California Teacher of the Year Among National Finalists - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

California TOY Among National Finalists - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Congratulates California
Teacher of the Year Selected as a National Finalist

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today congratulated Kelly Kovacic, a 2010 California Teacher of the Year, for her selection as one of four 2010 National Teacher of the Year finalists.

"Ms. Kovacic's passion for teaching makes her a natural educator," O'Connell said. "During her relatively eight short years in the classroom, she has made a tremendous impact on the lives of her students. Kelly has an innate ability to transcend the boundaries of her students' world and provide them with the education, encouragement, and resolve to overcome hurdles and realize their own potential."

In addition to California, teachers from Florida, Iowa, and Michigan were also named National Teacher of the Year finalists today. The announcement came from the Council of Chief State School Officers, which oversees the program. For more information, please go to: National Teacher of the Year Program (Outside Source).

Ms. Kovacic teaches twelfth grade Advance Placement U.S. Government and Politics and eleventh grade Advanced Placement U.S. History at The Preuss School, a charter school established in 1999 on the University of California, San Diego campus in La Jolla. The school provides a rigorous college-preparatory education for motivated low-income students who all live below the poverty level.

Ms. Kovacic, who is one of four 2010 California Teachers of the Year and also a 2010 Teacher of the Year for the San Diego Unified School District, graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Education from Stanford University, where she also received a California Professional Clear Credential.

"I am extremely honored to be chosen as a finalist," Ms. Kovacic said. "It is an exciting opportunity to be an advocate for teachers, students, and public education.More than anything else, this honor is recognition of the dedicated and hard working students, staff, and teaching colleagues I have the privilege to work with each day at The Preuss School."

Since the National Teacher of the Year Program began in 1952, six National Teachers of the Year have been named from California, including the program's first National Teacher, Geraldine Jones, who taught in Santa Barbara. Chauncey Veatch, a history and social studies teacher at Coachella Valley High School in Thermal, was the most recent California winner who received the honor in 2002.

Ms. Kovacic's selection marks the third consecutive year that a California teacher has reached the national finals. During the two preceding years, Alex Kajitani, a mathematics teacher also known as the Rappin' Mathematician at Mission Middle School in the Escondido Union (Elementary) School District in San Diego County, and Lewis Chappelear, an engineering design teacher at James Monroe High School in North Hills in the Los Angeles Unified School District, were both named National Teacher of the Year finalists.

The 2010 winner is expected to be announced in April.

Schools Matter: Weingarten to Hire Fed Pay Czar to Develop Plan to Fire Teachers

Schools Matter: Weingarten to Hire Fed Pay Czar to Develop Plan to Fire Teachers:

"Everyone who has followed Weingarten's ascendancy to her position as AFT President knew that she had been the pick of the Oligarchs. Her earlier sweet talk about gutting the teaching profession with pay per score plans had earned her the Business Roundtable's seal of approval, and now she is returning the favor by shifting her tepid endorsement of weakening ethical teaching into a full-blown advocacy for busting her own union. Randi Weingarten should be recalled by the AFT membership, and she should be put out to pasture with the other nags."

SCUSD Observer: Dream Money

SCUSD Observer: Dream Money:

"Dream Money

As many school boards in the U.S. hesitate, Race to the Top dollars come under a deadline. Our school board will discuss it tonight.
In Educational Utopia, here is how our board would appropriate this urgent money from the sky, and also how our teachers and parents could shake hands:


E-21 holds up its end-of-the-bargain without private charter monies.
Our teachers and their union work to create a pipeline with state and federal agencies to give their collective more bargaining power.
The test-proofworthy-poorest-ESLL schools remain shielded from"

Mariner and Microsoft Offer Second Interactive Web Series for K-12 Educators

Mariner and Microsoft Offer Second Interactive Web Series for K-12 Educators

Monthly Four-part Series Provides Insight into Data-Driven Initiatives

January 06, 2010 08:00 AM Eastern Time 

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Mariner and Microsoft invite school district and Department of Education leaders to a series of Web sessions, beginning January 19, 2010 and continuing through April 20, 2010. The series, entitled “Managing for Performance: From the School to the State House,” highlights education analytics that improve student achievement and are the backbone of data-driven initiatives in K-12 organizations across the country.

