Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Rhee is job hunting? Teachers all over America are speaking as one, “Not here!” � Fred Klonsky's blog

Rhee is job hunting? Teachers all over America are speaking as one, “Not here!”

by preaprez

With Michelle Rhee now out of a job and looking, teachers all over the country are saying, “Not here!”

The Answer Sheet - Ravitch: Charters are a lead bullet

Ravitch: Charters are a lead bullet

This was written by education historian Diane Ravitch on her Bridging Differences blog, which she co-authors with Deborah Meier on the Education Week website. Ravitch and Meier exchange letters about what matters most in education. Ravitch, a research professor at New York University, is the author of the bestselling “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” an important critique of the flaws in the modern school reform movement. Dear Deborah, Davis Guggenheim’s "Waiting for ’Superman’" has dominated the air waves for the past few weeks with its message that public education is a failed enterprise and that privately managed charters are the answer to our nation’s education problems. The film doesn’t include a single successful public school teacher or public school. It is a one-sided, propagandistic attack on public education which echoes the prescriptions of those who have devoutly wished for the privatization of education. I imagine

Congratulations to the 2010 Minerva Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to the 2010 Minerva Scholarship Recipients
Architects of Change
Maria's Post

10/13/10 | Maria Shriver | 0 Comments

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I am proud to announce the 2010 Minerva Scholarship recipients. This diverse group of women has shown not only a commitment to their education, but proven dedication to their community. Whether volunteering at a domestic violence organization or mentoring high school students or serving as a translator at a legal clinic for immigrants, these women are truly Architects of Change.

WE Educate invests in young women by providing scholarships to enable promising students to expand their educational pursuits. Since 2005, the Conference has awarded 48 Young Minerva Scholarships totaling $350,000.

Through this scholarship program, The Women’s Conference is able to honor women who exemplify the values of The Women’s Conference, continuing our work of empowering women 365 days a year to realize their potential.

Maria Shriver

Congratulations to the 2010 Minerva Scholarship Recipients

Nelly Chavez from Modesto, California attends University of Southern California and is majoring in Ethnic Studies.
Patrice Collins from Long Beach, California attends California State University, Long Beach.
Guadalupe Cruz from Azusa, California attends University of California, Santa Barbara and is majoring in Psychology.
Baldeep Dhaliwal from Sacramento, California attends University of California, San Diego and is majoring in Biology.
Reina Ferrufino from Whittier, California attends University of California, Berkeley and is majoring in Sociology.
Elaine Flores from Rancho Cucamonga, California attends California Lutheran University and is majoring in Political Science.
Erin Ford from Altadena, California attends Tuskegee University and is majoring in Psychology.
Tiffany Harrison from San Diego, California attends University of San Diego.
Anissa Leong from Pomona, California, attends University of California, Berkley and is majoring in Legal Studies.
Lynn Osorio from Banning, California attends University of Redlands and is majoring in Government and Religious Studies.
Lacie Pierre from Los Angeles, California attends University of California, Merced.
Jessica Powell from Costa Mesa, California attends Orange Coast College and is majoring in Elementary Education.
Karlesha Roland from Oakland, California attends Spelman College and is majoring in Mathematics.
Angela Sanchez from Los Angeles, California attends University of California, Los Angeles and is majoring in History.
Tiani Small from San Jose, California attends Spelman College and is majoring in International Studies.
Zephanii Smith from Stockton, California attends Claremont McKenna College.
Pamela Themm from Murrieta, California attends Azusa Pacific University and is majoring in Education.
Briana Valencia from Oak Park, California attends University of California, Los Angles and is majoring in Gender/Gay-Lesbian studies.
Royal Williams from Colton, California attends Oakwood University and is majoring in Communication.
Xu Yu Zeng from San Francisco, California attends University of California, San Diego and is majoring in Human Biology.

Click here for more information on the Minerva Scholarship Recipients

$$$$$$ Mayor Kevin Johnson Outlines Plans for takeover of SCUSD Board of Education $$$$$

Kevin Johnson will join a coalition of leaders in announcing endorsements for school board candidates running in three key races in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

The Mayor will be joined by education, business, faith, public safety, and community leaders united in their commitment to improving Sacramento’s struggling school system.

Mayor Johnson’s much anticipated announcement comes after several meetings with school board candidates as part of Johnson’s ongoing effort to make education a top priority during his tenure.

Mayor Johnson advised that he will support candidates who seek to improve teacher and principal quality; enhance transparency around school performance and quality; increase the range of school options available to parents and students; equip parents with the tools to advocate for their children’s success; and promote local, state, and national reforms that bring about systemic change.

