Oakland's big algebra push - Inside Bay Area

Oakland's big algebra push - Inside Bay Area:

"It's widely agreed that students' success in high school and even college can hinge on whether they master algebra — and that far too many fall short, especially in poor communities. An Oakland school district analysis this spring found that students were no more likely to pass Algebra I as ninth-graders, after an extra year of preparation, than as eighth-graders, said Brad Stam, the district's chief academic officer.
But the algebra problem itself is so deeply rooted, its solutions so complex, that some say the 'algebra for all' approach is too simplistic and that it will end up hurting some students."

Why teachers like me can't stay | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Why teachers like me can't stay detnews.com The Detroit News:

"But high teacher turnover, in my millennial opinion, still matters, even with eager rookies waiting in the wings.

Having a base of teachers who teach for more than a token few years is critical to school reform. It helps principals and school leaders develop trusting relationships with teachers. It helps teachers collaborate with one another. Most of all, it helps students. A teacher with experience is not always a good teacher, but a good teacher is always better after a few years of experience. As my former principal not-so-subtly put it: 'The kids don't need one-year wonders. There is no such thing as a one-year wonder.'

Four-year wonders are better than nothing, but still not enough.
Sarah Fine was a teacher, department chair and instructional coach"

Teachers promised: 'We will succeed' - MassLive.com

Teachers promised: 'We will succeed' - MassLive.com:

"'We will succeed, I promise you,' Ingram said. 'I believe there is a special place in heaven reserved for teachers and others who dedicate their lives to making the lives of children better. There are plenty of jobs that pay more money than that of being a teacher, but no job in America is more important.'

Ingram said he stands united with teachers, and promised that the 'number one core value is what is best for kids, and kids will always come first.'

Teachers in attendance said the convocation is an uplifting start to the school year, including the speeches and musical performances by students.

'This always kind of motivates me, especially seeing the children perform,' said Sara N. Tourscher, a 6th grade teacher at Duggan Middle School. 'It always brings a tear to my eye.'
'I felt really good,' said Arria N. Coburn, a special education teacher at Springfield Renaissance School. 'I felt we are really equipped this year to go in and start fresh.'

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, chairman of the School Committee, said the city is making physical improvements to the schools, but 'it's really you - teachers, staff and administrators - that make the place shine.' Sarno praised the impact that teachers have on the future success of students.

Timothy T. Collins, president of the Springfield Education Association, said the schools have been under severe financial constraints. The improvements still being made are 'a testament to the energy, idealism and enthusiasm of both the new people to our school district and the loyalty and dedication of our veteran teachers.'"

City schools seek $50 million from Gates Foundation

City schools seek $50 million from Gates Foundation:

"Until today, details of Pittsburgh's proposal, including the amount sought from the foundation, had been known only to a handful of senior district and union officials. Union President John Tarka said he would provide highlights at a meeting of building representatives this morning.

The proposal calls for performance pay for teachers, extra pay for those taking on special assignments and creation of an 'academy' to train new and experienced teachers. The proposal also calls for changing the tenure system and systematically pushing out ineffective teachers.

Many provisions, including performance pay, would require union members' approval through the collective bargaining process.
Last spring, Pittsburgh, eight other districts nationwide and a group of Los Angeles charter schools were invited to submit proposals for the Gates Foundation's $500 million initiative on teacher effectiveness"

How to Get the Teachers We Want : Education Next

How to Get the Teachers We Want : Education Next:

"Schools require all teachers to devote time and energy to bureaucratic duties, patrolling hallways and cafeterias, taking attendance, and compiling report cards. The problem here is that school and district officials are conscious of expenses related to salary and materials but fail to account for the opportunity costs of not leveraging the talent already in the schools. Even schools that tout their commitment to professional development and data-driven instruction press teachers to operate as generalists rather than leveraging their particular skills.

Two decades of surveys by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) suggest that the typical teacher spends only about 68 percent of classroom time on instruction related to core academic subjects, with the remainder consumed by administrative tasks, fund-raising, assemblies, socialization, and so forth. Provisions for substantial numbers of sick days as well as collective bargaining agreements and management practices that result in the universal imposition of noninstructional responsibilities have all conspired to ensure that schools do not maximize the contributions from the talent they do have."

Forced to Hire From Within, New York City Principals Leave Jobs Unfilled - NYTimes.com

Forced to Hire From Within, New York City Principals Leave Jobs Unfilled - NYTimes.com:

"Facing steep budget cuts, the Education Department enacted a hiring freeze in the spring, requiring principals with openings to hire teachers who are already on the city’s payroll but who have no permanent position, often because their schools were closed for poor performance.

But many principals prefer new teachers. So in an act of quiet defiance, they are allowing jobs to sit vacant, leading to one of the most difficult hiring seasons in recent history despite the large number of vacancies and the thousands of candidates who could fill them.

Teachers who lost their old posts are frustrated about the scarcity of job offers. New teachers who cannot get hired are furious after upending their lives to begin careers they must now delay. And principals are upset that after years of choosing their work force, their options are being drastically limited."

Comment of the day: The rest of the story on teacher pay raises - OregonLive.com

Comment of the day: The rest of the story on teacher pay raises - OregonLive.com:


"Negotiations are a process, as you well know. What concessions are being offered for the 2% request on the table? Districts want additional hours and duties be added to the school day, a lengthened school year and furlough days. If an employer wants more hours AND more days AND more responsibility ... wait a second. Who's greedy? My, my, you've omitted more than half the story. I can't tell if you wish to prevent, or want to incite, new angry mobs now that the town hall frenzy has subsided.

