Robert Reich Public Option Video

Robert Reich speaks directly on what the 'public option' is and why it is so important to health care reform.

Hometown Station AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio - State Top Educator Weighs In On Obama Speech

Hometown Station AM 1220 - Santa Clarita Radio - State Top Educator Weighs In On Obama Speech:

"State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today watched President Obama's back-to-school message with students at Sequoia Elementary School in Sacramento.

'I would like to commend and thank President Obama for taking the time to address our nation's students. These are trying times for America as millions of people continue to cope with the effects of the global economic downturn."

"Unfortunately, our students and educators are not immune to this phenomenon, and cutbacks in education funding across the country - especially here in California - illustrate this reality all too well.

"But the President's message today is just the sort of infusion of inspiration and confidence that I believe can propel our schools to do even more, even better with fewer resources. Furthermore, the President could not be more right in encouraging students to set their educational goals high and commit themselves to reaching and even exceeding those benchmarks.

Obama speech delivered to school students - Latest News - sacbee.com

Obama speech delivered to school students - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"Students in Sacramento City Unified School District returned to school this morning."

And at Sequoia Elementary School, they were joined by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, parents, school administrators and a throng of media to watch President Barack Obama's back-to-school speech.

The speech about the importance of a good education created a furor among some parents, prompting some Sacramento-area school officials to allow students to skip the nationally televised speech.

Mrs. Marshall's third-grade class at Sequoia Elementary school in Sacramento watches President Barack Obama's televised address on Tuesday morning.

Pres. Obama National Address to Students

Pres. Obama delivered a national address to students across the country to talk to them about the importance of education. He spoke to a group of students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA.

Obama invokes Ghandi as a personal hero in speech to students | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

Obama invokes Ghandi as a personal hero in speech to students Top of the Ticket Los Angeles Times:

"The summer of President Obama’s political discontent is drawing to a close, but for those seeking to understand how he wields power as he maneuvers through the tricky maze of autumn’s healthcare battles, he dropped a few clues when he talked to ninth-graders in Virginia.

Obama went to Wakefield High School in Arlington to give a national speech welcoming students back to school. He called for students to take responsibility and to learn from their failures so that they succeed in the end. Despite some conservative misgivings, Obama’s comments were far from controversial. After all, calling on students to work hard and get ahead is as close to mom and apple pie as one can get."

PostPartisan - Staying in School and the 'Socialist Agenda'

PostPartisan - Staying in School and the 'Socialist Agenda':

"We have just gone through one of the most shameful episodes of the young Obama presidency -- shameful because of the behavior of the right wing, shameful because the media played into an extremist agenda, shameful because we proved that our political system has become so dysfunctional that a president gets punished for doing the right thing.

Upon Barack Obama’s election, even my most conservative friends who supported John McCain said Obama could do a world of good for poor children in the country by stressing the importance of education, hard work, staying in school and taking responsibility. Yes, those are often thought of as conservative values."

President Obama's Back to School Event comes to pass

President Obama's Back to School Event comes to pass:

"Don't let your country down. This is part of President Obama's message to school children across the country today."

ll good advice. These statements do have merit. However, delivery has had much to be desired by many. Parents from coast to coast have spent the weekend discussing the anticipated speech.

The President's remarks were posted on Monday for the world to see, however, that did not seem to be enough to calm to raging waters.

Was it really the content of the speech that caused so much to say? Chris McKenna of the Times Herald-Record reported on September 4, 2009 that New Windsor parent, James Petro says, “If you believe anything this White House says, you need to see a psychiatrist”.

Or was it the omission of the parents in the participation of the speech? PTA Councilperson, Cara Mendelsohn of Dallas, TX says that this approach is, "cutting out the parent".

Or is it the timing as the students and staff are just getting settled in to their new academic year, (unless they start tomorrow, September 9, 2009). Ann Sanner of the AP reports that Loudeoun County, VA school superintendent, Edgar Hatrick told WTOP News in Washington, "I think it is a very good speech,but it's just not on the first day of school very convenient for everybody to stop in the middle of lunch and to stop everything else they're doing and hear the live broadcast."

Davis Food Company-Op Receives 2009 Best of Davis Award

Davis Food Company-Op Receives 2009 Best of Davis Award

U.S. Commerce Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement

WASHINGTON D.C., June 8, 2009 -- Davis Food Company-Op has been selected for the 2009 Best of Davis Award in the Health Foods category by the U.S. Commerce Association (USCA).

