S C T A Annual Crab Feed

S C T A Annual Crab Feed

 

Do you like crab? Dancing? Wine? 

Bidding on auction prizes? Winning “stuff” in raffles?

The SCTA Annual Crab Dinner is our big event that brings teachers and the community together to raise funds for scholarships.College tuition and fees are higher than ever and our scholarship program is a way that teachers and SCTA can help. 

Well then…

 S C T A 

Sacramento City Teachers Association

Annual Crab Feed 

Scholarship Fundraiser

 Saturday, February 6 from 5-10pm

 Elk's Lodge, 6446 Riverside Blvd in Sacramento, CA

View Google Map

 sold out last year, so buy early and often

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

SCTA at 916-452-4591

Education Week: Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans

Education Week: Two State Unions Balking at 'Race to Top' Plans:

"Teachers’ unions in at least two states are threatening to withhold endorsements of their state’s Race to the Top applications, which could jeopardize the states’ chances of winning the coveted federal dollars.

In a letter printed as an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat , Florida Education Association President Andy J. Ford discouraged local union affiliates from signing an agreement to implement a state plan that, among other things, would require districts to base teacher evaluations and compensation bonuses heavily on student test scores.
“Any sense of collaboration is absent in your proposal,” Mr. Ford wrote in the Dec. 17 letter to Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith. “Your approach is prescriptive,..."

An Open Letter to Florida Education Commissioner Eric J. Smith -

Finally, the Arne Duncan Chicago Schools reform myth is exposed

Finally, the Arne Duncan Chicago Schools reform myth is exposed:

"However, what I do find contemptuous is when guys who are lucky enough to get a chip in the big game without earning it look back at those who haven’t and say: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps like I did. Duncan has spent the better part of last year traveling the country and challenging ‘ate up’ urban educators to duplicate his Chicago Public Schools (CPS) success by doing as he did. The problem is, there was no success. And those of us, who call the People’s Republic of Chicago, home, know it. Finally, the cardboard school reform of the Duncan era, which followed the smoke-and-mirrors of the Paul Vallas regime, has been officially ‘outed.’"

2009 Local News in Review, Part 1 — The Rancho Cordova Post

2009 Local News in Review, Part 1 — The Rancho Cordova Post:

"Rancho Cordova community members have experienced their fair share of joy and struggles during the past year. Over the next few days we will be re-capping the biggest news stories of the year. From a series of attempted kidnappings near Rancho Cordova schools in January to the release of the NTSB investigation of the Christmas Eve explosion that rocked a Rancho neighborhood just last week, we’ll be covering the stories that are the most relevant and important to you.

In January, a Rancho Cordova man shot a female neighbor then shot himself. The apartment complex in which the man lived was evacuated and it was later learned that the woman who was shot had threatened to report the man to Child Protective Services. January also saw the permanent appointment of Kathleen E. Redd, as the Chief Financial Officer of GenCorp Inc. Two Rancho Cordova teen mothers with their infant children went missing at the end of January, but were found days later."

9 California mayors press for Race to the Top bill

9 California mayors press for Race to the Top bill:

"The mayors of California's biggest cities are urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to meet a fast-approaching deadline to compete for federal education funds."

The mayors of Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Sacramento released a joint letter on the issue Tuesday. They were joined by the mayors of San Jose, Fresno, Long Beach, Santa Ana and Anaheim.
The mayors are asking state leaders to pass a bill that would allow California to compete for a share of $4.3 billion in education reform funding. The competition — known as "Race to the Top" — was set up by the Obama administration to improve schools.
California has three weeks left to qualify for the competition. Lawmakers have indicated they plan to take up the measure in the new year.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/29/state/n185153S79.DTL&tsp=1#ixzz0bBVYGuNm

Class Struggle - Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish

Class Struggle- Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish:

"Foreign language teaching is becoming just Spanish

Stuck at the bottom of the bag of reports I promised to read over the holidays is a survey by Nancy C. Rhodes and Ingrid Pufahl of the Center for Applied Linguistics, entitled 'Foreign Language Teaching in U.S. Schools.' It has a clear message, part good, part bad.

