Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Schools Matter: ...and Where's Joanne's Ethics Waiver?

Schools Matter: ...and Where's Joanne's Ethics Waiver?

...and Where's Joanne's Ethics Waiver?

Duncan's Chief of Staff Margot Rogers (previously employed by the Gates Foundation) and OII Director Jim Shelton (also previously employed by the Gates Foundation; also previously employed by NSVF and McKinsey & Co.) both filed ethics waivers that allows them unlimited contact with their former employer (Rogers is here, Shelton's is here).

From what I can tell, former NewSchools Venture Fund COO Joanne Weiss - now leading the Race


Mosaica Education, Inc. and the Lack of Parent/Local Control

Here's a classic example of the kind of corporate-driven charter chain that is neither educationally innovative nor locally controlled: the Math & Science Preparatory Academy of South Fulton. The charter schools proposal - developed by the for-profit Mosaica Education, Inc. - illustrates just how much the charter movement has evolved (err, been bastardized) by entrepreneurs, profiteers, and corporate hucksters looking to turn a buck. Local control? Nah. Teachers permitted to experiment with new teaching techniques and approaches? Nope, not here. This is all about profit, baby, and expanding the privatized version of public education.


Mosaica Education is not your typical school district. It runs a global empire like

This Week In Education Classrooms: Kids Provide Real-Time Teacher Feedback Via Text

This Week In Education

Classrooms: Kids Provide Real-Time Teacher Feedback Via Text

image from i.dailymail.co.ukA school in England reportedly gave students cell phones and encouraged them totext the principal about how their teachers were doing, according to an article in the Independent.
Brilliant! It's all part of the UK's controversial "pupil power" initiative to give students greater role in their education, including a role

Sacramento Press / Local students participate in Mayoral Fellows Program

Sacramento Press / Local students participate in Mayoral Fellows Program

Local students participate in Mayoral Fellows Program




The spring 2010 Mayoral Fellows Program will feature local students for the first time. In its inaugural session, Mayor Kevin Johnson worked closely with students from Harvard Business School for a five-week period. This time, however, the mayor hopes to foster local talent by teaming with California State University, Sacramento, and the University of California, Davis.
Johnson talked about the importance of being creative in tough times and cultivating young talent. "To create opportunity and give practical field experience," Johnson said, "Get them involved with the public sector and retain them."
Dean Steven Currall of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management spoke of his university's desire to become a global business school while Charles Gossett, the dean of social sciences and interdisciplinary studies at CSUS, said the program was "open to all students" as a means to "provide opportunity."
The Sacramento State students include Hafiza Arikat, working closely with Johnson on the education initiative

University of Washington study: Transition out of foster care needs support | OregonLive.com

University of Washington study: Transition out of foster care needs support | OregonLive.com

University of Washington study: Transition out of foster care needs support

By The Associated Press

April 06, 2010, 9:01PM
CHICAGO -- Tasha Collett spent most of her teen years shuffling between so many different foster families that she's lost count of just how many there were. By the time she aged out of the Iowa system at age 18, she ended up living in homeless shelters, on and off.

Not exactly a foundation for success. But Collett, now 21, still managed to land an apartment and a part-time job at a drug store. She's also studying to become a registered nurse at a medical college in Des Moines.

"I'm very blessed," Collett says, making a statement that's confirmed when you look at the often grim findings from a long-term study on older youth who've been in foster care.

According to the study, released Wednesday, a quarter of the youth didn't have a high school diploma or GED. Only about half were working, compared with 72 percent of their peers who weren't in foster care.

And almost half reported at least one hardship during the study, such as an

D.C. Schools Insider - DC Teachers contract settled

D.C. Schools Insider - DC Teachers contract settled

DC Teachers contract settled

Update, 8:47 p.m.:
For details, see the union's Q&A here and highlights here. (Both are pdfs.)
Original post:
D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and the Washington Teachers' Union have reached tentative agreement on a new contract, ending more than two years of closely watched and often-rancorous negotiations, union and District officials said Tuesday.
The proposed pact, which must be ratified by union members and approved by the D.C. Council, provides teacher salary increases of more than a 20 percent over five years, with much of it to be paid for through an unusual arrangement with a group of private foundations that have pledged to donate $65 million.
The deal gives Rhee some of the tools she said she needed to raise the quality of teaching and learning in schools long ranked as among the nation's worst, but perhaps more importantly it brings her labor peace as Mayor Adrian M. Fenty he heads into an election-year battle with Council Chairman Vincent Gray and perhaps another candidate. The negotiations also have been viewed as a test of the strength of both union forces and reform advocates pushing for aggressive revamping of the nation's schools.
"It took a lot of courage to get here," Rhee said in an interview. "We really have done something that frames evertything around performance for kids and making that the really core tenet of the agreement."
The changes in the contract include a merit-pay program that will allow teachers to earn annual bonuses for the improvement of student performance on standardized tests and other measures of academic success. The pact, if approved, will also afford Rhee and her school principals more latitude in deciding which teachers to retain in the event that budget cuts or enrollment declines force the closure of some schools.
But the 103-page agreement is significantly different from Rhee's original vision for a collective bargaining agreement, which she promised would "revolutionize education as we know it" when she first developed it in 2008.
"We really hit on something that can move kids forward," said teacher's union President George Parker.
The deal first was reported by the City Paper's Web site.
Rhee garnered national attention from school reform advocates with a two-tiered salary proposal that offered experienced educators a chance to make as much as $130,000 annually in salary and performance bonuses. The plan required teachers who aspired to the top pay range to give up tenure protections for a year, essentially exposing them to dismissal without appeal.
Rhee's effort to weaken tenure protections, which she called the "holy grail" of teachers unions, won her rock stardom from segments of the educational reform commnity that regard teachers' unions as the main impediment to improving public education.
It also helped win her what she said was $200 million in funding

