Wednesday, February 2, 2011

School Strikes for Dummies - voiceofsandiego.org: Plain-talk

School Strikes for Dummies

Posted: Wednesday, February 2, 2011 7:11 am | Updated: 12:37 pm, Wed Feb 2, 2011.

By John De Beck

So the news is that at least one teacher union in San Diego County is considering a strike action because they are not satisfied with the potential layoffs, reductions in service, class size, pay and other working conditions in their district. There will be much more saber rattling in the next few months as school districts confront the massive cost increases of doing business and the lack of state funds. Just wait!

In order to understand how all this works, one must have some idea of the rules of engagement that apply in California. Collective bargaining is addressed by the Rodda Act. The act outlines processes for contracts between the school district and its employee unions. In California there are two main teachers unions and some hybrids. In San Diego County, the major K-12 teacher unions are affiliates of CTA (The California Teachers Association), except for Poway, which is represented by PFT (The Poway

End Run around Community: County board OKs charter petition - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

County board OKs charter petition - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

County board OKs charter petition

By Melody Gutierrez
mgutierrez@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 1B

Last Modified: Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 - 1:02 pm

Sacramento County Office of Education trustees approved Margaret Fortune's charter school system aimed at improving the academic achievement of African American students in Sacramento County.

After an eight hour meeting Tuesday, the board approved the creation of five charter schools to be opened over the next five years, with the final five charter schools subject to a renewal process. Board trustees voted 4-1 with two abstaining

Financial productivity: The next leg of the school reform movement | The Education Front Blog | dallasnews.com

Financial productivity: The next leg of the school reform movement

by William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

Circling back to the school finance conference I attended last week, here's what I think is the most important aspect of the meeting:

For the last 20-plus years the education reform movement has focused on the academic output of schools. The attention has resulted in numerous reforms, like a greater emphasis on math and science, getting more kids ready for college and ramping up the quality of teachers and principals.

The academic bottom-line focus is not going away, but the reform movement is now adding a new slant: financial accountability. The movement is looking at how schools can get the most bang for their bucks.

Schools Matter: Vonnegut & suggestion for NCTE policy

Vonnegut & suggestion for NCTE policy

by skrashen

Here is what Kurt Vonnegut and his friend Bernard O'Hare told a German soldier when they were liberated from a POW camp after World War II: "… America … was going to try harder to give everyone work to do, and to ensure that our children, at least weren't hungry or cold or illiterate or scared to death." (Timequake, p. 142).

This is precisely our position (Krashen-Ohanian NCTE policy suggestion, re-posted below): Try to end poverty and meanwhile protect children from the effects of poverty.

The NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) invited suggestions for its policy platform for

Questions for myself. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Questions for myself.

by Fred Klonsky

An interview with myself on a snow day.

Question: Egypt?

Answer: I’m very concerned. Egypt isn’t Tunisia. It’s strategic importance to the U.S. and Israel is huge. The world has heard largely from the urban middle class and students. I fear for the next few days and weeks.

Question: Oscars?

Answer: I’ve really grown to dislike The King’s Speech more each day since I saw it. By Oscar night, I will hate

NYC Public School Parents: Last night's Panel for Educational Policy meeting

Last night's Panel for Educational Policy meeting

by Leonie Haimson

As predicted, the PEP (Panel of Eight Mayoral Puppets plus borough appointees) voted to approve ten school closings and several co-locations and expansions of Success Academy Charters into public school space.

See video of the Caped Real Reformers (parents and teachers ) singing "What a Wonderful World it would be" and students at Metropolitan Corporate Academy, one of the schools being closed, perform, ""DOE don't care about us" at last night's PEP meeting. More video, including Cathie Black's annoyed response to the vociferous crowd, at NY1.

Some lyrics:
They don’t know how to teach history,

To Really Learn, Quit Studying And Take A Test

To Really Learn, Quit Studying And Take A Test To Really Learn, Quit Studying And Take A Test: When I read this article I thought, “great -...

Rethinking Education by Dr, Michael Wesch. I recently concluded... Rethinking Education by Dr, Michael Wesch. I recently concluded an hour participating in #edchat on Twitter. The topic was about teachers being lifelong learners. This video capped off my reflection on the discussion. Remember, to blunt much of the ...

Schools Matter: The Problem with Those Who Defend School Segregation at the Beginning of Black History Month

The Problem with Those Who Defend School Segregation at the Beginning of Black History Month

by Jim Horn

It doesn't surprise me to see one of the "thought leaders" from Education Sector, that neoliberal chop shop for bad ideas, offer an undisguised apologia for segregated schools, but it does raise even my eyebrow to see that Kevin Carey chose the first day of Black History to post his prosaic word chiseling entitled "The Trouble with Desegregation."

