FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, June 29, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

Education Headlines

Friday, June 29, 2012

Rio approves budget, delays vote on fact-finding report

The Rio School District board approved a budget on Thursday that would result in a negative ending balance in 2013 while putting off a vote on a fact-finding report that calls for a pay cut across the district.

Ventura Unified puts parcel tax on November ballot

Voters in the Ventura Unified School District will be asked in November to back a parcel tax to maintain academic programs in the 29-school district.

Defeat of Calif. teacher bill shows union power

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa slammed it as "cynical political manipulation," Los Angeles schools Superintendent John Deasy termed it shameful, but for the California Teachers Association, it was a victory.

Pajaro Valley USD approves budget for 2012-13 school year

Leaders of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District on Wednesday passed a $173 million budget for next school year that they described as stable, preventing layoffs and program cuts.

Mill Valley's student bulge could push out Ring Mountain Day School

The Mill Valley School District's bulging enrollment is putting pressure on the district to look for ways to expand, and now that pressure is being felt by the private Ring Mountain Day School, which learned this week that it may have to begin looking for a new campus.

Chino Valley school district teachers agree to contract

The Chino Valley Unified District's teachers union have agreed to a contract that will reduce the school year by five-and-a-half days but bring back a number of teachers.

Transitional kindergarten left untouched

Public schools in California will begin providing transitional kindergarten in the fall, providing some of its youngest students the equivalent of two years of kindergarten.

SD school board ratifies plan to cancel layoffs

It’s official: San Diego Unified has canceled 1,481 teacher layoffs. Two days before the state deadline to adopt a final budget, the San Diego school board on Thursday ratified a labor pact that rescinds all layoffs issued to K-12 teachers in May.

Lake Elsinore school board approves 2012-13 budget

The Lake Elsinore Unified School District will have fewer school days and fewer buses on the roads in the 2012-13 school year under a budget approved Thursday, June 28.

LAUSD board approves $6.3B budget; after-school program saved

After scrounging up $6.7 million to preserve free after-school care, the Los Angeles Unified board on Thursday approved a $6.3 billion budget that shortens the 2012-13 school year, eliminates thousands of jobs and reshapes some of the district's most iconic programs.

Antioch school district funds four extra counselors in 2012-13 budget

With an eager eye toward what might happen in the November election, Antioch school trustees approved a budget this week that includes four additional counseling positions.

Oakland school board restores staffing cuts to special education, approves bond measure

In a dramatic reversal, the Oakland school board has voted to reverse staffing cuts and reorganizational changes planned for its special education programs.

Bill to expedite firing teachers is rejected

An Assembly panel votes down the measure to give school boards final authority to dismiss teachers accused of 'serious and egregious' conduct involving sex abuse, drugs or violence toward children.

For blacks and Latinos, few Calif. high schools offer path to college

California high schools that serve largely Latino or African American students are failing them as pathways to college, according to a new report by a statewide education policy, research and advocacy organization.

Fensterwald: Compromise on school fees bill

Advocates of a complaint process for parents and students who believe they’re being charged illegal fees have amended a bill to satisfy all of the main opponents, save the silent one who hasn’t been heard from yet. That’s Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed similar legislation last year.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Education roundup: McFarland school bond measure headed to voters

The McFarland Unified School District intends to place a general obligation bond for up to $25 million on the November ballot to build a new elementary school, upgrade and repair classrooms and buy computers, among other things.

More students graduating high school

More Ventura County students are graduating from high school, according to a report issued Wednesday by the California Department of Education. The county graduation rate also is higher than the state's.

Oxnard Union says it did not violate Brown Act, will reschedule scoping meeting on new school

The Oxnard Union High School District will not hold a public scoping meeting Thursday on the new Camarillo high school as intended. Instead, 

Compromise on school fees bill | Thoughts on Public Education

Compromise on school fees bill | Thoughts on Public Education:

Compromise on school fees bill

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Passage would end litigation by ACLU

Posted on 6/29/12 • Categorized as Uncategorized

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Advocates of a complaint process for parents and students who believe they’re being charged illegal fees have amended a bill to satisfy all of the main opponents, save the silent one who hasn’t been heard from yet. That’s Gov. Jerry Brown, who vetoed similar legislation last year.