Presently, my colleagues are already looking at larger class sizes. The numbers are up to 28-29 in primary grades at one of the more economically challenged schools. This is not counting the children whose parents will mosey in to register them a week after school has begun. This isn't a matter of increasing class sizes to give teachers a raise. It's a matter of class sizes already being huge, and making them even larger with no compensation. That, Jack Flack, is unreasonable."

'Cooperative education must for India, China, US': Rediff Business News, Latest India business news, India Economy news, World Business, Finance news, Latest business headlines, business videos and business articles.

'Cooperative education must for India, China, US': Rediff Business News, Latest India business news, India Economy news, World Business, Finance news, Latest business headlines, business videos and business articles.:

"If India, China and the United States are to prosper in a globalised economy, a joint, cooperative transformation of their higher education systems was imperative, believes B M Naik, former principal of the engineering school at the Guru Gobind Singh College in Nanded, Maharashtra. Naik is now a consultant on entrepreneurship focusing on science, technology and engineering for private sector investors setting up higher education institutions.

Naik, who has published extensively policy articles on how to alleviate India's higher education and served on several accreditation boards, said, 'To bring about this transformation from one level to the high level and to the global level and quality standard education, what is most important is that these ideas must move fast from one country to another.'"

Detroit teachers’ union blocks strike action against wage cuts, layoffs

Detroit teachers’ union blocks strike action against wage cuts, layoffs:

"The Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) on Wednesday agreed to extend its current contract until October 31, preempting a possible strike by 6,000 teachers as schools open September 8. The teachers, whose contract expired in late June, are opposing demands for sweeping wage and benefit concessions from a financial manager appointed by Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm.

The DFT had called a mass membership meeting for Sunday afternoon where teachers were scheduled to vote on whether or not to strike. It is evident that the union leadership, which has publicly opposed strike action, was concerned they could lose control of the meeting and have a repeat of the experiences of 1999 and 2006, when teachers voted overwhelmingly to walk out."

An experiment in teacher pay | PRI.ORG

An experiment in teacher pay PRI.ORG:

"The average salary for middle-school teachers is $46,000, according to the Department of Labor. But a charter school in New York's Washington Heights will be paying a salary of $125,000, trying to find out if better pay means a better education.

Zeke Vanderhoek, the founder and principal of the charter school The Equity Project (TEP).

Vanderhoek believes teacher quality is key to student achievement, and a higher salary will attract quality, 'The point of the money is two-fold: one, it really values outstanding people who are in teaching right now ... and opposed to simply paying lip-service to valuing them. And the other is the hope is it attracts a broader pool of candidates into teaching itself, and a more talented pool as a whole.'"

New York Charter School Has Big Dreams for Small Cash Flow - ABC News

New York Charter School Has Big Dreams for Small Cash Flow - ABC News:

"In addition to the rigorous standards for test scores, attendance, and parent satisfaction by which all New York charter schools are measured, The Equity Project has set its own goals. It expects students to show progress in writing, for instance, by adding a sample to a portfolio every two weeks from each subject area. And within four years, they should be able to perform competently in a musical ensemble."

DOCTORS AND TEACHERS MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT

DOCTORS AND TEACHERS MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT:

"Teaching and student learning; health care and better health are not linear relationships. There are too many human variables that , up to now, have been uncontrollable.

All the expertise of the physician gets undermined when patients don’t follow through on medical advice such as don’t smoke, don’t eat too much salt. Many patients, even those with sufficient funds, don’t fill and take their prescriptions.

All the expertise of a teacher gets undermined when children are poorly fed, left unsupervised at home , and come to school without encouragement from home to do their best.

There is an eagerness of patients and families to forgive and forget their own personal responsibility for better health and stronger education."

Title I School Improvement Grants

Title I School Improvement Grants:


"Every state must identify the bottom five percent of its Title I schools in school improvement status and target the majority of the school improvement funds to implement robust and comprehensive reforms to dramatically transform school culture and improve student academic outcomes. The Secretary is offering states flexibility to concentrate funding over multiple years to support the kind of dramatic, far-reaching changes that have not been possible under the existing program. Because Title I disproportionately supports elementary schools, the Secretary will grant waivers allowing states and districts to use school improvement funds to intervene in low-performing secondary schools that are eligible for, but don't receive, Title I money."

Editorial - Accountability in Public Schools - NYTimes.com

Editorial - Accountability in Public Schools - NYTimes.com:

"Of course, those systems need to be sensible and fair. But the country will never get where it needs to be if we take the approach — as union leaders have sometimes done — that student test scores should be out of bounds when it comes to judging teacher effectiveness. That is an indefensible position. The unions can either help to create this system, or get left behind."

An Interview with Philanthropist Eli Broad - WSJ.com

An Interview with Philanthropist Eli Broad - WSJ.com:

"The Broad Foundation funds charter schools, including KIPP academies and the Green Dot network, as well as Teach for America. It trains reform-minded school administrators. And it offers financial rewards to urban school districts that improve performance through initiatives like merit pay for teachers. Mr. Broad tells me, 'we're at a golden moment now,' with a president and an education secretary who, he says, agree with his reform agenda.

The son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, Mr. Broad grew up in Detroit where he became the youngest person in the state of Michigan to pass the CPA exam. Since retiring, he and his wife Edythe, whom he met there, spend much of their time figuring out how to give away the $2.1 billion of the foundation that bears their names."

