Big Education Ape

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Center for Education Reform - CER Press Release

Another 5,000 Charters Needed:
Parental Demand for Charter Schools Surges 21% in One Year

As more low-income and minority parents seek to remove their children from traditional public schools that chronically underperform, waiting lists for America's public charter schools have grown dramatically, a report released today reveals. According to The Center for Education Reform (CER), an average of 239 children are waiting to enter each charter school in America, demonstrating a 21 percent surge in parental demand for charters over last year.

Because laws in most states either limit the number of students who can enter charters, prohibit multiple authorities from authorizing the creation of charters, or limit the number of schools themselves, demand for charter schools now dramatically outpaces supply, the Annual Survey of America's Charter Schools 2010 indicates. In fact, 65 percent of U.S. charter schools have waiting lists, up from 59 percent in 2008, and some schools' waiting lists are more than three times the size of the schools themselves. The average charter school size is 372 students and it is estimated that the number of students on waiting lists would fill another 5,000 charter schools.

New State Charter Law Rankings Announced: Include Quality and Accountability Measures | National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Report Finds 24 States Risk Race to the Top Funding Because They Are Closed to New, High-Quality Charters

Washington, DC - The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools today released the first-ever ranking of all state charter school laws that is based on the full range of values in the public charter school movement: quality and accountability, funding equity, facilities support, autonomy, and growth and choice.

How State Charter Laws Rank Against The New Model Public Charter School Law,” assesses the strengths of each state’s charter school law against the 20 essential components of a strong law contained in the new model public charter school law released by the Alliance in June 2009. Evaluating each state law against each component – a total of 800 separate ratings – the Alliance ranks each law from strongest to weakest.

“State legislation really sets the bar for the charter school movement,” explained National Alliance President and CEO Nelson Smith. “When states combine equitable resources, real autonomy, and tough accountability, charter schools flourish and meet the high expectations of parents and policymakers. These new rankings not only show which state laws are making the grade, but also show how they do it: by paying attention to specific issues that are crucial to school and student success.”

As states prepare to submit applications for the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) grant program, the rankings provide clear indications of where some states excel and others come up short in charter-related policies.

Sacramento Press / Where's My High School?

Don't Take Your High School for Granted

If having an adequately equipped high school in the nearby vicinity is something that's always been available to you and your children, perhaps you should consider yourself lucky -- for students in the downtown Sacramento area, the push for a comprehensive high school continues. Community members from downtown and extending through East Sacramento, McKinley Park, Tahoe Park, College Greens, Oak Park and River Park are not taking no for an answer: their children need a school nearby, with all the music, sports, arts and other goodies that every high school student is entitled to.

A Multi-Layered Problem

The story behind the debate goes as follows: Sacramento High School, located nearest to the Oak Park neighborhood, existed as a public high school for over 150 years. In 2003, it was closed by the SCUSD Board of Education. The Board hoped to improve the school's low performance by re-opening it as a charter school associated with St. Hope Public Schools. Following this action, a lawsuit was opened by parents and teachers. The court ruled that the creation of the charter school was not in compliance with the law, and a court-ordered settlement required that the SCUSD create a new public high school by September 2008, which would encompass at least 500 students. The school would be called the Consent Decree

The Educated Guess � State saves when districts ditch small classes

The state is counting on districts abandoning the class-size reduction program to help bail out the state budget this year and next.
Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget assumes that it can save $340 million this year and an additional $200 million next year, because districts will find themselves too pinched to accept the state subsidy. The state’s declining expenditure is a cagey form of a cut.
For 14 years, the state has provided money – up to $1,071 per child – if school districts agreed to a maximum of 20 students per class for kindergarten through third grade. This year, the Legislature loosened the rules, and agreed to pay a partial subsidy for classes up to 25 or more kids.
But the subsidy doesn’t cover costs even at that ratio; the program, while popular with parents and teachers, is also expensive for districts. Many districts have been backing out – at first one grade at a time, and lately exiting it altogether. According to survey by California Watch last fall, two thirds of the state’s largest school districts have already increased class sizes, with some schools going to 30 students per class.

