FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Tuesday, July 16, 2013

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Next Generation Science Standards Proposed - Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

Education Headlines

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Recall decision looms over Coachella Valley school board

The Riverside County registrar’s office has until Thursday to decide if an effort to recall the Coachella Valley Unified school board will finally move forward.

Tustin schools offer healthier lunches, more vegetarian choices for fall

Come fall, Tustin Unified School District will serve healthier, less processed options for lunch, including more vegetarian entrees and no peanut or nut items.

Tustin police increase, improve lockdown trainings for district teachers

The Tustin Police Department and Tustin Unified School District plan to increase and update lockdown training for school personnel and shore up building security. The changes are in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., that killed 26 people in December.

Study: Low-income kids throughout California are missing out on federally funded lunch program

School is out for summer and consequently many children from low-income families in Marin are missing out on the free and reduced-price lunches they receive during the academic year, according to a report by California Food Policy Advocates.

OMG! Survey, like, says digital-savvy students are good at writing!

Despite popular perceptions that digital technologies are ruining writing skills, a Pew survey of teachers finds some advantages.

Oakland: Summer bridge program gives the youngsters a jump on school

A shortage of publicly funded preschool spots means that not every eligible California child will attend a state preschool or Head Start program before enrolling in kindergarten. And the high cost of private preschool can be a barrier for many middle-class families. The summer bridge programs are often the only option for some.

El Cerrito landmark eyed for new charter school

Silicon Valley-based charter school operators who are petitioning the West Contra Costa schools for approval of a charter are simultaneously negotiating to lease an iconic El Cerrito landmark to house the new school.

Riley: California should embrace new national teacher preparation standards

Are we finally about to get serious about improving the professional training of school teachers and principals in this country? And will California be a leader or laggard in this effort?

Fensterwald: CORE districts to make final personal pitch for No Child Left Behind waiver

Quickly running out of time, a delegation from nine California school districts will go to Washington this week to make a last pitch to federal officials for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law.

La Jolla ASB funds found missing

A former La Jolla High clerk is under investigation after auditors determined she removed more than $25,000 from student activity funds and used accounting tricks to cover up, San Diego Unified School District officials said.

Small schools anticipate funding cuts

As the Legislature prepares to pass Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget, educators in five of Siskiyou County’s small schools are anticipating a significant loss of funding, and the fate of these institutions remains unknown.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Mom-and-pop operation

During a workshop last week to hone the skills of parent leaders in Stockton Unified, participants were asked to introduce themselves to their counterparts and to engage them in a series of one-on-one conversations.

Local schools eye more money in budgets

California's school financing system has been overhauled for the first time in 40 years, forcing Mother Lode districts to revise their budgets but promising to fill gaps left by the recession.

Greenfield's outgoing superintendent made a big impact on schools

With his blond hair and football-player swagger, it's difficult to see that Greenfield Union Superintendent Trevor McDonald has anything in common with the students in his mostly Latino school district. But as the only child of a single mother, McDonald said he did not grow up much differently than many of the students, who come from low-income families. 

Jersey Jazzman: Why Reverend Jackson REALLY Endorsed Chris Christie

Jersey Jazzman: Why Reverend Jackson REALLY Endorsed Chris Christie:

Why Reverend Jackson REALLY Endorsed Chris Christie

Remember when Chris Christie said he didn't know Amir Khan, and Khan was sitting right behind him?! Good times...

 No, not that Reverend Jackson; this is Reginald T. Jackson, leader of the Black Ministers Council, a group of clergy and would-be power brokers in New Jersey. Last week, Jackson made a big show of throwing his support behind Chris Christie in the gubernatorial race - and he gave only one reason why:  

Gov. Chris Christie's strong support of school vouchers today earned him the endorsement of Bishop Reginald Jackson, one of New Jersey's most influential black ministers.

Jackson, the executive director of the New Jersey Black Ministers Council and a Newark community leader, described himself as a Democrat and noted that he endorsed Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in 2009 when Christie first ran.

