey want to revamp tenure laws. Sure, some folks have announced legislation. Something might happen! I must cover it! But as far as I know nothing has actually happened yet nor is there a case to be made
Dear Deborah,
I watched President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech and liked his appeal to the nation to encourage innovation, creativity, and imagination. But I was disappointed by his misleading description of Race to the Top. He said it is not a "top-down" program and is not prescriptive. He thinks that it somehow emerged as a result of the good ideas of teachers, principals, local school boards, and communities. But nothing could be further from the truth. It was designed and written within the confines of the U.S. Department of Education by Secretary Arne Duncan and a flock of advisers from the Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation.
Race to the Top was funded by nearly $5 billion of economic stimulus money appropriated by Congress. Never in history has the U.S. Department of Education had money of this scale to dispense at will. As I wrote in my recent book, Michael Petrilli of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute called Race to the Top "NCLB 2: The Carrot That Feels Like a Stick." While Petrilli liked the program's demand to expand the number of charter schools and