Remainders: D.C. teachers contract funds raises with private cash | GothamSchools

Remainders: D.C. teachers contract funds raises with private cash | GothamSchools

Remainders: D.C. teachers contract funds raises with private cash

Thousands of aspiring teachers encounter few job offers at Oregon job fair | OregonLive.com

Thousands of aspiring teachers encounter few job offers at Oregon job fair | OregonLive.com

Thousands of aspiring teachers encounter few job offers at Oregon job fair

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

April 06, 2010, 6:09PM
28328822_H15391577.jpegChristy Dunn, left, and Stephanie Ostlund were among the hundreds of aspiring teachers flocking to the job fair at the Oregon Convention Center, which continues Wednesday.

Christy Dunn, who earned a master's degree in teaching math last year, and Stephanie Ostlund, who got her master's in teaching English in 2008, stood together in a long, slow line Tuesday morning at the West Coast's biggest teacher job fair.

The two women, both with degrees from Portland State and the University of Portland, held a stack of resumes and thick portfolios packed with evidence of their teaching skills -- and tried to hold fast to their dreams of becoming teachers.

They were among 3,000 aspiring educators, most of them recent or soon-to-be graduates from Oregon colleges of education, vying for what

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Should Undocumented Students Get Federal Support?

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Should Undocumented Students Get Federal Support?

Should Undocumented Students Get Federal Support?

Thousands rallied on the National Mall on March 21 in support of comprehensive immigration reform, including the DREAM Act. Formally known as the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, the measure would allow undocumented student immigrants who meet certain conditions to receive federal assistance to attend college and a possible pathway to citizenship. The College Board estimates that 65,000 undocumented

Schools Matter: Race to the Top and the Politics of Corruption

Schools Matter: Race to the Top and the Politics of Corruption

Race to the Top and the Politics of Corruption

Arne Duncan became Secretary of Education because of his fealty to the corporate education reform agenda that he nurtured and learned under in Chicago. When it was time for Arne, as Secretary, to announce the leader for the $4.35 billion bribery fund known as Race to the Top, the Oligarchs chose Joanne Weiss, COO and Partner of the New Schools Venture Fund--a vast web of corporate and corporate foundation cash strategically invested in the cause of privatizing education, all the while collecting huge tax credits for all that generosity by these vulture philanthropists.Duncan said:
"Joanne will help us push a strong reform agenda that is entrepreneurial in spirit, providing carrots and sticks, to change the way we do business, and fundamentally turn around underperforming schools in ways that last for decades," Duncan said.
Now when tiny Delaware submitted its RTTT grant application, a

Teachers union election: results in tomorrow | GothamSchools

Teachers union election: results in tomorrow | GothamSchools

Teachers union election: results in tomorrow


In part three of a rough guide to the upcoming teachers union elections, here’s a look at what happens tomorrow when the ballots are counted.
The ballots — or at least those belonging to the minority of teachers who vote in union elections — are in.
Due today to the American Arbitration Association, which oversees the city’s teachers union election, the ballots will be counted tomorrow and results should be in by the end of the day. The counting is set to take place in a unlikely setting: the Manhattan Skyline room at the Park Central Hotel.
Every election cycle, the AAA rents a hotel room and fills it with employees who run the thousands of ballots through scanners to count them. Hundreds of those votes are rejected for reasons that include casting

Portland Schools Foundation gives $580,000 to local schools | OregonLive.com

Portland Schools Foundation gives $580,000 to local schools | OregonLive.com

Portland Schools Foundation gives $580,000 to local schools

By Kimberly Melton, The Oregonian

April 06, 2010, 5:29PM
The Portland Schools Foundation will give out $580,000 to 25 schools through its 2010-11 equity grants, the organization announced this week.

