Thursday, December 1, 2011

Teachers, the other 1%: While we lavishly pay our CEO’s, our educators barely get by - NY Daily News

Teachers, the other 1%: While we lavishly pay our CEO’s, our educators barely get by - NY Daily News:

Teachers, the other 1%: While we lavishly pay our CEO’s, our educators barely get by

Does a corporate chief deserve to make in a day what our educators make in a year?

BY JOHN MERROW
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Originally Published: Wednesday, November 30 2011, 4:36 AM

Christie M. Farriella for the Daily News

It’s time to honor those who teach.

I’d like to begin by thanking my teachers in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades, Mrs. Pulaski, Mr. Burke and Miss Elmer. They taught us percentages and showed us how to “round down,” which I am doing now. The U.S. population is 312,624,000, and we have 3,198,000 public school teachers, which computes to 1%.

But this is not the 1% composed of Wall Street fat cats, professional athletes, entertainers and other rich people. I guarantee there’s no overlap between the two groups. The average teacher today earns about $55,000. At least 75 CEOs earn that much in one day, every day, 365 days a year. According to the AFL-CIO’s “Executive

The teacher quiz, and the ‘other one percent’

from Taking Note by John Merrow by John Merrow

John Merrow opines on who "the one percent" really should be construed as -- plus, a video quiz on how much you really know about the American teaching profession.

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Curriculum & Instruction Meeting Review

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Curriculum & Instruction Meeting Review:

Curriculum & Instruction Meeting Review

by Melissa Westbrook

I attended the C&I meeting on Monday. There were some interesting discussions. Sadly, I missed the one on innovation schools as I misheard and thought it was struck from the agenda. Turns out it was moved to the end of the agenda and there is an MOU between the SEA and SPS that I will write a separate thread on at a later time.

Highlights:

Skills Center - I was glad to see this has not gone away. As you may recall, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson was trying to create a Skills Center for CTE (career and technical education) and there was some sort of funding from the state that was being sought.

There will be four programs next fall according to Shep Siegel, SPS CTE head. (He did not hand out materials

NYC Public School Parents: Brooklyn parents, teachers & community members speak out: we don't want your charter school!

NYC Public School Parents: Brooklyn parents, teachers & community members speak out: we don't want your charter school!:

Brooklyn parents, teachers & community members speak out: we don't want your charter school!

by Leonie Haimson

Thanks to Darren Marelli, here are highlights from the hearing that occurred on Tuesday about the controversial proposal to co-locate another branch of the Success Academy charter chain in Cobble Hill, District 15, in Brooklyn.

Passionate and articulate parents, teachers, elected officials, students and community members spoke out against this damaging, deceptive and most probably illegal proposal, and pointed out how the co-location will likely wreck the schools that now inhabit the building, one of which is in transformation, by overcrowding them,

Turmoil Seems to be Chief Product of Education "Reform" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Turmoil Seems to be Chief Product of Education "Reform" - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Turmoil Seems to be Chief Product of Education "Reform"

by Anthony Cody

When something keeps on appearing as a byproduct of an activity, eventually you might begin to wonder if perhaps the byproduct is actually the objective.

The one result that education reform efforts seem to have in common is turmoil in our schools, especially those where there is high poverty. Let's take a look at the strategies being employed, and what they are yielding:

Charter schools: From Chicago comes fresh news that once again, poverty usually trumps a longer school day and the capacity to hire and fire teachers at will.

Charters with the highest numbers of students from low-income families or those with recognized learning disabilities almost universally scored the lowest last year on state exams, a trend common throughout CPS.

"In general for charters that have been around for more than five years and not performing, we're

Eduflack: Applauding Public School Successes and Progress

Eduflack: Applauding Public School Successes and Progress:

Applauding Public School Successes and Progress

from Eduflack by Eduflack

In education reform, it is often easy to focus on the negative. A third of all kids are not reading proficient in third grade. No coincidence, the high school dropout rate is also about a third. We have stagnant test scores, even as state standards were reduced. We are slipping in international comparisons. And even the U.S. Secretary of Education says four in five public schools in our nation are likely not making adequate yearly progress.

