Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Michelle Rhee - washingtonpost.com

"A DIFFERENT CHANCELLOR

Michelle Rhee was appointed to take over the troubled D.C. school system in June 2007. During her tenure Rhee has garnered both praise and criticism for her radical tactics."

At hearing, teachers assail Rhee over layoffs

Union members, parents and community activists packed the D.C Council chambers Thursday morning for Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's first detailed account of the teacher layoffs and budget cuts that have placed her under the heaviest political fire of her 28-month tenure.

Making every child count: D.C. schools go all out for enrollment audit, in hopes long decline may end (Post, October 29, 2009)

Rhee has asked how to regain teachers' trust, principals say(Post, October 28, 2009)

Major changes at 2 troubled D.C. schools (Post, October 26, 2009)

Prayers over priorities in D.C. (By Colbert I. King, October 24, 2009)

D.C. teacher contract talks still stuck: Fallout from layoffs is cited, with no bargaining sessions set(Post, October 21, 2009)

D.C. SCHOOLS: Anger Over Layoffs Vented in 18-Hour Hearing(Post, October 18, 2009)

The Pain and the Gain for D.C. Schools (Post, October 18, 2009)

Unions Want Probe Of Layoffs by Rhee (Post, October 17, 2009)

EDUCATION: Charter School Enrollment In the District Is Up Again (Post, October 16, 2009)

Big Gains For District On National Math Test: Md. Change Small; Va. Scores Stagnant (Post, October 15, 2009)

Schools Pay When Rhee Snubs Donors (Post, October 15, 2009)

Why Michelle Rhee Has to Play Tough (By Richard Whitmire, October 14, 2009)

No Use In Studying For This Test(By Courtland Milloy, October 14, 2009)

For McKinley Students, a Lesson in Disappointment: Staff Layoffs Moved Them to Get Involved, but D.C. Politics Soured the Experience, Seniors Say (Post, October 14, 2009)

D.C. Teacher Honored in February, Sacked in October(washingtonpost.com, October 12, 2009; 5:04 PM)

VIDEO | Rhee talks to members of the D.C. Council about the system's problems with truancy.

Fixing D.C.'s Schools: Michelle Rhee Takes Charge over-view

Let me set the record straight… � EducationCEO's Blog

Let me set the record straight… EducationCEO's Blog:

"As I was checking the profiles of my new followers yesterday, I noticed that several of the people are affiliated with either KIPP or Teach for America. I figured that they found me due to my incessant use of #hastags. In previous posts I mentioned Michelle Rhee and the other above-referenced companies. I have never minced words about my feelings on Rhee’s leadership style, or lack thereof, because frankly, that’s my prerogative. Once I noticed who was following me, I tweeted the following random message:

A lot of #TFA people have started following me..hope they don’t get their hopes up b/c I ain’t drinkin the Kool-Aid!"

The Educated Guess � The challenge of STEM education

The Educated Guess � The challenge of STEM education:

"Sometimes nothing can kill children’s curiosity in science and technology more effectively than schools.

But that’s what many have done in California, first by starving the curriculum, then by dumbing it down with memorization.

That was the consensus of panelists at a forum last month on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education, sponsored by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation and Citizens Schools.

“We have killed the joy of discovery,” said Mohammad Qayoumi, president of California State University, East Bay, by making what goes on the classroom “boring and disengaging.”"

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Schools Won't Race to the Top

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence. - Schools Won't Race to the Top:

"While more than half of the school districts, county education offices and charter schools in California have sent letters that could help the state in its bid for more school stimulus dollars, San Diego Unified has decided against signing on so far, with only a few days left before its deadline to join.

That means that unless San Diego Unified changes its mind, it will not get a slice of extra stimulus money if California wins more under the first round of Race to the Top, a stiff competition for federal money for schools. The school district could, however, have a shot at the dollars if California wins in the second round after losing out in the first -- but it would still have to sign on to the favored reforms.

Why is San Diego Unified sitting it out? Spokesman Bernie Rhinerson said there are too many unknowns about what California will require schools to do with the money and what, if anything, the changes would actually cost the school district. Some of the favored changes, such as tying test scores to teacher evaluation, are unpopular with the San Diego Unified board."