The good news: Spanish language instruction is growing, something to cheer because we share this hemisphere mostly with people who speak that language. Two of my children are fluent in Spanish and use it in their jobs, which makes me proud and hopeful for the future.

The bad news: all the other languages important to the future of the planet are either losing popularity in our schools, or making only tiny gains from very low levels. The only language in which I have any facility is Mandarin Chinese, certainly a biggie in international affairs but a pygmy in American education. It is taught in only 3 percent of elementary schools and 4 percent of high schools with foreign language programs."

Superintendent to regents: Providence can’t afford Hope High School reforms | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Superintendent to regents: Providence can’t afford Hope High School reforms | Education | projo.com | The Providence Journal:

"PROVIDENCE — While acknowledging that Hope High School has made dramatic gains, Schools Supt. Tom Brady says the district can no longer afford to devote so many resources to one of the city’s many high schools.

In a letter to the Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education, Brady recognized that Hope’s teachers and leaders have made significant strides in improving the school’s climate and culture but said that the academic model adopted five years ago is too costly to maintain.

The regents asked for an update on Hope after more than 50 teachers, students and staff implored them to prevent the high school’s academic model from being dismantled."

Cleveland schools CEO Sanders and union leader need to talk, right away -- editorial | Opinion, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - - Opinions, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com

Cleveland schools CEO Sanders and union leader need to talk, right away -- editorial | Opinion, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com - -Opinions, Editorials, Letters and Columns from The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com:

"One of the first things we learn as children is how to play nice.

We learn to share. We learn to listen.

That kind of respect means fewer meltdowns on the playground -- and, later, on the job.

It is a lesson that high-ranking adults in the Cleveland schools need to review. Immediately.

CEO Eugene Sanders' long-awaited strategy for transforming the schools hasn't yet been revealed, but the work leading up to it didn't go as well as anyone would have hoped. The district's information sessions with parents fell short of expectations -- on both sides -- and the Cleveland Teachers Union has become increasingly restless about what it calls a lack of involvement in the planning and designing."

CMS hopes to use no-interest loans to build schools, save millions - CharlotteObserver.com

CMS hopes to use no-interest loans to build schools, save millions - CharlotteObserver.com:

"Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders hope no-interest school construction loans from federal stimulus money could help build two new schools and renovate or expand four others.

CMS wants to sell $52 million of the special bonds this summer. No-interest loans could save Mecklenburg taxpayers $12 million to $15 million in the long run.

But uncertainties about the federal plan remain. Nearly a year after the school construction bonds were approved as part of the federal stimulus package, few school districts in the state or across the country have found institutional investors willing to buy them."

House bill gives superintendents more power to fire teachers - The Boston Globe

House bill gives superintendents more power to fire teachers - The Boston Globe:

"The Massachusetts House of Representatives appears poised to consider an overhaul of the state’s most troubled schools next week, as members take up a bill that could represent a major setback for teachers unions."

The proposed bill would give superintendents extraordinary powers to ignore teacher contract provisions in firing teachers for good cause at underperforming schools.

It would also allow superintendents to impose changes in workplace rules, such as extending the school day, at those schools if negotiations break down, key House leaders said in a telephone briefing yesterday.

Unlike a Senate version approved last month, the House bill does not establish an arbitration process for teachers to appeal those changes by superintendents.

Rising property values fuel Dallas ISD's first 'Robin Hood' payment | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Rising property values fuel Dallas ISD's first 'Robin Hood' payment | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News:

"For the first time, Dallas taxpayers had to give some of their money to less-affluent school districts in 2008-09, part of Texas' share-the-wealth school finance system that critics and proponents say is out of whack.

Some say the fact that Dallas schools had to pay the 'Robin Hood' payment last school year is proof that the formula doesn't make sense. Nearly 90 percent of DISD schoolchildren are poor, and the school district has been struggling with deficits.

