Furlough Confusion - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Furlough Confusion - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Furlough Confusion

by Alexander Russo

Check out the email below describing confusion and frustration between CPAA and CPS about the possibility of additional furlough days. Is this a big deal or not, or a likely possibility, I have no idea. But it makes for interesting reading. [Got an interesting email or document to share? Send it to me at district299 at gmail dot com.]

From: cjackson-berry
Sent: Fri 1/21/2011
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: Furlough Days

Dear Principals and Assistant Principals:

CPAA is in receipt of the memo sent out today by Human Capital. I
requested on Wednesday, at a meeting with the Interim CEO Mazany that no

Unpacking Last Week’s “Students Aren’t Learning” Story « Student Activism

Unpacking Last Week’s “Students Aren’t Learning” Story « Student Activism

Unpacking Last Week’s “Students Aren’t Learning” Story

by Angus Johnston

There’s a new book out called Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses that got a lot of ink last week. It claims that only 55% of American college students improve their scores on a standardized test of critical thinking ability in their first two years of college, and that only 64% of students improve their scores on that test during their entire time as undergrads.

I haven’t read the book yet, so I can’t speak in too much detail about its contents, but a few things leap out from the coverage.

First, there’s the fact of what the study doesn’t measure. Because it’s based solely on performance on a generalized test, it tells us nothing about what students have learned in their own fields of study, a fact that many news stories on the book have failed to mention, or buried. (That misrepresentation began with the study’

State of the Union, 2011 - Education Reform

President Obama Thinks Big About Education, the Economy, and Jobs

The Republican Leadership, Not So Much

"In 1957 the Soviet Union beat us into space by launching a satellite known as Sputnik. That was a wake-up call that caused the United States to boost our investment in innovation and education. Our generation’s Sputnik moment is back.”

President Barack Obama, Forsyth College, December 6, 2010

----

"I think the president is a citizen of the United States."

 Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Meet the Press, January 23, 2011

-------------------------------------------------

Tomorrow night in his State of the Union address, President Obama will outline a bold vision for education reform tied to 21st century jobs and long-term economic prosperity. The Republican party is signaling that it will respond with a vote to slash education spending by as much as $9 billion, and will not offer any of its own plans for education reform.

On education, Republicans are poised to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Education is an issue on which bipartisan consensus already exists. National polls show the public wants increased federal spending in education. Outside the beltway, Republican and Democratic Governors and state legislators alike have embraced the Obama education agenda as carried out under programs like Race to the Top and Investing in Innovation (i3).

But in Washington, Republican Congressional leaders seem to be making a cynical calculation to play to the party’s anti-government fringe, and to sacrifice the nation’s long-term economic interests to its 2012 campaign strategy.

Cutting education spending and blocking bipartisan education reform is a failed strategy from both the policy and political perspectives. The American people want change and they desperately need continued federal investment. Republican leaders may think that blocking education reform and investment is the path to a 2012 political victory. But in fact they do so at their peril which, if nothing else, we hope leads them to eventually reach the bargaining table.

----------------------------------------------

A summary of H.R. Res 38, scheduled to come to the floor this week, and its potential for huge cuts to education is: here.

In the IEA, if you wanna me heard, you gotta be seen. « Fred Klonsky's blog

In the IEA, if you wanna me heard, you gotta be seen. « Fred Klonsky's blog

In the IEA, if you wanna me heard, you gotta be seen.

by Fred Klonsky

I received an email today from my union Region Chair asking me for my t-shirt size.

I guess she’s ordering something

This Week In Education: Thompson: More Questions About NYC Success

This Week In Education: Thompson: More Questions About NYC Success

Thompson: More Questions About NYC Success

by john thompson

Questions about the success of the NYC public schools under Joel Klein keep mounting. As reported in the NYT, a 2009 audit showed that Chancellor Joel Klein had created what one critic called the "Enron of Education." The transcripts of 25% of the audited student records were altered as the system inflated its graduation rate by playing games with

Would an Expansion of Florida Vouchers Stand Up in Court? - State EdWatch - Education Week

Would an Expansion of Florida Vouchers Stand Up in Court? - State EdWatch - Education Week

Would an Expansion of Florida Vouchers Stand Up in Court?

by Sean Cavanagh

There's considerable speculation in Florida about whether new Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers will make a push for a major new voucher-type program, dubbed education savings accounts.

But even if the GOP-controlled legislature delivers a bill to Scott and he gives it his blessing, a voucher program might not yet be in the clear.

That's because the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 ruled unconstitutional the Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provided taxpayer funding to familes of students in poorly performing public schools to attend private schools. The court found that the program violated the constitution's provision that the state provide a "uniform" system of public education for schools.

