Facebook | Kevin McCarty for Assembly 2010

Facebook | Kevin McCarty for Assembly 2010

Currently Running For State Assembly

State:

California

District:

9

Party:

Democratic

Current Office

Office:

Sacramento City Council

State:

California

District:

6

Detailed Info

Website:

http://www.cityofsacramento.org/council/...

Gender:

Male

Relationship Status:

Married to Leticia Garcia

Hometown:

Sacramento

Political Views:

Liberal

Religious Views:

Catholic

Activities:

I enjoy working for a better Sacramento, walking the neighborhood with Leticia, the twins, and our crazy dog biko. I also love snowboarding and suffering by rooting for a SF Giants Word Series title.

Interests:

My wife and twins, politics, SF Giants, snowboarding, and advocating for preschool for all California children.

Favorite Music:

U2, Pearl Jam, Garbage, The Who, Neil Young, No Doubt, and Blink 182.

Favorite Movies:

Godfather I and II, Cry Freedom, the Natural, Heat, Gladiator, and Anchorman,

Favorite Books:

Dreams of my Father, Freakanomics, Grapes of Wrath, and Malcolm X.

Favorite TV Shows:

60 Minutes, Sports Center, Giants/49ers Games, Chronicle Live, The Wire, Daily Show, Entourage, 30 Rock, and SNL.

Favorite Quotations:

The time is always right to do what is right. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. You must be the change you wish to see in the world. ~Mahatma Ghandi Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something. ~Author Unknown Leadership is action, not position. ~Donald H. McGannon

About Me:

I currently represent the great citizens of Sacramento City Council District 6 and I am a candidate for California State Assembly District 9 in June 2010. If you would like to support my campaign, you can mail a check or go online: Please make checks payable to: McCarty for Assembly 2010, ID #1313997 1005 12th Street, Ste H Sacramento, CA 95814 For credit and debit card payments please go to:http://www.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/22144

Contact Info

Email:

Green Dot: Helping Schools Make the Grade - US News and World Report

Green Dot: Helping Schools Make the Grade - US News and World Report:

"'Teach them all.' A little-known California law allows a public school to become a privately operated, publicly funded charter school if more than 50 percent of the tenured teachers vote in favor of the switch. Convincing Minix and scores of other skeptical teachers that such a radical change was a good idea, in 2008 Barr took control of Locke and its millions of dollars in federal Title I funding, which goes to schools with high percentages of low-income children. What was once a poorly run school for thousands of students with a graduation rate of just 5 percent is now the Locke Family of Schools, made up of eight small college-prep academies and one technical school. In the brief time since the Green Dot takeover, graduation rates and state test scores have already improved, and student suspensions and expulsions are down. 'We didn't get rid of the knuckleheads and the gangbangers—we figured out a way to teach them all,' says Minix, who now serves as the Locke Family of Schools' athletic director."

Spirit of Autism

Spirit of Autism

About

Welcome to Spirit of Autism!

Parenting a child with Autism, regardless of  where they fall on the spectrum, is a journey filled with many bumps, joys, frustrations, and sometimes exhaustion. There is such an overload of conflicting information, many opinions thrown at you from those who have never walked in your shoes, and naturally, there are times when you may want to throw in the towel and run away to a remote island for a while : )

In my experiences, I was greatly dissatisfied with doctors and specialists making “blanket” diagnoses and judgments without bothering to dig a little deeper and really understand the big picture. Following my internal guidance, I catalogued each leg of this journey, keeping what made sense and discarding the rest.

Based on the teachings of Dr. Robert Melillo, combined with an integrated approach using nutrition and energy work, I have developed a therapy program that can be done AT HOME with your child that will significantly improve brain function.

I have seen amazing results in my journey. My passion is to empower parents, caregivers, schools, and treatment centers to improve and eliminate Autism and related disorders. The brain can change, without medication and years of expensive therapy.

To walk this road with support from other empowered parents, visit Healing the Spectrum. There you’ll find tons of resources, tools, tips, recipes, and a forum to share your experiences and stories.

"Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites Parent Pages"

Parent Pages:

"Cybrary Man's Educational Web Sites

The internet catalogue for students, teachers, administrators & parents.

