The cover of NYSUT's evaluation handbook
This school year, New York State school districts and their teachers unions are spending a lot of time hammering out local agreements about adopting the state’s new mandated teacher evaluation system, required by June. While 40 percent of that system is predetermined by student test scores, myriad unanswered questions surround the remaining “subjective” 60 percent:
Written by Todd Engdahl on Nov 16th, 2011. | Copyright © EdNewsColorado.org
Colorado’s school funding system could hit a constitutional dead end in less than five years, a veteran analyst told the Joint Budget Committee Wednesday.
A discussion of the tough prospects facing school funding was the centerpiece of Carolyn Kampman’s briefing to the committee on the proposed K-12 budget for the 2012-13 school year. She also updated the committee – and more than a dozen other lawmakers who sat in – on funding for online students and the status of the Lobato v. State school funding lawsuit.
Every fall committee staff analysts such as Kampman brief the panel on each state agency, reviewing current spending, policy issues and making initial spending recommendations for the upcoming budget year.
Wednesday’s K-12 funding briefing departed from the usual script in taking a longer-term view of the
Over the summer, Stand For Children's Jonah Edelman got in hot water for revealing how he'd helped get reform legislation passed in Illinois -- and then made things worse with an unnecessary public apology that only confirmed that his critics were right and pushed the story out for another few days or weeks. Earlier today, Chicago teacher union head Karen Lewis did much the same thing, calling a
Will Science Reframe Poverty? Think Progress: I’m sure higher taxes on the rich to pay for early childhood eduction would also poll well. From everything I’ve seen, the voters are eager to tax the rich. But none of this shows an
We here at Education Week are happy to announce a new special report, Joining Forces, on the concept of labor-management collaboration, reported and written by myself and several of my colleagues.
Just as with last year's special report on professional development, this is a very conceptual topic to write about.Scratch below the surface and you'll find a lot of different ideas about what the term "collaboration" means in an education setting, how to do it well, even whether it's a good idea.
While the report doesn't come to any firm conclusions about these issues, we've tried to get you thinking about them in somewhat deeper, more meaningful ways.
Though it wasn't an intentional decision, several of the stories deal with the issue of teacher evaluations. In retrospect, that makes some sense, given
Louisiana Charter Law on Expulsion
Charters in Louisiana operate under different rules than traditional public schools. They can expel students for minor infractions or simply expel those students who might contribute to lowering test scores. If “behavior problem” students and special education students, who often are challenged by standardized tests, are taken out of the equation, test scores for the school rise.
Critics say New Orleans charter schools are selectively admitting and retaining students based on academic performance and behavior. For example in the table below a student in “KIPP Central City Primary School” can be permanently expelled for absences, being tardy and for “repeatedly committing minor behavioral infractions.”
| RSD Charter Schools | Grade |
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| New Orleans Charter Science and Math Academy | 9-11 |
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| Lafayette Academy Charter School | PreK-7 |
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| Nelson, Gentilly Terrace and Capdau: UNO Charter Schools | K-8 |
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| Miller-McCoy Academy | 5-11 |
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| KIPP Central City Primary | K-2 |
|
(Research on Reforms)
Crain’s Greg Hinz says Ty Fahner and the Civic Committee are resigned to wait until next Spring to pick up the pension fight again. House GOP Leader Tom Cross says he’s not happy about it. He thinks it should be sooner than later. And he’s blaming Speaker Madigan.
Considering that all three of these characters signed the letter promising action in the almost completed veto session suggests something of a circular firing squad. After being passed in committee on a five to four vote, the bill never came to the floor.
Teacher mobilization seemed to have limited the number of votes Democrats could deliver.
For teachers it just points out that the fight will have to be fought again. And again.
I had a quick chat with Illinois House GOP Leader Tom Cross about the above
Privatization Tactic: The Innocuous "Pilot" Planby: firstamend07Wed Nov 16, 2011 at 12:07:01 PM EST |
| promoted by the_promised_land - Good heads up on Christie's attempts to take away middle-class jobs - check out another one here as well. Who is the Governor deceiving? The state is requesting bids from private contractors to take over snow removal, pothole repair, tree trimming and other duties now performed by state workers at three maintenance yards throughout New Jersey.The planned pilot program is designed to determine whether private crews can maintain the highways cheaper than state workers.The pilot program calls for awarding a three-year contract to |
In the summer of 1974 I became principal of my first school. It was in trouble—such trouble, in fact, that I was the only person they could find to be its principal.
Demographic change had hit the school hard. White flight and other changes had dropped the enrollment to only 210 students, 38% of whom were now African American. The neighborhood of the school was what the real estate agents charmingly called “a little salt and pepper,” and everyone believed what one trustee whispered in my ear: “Research has shown that if a third of a school goes black, it goes all the way.”
To make many long stories short, three years later it was a vibrant, happy school for boys and girls ages 2 to 14, and soon it was the “hot” school with a full enrollment of 330, sending its students on to the best high schools well prepared. Still 38% were African American with economic diversity funded by a sliding scale tuition.
What did we do right?
Our secret sauce was that the teachers and I were on a mission, a mission to prove that three popular beliefs
Posted: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 1:28 pm |Updated: 2:05 pm, Wed Nov 16, 2011.
The financial fate of local schools rests on whether California will slash school funding in the middle of the year. A crucial new analysis released today puts the state a step closer to doing just that. School officials say it would send San Diego Unified hurtling toward a financial meltdown.
The school district built its budget on the hopes that California would not make these cuts, rehiring teachers this summer to keep classes small for its youngest students. Now that money could be in jeopardy. Here is a step-by-step guide to what happened today