The USCA "Best of Local Business" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USCA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2009 USCA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the USCA and data provided by third parties.

About U.S. Commerce Association (USCA)

U.S. Commerce Association (USCA) is a Washington D.C. based organization funded by local businesses operating in towns, large and small, across America. The purpose of USCA is to promote local business through public relations, marketing and advertising.

The USCA was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations, chambers of commerce and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to be an advocate for small and medium size businesses and business entrepreneurs across America.

SOURCE: U.S. Commerce Association

CONTACT:U.S. Commerce Association

Email: PublicRelations@us-ca.org

URL: http://www.us-ca.org

Politics K-12: UPDATED: How Will Critics Respond After Obama Gives His Back-to-School Speech?

Politics K-12: UPDATED: How Will Critics Respond After Obama Gives His Back-to-School Speech?:

"UPDATED: How Will Critics Respond After Obama Gives His Back-to-School Speech?

When President Obama addresses the nation's students today (or at least those who are allowed to watch), he'll deliver a back-to-school pep talk that surely doesn't live up to the controversy it created.

In prepared remarks, he takes a walk down his own memory lane by recalling early morning tutoring sessions and a dad that wasn't around. He acknowledges that many students out there aren't learning under the best of conditions—that they may live in neighborhoods that aren't safe, or in families affected by job losses."

Education Week: ELL Graduation Rates Often a Mystery

Education Week: ELL Graduation Rates Often a Mystery:

"Across the country, high school graduation rates are bemoaned with regularity. But many states and districts aren’t even tracking the rate for the fastest-growing population of students, or if they are, they aren’t telling the public how many English-language learners are leaving school with a diploma.

The No Child Left Behind Act was supposed to rectify that. Now, nearly eight years after its passage, 13 states and numerous districts still don’t report that information to the U.S. Department of Education. And some of those that do are offering numbers that may not be entirely accurate."

High marks for English immersion program - Local - fresnobee.com

High marks for English immersion program - Local - fresnobee.com:

"A growing number of school districts in the Valley and around the country are reporting dramatic success with an English-immersion program developed by a Clovis educational consultant.

Officials say the program works because it focuses on teaching the language to students with limited English skills -- instead of trying to teach the language as part of instruction in other subjects."

Damage fixed -- Bay Bridge is open - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Damage fixed -- Bay Bridge is open - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"The Bay Bridge opened today after damage to part of the structure was repaired, bridge officials said this morning.
'They have completed all the work,' said Tom Wood of Caltrans' Traffic Management Center."

So far, traffic on the span from Oakland in the East Bay to the San Francisco peninsula has been relatively light, Wood said. "There is no slowdown spot," he said.

The bridge had been shut in both directions since Thursday night as part of a major seismic project and was expected to reopen for today's morning commute.

However, discovery Saturday of a large crack in a steel beam forced emergency repairs requiring the bridge to remain closed and leading to predictiosn that the bridge would not be ready to carry traffic until Wednesday.

Education News & Comment

Education News & Comment:


"THE PRESIDENT TALKS TO STUDENTS

Watch Live on sacdac.org September 8 At 9 AM PT"

Schools Post More on Internet in Push to Go Paperless - NYTimes.com

Schools Post More on Internet in Push to Go Paperless - NYTimes.com:

"The back-to-school packets sent to all 7,800 students here in this hamlet on Long Island’s North Shore grew thicker each year with dozens of pages of notices, fliers and forms — adding up to more than $12,000 in postage alone last year."

But this year, amid a lingering recession and increasing online activity, school officials decided to stop the madness. Teachers and principals were given strict instructions: Limit mailings to a single, first-class envelope per student — and post the overflow on the district’s Web site, in a newly created back-to-school section. The savings: $9,000 in stamps plus $12,000 in salaries for clerks who used to spend up to two weeks assembling the packets.

And, for parents like Debra Miller, a shrinking pile of paperwork to keep up with.

“Since the kids have been in school, there’s never been a pile less than 12 inches high on my kitchen counter,” said Mrs. Miller, a mother of two, who shoves the unsightly pile into a cabinet when she has company. “I can never get out from under the pile, and I’m not alone. We all talk about it.”