But Jackson today said state Democratic lawmakers have disappointed him by refusing to pass the Opportunity Scholarship Act, a bill that would give children in low-performing urban schools a publicly funded scholarship to

- See more at: http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-reverend-jackson-really-endorsed.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JerseyJazzman+%28Jersey+Jazzman%29#sthash.lRKGR6nA.dpuf

Daily Kos: 40 Years ago, the beginning of the end for Nixon

Daily Kos: 40 Years ago, the beginning of the end for Nixon:

40 Years ago, the beginning of the end for Nixon

byteacherkenFollow

 
 
• 2 Comments / 2 New

July 16, 1973.

It was afternoon, during the hearings of the Senate Watergate Committee.

Suddenly there was a not previously scheduled witness brought forth.

He was, surprisingly, questioned by Minority Counsel Fred Thompson.

His name was Alexander Butterfield.

He was at that moment, administrator of the FAA.

He had previously been an assistant to White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman, with knowledge of the communications systems in the White House.

And then we heard this:

That was the beginning of the end for Nixon.

Both the Senate and the Special Prosecutor wanted the tapes.

Injunction hearing begins today for federal lawsuits filed by Chicago parents seeking to halt school closings Chicago Teachers Union | www.ctunet.com

Chicago Teachers Union | www.ctunet.com:

Injunction hearing begins today for federal lawsuits filed by Chicago parents seeking to halt school closings

Suit charges Chicago Public Schools, Board of Education and CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett

with racial, disabilities violations

CHICAGO—A four-day injunction hearing begins Tuesday morning for two class action lawsuits filed against CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and the Chicago Board of Education by parents of CPS students. The suits charge the Board and Byrd-Bennett with race discrimination and endangering the lives and development of students—in particular, students living with disabilities. Parents seek an injunction against all proposed school closings by CPS for violations of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Illinois Civil Rights Act (ICRA).

The first suit charges the Board and Byrd-Bennett with violating Title II of the ADA in their proposal to close 50 elementary schools. Parents fear that by holding off the closing decisions to the eleventh hour and rushing children into new and unfamiliar schools without adequate counseling and support services, the Board will inflict harm and present severe obstacles to growth for the in excess of 5,000 children in CPS special education programs in the affected schools. They are asking the federal court for an injunction to delay school closings for a period of one year.

The second suit charges the Board and Byrd-Bennett with violations of Title II of the ADA for their proposal to close “so-called ‘under-utilized’ schools and needlessly uproot, transfer, and destabilize plaintiffs and thousands of other children in special education who will suffer academic and emotional setbacks as a result,” and adds a claim of racial discrimination in violation of Section 5 of the ICRA as parents seek to block the Board from continuing to select African-American children in school closings.

“By uprooting children with disabilities, CPS will severely inhibit their growth and set them back two years in their development,” said CTU Financial Secretary Kristine Mayle, a former special education teacher who will testify at the hearing. “They also lose the support of the clinicians in these closed schools—the people who have been like family to them for much of their lives.”

WHO:                   Chicago Public Schools parents 

WHAT:                 Injunction hearing to stop school closings                

WHEN:                 Starts at 10 a.m., Tuesday, July 16 through Friday, July 19, 2013                  

WHERE:               Dirksen Federal Building, 219 S. Dearborn, Courtroom 1225

The litigation is being handled by Despres, Schwartz and Geoghegan, Ltd., Robin Potter & Associates, P.C., and the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic of the University of Chicago.

###

 The Chicago Teachers Union represents 30,000 teachers and educational support personnel working in the Chicago Public Schools, and by extension, the more than 400,000 students and families they serve.  The CTU is an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the Illinois Federation of Teachers and is the third largest teachers local in the United States and the largest local union in Illinois.  For more information please visit CTU’s website at www.ctunet.com.

Council for Economic Education Introduces Common Core Resource for Teachers, Correlating New National Standards with Financial Literacy Lessons

CEE: Leading Organization for Economics and Financial Education:

 Council for Economic Education Introduces Common Core Resource for Teachers, Correlating New National Standards with Financial Literacy Lessons

CEE’s New Resource Helps Educators Teach Financial Literacy and Meet Common Core State Standards

NEW YORK, NY JULY 16, 2013 – This month, the Council for Economic Education (CEE) introduces a Common Core Alignment Tool, an invaluable resource to help educators meet the Common Core State Standards while teaching financial and economic literacy. Over 400 CEE lessons, designed for K-12 students at varying grades and competency levels, have been aligned with these Standards, giving teachers access to a content-rich pool of classroom resources.  This easy-to-use online tool will be a helpful resource to teachers as they incorporate the Common Core into their lesson planning for the first time.

