AFT - A Union of Professionals - Groundbreaking Partnership Will Revamp Teacher Workforce

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Groundbreaking Partnership Will Revamp Teacher Workforce

Groundbreaking Partnership Will Revamp Teacher Workforce

AFT and AASA's Nationwide Work Will Focus First on Districts in
Michigan, Ohio and Colorado

WASHINGTON—Real education reform takes a significant step forward today as the American Federation of Teachers and the American Association of School Administrators launch a groundbreaking partnership based on their commitment to ensure a skilled teacher workforce for the knowledge-based economy.

The broad goal of the partnership is to take the concrete steps that are necessary to make our American school systems world-class. As a first step, we need to systematically recruit, develop and retain great educators. The two organizations have adopted a framework to continuously improve the nation's teaching force, revamp teacher development and evaluation systems, and provide teachers and schools the tools and support they need. The framework is based on the principles that most successful countries use to develop and sustain a highly trained and well-supported educator workforce.

The collaboration between the two organizations, often seen as being on opposite sides of issues affecting the teacher workforce, is a sharp contrast to ideology-driven efforts in some states that would strip teachers of resources and rights.

AFT President Randi Weingarten and AASA Executive Director Dan Domenech said the partnership between the groups is significant for two reasons—it reinforces their commitment to labor-management collaboration at the

Here's to the Teachers! SOS March and National Call to Action #neara11

learn more at http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/
Join us July 28-31 2011 in Washington DC to support equitable funding for all public school communities, end high stakes testing used for the purpose of student, teacher, and school evaluation, give teacher, family and community leadership a clear place in forming public education policies, and encourage local school communities to develop curriculum specific to their needs.
Images in chronological order:
photos: John Dewey, Deborah Meier (from "The Power of their Ideas"), anonymous teacher
films: "To Make a Difference" by Tom Valens,"Lessons from the Real World" by Bob Gliner, "August to June: Bringing Life To School" by Tom Valens, "The Hobart
Shakespeareans" (Rafe Esquith) by Mel Stuart, "World Peace and other 4th-grade Achievements" (John Hunter) by Chris Farina
Script: Anthony Cody Narrator: Jim Griffiths Editor: Tom Valens

Black student chained to locker, finds noose around dummy in alleged racial bullying incident - latimes.com

Black student chained to locker, finds noose around dummy in alleged racial bullying incident - latimes.com

Black student chained to locker, finds noose around dummy in alleged racial bullying incident

An African American student at Santa Monica High School says fellow members of the wrestling team chained him to a locker and hung a noose around a brown wrestling dummy.

The alleged racial incident is being investigated by Santa Monica police and school officials, who sent an email to parents earlier this month calling it a "serious matter that warranted a swift and appropriate response." The students accused were given "appropriate disciplinary consequences, including suspension," Principal Hugo A. Pedroza said in the email to parents.

The student and his mother, Victoria Gray, reported the incident to police on June 21. The incident happened more than a month ago, but Gray told The Times she was never notified by the school and didn't find out about

School Tech Connect: New Standards Are Here

School Tech Connect: New Standards Are Here

New Standards Are Here

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

And nothing will change.

First of all, Race to the Top was supposed to be, among other things, economic stimulus for the recession. Maryland is now getting around to spending money to bus teachers hither and yon to learn about the Common Core Standards, which are still in that nebulous state prior to being interpreted differently from district to district, school to school, teacher to teacher. How it's all a stimulus, I don't know. Did some unemployed people get hired to work on the standards?

As for the standards themselves, if I were still a teacher, by this point I'd be asking, "Will someone just tell me what to friggin' teach and where to stand and which tests I have to give and what should I say to the kids at every minute of the day?"

The real issue for me is toward the bottom of the article, where some of the Maryland teachers are pointing out that the new high-stakes, connected-to-evaluation tests don't even exist yet, and still the evaluation laws have moved forward.