As pressure builds among civil rights groups for the Obama Administration (Kevin serves on one of Arne's Committees) to do something for those deemed too poor to matter even as Team Obama panders to those too big to fail, Carey has been sent out to make the case that no one at his ~~sludge~~ think tank or anywhere else knows what to do about segregated schools. Here's his utterly unimaginative and ignorant premise:

. . . .the lack of attention to education-based desegregation strategies doesn’t stem from a lack of

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Grannan: Powerful “Parent” Trigger operators target vulnerable school; attack misfires

Grannan: Powerful “Parent” Trigger operators target vulnerable school; attack misfires

by The Perimeter Primate

Guest post by Caroline Grannan -- P.P.

The current hot story in education reform is California's Parent Trigger law and its deployment against high-poverty McKinley Elementary school in disadvantaged Compton, near Los Angeles.

The simplified description of this law, which the state Legislature passed last year, is that it mandates radical change at a school if petitions are turned in bearing the signatures of more than 50 percent of the parents at the school (and for middle and high schools, of parents at feeder schools, a situation undoubtedly as unwieldy as it sounds).

In the McKinley Elementary situation, as with other complex education reform issues, reading through the press

Daily Kos: teaching about Freedom of Speech, and more

teaching about Freedom of Speech, and more

by teacherken

today my non-AP students got to explore part of the First Amendment with me. It was in the form of a discussion, with me asking questions to see how they responded, for example

What is speech?

They might say talking, and we would go beyond. We would get to the difference between pure speech and symbolic speech when I would ask "If you burn an American flag because you are protesting the government can they arrest you for that?"

To help them understand that the protections of speech are against government action I would ask "what if you worked for Sears, were repairing someone's washing machine, they had Rush Limbaugh on the radio and you made a nasty remark. When you got

Voices from Parents at Closing Schools « EdVox

Voices from Parents at Closing Schools

by edvoxny

Yesterday the PEP voted to close 10 schools across the city. Tomorrow, they will vote to close 12 more schools. Below, parents from two of those schools write about why their school should remain open.

by Chrisanna Thomas, parent from MS 571

The Department of Education under the guidance of Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Black, has a plan to destroy, eliminate NYC Public Schools and shirk their responsibilities to our children.

I’m the parent of a 7th grader who attends MS 571, one of the schools slated for closure. This was never a proposal, this was a done deal from the start.  When the 2009-2010 progress report was received, it stated that the school received a D grade. On page 2 of the report it states that schools that receive D’s F’s or C’s for three years in a row are evaluated to determine the reasons for their “poor” performance and provided with intensive support so they can improve. Where has the support for this school been? We were provided with a mentor, attendance improved and as soon as the “proposal” was announced the mentor was pulled. We got none of the leadership support, mentoring and training that was talked about in the “fact” sheet. Where was the professional

Mayoral candidate del Valle says he shovels snow - Chicago Sun-Times

Mayoral candidate del Valle says he shovels snow

By Abdon M. Pallasch Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com Feb 1, 2011 12:36AM

City Clerk Miguel del Valle is the only one of the top four candidates for mayor who shovels his own snow.

“And with a shovel -- I don’t have a snow-blower,” quipped the under-financed candidate.

His main advice to Chicagoans Monday as the snow encroached:

“Early-vote before the snow gets here,” he said Monday after casting his vote.

More than 6,000 voters took advantage of the first day of early voting Monday, second only to the 2008 presidential election.

After he cast his early vote, Rahm Emanuel was reminded that big snows have altered mayoral elections in the past and asked if his plans included digging voters out of the snow.

“That gives a whole new meaning to campaigning for one vote at a time,” Emanuel quipped.

“The good news is we have people dedicated to doing their jobs. We know what’s coming. Everyone will be, I’m sure, at the city departments, ready for salting as well as snow removal.”

Emanuel is not shoveling this winter at his temporary apartment though he will resume when he

Making an “example” of whom? « Failing Schools

Making an “example” of whom?

FEBRUARY 2, 2011

by Sabrina

Responding to the case of the Ohio mother who was convicted of a felony for illegally enrolling her children in a better district, Ohio community advocate and reader Kennedy Kent wrote with a follow-up to her earlier concerns about the misuse of funds under the tutoring provisions of NCLB.