Pastorek: State likely to run New Orleans public schools for years - NOLA.com

Pastorek: State likely to run New Orleans public schools for years - NOLA.com:

"Though well-intentioned, the local board, with several newly elected members, needs more 'seasoning' and isn't prepared to take back schools, he said. Further, the Recovery District and the many charter schools it oversees have not had sufficient time to stabilize reform efforts. The Recovery District's first two years were consumed with crisis management, he said, and so in essence can't be counted as progress toward sustainable reform."

Find and share teachers documents, and teacher resources - docstoc

Find and share teachers documents, and teacher resources - docstoc:

"Teachers

Find and share teachers documents, teachers inspirational poems, and teacher resources. Download free teacher worksheets, thank you poems to teachers, teacher letters to welcome parents, and much more."

http://www.docstoc.com/documents/education/teachers/

“Race To The Top:” Feds Demand Too Much, Too Soon, For Too Little - California Progress Report

“Race To The Top:” Feds Demand Too Much, Too Soon, For Too Little - California Progress Report:

"Any effort to close the achievement gap in our schools that does not address the conditions that children grow up in is doomed to failure. Schools can only do so much in the time that they work with students. Until this country closes the gaps in job opportunities at a livable wage, health care, and affordable housing, efforts for improvements in the schools will have limited success. In addition, you can develop all the best tests in the world but if you don’t improve the conditions in the schools that students and teachers operate in, the test scores will not improve. As the famous farmer said, “weighing my hog doesn’t help it to grow heavier.”"

Top Educator's Top Teacher | Scholastic.com

Top Educator's Top Teacher Scholastic.com:


"Although she didn’t know it before this interview, she is special because she is Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's all-time favorite teacher—after his parents that is.
'Ms. McCampbell was a wonderful teacher,' Secretary Duncan told the Scholastic Kids Press Corps in an earlier interview. 'She really challenged me and pushed me further than I thought I could go. And having those teachers who really believe in you and stretch you are critically important.'
Duncan graduated from UCLS in 1982. McCampbell remembers him well.
'It is a great honor,' she said as she began to remember the Secretary of Education in high school. 'He was a serious student and that was even when sometimes the other kids weren't.'"

Area Leadership Meetings

Area Leadership Meetings

Community Partnership Meetings & Neighborhood Advisory Group

Neighborhood Services hosts or helps coordinate monthly meetings in each area to facilitate communication between the City and community on issues, policies, and priorities. Each month, guest speakers from various City departments and other agencies provide information on current community initiatives and opportunities for public participation.

Come to our next meeting to learn what is going on in your neighborhood! The Neighborhood Services Department serves the City using four geographic areas. View this map to see which area your neighborhood is in.

AREA 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group
Next Meeting: August 17 @ 6:30pm
Hart Senior Center
915 27th Street
Click Here to view Meeting Calendar

AREA 2 Community Partnership Meeting
Next Meeting: September 9 @ 7pm
Pannell Meadowview Community Center
2450 Meadowview Road
Click here to view Meeting Calendar

AREA 3 Community Partnership Meeting
Next Meeting: September 24 @ 7pm
Coloma Community Center
4623 T Street
Click here to view Meeting Calendar

AREA 4 Community Partnership Meeting
Next Meeting: September 14 @ 7pm
Robertson Community Center
3525 Norwood Ave.
Click here to view Meeting Calendar

The Rally for Hope! August 28, 2009 Postponed new date to be set....stay tuned

The Rally for Hope! August 28, 2009 Postponed new date to be set....stay tuned

Causes on Facebook Save our Teachers / Save our Schools

Save our Teachers / Save our Schools

We must stand up for our schools, our teachers and, most importantly, our children.
Donations Go To: PROJECT DREAM INCORPORATED A 501(c)(3) nonprofit

Positions:

1. Save Teachers' Jobs.
2. Save Our Schools.
3. The Rally for Hope! August 28, 2009 @ the State Capitol

In March of 2009, the Pink Friday movement began. An enthusiastic group of parents, teachers and community members joined together to stand up for schools in California.

Since that time our state has faced continued economic challenges, leaving the education community to do more with less.

We must stand up for our schools, our teachers and, most importantly, our children.

Please join us for The Rally for Hope! August 28, 2009 @ the State Capitol

SmallTalk: The real force behind mayoral control

SmallTalk: The real force behind mayoral control:


"It's none other than the world's richest man, Bill Gates. Gates secretly bankrolled the recent campaign to preserve N.Y. Mayor Bloomberg's one-man rule over the public schools.

According to a story in yesterday's N.Y. Post, Gates funneled about $4 million to the pro-mayoral-control forces during the recent debate in the state legislature. When questioned by the Post, a Gates spokesperson confirmed the donation and the approximate size."

Send In the Clowns: 3 Stooges, Gingrich, Sharpton & Duncan Hit the Road For Corporate “School Reform” | Black Agenda Report

Send In the Clowns: 3 Stooges, Gingrich, Sharpton & Duncan Hit the Road For Corporate “School Reform” Black Agenda Report:


"Back in the late 19th and early 20th century heydays of vaudeville, when the singers bombed, when the jokes fell flat and audience attention started wandering, management knew what to do. They would send in the clowns. Some things haven't changed.

Despite a decade of hard sell by right wing think tanks, foundations, and big media, the American people have not bought the corporate version of school reform. Most people just don't believe public schools should be privatized or militarized, or operated by business people like businesses instead of by educators, parents and communities in the interests of children, parents and communities, like the best schools always have been run. And most educators doubt that high stakes testing improves educational outcomes in any meaningful way.

