Thursday, August 26, 2010

U.S. Department of Education Senior Official to Deliver Keynote Address at American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence | U.S. Department of Education

Media Advisories

AUGUST 27, 2010

Under Secretary Martha Kanter to Speak at Southern Vermont College

U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter will address the incoming class of 2010 at Southern Vermont College at the school’s Orientation Bookends Ceremony on Friday, August 27, at 1:00 p.m.

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Media Advisories

AUGUST 27, 2010

U.S. Department of Education Senior Official to Deliver Keynote Address at American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence

U.S. Department of Education Deputy Assistant Secretary Carl Harris will deliver the keynote address at the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence’s Teacher of the Year Awards Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 27, in Washington, D.C.

Why Colorado Lost Out On Race to the Top Money � The Quick and the Ed

QUICK Hits [image: Quick Hits]*Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading or viewing each day.* - Are social networks “the new white pages?” (The New York ...

Why Colorado Lost Out On Race to the Top Money Reformers are wondering why Colorado lost out on Race to the Top money, especially after it enacted a particularly strong teacher evaluation bill just before the application deadline. It turns out that the state apparently didn’t have time to ...

Voucher movement is alive, growing in PA | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Voucher movement is alive, growing in PA

by Frank Murphy

The progress of the voucher movement in Pennsylvania reminds me of an old adage that my neighbor shared with me the first time I planted ivy in my garden. Ivy sleeps when you first plant it. After a while it starts to creep. Eventually it leaps all over your garden. Like ivy, the voucher movement’s roots have begun to take hold and gain attention in the future landscape of Pennsylvania schooling.

Image:

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Like ivy, vouchers are creeping back into the political landscape.

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/jordanfischer/

This Week In Education: Funding: "American Idol" For School Fundraising

Funding: "American Idol" For School Fundraising

by Alexander Russo

It's easier to get thousands of people to give $10 than to get a few to give thousands. Or at least that's the idea. Once limited to American Idol and the Haiti relief effort, mobile phone voting and donating technology is now spreading to universities and K12 school systems. Check out this brief interview I did for Scholastic Administrator with one of the pioneers behind the approach.

Catalyst Notebook :: College-prep for all no guarantee of higher achievement

Catalyst writers and editors share their perspectives, analyses and the news behind the news on improving Chicago area public schools. Our on-the-ground reports will tell you what’s happening in schools and education circles here and elsewhere. Our views will tell you what to make of it.

College-prep for all no guarantee of higher achievementDo more rigorous courses raise student achievement? Not necessarily, according to a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. A new policy brief from the Consortium, in effect, sounds a warning about the national push for tougher learning standards for all students.
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Posted By: Lorraine Forte On Thu Aug 26, 2010 In High Schools
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In the News: 'Two worlds' at school board meeting; support for Obama's education agenda slippingThe Sun-Times reports on the "two different worlds" of Wednesday's Chicago School Board meeting, as board officials calmly insisted they would be ready to open schools Sept. 7 with a balanced budgets and hundreds of jobs restored — while teachers and principals called CPS budget-balancing chaotic. The president of the Chicago Principals Association also said the idea of asking principals to retire in January — eight weeks before critical state tests are given — is "stupid."

Continue Reading In the News: 'Two worlds' at school board meeting; support for Obama's education agenda slipping »

Posted By: Cassandra West On Thu Aug 26, 2010 In In the News
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CPS passes budget, union demands rehiring of laid-off teachers

At Wednesday’s board meeting, CPS officials announced plans to restructure some of the district’s debt obligations to balance the system’s budget, rather than draining all of the district’s stabilization reserve funds, as had earlier been proposed.

Continue Reading CPS passes budget, union demands rehiring of laid-off teachers »

National PTA Joins Nationwide Discussion on Teacher Quality

PTA | For Immediate Release

National PTA Joins Nationwide Discussion on Teacher Quality

Supports transparency, accountability system with multiple measures

ALEXANDRIA, VA. (August 26, 2010) – A series of articles on teacher quality recently published by the Los Angeles Times and comments this week by U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan drew attention to the national conversation on teacher quality.

National PTA® believes that high-quality teachers are needed to provide the excellent education that all students deserve. As the student population becomes more diverse, teachers also need to be diverse and prepared to meet the needs of today’s students and help close the achievement gap. National PTA agrees with Secretary Duncan that “the responsibility for educating our children does not fall to teachers alone.” Educating our nation’s students is a shared responsibility between families, schools, and the community.

“Since its founding in 1897, improving education for all children has been at the core of PTA’s work,” said Charles J. “Chuck” Saylors, National PTA President. “To be true partners in closing the achievement gap, parents need data about student performance and teacher quality to support learning at home and drive education reform.”

