Assembly: Yes, fix school funding | Thoughts on Public Education

Assembly: Yes, fix school funding | Thoughts on Public Education

Assembly: Yes, fix school funding

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Brownley's AB 18 gets strong support, for now

Posted on 6/03/11 • Categorized as Uncategorized

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

A bill that would become the foundation for restructuring the state’s K-12 funding system passed the Assembly this week with near unanimity (a vote of 74-2) – a sign that legislators agree with the concept and are willing to let important details be worked out in coming months.

AB 18, sponsored by Julia Brownley, a Santa Monica Democrat who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, would begin to fix a system that study after study has concluded is complex, confusing, irrational, and, by ignoring the high cost of educating the poor and English learners, inequitable.

It is also underfunded, although the bill itself neither provides additional funding overall nor

Spending far from equal among state’s school districts, analysis finds | California Watch

Spending far from equal among state’s school districts, analysis finds | California Watch

Spending far from equal among state’s school districts, analysis finds Louis Freedberg and Stephen K. Doig This story was edited by Denise Zapata and copy edited by Nikki Frick. State lawmakers have struggled for decades to bring equality to how school districts are funded, yet some districts receive thousands ...

Wealthy donors may widen school spending gap Louis Freedberg This story was edited by Denise Zapata and copy edited by Nikki Frick. Two Los Angeles County communities illustrate the gap in funding at the state’s public schools.

Gasto lejos de ser igual entre distritos escolares del estado, concluye análisis Louis Freedberg and Stephen K. Doig Los legisladores estatales se han esforzado durante décadas para lograr igualdad en el financiamiento de las escuelas, sin embargo algunos distritos reciben miles de dólares más por estudiante que otros, ...

Gasto lejos de ser igual entre distritos escolares del estado, concluye análisis Louis Freedberg and Stephen K. Doig Los legisladores estatales se han esforzado durante décadas para lograr igualdad en el financiamiento de las escuelas, sin embargo algunos distritos reciben miles de dólares más por estudiante que otros, ...

React and Act: How you can learn more about school finance California’s school finance system is complex and difficult to understand. To help you navigate the issue, as well as respond to the information in our story, we’ve put together a list of useful online resources and key players. Most reliable ...

Q&A: Why disparities exist in some California school districts Louis Freedberg Have questions on how schools are financed in California? Check out these frequently asked questions.

solidaridad: Vik Chaubey: Comments on Avaricious Andre Agassi's Charter Ponzi Scheme

solidaridad: Vik Chaubey: Comments on Avaricious Andre Agassi's Charter Ponzi Scheme

Vik Chaubey: Comments on Avaricious Andre Agassi's Charter Ponzi Scheme

by Robert D. Skeels * rdsathene

"There's class warfare, all right, but it's my class, the rich class, that's making war, and we're winning." —Warren E. Buffett (Plutocrat)

Profit has been and always will be the paramount reason for corporate charter-voucher schools — even for those hiding beyond the guise of 501C3 "non-profit" tax status. The bevy of lucrative ways for charter executives, investors, and board members to enrich themselves further at the trough of public tax money is their raison d'être so to speak. Charter swine can squeal all they want about it being "for the kids," but articles like Former tennis star Andre Agassi teams with L.A. bankers to finance charter school construction remind us that it's all about the profit. The insatiable greed of these charter charlatans exceeds all imagination, and should strike fear into anyone concerned that public education is about to become a legend of a bygone era.

Today social justice educator Jose Lara posted the above Los Angeles Times link on his facebook profile, which drew a lot of commentary. Those by activist Vik Chaubey struck me as so interesting and compelling, that I obtained his permission to reprint them here for a wider audience. — rds

Sacramento DA Weighing Whether to Charge Teachers, Protesters Arrested Protesting Education Cuts At Capitol | California Progress Report

Sacramento DA Weighing Whether to Charge Teachers, Protesters Arrested Protesting Education Cuts At Capitol | California Progress Report

Sacramento DA Weighing Whether to Charge Teachers, Protesters Arrested Protesting Education Cuts At Capitol

by megan

By David Greenwald

According to attorneys for some of the 71 arrested protesters, many of them teachers, the District Attorney has not decided whether to file charges for trespassing, section 602 of the penal code, subsection Q - failing to leave a public building when closed "without lawful business."