Since the public debates on charter schools and privatizing education are ones that our elite cannot win, they have decreed there will be no debate. Instead of an honest public examination of the disastrous impact of No Child Left Behind, and its attendant decade of creeping educational privatization, corporate media, the Obama administration and its bipartisan allies are sending in the clowns with a 21st century three stooges remake starring the Rev. Al Sharpton, along with Republican former Speaker Newt Gingrich and Obama Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, elbowing and slapping at each other, yukking it up about their supposed political differences while they all come together around the corporate elite's version of “school reform.”"

Stanford U Study Shows Charter Schools Perform Worse Than Comparable Public Schools | Black Agenda Report

Stanford U Study Shows Charter Schools Perform Worse Than Comparable Public Schools Black Agenda Report:

"“The Obama administration position is based on ideology, not empirical data.”

Duncan responded to the study by urging charter school forces to pay more attention to quality. But he continues to demand that 5,000 schools be shut down, their teachers fired, and a quarter million new teachers hired. The Obama administration position is based on ideology, not empirical data, and would lead to a forced proliferation of charter schools in districts eager to hold on to federal dollars. If the Stanford study is any guide, half the new charters will be no better than the traditional schools, and most of the rest will be worse.

Unionized teachers are blamed for all the ills of urban education; it’s not a reasoned argument, but a matter of faith – and political prejudice. Charter schools are not private, but they are the privatizers’ foot in the door, a wedge issue to demonize unions in the Black community – even in those cities where many if not most public school teachers are Black. In Chicago, as Bruce Dixon reported in last week’s issue of Black Agenda Report, the proportion of Black teachers has dropped from 39 to 31 percent since 2002, because of school closings. In New Orleans, most of the school system has been replaced with charter schools, along with a disproportionate share of Black teachers, to the cheers of the Obama administration. It’s the same story all across the country."

Will Advanced Placement Replace the SAT? - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

Will Advanced Placement Replace the SAT? - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"This is likely to draw more high-profile colleges into the test-choice movement, since it lets them de-emphasize the SAT but still have some national standard to judge applicants. The admissions dean at Harvard, who has so far resisted the test-optional movement, has said he thinks the AP is a better predictor of college performance than the SAT. Switching AP for SAT would allow him and other Ivy deans to look flexible while still providing data for their painful annual culling of applicants."

Student Scores Stagnate: No Country Left Behind? (Education - Change.org)

Student Scores Stagnate: No Country Left Behind? (Education - Change.org):

"We demanded No Child Left Behind, but now it's the whole country may miss out. American children are not be getting any smarter or any dumber, explained Arne Duncan last week, fearing stagnation and complacency would not be good enough for the U.S. to compete globally. Numbers cited by Duncan last week found that in science, the United States is falling behind Canada, Japan and the Czech Republic. Duncan explained 'I think as a real economic imperative we have to educate our way to a better economy.'"

Schools Matter: Segregationist Society Wonders Why Achievement Gaps Persist

Schools Matter: Segregationist Society Wonders Why Achievement Gaps Persist:

"The failure chart here is a snapshot of Arlington, Virginia, but it could be Most Anywhere, USA. While corporate reformers berate public school teachers and castigate parents and abuse children with cram-down testing, the story of the return to apartheid schooling remains a non-story for the media and an unacknowledged reality for the dolts in charge of state testing programs.

Where there is apartheid, there is poverty; where there is poverty, there is the achievement gap. Where there is the achievement gap, there is the preservation of privilege for White America. What could be more horrendously elegant? What kind of democracy so clearly embraces an educational system that defines success strictly by race and income? But then, what kind of democracy puts its future in the hands of corporate oligarchs to decide?"

Going Small: Progress and Challenges of Philadelphia’s Small High Schools

Research for Action

WHAT'S NEW

NEW RELEASE! Going Small: Progress and Challenges of Philadelphia’s Small High Schools examines Philadelphia's experience with small high schools and finds that “going small” is a promising strategy for fostering student success, especially for students who face the most signficant challenges. However, it cautions that size alone will not produce better schools. The report identifies the resources and supports that are needed to make small schools successful.
Download the full report, the executive summary, and the Press release. This multiple-year study was supported by Carnegie Corporation.

Making the Most of Interim Assessment Data: Lessons from Philadelphia is a new Research for Action report that offers insights into how districts might capitalize on interim assessments to promote teacher learning and improve student achievement.
Download the full report or the executive summary

Urban School District Central Offices and the Implementation of New Small Autonomous Schools Initiatives

VUE 22: Honig Excerpt

New small autonomous schools initiatives have spread to urban districts nationwide. While their designs vary, these initiatives generally aim to convert large public high schools into multiple, smaller, more autonomous schools and to create new small autonomous public schools of various types. Initiative advocates argue, in part, that the sheer diversity of students in urban districts – and, arguably, other mid-sized to large districts – increases the urgency to reinvent schools into newer, smaller, more autonomous units that are more rigorous, caring, and responsive to individual students.

In turn, district central offices would expand student learning districtwide if they helped schools build their capacity for making key decisions about how to support their students, rather than mainly directed schools’ decisions. Such forms of district central office support depart starkly from traditional central office roles as regulators of or non-participants in reform efforts. What, more specifically, do urban school district central offices do when they enable the implementation of new small autonomous schools initiatives?

Educational research has shed little light on this question. For example, many studies of new small autonomous schools initiatives focus on school-level outcomes and implementation processes

Op-Ed Contributors - Smart Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributors - Smart Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com:

"This comes as quite a surprise, as ever since the law was enacted in 2002, analysts and educators have worried that gifted pupils would be the ones left behind. While the law puts extraordinary pressure on schools to lift the performance of low-achieving students, it includes no incentives to accelerate the progress of high achievers.