“The effective use of data is essential to the success of managing for performance”

The speakers, including innovative K-12 leaders from several school districts and a state DOE, will share the experiences and knowledge that they have gained in their data-driven and performance management initiatives with Mariner Education Division’s guidance. Scheduled for the third Tuesday of each month from 11:00-11:30a.m. (EST), the sessions will provide participants with an opportunity to interact with school district and Department of Education leaders to learn about strategies to improve student achievement, transparency and accountability. Registration for one or more of the Web Series sessions is available at: www.mariner-usa.com/webseries.htm.

“The effective use of data is essential to the success of managing for performance,” said David “Fitz” Fitzgerald, Mariner’s Education Practice Manager and one of the Web Series’ featured speakers. “We’ve learned from our experiences with districts and DOEs that teachers and principals need easy access to data views and education analytics to drive improvements in instruction and student outcomes.”

From Strategy to Students: Realizing the Visions

Jonathan Raymond, Superintendent, Sacramento Unified School District

Mr. Raymond, advocate and practitioner of data-driven decision making, draws from a powerful combination of wide-ranging and relevant professional experience and a strong commitment to diversity, students, parents, and community engagement in his district leadership role.

Education Research Report: Quality Counts Grades Unfair to Poor States

Education Research Report:

Quality Counts Grades Unfair to Poor States

"As Education Week magazine prepares to release its annual report card for states, Quality Counts 2010, education researcher Margaret Raymond and a team of researchers from CREDO at Stanford University warn that one set of grades on the report card is not reliable.

Quality Counts assigns grades to states in six areas, including “chance-for-success,” which attempts to measure a state’s capacity for helping young people succeed. But according to Raymond and her colleagues, the Chance-for-Success Index does not accurately measure the school system’s contributions to outcomes for students.

“Nowhere do the Quality Counts editors show how or why the Chance-for-Success Index is a good predictor of success,” Raymond and her colleagues write in “Quality Counts and the Chance-for-Success Index.”"

Sacramento Press / Stonewall Democrats Kickoff Election Season with Strong Mayor Forum

Sacramento Press / Stonewall Democrats Kickoff Election Season with Strong Mayor Forum:

"The Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento’s voter forum on the Strong Mayor Initiative served as the unofficial kickoff to the 2010 June Election season. Monday, over one hundred Sacramentans listened as the pros and cons of the Strong Mayor Initiative were debated and the majority and minority perspectives on the Charter Review Commission’s report were discussed.

“I’m ecstatic about the turnout. It once again shows Sacramentans are committed to civic engagement,' Stonewall President Chris Moore said. 'Far too often very substantial changes to public policy are made via the ballot box without appropriate vetting. Tonight we’re trying to give more opportunity for folks to consider the merits of the initiative that we will be voting on.”

The evening was moderated by Sacramento State Professor of Communications, Jacqueline Irwin who welcomed the group with thoughts of Aristotle and the importance of civic engagement in our city."

Angst Still Felt at South Philly High

Angst Still Felt at South Philly High:

"It has been over a month since the racial attacks erupted at South Philadelphia High School, but students and community leaders said school district officials are refusing to take accountability for the incidents.

Asian Pacific American community organizers said the tension between students began about a year ago when five to six Asian Pacific American students were chased into a subway station and allegedly assaulted. Students reached out for help, according to its organizers. They described routine harassment at school: milk being thrown at them in the cafeteria, kids assaulting them in the cafeteria and bathrooms, money being stolen from them in the bathrooms, and more.

Requests to install security cameras and hire a bilingual security officer were made after that incident, said APA community leaders. It was not until after the highly publicized Dec. 3 attacks, they said, that those requests were addressed."

Report details reversal on school - The Boston Globe

Report details reversal on school - The Boston Globe:

"The state Education Department appeared poised to reject a controversial Gloucester charter school application last year until the Patrick administration intervened, prompting Commissioner Mitchell Chester to abruptly change course, the state inspector general said yesterday as he released new information from his investigation into the issue."

The new evidence, hotly contested by education officials yesterday, consists of a letter and a memorandum drafted by a midlevel official in the department’s charter school office last Feb. 5, a day after her office met with Chester to tell him that the Gloucester application failed to meet the approval criteria.

In the draft letter, addressed to the Gloucester charter school organizers, the department’s new schools development specialist, Ruth Hersh, said that Chester had decided against recommending the school for approval and included an explanation of the application’s problems.

DeKalb school workers protest superintendent's raise �| ajc.com

DeKalb school workers protest superintendent's raise �| ajc.com:

"Shouting in unison Monday night, more than 250 DeKalb County school workers protested their superintendent’s $15,000 pay raise."