Over 20,000 relevant links personally selected by an educator/author with over 30 years of experience."

Parent Pages

Parents, this is your portal to help you with parenting skills
and show you ways to effectively help your children.

Switch to Students, Educators or General Interest page.

BULLYING	CULTURE & PARENTING	FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCE	MEETINGS & WORKSHOPS	RADIO & TELEVISION
CHILD DEVELOPMENT	DEALING WITH CHILDREN	THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE	PARENTING	SAFETY LINKS
COMMUNICATING WITH CHILDREN	FAMILY	MARRIAGE PLANNING	POVERTY	TOYS

This web site endeavors to identify useful or interesting resources.
However, I can provide no warranty as to the accuracy, value or
appropriateness of information found on any particular website.
Online resources may change or disappear at any time and I cannot
be responsible for these factors outside of my control.

 

California Categorical Programs Directors' Meeting AGENDA

Categorical Programs Directors' Meeting

AGENDA

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

California Department of Education

1430 N Street, Room 1101

Sacramento, California

9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

7:30 a.m.          No Host Networking Breakfast                          Hyatt Regency

                                                                                                1209 L Street, Sacramento

9:30 a.m.          Welcome                                                          Linda Cook, Director, Student Learning Assistance, San Juan USD

                                                                                                lindacook@sanjuan.edu

                                                                                                916-971-7202

                                                           

9:35 a.m.          Title I Allocations of Equitable Services           Jyoti Singh, Consultant

                        for Private School Children                              Title I Accountability & Partnerships

                                                                                                jysingh@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-319-0372

10  a.m.            Title I Reception and Banquet                          Char Keuscher-Barkman, Consultant

                                                                                                Awards Unit

                                                                                                ckeuscherbarkman@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-319-0408

10:05  a.m.       ConApp Update                                                Ernie Thornberg, Consultant

                                                                                                Data Management Division

                                                                                                ethrongbe@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-319-0294

10:30 a.m.        Legislative Update                                            Cathy McBride, Acting Director

                                                                                                Governmental Affairs

                                                                                                cmcbride@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-319-0650

                                                                                                              

10:45 a.m.        Budget Update                                                 Carol Bingham, Director

                                                                                                Fiscal Policy

                                                                                                cbingham@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-324-4748

11 a.m.             Single Plan for Student Achievement               Richard Graham, Consultant

                        Update                                                             Regional Coordination and Support

                                                                                                rgraham@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-319-0303    

11:15 a.m.        Categorical Program Monitoring                      Patrick McMenamin, Administrator

                        Update                                                             Categorical Compliance Division

                                                                                                pmcmenam@cde.ca.gov

                                                                                                916-319-0357                            

11:30 a.m.        Adjourn

The Educated Guess Study finds teachers lack skills needed for high school reforms

The Educated Guess Study finds teachers lack skills needed for high school reforms:

"The demands on 21st century high school teachers in California are changing dramatically.

The era of teaching a single subject in an isolated classroom is ending. Under ambitious high school reforms, teachers are being asked to lead interdisciplinary courses in small learning communities and career academies. They’re expected to inject real-world relevancy into their courses, to individualize instruction in classes with a wide range of students, to require complex portfolios of their students’ work and to do the jobs that counselors once did.

That’s a lot to ask, and, according to a study released today, many aren’t up to the challenges."

The Educated Guess � Underprepared teachers still bunched in poor schools

The Educated Guess Underprepared teachers still bunched in poor schools:

"There has been an impressive reduction in the number of underprepared teachers – those without a preliminary teaching credential — in California schools. In 2000, they numbered 42,000. Last year, it was 11,000.

But these teachers, comprising 2.5 percent of the workforce, remain concentrated in urban, low-income schools. Twenty percent can be found in 2 percent of the state’s 10,000 schools, according to The Status of the Teaching Profession 2009, an annual report by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning in Santa Cruz.


Charter schools comprised 59 percent of these 219 schools. Some may have intentionally hired Teach for America fellows, smart college graduates who pursue their credential after they are hired. The study doesn’t say."

