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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Sacramento Police Officers endorse Patrick Kennedy

M.I.T.C.H. charter school gets a new, bigger home | OregonLive.com

M.I.T.C.H. charter school gets a new, bigger home | OregonLive.com

M.I.T.C.H. charter school gets a new, bigger home

Published: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 12:23 PM Updated: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 12:24 PM
Mitch.16276241.JPGView full sizeNew M.I.T.C.H. Charter School students take tests Tuesday to assess their skills before the first day of classes Monday. The school's enrollment has increased by about 100 students because of the larger class sizes and additional grades at its larger new Tualatin location.
TUALATIN -- Christian Slater, an incoming fourth-grader at theM.I.T.C.H. Charter School, can't wait to have his own desk instead of sharing a table with several other kids.

"The desks were so close to the wall. Now it's that big!" the 10-year-old said of his new classroom, which is twice the size of his old third-grade room.

Slater won't spend the final minutes of school rearranging furniture. He can leave art projects out to dry and store supplies in his desk.

It's a far cry from last year, when the school shared a cramped space in theCalvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard with Boy Scouts troops and basketball teams.

After going through four borrowed

Summer Ends, Fall Changes | Taking Note

Summer Ends, Fall Changes | Taking Note

Summer Ends, Fall Changes

For most of America’s 56 million school age youth, late August and early September are times of great excitement and anticipation. Sure, summer break is over, and that’s a drag, but most kids begin school excited to see their friends and with the belief that ‘this year will be the...

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EdWeek: Learning-disabled enrollment dips | EdNewsColorado

EdWeek: Learning-disabled enrollment dips | EdNewsColorado

EdWeek: Learning-disabled enrollment dips

Editor’s note: This Education Week article is one result of a partnership between EdNews Colorado and the weekly education journal, allowing us to provide in-depth stories from a national perspective.

By Christina A. Samuels
Education Week

After decades of what seemed to be an inexorable upward path, the number of students classified as learning-disabled declined from year to year over much of the past decade —a change in direction that is spurring debates among experts about the reasons why.

The percentage of 3- to 21-year-old students nationwide classified as having a “specific learning disability”

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Albany (NY) charter schools

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Albany (NY) charter schools

Albany (NY) charter schools

THE CHOICE TO BE APART, September 7, 2010, The Times Union (Albany, NY)

Albany's charter schools have created a second school system that is almost entirely segregated.

Virtually all of the schools' students -- 96 percent -- are black or Hispanic, according to a Times Union analysis of data from the 2008-09 school year, the most recent available. AchievementAcademy Charter School had only one white student and Albany Preparatory Charter Schoolenrolled just 16 white students, the highest number of any charter school in the city.

The privately run schools are funded by the Albany City School District, where the minority enrollment has been steadily increasing. According to the latest available figures, 80 percent of the

Waiting for Superman: A "Signal Moment" In Education? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Waiting for Superman: A "Signal Moment" In Education? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Waiting for Superman: A "Signal Moment" In Education?


"The excitement and agitation around "Superman" might seem hyperbolic, overblown.
Yet both are symptomatic of a signal moment in the annals of American education,
when a confluence of factors - a grassroots outcry for better schools,
a cadre of determined reformers,
a newly demanding and parlous global economy,
and a president willing to challenge his party's hoariest shibboleths and most potent allies -
has created what Duncan calls a 'perfect storm.'
It's a moment when debates are raging over an array of combustible issues, from the expansion of charters and the role of standardized-test scores to the shuttering of failing schools
and the firing of crappy teachers.
It's a moment ripe with ferment and possibility, but also rife with conflict, in which the kind of

What kind of people burn books? � Fred Klonsky's blog

What kind of people burn books? � Fred Klonsky's blog

Statement by the President on the Occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr | The White House

Statement by the President on the Occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr | The White House

Statement by the President on the Occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr

As Ramadan comes to an end, Michelle and I extend our best wishes to Muslims in the United States and around the world on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr. For Muslims all over the world, Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of a holy month of fasting and prayer. It is a time of self-reflection focusing on the values that Muslims and people of all faiths share - charity, community, cooperation and compassion. This year’s Eid is also an occasion to reflect on the importance of religious tolerance and to recognize the positive role that religious communities of all faiths, including Muslims, have played in American life.