The mission of the Common Core State Standards is to “provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.”  They are “designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers,” positioning them “to compete successfully in the global economy.” Currently 45 states have adopted the Common Core, which establish a clear set of expectations in math and English Language Arts (ELA) for K-12 students.  CEE’s interdisciplinary lessons offer educators a way to address these expectations and do so through the lens of personal finance and economics. 

CEE’s Financial Fitness for Life curriculum, free online resource EconEdLink, and lessons like Teaching Economics Using Children’s Literature, use simulations, games and discussions to give students an applied, hands-on experience.  With CEE’s new online alignment tool, these financial literacy lessons are easy to search and connect to corresponding Standards.  Clicking on a resource reveals a dropdown of the lessons they contain, and the Common Core Standards they meet (math or ELA).  Another click, on the lesson, reveals further details on the content and the Standards it correlates to.   Teachers can also do a reverse look-up, by searching through the Standards themselves to click on corresponding publications and lessons that will help them meet that Standard.

“We’re excited to introduce this resource to teachers across the country, as they begin prepping for the new school year,” said Nan J. Morrison, CEO and President, CEE.  “The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a significant factor in education today, and CEE’s lessons offer a fresh, dynamic way to teach personal finance and economic education while incorporating the competencies in the Common Core.  Our new alignment tool will make it easier for teachers to find resources to help them teach these important skill sets.”

The Common Core State Standards alignment tool is available for free on the CEE website, http://www.councilforeconed.org/resource/common-core-state-standards-standards/.

About the Council for Economic Education

The Council for Economic Education is the leading organization in the United States that focuses on the economic and financial education of students from kindergarten through high school. CEE trains educators to teach young people the fourth “R”—a real-world understanding of economics and personal finance—so that they will be able to make informed and responsible choices throughout their lives as consumers, savers, investors, citizens and participants in the global economy. Each year CEE’s programs reach more than 55,000 teachers and approximately 5 million students.

For more information visit www.councilforeconed.org.

Like CEE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/councilforeconed.

Follow CEE on Twitter at www.twitter.com/council4econed.

NYC Educator: Because Destroying K-12 Is Not Enough

NYC Educator: Because Destroying K-12 Is Not Enough:

Because Destroying K-12 Is Not Enough

Bill Gates, the world's richest man, has appointed himself our national education expert. It's pretty clear he's got the ear of Arne Duncan, who gleefully repeats whatever Gates says. If Gates says we need higher class sizes, so does Arne. If Gates says release junk science scores of individual teachers, Arne wholeheartedly concurs. If Gates says don't release them, Arne's on board with that too.

This begs the question, has anyone ever seen Arne Duncan speak while Bill Gates drinks a glass of water?

This notwithstanding, Bill Gates has determined, after having been responsible for closing scores of schools, after having decimated neighborhoods, after having privatized public schools, after having seriously cut into the power of teachers, the last bastion of vibrant unionism in these United States, that he needs to branch out. It's not enough to degrade and codify K-12 in ways his limited intellect can process. Apparently, we need to do the same in college.

Gates looks at the figures, which are all that matters. There aren't enough college graduates, determines Gates, and we 

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.:

Mark Stefanik: Don’t drink the kool-aid about our COLA.

From Mark Stefanik: We’re all in this together. I welcome Anonymous on COLA to your blog, Fred, because the word needs to get out. COLA is not a raise.  To equivocate the two renders a fallacious argument. A raise is an increase in your wages or salary, reflecting an employer’s valuation of your worth.  It is a reward; it is an incentive; it ‘raises’ your purchase power. Work better and live bett

by Fred Klonsky / 2min 

NEA’s Van Roekel urges DOJ action on Trayvon’s murder.

  A message to activists from NEA President Dennis Van Roekel. TAKE ACTION Sign the NAACP petition to the Department of Justice.CLICK HERE › Trayvon Martin was a teenage boy with a full life ahead of him. Our job as educators is to nurture our students, to give them a sense of safety and normalcy, to provide a foundation of knowledge and never-ending inspiration to each and every child. We te

by Fred Klonsky / 21min

We who believe in freedom cannot rest.

by Fred Klonsky / 14min

We’re retired. Not dead. Bob Lyons responds.