Computer Science Via Interactive Journalism | Kansas City infoZine News | USA

Computer Science Via Interactive Journalism | Kansas City infoZine News | USA:

"Washington, D.C. - infoZine - Do only computer scientists need an education in computer science? In today's innovation-driven economy, the answer is 'not anymore'.

Since the skills learned in computer science, like complex problem solving and analytical reasoning skills, are important for building a foundation for numerous careers including jobs in science and technology, as well as jobs in marketing, journalism and the creative arts, most people will need an education in computer science. Even though the United States is a leader in the field of computer science at the college level, most middle and high school students receive no exposure to computer science. One major obstacle to educating young students in computer science is finding a space for a computer science class in an already overburdened K-12 curriculum."

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Why Schools Treat Teachers Like Widgets

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Why Schools Treat Teachers Like Widgets:

"Critics loath the practice of not allowing schools to their teachers freely. But the system evolved this way for a reason.

Up until the Great Depression, principals had wide latitude in hiring. They could handpick whose salaries would rise and whose would fall, said Henry Levin, economics professor at Teachers College of Columbia University. They could fire teachers for going to a Baptist church instead of a Lutheran one. Labor unions fought for clear and consistent rules, tying salaries and transfer rights to seniority.

Camille Zombro, president of the San Diego teachers union, said seniority is useful as a 'blind criterion' for painful choices such as deciding who has to leave when a school enrolls fewer children.

Others argue that the resulting systems are willfully blind. The New Teacher Project, a national nonprofit, decries the limits on hiring as an example of 'the widget effect' -- institutionally treating teachers as interchangeable and overlooking their unique skills."

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Educating A Workforce

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Educating A Workforce:

"The Business Roundtable last week released a report contending that the nation faces an urgent need for a better-educated and better-trained workforce. Even with 10 percent unemployment and 2.5 million jobs to fill across the economy, businesses are having trouble finding qualified candidates, William Green, chairman of Accenture, told Politico. Green heads the Business Roundtable's Springboard Project, an initiative aimed at improving training and education to better prepare American workers.

The Springboard Project's report recommended altering federal funding to reward institutions and students based on completion of college and training programs; creating national workforce credentials and certifications; and reworking the delivery systems of higher education to become more effective and efficient.

Do you agree with these recommendations? What changes should be made to the education system to better prepare students for the job market? What can businesses do to help?

-- Eliza Krigman, NationalJournal.com"

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Loopholes and Gaming the System

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Loopholes and Gaming the System:

"Principals don't want to talk about it. But everyone admits it happens. Despite the complex teacher placement rules, some principals can and do hire as they wish. They know the system so well -- and dislike it so much -- that they manipulate it by hiding jobs or tailoring them for specific people.

Principals are supposed to advertise all their openings to give all teachers a shot. But they don't always do that. If principals have new teachers in mind for jobs, they might wait to advertise the positions until veteran or displaced teachers have all been placed, then spring for the new teachers they really want.

Several current principals refused to talk publicly about the practices, but privately admitted that they'd used them to control hiring."

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Charters: Seceding from the System

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Charters: Seceding from the System:

"Frustration with the teacher placement system has fed the stunning growth of charter schools, which tout their hiring freedom as an asset. Local charter leaders say it is one of the biggest factors that push charters to split away from San Diego Unified. It now has the seventh highest share of charter students statewide.

Getting to choose its own teachers was one major reason Gompers Preparatory Academy seceded from the school district four years ago. One of the teachers it picked is Najib Mesdaq, a soothing man who surrounds his classroom with burbling fountains and readily gives preteens a high five and a grin.

He was already working at Gompers, a struggling school in Chollas View, but when it went charter, Mesdaq had to pen an essay and win over a panel of professors and parents. He never actually applied for his original job before Gompers went charter -- the district just sent him.

'It was like night and day,' Mesdaq said. 'I had to really think about, 'Why did I want to be here?''"

Teaching Open Source

Teaching Open Source:

"Open Source is becoming a dominant development model in the software industry. The next generation of software developers, computer scientists, system administrators, analysts, and build engineers need to understand Open Source and must be able to work efficiently within Open Source communities.
This is a neutral collaboration point for professors, institutions, communities, and companies to come together and make the teaching of Open Source a global success.
As a collaboration point, this initiative depends on your participation."

