Dear People who care about the future of Sacramento:

Show up to City Council on Tuesday! (Sept. 15th @ 6pm)

Please show up to City Hall tomorrow (September 15th) and urge the Council to vote NO on using public resources to fix legal flaws with the strong mayor initiative.

City Hall is located at 915 I Street and the meeting starts at 6pm. This item is expected to be heard within the first hour.

The City Attorney recently identified a number of legal issues in the Strong Mayor initiative. As a result, she has advised the proponents of this measure to fix those legal flaws in order to avoid any confusion about whether the initiative is constitutional.

This initiative is being funded with private money. Therefore, any band-aid measure needed to fix the legal issues should be paid for with private money. Nonetheless, the proponents of this measure want the public to foot the bill for fixing their mistakes.

Please show up to City Council tomorrow and ask them to use common sense and VOTE NO on bailing out the legally flawed Strong Mayor Initiative.

Thank you!- Stop the Power Grab

Imperial Valley News - California Schools Chief Urges Schools to Compete in Disney's Environmental Challenge Contest

Imperial Valley News - California Schools Chief Urges Schools to Compete in Disney's Environmental Challenge Contest:

"Sacramento, California - State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced the California Department of Education is collaborating with The Walt Disney Company and the K-12 Alliance of state and federal agencies on the Disney's Planet Challenge contest.

'California has a legacy of leadership on the environment, science, and technology, that have made the state one of the most hypercompetitive economies in the world,' said O'Connell. 'This contest will offer teachers a new science tool and a fresh way to motivate their students' creativity about how to protect their environment. I urge all schools to challenge themselves and participate in this nationwide competition.'"

Schools Look Abroad to Hire Teachers - NYTimes.com

Schools Look Abroad to Hire Teachers - NYTimes.com:

"The report used government data to estimate that 19,000 foreign teachers were working in the United States on temporary visas in 2007, and that the number was rising steadily. There are more than three million teachers in American public schools.

“Overseas-trained teachers are being recruited from nearly all corners of the globe and are being placed primarily in hard-to-staff inner-city or very rural schools teaching the hard-to-fill disciplines of math, science and special education,” said the report, by the American Federation of Teachers."

Local News | Kent strike ends: Teachers overwhelmingly accept deal | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News Kent strike ends: Teachers overwhelmingly accept deal Seattle Times Newspaper:

"The Kent teachers strike ended shortly before 10 this morning after teachers voted overwhelmingly to accept a tentative contract agreement reached Sunday evening.
Some 1,360 of the members of the Kent Education Association attended this morning's meeting, with 94 percent voting to accept the offer."

Kent school teachers celebrate after voting to ratify a contract ending their two-week-old strike and avoid court-ordered fines.

The Daily Aztec - FLAMING LIBERAL: Meaningful message

The Daily Aztec - FLAMING LIBERAL: Meaningful message:

"Here in San Diego, Trustees of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District voted to ban the live broadcasting of Obama’s speech because of many negative communications they received from concerned parents. Later in the week, Board President Penny Halgren and trustee Bob Duff apologized for their votes and stated they wished they could go back and allow the students to see the live speech.

This shows the pressure and ultimate damage irrational conservatives may have on students’ opportunity to learn in class. This is telling of the weak character of the trustees, not just in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, but across the nation."

'Race to the Top' - we expected better

'Race to the Top' - we expected better:

"What are the ingredients of successful education reform? From the perspective of a classroom teacher, reform must be rooted in classroom practice and supported by research."

For eight years, educators endured No Child Left Behind, an education law that focused on one-size-fits-all standardized testing. We looked forward to the day that a new administration, headed by a president who promised transparency, reliance on research and support for public education, took office.

We are grateful that federal stimulus funds included money to help fill the giant holes left by disappearing tax revenues in state budgets. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/14/EDUJ19N1PV.DTL#ixzz0R8yLN2Pa

The Principal Story on PBS, September 15 at 10 PM.

Watch The Principal Story on PBS, September 15 at 10 PM. POV is PBS’s award-winning nonfiction film series.