Bob Lyons is a retired teacher an member of the Illinois Teacher Retirement System (TRS) board of trustees. Yesterday a reader questioned the defined benefit retirement system with, among other arguments, the claim that old people don’t spend as much as active working people. Lyons responds. Both the government and several universities did studies to determine the CPI differences between the elde

by Fred Klonsky / 5min

7-15-13 Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.

Fred Klonsky | Daily posts from a retired public school teacher who is just looking at the data.: Illinois just deputized 300,000 George Zimmermans.  I never get used to this stuff. I’m not surprised by it. I’ve seen too much. I know too many people. Marched too often. Or maybe not enough. Too many funerals. The last couple of years I have written mainly about teaching, unions and pensions.   I ge

by mike simpson / 8h 

No Need to Teach Black History & Cutlure in a "Common Core" World - Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: No Need to Teach Black History & Cutlure in a "Common Core" World

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública: No Need to Teach Black History & Cutlure in a "Common Core" World:

No Need to Teach Black History & Cutlure in a "Common Core" World

OUTRAGEOUS!!
Protests Sparked in Detroit Over the Dumping of Black History Books

Zach Schonfeld
Jul 9, 2013- theatlanticwire.com
NOTE: This is one result of "Race to the Top/Common Core State Standards/Hi Stakes Testing" Policies: Furthering the Eurocentric Curriculum of Exclusion and Erasing Black History and Culture for All of children.

A Detroit area school district has erupted in protest over the discarding of a historic book collection that is said to contain more than 10,000 black history volumes, included films, videos, and other artifacts. The blame, according to residents of Highland Park, a small city surrounded on nearly all sides by Detroit, belongs to Emergency Manager Donald Weatherspoon, who claims the collection was thrown out by mistake but that the district cannot afford to preserve it. Yesterday, angry residents held a public protest, blocking traffic, wielding megaphones, and displaying picket signs with slogans like "21st Century Hitler Burning Books" and "Dump The EM, Not The Books"—referring to the state-appointed emergency manager.

Among the picketers was Deblon Jackson, a Detroit-area musician.

"The emergency manager had been in the district for over a year and then they decided to throw away all the black artifacts—books that were no longer in print or published, all kinds of tapes and catalogues," Jackson explained to The Atlantic Wire. "We want to preserve those artifacts so our children have something to look 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: TFA in trouble as internal revolt brewing

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: TFA in trouble as internal revolt brewing:

TFA in trouble as internal revolt brewing

Teach For America (TFA) which has been used as a wedge against higher paid, veteran teachers in mainly  urban district for years, is now feeling the layoff pinch themselves, according to NBC News Philly..

According to [Isha] Lee, during the 2012 school year, TFAGP had 115 total teachers in Philadelphia. That's down nearly 46 percent compared to a corps size of 252 in school year 2011. And in 2012, only 20 of the 115 corps members were in placed SDP schools; the rest were placed in charter schools. When the district laid off 676 of its teachers last month, all but two of the 20 TFAGP corps members in SDP were included in that number.

TFA claims some growth in Mississippi, according to a report in the Clarion-Ledger.

 Despite large or long-term TFA presences, overall results are still poor in many districts, including Hazlehurst, Holmes County and Greenville. Nationally, some research shows that Teach for America’s members do at least as well as other 

7-16-13 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Weiner owes bump in the polls to black voters, Spitzer Soars Over Stringer, Does Lhota Have a Chance? Moskowitz in Future

I'm ordering pins for the UFT leadership to wear: December 31, 2029. Weiner owes his bump in the polls to black voters, 31 percent of whom favor him for mayor, compared to Christine Quinn's 16 percent and Bill Thompson's 14 percent. Weiner also leads among men. ... Village Voice‘Tabloid Twins’ Spitzer and Weiner lead in new NYC poll.... Support from African-Americans boosted Weiner and Spitzer, th

by ed notes online / 2min 

Video – MORE Summer 2013: High Stakes Testing and the Schools Our Children Deserve

