UPDATE: Community leaders come together to launch 'Save Sac Schools' from state takeover | abc10com #Unite4SACKids #WeAreSCTA #WeAreCTA #strikeready #REDFORED #SCTA #CTA

Community leaders come together to launch 'Save Sac Schools' from state takeover | abc10.com

Community leaders come together to launch 'Save Sac Schools' from state takeover
The Sacramento City Unified School District announced at its board meeting Thursday it will cut 30 administrative positions as part of its efforts to prevent a state takeover.

Big Education Ape: Amid fiscal turmoil, Sac Unified faces possible state takeover | Capitol Weekly #Unite4SACKids #WeAreSCTA #WeAreCTA #strikeready #REDFORED #SCTA #CTA - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/02/amid-fiscal-turmoil-sac-unified-faces.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento City Unified School District announced at its board meeting Thursday it will cut 30 administrative positions as part of its efforts to prevent a state takeover.

District officials said the cuts will reduce the general fund by an estimated 4 percent, adding to the already $1 million recently cut from the administrator's office.

The district said it will also work with teacher and staff unions to make other changes including "having employees provide plans to use their vacation time and not allow it to accrue over time."

Before the board meeting started, a group of parents, custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria and maintenance workers gathered at the district headquarters to launch a campaign called "Save Sac Schools."

Dozens of community, labor, and business leaders spoke at the rally with one message: No state takeover.

"Being taken over by the state is not an option," said Cassandra Jennings with the Greater Sacramento Urban League.

RELATED: Sacramento City USD parents express concerns over 'state takeover'

Michelle Rubalcava, a parent and former PTA president, urged all parties to work together for students' future.

"I implore all of you who care about our children, please come to the table and have a real conversation about how to put our students first," Rubalcava said.

Sacramento NAACP President Betty Williams added, "Because we are here, we are not against anyone, but we are for everyone to give their fair share in supporting our school district and the children."

Among those who attended the rally was Mike Beverly, a machinist who's been with the district for more than 30 years.

RELATED: Sacramento City Unified School District says it's running out of money

"I graduated from C.K. McClatchy, my mother worked for the district, my son works for the district, I work for the district, and its all about getting these kids an education," Beverly said.

Richard Owen, Executive Director for United Professional Educators, explained what he's hoping to see next following the launch of the Save Sac Schools initiative.

"We're just hoping that the district, and particularly SCTA, will come together and resolve their differences," Owen said. "We're not just interested in resolving the immediate budget crisis, we want to change the culture of the Sac City school district so that this never happens again," Owens explained.

Continue the conversation with Daniela on Facebook.

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WATCH ALSO: Sacramento City Unified School District planning to shift school year

The Sacramento City Unified School District may start the 2019-2020 school year two-weeks earlier than it has in previous years.

Community leaders come together to launch 'Save Sac Schools' from state takeover | abc10.com

Sac City Unified School District needs more sunshine

Preston Jackson

As an elected school board member, I have a much different take on the concerns raised in the Sacramento City Unified School District than do Marcos Bretón, the Sac City school board and some others who appear to be trying to sweep fiscal mismanagement and potential conflicts of interest under the rug.

I was elected to the school board in the Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento and I have taught in the SCUSD since 2005. I also serve on the bargaining committee of the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA).

I believe these different experiences give me a unique insight into what’s happening in the SCUSD.

As a school board member, I would not have approved allowing a superintendent simultaneously to be employed by another institution and our district. Our students deserve a full-time superintendent. CONTINUE READING: Sac City Unified School District needs more sunshine

Big Education Ape: ATTENTION SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/03/attention-sacramento-city-unified.html

Educator to build on historic teach-in to end Trump's incarceration of immigrant children - Education Votes

Educator to build on historic teach-in to end Trump's incarceration of immigrant children - Education Votes

Historic teach-in to end Trump’s incarceration of immigrant children energizes teachers

Sarahí Monterrey’s daughters felt unsettled about the trip that would take their mom 1,600 miles from them and their daily routines together. Monterrey comforted them by counting aloud   ̶ “one, two”   ̶ the number of nights before she returned.

“Mommy’s going to help and be a voice for children,” she explained.