But today I am here to praise some of our public schools, not bury them. In schools across the nation, educators are recognizing there are serious problems and there are real, productive solutions for addressing those problems. And in those schools and those communities that are fortunate enough to have superintendents, principals, teachers, and other educators enacting those solutions, the kids are reaping the benefits.

Today's case in point is up in the Nutmeg State. Yes, Connecticut has the largest achievement gaps in the

Some school districts could go bankrupt, state superintendent says in Camarillo visit » Ventura County Star

Some school districts could go bankrupt, state superintendent says in Camarillo visit » Ventura County Star:

Some school districts could go bankrupt, state superintendent says in Camarillo visit

By Tony Biasotti Special to The Star
Posted November 30, 2011 at 11:02 a.m., updated November 30, 2011 at 4:18 p.m.

Some school districts could go bankrupt and be taken over by the state because of budget cuts expected to take effect in January, California's top public-school official told educators Tuesday in Camarillo.

"A majority of the districts in the state have prepared for a $300-per-student midyear cut, but some have not," said Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction. "I think we'll see several districts go bankrupt. I think we'll see the state taking over several districts as a consequence."

He was the keynote speaker at a Ventura County Office of Education forum at the agency's Camarillo headquarters. About 300 attended, most of them school

Chris Reed: Gov. Jerry Brown's suspicion of school reform leaves us in limbo - LA Daily News

Chris Reed: Gov. Jerry Brown's suspicion of school reform leaves us in limbo - LA Daily News:

Chris Reed: Gov. Jerry Brown's suspicion of school reform leaves us in limbo

By Chris Reed

Posted: 11/30/2011 09:00:00 PM PST

After witnessing the stunning ease with which Jerry Brown returned to the Governor's Office last year, Sacramento insiders couldn't help but be impressed. After his waltz back to power, these journalists, politicians and lobbyists resurrected the image of Brown as a masterful Zen triangulator, playing political chess while others struggled with checkers.

This presumption yields odd conversations in which insiders contemplate what the governor has publicly proposed and touted in speeches and appearances -- and then speculate on what it is that Brown actually wants.

For one example, I talked with a Democratic official who dismisses Brown's seemingly firm support for the high-speed rail boondoggle as posturing to please the Obama administration, which is desperate to have construction begin in California next year to help the president's re-election bid.

For another example, I know a Republican lawmaker who believes Brown secretly supports "paycheck

School Privatization Conflicts, Apparent or Otherwise - Gapers Block Mechanics | Chicago

School Privatization Conflicts, Apparent or Otherwise - Gapers Block Mechanics | Chicago:

School Privatization Conflicts, Apparent or Otherwise

By Ramsin Canon

A little friction met the Emanuel administration's to-date smoothly-rolling program of partially privatizing the school system this week. First, a report in the Tribuneindicated that charter schools, which are privately run schools operated on tax money, do not perform any better than public schools on average and in many cases are considerably worse. Particularly troubling for privatization advocates--who are found in both political parties and in a wide swath of the political spectrum--was the suggestion that it is in fact poverty that drags down those charters performing worse. This fact is often brought up by privatization opponents and downplayed by its champions as mere excuse making. From the Tribune report:

More than two dozen schools in some of the city's most prominent and largest charter networks, including the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO), Chicago International Charter Schools, University of Chicago and LEARN, scored well short o

A Teacher Starts a Movement — The Story from APM

A Teacher Starts a Movement — The Story from APM:

A Teacher Starts A Movement

Monday, November 28 2011

A TEACHER STARTS A MOVEMENT

When Daniela Robles was told by educational consultants that she had to follow a "script" in class, she decided to bolster her own education to fight these rigid rules. She studied to get her National Board Certification, a standard that fewer than 3 percent of public school teachers have. She encouraged other teachers to do the same so that they too have a voice in teaching.

Learn more about National Board certification for teachers
View a trailer of the film "Mitchell 20"

Groundbreaking LAUSD school-by-school reforms unveiled - LA Daily News

Groundbreaking LAUSD school-by-school reforms unveiled - LA Daily News:

Groundbreaking LAUSD school-by-school reforms unveiled

By Barbara Jones, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 11/29/2011 09:55:44 PM PST

Updated: 11/30/2011 11:53:29 AM PST

UTLA Press Release on Agreement with LAUSD, 11/29/11

Launching a revolutionary effort to improve student achievement, the leaders of Los Angeles Unified and its 40,000-member teachers union announced Tuesday they've reached a tentative agreement designed to overhaul underperforming schools and increase accountability by empowering individual campuses to create their own road maps for success.