Teachers, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, custodians and a few students yelled "Shame on the board!" as the school system held its regular meeting.

Inside, Superintendent Crawford Lewis and all but one of the board members remained quiet about the disgruntlement.

Lewis declined comment and the board vice chairwoman Zepora Roberts said she didn’t have anything to say about the protest or the superintendent’s raise. Roberts said the board would issue a statement, but she declined to say when.

That answer wasn't good enough for bus driver Michelle Favors, who marched for about two hours.

“We’re not going to give up until they hear our voice,” said Favors, a single mom. “We just want some fairness.”

Last week, the board voted to raise Lewis’ pay from $240,000 to $255,000. The board also extended his contract until January 2013.

Op-Ed Columnist - A Serious Proposal - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - A Serious Proposal - NYTimes.com:

"The president of the American Federation of Teachers says she will urge her members to accept a form of teacher evaluation that takes student achievement into account and that the union has commissioned an independent effort to streamline disciplinary processes and make it easier to fire teachers who are guilty of misconduct."

In a speech to be delivered Tuesday in Washington, Randi Weingarten plans to call for more frequent and more rigorous evaluations of public schoolteachers, and she says she will assert that standardized test scores and other measures of student performance should be an integral part of the evaluation process. The use of student test scores to measure teacher performance has been anathema to many teachers. Ms. Weingarten is not proposing that they be the only — or even the primary — element in determining teacher quality.
But she told me in an interview over the weekend that she wants to “stop this notion” that her membership is in favor of keeping bad teachers in the classroom. “I will try to convince my members that, of course, we have to look at student test scores and student learning,” she said.

Changes for state charter schools? The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper

Changes for state charter schools? The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper:

"The Palmetto State's charter school law would receive a major makeover under a pre-filed bill that's being both lauded and lamented.

Rep. Phil Owens, R-Easley, is the legislation's primary sponsor and has met with supporters and detractors. His main objective was to ensure parity among the state's public schools so that all students would have equal opportunities, regardless of the type of school they attend.

The state's charter school law was passed in 1996, and it hasn't undergone a significant revision since. Owens compared the state's law with the national model and tried to update it to meet that standard.

State education leaders seemed to agree on the need to address some problems within the existing charter school legislation but differed on solutions. Some aspects of the bill have been met with staunch opposition, and those include:"

Texas teaching program spearheads Obama education effort | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Texas teaching program spearheads Obama education effort | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News| Latest News

WASHINGTON – A Texas teaching initiative is at the forefront of President Barack Obama's plans to vastly increase the number of science and math teachers in the U.S. over the next several years.

UTeach, started at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997, is a program that allows college students to earn a teaching certificate while pursuing math and science majors. The program has spread across the country, and Obama endorsed it last week as one of five public-private partnerships that will advance a goal of training thousands of new teachers.

"Our future depends on reaffirming America's role as the world's engine of scientific discovery and technological innovation," Obama said at a White House ceremony Wednesday. "And that leadership tomorrow depends on how we educate our students today, especially in math, science, technology and engineering."

The Dallas-based National Math and Science Initiative is helping universities across the country implement UTeach. Already active in 14 schools, the program will educate nearly 5,000 new math and science teachers over the next five years.

Class Struggle - New ideas from Weingarten

Class Struggle- New ideas from Weingarten:

"Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, likes surprises. In a speech scheduled for this morning, she provides several, starting with what was, at least for me, an intriguing question she asked her members last summer:

'When your union deals with issues affecting both teaching quality and teachers' rights, which of these should be the higher priority--working for professional teaching standards and good teaching, or defending the job rights of teachers who face disciplinary action?'

Weingarten said 69 percent chose good teaching, while 16 percent said job rights. I find that surprising, though not because the teachers endorsed professionalism. Most of the teachers I know think of"

The Answer Sheet - Willingham: The zeitgeist of reading instruction

The Answer Sheet- Willingham: The zeitgeist of reading instruction:

"My guest today is cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, a professor at the University of Virginia and author of 'Why Don't Students Like School?'

By Daniel Willingham
I have written (on this blog and elsewhere) about the importance of background knowledge and about the limited value of instructing students in reading comprehension strategies.

To be clear, I don’t think that such instruction is worthless. It has a significant impact, but it seems to be a one-time effect and the strategies are quickly learned. More practice of these strategies pays little or no return. You can read more about that here."

