Daniel Borenstein: California governments' fiscal picture will get worse - ContraCostaTimes.com

Daniel Borenstein: California governments' fiscal picture will get worse - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"WHILE THE NATIONAL economy shows early signs of recovery, there's no indication in California that the fiscal plights of state and local governments are improving.

If anything, as bad as 2009 was for the state, cities, schools and public universities, 2010 promises to be worse. State legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are running out of gimmicks to balance the books, and local officials have generally made all the cuts they can without severely hurting services.

State Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor paints a grim picture of the year ahead in Sacramento. Lawmakers must resolve a $21 billion budget gap comprised of shortfalls for the current budget year and the upcoming one. After that, the state faces similar deficits in the $20 billion range each fiscal year until 2014-15."

Sacramento Press / Winter Solstice Celebration at the ArtBeast�

Sacramento Press / Winter Solstice Celebration at the ArtBeast�

Winter Solstice Celebration at the ArtBeast

As you go about your life on Dec. 21, take a moment to stop, reflect and consider the fact that due to the earth's tilt on its axis, you are experiencing the shortest day, and hence, the longest night of the year. Termed the "Winter Solstice," societies throughout history have ritually welcomed this astronomical phenomenon in celebration.

In modern cultures, these gatherings are still valued for emotional and spiritual comfort — giving people something to look forward to at the darkest time of the year, while also serving as a reminder to connect back to the earth’s rhythms. This is the goal of Jennifer Riley, a CMT, reiki master and certified yoga instructor who teaches eco-yoga for kids at the ArtBeast studio.

This Sunday, ArtBeast will be hosting a family-oriented workshop and ceremony in celebration of the solstice. In this interactive gathering, children and their parents will partake in a “village celebration.” This, Riley explains, is an earth-based gathering that incorporates both elements of community and the planet, which inherently provides a deeper understanding of the self.

Event details:
Sunday, Dec. 20, 2 to 4 p.m.
2226 K St.
916-441-1233 (RSVP is appreciated)

Free for members
Non-members: $3 per person, + $8 admissions fee (second adult per family is free)

Labor, Faith, Community Activists Call on Big Banks to 'Share the Wealth' | California Progress Report

Labor, Faith, Community Activists Call on Big Banks to 'Share the Wealth' | California Progress Report

Labor, Faith, Community Activists Call on Big Banks to 'Share the Wealth'

By Rachele Huennekens
SEIU Local 1877
Hundreds of labor and community activists demonstrated outside of Wells Fargo in the Financial District yesterday, demanding that the six largest banks in the nation – Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Morgan Stanley – help California working families recover from the economic recession by preventing home foreclosures, providing healthcare and unemployment benefits, and solving the $6.3 California budget shortfall.
The protesters, members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Contra Costa County Interfaith Supporting Community Organizations (CCISCO), People Acting in Community Together - San Jose, Oakland Community Organizations, and the San Francisco Organizing Project, demanded that Wall Street executives be held accountable for helping ordinary people struggling to weather the economic recession, instead of enriching themselves.
“It’s unbearable that Big Bank CEOs and top executives are paying themselves $577 million per day, while more than 10,000 working families face home foreclosure each day,” said Minister Marvin Webb, a member of CCISCO. “We demand that Wall Street be held accountable, and redirect their bonus pay to

Creative Race to the Top Lawmaking - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Creative Race to the Top Lawmaking - Politics K-12 - Education Week

Creative Race to the Top Lawmaking

By Michele McNeil on December 18, 2009 11:42 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Being the federal education policy nerd that I am, I'm wading through a 367-page transcript of the technical assistance planning seminar the U.S. Department of Education held in Denver to help states understand the Race to the Top competition.

Since I attended a similar seminar in Baltimore, many of the questions were predictable.

However, I came upon one question that was particularly interesting, and foreshadowed a creative lawmaking strategy that state legislators may use to make their states more competitive for Race to the Top, but only if they win Race to the Top. The question came from Rick Miller, a deputy state education superintendent in California, and was answered by Race to the Top Director Joanne Weiss.