New campaign questions reliance on testing - USATODAY.com

New campaign questions reliance on testing - USATODAY.com:

"WASHINGTON — If public schools were baseball teams, says Sam Chaltain, Americans wouldn't have a clue who should be in the playoffs.

That's because our current rating system relies heavily on a single set of test scores for nearly 50 million students, showing how a sample of them perform on a one-day math or reading test each spring."

To Chaltain, director of the Washington-based think tank Forum for Education & Democracy, that's like picking playoff teams based on one game's box score.

As Congress gears up to reauthorize No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the 2002 law that spells out how federal, state and local governments rate schools and spend billions of dollars, Chaltain is leading a new and unlikely campaign to shift the USA's education conversation away from one-day tests and toward a larger one, focused on "powerful learning and highly effective teaching."

The forum, along with a handful of education and civil rights groups, launches an online campaign today, asking Americans to write in with personal stories about how and when they got excited about learning — did a teacher get you interested in dinosaurs when you were 9? In politics when you were in middle school? The forum will present it to lawmakers as they rewrite the law.

In its current incarnation, NCLB, which uses the tests to prod improved achievement of low-income and minority students, requires virtually all students in grades 3 through 8 (and one grade in high school) to take annual, state-approved math and reading tests. Based on the percentage of students who score "proficient" or higher, schools get ratings that affect how they can spend federal dollars and whether teachers and administrators keep their jobs. Other factors, such as attendance and graduation rates, matter to a lesser degree.

The new effort aims to change the focus of the reauthorized law.

National Journal Online -- Insider Interviews -- Using NCLB To Retool Struggling Schools

National Journal Online -- Insider Interviews -- Using NCLB To Retool Struggling Schools:

"The third thing is you've got to go mobilize the parents. You can't do it to them, you've got to do it with them. They are ready. My experience has been, in the poorest areas of Los Angeles and the South Bronx, that parents have never been asked to be involved, and when they are asked to be involved, it's usually in something that doesn't have that much meaning to it. I think we have a different population where parents really care, every parent cares for their kids' education. They are willing to roll up their sleeves."

The Associated Press: Report: Obama administration improves openness

The Associated Press: Report: Obama administration improves openness:

"WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's policies on secrecy get higher grades for openness than those of President George W. Bush, yet there's still room for improvement, says a coalition of public interest groups.

In a report issued Tuesday, the coalition says the new administration has made major strides toward more disclosure, including the recent release of Justice Department memos on Bush administration interrogation policies and Obama's embrace of greater openness under the Freedom of Information Act."

Teachers to work without contracts | Detroit Free Press | Freep.com

Teachers to work without contracts Detroit Free Press Freep.com:

"According to the Michigan Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, all three districts -- Woodhaven-Brownstown, Southfield Public Schools and Redford Union Schools -- are on the union's critical list, meaning the union does not see progress in the negotiations."

Local News | Kent teachers union votes to continue strike | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News Kent teachers union votes to continue strike Seattle Times Newspaper:

"Teachers in Washington state's fourth-largest district voted Monday night to continue their strike, despite a court injunction ordering them back to work Tuesday to prepare for students.

Kent Education Association spokesman Dale Folkerts said 74 percent of union members voted not to return to work until they have a ratified contract.
The teachers 'know there could be consequences' to going against the judge's order, he said. But after a long and heartfelt discussion, 'they decided it was a cause that was important enough to stand up for.'

The teachers' top issues are smaller class sizes and more time with students. Folkerts said class-size limits in Kent are substantially larger than surrounding districts and that overcrowded classrooms create bad learning environments and in some cases, safety risks."

The Early Word: Back to School - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com

The Early Word: Back to School - The Caucus Blog - NYTimes.com:

"Some conservatives, as The Times’s Sam Dillion reports, have ascribed “dark motives to the White House” in giving the speech, while worried parents have lobbed complaints at school officials across the country. The administration attempted to blunt any controversy over the speech on Monday, posting the text of Mr. Obama’s remarks on the White House Web site.

As The Associated Press points out, the president “makes no reference in his prepared remarks to the uproar surrounding his speech. Nor does he make an appeal for support for tough causes such as his health care overhaul. He uses the talk to tell kids about his at-times clumsy ways as a child and to urge them to set goals and work hard to achieve them.”"