Wednesday, June 9, 2010

North Clackamas School District commitee to vote on budget that could shorten next school year | OregonLive.com

North Clackamas School District commitee to vote on budget that could shorten next school year

Published: Wednesday, June 09, 2010, 5:24 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 09, 2010, 5:49 PM

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The North Clackamas School District's budget committee will vote Thursday on a budget recommendation that could include cutting several days from the 2010-11 school year.

The district has been looking into a shorter school year to combat a $7 million budget gap stemming from Gov. Ted Kulongoski's mandated cuts to state programs.

Superintendent Tim Mills last week presented four options to address the shortfall, which is equivalent to eliminating 15 days of school or 126 full-time employee positions. Three of the four plans proposed reducing the school year, and the district's own recommended option included cutting five days and 42 full-time employee positions.

The district already plans to lay off 36 teachers, 24 classified staff and five administrators.

California election results: So much for losing gracefully| PolitiCal | Los Angeles Times

Now comes this concession statement from state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who lost in her bid in the race for superintendent of public instruction.

"The victors in the race for superintendent of public instruction were two different wings of the same status-quo education establishment: ACSA's [the Assn. of California School Administrators'] interests for administrators prevailed alongside CTA's [the California Teachers Assn.'s] interests for teachers. The interests of the reform community, on behalf of parents and kids, lost.

"I am deeply saddened by the outcome of this race, which had signaled so much hope for the possibility of true education reform in California and an overdue shakeup of an education morass which remains complacent with failure."

PG&E Customers Killed Prop 16 | California Progress Report

PG&E Customers Killed Prop 16

by christine

By Richard Holober
Consumer Federation of California
It was a long night of watching election returns. I was at an election night party with scores of labor and community activist at an IBEW hall. That’s right - construction electrician locals OPPOSED PG&E’s Prop 16. We were all waiting to see if PG&E’s early lead would dissolve.

It was after midnight when Prop 16 dropped below 50% on its way to the final count: 47.5% Yes to 52.5% No.
PG&E spent $46 million of its ratepayer dollars on Prop 16 to make sure our electric rates remain high, without asking the consent of its ratepayers. PG&E spent those dollars try to convince ratepayers that elected local officials shouldn’t enter into any cost saving direct purchasing arrangements with electricity generating companies unless the government agency first received the approval of two-thirds of local voters. Maybe PG&E couldn’t see its double standard, but voters certainly did.
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LAUSD Still Wishing We Would Go Away... - Perdaily.com

LAUSD Still Wishing We Would Go Away...

by Leonard

In plumbing the depths of ignorance at LAUSD, I am always surprised when I realize that I have come no where near the bottom of their self-inflicted stupidity. In the never ending soap opera that is my daily interaction with LAUSD's staff as much as I should have learned by now that they have no shame and will say anything, I still have a difficult time having such a low expectation of people who should be my colleagues in furthering the

We read the Race to the Top application so you don’t have to | GothamSchools

We read the Race to the Top application so you don’t have to

by Maura Walz

Raise your hand if you know what the state’s 450-page Race to the Top application actually says. Besides, of course, “We raised the cap on charter schools and came up with a new way to evaluate teachers.”
Here’s a quick-and-dirty guide to what the application actually proposes, including some details about the proposal that I hadn’t heard before I read it. The application is divided into four main goals. You can find more background on Race to the Top here.
Making better tests and curriculum:
National reading and math curriculum standards are coming, and New York education officials plan to opt in to them. The state wants to spend $26 million to write curriculum based on the new standards, which will show up in classrooms beginning in February 2012. Another $40 million would be used to create new tests, including a way to judge kindergartners through third-graders’ progress in learning to read. Students would start to take

Hechinger Report | Interactive: Academic standards are all over the map

Interactive: Academic standards are all over the map

by Sarah Butrymowicz

From who the president is to how to tell time, what you’re expected to learn in school each year depends on where you live in the U.S.
South Dakota’s second-graders are supposed to learn how to tell time to the minute. In Alaska, students might be forgiven for being late – they aren’t required to learn how to tell time to the minute until fifth grade.
Academic standards range widely across the country for even the simplest set of facts. Such disparities are one reason why 48 states jointly developed a set of common standards, which seek to provide a single, clear definition of what should be taught in English and math in America’s public schools from kindergarten through 12th grade. The common standards, released on June 2nd, are also intended to better prepare U.S. children for

Improving the District, step by step…Ending the Cycle of Violence � SCUSD Observer

SCUSD Observer

Improving the District, step by step…Ending the Cycle of Violence

Education news - Boston Globe - MCAS results - latest education news - Boston.com

Colo. colleges given flexibility to raise tuition

By Steven K. Paulson

Associated Press Writer / June 9, 2010

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DENVER—Calling it a stopgap measure to save higher education, Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill Wednesday giving Colorado colleges more flexibility to set tuition rates.