National PTA supports a balanced accountability system that uses multiple measures in order to improve academic achievement.

We agree with Secretary Duncan’s remarks this week when he said, “By requiring

Tale of the Bronx Fires Perfect for Mayor Bloomberg’s Kindle - August 26, 2010 - The New York Sun

Tale of the Bronx Fires Perfect for Mayor Bloomberg’s Kindle

By ANDREW WOLF, Special to the Sun | August 26, 2010

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How did we get to a point where the academic performance of our children hasn’t improved despite the fact that expenditures for our schools have soared to $21 billion a year from $13 billion?

The answer can be found in a new book, written by Joe Flood, "The Fires," recently published by Riverhead Books. This is not a book about education, but rather a study of how the top-down management techniques favored by the administration of Mayor Lindsay was responsible for the devastating damage by the fires that the city suffered during his administration and those immediately following.

It’s a hot topic (forgive the pun), because the study in errors of governance could as well have been about the way our schools have been managed under Mayor Bloomberg.

RTT Scoring: Throw out the Russian Judge – Same Results � The Quick and the Ed

RTT Scoring: Throw out the Russian Judge – Same Results

by Rob Manwaring

As you would expect, now that some of the details on the Race to the Top scoring have been released, there is much discussion about some of the outlier judges. Especially in the case of Colorado, the range of scores is significant (there was a difference of 111 points between its high score and low score). This is a huge range given four states were within 10 points of the lowest scoring winner. There were also large discrepancies among the judges in three other states –

Schools Matter: Does "value-added" have any value?

Does "value-added" have any value?

by skrashen

Does "value-added" have any value?
Sent to the Los Angeles Daily News, August 25, 2010
Ramon Cortines and Arne Duncan are convinced that using increases in standardized test scores for evaluating teachers is a good idea ("Cortines: LAUSD's success depends on continued embracing of reforms," August 25).
But these "value-added" evaluations are unstable. Teachers' ratings based on previous years are weak predictors of test scores at the end of a year with new students; a teacher who succeeds in boosting scores with one group will not necessarily succeed with others. Also, different tests result in different value-added scores for the same

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Bay Area KIPP schools

Bay Area KIPP schools BAY AREA KIPP SCHOOLS LOSE 60% OF THEIR STUDENTS, STUDY CONFIRMS, September 17, 2008, San Francisco (CA) Education Examiner A new study of the five Bay Area KIPP schools by the respected research firm SRI International confirms what we already knew: ...

Alliance School of Milwaukee *CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT,* July 20, 2010, TMJ4 (WI) MILWAUKEE – Officers arrested a teacher Monday suspected of sexually abusing a girl at the Alliance School of Milwaukee. The 17-year-old student told investigators the man ...

Schools Matter: Kaplan and Phoenix: Make Way for Stephen Colbert "University"

Kaplan and Phoenix: Make Way for Stephen Colbert "University"

by Jim Horn

href='http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/351585/august-25-2010/stephen-colbert-university---andrew-hacker'>Stephen Colbert University - Andrew Hacker www.colbertnation.com

Morning Joe: How will Race win impact NYC schools?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Living | Smart Spending: Do up your dorm room for under $75 | Seattle Times Newspaper

Smart Spending: Do up your dorm room for under $75

When textbooks and other obligations soak up so much money as college begins, making a cramped dorm room comfy, colorful and classy can seem like a lost cause, but students and their families don't have to spend a lot.

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK —

Experts say a cap of $75 is realistic for students moving into a room furnished with a bed, dresser and desk but nothing else.

"You're not looking for investment pieces," says Stan Williams, author of "The Find: The Housing Works Book of Decorating," and a blog called elegantthrifter.blogspot.com. "You're looking for something that fits into a small space and cheap."

Dr. Susan Baxter, assistant professor of marketing and management at LIM, a college based in New York with a focus on fashion and retailing, recommends starting with information from the college on the room's dimensions and what is supplied.