Who: Mayor Kevin Johnson Frank Washington, Metro Chamber Mark Tyndale, SPOA Additional business, civic and community leaders from across Sacramento

When: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 11:00 am

Location: Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library Entrance 7335 Gloria Drive Sacramento, CA 95831

Michelle Rhee Resigns: What’s in store for DC schools now? | Taking Note

Michelle Rhee Resigns: What’s in store for DC schools now?

by JOHN MERROW on 13. OCT, 2010 in MICHELLE RHEE, MEDIA

The sudden resignation of Michelle Rhee actually makes perfect sense. It was inevitable, so why wait around? It’s easy to imagine Ms. Rhee coming to that conclusion once she recognized that she and the next Mayor, Vincent Gray, would not be able to work together the way she did with the current Mayor, Adrian Fenty.

Michelle Rhee Resigns What happens next in Washington is the big story, although most of the attention will be on Ms. Rhee. She’s a national figure, subject of much speculation. Will she go to California if Meg Whitman wins the gubernatorial race? What about New Jersey? Iowa? Funny how the Republicans love her to death now, even though she was chosen by an ardent Democrat and has been praised to the skies by President Obama.

We’ve followed Ms. Rhee closely during the three plus years she’s been in Washington, airing a total of 12 segments about the changes she’s made there.Scores and enrollment are up locally, but, make no m

Tree Dedication and Planting - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Dedicates Trees
of CDE to California Students, Joins in Planting
of New Tree Next to Sacramento Headquarters

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today dedicated the 30 trees that encircle the California Department of Education to the state's students and their continued growth.

"Trees provide us with many benefits: shade and beauty, food, places to play and hide," O'Connell said. "They also serve as a reminder that over time tiny saplings can grow into something larger and bountiful with nourishment and care. I therefore dedicate these noble and lofty trees that surround our building in celebration of California's students, our most precious treasure."

O'Connell also helped plant a new tree, a Chinese Pistache supplied by the City of Sacramento, in front of CDE to replace an American Elm that was removed in June after it was discovered it was infected with the Dutch Elm Disease fungus.

Helping to plant the new tree was Ray Tretheway, executive director of the Sacramento Tree Foundation; Darrell Stewart, education manager for Intel Corp. in California; and first grade students from David Lubin Elementary School in Sacramento.

For more information on the Chinese Pistache, please visit the Sacramento Tree Foundation Web page: Chinese Pistache - Sacramento Tree Foundation (Outside Source).

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: She's gone. But where?

She's gone. But where?

by Mike Klonsky

Not Chicago

Where will Michelle Rhee go, now that and Mayor Fenty have been given the boot by D.C. voters? Teachers everywhere are holding their collective breath and whispering, "Not here. Not here. Oh please, not here." On the other side sit the corporate reformers, charter school operators, and the power philanthropists praying, "Chooseme us. Oh, please choose us." Rhee could possibly bring a gold mine of corporate reform dollars to any school district that would accept her divisiveness in trade.

But, according to Mike DeBonis at the Washington Post, the teachers needn't worry so much. Rhee's not taking another school job. The reason?

"Rhee has already said her work is only possible in school districts with clear lines of command and control -- in other words, no school boards."

Right now that leaves only Chicago and Newark as potential job sites and neither are likely stopovers for Rhee. Writes DeBonis:

Rheelief?: PostLocal: Washington, DC Area News, Traffic, Weather, Sports & More - washingtonpost.com

PostLocal: Washington, DC Area News, Traffic, Weather, Sports & More - washingtonpost.com

Rhee: Leaving is 'heartbreaking'

Rhee at a recent press conference. (File photo: Marvin Joseph/Post)

PHOTOS AND VIDEO

In announcing her resignation, the D.C. schools chancellor says the best way to keep reform going is for her to move on. || By Tim Craig and Bill Turque

Chat, NOW: End of Rhee era
DEBONIS: What she did, didn't do

AFTER MICHELLE RHEE

Murky future for reform

Some of Rhee's key strategies for changing D.C. schools are in limbo.
Story by Bill Turque

YOUR REACTION

Statement by Secretary Duncan on the Resignation of D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee | U.S. Department of Education

Statement by Secretary Duncan on the Resignation of D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee

OCTOBER 13, 2010

Contact:

Sandra Abrevaya, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan today released the following statement on the resignation of Michelle Rhee as chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools.

"Michelle Rhee has been a pivotal leader in the school reform movement and we expect she will continue to be a force for change wherever she goes. I commend D.C. leadership for choosing Kaya Henderson, Michelle’s Deputy Chancellor, to run D.C. schools where she will continue implementing bold education reforms until a new Chancellor is appointed by the next mayor. I am especially pleased to see that Mayor Fenty and Council Chairman Vincent Gray have agreed to keep the current management team in place to avoid a mid-year disruption in the education of the students."