On Wednesday, the Senate Education Committee approved AB 1575 without opposition, and changes that were made to the bill may smooth its way through the Senate and on to Brown’s desk. One factor could motivate him to sign it this year: Doing so would settle a lawsuit against the state that the state is likely to lose.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California is pushing the bill that 

Come join us at EdSource - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess

Today is my last day at TOP-Ed, which I founded nearly three years ago. On Monday, co-writer Kathy Baron and I will begin working at EdSource, where we will continue the reporting and analysis that many of you have told us that you value. We’ll also be bringing along our stable of op-ed contributors who [...]

Conservatives: Saving America's Youth From "Overeducation" | OurFuture.org

Conservatives: Saving America's Youth From "Overeducation" | OurFuture.org:

Conservatives: Saving America's Youth From "Overeducation"

by Terrance Heath

Now that our "do nothing" Congress is finally set to "do something" to stop interest on student loans from doubling, I think I’ve finally figured out what motivates conservatives on education in general, and conservative opposition to student loans in general. Conservatives are fighting to save our children - your children, my children, America’s children - from a fate worse than collective bargaining. Conservatives are fighting to save America’s youth from being "overeducated."
Say what? "Overeducated"? What does that even mean? I used to think it meant having more education than available jobs require; like the students graduating off a cliff, into a market where most of the jobs being created are low wage jobs, as jobs in the middle of the income and skill spectrum are hollowed by the recession. In other words, I used to think "overeducated" was the flip-side of "underemployed."
Then, Rush Limbaugh set me straight.
That’s right. The truth was revealed to me by Rush Limbaugh, when he followed up his attack on Sandra Fluke 

Hechinger Report | Can the burgeoning world of online teacher training improve public education?

Hechinger Report | Can the burgeoning world of online teacher training improve public education?:

Can the burgeoning world of online teacher training improve public education?

by Sarah Butrymowicz

Screen shot from class

Online teacher training involves much of the workload that traditional in-the-class instruction does: textbook lessons, classroom observations, student teaching. But the challenges of training successful teachers online were made clear to me during a recent online chat, when the professor in my “Foundations of Education” course slapped on heavy-duty headphones, peered into her computer screen and asked students what they liked or disliked about her internet course at National University.
We were supposed to speak up but no one could figure out how to use the microphones. After a flurry of typed responses and awkward silences, Professor Lorraine Leavitt, who has taught online courses at San Diego-based National for seven years, filled the dead air time with a discussion of how hard it can be to produce great teachers from an online course.
At least, I think she did. As she spoke, the echo in the chat system became so loud that I missed most of her 

I may be the only one who makes under a million bucks who had dinner with Rahm. « Fred Klonsky

I may be the only one who makes under a million bucks who had dinner with Rahm. « Fred Klonsky:

I may be the only one who makes under a million bucks who had dinner with Rahm.

by Fred Klonsky

Not long ago I posted a story about my dinner with Rahm.
This wasn’t a planned dinner. It was an accident. Anne and I were having dinner at our neighborhood fine dining establishment, the wonderful Lula, and up drove a big black SUV and out came Rahm with some friends who plopped themselves down at the table next to ours.
According to the latest column in the Chicago Reader by Ben Joravsky and Mick Dumke, this may have been the closest that Rahm got with a bunch of regular working stiffs in a long while.
Ben and Mick filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a list of those who The Mayor meets with.
It ain’t folks like me.

