Big Education Ape

Thursday, January 21, 2010

California teacher salary reports available online - ContraCostaTimes.com

Teacher salary reports for the 2008-2009 school year, covering a majority of the state's school districts, were made available online this week for public view.

School districts are not required to file the salary and benefit information, and about 20 percent of districts do not, according to a Education Data Partnership press release. However, many Humboldt County districts did post information regarding highest and lowest salaries offered, district contributions to teacher benefit plans, percentage change in salary over the prior year and information on teacher credentials and experience.

To view the teacher salary reports, go to www.ed-data.org, click “District” reports and select “Teacher Salaries” report. Users can view any county or school district reports that are available through the Web site.

Pull-down menus on each level provide a wealth of financial, demographic, and performance data for California's public K-12 school system.
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	How California schools compare with others in the nation.

	Discussions and explanations of California school issues and policies.

Look up any school, district, or county by ...

(as of January 2010)

2008-09 teacher salary data: Updated district-level reports on teacher salaries, including average salary as well as the highest offered, percent change over the previous year, and teacher experience, are now available. You can alsocompare this information across districts.

For context and background, see our related article: Teachers in California.

Watch for school bond and parcel tax election results through the end of 2009 to be released in late January. Financial data for 2008-09 will be available in March.

The Education Data Partnership has created the Ed-Data site to offer educators, policymakers, legislators, parents and the public quick access to comprehensive data about K-12 education in California. The Ed-Data Partnership is a unique collaboration of the Alameda County Office of Education, the California Department of Education, EdSource and the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team.

At home or in school, California students face harder times, survey finds - latimes.com

At home or in school, California students face harder times, survey finds - latimes.com:

"Statewide poll of principals reveals an increase in cutbacks and layoffs at schools, and unemployment and homelessness among families."

The state's children found no escape from harder times last year whether at school, where they endured larger classes, unfamiliar teachers and scarce supplies -- or at home, where they faced family stresses from emptier refrigerators, job losses and more frequent dislocation.

The grim compilation comes in a report to be released today by UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access and the University of California All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity.

"It's the bleakest I've ever seen," said one Los Angeles County school principal, who, like others in the principals survey, participated anonymously.

Among the report's findings:

* High-poverty schools were more than four times as likely (65.6% to 15%) as low-poverty schools to experience teacher layoffs.

UC May Adopt Waitlist For Incoming Freshmen - The Daily Californian

UC May Adopt Waitlist For Incoming Freshmen - The Daily Californian:

"For the first time in history of the University of California, incoming freshmen may be waitlisted, said UC officials after Wednesday's meeting of the UC Board of Regents.

The waitlist is designed to give the university flexibility in deciding how many students to enroll for the 2010 school year. Enrollment figures may change due to the uncertainty of state funding.

The decision to increase enrollments is dependent on $53.4 million in the governor's proposed budget which would fund 5,121 out of around 14,000 currently unfunded enrollments.

Efforts to secure state funding for the University of California took center stage inside Wednesday's regents meeting held in San Francisco."

Capitol Weekly: Despite fears of Draconian budget cuts, education may be spared

Capitol Weekly: Despite fears of Draconian budget cuts, education may be spared:

"In his 2010-11 budget draft, Gov. Schwarzenegger offered a grim picture of sweeping cuts and pain, with still deeper cuts on the way unless more federal dollars flow to California.

But there was one bright spot, at least for now – education. The Republican governor has proposed no further cuts to higher education, and he is pushing an amendment guaranteeing that schools will always receive more funding than prisons.

“Spending 45 percent more on prisons than universities is no way to proceed into the future,” Schwarzenegger said.

On paper, it does appear that higher education has been spared in the 2010-11 Budget. The planned spending for the California community colleges, the California State University and the University of California generally reflects a modest increase across the board."

SCHOOLS IMPLEMENTING CLASSWORKS TRANSFORM LEARNING THROUGH INDIVIDUALIZED INSTRUCTION | eSchoolNews.com

Three districts describe their successes using software that individualizes instruction and improves student achievement

DULUTH, GA — January 19, 2010 — In a classroom full of students with diverse needs, teachers are challenged to individualize instruction so every student achieves growth. As struggling learners fall behind, their individual performance as well as school and district goals are negatively impacted. In a growing number of school districts, the answer to this challenge lies in sophisticated software systems that help individualize instruction by analyzing student performance and then prescribing lessons that meet the student’s specific needs and even learning styles.

One of the most successful of these systems is Classworks® comprehensive K-12 instructional software. Developed by Curriculum Advantage, Inc., Classworks provides individualized instruction in math, reading, language arts and science to bring at-risk students to grade level proficiency, accelerate learning for mainstream students, and help English learners build fluency. It offers educators more than 17,000 activities drawn from 265 top software titles to customize instruction and increase performance.

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News � School Beat: More Budget Cuts are Coming - What Can We Do?

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News School Beat: More Budget Cuts are Coming - What Can We Do?:

"The San Francisco Unified School District’s (SFUSD) projected budget shortfall for the next two years has increased significantly, from $83 million to $113 million. In her blog post about the Board of Education (BOE) budget meeting on Tuesday night, Commissioner Rachel Norton outlines some of the ways the district can cut its budget to address this shortfall, but it still doesn't cover the full amount they need to cut.

Currently, parents and the community are NOT part of the conversations on how to address these budget shortfalls. They can attend BOE budget meetings, where staff presents their recommendations, but they are not part of the budget committee that is researching and recommending ways to address the shortfall."

Southwest ISD losing its chief

Southwest ISD losing its chief:

"The Southwest Independent School District will soon be looking for a new chief after Superintendent Velma Villegas announced her retirement, effective June 30, during Monday's board meeting.

“This decision is one that has mixed emotions for me because I have come to love the Southwest community and my work as your superintendent,” she said in a letter to the board.

Villegas said she plans to spend more time with her family and do some consulting work, including helping Texas A&M-San Antonio develop its teacher preparation program."

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