For 2009-10, projections show that Dallas taxpayers will not have to send their money away."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Do schools need more male teachers?

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Do schools need more male teachers?:

"Do schools need more male teachers?

Only one in four school teachers are men, according to a 2008 report.

Ronald Maggiano is somewhat unusual in the teaching profession. That is because he is male.

Maggiano is an award-winning teacher in the Social Studies Department at West Springfield High School in Virginia. He has taught in public and private schools for 25 years.

In a piece on his blog called “The Classroom Post,” he calls for more males to enter the profession.

Here's why:"

Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs | News | East Bay Express

Berkeley High May Cut Out Science Labs | News | East Bay Express:

"Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.

The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse."

Public Sector Unions Are Killing California � The Foundry

Public Sector Unions Are Killing California � The Foundry:

"Before 1990, [California and Texas] grew much faster than the rest of the country. Since then, only Texas has continued to do so. While its share of the nation’s population has steadily increased, from 6.8 percent in 1990 to 7.9 percent in 2007, California’s has barely budged, from 12 percent to 12.1 percent.

Unpacking the numbers is even more revealing—and, for California, disturbing. The biggest contrast between the two states shows up in “net internal migration,” the demographer’s term for the difference between the number of Americans who move into a state from another and the number who move out of it to another. Between April 1, 2000, and June 30, 2007, an average of 3,247 more Americans moved out of California than into it every week, according to the Census Bureau. Over the same period, Texas saw a net gain, in an average week, of 1,544 people."

Community college juggles reduced state budget and student demands | TahoeDailyTribune.com

Community college juggles reduced state budget and student demands | TahoeDailyTribune.com:

"Enrollment is increasing at Lake Tahoe Community College but the schedule is shrinking, presenting a challenge to school officials who are juggling the demands of a dwindling state budget and students vying for classes they need.

In the fall, enrollment was up for full-time students by almost 20 percent compared to 2008, with those students competing for fewer classes after 410 sections were eliminated to accommodate state budget cuts.

California's community colleges sustained $840 million in state funding cuts for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 academic years combined, while the state legislature raised tuition $13 to $17 per unit."

Santa Rosa teen earns spot in elite U.S. Senate program | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA

Santa Rosa teen earns spot in elite U.S. Senate program | PressDemocrat.com | The Press Democrat | Santa Rosa, CA:

"When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid asked Montgomery High School student Rena Wang to whistle during an official function, she didn’t wonder why, she wondered, “How loud?”

Wang was at a constituent breakfast with Reid and John Ensign, the two U.S. senators from Nevada, when they told her they needed to get the attention of the crowd and wondered if she could whistle.

Wang, at 17, just might have more political connections, and savvy, than weathered old pros who have spent years wandering Capitol corridors.

So she stepped up and let fly, sharing a good laugh with some of the most powerful politicians in the country."

Congressperson Tom McClintock (CA-04) Called Out For The Tendency To Be Untruthful - Roseville Press-Tribune

Congressperson Tom McClintock (CA-04) Called Out For The Tendency To Be Untruthful - Roseville Press-Tribune:

"Mendacity: The tendency to be untruthful (WordReference.com English Dictionary)

Congressman Tom McClintock’s recent constituent newsletter praises the “conservative” philosophy. But what is it conserving, really? Certainly not historical accuracy.

In it, McClintock (R-Granite Bay) complains the current administration is taxing and regulating us too much. In contrast, he says, “Ronald Reagan responded [to high unemployment] by cutting taxes and reducing regulatory burdens…producing the biggest peacetime economic expansion in the nation’s history.”

Virtually none of that is accurate.

Reagan’s “regulatory burden” reduction led to the Savings & Loan bailout–until recently, the most expensive financial scandal in U.S. history, far more expensive than Teapot"

News: 'The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies' - Inside Higher Ed

News: 'The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies' - Inside Higher Ed:

"The Cultural Capital of Asian American Studies (New York University Press) explores the state of the discipline more than 40 years after its founding amid the student protests of the 60s. Mark Chiang, associate professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, writes about how the field has grown and also changed since its early days. In an e-mail interview, he discussed the themes of the book.