Reassurances to her children aside, Monterrey, the 2019 Wisconsin Teacher of the Year, was not quite sure what to expect at last month’s national teach-in in El Paso, Texas. But when she met another teacher on her outbound flight to the daylong event, the chance run-in reinforced her decision.

The goal of Monterrey, other Teachers of the Year, fellow educators, community leaders, and students is to raise awareness and demand an end to the Trump administration’s incarceration of more than 11,000 immigrant toddlers, children, and teens, some as young as 5 months old. The event was organized by Teachers Against Child Detention, a group founded by Mandy Manning, the 2018 National Teacher of the Year.

There have been more than 4,500 complaints from October 2014 to July 2018 about sexual abuse of incarcerated immigrant children by adult staff, including fondling, kissing, and rape, the U.S. Justice Department revealed last week. The complaints spiked when the Trump administration hastily introduced its “zero tolerance” policy of separating migrant families at the border.

In December, two children — a 7-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy — died from illness while detained.

Monterrey, an English Learner teacher at Waukesha North High School, gathered with the other educators on a mostly sunny and brisk day less than half a mile from the U.S.-Mexico border. They took turns delivering lesson blocks related to immigration and immigrant children, including one about long-lasting emotional CONTINUE READING: Educator to build on historic teach-in to end Trump's incarceration of immigrant children - Education Votes

Eli Broad weighs in at last minute with $100,000 donation in L.A. school board race - Los Angeles Times

Eli Broad weighs in at last minute with $100,000 donation in L.A. school board race - Los Angeles Times

Eli Broad weighs in at last minute with $100,000 donation in L.A. school board race

Philanthropist Eli Broad inserted himself into a pivotal Los Angeles school board race at the last second this week, making the largest individual donation to any candidate.

Broad’s $100,000 didn’t go directly to a candidate for the open District 5 seat, but to a union running its own campaign on behalf of Heather Repenning. Such independent campaigns have no donation limits.

The election day contribution went to a political action committee run by Local 99 of Service Employees International, which represents school district employees. Broad has frequently opposed unions politically.

Local 99’s ideological alliances have sometimes shifted. It has typically supported board members running for reelection regardless of who else supports them.

Repenning’s campaign is currently on hold as more than 4,700 ballots still are being counted. She is just behind Graciela Ortiz, in a virtual tie, for the second spot in a May 14 runoff for the office; after the initial vote count on Tuesday, only 53 votes separated them. Only one of them will make it to the ballot to face Jackie Goldberg, who far outpaced all other candidates.

In Tuesday’s vote, Repenning and Ortiz finished about 35 percentage points behind Goldberg, who nearly won a majority of votes, which would have eliminated the need for a continue reading: Eli Broad weighs in at last minute with $100,000 donation in L.A. school board race - Los Angeles Times

CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Charters Don't Want To Serve All Students

CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Charters Don't Want To Serve All Students

TX: Charters Don't Want To Serve All Students

The  charter school pitch often focuses on the idea that all students deserve choices, that families should be able to explore options.

Here's the CEO of KIPP Texas, speaking about the big Texas KIPP merger:

We realized our organizations wanted to improve student success across the state and we wanted to create an environment to serve more KIPPsters.

And here's Starlee Coleman, CEO of the Texas Charter School Association (as well as co-founder of SchoolForward, a choice PR firm; policy advisor at the State Policy Network; VP of Communications, National Alliance for Public [sic] Charter Schools; and various high-level positions with the Goldwater Institute), just last fall:

Don’t you deserve the chance to explore a variety of options, just like you have when making other decisions that impact your family’s future?

It turns out that when Coleman says "you," she doesn't actually mean "you everybody." Only certain select "you."

Here she is earlier this week, arguing against a "bad idea" that has "taken root" in the legislature. What is the bad idea? What is she railing against as a threat to charter schools in Texas?

A proposal that charter schools should have to accept all students.

Charter schools in Texas have some pretty cushy deals. For instance, in Austin, charters actually get $1740 more per students than the public system. And charters also have a fun item in Texas law-- they do not have to accept any student who has a record of disciplinary issues.