During an opening question-and-answer session, one audience member asked Jenkins

Note to NEA RA: Support for endorsement waning? « Fred Klonsky's blog #neara11

Note to NEA RA: Support for endorsement waning? « Fred Klonsky's blog

Note to NEA RA: Support for endorsement waning?

by Fred Klonsky

The Twitter buzz is that floor fights over an early no strings Obama endorsement and the Policy Statement on accountability and teacher evaluation will be front and center at the NEA RA starting tomorrow in Chicago.

But don’t bet on it.

The National Council of Urban Education Associations (NCUEA), which met earlier this week in anticipation of the RA, failed to support the early endorsement or the policy statement.

This might be seen as sending a message to NEA President Dennis Van Roekel that the votes aren’t there for either one, or that the fight over both or either would be so bruising as

Modern School: CA Charters Under Attack? Let’s Hope So!

Modern School: CA Charters Under Attack? Let’s Hope So!

CA Charters Under Attack? Let’s Hope So!

by Michael Dunn

Image by skippyjon

The right wing and pro-charter web educational clearinghouse Media Bullpen thinks charters are under attack in California, that their precious freedoms are being suppressed and their necessarily positive innovations stymied. They also think that Emily Alpert ‘s piece in theVoice of San Diego is too hyperbolic. Yet Alpert does not question the unproven presumptions that increased “freedoms” and innovation are necessary or beneficial to students, nor the equally unproven assertion that bureaucracies limit the effectiveness of traditional public schools. She doesn’t even suggest that charters are bad or need to go. What she does do is

Capitol Alert: Emotions run high as Jerry Brown vetoes farmworker bill

Capitol Alert: Emotions run high as Jerry Brown vetoes farmworker bill

Emotions run high as Jerry Brown vetoes farmworker bill

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation tonight that would have let farmworkers unionize more easily, despite intense pressure from fellow Democrats and labor allies who considered Brown their best chance in years to pass the bill.

The veto came just about one hour before midnight, when the legislation would have become law.

The veto touched off an emotional scene outside Brown's office, where about a dozen lawmakers and 100 farmworkers and supporters called unsuccessfully for Brown to come out.

In the middle of the crowd, United Farm Workers president Arturo Rodriguez took a call from Brown, telling the Democratic governor his remarks sounded a "little hollow." Some women in the crowd started crying, while Assembly Speaker John A. Perez called Brown's action a "setback," saying Brown sided

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/06/emotions-run-high-as-jerry-bro.html#ixzz1Qg8cMf4w

More Than 1,400 Jobs Cut, Classes Sizes Balloon in San Diego Schools - voiceofsandiego.org:

More Than 1,400 Jobs Cut, Classes Sizes Balloon in San Diego Schools - voiceofsandiego.org:

More Than 1,400 Jobs Cut, Classes Sizes Balloon in San Diego SchoolsComments (1) | 7:07 pm

After months of agonizing over budget cuts, San Diego Unified quickly passed a budget Tuesday night that will lead to ballooned class sizes in kindergarten, second and third grade; suspended beloved programs that take students to places like Balboa Park; thinned bus routes and a slew of other cuts.

More than 1,400 positions were cut from the payroll, including more than 800 teachers, counselors, nurses and other educators. That accounts for more than one in 10 educators in the school district. All in all, the school district budget shrunk from $1.22 billion this year to $1.057 billion.

"Make no doubt about it, this board is very, very aware that passing this budget is going to cause grave damage to our schools in San Diego," school board member John Lee Evans said.

Read the rest of this article

A Battle Over Charter School FreedomsComments (1) | 6:00 pm

A raft of state bills would add new rules and regulations for California charter schools, setting up a showdown over just how far charters' famed freedoms will go.

The bills span a wide spread of subjects, from worker rights to conflicts of interest to classroom intercoms, but they have reignited the same age-old debate over freedoms between charter schools and their critics in unions and school boards.