Interested in public school reform? Want to engage attendees at a training or workshop? Looking for an exciting new way to get parents talking about school involvement?
Check out The Principal Story and take an inside look at the challenges facing America's public schools — and the great difference a dedicated principal can make. Tresa Dunbar is a second-year principal at Chicago's Nash Elementary, where 98% of students come from low-income families; in Springfield, Illinois, Kerry Purcell has led Harvard Park Elementary, with similar demographics, for six years. With funding from The Wallace Foundation, The Principal Story takes the viewer along for an emotional ride that reveals what effective educational leadership looks like in the 21st century.

You can also borrow the film and download the discussion guide, for FREE!
To sign up, visit: www.amdoc.org/outreach/events/Our free lending library is available for nonprofits, educational institutions, libraries, and local PBS stations.

Watch the trailer: www.pbs.org/pov/principalstory/

Check your local listings: http://www.pbs.org/pov/tvschedule/

If you are looking for images and photos, you can also browse our Pressroom: http://www.amdoc.org/pressroom_pov2009.php

Ways to Incorporate Daily Reading Activities With Children | Literacy News

Ways to Incorporate Daily Reading Activities With Children Literacy News:

"Today, it seems, everyone is too busy to do much of what we know is important or needed. Just because a parent feels they don’t have 15 or 20 minutes to read to their child for whatever the reason, there are still ways to find the time for what has been called “the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for success in reading is reading aloud to children”. With the help of the Reading is Fundamental Organization’s website (www.rif.org) I’ve compiled a list of ideas to enable parents to find opportunities to read to their children and help them succeed."

NCAA's sickle cell test plan raises fears

NCAA's sickle cell test plan raises fears:

"A recent NCAA recommendation to screen college athletes for sickle cell trait - the gene that can cause sickle cell disease - is raising the hackles of some experts who say testing is probably unnecessary, and may even lead to inadvertent discrimination against minority players."

Sickle cell disease is a blood disorder that can cause severe pain, stroke and death, but sickle cell trait is almost always benign, and many people never know whether they carry the gene. About 8 percent of black people and about 1 percent of Latinos have sickle cell trait, but it's rare among white people, affecting only about 1 in 10,000.Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/09/14/MN2P19LCJM.DTL#ixzz0R836OkQJ

2theadvocate.com | News | New school pays for behavior — Baton Rouge, LA

2theadvocate.com News New school pays for behavior — Baton Rouge, LA:

"The students at Children’s Charter’s new middle school get a weekly paycheck to go to school. Sort of.

For the past month, 40 sixth- and seventh-graders have started off with $25 just for showing up. If they behave appropriately, at the end of each class, teachers will add stamps to these paychecks, each one worth another $25. By the end of a week, they can earn as much as $500 which they can then spend at the school’s store."

44 Percent Is Passing Grade on New York Math State Test - NYTimes.com

44 Percent Is Passing Grade on New York Math State Test - NYTimes.com:

"At a time when the tests are assuming an unprecedented role in classrooms across the state — used for everything from analyzing student deficiencies to determining which educators deserve cash bonuses — the debate underscores a central question: How accurate are the exams in measuring student learning and progress, and what skills should a passing grade reflect?"

Education Week: Engaging Schools, Engaging Parents: The School-Community Partnership

Education Week: Engaging Schools, Engaging Parents: The School-Community Partnership:

"Tuesday, September 15, 2 p.m. Eastern time

Sign up below to receive an e-mail reminder about this chat.

At President Barack Obama's urging, and in response to research showing a connection between parental involvement and student achievement, districts nationwide have launched initiatives to increase community engagement with schools. Yet many schools find it difficult to sustain parent involvement beyond the parent-teacher conference. Join two experts, Joyce L. Epstein and Larry Ferlazzo, for an in-depth discussion on the subject. Ms. Epstein is the main author of 'School, Family, and Community Partnerships.' Mr. Ferlazzo co-authored the forthcoming book 'Building Parent Engagement In Schools.'"

http://www.edweek.org/ew/events/chats/2009/09/15/index.html?altcast_code=a1c4dbcff7

Breaking news from afar: Ed-reform darlings Rhee, Barr turn on each other

Breaking news from afar: Ed-reform darlings Rhee, Barr turn on each other:


"A tiny handful of parents from the neighborhood attended the community meeting Barr called to rouse the masses to mutiny against D.C. public schools, my friend reports. “According to Barr, Rhee has cooled to his advances and actually got angry with him on the phone when she learned that he was meeting with community members,” she e-mailed me.
This gets especially interesting because Barr claims that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is pulling for him to take over the school, and it’s big news if Duncan – a big supporter of charters and privatization – is facing off against Rhee – also a big supporter of charters and privatization."