SCUSD Observer: Ellyne Bell elected SCUSD Board President

SCUSD Observer: Ellyne Bell elected SCUSD Board President:

"Ellyne Bell elected SCUSD Board President

Area 1 Representative Ellyne Bell was elected president at last night's board meeting, succeeding Roy Grimes. Bell was first elected to the board in 2004 and was re-elected last November. She has often had to recuse herself from board discussion about the consent decree high school because she was a litigant in the original complaint.

This news of Bell's ascension, combined with Jonathan Raymond's 'Take Risks for Kids' report leaves the Observer hopefully optimistic about SCUSD's political future."

National Journal Online - Education Tracking Continues To Stir Debate

National Journal Online - Education Tracking Continues To Stir Debate:

"Should students of different abilities take the same class? Ability grouping became a source of conflict among parents, administrators and candidates during school board elections in Stamford, Conn., this past fall. Also known as 'tracking,' the practice sorts pupils into separate classes based on their perceived academic skill level.

Some Stamford parents pushed back when superintendent Joshua Starr introduced measures that would reduce the number of ability groups in the district's middle schools and make placement more flexible. Fearing an eventual move to one heterogeneous class that couldn't meet the needs of all children -- from average to honors students -- some parents launched a group to protest the proposals. The issue divided local school board candidates.

Starr was steadfast and criticized the stratified s"

AASA :: Fishing Blindly for Quality Teaching

AASA :: Fishing Blindly for Quality Teaching:

"Once a year I fish the shallow waters known as the “flats” off the Florida Keys.

I fish with a guide who has more expertise than I do in several areas, not the least of which is the ability to see and identify fish swimming in the clear, shallow waters.

A good guide can spot a fish 50 yards away and tell you what kind of fish it is.

This is the first and absolutely critical step in catching the fish — the ability to see it in the first place. If you don’t know what you are looking for, the game is over!"

Elevating the Teaching Profession

Elevating the Teaching Profession:

"A little more than a half-century ago, in 1958, Senator John F. Kennedy penned a piece for the NEA Journal.

In it, the future president urged a number of reforms to the teaching profession. As a longtime supporter of the NEA, Kennedy felt that higher pay and more classrooms were not enough—“more and better teachers are also needed.”

To strengthen the teaching profession, JFK wrote, “we must find better means for providing better rewards for our better teachers. We must make actual use of probationary periods to retain only those with satisfactory performance records, and we must demonstrate concretely to young beginners in the field that real opportunities for advancement await those whose contribution is of the highest caliber.”"

ncspe-Teacher Turnover in Charter Schools. 2009

ncspe-Teacher Turnover in Charter Schools. 2009:

"This study examines how teacher turnover differs between charter and traditional public schools and seeks to identify factors that explain these differences. 


Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) 2003-2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and Teacher Follow-Up Survey (TFS), we found that 25% of charter school teachers turned over during the 2003-2004 school year, compared to 14% of traditional public school teachers. 


Fourteen percent of charter school teachers left the profession outright and 11% moved to a different school, while 7% of traditional public school teachers left the profession and 7% moved schools. Using multi-nomial logistic regression, we found the odds of a charter school teacher leaving the profession versus staying in the same school are 132% greater than those of a traditional public school teacher. 


The odds of a charter school teacher moving schools are 76% greater. Our analysis confirms that much of the explanation of this “turnover gap” lies in differences in the types of teachers that charter schools and traditional public schools hire. 


The data lend minimal support to the claim that turnover is higher in charter schools because they are leveraging their flexibility in personnel policies to get rid of underperforming teachers. Rather, we found most of the turnover in charter schools is voluntary and dysfunctional as compared to that of traditional public schools.

Click here to view publication as a PDF

The Educated Guess � Race to Top compromise heads to Assembly

The Educated Guess � Race to Top compromise heads to Assembly:

"Removing the annual cap on charter schools is out; giving parents in failing schools the right to transfer to another district is in. And so is a public commission, with plenty of teachers on it, to review proposed changes to state academic standards.