Skeptical educators praise increase in school aid | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register

Skeptical educators praise increase in school aid | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register:

"The budget surprise Gov. Chet Culver promised Iowa's school officials Tuesday was one they actually welcomed, but it left one important question:
How realistic is it?
Culver said the budget he will send to legislators later this month will include money to back up a 2 percent education spending increase that had been approved by state lawmakers for the budget year that begins July 1. That's about $70 million."

He also wants to give schools $100 million from the state's cash reserves, nearly one-quarter of the state reserves projected for next year. Amounts would be determined by the state school-aid formula.
"This will be a real shot in the arm for some of our schools, especially in rural districts, which are already cash-strapped, with depleted reserves," Culver said in his Condition of the State speech.
School supporters applauded Culver's message but questioned whether he can back it up."They are so far in the hole," Washington Superintendent Dave Sextro said. "Where are they going to get that money?"

Leaders of the state's largest teachers union said the extra money could help save teachers' jobs.

D.C. Schools Insider - Special ed kids “missing to the system”

D.C. Schools Insider- Special ed kids “missing to the system”
Special ed kids “missing to the system”

Deputy Chancellor Richard Nyankori assured a federal judge last fall that some of the special education students removed from private schools for placement back in DCPS had not fallen off the grid.

“I don’t want the impression out there that somehow we have lost track of kids,” Nyankori told U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman.

But plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Blackman lawsuit now say that is precisely what has happened, and that Nyankori misled the court. In a report filed with the court late Monday, they say that at least 20 special needs kids once in private schools cannot be accounted for.

“He clearly misrepresented the facts,” said attorney Ira A. Burnim of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee has committed to returning many of the approximately 3,000 special ed students currently in private placements

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

The Answer Sheet - A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else):

What makes an effective teacher?

“Teach For America” founder Wendy Kopp is going to Capitol Hill later today to explain the qualities that her organization believes make the most effectivev teachers in low-income communities.

Teach For America is a nonprofit organization that recruits newly graduated college students to spend two years teaching in low-income schools around the country. It’s been doing it for 20 years.

Using test score data, the organization has determined that effective teachers are those that employ the same strategies as successful leaders in any field--not specifically a classroom.

continue reading this post »

Class Struggle - Mr. Obama: Kill NCLB

Class Struggle- Mr. Obama: Kill NCLB:

"The anniversary of the signing of the No Child Left Behind last Friday reminded me that my long support for that landmark bipartisan law needs revision. The law has served its purpose. Instead of amending it, as the Obama administration and the Congress seem likely to do, let's dump it and try something different.

I wouldn't make such a radical suggestion if I didn't think the law's main elements would survive without it. All the states have been forced to establish annual testing that identifies which schools are not serving their students, particularly those with family and personal disadvantages. Any politician who tries to junk those tests is going to lose the next election to an opponent who asks the simple question: 'Don't you think our schools should be accountable?'"

Controversial sweetener removed from SFUSD chocolate milk

The controversial sweetener high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) will be removed from the chocolate milk provided in San Francisco Unified School District cafeterias as of the first week in February. Berkeley Farms, the dairy that supplies milk to SFUSD, agreed to reformulate the chocolate milk in response to repeated requests from SFUSD Student Nutrition Director Ed Wilkins.

There's lots of controversy about offering chocolate milk in cafeterias to begin with, but the use of HFCS inflamed the debate still more. It's widely believed that HFCS is more harmful than other sweeteners and that its effects on the body may be to blame for the obesity crisis, though the science doesn't unambiguously back that up.

"While we continue to have concerns about the milk having too much added sweetener in general, at least the concerns related specifically to HFCS have been eliminated," says

CPS' Project Protection: Hire citizen safety patrols :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

CPS' Project Protection: Hire citizen safety patrols :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education:

"The most dangerous stretches of streets around 12 Chicago public schools will be protected by the 'eyes and ears' of paid citizen safety patrols under one phase of a $60 million anti-violence campaign unveiled Tuesday.
Such groups also will be called upon to function as paid, pseudo 'truancy officers,' visiting the homes of truant kids at 38 of the system's most violent schools to find out why students are cutting school."
Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman made clear Tuesday he is reaching out to the community for help -- and offering jobs amid a dour economy in return -- as he filled in some details of an anti-violence plan sketched out in September.
A centerpiece is a "probability model" that identified 1,200 students as being at high risk of being shot, and pinpointed 200 of them as being at "ultra high risk."
Less than halfway into the school year, Huberman said, 50 percent of the ultra-high risk kids have stopped coming to school. And, he said, of the 102 CPS students shot this school year, 40 percent were among those at high risk or more of such a fate.
Under the plan -- bankrolled with two consecutive years of $30 million in federal stimulus dollars -- this school year $18 million will be focused on the 38 high schools with the biggest violence problems and plans their administrators and other have written to create a "culture of calm" on their campuses, Huberman said.

Phila. teachers union boosts Pa. chances for grant | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/13/2010

Phila. teachers union boosts Pa. chances for grant | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/13/2010:

"Pennsylvania's bid to get up to $400 million in federal stimulus money to boost public education has been significantly improved with a pledge by Philadelphia's teachers union to help implement the comprehensive reform plan and with its endorsement by the state's largest teachers union.

The $4 billion federal Race to the Top program, which Pennsylvania wants a piece of, was part of the economic stimulus act passed last year. States seeking a share of first-round awards must apply by Tuesday; initial grants will be announced in April, with another round later this year. New Jersey is also applying."

Texas braces for fight over social studies lessons - Yahoo! News

Texas braces for fight over social studies lessons - Yahoo! News:

"AUSTIN, Texas – Parents, teachers and activists will sound off Wednesday on how history — topics from the fall of the Roman Empire to Texas cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash — will be taught to millions of Texas children for the next decade.

The State Board of Education begins hearing testimony, before a tentative vote this week on new social studies curriculum standards that will serve as the framework in Texas classrooms. But, as usual in votes before the conservative-led board, the wide-reaching guidelines are full of potential ideological flashpoints.

Early quibbles over how much prominence to give civil rights leaders such as Cesar Chavez and Thurgood Marshall, and the inclusion of Christmas seem to have been smoothed over in the draft now being considered. But board members are crafting dozens of amendments to be raised for consideration before the tentative vote, expected Thursday. The 15-member board won't adopt final standards until March."

With stimulus funds gone, Mass. schools brace for deep cuts - The Boston Globe

With stimulus funds gone, Mass. schools brace for deep cuts - The Boston Globe:

"School administrators across the state are crafting bleak budgets for the next school year and warning of steep cutbacks, including teacher layoffs, to cope with a probable sharp drop in funding from Beacon Hill and dwindling federal stimulus money.

Though schools grappled with thinned-down budgets last year, they got relief from a massive infusion of federal education dollars that is now all but spent, and officials are bracing for cuts that go deep into the classroom."

‘Baby Einstein’ Co-Founder Goes to Court Over TV Studies - NYTimes.com

‘Baby Einstein’ Co-Founder Goes to Court Over TV Studies - NYTimes.com:

"A co-founder of the company that created the “Baby Einstein” videos has asked a judge to order the University of Washington to release records relating to two studies that linked television viewing by young children to attention problems and delayed language development."

“All we’re asking for is the basis for what the university has represented to be groundbreaking research,” the co-founder, William Clark, said in a statementMonday. “Given that other research studies have not shown the same outcomes, we would like the raw data and analytical methods from the Washington studies so we can audit their methodology, and perhaps duplicate the studies, to see if the outcomes are the same."
Mr. Clark said that he had been seeking the information for years, but that the university had either denied his requests or failed to be fully responsive.
A spokesman for the university said its lawyers had not yet read the complaint and could not comment on the complaint.

Poison school pills - NYPOST.com

Will the Legislature do what's needed to qualify New York for some of the $4 billion in Race for the Top funds?

After months of wrangling, Albany will decide sometime in a 90-minute window on Tuesday, between 3 p.m., when the state Senate reconvenes, and 4:30 p.m., when the state's application is due in Washington, DC.

The federal competition will likely be won only by states that have adopted several education reforms that teachers unions hate, including good charter-school laws and the use of student-achievement data in evaluating teacher performance.

