voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

Sometimes I miss things in Bright and Early. It's true. Find something big that I skipped? Don't hesitate to send it to me at emily.alpert@voiceofsandiego.org. And now for your newsblitz:

• Should lunchtime be brought to schools by Kraft? We blog on a school board discussion over where ads could fit in schools -- if at all. We also blog on how San Diego Unified will seek a superintendent minus a professional headhunter. And if you want more gory details from the meeting, check out my Twitter feed.
• The Union-Tribune reports on early surveys for a parcel tax for San Diego Unified schools, which show that a temporary tax could garner nearly enough support to pass. After we blogged about some of those findings earlier this week, the county Taxpayers Association chief sent us this letter questioning whether the data is solid.
• San Diego Unified leaders have said that the schools still aren't out of Race to the Top, even though they didn't join the California bid for the money. Is that true? Well, mostly. It's the newest from our Fact Check blog.
• My esteemed coworker Adrian Florido looks at where the world champion Chula Vista Little Leaguers are headed now. That is, which high schools they're headed to now. Private schools might suddenly be in reach.

Call it shovel-ready | The Education Report

Call it shovel-ready | The Education Report

After years of promises and let-downs, it’s about to happen: The construction of an actual schoolhouse for La Escuelita Elementary, which is now housed in a bunch of run-down portables on Third Avenue, between 10th and 12th streets. Phase II of the Downtown Educational Complex, slated to begin in the fall of 2011, will include nearby MetWest High School and the Yuk Yau and Central Infantil child care centers.

The project has a dramatic history; these schools are located on the piece of property that was almost sold to condo developers in 2006 to help pay down the state loan.

If you’re curious about the project’s timeline or want to see more pictures, check out the school district’s Every Student Blog. 

The Educated Guess: Like germs, math phobia spreads in 1st grade

The Educated Guess:

"Like germs, math phobia spreads in 1st grade

A study that found that math-anxious female teachers pass on their fears to young girls underscores the need for more teacher training programs like Intel Math and, even better, the hiring of math specialists in early grades.

The Los Angeles Times reported on the study, which was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Two University of Chicago psychologists interviewed seven female first and second grade teachers who displayed a discomfort and expressed a lack of confidence in their math abilities. Their students were tested at the start and end of the school year.

By spring, girls in those classes ended up believing the myth that boys are naturally better than girls in math, and their test scores had fallen relative to the boys in their class. Girl students in classes with self-confident female teachers – and most teachers in those grades are women – showed no gap in test scores with boys. (Read more and comment on this post)"

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Jan. 27

Submitted by Erika Owens on Wed, 01/27/2010 - 10:20 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

Activist group sees flaws in teachers' contract The Inquirer
The Effective Teaching for Every Child campaign gave the contract grades averaging a B-, with an A- for standards and evaluations and a D for teacher incentives.

See also: Effective Teaching Campaign grades contract The Notebook blog
Dueling protests fault teacher pact: For different reasons, they have doubts Daily News

Plan for schools coming to a head Metro Philadelphia
Today the District will outline the plans for turning around low-performing schools as Renaissance Schools.

See also: Potential Ren. Schools announced Wed. The Notebook blog

Julia's revolution should measure up | The Australian

Julia's revolution should measure up | The Australian

THERE is a lot of debate over whether the Australian government and Education Minister Julia Gillard should publish school performance data and allow the public to compare results. The only people who should fear more transparency are those who have something to hide.

This is a commonsense and necessary step to ensure that parents can make informed decisions about where to send their children to school, and will enable them to hold schools accountable for helping students achieve.

In New York City, the largest school district in the US, we have taken similar steps over the past several years to evaluate schools and hold them accountable for results. One of the most transformational accountability tools we created is progress reports, which assign an A to F letter grade to schools each year.

These reports incorporate three factors: student performance, as measured by scores on state tests or graduation rates; student progress, as measured by students' improvement on these assessments compared to past years; and school environment, as measured by attendance rates and the results of an annual survey in which parents, teachers, and students evaluate their satisfaction with their schools.

These reports compare school outcomes with those of similar schools citywide, and are posted online so that families can use them to make decisions about their children's education.