Obama school-'safety' chief: How to jam homosexuality

Obama school-'safety' chief: How to jam homosexuality:

"President Obama's choice to monitor school safety once boasted that he introduced homosexual advocacy into the school system in Massachusetts by manipulating the message presented to lawmakers.

The revelations about Kevin Jennings, who was named assistant deputy secretary for the office of Safe & Drug Free Schools in the U.S. Department of Education, come just as several of Obama's 'czars' have come under scrutiny for their actions, opinions and affiliations."

Education Week: How Obama's Pep Talk Became a Publicity Headache

Education Week: How Obama's Pep Talk Became a Publicity Headache:

"But the fuse was lit on Aug. 25, when Secretary Duncan followed up with an open letter to school principals, e-mailed and posted online, that encouraged them and their students to watch the speech, and directed them to a “menu of classroom activities” available online to help teachers in conjunction with the speech. (The letter, once available on the Education Department’s Web site, has been taken down.)"

Original Lesson Plan http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10582301/President-Obama’s-Address-to-Students-Across-America-September-8-2009

And We Think Education is Expensive... - California Progress Report

And We Think Education is Expensive... - California Progress Report:

"“What’s arguably more frightening in the long view is that [our children] they’re coming of age in an America so hyper-partisan, shrill, silly and incoherent that a pep talk to school kids — surely the most plain vanilla presidential duty this side of pardoning the turkey at Thanksgiving — gets treated like it was Osama bin Laden giving an al-Qaeda recruitment speech in lower Manhattan on Sept. 11.”"

SCUSD Board Budget Committee

Monday , September 14, 2009

Agenda and Handouts

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

The Serna Center

5735 47th Ave. Sacramento, CA 95824

Indiana Room

George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science

Exciting News!

Carver High School made the greatest improvement of any school in Sacramento City Unified School District for the 2009-2010 school year. The gains were made in every group of students as measured by NCLB. This is fantastic news to show the success of our students in our very first year. We look forward to continued success and achievement for all our students.

Summer Arts Academy

The Sam Mazza Summer Arts Academy 2009 offered performing arts to students interested in drama, music, and poetry. Carver's after-school program director, Shannah Dieckmann, worked with teachers Scott Embrey-Stine and Mme Jennifer Fain to bring several special events to the students. Dahlak Brathwaite offered students a chance to work in the spoken word, in dramatic recitations of original poetry. A few of his students competed for honors in a national competition in Chicago. We were honored to have Nate Hall and Charday Adams perform their competition piece at our showcase for the parents and the community. In cooperation with the Music Circus and their arts education outreach, students were able to go to a performance of Altar Boyz and hear from a performer about his work. Another opportunity came from the Harlem Dance Company, and students were able to hear from two of the principal ballet dancers in the country after seeing a video of their work.

Another innovation for this summer was the help of our Sacramento Waldorf graduates, who worked as recreation assistants, Elise Ali, Sean Embrey-Stine, and Kevin Langham. These young adults worked with students in dramatic exercises, script writing, and acting, as well as music. The assistants led the morning warm-up activities, daily singing, and directed the students in the original play, "Rumplestiltzkin". Working with the gifted song-writer, Ariel Heim, Sean helped Ariel and Brianna Price refine and rehearse Ariel's song, "Teardrops and the Rain", which was performed at the showcase event.

Mme Fain, for many years the drama teacher at the Sacramento Waldorf School trained several students in the art of acting, and they performed A.A. Milne's The Ugly Duckling, a one-act play about a prince and a princess. All of the students worked on other arts as well-- form-drawing and perspective drawing, as well as the work on the set for the two plays. Students new to George Washington Carver School of Arts and Science had an extraordinary opportunity to meet other students, experience the joys and stress of performing, as well as get an introduction to Waldorf methods for the school year to come.We continue the work of the Arts Academy in the Waldorf Core classes for ninth and tenth grades. Plan to attend the summer program next year.

