New Chicago Schools Chief Offers Two Different School Leadership Models

New Chicago Schools Chief Offers Two Different School Leadership Models

Posted: 04/18/11 06:20 PM ET

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Monday morning, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuelannounced the appointment of Jean-Claude Brizard, currently the superintendent of the Rochester, N.Y. school system, as Chicago Public Schools chief.

Brizard is set to lead the third-largest public school system in the country, one that, like many other urban school districts, is struggling with budget woes and labor problems.

Superintendent appointments in cities across the country are slowly shaping the face of the next generation of education reformers. Providence, Detroit, Newark, Atlanta, Broward Country, FL and Montgomery, MD are next in line to hire new school leaders.

Brizard, a native of Haiti, embodies two types of urban superintendents. On the one hand, he’s a 

solidaridad: Open Letter to LAUSD Board Regarding Grave Issues with CNCA's Charter for CRES #14

solidaridad: Open Letter to LAUSD Board Regarding Grave Issues with CNCA's Charter for CRES #14

Open Letter to LAUSD Board Regarding Grave Issues with CNCA's Charter for CRES #14

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

It is a model that is antithesis and anathema to Camino Nuevo. When democratically elected community members, parents, and teachers comprise the board of directors for a school, then we can begin to speak of social justice. — Robert D. Skeels (LAUSD District 2 Board Candidate)


April 18, 2011


Board of Education
333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017


LAUSD Board President Garcia and Members of the Board:

I'm writing to express my grave concerns with Camino Nuevo Charter Academy's (CNCA) charter for CRES #14. I am a seventeen year resident of District 2, and CRES #14 serves my neighborhood attendance boundary.

When Vice President Flores awarded CRES #14 to CNCA against the wishes and explicit votes of my community, and against the express recommendation of the Superintendent, she promised she would address the grievously problematic issues with CNCA's proposal regarding their exclusive and inflexible language

America's Debt Problem Is Not Caused By Social Programs

America’s Debt Problem Is Not Caused By Social Programs

April 18, 2011

By Ray Medeiros

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In a previous post I used some information that has since been corrected on the original site, Business Insider due to in-depth research into the actual OECD numbers by myself and others. It turns out that the United States spends 16.2% of our GDP on social programs, NOT 7.2%. But as I investigated further into the actual OECD numbers itself, file number, EQ5.XLS, data file EQ5.2 column (C) I have found something even more disturbing.

The United States spends 16.2% of our GDP on social programs and Canada spends 16.9% on theirs and an even closer comparison, Australia spends 16%. These two countries spend the same amount of their GDP to ensure a comfortable standard of living for their citizens as the United States does, yet we do not have the same outcome.

For instance, America does not have a single payer health insurance system that covers everyone, our single payer only covers the elderly and even that program is under assault

Resistance to test-based school reform is growing - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Resistance to test-based school reform is growing - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Resistance to test-based school reform is growing

By Valerie Strauss

There are growing protests from teachers and parents across the country over high-stakes standardized testing and other school reform measures — many of which the Obama administration has encouraged states to undertake — as well as over huge cuts in public education.

The pushback has largely been local, though a national march on Washington is being organized for this summer as states move to enact reforms that call for more charter schools and vouchers and that make standardized testing more important than ever in evaluating schools, students and teachers.

In North Carolina, for example, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools this spring field tested 52 (yes 52) new standardized tests, including four

Teachers run Brizard out of Rochester. He finds refuge with Rahm. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Teachers run Brizard out of Rochester. He finds refuge with Rahm. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Teachers run Brizard out of Rochester. He finds refuge with Rahm.

by Fred Klonsky

Rahm Emanuel’s choice for new CPS boss. In February, Rochester teachers voted no confidence in their superintendent. Now he’s come to Chicago.

An overwhelming number of Rochester teachers take a stand against their superintendent.

In a lopsided vote, some educators are telling Jean-Claude Brizard change your ways or change your job.

Nearly 82-percent of eligible teachers took part in today’s vote. The ballot was simple: “Yes, I have

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble Tours Factories Where Child Labor is Working

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble Tours Factories Where Child Labor is Working

Congressman Kimble Tours Factories Where Child Labor is Working

by Representative Kimble

For a lot of Congressman, Easter Recess is a time to be with their families and maybe get in a round of golf or two, but Congressman Kimble hit the ground running this past weekend with a whirlwind tour of places throughout the world where businesses freed from bureaucratic red tape are making children an important part of the work force.

Kimble's tour began at the Zastava factory in Kragujevac, Serbia where children play an important part in building

Despite Truancy and Attendance Problems, San Francisco Lays Off Monitors - The Bay Citizen

Despite Truancy and Attendance Problems, San Francisco Lays Off Monitors - The Bay Citizen

Despite Truancy and Attendance Problems, San Francisco Lays Off Monitors

Layoff notices handed out seven months after city launches anti-truancy campaign

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By JENNIFER GOLLAN on April 18, 2011 - 9:36 a.m. PDT

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Despite a staggering truancy rate, the San Francisco Unified School District intends to lay nearly half of the staff members charged with monitoring students absences.