Shanker Blog � Teacher Contracts: The Phantom Menace

TEACHER CONTRACTS: THE PHANTOM MENACE

by Matthew Di Carlo

In a previous post, I presented a simple tabulation of NAEP scores by whether or not states had binding teacher contracts. The averages indicate that states without such contracts (which are therefore free of many of the “ill effects” of teachers’ unions) are among the lowest performers in the nation on all four NAEP exams.

The post was largely a response to the constant comparisons of U.S. test scores with those of other nations (usually in the form of rankings), which make absolutely no reference to critical cross-national differences, most notably in terms of poverty/inequality (nor to the methodological issues surrounding test score comparisons). Using the same standard by which these comparisons show poor U.S. performance versus other nations, I “proved” that teacher contracts have a positive effect on states’ NAEP scores.

As I indicated at the end of that post, however, the picture is of course far more complicated. Dozens of factors – many of them unmeasurable – influence test scores, and simple averages mask them all. Still, given the fact

Paterson reaches out to troubled kids - NorthJersey.com

Paterson reaches out to troubled kids

Wednesday, October 13, 2010
LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 13, 2010, 11:46 AM

BY MEREDITH MANDELL

THE RECORD

Staff Writer

PATERSON - The district kicked off its adopt-a-school program on Tuesday, inviting members of the Paterson Pastor's Workshop to a breakfast to discuss their continued involvement in the program.

The Rev. William Cash of Life Changing Word Church International listening to Superintendent Donnie Evans as the district kicked off its annual adopt-a-school program Tuesday.

TARIQ ZEHAWI/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Buy this photo

The Rev. William Cash of Life Changing Word Church International listening to Superintendent Donnie Evans as the district kicked off its annual adopt-a-school program Tuesday.

Started six years ago by the Rev. Gloria Taylor, a principal at Great Falls Academy, the program joins volunteers from area churches with more than 50 district schools.

She said she came up with the idea when she realized she was kicking too many students out of school for behavioral behavior problems and needed community members to help them.

"I was throwing these kids out of school, and they had no sense of value. They had no hope; they were angry," she told about 50 guests at the morning meeting.

Volunteers participate in mentoring of students and parents, literacy tutoring

A Call for Disassembly � occupy california

A Call for Disassembly

by *

from anticapitalprojects:

No more General Assemblies • No more Statewide Conferences• No more Days of Inaction

The fiasco of the Oct. 7^th “sit-in” demonstrates the utter bankruptcy of the General Assembly: a political form more effective than tear-gas or billy-clubs in bringing an action to a close. In our fight against the university administration, we have ceded our power to administrative mechanisms that are little better.

How is it that an institution widely regarded last year as farcical came to assume ownership over the university struggle, to assert yet again its supposed sovereign power to broker all meaningful decisions? How can we assure that the General Assembly never again comes to assume the power to neutralize, silence, and demobilize? How can we finally demystify the GA’s absurd self-presentation as a space of democracy,

How Fair is Your State’s Funding?

by Rob Manwaring

I always learn something new when I read a report comparing state funding systems. And this recent report by Bruce Baker and coauthors is a solid one. Unfortunately, the authors had bad timing, and the data that they were using for the report was updated while the report was in production. You can find a quick update using 2008 data (here). With the exception of Delaware there was little change from the prior year’s data. Also if you are a fan of graphs and charts, take a look at the methodology paper (you can skip the math and just look at the charts, they are interesting).

The study provides four specific measures – overall funding levels (adjusted for cost factors), funding effort (measured by percent of GDP spent on education, equity of distribution, and coverage (percent on public school). I found the equity of distribution the most unique from other sources. Basically this measures whether the state’s finance system provides more resources to districts serving a greater portion of student’s living in poverty. If it does the state is considered a progressive state, if the districts serving wealthier students receive

This Week In Education: Commentary: Seven Signs Of Spinning

Commentary: Seven Signs Of Spinning

by Alexander Russo

There are a lot of blogs out there but how can you tell whether they're really any good? Michael Kinsley says that the key is intellectual honesty, which he distinguishes from regular old honesty (as in not lying or making things up): "Intellectual honesty is more demanding: It means being truthful about what’s going on inside your own head." So ask yourself if the people you're reading are really being truthful about what they're thinking -- signs of which, according to me, include things like admitting doubt, acknowledging

Quote: Is Tenure Really The Main Problem Here?