We made the short trip from Lexington to Petersburg, Kentucky this morning. The drive took two hours down I-275 West. It was a shame we were on a tight schedule because I find Kentucky just a great place to meet real Americans who more than make up for what they lack in dental care with a pioneer spirit and can do attitude.
When it comes to the public schools, the Obama administration is
Since I have started teaching, I always welcome the first day of the year. I never sleep the night before, but it is not an anxious time, it is an exciting time. I am even a little jealous of Track E teachers that get to start a month earlier than I.
The anxiety doesn’t come in September, but it usually begins in January, and that doesn’t have to do with the end of winter break, but rather a beginning of the “Testing Season.” Testing Season, formerly known as “spring,” is the time of the year when all the really valuable learning that had been going on through December is then set
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RSSDespite fewer delegates than previous years—just about 9,000, down from 10,000—the National Education Association’s annual convention is still the largest delegated decision-making body in the world.
At times a P.T. Barnum-like spectacle conducted under the thumb of staff, the assembly representing the nation’s largest union, with 3.1 million members, is also an impressive demonstration of a democratic decision-making body.
Two major controversies at the gathering in Chicago last month received national visibility. First was the early endorsement of President Obama’s re-election bid, advocated by the national leadership despite some resistance from several state affiliates, including the California Teachers Association.
Most of the debate occurred within the state caucuses, which was very contentious in some states, such as
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SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today unveiled A Blueprint for Great Schools, a report by his 59-member Transition Advisory Team calling for California to foster excellence in teaching, provide community support for families, and retool schools to make more students competitive in college and the workforce.
"We are setting our sights high because our students deserve it," said Torlakson. "As our Blueprint for Great Schools shows, there's no substitute for investing in our children's education. But we owe our students much more than just money. We also owe them our leadership, our best thinking—and above all—our very best people."
The 31-page report was prepared by Torlakson's Transition Advisory Team, composed of leading teachers, parents, school employees and administrators as well as community, labor, and business leaders. The team was co-chaired by Stanford Education Professor Linda Darling-Hammond and David Rattray, Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce Development for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.
"The first step in reaching a goal is setting one," Torlakson said. "We've taken an honest look at where we are and where we want to be, and created a vision about how to get there—with a focus on 21st century learning, meeting the needs of the whole child, and building the ranks of California's teachers with resources and respect."
The Blueprint notes that California has established several innovative training and support programs for teachers that have withered amid ongoing budget cuts. The report recommends creating a statewide Commission on Educator Quality to outline how to design and implement effective teacher recruitment, support, and evaluation systems.
"The Blueprint for Great Schools lays out the challenge before us: rejoining the ranks of high-achieving states by investing in quality teaching and creating a system that meets the demands of 21st century learning with forward-looking standards, curriculum, and assessments that ensure students are college and career ready," Darling-Hammond said.
"Teaching is the most important job there is, so our goal is straightforward: We want a great teacher for every child," Torlakson said. "Creating a comprehensive system of teacher recruitment, training, support, and evaluation will take some hard, thoughtful, and ongoing work, and a statewide commission to lead this discussion will be a sound first step."
Recognizing that California faces a potential shortfall of up to one million college-educated workers by 2025, the Blueprint calls for steps to focus rigorous school curriculum, materials, assessments, and accountability measures on problem-solving and critical thinking skills that are vital to college and career readiness.
"California's businesses need workers who can solve problems and get things done," Rattray said. "The Blueprint for Great Schools is designed to make sure success in a California classroom today means success in college and a career tomorrow."
Torlakson noted that the California Department of Education (CDE) already had begun work on several areas highlighted in the report, including an overhaul of the state's school accountability system and by taking a lead role in a consortium of states developing the next generation of student assessments aligned to the new Common Core State Standards.
The report also makes a wide range of recommendations to foster community partnerships and other efforts to provide students and their families with literacy, health, nutrition, and other services—before, during, and after school.
"Great teachers know you have to meet children where they are, so the Blueprint looks at the steps communities can take to meet the needs of the whole child, to give every student the best chance to succeed," Torlakson said.
Torlakson made A Blueprint for Great Schools public at a news conference at CDE headquarters in Sacramento, where he was joined by teachers, business leaders, superintendents, and representatives of community and education organizations.
He also posted the report on the CDE Web site at A Blueprint For Great Schools Report - A Blueprint For Great Schools and created a special e-mail address, blueprint@cde.ca.gov to encourage feedback and input.
The transition advisory team did not estimate the cost of carrying out the report's recommendations. Torlakson said that he would work with the Governor, the State Board of Education, and members of the state Legislature as well as staff at the CDE to set priorities about carrying them out over time.
"My top priority continues to be restoring California's investment in education, and the Blueprint makes it clear that while some ideas will cost little, or even save money, much of what we want to do will take resources," Torlakson said. "We also have to consider the cost of not providing a vision for education in this state, and that would place the future of California and its children at risk."
No taxpayer funds were used to create the report or support the team, whose work was funded by donations from the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, The California Endowment, the Stuart Foundation, and the James Irvine Foundation.
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Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100
Joel Klein’s take on the public education system, “The Failure of American Schools” (June), received more letters than any other article so far this year. Union leaders, teachers, parents, and students alike wrote in. Many attacked Klein; a few praised him; others offered their own theories about what’s plaguing U.S. education.
Joel Klein takes historical revisionism to an entirely new level. His relentless campaign to pin blame on the teachers union for failing to transform New York City schools during his tenure as chancellor is yet another attempt to avoid taking any responsibility. If he had worked with the city’s teachers instead of fighting with them, he would have been far more successful. Collaboration trumps
Image Source: Vermont by gothamschools, on Flickr
In the aftermath of the Save Our Schools March, we now need to face which direction and what actions we will be taking in the future. My advice to the organizers was that much of the action is happening locally, and while reformers have a “national” plan and message, we’re putting out fires and treating them like they are just in our kitchen. My thoughts were that for ongoing organizing, we need to think about how these local fights fit the big picture, and use that as we fight them locally. And, voila,
Washington, DC — On Wednesday, August 10, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) will release a new report, Mapping State Proficiency Standards Onto NAEP Scales: Variation and Change in State Standards for Reading and Mathematics 2005-2009. The report uses NAEP as a common yardstick to compare the rigor of state proficiency standards. The study will show the range of difference in state proficiency standards in reading and mathematics, whether states have changed the rigor of their standards between 2005, 2007, and 2009, and whether a state's assessment results are corroborated by NAEP. NCES is the statistical center of the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education.
Webcast: http://visualwebcaster.com/statemapping
Get Early Access to Results: The media can request embargoed access to materials. Please contact James Elias at (202) 706-7416 or jelias@hagersharp.com
Participate in Q&A. Embargo pre-call on study findings: Tuesday, August 9, at 1 p.m. EDT. Access must be requested. Please contact James Elias at (202) 706-7416 or jelias@hagersharp.com
The report is embargoed until 9:30 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 10. For additional information, please contact James Elias at jelias@hagersharp.com or (202) 706-7416.
The full text of the report will be available online August 10 at 9:30 a.m. EDT athttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/statemapping.asp.