Opponents contend that Gillard's My School website will humiliate children by making public a school's shortcomings. This cynical fear tactic ignores the long-term consequences of allowing students to remain in schools that don't provide them with the education they deserve. For many schools in New York City, a low progress report grade has served as a wake-up call, motivating school leaders to make changes that benefit students and to raise their grades the following year. For other schools, a low grade has exposed persistent weaknesses, resulting in leadership change, restructuring, or closure.

City Panel Approves Closing of 19 Schools - NYTimes.com

City Panel Approves Closing of 19 Schools - NYTimes.com

In a contentious meeting that drew more than eight hours of public testimony, a city board voted early Wednesday morning to close 19 schools for poor performance, despite the protests from hundreds of observers who repeatedly drowned out the meeting with cheers, shouts and boos.



More than 300 speakers addressed the board, the Panel for Educational Policy, beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday atBrooklyn Technical High School in Fort Greene. By the time the panel began voting at 2:40 a.m. they had heard a litany of complaints from hundreds of parents, students, teachers and administrators and just a handful of speakers who said they supported closing the schools.
But as expected, the panel overwhelmingly approved the closures recommended by the Education Department. The votes to close the schools fell along political lines, with the appointees of the Manhattan, Queens, Bronx and Brooklyn borough presidents voting against the closings while each of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s appointees approved them without question. Nearly every school shutdown was approved on a 9 to 4 vote, with the representative for the Staten Island borough president mostly siding with the mayor’s appointees, and the audience shouting “shame on you” and “disgrace.”

Update: Brouhaha in Brooklyn: Live-blogging the PEP’s school closure vote | GothamSchools

Brouhaha in Brooklyn: Live-blogging the PEP’s school closure vote | GothamSchools

Brouhaha in Brooklyn: Live-blogging the PEP’s school closure vote

by Philissa Cramer

Anna and Maura were on the scene of the Panel for Educational Policy’s meeting Tuesday night to decide on proposed school closures. They provided dispatches until the meeting’s bitter end, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

4 a.m. After a two-hour protest that closed the streets in Fort Greene; nearly nine hours of testimony by concerned elected officials, parents, teachers, and students; and a series of votes that underscored the divide between Mayor Bloomberg and everyone else on school politics, the Panel for Educational Policy determined early this morning that 20 city schools, both young and old, small and large, will begin to close this fall. We’ll have more about the implications of the panel’s decisions starting sometime tomorrow afternoon.

But for now, with Brooklyn Tech empty, at least for a few hours, and Anna and Maura safely in taxis, we’re closing the blog for the night. Be sure to scroll through all 70+ entries to see exactly how the marathon meeting unfolded.

3:43 a.m. Maura managed to corner mayoral appointee David Chang before he left the building. “These are tough decisions but I think they’re all thoughtful,” he said. “I’m convinced the change is for the better.”

3:42 a.m. City Hall just sent out a press release with statements from Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein. The release is dated Jan. 26 — the day the PEP meeting began, but not when it ended.

Here’s what Bloomberg had to say:

Public sentiment has turned against Mayor Bloomberg's dictatorial school reforms

Public sentiment has turned against Mayor Bloomberg's dictatorial school reforms

Mayor Bloomberg has ignited a firestorm among parents and teachers with his latest move to shut down 19 more low-performing schools - including many of the city's biggest high schools.

The hundreds who filled Brooklyn Technical High SchoolTuesday night to protest a vote on the closings by the mayor's Panel for Educational Policy sent a clear signal: The tide of public sentiment has turned against Bloomberg's dictatorial school reforms.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, those parents say, stacked their schools in recent years with huge numbers of special needs kids - especially English language learners and special education students.

Among the big schools to be shuttered are Christopher Columbus in the Bronx, Norman Thomas in Manhattan, Paul Robeson and W.H. Maxwell in Brooklyn and Jamaica High in Queens.

Klein never provided those schools with smaller class sizes and more resources, the parents say.

At a Jan. 7 hearing on Jamaica High, for instance, more than 800 people turned out. Klein aides admitted Tuesday that of 107 people who submitted official comments, not a single person backed the closing.

The chancellor simply ignores local sentiment. He prefers to spend much of his time promoting new charter schools or small public high schools, both of which enroll far fewer percentages of special needs children.

Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/01/27/2010-01-27_school_reform_is_failing_our_kids.html#ixzz0dpSlkKL4

H1N1 Infections Fall, But a New Wave Could Erupt - NAM

H1N1 Infections Fall, But a New Wave Could Erupt - NAM

FRESNO -- Reported cases of the virus, H1N1, also known as swine flu, have declined sharply in California over the last several weeks, causing state health officials to downgrade the status of the pandemic from “widespread” to “sporadic.”

The weekly number of hospitalized and fatal H1N1 influenza cases in California dropped to 46 as of January 16, down from 796 cases during the peak of the pandemic in early November.

However, the same officials warned there is still a possibility of the virus mutating. That could result in a third wave of infections over the next several months, coinciding with the traditional flu season.

“It’s unpredictable,” said Dr. Ben Sun, an epidemiologist at the California Department of Public Health. “We don’t want to spread fear where there doesn’t need to be any, but the flu virus mutates all the time. It may cause more sickness and deaths, which is why we’re still really pushing for vaccinations.”

Sun spoke at a press briefing organized by New America Media and attended by ethnic media representatives in Fresno on January 20.

Joining Sun on the panel of speakers was Edward L. Moreno, director of the Fresno Department of Public Health, and Kevin Hamilton, director of special populations at Clinica Sierra Vista, a local health clinic.

Despite the news of a decline in statewide infections, both Moreno and Hamilton expressed concern that if another H1N1 outbreak were to occur, Fresno residents could again be disproportionately impacted.

Since the H1N1 pandemic began last April, hospitalizations due to the virus in California have occurred at a rate of 22 per 100,000 people. In 

Educational Organization Announces Events Exhibiting Innovative Learning Design

Educational Organization Announces Events Exhibiting Innovative Learning Design With seventy schools in the United States and partnering organizations supporting over forty schools abroad, Big Picture Learning has become an international leader in fighting the dropout crisis, equipping students with twenty first century skills, and reinventing education. In order to expose educators and other interested parties to their innovative learning design, Big Picture Learning is holding a series of events in various U.S. locations that will offer an in-depth and hands-on look at how their schools are run. Sacramento, CA (Vocus/PRWEB ) January 27, 2010 -- Big Picture Learning (BPL) announces a series of events that will be held in various United States locations in order to expose interest parties to the work of the organization and the way its learning design can benefit students, families, schools, and communities. These events are relevant and applicable for classroom teachers, school counselors, administrators, district personnel, policy makers, foundation representatives, community activists, and social innovators. Big Picture Learning Logo  Some problems call for unique solutions. [Big Picture is an idea that works. The first conference in this series of events will be held at the Met Sacramento in Sacramento, CA on February 25 and 26. Additional meetings will be held in Seattle, WA and New York City in March and April, respectively. Visit the Big Picture Learning website for more details. During these events, participants will experience the energy of Big Picture Learning’s school network firsthand. They will work with school staff and students directly, participating in advisory and visiting internships--mirroring the experience of a BPL student. Participants will also have the opportunity to learn from BPL leadership how BPL’s programming can be integrated into a traditional school schedule, can be beneficial for all schools and districts, and is an appropriate program for i3 and Race to the Top funding submissions.

Student Press Law Center - News Flashes Bill to include charter schools in Calif. student free expression law passes State Senate

Student Press Law Center - News Flashes

Bill to include charter schools in Calif. student free expression law passes State Senate

CALIFORNIA -- The California State Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that extends the rights of student free expression to charter school students, confirmed Adam Keigwin, chief of staff for Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo.

The unanimous vote "speaks volumes for this issue," Keigwin said.

The bill will now go to the State Assembly where Keigwin said it will likely reach a vote by March in either the education committee of the judiciary committee.

Keigwin said a similar outcome is anticipated in the assembly, since the original student speech bill passed and this is simply a "restating" of that bill "clearing up any ambiguity."

The bill, introduced by Yee, amends California Education Code Section 48907 -- the state's student free expression code -- to read "pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press ..."

This will also amend California Education Code Section 48950, also known as the "Leonard Law," which protects any student action on a public or private campus that would be protected off campus by a student's first amendment rights.

Menifee USD will provide ‘alternative’ dictionary, committee decides

Menifee USD will provide ‘alternative’ dictionary, committee decides:

"Students at one Menifee elementary school will have the option of using an alternative dictionary rather than one that was temporarily removed from the classroom because of language a parent found objectionable.