71 teachers and other protesters were arrested May 9 after about 200 of them gathered in the rotunda of the Capitol around 5 pm. The CHP told them the building was closed around 6:15 or so and began arrests a few minutes later.

Legal observers are expressing surprise the District Attorney is even considering pressing charges, especially given the financial woes of the county that makes it difficult to prosecute serious, violent crimes.

They were protesting budget cuts to education, and well as to social services, and most in the crowd were urging higher taxes on the very wealthy in the state, and an oil extraction tax.

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The Next Bubble Is About to Burst: College Grads Face Dwindling Jobs and Mounting Loans

by megan

By Sarah Jaffe

It's the beginning of summer: warmer weather, longer days, the end of the school year. And that means graduation for thousands of young people across the U.S.; graduation with more student debt than ever before, and into a job market that is anything but promising.

Young people between the ages of 16 and 24 face an unemployment rate nearly twice that of the rest of the population, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. 2010's 18.4 percent rate for youth was the worst in the 60 years that economists have collected such data. ColorLines notes that in 2010, 8.4 percent of white college graduates were unemployed, 13.8 percent of Latino graduates, and a dismal 19 percent of black graduates.

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This Week In Education: AM News: Congressional Impasse, Republican Contenders

This Week In Education: AM News: Congressional Impasse, Republican Contenders

AM News: Congressional Impasse, Republican Contenders

by Alexander Russo

Obama, Democrats talk jobs as impasse over cuts hardens The Hill: Obama and the Democrats – who championed a $787 billion economic stimulus package in early 2009 – want to increase spending this year in areas like education, research and infrastructure...Mitt Romney, Quiet on Education Lately, Joins 2012 Race EdWeek: Mitt Romney has officially entered the 2012 presidential race, adding another Republican contender with a lengthy education policy record (whether you agree with it or not... News Corp sponsoring 2012 candidate education forum Politico via GS: News Corp announced Tuesday that it plans to host a forum for presidential candidates in 2012, moderated by Klein and Wall Street Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot. It will be held on October 27, 2011 in conjunction with the College Board... New round of US grants for education innovation AP: The federal government is trying to make it easier to apply for one of its grants for innovative ideas to improve education, but with budget cuts there's a lot less money to give away this year... Pa. girl wins Bee with 'cymotrichous' USAT: Sukanya Roy, 14, took home the National Spelling Bee trophy... STATE & LOCAL NEWS BELOW

States Take Different Approaches To Education Reform HuffED: In Tennessee, like Wisconsin and Ohio, the

Giving Rouge Parties Too Much Credit [On E4E and Sarah Palin] | The Jose Vilson

Giving Rouge Parties Too Much Credit [On E4E and Sarah Palin] | The Jose Vilson

Giving Rouge Parties Too Much Credit [On E4E and Sarah Palin]

by Jose

Part of me sees the parallels with giving Educators 4 Excellence (E4E) and Sarah Palin too much credit. They’ve both become popular for their views, and have the backing of conspicuous and inconspicuous organizations

Schools Matter: Duncan Caves to the Billionaires of the For-Profit Exploitation Colleges

Schools Matter: Duncan Caves to the Billionaires of the For-Profit Exploitation Colleges

Duncan Caves to the Billionaires of the For-Profit Exploitation Colleges

by Jim Horn

From TICAS:

Statement on Final Gainful Employment Rule

Pauline Abernathy, Vice President, The Institute for College Access & Success

Background: Today the U.S. Department of Education issued a final “gainful employment” rule to enable enforcement of the federal law requiring any post-secondary career education program receiving federal financial aid to “prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.” The final regulation applies to all career education programs, whether offered by a public, non-profit or for-profit college.

“The final gainful employment rule is a first step towards preventing federal taxpayer dollars from being wasted on career education programs that leave students with nothing but insurmountable debt. Unfortunately the final rule will allow many programs

An Urban Teacher's Education: I Never Expected

An Urban Teacher's Education: I Never Expected

I Never Expected

by The Reflective Educator

As I've been reflecting on the purpose of my blog, I've realized that since I left my job in DC, I've seen this blog, at times, as an open letter to my former self - the eager, idealistic college graduate who thought he could change the world in an inner-city classroom. In that vein, and in a very short post, I'd like to take a little time to catalogue a few experiences I was utterly unprepared for when I entered the classroom.