Next, students should make a list of what's missing and compare

This Week In Education: Thompson: The Senior Graduation Rate

Thompson: The Senior Graduation Rate

by john thompson

Paul Tough in the New York Times recently made a huge point: that the graduation rate of seniors in high-poverty schools has dropped from 86% in 2000 to 68% in 2008, as the rate in low-poverty schools remained constant at 91%. This is crucial as data-driven systems like New York City and Washington D.C. have become so skilled in fabricating distorting graduation statistics, and Texas has perfected the art of hiding the low test scores of

This Week In Education: RTTT: Rigid Reliance On Numbers Explains Lack Of Duncan Over-Ride

RTTT: Rigid Reliance On Numbers Explains Lack Of Duncan Over-Ride

The most interesting things about the RTTT results announced this week aren't the results themsevles, but rather what the results tell us about competitive grant evaluations and about Secretary Duncan. Despite all efforts to come up with a transparent, reliable, numerical rating system, the RTTT judging results were off in at least a couple of regards (Ohio and Hawaii, for starts). To me it's a vivid reminder that judging and evaluating quality aren't particularly reliable endeavors, even when you have total control over all the pieces (the rating system, the judges, etc). Even more, the results provide a peek into the workings of the Duncan education department or the

UNT-Dallas celebrates independence as city's first public university 9:00 AM CT | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | News: Education

UNT-Dallas celebrates independence as city's first public university 9:00 AM CT

This morning, students, faculty, staff and other public officials gathered outside the school’s two buildings for speeches and a ribbon-cutting.

New coalition to call for simpler teachers contract
8.26.10 -Nearly two dozen business, civic, and grassroots organizations will announce a new coalition today to push for dramatic changes in the Boston Teachers Union contract that would permit such initiatives as teacher bonuses and extended days at all schools.

LA Times reporters respond to my questions on school ratings
8.26.10 - Jay Mathews - I have been avidly following the Los Angeles Times publication of value-added data from elementary schools in the L.A. district. After Sunday's latest installment, I posted an appreciation of what they were doing, but expressed frustration with some gaps in the story, and what I considered at least slight misrepresentation of some of their data. Here is the LA Times reporters' response. ...

USDA grants help plant seeds of good nutrition with school gardens
8.26.10 - Nanci Hellmich - Since first lady Michelle Obama planted a garden at the White House in the spring of 2009 and invited schoolchildren to help tend and harvest the produce, more school gardens have been sprouting up across the country. ...

Class sizes are getting bigger, but does it really matter?
8.26.10 - Tamara Henry - Two years of cuts in state support saddled the Natomas Unified School District in Sacramento this spring with what school board president B. Teri Burns calls "horribly painful" choices: fewer teachers and larger classes, or keeping teachers but cutting athletics, counseling and after-school programs. ...

Commentaries

Online Learning Is On the Upswing-In the Public Mind At Least
8.26.10 - Paul E. Peterson - Of all the innovations and policy reform proposals in education, it is online learning that is gathering public support most rapidly. In just one year-from 2009 to 2010-the percentage of Americans who think that high school students should be given credit for courses taken online has jumped from 42 percent to 52 percent.
You're a failure - now get over it
8.26.10 - New research suggests our obsession with success is a handicap, says Max Davidson. Overheard in a boulangerie in the Dordogne last week: "If you are always 'appy, you are not truly 'appy. To be truly 'appy, you must first be sad." Don't the French put these things beautifully? And, of course, the Frenchman speaking - waxing philosophical to an English tourist while queuing for his baguettes - was spot-on. ...

The Glut of Academic Publishing: A Call for a New Culture
8.24.10 - This article will appear in the forthcoming fall issue of Academic Questions (vol. 23, no. 3). A short version of this paper appeared under the title "We Must Stop the Avalanche of Low-Quality Research" in the June 13, 2010 Chronicle of Higher Education.

Buzzwords in winning Race to the Top applications
8.26.10 - Sarah Garland and Sarah Butrymowicz - What does it take to win millions of federal dollars to finance state education reforms? Including some magical words certainly can't hurt. A look at the finalists' applications from the second round of Race to the Top reveals that winners hit on key education buzzwords more frequently than losers did. One exception is that losers

Senators Exaggerate Number of Teachers' Jobs in Jeopardy
8.25.10 - In early August, when the U.S. Senate earmarked $10 billion to recover lost jobs in education, supporters of the measure claimed the money would save thousands of teachers' jobs. President Obama put the figure at 160,000 jobs across the country.

Looking for a College With a Diverse Student Body? - Morse Code: Inside the College Rankings (usnews.com)

Looking for a College With a Diverse Student Body?

August 26, 2010 09:38 AM ET | Robert Morse | Permanent Link | Print

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Many prospective college students and their parents believe that an ethnically diverse student body enhances the education of every pupil on campus. A university is truly diverse if there are many different ethnic groups enrolled on campus and those groups have around the same percentage of students enrolled. In other words, if a college has only one ethnic group that makes up the vast percentage of its entire student body, it's not very diverse, even though it might have many other ethnic groups represented in very small percentages.

[See our list of Great Schools at Great Prices.]

We have published the lists of the most and least ethnically diverse colleges on our Web site; the lists are broken down by college category:

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