Teachers to receive violence training The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper

Teachers to receive violence training The Post and Courier - Charleston SC newspaper:

"Charleston County teachers will be among those in five school districts taking part in a new state Department of Education pilot teacher education initiative aimed at reducing family and dating violence.

Charleston teachers, along with those in Greenville, Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale, will participate in a special training curriculum on the effects of domestic violence and teen dating violence on children, how to identify and support a child witness, and how to respond to a child's disclosure and make the appropriate referrals for help."

Texas school board keeps ban on boy's long hair - Nation - Wire - Kentucky.com

Texas school board keeps ban on boy's long hair - Nation - Wire - Kentucky.com:

"MESQUITE, Texas -- A Texas school board has agreed to adjust its grooming policy for a 4-year-old boy whose long, flowing hair got him suspended. But his parents say it isn't enough.

Pre-kindergartner Taylor Pugh has been under in-school suspension since November at Floyd Elementary School in Balch Springs near Dallas. He sits alone with a teacher's aid in the school library.

After a closed-door meeting Monday, the Mesquite school board decided Taylor could wear his hair in tight braids but keep it no longer than his ears."

Entry Level - A Young Educator, Dane Martinez Accepts the Role of Role Model - NYTimes.com

Entry Level - A Young Educator, Dane Martinez Accepts the Role of Role Model - NYTimes.com

Hoping for a career in television sports news, the Bronx-born Dane Martinez did an about-face after 9/11. After graduating fromSyracuse University, he came home and taught under the Teach for America program. Now 29, he is the program manager of school leadership development for the city’s Department of Education.



Decoding the job title: It means that I do a lot of content and design of school leadership stuff to develop the principals, the assistant principals and the aspiring principals across the city. The office is relatively new, in general. It was only created in 2007.


Before that? Achievement First Bushwick Middle School — I was the dean of the students. I was basically the person in charge of culture, discipline, student investment, student incentives, parent groups. The whole theme of the school, as at all Achievement First schools, is to strive to go to college. The fifth grade wasn’t known as the fifth grade, it was known as the class of 2019, because that would be the year that they would go to college.

Superintendent Walt Rulffes gets national recognition for leading School District - Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Superintendent Walt Rulffes gets national recognition for leading School District - Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 | 2 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun

Four years ago, the decision on who should lead the beleaguered Clark County School District came down to two men who offered distinctly different styles: Walt Rulffes, who had run the district’s finances and was holding the top job on a temporary basis; and Eric Nadelstern, a veteran educator lauded for his innovative approach to accountability in New York City Public Schools.

Nadelstern was recruited by a group of Nevada business and civic leaders who praised him as an agent of change. The group, calling itself the Council for a Better Nevada, said the School District under Rulffes would just be more of the same — which at the time was no compliment.

When Nadelstern withdrew from consideration, the Clark County School Board gave the job to Rulffes.

And he’s shown to be not more of the same.

'Gifted' schools - latimes.com

'Gifted' schools - latimes.com:

"It's natural -- and smart -- for cash-strapped public schools to seek out private financial help. In the Los Angeles Unified School District, though, this raised eyebrows when the help took the form of key employees whose salaries are paid by wealthy benefactors. As The Times has reported, some see a conflict of interest when people who work for the schools receive their paychecks from individuals or groups with their own ideas about public education. So far, the district appears to be handling this merger of public and private resources responsibly. But there's no question that when privately financed reform plays a large and long-term role in public schools, everyone should be a little wary."

Union head to propose tying test scores, teacher evaluations - washingtonpost.com

Union head to propose tying test scores, teacher evaluations - washingtonpost.com:

"The president of the nation's second-largest teachers union is proposing a new way to incorporate student test scores into teacher evaluations and has asked a well-known mediator to develop methods of expediting disciplinary cases against teachers, according to the text of a speech made public Monday night.

Randi Weingarten of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers plans to deliver the speech Tuesday. Union officials describe it as a major effort to address flash points in labor-management relations."

Inaction could put state out of 'race' -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

Inaction could put state out of 'race' -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:

"ALBANY -- The Race to the Top has become a race against the clock in the state Legislature.
�
In classic Albany style, lawmakers are waiting until the last possible moment to act on legislation that proponents say would greatly enhance the state's chances to secure up to $700 million in federal education reform grants.
The deadline to apply for the federal Race to the Top program is Jan. 19.