Amid the last-minute brinkmanship in Albany, the New York State United Teachers and its allies, including the so-called Alliance for Quality Education, are trying to insert poison pills into the deal.

Even in Albany, where few things truly shock anymore, NYSUT's brazen cynicism is raising eyebrows:

* NYSUT is trying to reopen the mayoral-control debate, settled last year after tortuous negotiations, by pushing to remove Mayor Bloomberg's authority to locate charter schools in Department of Education facilities.

As the union knows full well, ending co-locations would leave Bloomberg unable to fulfill his pledge to create 100 charter schools in New York City over the next four years.

The Legislature should simply declare the topic of co-location settled and move on.

New York City charter schools need to focus on the neediest

Most of New York City's 99 charter schools, which enroll 30,000 students, have gotten superior results on state tests. It is important to understand why many of them perform so well, since Mayor Bloomberghas promised to double the number of charters over the next four years.

Last fall, a report by economist Caroline Hoxby of Stanford University hailed the city's charter schools and suggested that any student who attended a charter school for nine years would be almost as well educated as a student in well-heeled Scarsdale. A new study by economistMargaret Raymond of Stanford has confirmed that many of the city's charter schools get higher test scores. Raymond found that 51% of New York City charters produced significant gains in math, but only 29% did so in reading.

Union president makes new proposals for teacher evaluations, discipline - washingtonpost.com

Union president makes new proposals for teacher evaluations, discipline - washingtonpost.com:

"The president of the nation's second-largest teachers union on Tuesday proposed a new way to incorporate student test scores into teacher evaluations and said she has asked a well-known mediator to develop methods of expediting disciplinary cases against teachers.

Randi Weingarten of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers gave a speech in downtown Washington that union officials described as a major effort to address flash points in labor-management relations."

Sacramento Press / A New Twist on No Child Left Behind

While debate continues on the pro’s and con’s of the well publicized “No child left behind Act”, a small, privately funded Center for Children has maintained a quiet, unwritten policy that no child will ever be left behind or turned away because of a family’s inability to afford tuition.

For the past five years the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center in El Dorado Hills has been helping children, teens and adults overcome the effects of ADHD, Autism and other learning disabilities. While the profound successes of their students have been well documented, their quiet policy of never turning a child away solely for financial reasons has remained an important part of their commitment to the Sacramento Community and to the children and families they serve.

“Says Gerald Hughes, Director of the NLC, “As the parent of several children who previously struggled with learning challenges, I feel I have a profound appreciation for the importance of the work we do. If a family is committed to getting help or their child, we will do everything we can to assist them--regardless of their financial situation.”

Gerald takes emphatic exception to the word, ‘disability’ and he refers to his clients as ‘our children’. Some of the challenges the children who come to the NLC include reading, writing, spelling, math, focus and attention, memorization, test-preparation, anxiety, lack of motivation, and even low self-esteem. Their diagnoses may include Dyslexia, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Sensory Integration Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, compulsive behaviors, and oppositional defiance.

Feinberg to Help Teachers Union Speed Due Process (Update1) - BusinessWeek

Feinberg to Help Teachers Union Speed Due Process (Update1) - BusinessWeek:

"Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The American Federation of Teachers hired Kenneth Feinberg, the Obama administration’s special master on executive compensation, to develop a faster process for dealing with teachers accused of misconduct as part of a series of proposals to improve public education.

The teachers’ union, the second biggest in the U.S. after the National Education Association, needs a “fresh approach” to speed the “glacial process” of these cases, AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a speech today in Washington."

What's Fueling the Redirection of Special Education Funds | NewAmerica.net

What's Fueling the Redirection of Special Education Funds | NewAmerica.net:

"Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article highlighting the large number of school districts that will opt to take advantage of an Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provision that allows them to reduce state and local special education spending when their federal funding under the law has increased from the year before. This provision is particularly relevant in 2010 because supplemental IDEA funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has dramatically increased the funding each district will receive. The article, unfortunately, does not fully discuss why so many districts are suddenly able to utilize this provision. It turns out that many states, in an attempt to make more districts eligible for the funding reduction provision, loosened the requirements districts must meet to qualify."