Local News | Provost Phyllis Wise's Nike ties draw fire at UW | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Provost Phyllis Wise's Nike ties draw fire at UW | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"A University of Washington faculty group says the UW's integrity, image and academic freedom are threatened by Provost Phyllis Wise's decision to join the corporate board of Nike.

The executive board of the American Association of University Professors, UW chapter (AAUP-UW), issued a strongly worded statement Monday urging Wise to step down from the board position she accepted six weeks ago.

It represents the first official reaction to the Nike controversy by a faculty group — but perhaps not the last. The UW Faculty Senate is to meet later this month, and Nike is on the agenda. Senate chair Bruce Balick said emotions among some faculty are running high, although opinions vary."

Dellums ducks out of coalition seeking ed funds

California's Big 10, a coalition of mayors from the state's biggest cities, sent a letter calling on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to move swiftly to complete a proposal for the state's portion of $4.3 billion in federal education funds

"The Race to the Top competition offers an unprecedented opportunity to provide resources for California's next generation," wrote Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, the letter's author. "As city leaders, we feel an obligation to ensure California's application is as competitive as possible. This letter shows our commitment."

Unfortunately, when it was delivered last week the letter carried the signatures of only the Big Nine mayors because one big-city mayor refused to sign on. I'll give you two guesses, but Oakland residents are only going to need one.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums respectfully declined, citing language and policy elements he and his education advisers wanted included in Race to the Top legislation being considered in Sacramento.

Specifically, Dellums wanted a section that pushed for a diverse teaching corps drawn from the community and a federal solution that considered the broad wealth gap in U.S. cities.
Dellums' education advisers, including senior education adviser Kitty Kelly Epstein, believe President Obama's Race to the Top education program does not provide the same flexibility to low-performing public schools that are afforded to charter schools, said Paul Rose, Dellums' press secretary. Dellums also consulted with advisers from the Oakland Unified School District and a group of interested community organizations, Rose added. Both Dellums and Kelly Epstein declined requests for interviews.

Apparently, Dellums has a better plan. Oakland's Quiet Mayor is talking with philanthropic organizations and national corporations to secure education funds for Oakland's public schools, Rose said. Of course, announcing those partnerships would be premature, he added.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/05/BAAB1BDGC4.DTL#ixzz0bkdUhdWN

Shop class to be replaced with job-training programs :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

Shop class to be replaced with job-training programs :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education:

Shop class to be replaced with job-training programs

CPS | Students will compete for vocational spots, focus on job training

"Shop and auto classes that kids meandered into as electives are being replaced with 21st century job-training programs that students will vie for citywide -- with higher-scoring kids getting first dibs -- under a vocational education shake-up announced Monday.

And starting next school year, central office officials, rather than principals, would select kids for new 'College and Career Academy' programs -- ranging from agriculture to transportation --based on applications listing each student's top five picks."

Class Time Substitute = Waste? - The Learning Network Blog - NYTimes.com

Class Time + Substitute = Waste?

By HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO

Questions about issues in the news for students 13 and older.

See all Student Opinion »

According to a recent Op-Ed, more than 5% of teachers are absent on any given day, which means that by the time you finish high school, you have had substitutes for nearly a year of your schooling. And few substitutes are trained in either teaching or the curriculum they have to cover. What experiences have you had with substitutes?

In the Op-Ed “The Replacements,” Carolyn Bucior shares the experiences and insights she gained in her two years of substitute teaching:

“Maggie,” a teacher in a Milwaukee public school, was talking about the difficulty of her job, which is something the teachers I know do quite a lot. Then she complained that her sub hadn’t completed the lesson plan she’d been given.

The Answer Sheet - Are American students lazy?

The Answer Sheet- Are American students lazy?:

"In late December a teacher wrote a piece in the Boston Globe complaining about how lazy her American students are. Kara Miller, 31, who teaches rhetoric and history at Babson College in Boston, wrote, in part,

“Teaching in college, especially one with a large international student population, has given me a stark - and unwelcome - illustration of how Americans’ work ethic often pales in comparison with their peers from overseas.