Despite that ruling, Florida continues to offer vouchers to families of students with disabilities, and to low-income families through a corporate tax credit program. But the transition team for Scott, a Republican, recommended last month that all Florida families be given access to "education savings accounts," public money roughly equivalent to each student's per-pupil spending, to use as they see fit—including for a host of private school

A dose of reality: more sick kids, fewer school nurses | EdNews Parent

A dose of reality: more sick kids, fewer school nurses | EdNews Parent

A dose of reality: more sick kids, fewer school nurses

by Rebecca Jones

Kelly Oswald regularly helps the diabetic students at her school draw blood and determine whether their glucose levels are within normal range or whether further steps must be taken to stabilize them.

And in the course of her school week, she knows she may be called on to administer medication to a child having a seizure or determine when it’s too cold outside for an asthmatic child to go out for recess.

That’s in addition to dispensing the usual daily round of prescription medications that a school full of children in varying degrees of ill health bring with them from home.

Oswald is not a nurse. She’s the school secretary at the 100-student Kit Carson School in the town of Kit

In Texas, Cute And Cuddly 'Pandas' Wage War On Science Education | Education | Change.org

In Texas, Cute And Cuddly 'Pandas' Wage War On Science Education | Education | Change.org

In Texas, Cute And Cuddly 'Pandas' Wage War On Science Education

by Carol Scott

Could rogue pandas be targeting Texas science education textbooks?

It sure looks that way, with news from the Texas Freedom Network reporting that the anti-evolution publisherFoundation for Thought and Ethics (FTE) will be submitting their own special brand of curriculum material to the Texas State Board of Education later this year.

FTE is best-known for their 'intelligent design' science textbook Of Pandas And People, which a federal judge ruled in 2005 could not be taught in public schools because it violated the Constitution. That landmark Dover,

Hechinger Report | National lessons from Indiana: With charter schools expanding, will public schools be left behind?

Hechinger Report | National lessons from Indiana: With charter schools expanding, will public schools be left behind?

National lessons from Indiana: With charter schools expanding, will public schools be left behind?

by Sarah Butrymowicz

INDIANAPOLIS—Principal Marcus Robinson strides down the hallway of Indianapolis’s Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, past a wall that proclaims in huge letters “COLLEGE OR DIE.” His maroon polo shirt and khakis match the uniforms of middle-schoolers standing in line for the bathroom, their noses buried in books.

In a booming voice, Robinson praises them for their diligence and then continues with his rounds. He picks up pieces of trash, chastises students who are talking as they switch rooms, and singles out a girl for being too loud, telling her “I need your leadership.” Robinson’s tough-love, no-excuses approach is getting results: The

New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools 1-24-11 Get Involved- Read Education News

New Posts on Parents 4 democratic Schools

Get Involved- Read Education News

Parents 4 democratic Schools

• How Involved Are You In Your Child’s School? – ParentDish
• Education Week: LA Judge Limits Seniority-Based Teacher Layoffs
• Brown’s test-drive of budget is positive – Sacramento Politics – California Politics | Sacramento Bee
• Welcome to CollegeMeasures.org
• Education Week: From the Wires
• Yoga, fireplaces, organic food — and failure — Joanne Jacobs
• Notes from the news, Jan. 24 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook
• Library protestors declare day of action | Books | guardian.co.uk
• Dear Gov. Brewer « Being Latino Online Magazine
• The Limitations of Race to the Top 2.0 – Politics K-12 – Education Week
• University leaders warn education cuts may have dire consequences | Iowa Independent
• A Pleasing Dearth of Dogma :: Frederick M. Hess
• Chang-Diaz Named Senate Chair of Education «
• Chicago Mayoral candidate Miguel del Valle is on a roll – Chicago Independent | Examiner.com
• Budget battle centers on wealthy – NorthJersey.com
• Only 47% Of Working Age Americans Have Full Time Jobs
• This Week In Education: Spending: These Programs *Aren’t* Really Going To Get Cut
• Tom Vander Ark: 3 Strategies for Broke States
• Are Facebook friends real? « Being Latino Online Magazine
• Monday Churn: Nearing the finish line | EdNewsColorado
• LA settlement limits layoffs by seniority — Joanne Jacobs
• National Journal Online — Education Experts — Encouraging Two-Year Degrees
• The Answer Sheet – JFK’s Harvard application: ‘Lackluster’ applicant
• How to choose a school for your child – CNN.com
• Lessons for California from National School Choice Week | Anonymous | Op Eds | San Francisco Examiner

Big players silent on LA Unified endorsements | 89.3 KPCC

Big players silent on LA Unified endorsements | 89.3 KPCC

Big players silent on LA Unified endorsements

5:49 a.m. | Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC

Download

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for MOCA

MOCA Gala Chair Eli Broad attends 'The Artist's Museum Happening.'

Share: Mail Print Comment

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/KPCC

Big players in LA Unified school board elections, Eli Broad (right) and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

In a month-and-a-half, voters within L.A. Unified’s wide boundaries will be asked to cast ballots for four of the seven seats on the school district board of education. Observers say the result could radically shift the way the massive school district carries out its reforms. Others say that the campaigns have been particularly quiet for such a high-profile race.