Elk Grove Citizen : Archives > News > EGUSD considers new federal stimulus program, with caution

Elk Grove Citizen : Archives > News > EGUSD considers new federal stimulus program, with caution:

"Trustees, superintendent raise questions about process

By Cameron Macdonald - Citizen News Editor

The federal government is offering $4.3 billion to public schools across the country, if their states and school districts can meet a series of reform guidelines.�

Elk Grove Unified School District (EGUSD) trustees expressed interest in this one-time funding, but raised many questions and concerns about the federal Race to the Top program’s application process at their Jan. 5 meeting.

“It has a lofty, catchy title and its goals are desirable,” Trustee Priscilla Cox said. “But the details are very problematic.”�

The school board approved the district staff’s action to submit a memoriam of understanding to begin the application process, but with the guarantee their district can back away from the program if it does not look beneficial.�"

School at Former Ambassador Hotel Site Named after Robert F. Kennedy - LAist

The group of schools on the site of famous Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 will be named in his honor, the LAUSD Board of Education decided today. The move had been in the works for a long time and was voted upon unanimously.

"The Ambassador Hotel was once the center of Los Angeles style," LAist explained in a historical profile of the hotel. "It was an ode to art deco. In its prime, it housed the fabulous Cocoanut Grove, one of the hippest restaurants in the city... Since its closing in 1989, the Ambassador Hotel has lived the mysterious half-life of a movie set to which so many grand buildings in Southern California are reduced."

In the 80s, Donald Trump envisioned the world's tallest building for the site, but he faced the school district and its own a vision, which is now the pedantically named (well, not formerly named) Central Los Angeles Learning Center #1. Once the district beat out Trump, they battled preservationists who wanted the hotel building to be preserved. The costs were too high, so the district constructed faux-version of the hotel as the campus at the cost of $400 million, making it the most expensive K-12 education complex.

The American Spectator : Arne Duncan City Limits

The American Spectator : Arne Duncan City Limits:

"As U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan is garnering much praise for rallying states to increase the number of charter schools and overhaul how teachers are trained and paid. But a string of stories about Chicago Public Schools, where Duncan served as its chief executive, are reminders that no one, not even Duncan, is a miracle worker when it comes to overhauling America's traditional public school districts.

On Sunday, Duncan's successor, Ron Huberman, drew criticism after the Chicago Tribune reported that he drove not one, but two cars -- including a hybrid version of Chevrolet's Malibu sedan -- leased on his behalf by the district for $1,800 a month. That news, along with the fact that the district leased a fleet of vehicles for its senior staff and other civil servants at an annual cost of $800,000, didn't sit too well with either the district's teachers or parents, who were already annoyed with Huberman over a new round of proposed school closings."

Text Of NJ Gov. Jon Corzine's State Of The State - cbs3.com

Text Of NJ Gov. Jon Corzine's State Of The State - cbs3.com:

"(AP) Remarks, as prepared, delivered Tuesday by Gov. Jon Corzine during his State of the State address:

Happy New Year to you all and a warm welcome to the members of the 214th legislature.

Let me especially welcome the new legislative leadership team.

Senate President Sweeney and Speaker Oliver."

Parents Choice Of Schools, Teachers & Principals - myMotherLode.com

Parents Choice Of Schools, Teachers & Principals - myMotherLode.com: "Governor Schwarzenegger was Tuesday's KVML 'Newsmaker of the Day'. Here are his words:

'Hello, this is Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with another California Report.

The first week of January is always the busiest time of the year for a governor.

And we started this week with some very good news for education.

The California legislature passed major education-reform bills and let me tell you, many people thought that could never happen.

But we know too many children have been trapped in low-performing schools.
The exit doors may as well have been chained.

Now, parents have the right to free their children from underperforming schools without a principal's permission.

That means parents can send their children to a new school or even a new district. That is a great freedom."

California Chronicle | Governor Signs Simitian School Accountability Bill

California Chronicle | Governor Signs Simitian School Accountability Bill:

"SACRAMENTO – Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill (SB) 2 (in the 5th Extraordinary Session), authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto). Senate Bill X5 2 expands and improves public access to Californias student performance data (CALPADS). The bill passed during a special session focused on enacting legislation to qualify California to compete for up to $700 million in federal 'Race to the Top' funding.