But with only today and the date of the deadline currently scheduled as legislative session days (Jan. 18 is Martin Luther King Day), lawmakers are cutting it extraordinarily close -- especially in light of a consensus from lawmakers that the issue is unlikely to come up today.

Indeed, some have suggested Gov. David Paterson might keep legislators later this week in order to pass laws he says are needed to compete for the money."

Hold firm on education reform - The Boston Globe

Hold firm on education reform - The Boston Globe:

"AS HOUSE and Senate conferees hammer out final details of an education reform bill this week, no issue is more contentious than how much power local and state administrators should have to override union contracts in underperforming schools. At such schools, there’s a tension between the formal process for resolving disputes over work rules and the need to make changes swiftly so that children don’t fall further behind."

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill recognize that efforts to improve failing schools must address hair-trigger labor grievances that usually lead to long arbitration processes. The teachers unions are naturally protective of their rights.

And yet the well-being of students has to come above all else. What’s needed is a final bill that gives the state the ability to make major changes in the lowest-performing schools, to adjust compensation to reflect teacher merit when appropriate, and to extend the school day or year for either more instruction time or better faculty training. Providing the state with these powers doesn’t mean that all teachers at troubled schools will be broomed out - practical barriers alone make that exceedingly unlikely - but it would provide greater flexibility at schools where the status quo clearly is not working.

California State General Obligation Bonds -- Seeking Alpha

California State General Obligation Bonds -- Seeking Alpha:

"The offering statements for the State of California’s most recent bond issues remind me of New York City’s for the sale of general obligation bonds and notes in 1974.

Then, the City's short-term debt had no source of funding other than issuing new notes to retire the old. A few months later, the market refused to accept additional paper. That resulted in monetary default on $1.6 billion principal amount of NYC general obligation tax and revenue anticipation notes.

The City’s bonds did not default because bond principal and interest is funded one year in advance and held separate and apart from all other governmental funds. Those requirements and others like them are spelled out in the State’s Constitution, as it is in most of the other states."

UTSA is one of the country’s top producers of Hispanic math, science grads - San Antonio Business Journal:

UTSA is one of the country’s top producers of Hispanic math, science grads - San Antonio Business Journal:

The University of Texas at San Antonio ranked third in the nation among Hispanic Serving Institutions in the number of math and science degrees awarded to Hispanic students.

The rankings are based on a National Science Foundation-funded study conducted by the University of Southern California Center for Urban Education. The center examined academic data from the 2005-2006 school year for the Top 25 predominately Hispanic colleges and universities — which are concentrated in California, Texas, Florida, New York, Arizona and New Mexico.

UTSA earned the No. 3 ranking for awarding 357 degrees to Hispanic students in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and math. Forty-four of all of UTSA STEM degrees went to Hispanic students in the academic year included in the survey.

Students Win Settlement in California Free Speech Case | California Progress Report

Students Win Settlement in California Free Speech Case | California Progress Report

As a result of a legal settlement at a California high school, school administrators are on notice to stop censoring student speech.

After settling an 18-month legal battle, Fallbrook Union High School District must pay nearly $28,000 as a result of a principal violating the speech rights of student journalists and unfairly retaliating against the high school’s newspaper advisor.  In addition, the Fallbrook administration is obligated to issue letters praising the student journalists as part of the lawsuit settlement.

In 2008, Fallbrook high school teacher Dave Evans was removed by the principal as the newspaper advisor a day after Evans warned the school board that parents and students were preparing to sue the district for the principal's censorship of a news article about the dismissal of the superintendent and an editorial critical of the federal government’s abstinence-only sex education program. The principal, Rod King, also cancelled the journalism program, which had just captured second place in the American Scholastic Press Association national competition.

In 2006, I authored a law that prohibits censorship of student press by

Need to Trim Corrections Spending, Governor? Stop Wasting Money on the Death Penalty! | California Progress Report

Need to Trim Corrections Spending, Governor? Stop Wasting Money on the Death Penalty! | California Progress Report

If Gov. Schwarzenegger thinks he can cut $3.5 billion from state spending on corrections, he is being unrealistic and impractical.

In his state of the state address Wednesday, Gov. Schwarzenegger promised to restore the California dream by increasing funds for education and cutting funds for prisons in the budget proposal he releases today. That’s a great theory. But his only real proposal is to outsource prison administration to private companies. The state’s powerful prison guards’ union will ensure that plan fails. Meanwhile, the governor continues to slash education, health care, and other vital services.