Yet the new study, by the independent Center on Education Policy, showed that more students are reaching the “advanced” level on state tests now than in 2002. This led the authors to conclude that there is little evidence that high-achieving students have been shortchanged.

If only that were so. But like many miracle-drug claims, this conclusion is deeply flawed, for several reasons."

Local retired teachers stay active, involved :: The Fallbrook Village News

Local retired teachers stay active, involved :: The Fallbrook Village News:

"Board members of the CalRTA Division 81 (Fallbrook chapter) prepare invitations for a ‘Stay at Home Tea,’ which encourages participants to relax and home with a cup of tea and mail in a donation to support the teacher grant program. Board members shown include (seated, from left) Jewell Ford, Jean Whiteside, President Sandra Bell, Bobbie Smith, (standing) Sherry Ludwig, Laura Choate, Sally Whitlock, Lucile Reeder, Arlene Sharpe, Ruth Watto, Gigi Halladay and Joyce Brittain. (Not shown by actively participating: Lenora Sears.)"

School officials going to court for breaking pledge not to pray - Salt Lake Tribune

School officials going to court for breaking pledge not to pray - Salt Lake Tribune:

"Stevenson had alleged that the settlement not only prohibited employee-led prayer, but also kept employees from 'promoting, advancing, aiding, facilitating, endorsing or causing religious prayers or devotionals during school-sponsored events.'

Staver said the banquet was privately funded and argued the court order infringes on the right to free speech of the school employees and their spouses.
'Nobody who has any clue about constitutional law,' Staver said, 'would allow a court order of this magnitude.'"

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Chula Vista Teachers Protest Schwarzenegger Visit

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Chula Vista Teachers Protest Schwarzenegger Visit:

"'What we are saying is, 'Let's slow down,'' Groth said as he left the Chula Vista school. 'Changing the laws at the state would affect all districts. We're talking about local control. Local school boards would not have that control -- it would be dictated by Washington, D.C.'

Look for more debates like this in San Diego and around the state. This is going to be the issue to watch as California vies for more stimulus money. Will the federal pressure win out?"

Schwarzenegger gives case for reform at charter school

Schwarzenegger gives case for reform at charter school:

"We are asking the governor and the Legislature to slow down. Let's have parents, let's have teachers, let's have educators, let's have the public have some input as to how we will apply for the money,” said Jim Groth, a CTA board member who taught in Chula Vista schools for 35 years. Groth said Schwarzenegger's “rush to reform” isn't necessary to qualify for the federal funds because the state can apply for the money as late as next spring. He said tying test scores to teacher pay, promotions and evaluation doesn't account for factors outside of a teacher's control, such as attendance, school environment and demographics."

Sharpton, Gingrich, Duncan to talk school reform | ajc.com

Sharpton, Gingrich, Duncan to talk school reform ajc.com:

"Sharpton kicks off his participation with the tour Friday at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, where he is scheduled to broadcast a live chat at 3:30 p.m. with Duncan and Gingrich on his nationally syndicated radio show during the National Action Network Summer Conference, a meeting of his civil rights group.

Concerned with the inequalities in schools in urban versus suburban areas, Sharpton said that he has been collaborating with Gingrich, whom had he described as his “polar opposite” until they sat with Obama in May to discuss the state of public education."

Pressure-cooker kindergarten - The Boston Globe

Pressure-cooker kindergarten - The Boston Globe:

"Pressure? This is kindergarten, the happy land of building blocks and singalongs. But increasingly in schools across Massachusetts and the United States, little children are being asked to perform academic tasks, including test taking, that early childhood researchers agree are developmentally inappropriate, even potentially damaging. If children don’t meet certain requirements, they are deemed “not proficient.” Frequently, children are screened for “kindergarten readiness” even before school begins, and some are labeled inadequate before they walk through the door."

Time to scrap No Child Left Behind : The Sammamish Review – News, Sports, Classifieds in Sammamish, WA

Time to scrap No Child Left Behind : The Sammamish Review – News, Sports, Classifieds in Sammamish, WA:

"It was a lovely idea. When No Child Left Behind was passed into law, the plan was simple — make sure every student in America gets a good education by holding school districts to ever-tougher standards.

But in practice, No Child Left Behind has not delivered, and has caused more trouble than it’s worth. As a result, Sammamish schools may pay a high price for it a few years down the road.

In some ways, the program actually succeeded. By highlighting problems that hadn’t before been quantified, it has allowed schools across the country to better focus their resources.
The law’s end goal — that 100 percent of America’s students graduate with a set of basic skills and can pass a test to prove it — is laudable, but unrealistic.

It doesn’t require a degree in statistics and educational testing to understand why. If everyone passes a test, all it really means is that the test is too easy to be an adequate measure of skills. No test should expect all students to pass, without regard to their ability to learn."

AP NewsBreak: Wisconsin to phase out student tests -- chicagotribune.com

AP NewsBreak: Wisconsin to phase out student tests -- chicagotribune.com:

"MADISON, Wis. - A 17-year-old statewide test used to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law will be replaced with a broader approach to judging how well Wisconsin students are performing, state superintendent Tony Evers said Thursday.

Education leaders heralded the move as a step toward more accountability. It may also help put Wisconsin in a better position to compete with other states for $4.35 billion in federal education stimulus money under the government's 'Race to the Top' reform program."

California to move young offenders out of largest, harshest youth prison - San Jose Mercury News

California to move young offenders out of largest, harshest youth prison - San Jose Mercury News:


"The woeful conditions inside the California youth prisons, and their questionable public safety value, were highlighted in a 2004 Mercury News series. The series included reports from Stark and the Preston Youth Correctional Facility in Ione, which will soon assume the dubious title of the state's most violent youth prison.