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He also signed a measure providing $35 million to help lower- and middle-income students with tuition.

"Higher education has reached a funding crossroad here in Colorado and many states across the country. We face serious challenges if we do nothing. This is not a long-term fix; this is not a panacea," Ritter said as college presidents and lawmakers joined him in his office.

Lawmakers say the legislation was necessary because the state plans to cut college funding by $300 million next year to cover a projected $1.7 billion budget deficit.

Colleges were notified they should plan for up to a 50 percent cut next year in

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D.C. Wire - Ex-Board of Education chief: Gray or Rhee is a bogus choice

Ex-Board of Education chief: Gray or Rhee is a bogus choice

(Cross-posted from Bill Turque's D.C. Schools blog)

As expected, former D.C. State Board of Education president Lisa Raymond, who scuffled with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty over budget and policy issues, has endorsed Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray in the Sept. 14 primary. In a statement that went out Tuesday night to parents and activists in Ward 6 (which she represented on the panel), she took a shot at the Fenty camp for pushing the scenario that has Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee resigning if Gray is elected.

"I know that some of you are afraid that if Vince Gray is elected mayor, Chancellor Rhee will leave, and all of the tremendous movement we have seen in our schools would depart with her. Well, I am among the growing chorus of parents and others who care deeply about education and say that I support both Vince Gray for mayor and Michelle Rhee for chancellor," Raymond said.

"I reject this notion -- and let's not kid ourselves, it's coming directly from Mayor Fenty and his team, who have the most to lose -- that I have to choose between the person that I think is best qualified to lead our city and the best person to lead our school system."

Rhee, appointed by Fenty three years ago this week, has refused to say publicly whether she would serve in a Gray administration if asked. Gray has not committed to keeping her if he wins. Raymond said she hopes they would find a way to work together.

"I would never presume to speak for Vince Gray or Michelle Rhee, but I

Sen. Bennet's Mysterious Teacher Bill - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Sen. Bennet's Mysterious Teacher Bill

by Stephen Sawchuk

Over at Politics K-12, Alyson Klein has a very interesting item up about Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who recently introduced a school-turnaround bill. While some folks are pouring over that, though, here In the teacher-quality universe the question on the table is: What the heck happened to Bennet's teacher bill?
For months, the senator was said to be working on a teacher-quality bill that would not doubt have generated a lot of attention, given his closeness to the current administration on education issues. As the former superintendent in Denver, he's also had a lot of experience working with teachers.
For now, this bill seems to be on the backburner. Alyson surmises, that may be because of his precarious position in the upcoming elections and a desire to avoid tension with core constituencies like teachers' unions.

Outstanding and improved students honored at Capitol - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Outstanding and improved students honored at Capitol

by mgutierrez@sacbee.com (Melody Gutierrez)

More than 150 local students will be honored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg at 5:30 tonight in a ceremony at the State Capitol.
High school and middle school graduates were nominated as "Most Improved" and "Most Outstanding" by their Sacramento area schools for the graduation event.
Nominees were selected based on achievements in academics, athletics, community service, leadership and music and art.
"This is the most personally rewarding event I attend each year," Steinberg said. "It is inspirational to hear each student's story of determination and work ethic."

Technology: Black Hat Or White Hat? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Technology: Black Hat Or White Hat? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.:

Technology: Black Hat Or White Hat?

Classic Content = White Hat
Technology= Black Hat
Really?
What Makes One Think You Can't Learn Classics With Technology?

- C.J. Westerberg

Lately, we've been deluged with numerous articles about how technology is ruining our ability to function like human beings, here, making us even more stupid, here, less empathetic, here, and responsible for the destruction of any sensible way of life, let alone education.

"All things are true," is what a dear mentor once told me very early on in my career life. "To what degree?" was his "jolly" rejoinder to most all-encompassing statements. Well, in this case, the degree of technology infiltrating our lives is intense. So, folks, when I read this piece by Stanley Fish, here, in The NY Times, "A Classical Education: Back To the Future," it again reinforces the closed-minded silo-like mentality in the academic sphere.

Fish entices us into believing that there are three disparate views about to be conveyed. The main premise: the need for classic education. Okay, sounds interesting. Classic is a good connotation. Who in their right mind would not want their kids exposed to and reading great classics as a part of their education? Especially those parents reading an education opinion

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Wednesday, June 9, 2010