Get Involved

• Join and use this wiki
• Add yourself to the roll call or the FOSS mentor projects list
• Join the mailing list
• Join the planet
• Use the #teachingopensource channel on IRC
• Participate in the monthly conference call
• Contribute to one of the projects underway -- or start one!

Create and edit pages, debate new educational approaches, collaborate on teaching materials, form alliances and partnerships, develop new funding models, and teach the world how to do Open Source.

Learn more about TeachingOpenSource.org

California's neediest high school students have the least prepared teachers, study says -- latimes.com

California's neediest high school students have the least prepared teachers, study says -- latimes.com:

"The neediest students in California high schools are being taught by the least prepared teachers, a new study shows.

Fewer than half the principals in high-poverty schools said their teachers had the skills to encourage critical thinking and problem-solving among their students, while more than two-thirds of their counterparts in wealthier communities said their teachers possessed those abilities, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning said in a study being released today.

The nonprofit center also found that teachers in the lowest-performing schools are more than twice as likely as those in the highest-achieving schools to be working without at least a preliminary credential.

The center's study, 'The Status of the Teaching Profession 2009,' is the latest to show that the most disadvantaged students don't have access to the same quality of teaching as those in more affluent, high-achieving schools."

Emotional day as UC-Berkeley awards honorary degrees to former internees - San Jose Mercury News

Emotional day as UC-Berkeley awards honorary degrees to former internees - San Jose Mercury News:

"There was no giddy 'wave'' in the stands, no exuberant hat-throwing or silly beachball-tossing.

Laced in leis of blue-and-gold origami cranes, 42 former University of California-Berkeley students whose education was disrupted by World War II internment were awarded honorary degrees on Sunday. Relatives represented 78 more students who had died or were too infirm to attend.

If my father were alive, he, too, would have sat onstage at Haas Pavilion in cap and gown, shaken the hand of Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and heard Norman Mineta, former congressman and U.S. transportation secretary, speak. But Dad died in 1986 at age 63."

The Fight is on for Federal Education Money | California Progress Report

The Fight is on for Federal Education Money | California Progress Report:

"California is trying to pass legislation that will clear the way for California to compete in the Race to the Top program which would make the state eligible for up to 700 million. The money would go to reform the nation's worst-performing schools. However, a fight has emerged on what role Charter Schools should play in this effort.

Earlier this week, the Assembly approved legislation by Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica). This legislation would lift the cap on the number of charter schools in California, at the same time revamping the state's academic standards and target federal funding to those schools most in trouble."

However, education reformers have called Assemblymember Brownley's legislation a weak effort that would fail to protect the worst failing schools. Instead, they along with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has vowed to veto the legislation if it hits his desk, favor a bill that was sponsored by Senator Gloria Romero, also a Democrat (los Angeles), that would provide parents far more authority in the ability to intervene in failing schools or to move their kids to Charter Schools.

The Senate narrowly passed that legislation last month despite strong opposition from the California Teachers Association.

The Assembly however voted that legislation down and instead voted by a healthy margin to support Assemblymember Brownley's legislation.

New school board standards stress strategic thinking

New school board standards stress strategic thinking:

"New standards for subject matter as varied as reading and theater were unanimously adopted by the state school board Thursday.

The revisions of Colorado's 14 educational standards were designed to require students to dig deeper and think more strategically. They also will require a new test to measure how well students are learning.

'As of today, we have the most modern and up-to-date standards in the country,' said Bob Schaffer, chairman of the State Board of Education."

Heads reject plan to report bullies | Education | guardian.co.uk

Heads reject plan to report bullies |Education |guardian.co.uk:

"Headteachers would be allowed to force their naughtiest pupils off their premises for anger management classes under proposals announced by government yesterday.

The consultation document, published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, states that from next year, schools could require pupils to be sent off site to improve their behaviour and that this could include courses in anger management.

The courses are likely to take place in pupil referral units – or 'sin bins' – which take pupils who have been excluded.