State legislators have pushed for more restrictions on charters for many reasons: Some lawmakers were spurred to act by charter school scandals. Others want school districts to have more leeway to say no before a faulty charter opens. One argued that charter school admission rules were screening out students who might perform badly. And one wanted more rights for charter school workers.

Read the rest of this article

Rating Teachers: What VOSD Members ThinkComments | 4:00 pm

In the last year, a national debate over whether there's a better way to judge teachers has exploded. The Obama administration has pushed schools to use what's known as "value-added data" to evaluate teachers and decide their pay.

A Los Angeles Times investigation last year pushed the issue out of academia and into the mainstream, inspiring strong backlash and fevered discussion.

The idea is simple: Measure how much each child improves over time, instead of simply how high they score.

Read the rest of this article

Schools' Volunteer Tax Nets LittleComments (4) | 9:00 am

After San Diegans turned down a new tax for schools last year, school board member John Lee Evans came up with a new idea: create a special fund that willing donors could chip into for school supplies.

Taxpayers who had been willing to pony up the $98 per parcel (or more) that the tax would have charged could give their money to the district voluntarily. He told the Union-Tribune that if just 10,000 people contributed that $98,they'd reap almost $1 million.

Five months later, the fund has raised a little less than $6,036. That is much less than the $50 million annually the tax would have reaped and less than some foundations drum up for specific schools. Evans said Monday that he wasn't surprised. Nobody had made phone calls to rustle up more donations.

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All Things Education: Most education reformers are barking up the wrong tree.

All Things Education: Most education reformers are barking up the wrong tree.

Most education reformers are barking up the wrong tree.

Major elements of the current approach to education reform include redirecting more money to classrooms by cutting pensions and increasing employee contributions to healthcare, dis-empowering teachers unions, and focusing on hiring and firing policies. Human resources practices, budgeting, and union considerations are important factors in any education reform agenda, but they shouldn't be the crowning ones.

First of all, I support creating more portable retirement funds and health insurance, and separating them from employment. People shouldn't feel forced to stay in teaching (or in any job) just for the benefits. Likewise, people should keep benefits even if they lose (to no fault of their own) their jobs. That being said, the benefits that teachers receive are not lavish, especially when

Bill requiring voter approval of charter schools could doom them | NJ.com

Bill requiring voter approval of charter schools could doom them | NJ.com

Bill requiring voter approval of charter schools could doom them

Published: Wednesday, June 29, 2011, 5:59 AM

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerKindergarten students sing a song while rehearsing for their upcoming graduation at the Robert Treat Academy, a successful charter school in Newark.

Charter schools have totally taken off, with desperate students in cities such as Newark and Camden lining up thousands deep on waiting lists. Instead of being trapped in a failing district school, they want to take a chance on a charter — an alternative public school that does things differently.

Some have shown big success, but school districts and teachers unions have never been comfortable with these upstarts in their midst. Much of the opposition has come from highly performing suburban districts. While the need for charters there is not as pressing, parents still deserve the same choice. And charters in wealthier districts are often just as popular: At Princeton Charter School, more than 300 students are on a waiting list.

The state Assembly is expected to vote on a bill today that would require voter approval in order to open any charter, and it’s easy to see the intent behind it: Why would districts that hold a monopoly want to invite competitors?

When a student leaves for a charter, however, he takes only a portion of the money earmarked for him, leaving the districts with higher per-student funding. Charters also get no state money for facilities.

Yes, it can be painful for a district until the number of students leaving reaches a critical mass and adjustments can be made. When you take only 40 kids out of a district school, you’re not firing teachers or reducing operational costs.