Pink slips went out this week to 61 of 151 teachers' aides, who help in the classroom and serve as liaisons between the district and families of struggling students. The aides phone parents of truant children, arrange for social services support, and provide translation services for families who are not native English speakers.

The move comes seven months after former Mayor Gavin Newsom teamed up with district officials to launch an anti-truancy campaign. Newsom enlisted the city's Juvenile Probation Department and other government agencies to encourage businesses and individuals to report suspected truants to the police.

Source: The Bay Citizen (http://s.tt/12i6g)

Letters to Obama are pouring in…keep ‘em coming! :: Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

Letters to Obama are pouring in…keep ‘em coming! :: Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

Letters to Obama are pouring in…keep ‘em coming!

by TeacherSabrina

Here are a few of the letters we’ve received from concerned parents and teachers all over America. If you haven’t already, consider submitting one, which we will send as part of a large group of letters to the White House and the Department of Education. And definitely be sure tosign our petition to the President!

From Oklahoma:

Mr. President,

I have three children between the ages of 9 and 12, two boys and girl. They are remarkable in many ways and I (as all parents, I’m sure) want the best for them in life, including a good education. I’m a huge proponent of public education with many teachers and professors in my family. I’ve become increasingly concerned about the future of public education and the emphasis

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Taxing

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Taxing

Taxing

by Mike Klonsky

A rare day. Three interesting articles in today's Sun-Times

1.. "Super rich see federal taxes drop dramatically"

The super rich pay a lot less taxes than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.

2. Richard Roeper's usually vapid column offers some pretty good insights on the GOP's racist presidential front-runner, Donald Trump. Just when you feel like you've had you fill of Obama doublespeak, along comes the alternative.

Taking a break from boasting about his relationship with “the blacks” as if he’s in an episode of

Today’s Collection Of Good Posts On School Reform | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s Collection Of Good Posts On School Reform | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s Collection Of Good Posts On School Reform

by Larry Ferlazzo

Here are some recent good posts on school reform issues:

Who’s Bashing Teachers and Public Schools and What Can We Do About It? appeared in Rethinking Schools and is by Stan Karp. It’s an edited version of a talk Stan gave that I previously posted about. I’m adding both versions to The Best Articles Providing An “Overall” Perspective On Education Policy.

Teacher Defends Seniority Rights is by by Julie Cavanagh. I’m adding it to The Best Articles For Helping To Understand Both Why Teacher Tenure Is Important & The Reasons Behind Seniority-Based Layoffs.

KIPP and Its Critics Are Both Right is by John Thompson. I’m adding it to

Why Teacher Leadership is Important « Outside the Cave

Why Teacher Leadership is Important « Outside the Cave

Why Teacher Leadership is Important

by Stephen Lazar

The more time I spend in the classroom, the more I am convinced that teaching is the single most challenging intellectual and emotional pursuit in existence. While I would hold firmly that good teaching is a craft that can be learned by anyone, great teacher, which is unfortunately necessary for my students in the Bronx to be successful, is the work of artistic genius. It should then be left to the artist and the craftsmen to determine the future of their medium; no reasonable person would argue otherwise if they agree to my teacher as craftsman/artist premise.

The problem with the current dialogue around education is that it assumes an industrial aspect to teaching: students are seen as raw material, onto which some act is preformed or some knowledge is inserted. Teachers are merely viewed as the instrument through which this insertion occurs. The bourgeois elites who currently

THE BROAD REPORT: Jean-Claude Brizard, Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2007

THE BROAD REPORT: Jean-Claude Brizard, Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2007

Jean-Claude Brizard, Broad Superintendents Academy Class of 2007

TEACHERS VOTE "NO CONFIDENCE" IN SUPERINTENDENT JEAN-CLAUDE BRIZARD; February 10, 2010; WHEC-TV (Rochester, NY)

An overwhelming number of Rochester teachers take a stand against their superintendent.

In a lopsided vote, some educators are telling Jean-Claude Brizard change your ways or change your job.

Nearly 82-percent of eligible teachers took part in today's vote. The ballot was simple: “Yes, I have confidence in Superintendent Brizard" or "No, I don’t.”

It took hours to sort through boxes of ballots. Here are the results: just 140 teachers said they do have confidence in Brizard, compared to the more than

Brizard named new CEO of Chicago Public Schools | WBEZ

Brizard named new CEO of Chicago Public Schools | WBEZ

Brizard named new CEO of Chicago Public Schools

by Linda Lutton Apr. 18, 2011

Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel is announcing that Jean-Claude Brizard will be the new CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

Jean-Claude Brizard has led the 32,000-student Rochester City School District in Rochester, New York, for just over three years. He has instituted a number of reforms that fall into line with reforms Emanuel supported during his campaign, including an expansion of charter schools. Rochester City Schools highlights improvmenet in the district’s graduation rate during Brizard’s tenure.

Brizard’s has had a rocky relationship with Rochester’s teachers union, which originally supported him for the superintendency. They’ve opposed his plans for merit pay, charter school expansion and school closures.

A recommendation he made to close schools in Rochester brought parents, teachers, and students out to protest. The elected school board there eventually voted not to implement the