Thursday, May 27, 2010

Remainders: Waiting up for a (coming?) charter cap deal | GothamSchools

Remainders: Waiting up for a (coming?) charter cap deal | GothamSchools

Remainders: Waiting up for a (coming?) charter cap deal

More on the growth in central office | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

More on the growth in central office | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

More on the growth in central office

by Paul Socolar on May 27 2010 Posted in Eye on the budget

Last week we reported on District budget data that appears to show substantial growth in spending for administrative support since 2008-09, including growth in the number of administrative staff positions.

The Notebook has received detailed explanations from Chief Business Officer Michael Masch for the increase in employee numbers, indicating that for the most part, the increase in number of administrative staff positions from 896 to 1135 reported in the budget book did not reflect the creation of new central office jobs.

$23 billion for education looks like a loser in both the U.S. Senate and House. � Fred Klonsky's blog

$23 billion for education looks like a loser in both the U.S. Senate and House. � Fred Klonsky's blog

$23 billion for education looks like a loser in both the U.S. Senate and House.

Senate Republicans object to the idea of adding dollars for education to a war funding bill. They just want the war.
Senate Democrats have no guts, no anti-war leadership and no ability to vote down a GOP war filibuster.
Yesterday, the plan looked better in the House. But so-called moderate Democrats look to be throwing in the

Schools Matter: Noguera, The Nation Nail It

Schools Matter: Noguera, The Nation Nail It

Noguera, The Nation Nail It




A New Vision of School Reform



Before his election President Obama carved out what many regarded as a more progressive and enlightened position on education reform. Recognizing that No Child Left Behind (NCLB) had become widely unpopular because of its overemphasis on standardized tests, he declared, "Don't tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend too much of the year preparing him to fill out a few bubbles in a

The California Majority Report // Assembly Democrats Put Up a Budget Worth Fighting For

The California Majority Report // Assembly Democrats Put Up a Budget Worth Fighting For

Assembly Democrats Put Up a Budget Worth Fighting For

May 27, 2010 @ 3:35 PM

Finally, there's a budget proposal worth fighting for, and it couldn't have come at a more critical time.
On Tuesday, Assembly Democrats, led by new Speaker of the Assembly John Pérez, proposed an innovative budget planthat closes the nearly $18 billion budget gap while focusing on jobs, as an alternative to Gov. Schwarzenegger's job killing, all-cuts budget.
This proposal takes the economic high road by saving hundreds of thousands of jobs for teachers, police, firefighters and other workers, and creating jobs in the private sector that will spur economic growth and new revenues for the state without raising taxes on working families.
Speaker Pérez:
California has to produce a budget that promotes job creation and makes economic sense. We shouldn't make budget decisions that cut jobs and short-change our overall recovery and long-term growth. The California Jobs Budget will protect and create 465,000 jobs in the private sector and local communities, while also protecting funding for schools, public safety, and a basic safety net.
The proposal would ease California through the worst budget deficit of a generation. It protects working families from devastating cuts in service like home care and child care, and saves jobs for teachers, police, firefighters and others who provide vital services at the state and local levels. It proposes only half of the Governor's fee increase for UC and CSU students, and rejects his proposed $4.3 billion cut in education.
This package would mitigate deep budget cuts by choosing working families over Big Oil and large multinational corporations. A new oil severance fee will help fund a private sector job creation program. And delaying unnecessary corporate tax breaks will save $2 billion that can be invested in job creation, child care, health care, and job services for the working poor.
The Speaker's office detailed the proposal in a release yesterday:

NorthJersey.com: N.J. teachers union backs state effort to win $400M in federal funds

NorthJersey.com: N.J. teachers union backs state effort to win $400M in federal funds

N.J. teachers union backs state effort to win $400M in federal funds
Thursday, May 27, 2010
LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY MAY 27, 2010, 5:20 PM
THE RECORD
STAFF WRITER
New Jersey’s largest teacher’s union endorsed the state’s bid to win $400 million Thursday from Race to the Top, the federal contest to spur school reform.