Last September, after submitting a FOIA request and badgering mayoral aides for 

Daily Kos: We need ACA but its not enough

Daily Kos: We need ACA but its not enough:

We need ACA but its not enough

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

The World Health Organization gives the U.S. health system an overall ranking of 37th in the world, far below other Western democracies. The CIA World Factbook — hardly the work of a bunch of left-leaning one-worlders — reports that life expectancy in the United States is not just lower than in other industrialized countries but also lower than in Jordan and Bosnia.Infant mortality in this country, according to the CIA, exceeds that of Slovenia and Cuba. It is possible to quibble with these figures but not to ignore them. We should be ashamed of ourselves.

That paragraph is from The Supreme Court helps heal the nation, Eugene Robinson's Washington Post column in response to the ACA decision yesterday.In an earlier paragraph, Robinson also makes a very important point:

Obama’s great achievement is not any one element of the health-care reform law — not even the now-upheld “individual mandate,” which compels individuals to have health insurance or pay a fine. The important thing is the law’s underlying assumption that every American, rich or poor, should have access to adequate health care.

I said that we need ACA -  it has started to move us in the right direction.  The underlying assumption that I have 

The 29th Edition Of The ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival Is Up! | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

The 29th Edition Of The ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival Is Up! | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

The 29th Edition Of The ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival Is Up!

by Larry Ferlazzo

Sharon Turner has just posted the 29th edition of the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival! As she writes:
The posts… represent future visions, perspectives and warnings of all kinds pertaining to English Language Education.
Thanks, Sharon!
David Deubelbeiss  will be hosting the September 1st edition. I’ll post here when he publishes info on if that edition will have a “theme” or if it will be a general one on ESL/EFL teaching and learning. In the meantime, though, if you have a contribution in mind, you can send the link to me.
Let me know if you might be interested in hosting future editions.
You can see all the previous editions of the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival here.

New Report Links Teacher Satisfaction to Supportive Work Environments | Education Trust

New Report Links Teacher Satisfaction to Supportive Work Environments | Education Trust:

New Report Links Teacher Satisfaction to Supportive Work Environments

In recent years, much attention has been paid to developing meaningful teacher evaluation systems as a strategy to improve public education, and rightly so. But while states and districts implement better ways to identify their strongest educators, too many are giving short shrift to the culture and work environments in schools, particularly in high-poverty and low-performing schools. In a new studyreleased today by The Education Trust, authors Sarah Almy, director of teacher quality, and Melissa Tooley, a teacher quality data and policy analyst, find the conditions for teaching and learning are critical to teacher satisfaction, especially in struggling schools.

"The Education Trust’s latest report validates what every teacher knows is necessary to strengthen public schools and the teaching profession,” says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. “Building a culture of collaboration and shared responsibility among teachers, principals, and administrators; focusing on continuous professional development for teachers; and ensuring teachers have the time, tools, and trust they need to improve teaching and learning are essential ingredients to building strong public schools and a quality teaching force.”

In Building and Sustaining Talent: Creating Conditions in High-Poverty Schools That Support Effective Teaching and Learning, the authors report that when it comes to teacher satisfaction at high-poverty, low-performing schools, the conditions for teaching and learning supersede all other factors, including student and salary 

New report on teachers: Culture more important than salary, student demographics

3:04 am June 29, 2012, by Maureen Downey

The Education Trust released a new report on keeping good teachers in the classroom. The findings — that culture and work conditions matter a lot — remind me of an interview I did years ago with University of Pennsylvania professor Richard Ingersoll, a national expert on teacher turnover and retention.

According to Ingersoll, 40 percent of new teachers nationwide bolt the profession within five years because of the terrible working conditions. To keep teachers, Georgia has to improve the teaching experience, he said.

Ingersoll said teacher turnover was worst at schools with high numbers of student discipline problems and where teachers have no input into how the school is run. “Teachers feel they ar

How GERM is infecting schools around the world - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

How GERM is infecting schools around the world - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post:

How GERM is infecting schools around the world

By Valerie Strauss

This was written by Pasi Sahlberg, author of “ Finnish Lessons: What Can the World Learn About Educational Change in Finland? and director general of Finland’s Center for International Mobility and Cooperation. He has served the Finnish government in various positions, worked for the World Bank in Washington D.C. and for the European Training Foundation in Italy as senior education specialist. Sahlberg has also advised governments internationally about education policies and reforms. He is also an adjunct professor of education at the University of Helsinki and University of Oulu. He can be reached at pasi.sahlberg@cimo.fi.

