Sunday, April 25, 2010

Florida & Tampa Bay schools blog - The Gradebook

Separate bill for teacher bonuses, class size coming

The folks at lobbytools.com report this from today's Florida budget negotiations:

"Budget negotiators also agreed to shift $21.2 million set aside for teacher bonuses out of the state budget and into a separate piece of legislation. That bill contains several controversial provisions, including a requirement that school districts must hold public hearings to inform parents what must be done to comply with class size requirements. The House also wants to use that bill to order the creation of a teacher quality task force that would come up with a new merit pay plan for teachers tied to student performance similar to what was included in SB 6, which was vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist.

The Legislature has placed a constitutional amendment on the 2010 ballot to ease class size requirements and some Democrats have

Can Messy Be A Sign Of Brilliance? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Can Messy Be A Sign Of Brilliance?

"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind,
then what are we to think of an empty desk?"

---Einstein

The photograph above is from Einstein's office in Princeton from Life magazine (via PicDit) in 1955.

From Einstein we move to Agatha Christie, where Slate has fun romping through her writing "habits", gleaned from author John Curran's discoveries taken from his new book, "Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks". Excerpts From Slate:

"She was clever, learned, and unflinching when it came to plunging a paper knife into a man's back or poisoning an old lady with strychnine. Agatha Christie, the author of more than 60 crime novels, six straight novels, more than 140 short stories, 22 plays, and uncounted poems, wrote with matchless poise about death, greed, and, on occasion, truly nasty, motiveless evil. About 20 years ago, I read all of Christie's crime novels. Today, I would kill for the chance once more to stumble on one of her bodies . . . ."

" . . . You could never guess the murderers until she unveiled them, and then you had that fantastic sensation of surprise and - at the same time - utter inevitability. Ah! . . .This perfect dissonance - for which there is probably

Open Letter to Bay Area NBCTs � InterACT

Open Letter to Bay Area NBCTs

by ACT Guest Bloggers

Today’s Guest Author:
Sandy Dean, Director of the National Board Resource Center, at Stanford University.
The letter below was sent to National Board Certified Teachers who are, or have been part of the National Board Resource Center (NBRC) community at Stanford University, from its director, Sandy Dean. In particular, it is addressed to the most recently certified teachers. In over a decade of support for National Board candidates, the NBRC has become a model for candidate support programs around the country, and through it support for hundreds of local teachers, it has helped elevate the quality of teaching around the San Francisco Bay Area.
Dear Colleagues in the National Board Community,
This announcement and invitation are coming later this year than in years past for several reasons. The biggest one is that I was not sure we would have funding to continue our National Board Support program. Thankfully, we will continue with funding from the Stuart and Hewlett Foundations. Now, the question is are there teachers out there who have the heart and will to pursue National Board certification even when many of the incentives are gone? I hope you who have certified and know what Board certification can do for your teaching will offer encouragement to your colleagues out there who are reluctant, discouraged, or both.
In an ironic way, the reasons to encourage as many of our teaching colleagues to become certified have never been greater. No matter where you teach you have probably felt the sting being inflicted on the teaching profession by those who would have us believe that good teachers arrive fully developed and able to make a difference simply by virtue of will and some subject matter knowledge. If you are one of the NBCTs who has taken issue with such beliefs but does not yet know what else to do, I would suggest that it is time for all of us who love this work to take steps to own our profession because we cannot control what we do not own. We are clearly not in control right now, and I am not truly sure that we have ever owned our profession. Taking ownership and control seems to me to recommend two strategies. The first is to ensure that we have the professional authority from which to speak about good teaching. I know, as do most of you, that National Board certification is an avenue to develop that professional authority. That has always been the most compelling reason to undertake the hard work of candidacy. The second strategy is to add the voices of every Board certified teacher to the work of our newest initiative at the National Board Resource Center. The Accomplished California Teachers network is a group of distinguished teachers who are contributing to education policy discussions in California through reports, outreach to policymakers and invested public, blogs, articles, and whatever other opportunities present themselves. We are looking forward to the release of our first report on the subject of teacher evaluation in the next few weeks. There will be more to come.
I invite you, then, to do two things:
1. Invite a colleague whom you believe has the right stuff to pursue certification. (Subsidies for candidate fees are

Sacramento's Fremont closure plan puts adult education on the chopping block | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

Sacramento's Fremont closure plan puts adult education on the chopping block

SACRAMENTO, CA - Teachers and students at Fremont Adult School were dismayed to learn Thursday that due to proposed budget cuts, this will probably be the last semester they will be able to take classes at their beloved school.