'This bill is a step in the right direction for our schools,' Simitian said. 'It makes us more competitive for federal funding, and it will ultimately help us use scarce resources in the best way possible.'"

Local News | Legislature weighs giving up control over university tuition hikes | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Legislature weighs giving up control over university tuition hikes | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"A proposal to allow the state's public universities to raise tuition without the Legislature's approval is gaining momentum in Olympia.

The University of Washington and Washington State University, in particular, long have wanted to set their undergraduate tuition rates but have been rebuffed by lawmakers who've wanted to retain that power and keep the cost of college in check.

However, the $2.6 billion state budget shortfall — on the heels of last year's big cuts to higher education — has prompted lawmakers to look again at the idea as a way to let the universities raise more money"

01.11.2010 - Researcher's study sheds new light on math ability, gender equity

01.11.2010 - Researcher's study sheds new light on math ability, gender equity:

"BERKELEY — Marcia Linn, a University of California, Berkeley, professor of education known for exploring the teaching and learning of science and their connection to gender, is offering proof once again that girls' math abilities are just as good as boys'.

Marcia Linn, professor of education
But Linn and her fellow researchers note in their global study, reported in the latest issue of American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin, that while there are only small differences, on average, between girls' and boys' math abilities, the gaps vary widely from country to country. For girls to perform as well as boys on math tests, the researchers found that they need equal access to education, encouragement to do well in math and female role models in math-oriented careers.

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation. It looked at results released in 2003 of two key math tests — one focusing on basic math knowledge and the other on students' ability to use math skills in the real world — that were administered to nearly half a million boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 16 in 69 countries. The tests were the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment."

California Munis: No Need to Panic - WSJ.com

California Munis: No Need to Panic - WSJ.com:

"It now costs more to insure Californian municipal debt against default than it does bonds issued by the government of Kazakhstan. The central Asian country satirized in 'Borat.'

That is neither a joke, nor hyperbole. Californian munis cost 2.6% of face value per year to insure, reports CMA DataVision in London, which tracks bond insurance data. Kazakh bonds: Just 1.8%. It is 'now less expensive to insure Kazakh debt than that of Greece, California and various other entities,' confirms CMA spokesman Simon Mott. (Crisis-stricken Greece, incidentally, costs about the same as California).

Borat, one. The Terminator, zero."

Education, other leaders call for state budget reform� Ventura County Star

Education, other leaders call for state budget reform� Ventura County Star:

"Pummeled by the state budget crisis and saying change is needed, local government and school officials listened to two plans for reforming California’s legislative and budget system at a forum this week.

“It has become no secret that our legislative process needs review and reformation, as evidenced by California’s recent budget struggles and with the political gridlock in Sacramento,” said John Walker, a Ventura Unified School District trustee who sits on the board of directors for the California School Boards Association.

“For some time, there has been keen interest in addressing our legislative and budgeting process. New directions are needed to get our state moving again,” he said."

State tries to attract math and science teachers | Politics | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

State tries to attract math and science teachers | Politics | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California:

"SACRAMENTO - Some would-be teachers will have a new and potentially faster way to receive credentials under this month's state legislation meant to improve California's chances of getting federal school-improvement money.

Inland Assemblyman Brian Nestande said the change should help ease the state's shortage of math, science and vocational instructors by attracting mid-career people who want to teach but are unwilling to spend months in a traditional credentialing program.

It's for someone who says, 'I don't need to spend a year of my life getting a credential when I probably know the issue better than anyone in the room teaching me,' said Nestande, R-Palm Desert, who is vice chairman of the Assembly Education Committee. 'Let's try something different and try to get those people into the classroom.'"

Measures 66 and 67: considering the educational losses | The Stump - OregonLive.com

Measures 66 and 67: considering the educational losses | The Stump - OregonLive.com:

"Economists understand that taxes have consequences. But the effect of Measures 66 and 67 on most businesses and individuals in Oregon will be minimal, and the state will remain one of the lowest business tax states in the country.