RECORD FILE PHOTO
The union had initially balked at the state’s proposal, which pushed for merit pay, changes in granting tenure and making layoff decisions based on teachers’ effectiveness rather than seniority. But after weeks of discussions and compromises, the New Jersey Education Association agreed to back the state’s plan.
Dawn Hiltner, an NJEA spokeswoman, said the updated proposal makes no attempt to change seniority rules, and ensures that students’ standardized test scores are not the main measure for evaluating teachers.
The NJEA is advising local union chiefs to sign on to the plan. Broad buy-in helps applications. So far, superintendents in more than 400 districts and charters have joined; state officials are hoping NJEA endorsement will nudge union local chiefs to pledge to participate too.
“We are pleased that the process worked like it is supposed to,” said NJEA President Barbara Keshishian in a release. “The US Department of Education

Doubting the Data � InterACT

Doubting the Data � InterACT

Doubting the Data

Magnet Schools, No Child Left Behind Transfer, Advanced Studies Schools, Permits With Transportation, Open Enrollment, Affiliated Charters: all of these are programs offered by the LA Unified School District allowing families to select schools outside of their local attendance areas. In a system with a plethora of school choice options, it is clear to those in the school buildings that those who want to flee their local schools already have.
As GATE Coordinator, each year I receive a list of “feeder” students from the neighborhood which are supposed to attend my public middle school. Dozens of them have an asterisk next to their name indicating they will most likely not show up to our school in the fall because they will be making use of the programs mentioned above. They will travel long distances to attend performing arts magnets, schools near the beach, or maybe schools close to where the parent works. While we lament the loss of any student, we support the parents making use of programs available in the District.
L.A. Academy in South Central Los Angeles is actually a school to which families flock. In the last three years

High school students planning to protest cuts, teacher layoffs | GothamSchools

High school students planning to protest cuts, teacher layoffs | GothamSchools

High school students planning to protest cuts, teacher layoffs

picture-8Taking a cue from their peers in New Jersey, New York City high school students are planning to boycott school next Wednesday in protest of budget cuts and looming teacher layoffs.
Plans to stage a walkout (read a history of student walkouts) began with a high school sophomore who realized that her school’s newest teachers — and in her opinion, the most effective — could be laid off. Add that to classes packed with 35 students, not enough textbooks, and no air conditioning, and you have the catalyst for a Facebook group: New York City Public High School Walk Out!
Almost 3,000 students have said they plan to walk out of their high schools at 10 a.m. and stage a protest in Union Square. The boycott’s organizer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of angering her school’s

Good schools in Milwaukee are scarce, study finds - JSOnline

Good schools in Milwaukee are scarce, study finds - JSOnline

Good schools in Milwaukee are scarce, study finds

Gary Porter

Kailon McGhee, 9, (right) quizzes Kris Williams using flash cards during Jen Beilke’s third-grade math class on Wednesday at Siloah Lutheran School, 3721 N. 21st St. The school was among few in Milwaukee ranked as "performing schools."

Northwest, north and south side areas have greatest needs

Tucked on the south side of Milwaukee off Oklahoma Ave., Veritas High School has about 180 students, a college preparatory curriculum and a reputation for helping kids succeed.

According to a new study, the charter high school also has the distinction of being the only non-selective public high school in the city meeting at least 75% of the state's standards in reading and math.

That scarcity of good schools available to all children in Milwaukee - especially at the high school level, on the north and northwest sides, and in a few areas of the densely populated south side - is the focus of a new study by a Chicago nonprofit that has been tracking the distribution of "performing schools" in urban districts since 2003.

Overall, the study found that out of 353 schools studied in the 2008-'09 school year, only 13% of students enrolled in traditional public schools, charter schools and private schools that participated in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (and that reported data for the study) were attending a school that met Wisconsin's state standards in reading and math.

When the bar was lowered to include schools meeting at least 75% of the state's standards in reading and math - the cutoff to be considered a "performing" school for purposes of the study - the percentage of kids being served with a decent education rose to about 33%.

Add in the selective schools that require an entrance exam before admitting students - which are generally higher performers - and that number rose a bit higher to 37%, said Jose Cerda, vice president of public policy and communications at IFF, a community development financial institution that supports nonprofits in the Midwest."Our position is that all students should have the option of attending a performing school near where they reside," Cerda said. "What we're trying to do is rate the capacity of this system - where does it have the most capacity and where does it have the least?"

Cerda said Milwaukee would need between about 56,000 and 78,000 more seats at performing public and private schools to serve all children in the city.

The range of more than 20,000 seats exists because the majority of private schools that participated in Milwaukee's voucher program that year did not submit test-score data for the study. In 2008-'09, 126 private schools participated in the voucher program, but only 23 submitted data for the study. It's possible that some of those 20,000-plus children are at schools that meet most or all of the state's standards, researchers said.