The Sacramento Unified School District is planning to cut Adult Education by 35 percent, or nearly $5,000,000. That means the 90-year-old school is slated for closure by this summer.

The school provides English as a second language (ESL) programs and classes to help students obtain their high school diploma (GED).

Teachers say students from all over the world have attended Fremont School to pursue their American dream, mastering English and earning high school diplomas with many going on to college.

Some Fremont students said the school is the first place where they are introduced to the American way of life.

"I like the teachers," said Luisa Lozano, an immigrant from Colombia. "The teachers are wonderful teachers. The teachers are the most dedicated teachers. They teach us not just English, they teach us

Colo. teacher bill ignites firestorm of support, opposition - The Denver Post

Colo. teacher bill ignites firestorm of support, opposition

Meyer
The Denver Post

POSTED: 04/25/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT

UPDATED: 04/25/2010 01:02:20 AM MDT

Colo. Teachers
Apr 25:
Colorado Sen. Johnston, a former principal pushing tenure reform

High school English teacher Ben Jackson isn't afraid of a proposed state law that would tie his job status to how well his students do on tests. It's a teacher's job, Jackson said, to instill students with a "desire to succeed," to make them care about state exams — even ones that don't affect their grades. The legislation would ensure schools keep teachers "not because they grow older, but because they get better," Jackson said.

But to Jason Nurton, who teaches reading at a Fort Collins middle school, it is unfair to "judge a teacher's effectiveness on one test, on one day, when the student has absolutely no buy-in."

Nurton concedes Colorado should reform its teacher evaluation system, but not with Senate Bill 191

KYW Newsradio 1060 Philadelphia - Pa. Education Sec. To Head Allentown's School District

Pa. Education Sec. to Head Allentown's School District

by KYW’s Tony Romeo

Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Education is stepping down to become superintendent of the Allentown School District.

After five years at the helm of the state Department of Education, Gerald Zahorchak will step down May 7th. Zahorchak
believes he leaves the department with a strong infrastructure to carry on:

“There’s never, ever a good time to leave, but in an administration, it’s inevitable that you will have to leave. I think we’ve created the kind of systems in this administration that will be bridges that have been built that will be walked over for a long, long time.”

Q&A: NP strike questions from our readers - The ReporterNews: Serving North Penn, Indian Valley and neighboring communities

Q&A: NP strike questions from our readers

Published: Sunday, April 25, 2010

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By DAN SOKIL

Throughout the current contract dispute between the North Penn Education Association and the district's school board, readers of The Reporter have asked numerous questions in online comments, calls to our Sound Off line, and via e-mail.

Below are some frequent questions asked by Reporter readers and answers from key figures in the NPSD and NPEA, or from statements or documents made available by both sides.

Q: What could happen in Monday's court hearing?

A: "At this point, the contractual hours for the teachers union have to be met, so we expect to go into the courtroom on Monday to seek an injunction to force them to go back to work on Wednesday," said school board President Vince Sherpinsky.

"The word is that we just have to be in Norristown and get whatever judge is available to hear the case. We could be heard at 9 a.m., it could be 5 p.m., we just don't know. We're hoping that we are heard earlier rather than later, and that there's some breakthrough that can get us back into school on Tuesday rather than on Wednesday," said NPEA President Alan Malachowski.

Q: What's the difference between "real dollars" and "step increases"?