I never expected that I would be responsible for keeping records of everything I did in order to prove that I was competent at my job. From logs detailing calls I've made to parents to lesson plans to behavioral interventions, I've been immensely frustrated with the amount of valuable time record keeping has stolen from me.

I never expected that students I had years ago would contact me out of the blue and tell me how important I was in their life. I'd always hoped I would prepare them for college, and they might thank me for that, but never did I expect a student to tell me that I made all the difference.

I never expected to be on the verge of tears as a result of the sheer happiness I've gleaned from working with my students. I am utterly enamored with the people I work with. To say that their strength and determination in the face of challenges (the likes of which I will never know) is inspiring would be a dreadful understatement.

Teacher Evaluations Should Include Students' Test Scores, Researchers Say - The Bay Citizen

Teacher Evaluations Should Include Students' Test Scores, Researchers Say - The Bay Citizen

Teacher Evaluations Should Include Students' Test Scores, Researchers Say

Unions often help determine criteria for evaluating teachers

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By JENNIFER GOLLAN on June 2, 2011 - 5:02 p.m. PDT

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Creative Commons/knittymarie

The quality of teaching would improve if local school districts included students' test scores and grades teacher evaluations, according to a report released Thursday.

California law sets out general guidelines for teacher evaluations, but local school districts vary widely as far as the criteria and rating they use to measure teacher performance. Researchers for the Mountain View-based think tank EdSource recommended that districts tailor teacher evaluations to meet the educational goals of their school districts, which could vary depending on student demographics.

“One of the lessons from our report is that teacher evaluations must be overhauled on a local level,” said Mary Perry, EdSource’s deputy director. “Teacher evaluations are not as helpful as they should be because they are often too vague, and don’t provide useful feedback.”

The 21-page report was based on a comprehensive literature review and interviews with nearly a dozen leaders representing the state’s various education concerns, including the powerful California Teachers Association and the Association of California School

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

Is Segregation a San Francisco Value? | Dailycensored.com

Is Segregation a San Francisco Value? | Dailycensored.com

Is Segregation a San Francisco Value?

Written by Adam BessieEducation, MediaJun 2, 2011

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Bill O’Reilly and other conservative talkers often portray my beloved San Francisco as a liberal Sodom and Gomorrah, an icon of corrupt mores summarized snidely as San Francisco Values.

At first blush, a recent story in SF Weekly appears to fit O’Reilly’sliberal stereotype: “Schoolhouse Rocked: S.F.’s Most Controversial Charter School Throws Off For-Profit Masters”. The cover page feature article sounds anti-corporate, revolutionary, and the reporter, Lauren Smiley, even refers to the Edison Charter Academy as “indie,” as if it were a new underground punk band, refusing to sell out to The Man. Further, Edison is “community school,” which no doubt would get O’Reilly in a rant about socialism, a rant that would only be reinforced by the school contracts with a local food service called – gasp! – Revolution Foods. Even the ironic title – referring to the 70s children’s TV program “Schoolhouse Rock” – suggests that Smiley’s article is another missive from the Liberal Establishment, another report perverted by San Francisco Values.

And yet, the SF Weekly story, cloaked in the window dressing of the Liberal

The Offensively Defensive Ideology of Charter Schooling « School Finance 101

The Offensively Defensive Ideology of Charter Schooling « School Finance 101

The Offensively Defensive Ideology of Charter Schooling

Posted on June 3, 2011 by schoolfinance101

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There now exists a fair amount of evidence that Charter schools in many locations, especially high performing charter schools in New Jersey and New York tend to serve much smaller shares of low income, special education and limited English proficient students (see various links that follow). And in some cases, high performing charter schools, especially charter middle schools, experience dramatic attrition between 6^th and 8^th grade, often the same grades over which student achievement climbs, suggesting that a “pushing out” form of attrition is partly accounting for charter achievement levels.

As I’ve stated many times on this blog, the extent to which we are concerned about these issues is a matter of perspective. It is entirely possible that a school – charter, private or otherwise – can achieve not only high performance levels but also greater achievement growth by serving a selective student population, including selection of students on the front end and attrition of students along the way. After all, one of the largest “within school effects on student performance”