“My “C,’’ “D,’’ and “F’’ students this semester are almost exclusively American, while my students from India, China, and Latin America have - despite language barriers - generally written solid papers, excelled on exams, and become valuable class participants.”"

Data shows racial gaps in Colorado public-school suspensions - The Denver Post

Data shows racial gaps in Colorado public-school suspensions - The Denver Post:

"Black public-school students in Colorado are nearly three times as likely to face serious discipline as their white peers, a disparity that is persistently growing despite efforts to curb it.

In the 2008-09 school year, about 70,000, or 8.5 percent, of the state's 818,000 students were suspended, expelled or disciplined for being disruptive, according to a Denver Post analysis of newly released data. Reasons ranged from drug, weapon and alcohol infractions to disobedient and detrimental behavior, the most common — and subjective — reasons.

But while black students make up just 5.9 percent of the student population, they were the subject of 12.7 percent of the discipline cases, up from 11.7 percent five years ago. White students, who were about 61 percent of the population, were the subject of 46.8 percent of discipline cases.

Latino students make up 28.4 percent of the population and were involved in 37 percent of discipline cases, another persistent gap."

Class Struggle - D.C. teacher evaluation program leader critiques my column

Class Struggle- D.C. teacher evaluation program leader critiques my column:

"Jason Kamras, director of teacher human capital strategy for the D.C. schools, is in charge of the IMPACT program for teacher evaluation in the city. He is trying to help me understand his complex system. Here is an e-mail he recently sent me giving his view on my column in today's Metro section. Since this subject is so complicated, I am going to continue to offer space on this blog to Kamras or any teachers who want to provide details of their evaluation experiences so we can all figure it out. This is one of the most interesting, and controversial, assessment efforts in the country. I long for as much useful information about it as possible."

In his e-mail, Kamras quoted parts of my column and then gave his responses. He is quoting from an earlier version of the column I sent him in advance. (I send everything I write to all relevant sources in advance to check for errors.) So the quotes here may be somewhat different than what you see in the column just below this item on the blog:

UFT charter chicanery - NYPOST.com

Why has the United Federation of Teachers placed itself squarely between New York taxpayers and $700 million in federal school aid?

Because it hates charter schools -- and it doesn't care about taxpayers, anyway.

Here's the deal:

By Jan. 19, New York must be in compliance with a variety of US Department of Education mandates, chief of which is lifting, if not eliminating, the state cap on the number of charter schools -- public schools generally run free of bureaucratic red tape and union work rules.

And failure to comply probably costs New York some $700 million in so-called "Race To The Top" DOE grants meant to encourage educational innovation.

The UFT's power in Albany, and that of its parent, New York State United Teachers, is prodigious. But the unions do understand the importance of appearances.

And the unions certainly don't want to look like the bad guys if New York misses out on the federal cash.

Instead, as charter-school advocate Tom Carroll noted on these pages yesterday, the unions are pushing "poison pill" amendments to legislation meant to lift the cap. That way, they can better the odds of getting the federal money while still undermining the charter schools.

UFT boss Michael Mulgrew & Co. would make it easier to "starve" charters of funds, force them to unionize and set a percentage for the special-education and English-as-a-second-language students they must accept, among other steps.

Police posted to D.C. charter schools to help avert violence - washingtonpost.com

Police posted to D.C. charter schools to help avert violence - washingtonpost.com:

"Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced Monday that the city had posted police at more than two dozen D.C. charter schools, further normalizing charters within city life and attempting to address a spate of violence that plagued some of the schools this fall.

But the plan -- which maintains the overall number of police dedicated to schools but spreads them among both charter and traditional public schools -- have some worried that all the schools will be shortchanged in the end.

Police haven't been posted to charters for several years, although they have a presence in other D.C. public schools. After after-school assaults and robberies near the Minnesota Avenue Metro station"

Cash in, and then what? -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

Cash in, and then what? -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:

"ALBANY -- How well can New York account for the billions of dollars in education stimulus funding coming to the state from Washington, D.C.?
�
Not very, according to a recent audit by the federal Department of Education's Inspector General, which turned up holes and shortfalls in the way the state Education Department had been set up to police the influx of money.
Unless they're corrected, the gaps in New York's oversight system could open the door to 'unallowed, unsupported, or fraudulent expenditures' of stimulus dollars, according to federal inspectors."