Warner insists state custody will always be needed for the most serious and violent offenders, who typically suffer from severe mental illnesses, childhood trauma and addictions — those deemed too difficult for counties to handle. But due to falling crime rates and far fewer state commitments, the youth prison population has plunged in recent years — from 5,500 in 2004 to the current 1,680.

Warner said closing Stark allowed him to cut costs systemwide that have shot up to a record-breaking $250,000 per ward, per year. In addition to the expense of overhauling mental health, education and treatment programs, until recently the system was bloated with more than 4,300 staff overseeing 2,000 offenders statewide."

In education reform, some states race from the bottom

In education reform, some states race from the bottom:

"“California will take whatever money it can get,” said Brian Edward, a policy analyst for EdSource, a California education watchdog.

California was one of five states ranked least likely to compete for the money, according to a report released this August by the New Teacher Project. The group, which supports initiatives to train teachers and measure their performance, also rated Nevada, Wisconsin, New York and Pennsylvania as ineligible because state laws and revised stimulus requests disqualify them from the federal competition.

To qualify, states must show reformed education laws fitting four federal priorities: standardized curriculum; building new student data systems; linking teacher performance to test scores, and raising the number of charter schools."

Truancy study urges more parent involvement | LahontanValleyNews.com

Truancy study urges more parent involvement LahontanValleyNews.com:

"“Studies have shown parent involvement is the strongest predictor in student success,” said Jessica Homer, truancy attendance care manager.

Homer said 32 percent of parents reported not attending parent teacher conferences, which is common with older students.

“At the high school level it is just as important, if not more important, as it is in elementary school,” Homer said.

Homer said 60 percent said they do not use PowerSchool, a Web site where parents track students' attendance, grades, disciplinary actions and more. It can be accessed from home or from Churchill County High School and Junior High School.

“Every parent has access to that from the Internet anywhere,” Homer said. “It is such a good tool. If parents can stay on top of those things, they can stay away from court.”"

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » SF Chronicle, LA Times Spread Phony Tax Hysteria

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » SF Chronicle, LA Times Spread Phony Tax Hysteria:

"Our state is in a fiscal crisis, Republicans refuse to let us pass a single tax increase whatsoever, we don’t tax oil companies for their profits, and the legislature just passed a budget that makes $15 billion in dreadful cuts to education and health care, and $11 billion in reckless borrowing. Yet, both papers are alarmed that – due to a technicality in state law – your taxes may go up another $40 this year. California’s income tax brackets get adjusted annually to account for the Consumer Price Index, and it means this year some incomes will fall into a higher tax bracket."

Sacramento Press / City Council studying proposal for independent budget analyst

Sacramento Press / City Council studying proposal for independent budget analyst:

"The independent budget analyst is separate from the strong mayor proposal because the budget analyst office would be developed through an ordinance, Fehr explained in a phone interview. The strong mayor format cannot be set up through an ordinance because the city’s governance structure is established in the city charter, he noted. The city charter must be changed in order for Sacramento’s mayor to gain new powers.

Fehr wrote that the independent budget analyst office could be paid for in two pieces: $370,000 would come from the city’s general fund, while $130,000 would come from special funds. The position could also lead to future savings for the city, according to Fehr."

Susan Goodkin and David G. Gold: In focus on proficiency, bright kids lose - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Susan Goodkin and David G. Gold: In focus on proficiency, bright kids lose - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

"Many students scoring 'advanced' on grade-level material could progress much further with instruction geared to their needs. Instead, with teachers pressured by the No Child Left Behind Act to aim instruction at below-proficiency students, advanced learners are forced to sit through repetitive rote lessons on material they long ago mastered. Frustrated and bored, many bright students will act up, tune out and, as research shows, eventually even drop out in alarming numbers. Ignoring these students shortchanges them and California's future."

Letters to the editor - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Letters to the editor - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial Sacramento Bee:

Librarians help guide students

"As valuable as the Internet can be, it is also riddled with inaccurate and unreliable information. In addition to supplying valid print resources, a credentialed school librarian provides essential guidance in navigating the Web, instructing students in effective search strategies, Internet evaluation and research methodology. Without librarians, students will be left to wander cyberspace on their own."

Police Department hired for Natomas school security - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Police Department hired for Natomas school security - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Natomas Unified school board members voted Wednesday night to renew the district's contract with the Sacramento Police Department for security at its two high schools.

'Monday morning we will have resource officers back on high school campuses,' said Heidi Van Zant, district spokeswoman.
The district had started its school year earlier this month without security due to budget cuts."

Retiring Natomas superintendent had faced teacher no-confidence vote - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Retiring Natomas superintendent had faced teacher no-confidence vote - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"The Natomas Teachers Association had been planning to take a no-confidence vote next Thursday to express displeasure with district Superintendent Steve Farrar.
Teachers won't get the chance."

Education News & Comment

Education News & Comment: "Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education Speaks Out

Our new superintendent, plus the County Superintendent Dave Gordon, and Elk Grove Superintendent Steve Ladd were all at this press conference which took place at a school that isn't part of SCUSD. I was shocked when SCUSD Superintendent Raymond said that he was excited to be part of Mayor Johnson's team. When you use the link you need to click on part three. That is the part that contains SCUSD Superintendent Raymond's statement.

If you think it is noteworthy, please forward to as many parents and teachers as you know."