Negotiations continue in Capistrano teacher strike | 89.3 KPCC

Negotiations continue in Capistrano teacher strike

April 24, 2010 | KPCC Wire Services | KPCC

Negotiations continued today between the Capistrano Unified School District and its teachers, who are on strike because of 10.1 percent pay cuts.

No progress was reported Friday. Officials from the school district were unavailable for comment today.

No Deal On 3rd Day Of O.C. Teachers Strike - cbs2.com

No Deal On 3rd Day Of O.C. Teachers Strike

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: CBS

PhillyBurbs.com: �No deal yet for teachers

No deal yet for teachers

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By: ANNIE TASKER

Bucks County Courier Times

North penn schools

No new talks were planned for the weekend, and odds looked good that North Penn teachers would return to the picket line Monday.

With no plans for negotiations and both sides sticking to their latest proposals, odds looked good that the North Penn teacher strike carrying would carry into a second week.

North Penn Education Association President Alan Malachowski said union representatives were willing to meet any time over the weekend. School board President Vince Sherpinsky said Saturday evening there was no contact between the two sides yesterday and he did not expect a resolution before a Monday court hearing.

"We expect to be in court Monday," Sherpinsky said.

Teachers have been on the picket line since Monday and two meetings between their union and the school board this week brought their bargaining positions only $37,000 closer.

At the court hearing meant to put legal weight behind the requirement that teachers return to school by Wednesday, union representatives will ask a judge to force both sides to sit down and bargain until their contract

North Penn teachers expected to continue picketing Monday - The Mercury News: Pottstown, PA and The Tri County areas of Montgomery, Berks and Chester Counties (pottsmerc.com)

North Penn teachers expected to continue picketing Monday

Published: Sunday, April 25, 2010

1 comment(s) | Email to a friend | Print version | ShareThis | RSS Feeds

By Dan Sokil Special to The Mercury

Click to enlarge

LANSDALE — The North Penn Education Association is calling in the big guns, and ratcheted up its rhetoric against the district's school board Friday afternoon.

In an afternoon rally outside Penndale Middle School, and within shouting distance of the district's Education Services Center, NPEA President Alan Malachowski rallied hundreds of his union's members in favor of last week's contract offer by a nonbinding arbitration panel.

"Always, I'm accused that I don't speak for you, that I don't tell you the truth and that I'm lying to you, the membership. I think there's only one group of liars in this whole equation, and they meet right over in that building," Malachowksi said, pointing to the ESC as teachers cheered.

Joining Malachowski and the blue-clad teachers was Jim Testerman, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, who said he stopped by to show his support for the district's teachers.

"I'm here representing 191,000 of your colleagues across the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'm here to remind you that this contract is not just about this settlement, it's about every settlement hereafter, and about whether or not they will bargain in good faith this time and the next time," Testerman said.

Both the NPEA and PSEA leaders reiterated their version of the past week's events: that the union accepted the arbitration panel's report, that the board has made no new offers since Sunday, and

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Judge questions legitimacy of teacher layoffs

Union sought to reopen case after revelations about budget surplus

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VALERIE STRAUSS

The Answer Sheet

A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

Posted at 1:00 PM ET, 04/24/2010

Senior slump: A cautionary tale

College admissions consultant Bruce Vinik writes about how hard it is for many 12th graders to focus on their school work. As May approaches, even high achieving students give serious consideration to skipping their Advanced Placement exams and heading to the beach. But senior slump is serious business to colleges. Here's a cautionary tale.

Continue reading this post »

Posted by Valerie Strauss | Permalink | Comments (4)

JAY MATHEWS

Class Struggle

What's Right and Wrong With Our Schools

Posted at 5:30 AM ET, 04/23/2010

The irksome myth about Garfield after Escalante

There is a widespread myth that Garfield High School in East Los Angeles went downhill academically after its superstar math teacher Jaime Escalante left the school in 1991. It is important to understand why this is false. Galvanizing school cultures are maintained by many people, not just hero teachers. Great teachers like Escalante can create such cultures, but the test of their validity is what happens after that teacher leaves.