High-Tech Prank at Brooklyn Technical High School - NYTimes.com

High-Tech Prank at Brooklyn Technical High School - NYTimes.com:

"For one glorious hour Sunday night, it looked as though Brooklyn Technical High School’s 4,900 students would not have to drag themselves out of bed at 7 a.m. for the first day of school after the long winter break. An e-mail message, purportedly from a school administrator, was sent to student government leaders saying that a construction accident had forced the building to close.

The students, thinking the message was real, passed it along via the many online channels regularly used by this tech-savvy school, reaching thousands of students within minutes by e-mail, Facebook and Twitter. “This was like a godsend,” said senior Nazary Nebeluk, 17. “I was doing my homework and I just threw it down and said ‘Yes!’�”"

Engineering class shows girls male-dominated field - washingtonpost.com

Engineering class shows girls male-dominated field - washingtonpost.com:

"While students at an all-girls school in Montgomery County were laboring one day last month to build bridges out of popsicle sticks, their teachers were trying to build bridges for them into the male-dominated field of engineering.

The popsicle-stick bridges shattered under 60 pounds of pressure. Teachers at the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda hope their seemingly unique engineering course will make girls' interest in the field last longer."

T4CW: Is This the End of Public Education? Higher Education Panel Discussion : Indybay

T4CW: Is This the End of Public Education? Higher Education Panel Discussion : Indybay

T4CW: Is This the End of Public Education? Higher Education Panel Discussion

This week's Teachers 4 Class War asks: Is This the End of Public Education? A panel discussion featuring a speaker from each level of the California University system. In the studio we have Ramiro Medrano of the Educational Partnership Center at UCSC, as well as Stephanie Stainbach, President of the Cabrillo College Classified Employees Union. And on the phone we have Lillian Taiz, President of the California Faculty Association for the CSU system.

I must first mention that another teacher has been murdered in Oaxaca, where teachers have been at the forefront of struggles for survival and autonomy. On December 14th Eleazar Martinez Almaraz was shot and killed in Loxicha a Zapotec Area of Oaxaca. For more information in English & Spanish: http://elenemigocomun.net/3142/x/en

We started the discussion with Lillian Taiz, because some of what we'll talk about centers around the "White Paper" and what it means for the CSU system and of course by extension the Community College and UC systems as well.
http://restructuringcsu.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/cfa-white-paper-on-restructuring-the-csu/

Stephanie begins by talking about Cabrillo, our local J.C., and how cuts have affected Cabrillo's place as the most accessible start to a college education. I don't exactly like the ladder analogy for its unavoidable hierarchy, but these cuts are making the 'bottom rung' harder to reach.

Ramiro talks about the EPC and it's work, reaching out to local youth and their families.

The conversation goes from there: Other points we touch on include transfers between the three systems, and how budget cuts affect the mobility between campuses and systems;

Who stands to gain or profit and who loses out. It's clear that the entire system is in danger, under attack if you agree with what we've heard from CalFAC and Professor Meister. The reality is that we're seeing the privitization of a valuable institution, and the result will be a whiter University system as programs for outreach and retention are dismantled. The gains we've made over decades of organizing for Ethnic Studies Departments, Affirmative Action, financial aid, and student involvement in University decisions are in danger of being rolled back in the name of financial crisis.

Foundation helps county teachers grow as education cuts also grow - Santa Cruz Sentinel

Foundation helps county teachers grow as education cuts also grow - Santa Cruz Sentinel:

"SANTA CRUZ -- Whenever school districts eye new budget cuts -- as they likely will after the governor reveals his budget plan Friday -- professional development funding is often among the first things placed on the chopping block.

But for several years now, a private foundation has been underwriting a two-year mentoring program in local schools that fosters collaboration between experienced teachers across districts.

Through its Art of Teaching program, the Cotsen Family Foundation fully funds the salary and benefits of one elementary teacher per participating school to serve as a mentor to five or six colleagues, who are called fellows. The program also provides an annual $1,000 stipend for fellows to attend conferences."