Philanthropist Eli Broad has spent millions of dollars in the last decade to elect L.A. Unified school board members who support his education reform agenda. He vowed to remain involved in these elections.

"My wife and I will donate to candidates that are reform-oriented. We’ve talked to the mayor and are working with Mayor Villaraigosa on supporting a number of candidates," Broad said at the unveiling for the desig

Seattle Public Schools community blog: Holy Cow! Not Just Education Cuts but Eliminations

Seattle Public Schools community blog: Holy Cow! Not Just Education Cuts but Eliminations

Holy Cow! Not Just Education Cuts but Eliminations

by Melissa Westbrook

There was a sigh of relief last week over the state funding for highly capable programs (called Advanced Learning in SPS). However, the funding is again being threatened. A so-called "striker amendment" introduced by Rep. Alexander has appeared in Appropriations bill 1086.

What is particularly onerous about this amendment is not that it cuts some funding; it would eliminate all state funding for highly capable programs.

Allocations for school district programs for highly capable students shall be distributed at a maximum rate of

Weblogg-ed » Finns Looking Forward

Weblogg-ed » Finns Looking Forward

Finns Looking Forward

by Will Richardson

Maybe I’m a little too fascinated by discussions of how all this networking online might play out in the next decade or so; guess I’m trying to act in the moment in ways that might better prepare me for what’s to come. Which of course is something we should be doing in our schools as well, right? As in trying to figure out what the skills and literacies are that the kids in our classrooms are going to have to grapple with down the road. (Doubting that handwriting is one of them.)

At any rate, from Robert Greco’s most excellent Delicious feed I snagged this link to “Oivallus-A Project on Future Education.” Here we have some Finns, already basking in all of their educational excellence glory, trying to figure out what teaching and learning are going to look like in a “networked economy.” (What a concept.) Not that there is anything earth shattering here, but the idea that Finnish Industries, the European Union, and The Finnish National Board of Education are seeking to “explore and outline progressive operating and learning environments” shows they’re not just resting on their laurels. And the outlines they’re sketching also show tha

Is MDV under the radar? « Fred Klonsky's blog

Is MDV under the radar? « Fred Klonsky's blog

Is MDV under the radar?

by Fred Klonsky

Mark Wachtler, Chicago Independent Examiner:

Word in the precincts was that the debates were rigged to get Walls and Watkins, the other two remaining Black candidates, out of the race so Carol Moseley Braun could lock up the entire Black community and its 600,000 plus votes. The only problem is that the Walls and Watkins blocks of voters are smarter, better researched, independent and reform-minded than they are prone to vote for Braun just based on the color of her skin. No, if those voters move anywhere, they’re going straight to the only reform candidate left – Miguel del Valle.

Step out of your NY and DC polling centers and out of your downtown high-rise offices and into the communities. Any precinct captain will tell you they know a

Dagmar Wilson. RIP. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Dagmar Wilson. RIP. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Dagmar Wilson. RIP.

by Fred Klonsky

My grandson, Joey, celebrated his third birthday yesterday. His mom claims that in the obstinate tradition of our family he insisted that he was still two.

I think he gets that stubborn DNA, in part, from his great-grandmother, Helen.

She was very stubborn woman.

It would be hard for anyone to imagine that a major immediat

Damn Good Education Daily

Damn Good Education Daily

Damn Good Education Daily

Pardon The Swag — The Jose Vilson

thejosevilson.com - Pre-Birthday Celebration at Mom's HouseIn celebration of my forthcoming birthday tomorrow (Monday, the 24th), I started sharing secrets to (my) life in my Facebook statuses. Here they were: Secret ...

TheJLV

Save Our Schools March and National Call to Action

dailykos.com - Sun Jan 23, 2011 at 02:45:11 AM PST Save Our Schools March and National Call to ActionFor the future of our children, we demand the following . . . * Equitable funding for all public school ...

teacherken

What do you want to talk about during this week's (1/25) #edchat? (via @web20classroom)

twtpoll.com - Total: 43 votes 1) Is Portfolio Assessment a viable alternative to Summative Assessment Testing? [ 16% (7 votes) ] 2) Will Merit Pay be applicable to all teachers regardless of their subject, o...

tomwhitby

What the President Should Say

huffingtonpost.com - The president will have to devote a big part of his State of the Union speech to the economy, but which economy? Corporate profits are up but jobs and wages remain in the doldrums. People with lots...

TeacherSabrina

Is KIPP abandoning the neediest students?

pheedcontent.com - The Knowledge Is Power Program, the nation’s and the District’s most successful charter school network, has a new official name, KIPP, and a new approach to raising achievement for disadvantaged ch...

alexanderrusso