Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Clout St: Emanuel sitting down with city education leaders as he plots schools policy

Clout St: Emanuel sitting down with city education leaders as he plots schools policy

Emanuel sitting down with city education leaders as he plots schools policy

Posted by John Chase at 4:46 p.m.

Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel is sitting down with some top local education leaders to fine-tune his platform on Chicago Public Schools, which he has said will be a major part of his campaign.

The former congressman and White house chief of staff met with nine local education organizers, including Penny Pritzker, who also served as President Barack Obama’s national finance chair in the 2008 campaign, an Emanuel campaign official said today.

Last week, Emanuel trickled out some details about his education platform to the Tribune, saying he would like to see a local, privately funded version of the federal education competition called Race to the Top, the signature Obama administration plan that rewarded states vowing to reform public schools. He also talked about increasing parental involvement.

Among those Emanuel met with included Ellen Alberding, president and a board member of the Joyce Foundation, which helped work on Illinois’ losing Race to the Top application; former

Rand Paul and his pal who likes to stomp his boot on the head of a woman. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Rand Paul and his pal who likes to stomp his boot on the head of a woman. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Rand Paul and his pal who likes to stomp his boot on the head of a woman.

Here’s Rand Paul with Tim Profitt, the Paul campaign’s (now former) Bourbon County coordinator, in happier

Bully-free school is a civil right — Joanne Jacobs

Bully-free school is a civil right — Joanne Jacobs

Bully-free school is a civil right

After a wave of student suicides, the Obama administration is launching an anti-bullying campaign, warning educators that students’ civil rights may be violated by bullying and harassment. Punishing bullies may not be enough, wrote Russlyn Ali, assistant Education secretary for civil rights, in an advisory letter.

As an example, Ali noted in the advisory that a gay student might withdraw from school activities after being subjected to anti-gay slurs and other intimidation. If the school reprimands the perpetrators to stop the bullying, her advisory said, that would not necessarily be enough to ensure that students are free from harassment based on gender stereotypes.

“The school had an obligation to take immediate and effective action to eliminate the hostile

This Week In Education: Thompson: Parents Can Refuse (Some) Standardized Testing

This Week In Education: Thompson: Parents Can Refuse (Some) Standardized Testing

Thompson: Parents Can Refuse (Some) Standardized Testing

ConscienceKudos to Teacher Magazine's Anthony Cody for introducing us to Shahila Changebringer, who protests "reform" by refusing permission for schools to impose standardized tests on her child. I personally would not deter a student from taking A.P., SAT, or graduation tests. Neither would I impose a cookie-cutter morality standard on all parents, grandparents, or teens old enough to make their own decisions. But if this bubble-in


Research: Adults Ignoring Sleep Deprivation Research

Post_full_1285352029matt-damon-2Kids just want/need to sleep in a little later in the mornings (A Day in the Life of a Sleepy Student) but the adults are having none of i

Teaching guide for 'Most Dangerous Man' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Teaching guide for 'Most Dangerous Man' | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Teaching guide for 'Most Dangerous Man'

The Zinn Education Project, a collaboration of Rethinking Schools and Teaching for Change, just released a free teaching resource.

On the occasion of the WikiLeaks release of close to 400,000 documents on the war in Iraq, with Daniel Ellsberg at the press conference, the Zinn Education Project released a 94-page teaching guide on the film "The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers."

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Judge awards legal fees in Miss. lesbian prom case - Boston.com

Judge awards legal fees in Miss. lesbian prom case - Boston.com

Judge awards legal fees in Miss. lesbian prom case

October 26, 2010
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JACKSON, Miss.—A federal judge has ordered a Mississippi school district to pay about $81,000 in legal fees and expenses in a lawsuit filed by a lesbian student whose prom was canceled because she wanted to bring her girlfriend.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson signed the order on Monday.

Constance McMillen and the American Civil Liberties Union had sued the Itawamba County School District in a challenge of the ban on same-sex prom dates.

Christie accuses Legislature of not addressing N.J. pension, benefits, education reforms | NJ.com

Christie accuses Legislature of not addressing N.J. pension, benefits, education reforms | NJ.com

Christie accuses Legislature of not addressing N.J. pension, benefits, education reforms

Published: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 4:45 PM Updated: Tuesday, October 26, 2010, 4:45 PM
chris-christie-budget.JPGGov. Chris Christie with Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno in this July 2010 file photo.
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SOUTH BRUNSWICK — Gov. Chris Christie this afternoon took swipes at the vacationing state Legislature who he said has refused to tackle reforms of public employees’ health benefits, pensions and education.

At the ninth town hall meeting on his reform agenda, Christie told an audience in South Brunswick the Legislature has called hearings on bills addressing the neutering pets and notification of dental patients, but not on matters needed for his "tool kit" to help curb state spending.

"They say I’m impatient because they haven’t acted yet," he told a crowd of more than 200 at the Monmouth Junction Volunteer Fire Department. "I

Afternoon Update Education Week: From the Wires

Education Week: From the Wires

FROM THE WIRES

School districts around New Mexico are increasingly earnest about the idea of suing the state for "sufficient" education funding, especially in the face of more potential budget cuts.
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
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October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
Two Alabama schools make the prestigious list of "torchbearer schools," a program created in 2004 to recognize Alabama schools that are high poverty, but also high performing.
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
October 26, 2010
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October 26, 2010