Facebook | Seth Bramble The Executive Board of the Sacramento City Teacher's Association met today to set goals for the upcoming school year that will build our local strength and promote quality public education for ALL students. There were four new Board members... New faces! New ideas! Fresh start!

Facebook Seth Bramble The Executive Board of the Sacramento City Teacher's Association met today to set goals for the upcoming school year that will build our local strength and promote quality public education for ALL students. There were four new Board members... New faces! New ideas! Fresh start!:

"Seth Bramble The Executive Board of the Sacramento City Teacher's Association met today to set goals for the upcoming school year that will build our local strength and promote quality public education for ALL students. There were four new Board members... New faces! New ideas! Fresh start!"

Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education Speaks Out

Our new superintendent, plus the County Superintendent Dave Gordon, and Elk Grove Superintendent Steve Ladd were all at this press conference which took place at a school that isn't part of SCUSD. I was shocked when SCUSD Superintendent Raymond said that he was excited to be part of Mayor Johnson's team. When you use the link you need to click on part three. That is the part that contains SCUSD Superintendent Raymond's statement.

If you think it is noteworthy, please forward to as many parents and teachers as you know. It is important to tell our new superintendent that he works for SCUSD not for Kevin Johnson. Have SCUSD parents and students who attend our schools told him that he should join with Kevin Johnson 2 days after he starts working for us? That wasn't the message at CK McClatchy from parents, students, and teachers. We need to let Superintendent Raymond know that KJ barely won Oak Park when he was elected and did not do well in the other parts of SCUSD. He won Natomas and the areas not part of SCUSD. Supt. Raymond needs to focus on the opening of district schools, the transition process for the students from closed schools, and on making sure that our students have teachers in the classrooms on the first day of school. We should also let our Board of Education know that we don't want our Superintendent attending Kevin Johnson press conferences or events. We want him learning about our district from the ground up.

How will he be able to fairly evaluate Sacramento Charter High School when he is already a part of the Mayor's team?

Heidi McLean, chairperson
Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education

Click here to view video: http://tinyurl.com/noro72

UC Davis News & Information :: $32.6 Million in Stimulus Funds Awarded to UC Davis for Research, More to Come

UC Davis News & Information :: $32.6 Million in Stimulus Funds Awarded to UC Davis for Research, More to Come:

"According to information available online from two federal agencies that administer research funding, as of Aug. 24, UC Davis faculty have garnered 88 research grants totaling nearly $32.6 million.

“At a time when we are very hard-pressed, this stimulus funding will allow us to build up an infrastructure that will serve us well for many years,” said Barry Klein, vice chancellor for research at UC Davis. “And that is precisely the purpose of these awards: to get things under way quickly that will have a long-term positive impact on the stability of the workforce on campus.”

Klein said he expects to see many more stimulus-funded grants flowing to the campus over the coming months. “We have about a half billion dollars of proposals submitted, while only a fraction of stimulus funds have been awarded so far,” he said."

Advice for Duncan: 'Race to the Top' Needs A Larger Dose of Early Ed | New America Blogs

Advice for Duncan: 'Race to the Top' Needs A Larger Dose of Early Ed New America Blogs:

"Advice for Duncan: 'Race to the Top' Needs A Larger Dose of Early Ed
Lisa Guernsey -
August 27, 2009 - 11:18am

Tomorrow is the deadline to submit comments on the Department of Education's proposed guidelines for Race to the Top, the new grant program created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Secretary Duncan released draft guidelines for RTT last month, and with more than 650 comments submitted so far, he is getting plenty of feedback on his vision.

Race to the Top gives the Secretary unprecedented discretion to dole out $4.3 billion in grants to states over the next year. But the money doesn't come free. States have to be looking pretty good in Duncan's eyes even before they apply for the money. What's more, if they want their applications to have any shot of being competitive, they will have to show that they are already making progress on many fronts, including working toward common standards, allowing for the creation of more charter schools and using longitudinal data systems to track students' performance.

The stipulations and criteria have caused a lot of consternation among state education leaders over the past few weeks, partly because the guidelines for participating are so tightly defined. In an analysis conducted by The National Teachers Project, only two states appear to meet each one of the Department of Education's expectations. Five states -- California, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania -- do not even meet the basic eligibility requirements, according to TNTP."

Teacher Beat: Sen. Kennedy and the Teachers

Teacher Beat: Sen. Kennedy and the Teachers:

"Given all that, it's interesting to reflect that NCLB probably would not have passed, at least not as we know it now, without Ted Kennedy. As a number of obituaries have pointed out this week, President George W. Bush reached out to Kennedy in 2001 to help get the law through the Senate.

(It's worth pointing out, too, that a lot of the bill's tougher provisions actually came from the Democrats, not the Republicans. Rep. George Miller, for instance, pushed to require a school to make 'adequate yearly progress' for all the different subgroups, in addition to the school as a whole; Bush's original proposal would have required the disaggregated reporting, but only held schools accountable for subgroups of disadvantaged students.)"

Education roundup: Race to the top hearing, SAT scores, new BC ... - Bakersfield.com

Education roundup: Race to the top hearing, SAT scores, new BC ... - Bakersfield.com:


"Teachers are concerned they could be unfairly evaluated or lose tenure in a new system.
State schools chief Jack O'Connell favors the application, and called for 'uncomfortable' conversions from all interested parties to put student needs first.
The California Teachers Association said it didn't want legislators to make a 'knee-jerk' reaction, and asked they not make changes without 'input from educators and parents.'"

PVUSD faces money trouble, labor unrest - Santa Cruz Sentinel

PVUSD faces money trouble, labor unrest - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"'We're asking management, administration and principals to start taking the lead, to take pay cuts first,' said Bobbie Salazar, president of California School Employees Association, chapter 132.