How low? According to the conservative Tax Foundation, even with the new taxes, Oregon will rank 14th in lowest tax states. Thus Oregon businesses are neither excessively burdened by taxes, nor likely to find greener pastures elsewhere. The effect of the new taxes on employment is therefore likely to be very small, and may be more than offset in the short run by jobs preserved in social services, public safety and education."

States' report card ignores family data - UPI.com

States' report card ignores family data - UPI.com:

"PALO ALTO, Calif., Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A California education researcher said a category in an education magazine's annual states' report card doesn't accurately assess student potential for success.

Margaret Raymond, director of the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University in Palo Alto, said the 'chance for success' area, one of six on the magazine Education Week's 'Quality Counts 2010' report cards, is not reliable in measuring a state's ability to help young people succeed, a release by Stanford University reported."

KCBS - State Lawmakers Approve Oil & Gas Tax for Education

KCBS - State Lawmakers Approve Oil & Gas Tax for Education:

"SACRAMENTO (KCBS) -- A state Assembly committee has passed legislation that would tax oil and gas companies who do business in California.

The Revenue and Taxation Committee approved the bill, authored by Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico of Fremont.

The bill would pass the extra tax revenue from oil and gas firms to the state's cash-strapped public higher education institutions.

The legislation now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be heard on Thursday, January 21st.

Similar legislation has been vetoed by the governor in the past."

Charter leaders must disclose financial details and follow policy on disabled students | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

Charter leaders must disclose financial details and follow policy on disabled students | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times:

"Charter school operators will have to disclose details about their personal financial holdings under a new policy unanimously adopted today by the Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education.

Officials also affirmed that charter schools will have to abide by a sweeping court settlement over services to disabled students.

Both requirements were opposed by the California Charter Schools Assn."

'If you've got a trade, you've got it made' - latimes.com

'If you've got a trade, you've got it made' - latimes.com:

"One repeated theme in President Obama's education agenda is that he wants the United States to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. As he put it in an address to a joint session of Congress, 'We expect all our children not only to graduate from high school but to graduate from college and get a good-paying job.'

Although I applaud the president's strong commitment to higher education, he is seriously neglecting the importance of vocational training in school. Not every student needs to go to college. There are plenty of high school kids who find college-prep classes boring and irrelevant. Many drop out because they feel school is not preparing them for anything practical. Most of these kids are not lazy or defiant; they just want to work with their hands, learn a skill and pursue a solid, honorable, blue-collar trade after high school."

Glendale News Press > Education

Glendale News Press > Education:

"GLENDALE — Despite some misgivings, the Glendale Unified School District Board of Education has unanimously affirmed its intent to compete for a share of up to $700 million in federal grants.

But its application could be soiled by the Glendale Teachers Assn., which refused to sign on to the memorandum of understanding last week because of uncertainty in Sacramento. State education officials said the more signatures from each district, the stronger the application for funding.

“It’s the details; things had changed from the last draft, and they’re continuing to be changed,” said Tami Carlson, president of the teachers union.

The deadline for memos to the California Department of Education was Dec. 8 , which meant it was unlikely Glendale Unified’s application would carry the full complement of signatures as other districts."

Challenges abound for schools-over-prisons proposal

Challenges abound for schools-over-prisons proposal:

"Stanford professors say an amendment to the California constitution proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger that would require the state to invest more money in its public universities than its prisons will face many challenges before becoming actual legislation.

The proposal, which has been both lauded and criticized since the governor’s State of the State address last Wednesday, would require California to spend no less than 10 percent of its annual budget on higher education and no more than seven percent on prisons. It would nearly reverse the current situation: 7.5 percent and 11 percent of the budget are allotted to universities and prisons, respectively."

Beverly Hills Blocks Outside Students - NYTimes.com

Beverly Hills Blocks Outside Students - NYTimes.com:

"BEVERLY HILLS — During a contentious meeting ringed by police officers, the Beverly Hills school board voted Tuesday night to dismiss roughly 470 students enrolled in its schools on out-of-district permits.

The school system here has long opened its doors to students who live outside the district — currently about one in seven of its roughly 4,800 students — in large part because they brought a financial windfall for the system. But now, because cash-poor California has reduced local support to schools, including the reimbursements for out-of-district students, the so-called “permit students” are more of a burden to the schools than a boon."

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