By Pasi Sahlberg

Ten years ago — against all odds — Finland was ranked as the world’s top education nation. It was strange because in Finland education is seen as a public good accessible to all free of charge without standardized testing or competitive private schools. When I look around the world, I see competition, choice, and measuring of students and 

Pearson Spends “Hundreds of Thousands” to Influence Florida Politicians | Scathing Purple Musings

Pearson Spends “Hundreds of Thousands” to Influence Florida Politicians | Scathing Purple Musings:

Pearson Spends “Hundreds of Thousands” to Influence Florida Politicians

by Bob Sikes

From WFTV and the work of investigative reporter George Spencer:

Despite scoring problems and student failures, the state is paying Pearson $249 million for five years of tests and grading. WFTV also found that Pearson spend hundreds of thousands to influence those same leaders.
“Public education is open for business. Whoever the best bidder is, you can come in and administer our test for us,” said parent Rebecca Newman. “It’s ridiculous!”
WFTV studied public records and discovered that since 2007, two years before getting its current 

National Association of Secondary Schools Principals Endorses Resolution on High Stakes Testing

by Bob Sikes

The nation’s leading association of high school principals joined the growing movement to end the way the nation’s policy-makers are imposing crippling high-stakes tests regimes on the nation’s schools. Diane Ravitch spoke to the group before a nearly unanimous vote of support the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing
Seventeen Florida school boards have adopted the measure with Hillsborough to make it 18 on July 17. The addition of the board which oversees Tampa schools is particularly noteworthy as it is where the much

Brevard School Board Joins Surge Opposing High-Stakes Tests

by Bob Sikes

Reports Florida Today’s Mackenzie Ryan:

Brevard School Board members Thursday called on state leaders to overhaul a school accountability system that they say over- emphasizes and over-uses the FCAT as a measure of student, teacher, school and district performance. “It’s important to be accountable for student performance, it’s important to have standards. But it’s wrong to have one indicator be the Holy Grail,” School Board Member Andy Ziegler said. “Everything lives and dies by it.”
Thursday’s unanimous vote to approve a Florida School Boards Association resolution marks a 

Edu-Implications of Yesterday's Supreme Court 7-2 Medicaid Ruling :: Frederick M. Hess

Edu-Implications of Yesterday's Supreme Court 7-2 Medicaid Ruling :: Frederick M. Hess:

Edu-Implications of Yesterday's Supreme Court 7-2 Medicaid Ruling

Yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld the bulk of President Obama's health care reform. Amidst the drama, it was easy to overlook SCOTUS's 7-2 ruling to strike down the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion. Yet, that ruling had some important implications for education. The Court limited Uncle Sam's ability to withhold aid from states which refuse to comply with new federal mandates. This has potentially big impacts on current and future education policymaking, on questions ranging from ESEA/NCLB to the Higher Education Act.

In Ed Week's "School Law" blog, Mark Walsh explained the issue succinctly:

On the Medicaid issue, the court effectively ruled 7-2 that the Medicaid expansion violates the U.S. Constitution by threatening the states with the loss of their existing Medicaid funding if they decline to comply with the expansion.

Congress put "a gun to the head" of the states to force them to add a much larger pool of the 

The insurance companies are happy. And so am I. I guess. « Fred Klonsky

The insurance companies are happy. And so am I. I guess. « Fred Klonsky:

The insurance companies are happy. And so am I. I guess.

by Fred Klonsky

In the summer of 2009, Anne and I drove to Wakarusa, Indiana to support Obama’s plan for health care with a public option.
Great. The Supreme Court decided people without health insurance shouldn’t die.
What a country.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad Obamacare got passed the crazies like Scalia, Alioto and Thomas on the Supreme Court. Millions of people are better off because of the decision. I don’t treat that lightly.
I’ve read a lot of articles in the last 24 hours that tried to explain the Roberts’ vote. I now know more about the

Missouri Education Watchdog: Is StudentsFirst Prompting Candidates?