There would be a limit on the number of days a pupil could be required to attend anger management courses, the document states"

College admission rates for women spur civil rights probe - washingtonpost.com

College admission rates for women spur civil rights probe - washingtonpost.com:

"Civil rights investigators will soon begin reviewing admissions data from a sampling of colleges in the Washington region to determine whether, after decades of progress toward sexual equity, female students have become so plentiful in higher education that institutions have entered a new era of discrimination against them."



Women apply in greater numbers than men to most colleges in the D.C. area. They make up at least three-fifths of the applicant pool at a number of schools, including the College of William and Mary in Virginia,Goucher and St. Mary's colleges in Maryland andAmerican University in the District.


Anecdotal evidence suggests that some schools are favoring men by admitting them at higher rates than women to try to preserve a male-female balance on campus. Conventional admissions-office wisdom dictates that colleges dominated by either sex are less appealing to applicants in general.

Bonuses for Hub teachers ruled out - The Boston Globe

Bonuses for Hub teachers ruled out - The Boston Globe:

"An attempt by Boston school officials to pay teachers bonuses for students who do well in college-level courses - a highly contentious move opposed by many teachers - violates the city’s teacher union contract, according to an arbitrator’s ruling that was obtained yesterday by the Globe."

Boston public schools had wanted to give math teachers at the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury $100 for each of their students with a high score on the Advanced Placement college exam, as part of a grant program funded primarily by Exxon Mobile Corp.

The hope was that the money would encourage more teachers to take on Advanced Placement courses, which make students eligible for college credit if they score well on the year-end exam, potentially saving them thousands of dollars in tuition. The number of AP courses a school offers is considered a barometer of academic rigor.

Chicago Public Schools may shake up magnet schools with new policy -- chicagotribune.com

Chicago Public Schools may shake up magnet schools with new policy -- chicagotribune.com:

"The number of outside applicants being offered a seat would drop at nearly every Chicago magnet school next year under new admissions criteria to be voted on Wednesday, according to a Tribune analysis.

By giving greater priority to siblings of current students and applicants who live within 1 1/2 miles of each magnet school, the policy could reduce the offers extended to other applicants by about 14 percent overall.

In some schools, the reduction is far greater. At Drummond Elementary, where the acceptance rate hovers around 3 percent, offers to students outside the neighborhood would drop almost 55 percent. At Black Magnet on the South Side, where just 1 in 10 students is accepted, 32 percent of the offers would dry up.

Some observers say the policy will undermine the essence of magnets, which were created nearly 30 years ago to integrate schools in the nation's most segregated large city. By raising the number of students from the neighborhood who can attend, magnets once meant for all public school kids would increasingly become de facto neighborhood schools."

Class Struggle - Should they close this bad charter school?

Class Struggle- Should they close this bad charter school?:

"President Obama wants more good independent public charter schools. He also wants states and cities to close bad charter schools. Which charters in the District could we do without? Let's look at one, the Ideal Academy Public Charter School at 100 Peabody St. NW. It has been open for four years, long enough to show what it can do.

It is a high school with 96 students, according to Ideal instructional coordinator Pearline Humbles. It has small class sizes, no more than 18 students per teacher. I saw one math class with just five kids. It graduated its first senior class last spring.

Based on achievement tests, Ideal is one of the worst schools in the city.

Of the 31 sophomores who took the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System test in math last spring, only 25.8 percent scored at the proficient level or above. Only 38.7 percent reached that level in reading. Among secondary schools, only six regular schools and two charter schools had lower math proficiency rates. Only 11 regular schools and three charters were worse in reading proficiency.

So why hasn't this school been closed, as the president suggested?"

Detroit schools seek volunteers to teach reading -- chicagotribune.com

Detroit schools seek volunteers to teach reading -- chicagotribune.com:

"DETROIT - The Detroit Public Schools district says it's is seeking volunteers to spend 100,000 hours teaching students to read as parents express anger over low test scores.

Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb told the Detroit Parent Network on Saturday that he'll announce the new initiative in response to test scores that recently were released.

Bobb says educators want to 'create a reading revolution' in Detroit. The Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News report Bobb made the comments to the Detroit Parent Network's annual breakfast at the Westin Book Cadillac hotel.

The network's leader Sharlonda Buckman called for jailing and civil lawsuits against anyone in the city's educational system that is not doing his or her share to help properly educate children."