In America's next decade, change and challenges - USATODAY.com

In America's next decade, change and challenges - USATODAY.com

In America's next decade, change and challenges

A new decade finds Americans in an uncomfortable and yet familiar position: running scared.

Almost three-fourths of them, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll, don't like the way things are going in the country.

Given economic deprivation and political division, plus war, terrorism and a warming world, who would?

But during the next 10 years, our fright may be our salvation. Americans often suspect they face the worst of times and, as a result, try harder to make the best of them.

Whether it's the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the fall of Saigon in 1975 or the economic challenge from Japan in the 1980s, "there's this persistent conviction that our best days are behind us," says George Friedman, founder of STRATFOR, a private intelligence service. "We always think that the U.S. is finished."

DECADE IN REVIEW: Looking back at the past 10 years

Yet Americans' assumption that they're at the brink is what saves them from going over it. Instead of underestimating challenges, we overreact. In a competitive world, Friedman says, "it's a key to our success."

Schwarzenegger Girds for Deficit Fight as Borrowing Costs Soar - BusinessWeek

Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is entering his last year in office the way he began: presiding over a government in financial turmoil.

Schwarzenegger, 62, tomorrow is set to give his final State of the State speech, setting the stage for one more fight with the Legislature over a budget that will total $89 billion this year. With a $21 billion deficit forecast over the next 18 months, the governor of the most populous U.S. state has said he won’t boost taxes again, leaving him reliant on spending cuts and federal help to balance the books next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

The financial strains facing California show how local governments are still dealing with the recession that began in 2007 even as the national economy recovers from the worst slump since the 1930s. The latest struggle comes after legislators already erased $60 billion in gaps in the past two years by raising taxes, slashing school spending and borrowing, in a political battle that pushed the state close to insolvency.

“This is much worse than anyone thinks,” said Marilyn Cohen, president of Los Angeles-based Envision Capital Management Inc., which manages $250 million on behalf of wealthy individuals. She is moving clients out of California debt. “I have no confidence in the state Legislature.”

U.S. states and Puerto Rico expect to have $83 billion less than they will need to pay for their programs in the current and coming fiscal year, the National Conference of State Legislatures estimates. Illinois is borrowing $3.5 billion to make required pension payments. New Jersey

WJUSD trustees await govs address - Daily Democrat Online

WJUSD trustees await govs address - Daily Democrat Online:

"Prior to the governor's State of the State address, California School Boards Association President Frank Pugh, will deliver more than 500 letters to the governor's office on Wednesday, describing the current state of California's schools.

Woodland Joint Unified School District Trustee Rosario Ruiz-Dark said the board didn't have an opportunity to meet and draft a letter for submission, but will most certainly be discussing the outcome of Gov. Arnold Schwarzennegger's address during the next board meeting.

Board members, superintendents and educators from throughout the state have written letters asking lawmakers to refrain from cutting from education to balance the 2010-11 budget, after the cuts schools endured from the 2009-10 budget.

Each letter outlines the severe cuts local schools have been forced to endure and asks the governor to make California's more than 6 million students a priority. The WJUSD board of trustees has already been handed the task of making nearly $10 million in cuts since the 2008-09 school year."