Less than an hour after hammering out the final provisions, Superintendent John Deasy and teachers' union President Warren Fletcher presented the school board with the Local School Stability and Empowerment Initiative.

Beginning with the district's most troubled schools - but available to each and every campus - teams of educators and parents will design their own three-year "transformation" plans, with the promise of district and union resources to help them reach the goals.

Deasy and school board members called the initiative unprecedented - not only because of its broad scope and innovative process, but also because it opens the door to collaborating with the district's labor unions.

"This is groundbreaking," Deasy said, adding that he didn't think there's another program like it anywhere in the

Remembering Claudette Colvin « Student Activism

Remembering Claudette Colvin « Student Activism:

Remembering Claudette Colvin

by Angus Johnston

Today is the fifty-sixth anniversary of the day that Rosa Parks was asked to move to the back of a Montgomery, Alabama city bus, and refused, sparking a movement that would change America.

But Claudette Colvin is worth remembering too.

In the spring of 1955, Claudette Colvin was a junior at Booker T. Washington High School in Montgomery. On March 2 of that year, on her way home from school, she was told to move to the back of the bus to allow a white person to take her seat.

Like Rosa Parks nine months later, she refused. Like Rosa Parks nine months later, she was arrested.

So why do we know Parks’ name and not Colvin’s?

Because where Parks was a 42-year-old civil rights activist, Colvin was a 15-year-old schoolkid.

Teachers For Social Justice: December Calendar: Fight CPS' School Closings!

Teachers For Social Justice: December Calendar: Fight CPS' School Closings!:

December Calendar: Fight CPS' School Closings!

by sarah atlas

Dec 3, Saturday, 10 AM- 2PM

School Closings Teach-in. Sponsored by the "CTU Community Board" (which TSJ is part of)
King HS, 4445 S. Drexell Blvd

Dec 4, Sunday, 1 - 3 PM

TSJ December Monthly Meeting
Sum-up Curriculum Fair
Organize against CPS School Closings
Launch ItAGs

Dec 13, Tuesday, 6 PM

Vigil to protest CPS School Closings, CPS Headquarters, 125 S. Clark St., 6 PM

Dec 14, Wednesday, 6 AM—Get on line to get in!

CPS Board Meeting, 125 S. Clark Street (officially starts at 10:30AM).

For more info, email teachersforjustice@hotmail.org

The Comparability Distraction & the Real Funding Equity Issue « School Finance 101

The Comparability Distraction & the Real Funding Equity Issue « School Finance 101:

The Comparability Distraction & the Real Funding Equity Issue

Posted on December 1, 2011

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Yesterday, the US Department of Education released a new report addressing how districts qualified for Title I funds (higher poverty districts) often allocate resources across their schools inequitably, arguing that requirements for receiving Title I funds should be strengthened.

The report is here: http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/title-i/school-level-expenditures/school-level-expenditures.pdf

It is certainly problematic that many public school districts have far from predictable, far from

My favorite adversary, Diane Ravitch - Class Struggle - The Washington Post

My favorite adversary, Diane Ravitch - Class Struggle - The Washington Post:

My favorite adversary, Diane Ravitch

By Jay Mathews

The national debate over how to fix our schools descends too often into well-phrased but acidic name-calling, like you hear at college department meetings. That may be why the prime subject of, as well as frequent participant in, the latest education policy spats is America’s most prominent educational historian, Diane Ravitch, a veteran of Columbia and New York universities.

I like Ravitch. She favored me years ago with her personal e-mail address and has helped with many stories and columns. She has long been one of the clearest and most interesting education writers. I envy her energy and productivity at age 73.

This puts me at odds with her many detractors, often people who like me support more charter schools, test accountability, changes in the recruitment, training and compensation of teachers and alterations in

BBC News - US private education firm approved for free schools

US private education firm approved for free schools

By Sean CoughlanBBC News education correspondent

Kings House, site of the new free school

The first wave of free schools opened this autumn - with plans for more to follow

A US private education firm's UK arm has been officially approved to sell services to groups setting up free schools and academies in England.