Missouri Education Watchdog: Is StudentsFirst Prompting Candidates?:

Is StudentsFirst Prompting Candidates?

by Anngie

One of the hardest things to do is write a questionnaire that does not reveal the questioner's bias.  If you want to see thee worst example of such bias, look at any survey in a teen magazine.  The "right" answer is obvious. A really good researcher could produce a questionnaire where an argument could be made for any answer. But sometimes, the mere act of offering the questionnaire biases the taker. Is this the case with the latest nationwide candidate survey from StudentsFirst?

Their introductory e-mail makes this statement:

Every year education is one of the most critical issues that the legislature addresses. StudentsFirst is a bipartisan, grassroots movement of more than one million members nationwide working to transform America's schools so they work well for all kids. Our members are pushing for reforms that will elevate the teaching profession, improve teacher and principal quality, empower parents and improve the governance and financial strength of school districts.

First they tell the candidate why education is important and that it is going to be one of the biggest issues they will address while in the legislature. To date, only funding for education has been a big issue in the legislature. It 

MPS School Board President Michael Bonds Refutes Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s Fabrications « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

MPS School Board President Michael Bonds Refutes Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s Fabrications « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

MPS School Board President Michael Bonds Refutes Wisconsin Policy Research Institute’s Fabrications

by millerlf

A misleading picture of MPS liability

By Michael Bonds June 27, 2012, Milwaukee JS

The Christian Schneider column published Wednesday contains information that is, at best, flatly misleading.
Before he even gets to the main point of his argument – and there are critical problems there, too – Schneider falsely claims Milwaukee Public Schools “ignored Walker’s plan” when it “re-upped” employee contracts.

Texas GOP Opposes Critical Thinking, No Really, It’s in the Platform

by millerlf

Party platform paints original ideas as a liberal conspiracy

By Richard Whittaker, Wed. Jun. 27, Austin Chronicle

Who needs a frontal lobe anyway? Texas GOP platform opposes critical thinking.

It’s official: The Republican Party of Texas opposes critical thinking. That’s right, drones, and it’s part of their official platform.

One of our eagle-eyed readers emailed us to point out this unbelievable passage in the RPT 2012 platform, as adopted at their recent statewide conference.

“Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of 

IWF Alert: How Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget would impact Wisconsin

by millerlf

New IWF study shows loss of $3.3 billion in federal aid and 26,000 jobs in 2013-14

If Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s approach to budgeting became U.S. law, Wisconsin would lose about $3.3 billion in federal spending in the next two years, with a resulting loss of about 26,000 full-time jobs.

Medical assistance programs would suffer most under the Ryan budget, with $1.7 billion cut in 2013 and 2014 compared with current law. That’s enough to keep more than 400,000 adults off Wisconsin’s BadgerCare program.

Income security programs—including food stamps, child nutrition and housing assistance—would lose more 

The Educated Reporter: Public-Private Partnerships For School Improvement Efforts

The Educated Reporter: Public-Private Partnerships For School Improvement Efforts:

Public-Private Partnerships For School Improvement Efforts

by Emily Richmond

Turning good intentions into meaningful action is one of the toughest elements of trying to improve public education. How can school and community partners most effectively join forces to produce positive academic, physical, and social outcomes for those students who arrive with the fewest advantages?

These were some of the questions The After School Corporation (TASC) and the Partnership For Youth Development tackled earlier this month in a New Orleans forum. The audience included educators, community leaders and advocates from both the public and private sector. I moderated one discussion on how schools and community partners are finding ways to work together, instead of at cross-purposes, to help students learn. (You can visit TASC's Web site for more on the forum.)