City Brights: Delaine Eastin : Class size reduction: California drops the ball

Class size reduction: California drops the ball

Delaine Eastin

Former Cal State Superintendent of Public Instruction

I am heartsick that some California school districts are backing away from class size reduction, a reform that is being whittled away in this terrible budget climate. I believe today as I did when I was elected in 1994, that the budget of a state is like the budget of a family: it is a statement of values. I believe that class size reduction is even more important today than it was in the mid-1990's when we implemented it. The decision to undermine class size reduction, to lower the number of days in the school year, to lay off teachers, counselors, nurses, crossing guards, to close schools, to reduce preschool, to reduce honors classes and even to raise fees at our colleges and universities is a shame and a disgrace. It is being done in a state that was suckered into recklessly passing a high-speed rail so the rich could ride in style while our poor children are being starved educationally. I will come back to this, but first let me say a few words about how we got here.
The state of California is like the comic who says, "I cannot be out of money, I still have checks in my checkbook." Our state leadership keeps putting general obligation bonds on the ballot to do interesting things, like high speed rail and a new water system, but it fails to tell the public that by doing this with general obligation bonds instead of revenue bonds, where the users bear the cost, it will result in huge costs to K-12 and to higher education. Half of the cost of the high-speed rail, an initiative that passed the day before the governor who supported it declared a fiscal emergency, comes out of education.
Class size reduction is being dismantled because the cuts to education stem from this lunacy of spending money we donâ€™t have. Mind you, the governor does not ask if you want prisons, he shoves those down our throats without putting them on the ballot, apparently because he values them over roads and water and certainly schools. But even the roads and water should be "pay-as-you-go" and not funded from a pie that already shamefully shortchanges children.
I do not really blame those districts that are raising class size. I know they are faced with a Hobson's choice, but I do fault a state leadership that keeps larding up California with more and more unfunded, costly, thoughtless expenditures. For example, the governor and the legislature will ask you to vote on a water bond that is a general obligation (G.O.) bond.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/deastin/detail?entry_id=53515#ixzz0bk4hPESq

Thousands mourn slain teacher - CNN.com

Thousands mourn slain teacher - CNN.com:

"El Monte, California (CNN) -- Thousands stuffed the bleachers on both sides of a California high school football field Monday night to remember a beloved teacher who was slain in Mexico a few days ago.

Grieving family members, friends and residents of El Monte, California, waved glowsticks in the air and listened to heartfelt stories about how Augustin Roberto 'Bobby' Salcedo was a devoted family man and an inspirational educator. They heard, too, that he was a practical jokester who made people laugh.

Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin' ' blared on loudspeakers. And there was a quieter anthem: Salcedo's family sang 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' to honor the die-hard Dodgers fan."

Community college students present ‘demands’ to Schwarzenegger

Community college students present ‘demands’ to Schwarzenegger:

"Community college students gathered in and outside the governor’s San Diego office to voice their concerns with the higher education budget cuts."

San Diego City College students protested at Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s San Diego office Monday - demanding changes to the state’s budget to offset the cuts made to higher education.

The students, who are also members of City College organization Bringing Education and Activism Together or BEAT, say they are faced with fewer classes for their buck and a longer road to graduation because of the millions cut to the California Community College system.

About 30 students gathered outside of the state office Monday evening seizing signs that read statements such as, “Don’t ruin our future” and “Return California’s education system.” The rally was a conclusion to a day-long dissent of the Governor after nine students occupied Schwarzenegger’s lobby in the morning hours. The nine students, who say they felt “placated” by the Governor’s representatives, had three students speak via telephone with Schwarzenegger’s Director of External Affairs Bismarck Obando. Schwarzenegger, however, was not available to speak.

“They just want to make their presence and concerns known,” said BEAT faculty advisor and political science professor Larissa Dorman. “The cuts are happening because of the two-thirds majority vote required in the Legislature and the fact that a third of the lawmakers are neo-liberals, pure capitalists, who believe education should just be thrown away.”

Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2010-01-04/politics-city-county-government/community-college-students-present-%E2%80%98demands%E2%80%99-to-schwarzenegger#ixzz0bk3Z6MTX

Calif. Assembly delays vote on education reform - San Jose Mercury News

Calif. Assembly delays vote on education reform - San Jose Mercury News:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif.—California lawmakers started 2010 the way they closed business last year—finding compromise on education reform elusive.

On Monday, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, gaveled in the session by announcing that lawmakers would vote for the reforms California needs so it can compete for federal Race to the Top money.

In the evening, after no committee hearings or debate on the matter, the vote was rescheduled for Tuesday.

Shannon Murphy, a spokeswoman for Bass, said lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate agree on the outlines of reform but need to work on the details.

'Both houses are in agreement,' Murphy said. 'We're just incorporating clarifying language to make us compliant with federal regulations and look forward to having a full vote tomorrow.'

Lawmakers are trying to meet a Jan. 19 deadline to apply for the money. California could see as much as $700 million if it's selected."

California set to pass education overhaul plan

California set to pass education overhaul plan:

"The California Legislature is poised to pass an education plan today that makes far-reaching changes to how public schools are governed, giving parents the power to transfer their kids out of failing schools and to force districts to overhaul bad schools."