ZIP code analysis

To rank the need for performing school options in Milwaukee, the IFF study analyzed the schools in each of the city's 20 ZIP codes and found:

• More than two-thirds of the need for performing schools is located in eight ZIP codes: 53209, 53206,

YourPolitics.com | National News

YourPolitics.com | National News

National News

TimesCast: Obama and the Spill

Today's TimesCast covers President Obama's news conference on the government's response to the gulf oil spill.
Thursday May 27, 2010 7:50PM | nytimes.com Bookmark and Share

Cuomo Accepts New York Governor Nomination

At the Democratic state convention, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo tried to portray himself as an outsider.
Thursday May 27, 2010 6:27PM | nytimes.com Bookmark and Share

Defending Spill Response, Obama Expresses Frustration

President Obama declared on Thursday that he is “angry and frustrated” over the oil spill in the gulf, and ordered a further moratorium on new permits to drill new deepwater wells.
Thursday May 27, 2010 6:05PM | nytimes.com Bookmark and Share

Obama Extends Moratorium; Agency Chief Resigns

President Obama announced the decision on drilling new deepwater wells on Thursday, as the head of the agency that oversees offshore drilling departed under pressure.
Thursday May 27, 2010 5:38PM | nytimes.com Bookmark and Share

Live Blogging Obama's News Conference

President Obama holds a White House briefing on the government's latest efforts to contain the Gulf oil spill, and to announce shifts in offshore drilling policies.
Thursday May 27, 2010 4:56PM | nytimes.com Bookmark and Share

Poll: Wide Majority See Spill as 'Disaster'

A new USA Today/Gallup survey shows that the public is paying particular attention to spreading spill, and following responses to it.
Thursday May 27, 2010 4:19PM | nytimes.com Bookmark and Share

This Week In Education Teachers: Duncan Follows Up On Conference Call Fail

This Week In Education

Teachers: Duncan Follows Up On Conference Call Fail

image from accomplishedcaliforniateachers.files.wordpress.com

EdSec Duncan made followup calls to Facebook teacher group leaders after a Monday afternoon conference call disappointed many who participated, according to teacher blogger David Cohen (Can You Hear Me Now?). The Facebook group is Teachers’ Letters to Obama.

Local News | Search committee for new UW president announced | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Search committee for new UW president announced | Seattle Times Newspaper

Search committee for new UW president announced

The committee that will search for the next president of the University of Washington includes both academic and business leaders.

The committee that will search for the next president of the University of Washington includes both academic and business leaders.

UW President Mark Emmert announced last month he had accepted a job as the president of the NCAA. He is scheduled to start his new job in November.

On Thursday, the university Board of Regents approved the committee including a Microsoft executive, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the student body president and the CEO of Recreational

The Condition of Education: Private, For-Profit Colleges and Universities � The Quick and the Ed

The Condition of Education: Private, For-Profit Colleges and Universities � The Quick and the Ed

The Condition of Education: Private, For-Profit Colleges and Universities



This post is part of a series on the annual Condition of Education put out by the National Center for Education Statistics. See earlier posts on the dramatic increase in Master’s degrees awarded in education, the college wage premium, economic and racial segregation in our schools, andstudent/teacher ratios.

Private, for-profit higher education institutions are not a new phenomenon, but they seem to be getting a lot more attention lately. Frontline devoted an episode to the rise of for-profits, the Department of Education is in the middle of drafting new regulatory requirements to govern them, and stock market analysts are weighing inby calling the for-profit higher education industry the next big bubble.

While for-profits enroll only about 7 percent of all undergraduate students, their growth rate far outpaces public and private, not-for-profit institutions. Public college and university enrollment increased 19 percent from 2000 to

QUICK Hits



Quick Hits
How can teaching be like the Lemony Snicket novels? Sometimes, days are just a Series of Unfortunate Events. (ABCDE blog)

What happens when a great teacher leads students through a discussion of To Kill a Mockingbird—45 years after they left her class? (A Place at the Table)

Could NYC’s School of One have developed the Killer App? (edReformer)

What does your sticky note say? (Organized Chaos)

The Better Mousetrap Problem



Discussions of technology and higher education tend to veer from “This. Changes.Everything” techno-triumphalism to assertions that using the Internet to educate people is clearly a plot to turn higher education into a cheap corporate commodity on par with bulk packages of frozen french fries. As is often the case, the most interesting work in the field right now sits close to the equipoise between the two, as Ben Miller documents in his new report, The Course of Innovation, which you should read.

The report focuses on the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT), which has spent the last decade working with scores of colleges and universities to transform mostly introductory college courses with technology. NCAT’s track record is impressive. To the extent that such things can be proven without elaborate randomized control trials, they’ve proven that thoughtful, faculty-driven course redesign can simultaneously