The school-based equity grants are aimed at supporting excellence in schools and equity among schools. The money is generated by 33 local school foundations who give one-third of what they raise through fundraising to the Portland Public Schools Equity Fund.

In 2009, local school foundations raised more than $2.7 million. One-third of that money went to the equity fund. Two-thirds of the equity fund money supports individual schools. The remaining one-third is available for community-based grants that serve Portland Public Schools students. The recipients of the community-based grants will be announced in May.

In order for schools to receive awards, they were required to submit financial information as well as school improvement plans and an explanation of how they would spend the money to boost student achievement. The schools were allocated $20,000 to $50,000 based on how many students receive free and reduced-price lunches, how many students are learning English and how many students of color attend the school.

Humboldt K-8, which will receive $25,000, plans to use its grant to develop the "Tell Me Your Story" program aimed at helping students improve their


El Poder de la Mujer conference is April 27 at PCC Rock Creek

El Poder de la Mujer conference is April 27, registration deadline is April 12 for the largest Latina conference in the Pacific Northwest.

Elk Grove Citizen : Tentative agreement being voted on by teachers union:

Elk Grove Citizen : Front

Tentative agreement being voted on by teachers union:
School calendar may be reduced by two days for this school year



By Citizen staff
Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 5:20 PM PDT
A tentative agreement for reducing this school year’s school calendar by two days is being negotiated between the Elk Grove Education Association (EGEA) and the school district.

The tentative agreement deadline for balloting is Thursday, according to Carl Woodbury a member of the teachers’ negotiating team. The EGEA represents the district’s teachers and other certificated staff.

The two furlough days would be for the most part the final two days of schooling.

Also on the ballot is a vote on implementing a modified traditional calendar for 12 schools that will go from year-around programs to a traditional program.

If the teachers approve the two-day furlough agreement the funding would assist the district in hiring 29 counselors and 32 categorical employees for the beginning of the 2010-11 school year.

“The leadership of EGEA is giving their support for the tentative agreement,” said EGEA president Tom Gardner.

The negotiations with the EGEA and other school unions on further furloughs and cuts for the 2010-11 school year continue.

For the 2009-2010 school year only, the parties agree that the EGEA salary schedule would be reduced by approximately 1.09 percent of annual salary for the two non-work days.

The proposed 2009-2010 furlough days, if the tentative contract is approved, would be for the EGEA work year calendar to be:

• For the K-6 Traditional Track, May 25 and May 26.

Budget Cuts and Teacher Shortage - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Budget Cuts and Teacher Shortage - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Warns State Budget
Cuts are Leading to Future Teacher Shortage,
Hurt State's Ability to Produce Educated Workforce

PASADENA — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Margaret Gaston, President of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, and Dr. Mary Falvey, Dean of the Charter College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles, today warned that deep cuts to the state's public education budget are having a dire effect on the recruitment, preparation, and support of the future teacher workforce.
"California is at a critical tipping point where deep state budget cuts are having an effect on whether we can produce the next generation of students who can thrive in our hypercompetitive global economy because we may not have enough teachers," said O'Connell. "More than 26,000 teachers have been handed pink slips this year. This is leading to fewer beginning teachers staying in the profession and fewer candidates entering teacher preparation programs. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of educators will retire within the next decade. All these factors are contributing to a significant future teacher shortage in California."
According to research conducted by SRI International for the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning (CFTL),California's teacher workforce is in a state of decline in a number of areas:
  • From 2007-08 to 2008-09, the overall teacher workforce declined from 310,000 to 307,000;
  • From 2007-08 to 2008-09, the number of first- and second-year teachers dropped by more than 20 percent from more than 35,000 to less than 28,000 in all school levels; and
  • From 2001-02 to 2006-07, the number of enrollees in teacher preparation programs declined by one-third from more than 77,000 to fewer than 52,000.
This year, cuts to the state public education budget have forced districts to issue preliminary layoff notices, or pink slips to 26,004 teachers and other certificated staff. More than 16,000 teachers lost their jobs due to budget cuts last year, and approximately 10,000 classified school employees were laid off.
"Perhaps just as important, the downstream effects of pink slipping are worth considering," said Gaston. "History tells us that when pink slips are issued, there is a concurrent decline in the number of individuals preparing to become teachers and fewer teacher credentials issued to those who complete their preparation. The latest round of layoff notices has sent a negative message to current and prospective members of the teaching workforce. But those who are considering a career in education we say 'Stay the course.' Soon, the demand for teachers will reflect increased enrollments in elementary schools and an accelerating teacher retirement rate."
"Throughout California, colleges and schools of education have experienced fewer applications for teacher preparation programs as school districts continue to lay off more and more teachers," said Dr. Falvey. "Many young people considering teaching as a career and those wishing to change their careers to teaching are disheartened to even enroll in these programs for fear that there will not be a job at the end or that even if they get a job, they will receive a 'pink slip' after a year or more of teaching."
"To get out of this recession and for California's economy to thrive we must have an education system that helps all students gain the critical skills necessary to compete in the global economy," O'Connell said. "To reach this goal, we must find a stable, long-term solution that will encourage the best and the brightest to become teachers and to keep them in the classroom."
O'Connell has urged the Governor to reconsider his proposal to cut an additional $2.4 billion from public schools this fiscal year, and calls on both the Governor and the Legislature to give communities more control over their schools' destiny by approving SCA 6. The measure authored by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) would allow passage of parcel taxes by a 55 percent vote instead of a two-thirds vote.
For more information on the bill, please visit SCA 6 (Outside Source).
For a continuing update on the number of teachers and other education staff receiving layoff notices, please visitHome - California Teachers Association (Outside Source).