Ruling in Richardson ISD case alters standards for reimbursement when services unavailable to disabled students | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Ruling in Richardson ISD case alters standards for reimbursement when services unavailable to disabled students News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Latest News:

"A recent federal appeals court decision is the latest attempt by judges to define the level of public education that disabled students are entitled to receive.

The ruling, in a case involving a girl from Richardson, imposes new standards for parents in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi who seek reimbursement from school districts for some special education services not available from public schools."

The case focused on the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which requires public schools to offer "free and appropriate public education" for disabled children.
More than 450,000 students in Texas receive services under IDEA.

If a local public school cannot supply that education, the district is obligated to pay for some services considered necessary for a legally appropriate education.
But court cases in several federal districts have struggled to define exactly what that obligation means. The Richardson decision, handed down Aug. 21, is the latest.

Bold risk for teachers union - The Boston Globe

Bold risk for teachers union - The Boston Globe:


"THE BOSTON Teachers Union is trying to turn the tables on its critics by opening a pilot school that removes layers of bureaucracy between students and their teachers. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, warned that “naysayers will be rooting for it to fail.’’ Not likely. If anything, Bostonians and education advocates across the political spectrum are longing for more successful schools, regardless of who runs them."

The Associated Press: WA official: Only US teacher strike nears end

The Associated Press: WA official: Only US teacher strike nears end:


"It is the only teacher strike in the nation taking place this week, and experts said they are becoming rarer across the nation. But that's not necessarily the case in Washington; teachers in a city east of Seattle staged a two-week strike last fall.

Rich Wood, a spokesman for the state's largest teacher's union, said strikes are not that common because most states do not allow them and and some ban collective bargaining.
Longer contracts and accommodating teachers who understand the budget pressures school districts are experiencing are two other reasons strikes are becoming rarer, said Janet Bass, spokeswoman for the American Federation of Teachers, the nation's second-largest teachers union."

School reform is next - Press-Telegram

School reform is next - Press-Telegram:

"Legislators have ended their regular session, but they've got some urgent unfinished business. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special session on education reform — and wants action by Oct. 5, less than three weeks away.

California has had pressing education issues for a long time. Reforms have been discussed and discussed and discussed.

But the dynamic changed with President Barack Obama's challenge to the states — backed by $10 billion in new funds — to move aggressively in improving the nation's public schools. The first round of applications for $4 billion in Race to the Top funds is due in December."

stjoenews.net | Improving schools requires different approach

stjoenews.net Improving schools requires different approach:

"Many educators agree that former President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind program sounds nice but causes harmful results. In St. Joseph, three elementary schools didn’t make adequate yearly progress and, thus, parents were able to transfer their kids to other schools.

This complicated an already emotional issue after the St. Joseph School District redrew boundary lines and toughened its transfer policies earlier in the summer."

English-only test leaves some Oregon children behind OregonLive.com

English-only test leaves some Oregon children behind OregonLive.com:

"Forest Grove teacher Lourdes Medina watched two of her third-grade students break into tears of frustration as they tried to complete the state assessment test in reading last spring.
They were excellent readers, but they couldn't comprehend the test, which for the first time in three years was offered only in English."

Schools brace for No Child scores | San Francisco Examiner

Schools brace for No Child scores San Francisco Examiner:

"As part of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the state will release Adequate Yearly Progress reports for all schools and districts Tuesday.
The data will outline which schools and districts have met required benchmarks for English and math proficiency."

High school newspaper censored | Daily Titan

High school newspaper censored Daily Titan:

"An Orange County principal violated a state education code that provides First Amendment rights to high school journalists when she halted the printing of the school’s newspaper, Evolution, last week, experts say.

“In this case, technically, the principal was out of line,” said Jay Seidel, an instructor and journalism adviser at Fullerton College. “It was illegal what she did according to the California education code. She violated the student (writers’) rights.”"

John Rosemond: Rules for back to school : Don't Miss : The Buffalo News

John Rosemond: Rules for back to school : Don't Miss : The Buffalo News:

"As this school year began, several teachers asked if I would reprint a column that first appeared about 10 years ago.

The subject is my five top back-to- school tips for parents. Before you read, be informed that when I use the term “best students,” I am not necessarily referring to those children who make the best grades. Rather, I mean those students who come to school prepared to pay attention, accept assignment and do their best, whatever their best may be."