Superintendent Linda Callaway announced Tuesday that a Menifee Union School District review committee met and determined that both the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary Tenth Edition and another dictionary will be available for use by fourth and fifth graders.

“We are aware that there may have been misinformation and/or misunderstanding with regard to this issue and it is important to clarify that at no time did the District state that the dictionaries were banned from the classroom,” Callaway said, reading from a prepared statement.

“We are confident that the Review Committee’s decision offers a reasonable resolution to this issue and there provides closure,” Callaway said during a school board meeting Tuesday in Menifee."

Insurance News Net -Pacific Life Foundation Hosts Annual Grants Reception, Announces $3.3 Million in Grants to over 200 Nonprofit Agencies in Southern California - Insurancenewsnet.com

Insurance News Net -Pacific Life Foundation Hosts Annual Grants Reception, Announces $3.3 Million in Grants to over 200 Nonprofit Agencies in Southern California - Insurancenewsnet.com

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- At an early Monday evening reception, the Pacific Life Foundation announced over $3.3 million in grants, ranging from $2,500 to $152,000, to over 200 nonprofit agencies serving Southern California. Overall, the Pacific Life Foundation has committed to provide $5.5 million in charitable funding throughout 2010.

A highlight of the evening was a special presentation of the Walter B. Gerken Community Service Award, along with a $25,000 grant, to the Illumination Foundation. Paul Leon, Executive Director of the organization, was on hand to receive the award and grant from Pacific Life Foundation Chairman Jim Morris and President Bob Haskell. The Pacific Life Foundation has been involved with this grassroots organization since its founding and has committed $625,000 to the organization through 2011. The Illumination Foundation is dedicated to breaking the cycle of homelessness in Orange County. It does this by providing stable housing and comprehensive, on-site wrap-around services for the families in their program to help them build a future life of independence.

The Pacific Life Foundation provides grants to nonprofit agencies that engage in the areas of arts and culture; civic, community, and environment; education; and health and human services.

Arts and Culture

Twenty-four nonprofit organizations from Southern California received grants within the Arts and Culture category. The following organizations were awarded grants of $10,000: California Science Center Foundation, Irvine Barclay Theater, KOCE-TV Foundatio

Universal Studios Hollywood(SM) Spotlights Teachers and School Personnel With 'Salute to Educators,' Offering Free... -- UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Universal Studios Hollywood(SM) Spotlights Teachers and School Personnel With 'Salute to Educators,' Offering Free... -- UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Universal Studios Hollywood(SM) Spotlights Teachers and School Personnel With 'Salute to Educators,' Offering Free Admission to All California Educators Through March 31

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of the importance of education and the vital role played by educators in our communities, Universal Studios Hollywood is paying homage to teachers and school personnel with a "Salute to Educators" program, inviting all California educators to receive a free theme park admission ticket, good throughMarch 31, 2010.

All California K through 12 primary / secondary public, private and charter school teachers and school personnel with valid employee, association/union and photo identification are eligible for the free one-day theme park general admission ticket.  Eligible educators can also enjoy a 50 percent savings on the purchase of up to three additional general admission tickets for friends and family.  (Tickets are valid for day of purchase only.) More information is available atwww.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com/salute.

In making the announcement, Larry Kurzweil, President and Chief Operating Officer, Universal Studios Hollywood said: "This 'Salute to Educators' is just another step in our commitment to education aimed at rewarding teachers and school employees and encouraging community partnership in the effort to provide quality education in an environment of shrinking resources."

Teachers spending the day at Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A.(SM), can enjoy a plethora of movie and television based rides and attractions, including "The Simpsons Ride(TM)," the "Revenge of the Mummy(SM) -- The Ride" indoor roller coaster, "Jurassic Park® – The Ride," and the world-famous, behind-the-scenes "Studio Tour," which showcases an exclusive sneak peek of the world's largest working film and TV production facility.

Universal Studios Hollywood's long-standing commitment to education began over 12 years ago with the introduction of its popular and ever-evolving school curriculum program, "Youth and Education."  This interactive educational initiative spotlights four areas:  Workshop and Lessons, Assemblies, Performances and Youth Days and are designed to meet California State Standards and California Technical Education Standards.  More information is available atwww.UniversalYouthPrograms.com/

Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A., is a unit of Universal Parks & Resorts, a division of NBC Universal.  NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.  Formed in May of 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks.  NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric (NYSE:GE), with 20% controlled by Vivendi.