Q: What are the key ways Asian American studies as a field is different today from the era when it was created?"

A: The first Asian American studies program at San Francisco State University was distinguished by its community orientation and founded on two main slogans regarding the relation of the university to the community: community autonomy and relevant education. The institutional structure of Asian American studies marked a radical break from the typical model of the American university in that it gave community members who were not academics a voice in program governance over such matters as hiring and curriculum. In this regard, the program threatened the principle of faculty autonomy and self-governance that were essential to the modern research university. The necessity of institutional survival, however, meant that the program soon was forced to conform more or less to the rest of the university and thus to exclude non-faculty members from any participation in program operations.

Christie Channels Schwarzenegger as New Jersey Braces for Cuts - BusinessWeek

Christie Channels Schwarzenegger as New Jersey Braces for Cuts - BusinessWeek:

"Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Montclair, New Jersey, where the median family income is almost twice the U.S. average, may have to shut one of its two libraries. The Newark suburb of Irvington is considering firing police officers.

The towns are bracing for the impact of state aid cuts, after Governor-elect Christopher Christie said he may slash spending by as much as 25 percent next year amid declining tax revenue that the Washington-based Pew Center for the States said rivals California. If the proposal for New Jersey pushes costs down to local governments and schools, mayors and educators may have to choose between raising taxes and eliminating park maintenance and trash collection."

20 O.C. school districts get behind Obama education reforms | school, districts, california - News - The Orange County Register

20 O.C. school districts get behind Obama education reforms | school, districts, california - News - The Orange County Register:

"At least 20 of Orange County's 28 school districts have tentatively committed to implementing a series of controversial education reforms outlined under President Obama's competitive Race to the Top grant program for schools.

The reforms, which include evaluating teachers based on their students' academic performance, are necessary for school districts to apply for a slice of a $4.35 billion federal stimulus pie. At least 663 school districts and other educational institutions across California have already signed letters of intent to apply for the Race to the Top funds, according to state education officials. The deadline is Thursday."

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Hebrew charter school proposed

The Signal - Santa Clarita Valley News - Hebrew charter school proposed

Hebrew charter school proposed

Albert Einstein Academy would be first of its kind in SCV and California

A local rabbi hopes to establish California’s first Hebrew language charter school in the Santa Clarita Valley.

If approved by the Hart district during the Jan. 20 board meeting, the Albert Einstein Academy for Letters, Arts and Sciences would be a college preparatory school planned for a fall 2010 opening, Rabbi Mark Blazer of Temple Beth Ami in Newhall said.

The public charter school would be open to everyone and students would not have to be Jewish to enroll, he said. The school would not have a religious base, he said.

In its first year, Blazer estimates the school would have 75 students in each seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade class. Each year, the school would add a grade until it becomes a 7-12 school, he said.

Academy leaders are still looking for a place to house the academy for the upcoming year.

At full capacity, the school would hold 450 students, he said.

“We have not had a problem getting interest from parents,” Blazer said.

Meeting a need
Local children are able to learn Hebrew at Jewish congregations, but, for Blazer, meeting two or three times a week is not enough.

Sacramento mayor resolves to make peace with City Council - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com

Sacramento mayor resolves to make peace with City Council - Sacramento City News - sacbee.com:

"Like many people hoping to shed a few pounds after the holidays or promising to finally learn a foreign language, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has made a list of resolutions for the new year.

His top one should make at least eight people happy: improving relations with the City Council.

'When I ran, there were a lot of people thinking that City Hall and City Council was a dysfunctional environment. I've been in office for a year and we have not yet improved upon that,' Johnson said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. 'So I want to make sure we do a much better job.'

The mayor announced his goal in a list of 10 'resolutions.'"