Check out Attorney Bob Fitrakis’ follow-up article in the Free Press on this NCLB Scam.
Will Ohio’s Auditor Uncover the No Child Left Behind Scam? (Includes video & documentation. –SSS)
As you know, they charged Williams-Bolar and her father with defrauding school services and tampering with records; yet, school

Last Stand for Children First: Duncan and Obama Call for More Black Men to Become Teachers

Duncan and Obama Call for More Black Men to Become Teachers

by Last Stand for Children

At Morehouse College two days ago, Arne Duncan and filmmaker Spike Lee issued a call for more black men to become teachers. Duncan told the town hall audience that more than 1 million educators are expected to retire in the coming decade and that federal officials are hoping to harness that opportunity to create a more diverse teaching work force, noting that less than 2 per cent of the nation's 3 million teachers are black men and with

Queens Teacher: The One Percent Class

The One Percent Class

by Queens Teacher

The top one percent of this country isn't happy. They want more. Their many multi-million dollar homes are not enough. Their yachts are not enough. The money they hide oversees is not enough. They need more of our nation's wealth to be satisfied.

The One Percent Class won't rest until they've accumulated the rest of our money. The poor class has none, so no use looking to them. So that leaves the middle class. What protects a large amount of the middle class? Unions.

You would think that they would understand that if a nation is to do well, we ALL have to do well. But no, the greedy One Percent Class wants it all. The rest of us can go to hell.

Just 30 years ago, the One Percent Class had 10% of the nation's wealth. That number has climbed to 24% in

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Ownership Society News

Ownership Society News

by Mike Klonsky

The Rise of the New Ruling Class: How the global elite is leaving you behind by Chrystia Freeland.

It's the cover story of the current special State of the Union issue of the Atlantic with some fascinating facts and quotes. It's all about how the emergence of this new global elite, whose wealth has come mainly from the information economy, is widening the gap between the super-wealthy and the rest of us.

What we were seeing...was not a single economy at all, but rather “fundamentally two separate types of economy,” increasingly distinct and divergent.

Freeland writes that a multi-billion-dollar bailout and Wall Street’s swift, subsequent reinstatement of gargantuan bonuses have inspired a narrative of parasitic bankers and other elites rigging the game for their own benefit. And this, in turn, has led to wider—and not unreasonable—fears that we

Seven things you need to know about last night’s PEP meeting | GothamSchools

Seven things you need to know about last night’s PEP meeting

by Elizabeth Green

Seven takeaways from last night’s marathon Panel for Educational Policy meeting, for those who don’t have time for 6,000-plus words, minute-to-minute updates, or actually traveling to Brooklyn Tech in the storm:

1. Bloomberg’s agenda was unsurprisingly approved: 10 schools will phase out, four new co-locations will occur. But on the panel, opposition now comes from more members than simply the Manhattan and Bronx appointees.

Patrick Sullivan, the Manhattan borough president’s appointee, is no longer the sole voice of opposition on the panel. And while Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr.’s appointee has been making opposition known for a while now, the other borough representatives are beginning slowly to join.

Only mayoral appointees, for instance, voted in favor of proposals that would benefit the Success Charter

Del Valle for Mayor | For All Chicago For Every Neighborhood: A Look at Miguel del Valle, a Regular Chicago Guy Who Wants to Be Mayor--Chicago Magazine

A Look at Miguel del Valle, a Regular Chicago Guy Who Wants to Be Mayor--Chicago Magazine

by Joanna2011

From Chicago Magazine, 2.2.2011

By Carol Felsenthal

Miguel del Valle doesn’t have much money—peanuts compared to Rahm Emanuel and Gery Chico, and way less even than Patricia Watkins and Carol Moseley Braun.

When I asked him yesterday afternoon if there would be runoff on February 22nd, he answered, “My guess is Rahm is going to buy one of the spots; as for the second, I hope I’m that person.”

Were del Valle to win—he hit seven percent in the last poll—it would count as one of the upsets of any election anywhere. Should the inevitable occur and he’s out on the 22nd—the former state Senator (20 years in Springfield and the first Latino in the Illinois General Assembly) and the current City Clerk (the first Latino there, too)—will surely pop up soon in another election. He is the preferred candidate of progressives, winning endorsements from the likes of Quentin Young and Tom Geoghegan.

Our Tuesday conversation focused first on politics, but then on his four children and his wife.

CF: I watched you debate Emanuel, Chico, and Moseley Braun Thursday night at the WGN-TV studios. Looking back, which of your responses do you think most resonated with voters?
MdV: People were telling my campaign staff that they agreed with me when I described the oppressive climate in the city—people feeling that they are being hit hard with tickets. Boot on cars after two tickets, red light cameras

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Wednesday, February 2, 2011