So let’s consider something the governor can actually do right now to make a serious dent in the corrections budget: convert all 700 death sentences in California to permanent imprisonment saving the state $1 billion over the next five years.

A slew of articles have recently documented the decline of the death penalty nationally. Death sentencing hit an all time low in 2009.  As reported this week on National Public 

Kiplinger Rates Poly a ‘Best Value in Public Colleges’ | Mustang Daily - News for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Kiplinger Rates Poly a ‘Best Value in Public Colleges’ | Mustang Daily - News for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo:

"Cal Poly ranked number 50 on a list of “100 Best Values in Public Colleges 2009-10.” Cal Poly was the only California State University to make the list and climbed from a number 58 ranking in the study last year.

The list, released by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, a Washington DC-based publication, gave Cal Poly the dead-center position in the yearly review based on factors including tuition, student-to-teacher ratios, graduation rates, retention rates and admissions rates.

Despite budget cuts that resulted in furloughs, department cuts and larger class sizes, Cal Poly is staying true to its core values, according to�Provost Robert Koob.

“The ranking reaffirms that Cal Poly still offers a good, affordable education,” Koob said. “It’s a question of preserving options in the deficit.”"

California Flailin' - Forbes.com

California Flailin' - Forbes.com:

"America's largest state is broken and looking for fixes in the wrong places."

In my last column I tackled the not-so-secret implosion of state governments across the land. A question, however, still lingers: What ought to be done? On this score there are two, and only two, general approaches. The first is structural and concerns the division of political authority within the states. The second deals with the conception of individual rights and duties of state citizens. As Americans, we should stress the second and ditch the first. But true to form, California seems to be moving in theopposite direction.

Right now many groups are getting ready to put new measures in November's referendum process, which lets voters have the word on reform. These exercises in direct democracy consciously bypass the state legislature, in which public confidence has fallen to 14%--which is quite generous in light of its dismal performance.

Local programs may feel California's budget pain - Local - SanLuisObispo.com

Local programs may feel California's budget pain - Local - SanLuisObispo.com:

"The governor’s proposed budget would cut school funding by $270 for every elementary and high school student in San Luis Obispo County and would be devastating for the elderly and poor, local social services and education officials said Monday.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposal is an attempt to close what is expected to be a $20 billion difference between costs and revenues in the next 18 months.

But what the governor proposes in January and what is finally adopted are often far different.

“Even in good years, the governor’s January budget proposal is like the first hand in a poker game,” county schools Superintendent Julian Crocker said. “Then, we have two or three, sometimes four months of committee hearings in the Legislature.”"

States Lower Test Standards for a High School Diploma - NYTimes.com

States Lower Test Standards for a High School Diploma - NYTimes.com:

"A law adopting statewide high school exams for graduation took effect in Pennsylvania on Saturday, with the goal of ensuring that students leaving high school are prepared for college and the workplace. But critics say the requirement has been so watered down that it is unlikely to have major impact."

The situation in Pennsylvania mirrors what has happened in many of the 26 states that have adopted high school exit exams. As deadlines approached for schools to start making passage of the exams a requirement for graduation, and practice tests indicated that large numbers of students would fail, many states softened standards, delayed the requirement or added alternative paths to a diploma.

People who have studied the exams, which affect two-thirds of the nation’s public school students, say they often fall short of officials’ ambitious goals.

Campus takeover applications begin flowing in to L.A. Unified - latimes.com

Campus takeover applications begin flowing in to L.A. Unified - latimes.com:

"Charter organizations, nonprofits and teachers groups have until midnight to submit applications to take over 30 new or struggling campuses. The superintendent will make recommendations next month."

The Los Angeles city school district on Monday began receiving applications from inside and outside groups seeking to take over 30 new or struggling campuses.

Groups that filed letters of intent to apply for the schools in the fall had to file their requests electronically before midnight tonight. The district is scheduled to announce how many applications they received today.

The Los Angeles Unified Board of Education voted in August to allow outside operators, including charter schools, to apply for control of 18 new and 12 low-performing campuses. Groups of teachers have prepared applications for some schools, and United Teachers Los Angeles has filed a from taking over the new campuses.

Several outside groups, including some charter organizations and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's nonprofit Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, had said they would submit applications. Supt. Ramon C. Cortines will review the applications before making recommendations to the school board in February.