On this Eid, those devastated by the recent floods in Pakistan will be on the minds of many around the world. To help in the tremendous relief, recovery, and reconstruction effort for the floods, all Americans can participate by donating to the Pakistan Relief Fund at www.state.gov.

On behalf of the American people, we congratulate Muslims in the United States and around the world on this blessed day. Eid Mubarak.

The measure of a teacher

The measure of a teacher

The measure of a teacher

It seems the headlines have been filled with controversy over the state of education, and more specifically, the quality of teachers, these days. The LA Times sparked it off by obtaining seven years of math and English test scores from the Los Angeles Unified School District and using the information to estimate the effectiveness of L.A. teachers. In the first installment of analysis, they found that some kids were getting low-performing teachers repeatedly (the bad news), but that, “contrary to popular belief, the best teachers were not concentrated in schools in the most affluent neighborhoods, nor were the weakest instructors bunched in poor areas” (the good news).

At $4.3B, federal school funding an enormous waste | Business

At $4.3B, federal school funding an enormous waste | Business
At $4.3B, federal school funding an enormous wastePDFPrintE-mail
Written by Ann Richardson
Thursday, 09 September 2010 11:15

Teachers have a tremendous impact. Through the years they help not just educate, but mold, shape and encourage children to become successful adults and more importantly, good people.

After all, what good is it if a child can memorize facts and figures and pass a test, but has never learned what it means to be kind and compassionate, to take turns, work well with others, share or be a good friend and a caring person?

My first teacher at the old Wesley Avenue School was “Mrs. Ritter.” Anna Ritter, the warm and wonderful kindergarten teacher touched a lot of lives. She wore her white hair in a bun and with a hefty dose of kindness, helped every one of her students get off to a good start.

Everyone has a “Mrs. Ritter” in their life. I couldn’t help but think of Mrs. Ritter and like-minded great teachers – including many of my friends – when former education commissioner Bret Schundler kicked

Rough First Days Around The Nation [And Here] - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Rough First Days Around The Nation [And Here] - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Rough First Days Around The Nation [And Here]

You think your first day was rough? I have no doubt. Here's a roundup of first-day news stories from other parts of the country to keep you company:

image from cache.gawkerassets.com"A Newton, Mass. principal had to deliver a baby on the first day of school... In Philly,171 teachers didn't even bother showing up for the first day... In Detroit, the man responsible for signing checks to the private companies that

Misdiagnosis � The Quick and the Ed

Misdiagnosis � The Quick and the Ed

Misdiagnosis



Robert Samuelson’s Washington Post op-ed has it backwards: if schools have made little academic improvements over the years, the fault lies with existing schools and existing structures, rather than the attempts to change those things. This isn’t just about today’s popular reforms like expanding charter schools or raising teacher quality; he lumps class size reductions and curricular improvements

This Week In Education: Truthiness: PolitiFact Covers Education Mis-Statements

This Week In Education: Truthiness: PolitiFact Covers Education Mis-Statements

Viewpoints: State must be forced to fund education - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Viewpoints: State must be forced to fund education - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Viewpoints: State must be forced to fund education

Published: Thursday, Sep. 9, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 17A

As California students head back to school, they will be boarding a ship sinking below constitutionally minimum levels of quality and fairness. Once the envy of the nation with one of the best-funded and highest-performing school systems, today California is racing to the bottom – 44th of 50 states in per student spending levels and 46th in education spending as a percentage of personal income.

Starved for funding, districts cannot afford to hire adequate staff. California has the lowest staff-to-student ratio in the nation, taking together teachers, administrators and support personnel like counselors, librarians and nurses. Our classrooms last year had 7.5 more students per teacher and were over 50 percent larger than

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/09/3014976/state-must-be-forced-to-fund-education.html#ixzz0z33RcFYK

San Diego Explained: Teacher Layoffs - voiceofsandiego.org: San Diego: Explained

San Diego Explained: Teacher Layoffs - voiceofsandiego.org: San Diego: Explained

San Diego Explained: Teacher Layoffs

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Posted: Wednesday, September 8, 2010 4:12 pm | Updated: 5:00 pm, Wed Sep 8, 2010.

Every year, a wave of pink slips goes out from school districts to teachers. But oftentimes, those same teachers don't actually end up getting laid off. How come? In our latest San Diego Explained, we explain the annual threat of teacher layoffs, with partners NBC