Teachers didn't oppose a contract with San Jose-based Keenan and Associates for insurance consulting services, but they found a provision that called for binding arbitration to resolve disputes as well as a pay increase galling. Binding arbitration is a sticking point in the current labor impasse between teachers and district management. Jack Carroll, chief negotiator for the teachers union, said teachers aren't even looking for a raise. 'Do you folks have a plan, a plan to end the labor unrest that is brewing?' he asked."

Draft guidelines for school improvement grants released

Draft guidelines for school improvement grants released - JSOnline

Duncan's proposed guidelines call for states to identify their bottom 5% of Title 1 schools in terms of school improvement status and implement one of four comprehensive reform models:

• Turnaround: Replace the principal and at least 50% of the staff; adopt new or revised instructional strategies; consider a longer school day or year; implement more social services; and get and keep highly qualified teachers.

• Restart: Close the school and reopen it under the management of a charter school or education management organization. The school must admit all former students who wish to attend the reopened school.

• Closure: Close the school and transfer the students to higher-performing schools in the district.

• Transformation: Implement a comprehensive transformation strategy that replaces the school leadership, rewards teacher and leader effectiveness, extends learning time and offers community-oriented services, and provides operating flexibility and other support.

But identifying the bottom 5% of Title 1 schools in a state can be harder than it sounds.

For schools, use of stimulus money falls short of big hopes | csmonitor.com

For schools, use of stimulus money falls short of big hopes csmonitor.com:

"The announcement earlier this year that roughly $100 billion in federal stimulus funds would flow to public schools came with great expectations – both for saving jobs and for fostering reforms in education. But the way the money is being used so far is decidedly more mundane.

In a new survey of 160 school-district leaders, 53 percent say they have not been able to use the money to save teaching positions in core subject areas or special education. And 67 percent say the opportunity to direct the money to reforms has been limited or nil."

When asked how they are using or plan to use ARRA Title I monies, the top five responses were:
professional development (63 percent)
saving existing personnel positions (58 percent)
classroom technology (53 percent)
classroom equipment/supplies (38 percent)
software (35 percent)

The top five reported uses for ARRA IDEA dollars are identical:
professional development (68 percent)
saving existing personnel positions (61 percent)
classroom technology (54 percent)
classroom equipment/supplies (41 percent)
software (37 percent)

The ARRA State Fiscal Stabilization dollars are being invested in the same areas as Title I and IDEA dollars, though at much smaller rates, as districts report a greater variety of uses for the SFSF funds.

REGION: Testing improvements attributed to teachers, increase of data

REGION: Testing improvements attributed to teachers, increase of data:

"'We're moving forward,' said Jim Growth, a member of the California Teachers Association's board of directors and a teacher in Chula Vista. 'It's good news for everybody.'
Teaching strategies and curricula vary from district to district and from classroom to classroom, but local school officials said it's ultimately up to teachers and parents to boost student performance.

'Where the work takes place is in the classroom,' Growth said. 'California has thousands and thousands of very hardworking teachers who, in spite of all of the politics, continue to move forward and put their best foot forward.'

Teachers are becoming more familiar with what students are expected to know in each grade level, which has also helped to bring up test scores, said Sally Bennett-Schmidt, assessment coordinator with the San Diego County Office of Education. State education officials rewrote the tests in 2003 to align them closer to academic standards that were adopted a few years before."

L.A. Unified OKs pay incentives for some administrators -- latimes.com

L.A. Unified OKs pay incentives for some administrators -- latimes.com:

"Reporting from Los Angeles and Sacramento - The Los Angeles Unified School District has instituted a pay incentive program for high-level administrators, a move that is largely symbolic now but that some officials and board members hope will pave the way for more merit-based compensation in the future.

'I don't believe everyone is the same and I do believe there are individual skills and they should be rewarded,' said Supt. Ramon C. Cortines. 'I would hope some of the bargaining units would pick this up on their own.'"

NEA Attacks Administration's Education Reform Plan | 44 | washingtonpost.com

NEA Attacks Administration's Education Reform Plan 44 washingtonpost.com:

"The union, which boasts 3.2 million members, charged that Race to the Top contradicted administration pledges to give states more flexibility in how they improve schools. 'We find this top-down approach disturbing; we have been down that road before with the failures of No Child Left Behind,' the union wrote in its comments, 'and we cannot support yet another layer of federal mandates that have little or no research base of success and that usurp state and local government's responsibilities for public education.'"

Strong-Mayor Talks Heat Up At Council - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento

Strong-Mayor Talks Heat Up At Council - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento:


"After a suggestion by Councilmember Ray Tretheway, the council voted unanimously to delay the discussion for two weeks while Teichert seeks advice from the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the FPPC had not yet received a request from the Sacramento City Attorney's office.
Executive Director Roman Porter said if requested, the agency could provide an informal opinion during the two-week time frame."

Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Obama and Duncan: Unanswered Questions

Gapers Block : Mechanics : Chicago Politics - Obama and Duncan: Unanswered Questions:

"The skeptical person could conclude that it isn't Duncan's supposed 'new approach' to school reform--an approach that all evidence shows failed conclusively--that prompted his choice, but perhaps his ability to mask failure with corporate-speak laced 'initiatives' that give liberals the sensation that schools are 'innovating' and provide a good bulwark against criticism from teachers' union and public school advocates.

That would be the skeptical person. I'm going to give the President the benefit of the doubt and say that it was because they played basketball together."