The State Hornet - EDITORIAL: CSU budget crisis greatest hits vol. ?

The State Hornet - EDITORIAL: CSU budget crisis greatest hits vol. ?

Another semester, another address by President Alexander Gonzalez and top campus administrators. We’ve heard it all before.

The university is in a tight spot due to the state’s budget crisis, but we’re holding on and are in a better position than most of our sister schools in the California State University system, thanks to our proactive and forward thinking administration, we were told.

We know. We’ve been listening to the same broken record for the past two years.

And we are hearing the same responses from the campus community.

The faculty and the student body complain that Sacramento State’s administration, the CSU chancellor’s office and the Board of Trustees are not listening to their grievances and concerns. They feel shut out of the process.

Yeah, yeah, we’ve heard that before too - it’s just another skip in that same old record.
And again The State Hornet feels compelled to write yet another editorial cajoling the campus community to actively join the fight in support of our university system.

Damn! Did that stupid record just skip again?

But wait, you say, isn’t Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger singing a new tune?

Hasn’t he offered to restore $305 million in funding to the CSU system in his January budget proposal?

UC System Provost talks budget with UCSC staff, students - Santa Cruz Sentinel

UC System Provost talks budget with UCSC staff, students - Santa Cruz Sentinel

SANTA CRUZ -- Quality of education, access to that education and affordability were the common threads a top University of California official heard after meeting with students and faculty at administration at UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday. In Kerr Hall, under high security after the December student occupation that damaged the building, interim UC Provost Dr. Lawrence Pitts met with various groups to discuss what budget cuts might mean for a university system with a soaring number of applicants for next year, but with fewer spots to put them in. "If the University of California loses quality in some demonstrable way, the entire university will sag. If we don't do everything in our power to preserve quality, it will change the face of the university, and it will be hard to recapture or regain in any short amount of time," he said to a group of UCSC student reporters. It was a worthwhile meeting, said Jacob Margolis, a third-year politics major and news director for campus radio KZSC. He said the Santa Cruz community calls in to the radio station about their budget concerns, namely the privatizing of public education in a reduced-funding environment and the long-term development plan of the university. "It's been the flavor of the last couple of quarters, and what we've been talking to the chancellor about as well in student media meetings," Margolis said. Systemwide, UC campuses have reduced the number of undergraduates they've enrolled because of lost funding, and students are often not getting into their first choice school. Graduate student numbers have held steady since last year, Pitts said, because there is no money to fund increased numbers. The state is obligated to pay for students, which it is not doing, he said, in response to a student journalist's question of how reduced enrollment will affect diversity. Pitts also said the state needed to start paying into retirement benefits again, which is something the Office of the President would like to see in a final state budget, which is in its early stages. Pitts said the Office of the President was gratified to see a return of one-time cut funds in the proposal. He is a faculty neurosurgeon at UCSF and became provost in February 2009. UCSC was Pitts' fourth campus visit in his tour of all 10 campuses. "It's very useful for me to get out to the campus and see what's on their minds," he said.

FUSD plans nonprofit group for charter school - Updates - Fresnobee.com

FUSD plans nonprofit group for charter school- Updates- Fresnobee.com
In what may be the first of its kind in California, Fresno Unified School District plans to launch a nonprofit organization to open a charter school in west-central Fresno.

But the plan — up for a vote next month — is already coming under fire from Fresno teachers union officials, who say the new strategy is meant to bypass union hiring rules.

Fresno Unified wants to open the Morris E. Dailey International Studies Program in August at the former Dailey Elementary School near Shields and Palm avenues. The school would be a K-5 charter that would prepare students for the academically rigorous International Baccalaureate programs at Wawona Middle and Fresno High schools.

The district plans to create a nonprofit called Fresno Innovative Charter Schools Inc. to oversee the school, which is expected to house 380 students by the 2012-13 school year. The nonprofit’s five-member board would include Fresno Unified Superintendent Michael Hanson or his appointee, two members from the district’s board of trustees and two parents.

The district hopes to raise the bar for local charter schools — several have struggled or closed recently — and having an independent agency oversee the new school will help ensure its success, Hanson said.