To read Coleman's piece, one would think we're talking about young felons with a rap sheet a mile CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: TX: Charters Don't Want To Serve All Students

DeVos’s New Tuition Tax Credit Voucher Proposal Is Dead on Arrival in Congress | janresseger

DeVos’s New Tuition Tax Credit Voucher Proposal Is Dead on Arrival in Congress | janresseger

DeVos’s New Tuition Tax Credit Voucher Proposal Is Dead on Arrival in Congress

Even if you believe public schools are among America’s most important public institutions, you have to give Betsy DeVos credit. She is perfectly consistent and doggedly persistent. Last week she proposed a new $5 billion federal tuition tax credit neo-voucher program.  She is determined to privatize the public schools; fortunately she doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere.

For the NY Times, Erica Green describes DeVos’s pitch: “She called it a ‘bold’ proposal that gives ‘hundreds of thousands of students across the country the power to find the right fit for their education… The biggest winners will be America’s forgotten children, who will finally have choices previously available only for the rich, the powerful and the well-connected.'”

So… what is Betsy proposing in 2919?  The Washington Post‘s Laura Meckler explains: “The proposal would authorize a 100 percent credit for contributions to any state-sanctioned scholarship fund, meaning donors could get back their entire donation through their federal taxes… The maximum credit would be set at 10 percent of an individual’s adjusted gross income, or 5 percent of a business’s net taxable income.  Overall, the program would be capped at $5 billion a year.”

The thing is that, except for Texas Senator Ted Cruz  and Rep. Bradley Byrne of Alabama, who are among the proposal’s sponsors in Congress, nobody seems to think DeVos’s new tuition tax credit vouchers are a good idea.

Meckler reports: “A similar federal tax credit was pushed in the first year of the Trump CONTINUE READING:DeVos’s New Tuition Tax Credit Voucher Proposal Is Dead on Arrival in Congress | janresseger

Choosing Democracy: SCUSD Plans for Teacher Lay Offs #Unite4SACKids #WeAreSCTA #WeAreCTA #strikeready #REDFORED #SCTA #CTA

Choosing Democracy: SCUSD Plans for Teacher Lay Offs

SCUSD Plans for Teacher Lay Offs

Sac City Unified Board decided to give 163 Lay Off notices to current teachers for the coming year in a vote on March 7, 2019.  In 2018/2019 the district received more money from Local Control Funding ( LCFF). Than in prior years, however they have a new deficit.  The board members argue that savings that could be made by changing the funding of health benefits.  This claim is related to a dispute over the existing contract between the district and the Teaches Union.   The Board voted unanimously  to issue the lay off notices. 

The district is at https://www.scusd.edu

The teachers union is currently conducting a vote by its members  for permission to  prepare for a strike. 

The budget challenges  faced by the district have placed the district  under the threat of state takeover as it wrestles with a $35 million budget gap. The district has yet to respond with a budget revision that would resolve the funding gap. 

It appears from the hearing that the district does not have a plan to resolve the budget shortfall.  Instead, they continue a public relations attempt to force the teachers union to accept a unilateral revision of the already signed contract. 

Board of Education Members 

Jessie Ryan, President, (Trustee Area 7)
Darrel Woo, Vice President, (Trustee Area 6) Michael Minnick, 2nd Vice President, (Trustee Area 4) Lisa Murawski, (Trustee Area 1)
Leticia Garcia, (Trustee Area 2)
Christina Pritchett, (Trustee Area 3)
Mai Vang, (Trustee Area 5)
Rachel Halbo, Student Member 

Choosing Democracy: SCUSD Plans for Teacher Lay Offs


Big Education Ape: ATTENTION SACRAMENTO CITY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: CHICKENS COMING HOME TO ROOST - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2019/03/attention-sacramento-city-unified.html

I Assign my Students Homework Despite Scant Research It Does Any Good | gadflyonthewallblog

I Assign my Students Homework Despite Scant Research It Does Any Good | gadflyonthewallblog

I Assign my Students Homework Despite Scant Research It Does Any Good

In academic circles the debate over homework rages on.

Does it actually help students learn or does it just cause undue stress and frustration for children and parents?

As a teacher and a parent, I see both sides of the issue.