In the latest twist in a battle of wills and education lobbies, the Senate yesterday passed a new version of Race to the Top legislation – SBX5-4 – and sent it to the Assembly. It’s not a done deal, but the bill followed intense negotiations involving aides for Gov. Schwarzenegger, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Assembly Speak Karen Bass. Bass, in a statement, said “we have resolved all of the essential issues.’’ And the Legislature knows it has all but run out of time, with the state application for a piece of the $4.3 billion Race to the Top competition due Jan. 19."

EducationCEO's Blog

EducationCEO's Blog

Dear Celebrities: Public education needs your ‘celebrity’

December 18, 2009

Gazillionaire Oprah Winfrey recently donated $1.5 million dollars to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, GA. I applaud Ms. Winfrey’s commitment to improving educational options, especially for students from low-income families as they tend to get fed the short-end of the stick. There has been a great deal of fanfare around Ms. Winfrey’s donation, as there was this time last year when she sent Ron Clark a check for $365,000. I will admit that I was a bit envious: Of the donation, not the donor. As a staunch advocate of quality education, school choice, and increasing access to the arts, I would have been so gracious that I may have actually broken out in song-and-dance (the sarcasm is back). Seriously, this time last year our organization was nearing the 30-day deadline we were given to raise $1 million dollars if our charter petition was to receive consideration for approval. That’s an entirely different blog in and of itself…Any way, I can truly understand Mr. Clark’s enthusiasm upon receiving that check, but more so the one he received this week. I would like to attempt to explain some of the criticism surrounding Ms. Winfrey’s donation.

Class Struggle - Finally some sense about 21st century skills--part three, the Wagner dialogue

Class Struggle- Finally some sense about 21st century skills--part three, the Wagner dialogue:

"As promised, to end this series on adjusting schools to the new economy, I had an email chat with Tony Wagner, co-director of the Change Leadership Group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and author of 'The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don't Teach The New Survival Skills Our Children Need--and What We Can Do About It.' We limited ourselves to no more than 100 words per response, to keep it moving. Here goes:"

Education Week: New Jobs Bill Offers $23 Billion for Education

Education Week: New Jobs Bill Offers $23 Billion for Education:

"Cash-strapped school districts hoping to avert layoffs could get a boost from legislation approved by the U.S. House of Representatives Dec. 16 that is intended to provide a jolt to the sluggish economy, in part by creating a $23 billion “education jobs fund.”

Districts and states could use the money to restore cuts to K-12 and higher education to cover the cost of compensation and benefits for teachers and other employees. The funds could also be used for services related to school modernization, renovation, and repair.

The money—which would be in addition to the infusion of up to $100 billion in education aid provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—would come from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, which was intended to help..."

SRC hears of more woes of non-English-speaking pupils | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/17/2009

SRC hears of more woes of non-English-speaking pupils | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/17/2009:

SRC hears of more woes of non-English-speaking pupils

"It's not only South Philadelphia High where immigrant students face problems, parents and an activist told the School Reform Commission yesterday.

Even younger students in the neighborhood are routinely the victims of racism and bullying because they don't speak English, the parents said. Parents who don't speak English are ignored, and the educational services for their children are inadequate, they added."

Asian students back at school, seeking peace

By Jeff Gammage and Kristen Graham

Inquirer Staff Writers

Throughout Tuesday night's meeting with Asian students, immersed in a tense boycott of South Philadelphia High School after racial attacks, district Superintendent Arlene Ackerman told the youths they must come back to class.
At different points, participants said yesterday, she took different tacks:
She urged them to come back. She ordered them to come back. She warned them they had better come back.
Finally, as the meeting wound toward an end, two hours after it started, she appealed to them to come back.
An Asian student stood up: Yes, they would return to school.
It was a quiet conclusion to a bristly meeting at the Chinese Christian Church in Chinatown, one that put an end to the contentious eight-day boycott. The walkout followed the Dec. 3 attack on about 30 Asian students by a group of mostly African American classmates, which made national headlines and got the school and district leadership skewered for their failure to address long-standing allegations of racial violence.
In an interview yesterday, Ackerman characterized the end of the Tuesday night summit differently, saying