But the referendum would make a political campaign out of every new charter application. The state Department of Education is in charge of opening and closing charter schools, and we don’t vote on

VDARE.com: 06/28/11 - AmeriCorps' Favorite Scandal-Plagued Mayor—Former NBA star Kevin Johnson

VDARE.com: 06/28/11 - AmeriCorps' Favorite Scandal-Plagued Mayor—Former NBA star Kevin Johnson

AmeriCorps' Favorite Scandal-Plagued Mayor—Former NBA star Kevin Johnson

By Michelle Malkin

A prominent Democratic politician who was banned from receiving federal aid three years ago over fraud charges is once again raking in government funds from the very same program he abused. It pays to be a FOTO—Friend of the Obamas.

Our publicly subsidized con artist is Sacramento mayor and former NBA star Kevin Johnson. He donated the maximum individual amount to Obama for America, campaigned across the country for Obama in 2008, and bragged to California media during his mayoral run about his friendship and access to both Barack and Michelle Obama. The Obama administration's Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) recently bestowed Johnson's city with an AmeriCorps grant worth more than $650,000.

The money will flow into Sacramento's "Get Fit Now! Initiative," which will hire 124 AmeriCorps members"to teach fitness and nutrition education to children and offer adult fitness classes for their parents. They will also set up school-based gardens where children will learn how to grow fresh vegetables."

That's a lot of fertilizer-shovelers employed in the name of "public service." If the award smells funny, it should. For Johnson, AmeriCorps has indeed been all about service—self-service, that is.

In 2008, the independent Inspector General overseeing AmeriCorps, Gerald Walpin, concluded that

Major donor to New Orleans public schools outlines 2010 spending | NOLA.com

Major donor to New Orleans public schools outlines 2010 spending | NOLA.com

Major donor to New Orleans public schools outlines 2010 spending

In the modern education reform movement -- a movement that has profoundly reshaped public education in New Orleans -- the Walton Family Foundation looms as one of the most significant financial backers.

Eliot Kamenitz, The Times-PicayuneJohn Dibert School was one of the local beneficiaries of money from the Walton Family Foundation.

Depending on your point of view, the Walton foundation is either a critical supporter of improving student achievement or part of a small group of "corporate" interests hoping to privatize public education, a set that also includes billionaires like Eli Broad and Bill Gates. The foundation was founded by Wal-Mart owners Sam and Helen Walton.

On Tuesday, the group released figures that show just how much money it threw behind education initiatives last year and which groups in New Orleans got some of the cash. In 2010, Walton gave out $157 million for K-12 education, about $5 million of it in New Orleans.

About $52 million went toward shaping public policy, $64 million went to creating quality schools and $39 million went to improving existing schools. Another $2 million went to research grants.

Some of the biggest individual recipients have a major presence in the city: Teach for America, which has more than 200 instructors in local classrooms, received almost $17 million; and the KIPP Foundation, a charter school operator that will be running nine schools in New Orleans this fall, received about $9 million.

The Recovery School District received $667,000.

Among other local recipients: The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, which counts most New Orleans charter schools as members, got about $375,000; the Urban League of Greater

This Week In Education: Reform: A Teacher Reflects On Her Experience (& My Book)

This Week In Education: Reform: A Teacher Reflects On Her Experience (& My Book)

Reform: A Teacher Reflects On Her Experience (& My Book)

by Alexander Russo

Nicole Soussan taught English at Locke High School from 2006 to 2008, and was kind enough to let me share her reflections on what happened while she was at the school and what's happened there since she left: "Frank Wells hired me to teach at Locke High School after asking me to do one thing: tell him about myself. I'm not sure if it was my degree in African American Studies, my incredible enthusiasm for teaching at Locke, or the fact that he had hired a number of other Teach for America teachers that day, but a few minutes later, I was hired over a handshake. I had no idea then that my life and my job would unfold the way they did." [continued below]

"Reading Stray Dogs, Saints, and Saviors a few years afterwards, I beamed with pride to know that Ronnie Coleman overheard my students talking about Macbeth and wept when I recalled the May 2008 riot (during which I literally pulled a student away from a police officer striking her with his baton). I smiled as I could hear my