The dramatic changes to California's education policies have been debated for months. They are intended to make the state competitive for up to $700 million in federal dollars under President Obama's $4.3 billion Race to the Top program, which promises funding to states that embrace education policies outlined by the president by a Jan. 19 application deadline. Millions more dollars may also be at stake for the financially struggling state, as the Obama administration is expected to tie future education funding to some of his Race to the Top provisions.
The most controversial elements of the plan being voted on today by both houses of the Legislature include the so-called open enrollment and parent trigger provisions, which were championed by a number of parents groups and charter school advocates but opposed by many in the education establishment, including the state's powerful teachers' union.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/01/05/MNCB1BDGC3.DTL#ixzz0bk1swdSv

Monday, January 4, 2010

Glendale News Press > Archives > Politics > Cities to lose legislative voice

Glendale News Press > Archives > Politics > Cities to lose legislative voice:

"Krekorian’s seat will be vacated for minimum of 4 months, leaving Liu on her own.
By Zain Shauk"

As California lawmakers begin forming a plan to address an estimated $21-billion budget shortfall by mid-2011, city and school officials in Glendale and Burbank will have less of a voice.

The cities, which lie largely within the 43rd Assembly District, will be without Assemblyman Paul Krekorian (D-Los Angeles), who is set to step down from his post and take his oath of office at the Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday. That will leave the district’s Assembly seat vacant for at least four months, according to the California Secretary of State’s office.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger must declare a special election within 14 days of Krekorian vacating his seat. The election could be called as early as April, but may also be proclaimed June 8, to coincide with a statewide election.

Four months without a representative will leave city and school district officials with one voice in the Legislature — Sen. Carol Liu (D-La Cañada Flintridge).

“It’s certainly a difficult time when we’re in such a period of transition,” Mary Boger, president of the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education, said of the challenge of being without an Assembly representative as discussions about the expected budget shortfall unfold.

Assembly members can directly voice their perspectives on specific budget cuts or spending proposals and have a say in drafting or amending plans to address the shortfall.

Krekorian proved to be a key player in similar discussions in 2009, when he helped lead opposition to a proposal to take $1 billion in Highway User Tax Account revenues from cities and local governments.

Officials in Burbank and Glendale had lobbied heavily against the proposal, which had come out of budget negotiations between Schwarzenegger, and Democratic and Republican Legislative leaders.

Glendale City Manager Jim Starbird was especially pleased with representatives like Krekorian, whom he credited with heeding a call

Gary Yee and Christopher Dobbins to lead Oakland Board Of Education

Gary Yee and Christopher Dobbins
to lead
Oakland Board Of Education

Former Vice-President moves to Board’s top spot; Dobbins named Vice-President

Oakland – Jan. 04, 2010 – Gary Yee, formerly Vice-President of the Oakland Board of Education, was elected President at the Board’s annual meeting on January 4, 2010. At the same meeting, Yee’s colleague Christopher Dobbins was elected Vice-President. Yee succeeds Noel Gallo, who while stepping down as President, remains on the Board. Both Yee and Dobbins were elected unanimously and the two men will lead the governing board of Oakland Public Schools for the next 12 months.

“I am honored that my peers saw fit to elect me as Board President during this critical period for public education,” Yee said. “As Oakland Unified and school districts throughout the country strive to boost student performance in the midst of dramatic funding cuts, sound leadership and robust community engagement are essential. As a Board, our top priorities for the coming year are to accelerate the growth in student achievement that has made OUSD California’s most-improved urban school district over the past five years, to reduce expenditures while increasing revenue and to bring collective bargaining with our labor unions to a successful conclusion. These are challenging but important goals and we look forward to working with the residents of Oakland to fashion creative solutions for the city’s public schools.”

Troy Flint

Spokesperson

Oakland Unified School District

1025 Second Avenue

Oakland, CA 94606-2212

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Latest News and Comment from Education

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

RHEE'S REPORT CARD

EARLY CAREER

THE TOUGHEST JOB

RHEE TAKES CHARGE OF STUDENTS

Shop class to be replaced with job-training programs

CPS | Students will compete for vocational spots, focus on job training

Class Time + Substitute = Waste?

Monday, January 4, 2010