One approach to school improvement that’s getting significant attention at the national level is expanded learning 

NYC Educator: Mayor4Life Must Be Kept Cool

NYC Educator: Mayor4Life Must Be Kept Cool:

Mayor4Life Must Be Kept Cool

by NYC Educator

While more than a million kids get swelter in hundred-year-old buildings and tin-coated trailers, New York City is investing in innovative ways to keep billionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg cool. Mayor4Life travels in SUVs, and they must be equipped withhome air conditioners, because regular auto AC simply does not meet his discerning standards.

Mayor4Life is a regular guy, of course, and wants to conserve energy.  That's why he takes the subway to work after two SUVs drive him there. I mean, you don't expect Mayor Bloomberg to simply take the subway near his home, do you? Don't most New Yorkers take two SUVs to the subway stop? For goodness sake, how else would you get there?

This is the mayor who made a no-bid deal with Alvarez and Marsal 

Spreading the word about United Opt-Out | The Classroom Sooth

Spreading the word about United Opt-Out | The Classroom Sooth:

Spreading the word about United Opt-Out

by classroomsooth

As I passed through Eaton, OH, I met Mary who runs a health foods store just outside of town.  She let me fill my water from her tap, and I got to chatting with her over a luna bar and sweet tea.  When she found out I was a teacher and headed to DC for NEA, she felt compelled to tell me how testing is just the worst thing in education right now.
I told her about the United Opt-Out campaign, and she was very excited to spread the word among her friends and family.  So I gave her a CORE button for her teacher friends, and a Parents4Teachers button for herself.
That’s all it takes to organize people.  See you in DC tomorrow.  And if you’re headed to Eaton, OH, please support Mary’s business.

We Need To End This Liberal Enabling of Bad Behavior in Our Schools www.southbronxschool.com

http://www.southbronxschool.com:

We Need To End This Liberal Enabling of Bad Behavior in Our Schools

by noreply@blogger.com (Bronx Teacher)

My son turned 11 years old today. Time sure does fly. Part of me wishes that he would have stayed 5 years old forever, the other half of me can't wait to see what kind of man he grows up to be.

I remember when my wife was pregnant we were discussing how we would be as parents. Basically it came down to that our household will not be a democracy, but rather a benign authoritative junta. What we say goes. Wait, before you think I am a crazy person, hear me out. Firstly, we pick and choose our battles. Not everything has to have a fly swatter used. We have done everything we could to teach him to question, think, and have the right amount 

Hebrew Language Charter Schools: Who Knew? | Re:education in Baltimore

Hebrew Language Charter Schools: Who Knew? | Re:education in Baltimore:

Hebrew Language Charter Schools: Who Knew?

by Edit Barry

The language spread of Hebrew in the United States according to U. S. Census 2000 and other resources interpreted by research of U. S. ENGLISH Foundation, percentage of home speakers, via Wikimedia Commons

A Hebrew language charter school won approval last week to open in Harlem. In April, Washington, D.C., approved its first Hebrew language charter school. In March, San Diego approved one for a September 2012 opening. There is a Hebrew language charter school movement afoot. When I wrote my last post, on teaching 

Rick Ayers: It's the Curriculum, Stupid!

Rick Ayers: It's the Curriculum, Stupid!:

It's the Curriculum, Stupid!

While many educators believe the development of a just, multicultural society is central to our values, very powerful forces have been fighting against such a vision for decades.

Here's the kind of thinking that drives the education standards writers: "The costs of multiculturalism -- in terms of disunity, the clash of classes, and declining trust -- are likely to be huge in the long run. All cultures are not equal when it comes to promoting progress, and very few can match Anglo-Protestantism in this respect. We should be promoting acculturation to the national mainstream, not a mythical, utopian multiculturalism." (Emphasis added.) That is Lawrence Harrison of the Cultural Change Institute at Tufts University, who openly opposes diversity in our global culture. WASP is the best, he believes, and we must all bow down to it. This attack on multicultural curriculum comes also from Matthew Spalding in Insider, Heritage Foundation magazine. He