Sac City Unified hires human resources chief - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sac City Unified hires human resources chief - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sac City Unified hires human resources chief

Published: Tuesday, Apr. 6, 2010 - 3:08 pm
The Sacramento City Unified School District hired Robert Garcia as their chief human resources officer, the district will announce later today.
Garcia is a veteran educator and school administrator who has worked with the Los Angeles Unified School District and with Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas.
Garcia, who will make $143,000, will focus on recruiting, retaining and supporting teachers and principals, said district spokesman Gabe Ross.
Prior to Austin Independent, Garcia spent a year at Harvard, where he earned a Master's of Education in Educational Administration. He is


Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/04/06/2659857/sac-city-unified-hires-human-resources.html#ixzz0kMlAUHGi

Congresswoman Matsui Announces $5 Million Recovery Health IT Award for Los Rios Community College District — The Rancho Cordova Post

Congresswoman Matsui Announces $5 Million Recovery Health IT Award for Los Rios Community College District — The Rancho Cordova Post

Congresswoman Matsui Announces $5 Million Recovery Health IT Award for Los Rios Community College District

by MARA LEE on APRIL 6, 2010 · 0 COMMENTS
Today, Congresswoman Doris O. Matsui (CA-05) announced the award of a grant totaling $5,435,587 for Sacramento’s Los Rios Community College District. Los Rios is one of five community college districts in the country that will participate in the program through the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), and will serve as the lead institution for a consortium of 14 colleges in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii. The money, authorized by the Recovery Act which Rep. Matsui supported last year, will be used to establish a training program focusing on computerized health information systems for providers already in the field around Sacramento.
“Today’s award serves to benefit the Sacramento community in a multitude of ways as it improves our local care delivery system, adds expertise to our workforce, attracts cutting-edge jobs to our region, and establishes relationships across California,” said Rep. Matsui. “As the training program produces well-qualified health information technology professionals who are already call Sacramento home, our residents will begin to see improvements in their care. Health IT has the potential to save the lives of our friends, families and loved ones, while also reducing costs.”
“The colleges involved in this grant will work together to implement curriculum designed to cross-train folks with computer or health care backgrounds and prepare them to work in hospitals and doctors’ offices throughout the Western region,” said Los Rios Chancellor Brice

DISD also needs business leaders and Democratic reformers stepping forward | The Dallas Morning News

THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | The Dallas Morning News

DISD also needs business leaders and Democratic reformers stepping forward

Dr. Michael Hinojosa promised the Broad Prize for Dallas by 2010 The school district didn't get it and then he said he really meant 2011.
It was a weird set of circumstances last week for the district. The question now is what should it do going forward?\
We addressed this challenge in an editorial today, outlining benchmarks for Hinojosa and the district to meet over the next two years. And we had a discussion about Hinojosa's future last week on our Opinion blog.
Here are a couple of other elements I'd like to add to that discussion:
No matter who's the superintendent here, Dallas needs the business community to step forward more than it has.
Yes, we had Dallas Achieves, which businessman Don Williams (a Belo board member) helped lead. And Jack Lowe, head of TD Industries, sits on the Dallas school board. But we need more than those folks. We need

Technology and Tutoring � The Quick and the Ed

Technology and Tutoring � The Quick and the Ed

Technology and Tutoring

The Chronicle of Higher Education ran an interesting article ($) earlier this week about the use of online graders located in other countries both to ease the burden of scoring papers for professors and because teaching assistants were not offering quality feedback. The piece mainly focuses on graders from EduMetry, a Virginia-based company, which are providing this service for business students at the University of Houston, though one can easily imagine that there are schools across the country trying similar programs:
Virtual-TA, a service of a company called EduMetry Inc., took over. The goal of the service is to relieve professors and teaching assistants of a traditional and sometimes tiresome task—and even, the company says, to do it better than TA’s can.
The graders working for EduMetry, based in a Virginia suburb of Washington, are concentrated in





Quick Hits
What Should Count? (American Federation of Teachers)