Edison Learning, a for-profit education business, has been given approved status by the Department for Education.

It will be part of a group of approved suppliers which can provide education, contractual and legal services in setting up free schools and academies.

The firm says it wants to support schools' "ambitions and aspirations".

In the United States, Edison Learning is a major for-profit education

More pay issues at California state universities | Davis Enterprise #ows

More pay issues at California state universities | Davis Enterprise:

More pay issues at California state universities

by San Francisco Chronicle

Fearing violence, California State University trustees will cancel next week’s vote on salaries for campus presidents, they said Wednesday — the same day a state senator criticized the University of California regents for handing out state-funded raises of up to 22 percent to some of UC’s best-paid executives.

“Time and time again, rather than protecting the needs of students and California families, the regents and trustees line the pockets of their top executives,” Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, said Wednesday after learning that the pay raises were among the actions taken by the regents in a Monday teleconference protested by students on campuses around the state.

Yee’s assessment echoed that of thousands of student protesters who have joined the Occupy movement in

What Happened to My Grade Book?: The Problem with Products

What Happened to My Grade Book?: The Problem with Products:

The Problem with Products

by Della Palacios

We have productized everything! Products are of great value to Americans. Things. Stuff. More. Jones'. We like our stuff. I'm not excluding myself here either. But, when I sit back and evaluate what is going on in public schools and education reform to create solutions, I keep coming back to products. Products are a problem.

The conversation regarding key elements in education reform is getting somewhere. I am thrilled. Earlier today, I watched today this video, Eric Ries: How The U.S. Education System Is Failing Students . This is following my reading of this article a few months ago. Steve Denning's Forbes article The Single Best Idea for Reforming K-12 Education. Before this, Jamie Vollmer told his ah-ha moment Blueberry Story to a captive audience when I was teaching, probably around 2002. Yes, it's taken me about 10 years to get it, but I think I finally get it. And thank

Co-operatives: An Alternative Model We Can Get Behind « Small Farmers. Big Change #coop #ows

Co-operatives: An Alternative Model We Can Get Behind « Small Farmers. Big Change.:

Cooperatives: An Alternative Model We Can Get Behind

by Phyllis Robinson

With January just around the corner, how many of you were aware that the United Nations has designated 2012 as the International Year of the Co-operative?

At Equal Exchange, we’ve been shouting the merits of co-operatives ever since we were founded. As a 100% Fair Trade organization, buying all of our products from democratically-run cooperatives and associations of small farmers, doesn’t it make sense that we would extend our firm belief in the cooperative’s form of ownership and governance to our own workplace? In today’s world of expanded corporate power and the ensuing results that are causing so much economic disparity and injustice, isn’t it well-beyond time to actively promote cooperatives as a viable alternative economic model?

Check out this really fun 2-minute video explaining the co-op difference produced by a member of the National Coop Business Association (NCBA), CCA Global Partners. Thanks to Becca Koganer at Equal Exchange and Melanie Madden of the Davis Food Co-op for sharing it with us!

Getting From Here to There - Bridging Differences - Education Week

Getting From Here to There - Bridging Differences - Education Week:

Getting From Here to There

by Deborah Meier

Dear Diane,

The hope that there is a fast route to solving big problems is alluring. And, it might even be true if only I were smart enough. But it's unlikely. I spent many years of my happy youth believing in The Revolution—and I was of that faction that even believed that it would lead, pretty rapidly, to a full and richly satisfying liberation of human potential. But as you noted on Tuesday, Diane, it's the Rich who are now making a revolution—and quite a radical one. And doing it pretty fast! Properly speaking, it's a counter-revolution to a whole host of hard-won minor ones over the past 150 years. I think they're going after child labor laws as well. Yes, it's scary.

When political friends occasionally chided me for spending so much energy on education—which can hardly be a fast solution to anything—I agreed. I was a school teacher not on behalf of any "cause," but because I loved doing it; it was always fascinating. I enjoy crossword puzzles and appreciate the fact that each has a solution.

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