State retakes West Fresno school district - Education and Schools - Fresnobee.com

State retakes West Fresno school district- Education and Schools- Fresnobee.com:

"In an unprecedented move, the state has stripped power from West Fresno Elementary School District trustees for a second time.

The state took over the district in 2003 because of poor student performance, fiscal disarray and criminal allegations against board members, among other concerns. Last year, the state decided the district had improved, and officials returned some authority to its board. If progress continued, the state was poised to restore all local control.

State officials were disappointed."

2nd UPDATE: Career Education Falls On US Accreditation Memo - WSJ.com

2nd UPDATE: Career Education Falls On US Accreditation Memo - WSJ.com:

"NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Career Education Corp. (CECO) fell sharply Thursday afternoon as a government memo questioned the accreditation of one of the for-profit education company's schools.

The memo also raised concerns about the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, a leading accrediting body for many for-profit universities, sending shares of the education sector lower Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Education's office of inspector general sent a memo to the office of postsecondary education, dated Thursday, with concerns about how Career Education's American InterContinental University was accredited."

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Charters: Seceding from the System

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Charters: Seceding from the System:

"Frustration with the teacher placement system has fed the stunning growth of charter schools, which tout their hiring freedom as an asset. Local charter leaders say it is one of the biggest factors that push charters to split away from San Diego Unified. It now has the seventh highest share of charter students statewide.

Getting to choose its own teachers was one major reason Gompers Preparatory Academy seceded from the school district four years ago. One of the teachers it picked is Najib Mesdaq, a soothing man who surrounds his classroom with burbling fountains and readily gives preteens a high five and a grin."

Elk Grove Citizen : News Dr. Ami Bera

Elk Grove Citizen : News:

"As potential challengers turn to supporters, an Elk Grove resident is focusing more and more on his campaign for Congress.

Dr. Ami Bera, a physician and former medical official, said after a Dec. 15 press conference he’s spending some of the hundreds of thousands of dollars he’s raised so far in his bid for a seat representing the Elk Grove area in the third Congressional District, and he’ll soon spend more.

Bera, who is running for the seat currently held by Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Gold River), became the only remaining Democrat in the race on Nov. 30 when SMUD Director Bill Slaton withdrew. Elk Grove City Council Member Gary Davis withdrew from the race last October.

Bera held a press conference Dec. 15 at American River College in Sacramento to formally accept Slaton’s endorsement; Davis has also endorsed Bera."

News Mirror > Entertainment

News Mirror > Entertainment:

"For high school seniors interested in pursuing a creative arts education, The Art Institute of California — Inland Empire, announces The Art Institutes and Americans for the Arts Poster Design Competition, a program which awards up to a full-tuition scholarship to study at a participating Art Institutes school.

In partnership with the not-for-profit organization Americans for the Arts, The Art Institutes annual Poster Design Competition is an opportunity for talented young artists at the high school level to study graphic design and earn a degree in the creative arts.

The competition is open to high school seniors in the U.S., Canada (excluding Quebec), and Puerto Rico. Contestants will be asked to create original poster artwork that expresses the slogan, “Life is Better With Art In It.”

Deadline for entries into the competition is Feb.5, 2010. Full entry requirements can be downloaded at www.artinstitutes.edu/poster ."

Protect, support public education

Protect, support public education:

"The republican majority on the UC Board of Regents voted to increase tuition to $10,000 annually for the university system. This 32 percent increase is an outrage and displays a hostile attitude toward public education.

Public education in this state is under siege, and it appears that there is a movement to privatize public education by making it as expensive as a private college. The cost will lock out people without ample financial support to attend college."