In class, I assign my students homework every week – Monday through Thursday. Never on the weekends.

My daughter’s teacher does the same. So at home, I’m on the receiving end, spending hours with my little munchkin helping her get through mountains of assignments for her classes the next day.

Perhaps this is what they mean by the proverb – you reap what you sow. Except my daughter isn’t doing the homework I assigned. She isn’t in my class and we don’t even live in the district where I teach.

But it sometimes does feel like payback plodding through seemingly endless elementary worksheets, spelling words and vocabulary.

After a while, even I begin to question whether any of this junk does any good.

As a teacher, I know the CONTINUE READING: I Assign my Students Homework Despite Scant Research It Does Any Good | gadflyonthewallblog

How to Teach for Black Lives at a time when 1.7 million students go to school with cops, but no counselor. – I AM AN EDUCATOR

How to Teach for Black Lives at a time when 1.7 million students go to school with cops, but no counselor. – I AM AN EDUCATOR

How to Teach for Black Lives at a time when 1.7 million students go to school with cops, but no counselor.

A new report from the ACLU, using the most recent federal data collected by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015-16, found that:

• 1.7 million students are in schools with police but no counselors.
• 3 million students are in schools with police but no nurses.
• 6 million students are in schools with police but no school psychologists.
• 10 million students are in schools with police but no social workers.

These numbers are sickening, literally, when you consider the negative impact on health this has on students without access to proper mental and physical health care–in addition to the trauma caused by police in the schools.  The report goes on to explain how students of color are the most over policed, writing,

The use of police in schools has its roots in the fear and animus of desegregation. Students of color are more likely to go to a school with a law enforcement officer, more likely to be referred to law enforcement, and more likely to be arrested at school. Research also demonstrates that students who attend schools with high percentages of Black students and students from low-income families are more likely face security measures like metal detectors, random “contraband” sweeps, security guards, and security cameras, even when controlling for the level of misconduct in schools or violence in school neighborhoods.

In the midst of these upside down–and racist–priorities, Teaching for Black Lives, the new book from Rethinking Schools, is helping to transform the conversation about race and education. The book features teaching activities to engage students in discussions CONTINUE READING: How to Teach for Black Lives at a time when 1.7 million students go to school with cops, but no counselor. – I AM AN EDUCATOR

CURMUDGUCATION: Can HAL 3000 Take Your Class Notes For You (And Is EdWeek Starved For Story Ideas?)

CURMUDGUCATION: Can HAL 3000 Take Your Class Notes For You (And Is EdWeek Starved For Story Ideas?)

Can HAL 3000 Take Your Class Notes For You (And Is EdWeek Starved For Story Ideas?)

Can a piece of computer software take notes for students in a K-12 classroom?

No.

Okay, we should be done here, but Benjamin Herold, staff writer,  has posted a curious article at EdWeek. The headline (Could Artificial Intelligence Automate Student Note-Taking?) might have alarmed you if you saw it, but I'm going to explain why you can relax. Here's how he leads off:

Artificially intelligent digital agents are being marketed as a way to automate note-taking in the workplace, raising a big question for K-12:

Are classrooms next?

You'll be relieved to know that nobody consulted for the article thinks that the answer is "yes."

Herold leans on EVA, a digital assistant from a Silicon Valley startup named Voicea (can't somebody give these guys company naming lessons) that can dial into corporate meetings and create transcripts of everything that's said. It can use certain cues to highlight portions, but we're talking transcript here-- not notes. But after explaining the Voicea sales pitch for corporations, Herold notes that  "even Voicea is keeping its distance from the education market." So the company that makes the stuff says "no."

Herold talks to a policy researcher at RAND "who has written about artificial intelligence in K-12. "I applaud attempts to think about applications of technology that can help students take more effective notes and highlight the key takeaways," said Robert F. Murphy. "I just don't know if this particular application is going to provide that." So RAND says "no."

Herold cites new research that suggests that taking notes on a laptop is not so effective, which is... irrelevant to this discussion. But he does spend some time discussing why note-taking on a laptop  CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Can HAL 3000 Take Your Class Notes For You (And Is EdWeek Starved For Story Ideas?)