MORE kicked off the summer series by taking a look at the effects of high stakes testing in our schools. Parents from Change the Stakes joined us to discuss why a growing parent movement against the high stakes nature of these tests is mounting not just in NYC but statewide and nationally. We discuss HST and its use as a vehicle for enabling destructive policies such as school closures and ranking

by ed notes online / 12min mark as read  //  save

Critics of Tim Wise for Support for Teach For America

Posted to MORE ListservesDear New Orleans activists,Some of you may remember Tim Wise, who was an anti-apartheid activist at Tulane in the late 1980s, and then went onto to work with the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism (LCARN), one of the organizations that emerged in the fight against David Duke's various runs for state wide offices in the late 80s and early 90s. He later worked wit

by ed notes online / 12min 

Stop and Frisk: My Articles in The Wave

Over the past few weeks I wrote a few pieces for The Wave on S and F and race issues.Published July 5, 2013

by ed notes online / 12min 

7-16-13 SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE:

The Mismeasure of Education

I know it is shameless self-promotion, and yet is not about me or us.   To summarize Horace Mann: agitate, agitate, agitate, but always for a good cause.  My co-author, Denise Wilburn and I are very proud to get this out at this point in time, and we are equally humbled by the advance reviews […]

by Jim Horn / 18min 

Jal Mehta’s The Allure of Order Explains the Root Cause of Déjà vu, All Over Again

I have an intellectual understanding of how the contemporary “reform” movement propelled schools to leap into the early 20th century. But, I’ve never really grasped why 21st century accountability hawks sought to turn schools into a modern-day version of the Model T assembly line.  After reading Jal Mehta’s The Allure of Order, I understand. Mehta […]

by John Thompson / 5min 

Great Op-Ed on the Common Opposition to Common Corp Standards

By Rob Jenkins at the Newton Citizen in Newton County, GA: Any time conservatives and liberals in this country agree on anything, it’s time to stop the presses, glance up to see if pigs happen to be zooming by overhead, and check the temperature in you-know-where. It may also be time to pay attention. One […]

by Jim Horn / 8min  

7-15-13 Schools Matter @ The Chalk Face

SCHOOLS MATTER @ THE CHALK FACE: This, not this: On our feet, to the streetLet’s do this. For example, this is a powerful image of a San Francisco protest on behalf of Trayvon Martin. Unbelievable. Not to diminish the necessity of this outrage, but if only we could have such momentum on issues within education. Amazing. Now, in contrast, let us not waste our time with this: asinine debates […]by C

by mike simpson / 10h 

Who Says Book Clubs Are Just for Moms? — Whole Child Education

Who Says Book Clubs Are Just for Moms? — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Who Says Book Clubs Are Just for Moms?

July 16, 2013 by Kevin Scott

I was honored to host the most recent Whole Child Podcast where we talked about ways we reflect, recharge, and refresh as educators. One theme present in the podcast discussion and one we hear about over and over again is reading. While we encourage students (of all ages) to read often, as adults we find it difficult to find the time to read between full-time jobs, raising our children, and, heaven forbid, our own hobbies.

Summer seems to be a time where things slow down a bit. But I find that even as I write that sentence, I'm glancing at my calendar for the next meeting, what camp my kids are in this week, and what time I need to get them so they can go to the next activity. So maybe summer is a time where things don't necessarily slow down, but the schedule changes.

One change I'm happy about this summer started with an e-mail from a friend, a fellow dad, and my older 

Newtown School Police: 'It Was So Real It Didn't Seem Real':

Newtown School Police: 'It Was So Real It Didn't Seem Real'

Posted: 07/16/2013 7:30 am EDT

 ORLANDO, Fla. -- It happened seven months ago Sunday, but remembering details of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting still brings tears to the eyes of Lenny Penna.

"I'm hoping that, you know, it's been seven months, emotions won't set in," Penna said. "But it is what it is."

Penna, a member of the police department in Newtown, Conn., and his colleague Jason Flynn, spoke to an audience of about 800 school resource officers at the National Association for School Resource Officers conference Monday. School resource officers are police specifically trained for working as law enforcement agents and educators in schools. Before the Sandy Hook massacre, Newtown had two -- Flynn and Penna.

Their stories outlined the events of the day in great detail, from start to finish. They also touched on how school-based police officers can be marginalized from the rest of