Experts Debate California's Parental Trigger - GOOD Blog - GOOD

Experts Debate California's Parental Trigger - GOOD Blog - GOOD:

"We've mentioned California's idea to empower parents to take over schools if they feel as though their kids are getting a subpar education. We've also noted that charter school maven Steve Barr has spoken out about outlawing private schools, in part because he believes that parents will hold public schools accountable the same way that private school-parents currently keep an eye on their educational investment.

Well, California's parental trigger is the topic of the week over at the National Journal Online's 'Education Experts' blog. The view from the outside is that education wonks would be really excited by parental involvement in their children's schooling. But, the opinions on this trigger idea run the gambit from 'fabulous idea' to 'superficial solution.'"

Orlando Sentinel - Central Florida Political Pulse – Crist and the Terminator no longer seeing eye-to-eye

Orlando Sentinel - Central Florida Political Pulse – Crist and the Terminator no longer seeing eye-to-eye:

"TALLAHASSEE — Once Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger were political look-alikes.

But Crist and some fellow Republicans in the Legislature are distancing themselves from the latest proposal emerging from California’s chief executive.

In his final State of the State speech last week, Schwarzenegger proposed a constitutional amendment that would reduce state funding for prisons – while boosting the portion of the state budget going to higher education.

Schwarzenegger said financially-strapped California’s priorities have gone “out of whack” in recent years."

Most O.C. districts say no to Obama ed reforms | school, districts, top - News - The Orange County Register

Most O.C. districts say no to Obama ed reforms | school, districts, top - News - The Orange County Register:

"As few as nine Orange County school districts have committed to implement sweeping reforms championed under President Obama's federal Race to the Top grant program for schools, leaving up to 19 ineligible to receive the potentially millions of federal stimulus dollars that California is seeking.

School districts across the state were required to commit to the president's education reform agenda by Friday, ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline for California to apply for a federal Race to the Top grant. Twenty-one of O.C.'s 28 school districts initially committed to the plan, but many have since pulled out."

L.A. school board will weigh new policy to both help and rein in charters | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

L.A. school board will weigh new policy to both help and rein in charters | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times:

"The Los Angeles Board of Education Tuesday will consider new policies aimed at both assisting charters and holding them more accountable for their performance. The regulations, about a year in the making, include key provisions on conflicts of interest and services for disabled students that are opposed by the association that represents charter schools.

There are now more charter schools — enrolling more students — in Los Angeles than in any other city in the country. Their effect and performance were the subject of a Los Angeles Times special report on Sunday."

Sacramento Press / Higher Education Bill Suspended

Sacramento Press / Higher Education Bill Suspended

Assembly Bill 656, authored by Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, was suspended after a second hearing at the Assembly Committee of Revenue and Taxation on Monday.

 AB 656, proposing an oil and gas severance tax with revenue going to California's higher education system, was introduced last February and went through the first hearing in May, but the hearing was canceled by Torrico.

 During the second hearing, Chairman Charles Calderon and the Revenue and Taxation Committee said they believed the bill needed further discussion and a possible decrease of the 12.5 percent tax rate originally proposed to a more reasonable 6 to 7 percent. 

"The real truth here is the bill is going nowhere--it's not getting off the floor," Calderon said during the hearing.  "Until we can function properly at the proper as constitutional form of government without these initiatives tying our hands in terms of what we can do and what we can't do, we are not going to solve that here today." 

Vote may shake up 90210 school attendance - 1/11/10 - Los Angeles-Southern California-LA Breaking News, Weather, Traffic, Sports - abc7.com

Vote may shake up 90210 school attendance - 1/11/10 - Los Angeles-Southern California-LA Breaking News, Weather, Traffic, Sports - abc7.com

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- The Beverly Hills school board will vote on whether to end the program allowing out-of-district students to enroll there.

The name and the zip code of Beverly Hills 90210 conjure up images of the rich and famous. Students from outside the city were attracted to the quality schools in this city. It's part of a permit program that allowed them to do that, but maybe not for much longer.
"This is an issue that's dividing our community and we need to get beyond it. Our goal is to try to be as fair as we can with our parents, both the permit parents and the regular parents," said Jerry Gross, superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District.
This school district, like others, gets money from the state per student based on enrollment, but with big cuts from Sacramento, that will change. The district is now expected to get most of its money from property taxes. Some say resources need to be focused on resident students.