Saturday, January 23, 2010

Depth of Paterson’s School Cuts Depends on Who’s Getting Them - NYTimes.com

ALBANY — When Gov. David A. Paterson proposed this week cutting more than $1 billion in school aid to help address the state’s financial crisis, the critics quickly pounced. Mr. Paterson’s cuts would cripple New York’s schools, they charged, hurt children and undermine the state’s economic recovery.

“The governor’s proposal in essence pries open our schoolhouse doors and extracts every dollar from children’s education that Albany can put its hands on,” Billy Easton, the executive director for the Alliance for Quality Education, said in one widely quoted statement.
But looked at more closely, Mr. Paterson’s cuts — likely to be the most bitterly fought-over, most fiercely resisted portion of his budget plan — may not be quite as dire as some education advocates make them appear.
The discrepancy between rhetoric and reality is clearest when it comes to the state’s wealthier and more politically connected school districts, especially on Long Island and in Westchester County, where suburban lawmakers have long flexed their muscle to ensure that their districts receive a disproportionate share of state money. Wealthy districts have also piled up significant cash reserves in so-called undesignated accounts, to be used for emergencies.

Thornton voted new MPS chief - JSOnline

Thornton voted new MPS chief - JSOnline:

"The Milwaukee School Board voted unanimously Friday to elect Philadelphia native Gregory Thornton as the next superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools, despite the candidate's history of personal bankruptcy and questions that have been raised about his ethics.

The 9-0 vote, which came just after 7 p.m., will likely secure Thornton as the next chief of the state's largest school district, at a starting salary of $260,000 for a two-year term that will begin July 1.

The other candidates for the superintendent position had included Stacy Scott of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and Robert Alfaro of Clark County School District in Las Vegas, but Alfaro withdrew his application from the School Board's consideration Friday because of personal reasons, according to the MPS Office of Board Governance."

Yale Secret Society's Skull Not On Today's Auction Block - Courant.com

NEW YORK - A New York City auction house says a human skull that had been used as a ballot box by Yale's elite Skull and Bones society has been withdrawn from sale.

Christie's said Friday that the 19th century skull was being removed from the Jan. 22 sale due to a title claim. The auction house declined further comment.

The skull had been expected to sell for $10,000 to $20,000. Christie's only identified the seller as a European art collector.

The skull is fitted with a hinged flap and is believed to have been used during voting at the mysterious society's meetings. The club was founded in 1832 and publicly known members, called Bonesmen, include both presidents Bush and MassachusettsSen. John Kerry.

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On the Net:

http://www.christies.com

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

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

Teaching without gimmicks

My guest today is Diana Senechal, who taught for four years in the New York City public schools and is writing a book about the loss of solitude in schools and culture.

By Diana Senechal
In discussions of “effective” teaching, we often hear about the “objectives” that teachers should spell out and repeat, the “learning styles” they should target, the “engagement” they should guarantee at every moment, and the constant encouragement and praise they should provide—all in the interest of raising test scores. The D.C. public schools IMPACT (the teacher assessment system for D.C. public schools) awards points to teachers who implement such practices;Teach For America addresses some of them in its forthcoming book.

Except for the misguided notion of targeting learning styles, none of these techniques is wrong in itself. But together they raise a barrier. Instead of bringing the subject closer to the students, this heap of tools proclaims: “No entrance! The subject is too hard without spelled-out skills, too boring without adornment, and too frustrating without pep talks and cheers!”

Continue reading this post »

Rhee vs. teacher-student sex

You have to read right away my colleague Bill Turque's latest post on his hot new blog, D.C. Schools Insider. He reports that D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee is quoted in Fast Company magazine saying people who accuse her of firing teachers unfairly don't mention that some of the people let go hit children, had sex with children and missed many days of school.

I have been in the news business for 44 years, so I am not so dumb as to reach any conclusions from such a quote until I know more. What does Rhee say about this? What was the context of her quote? Turque has already sent to Rhee the good questions, such as: how many teachers did these things and did she seek criminal prosection?

I thought from the beginning that the appointment of Rhee as chancellor was the most amazing decision by a big city mayor I had ever seen, both because she knew so much about how urban schools raised student achievement and because she had zero experience dealing with the press in such a high-profile job. She has stumbled a few times since in her relations with the Post, but has found a way to regain her feet each time. I will get back to this issue when I know more, but for the moment I hope she answers Turque's questions quickly and completely, as she

Rhee mum on teacher sex flap

Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee passed on multiple chances Friday to explain her remark that some of the 266 DCPS teachers laid off last October had hit children or had sex with them. The quote appears in the February issue of Fast Company magazine.

In a brief item, Rhee addressed the union charge that she contrived the budget crunch to circumvent seniority rules and rid the system of older teachers.

"I got rid of teachers who had hit children, who had had sex with children, who had missed 78 days of school. Why wouldn't we take those things into consideration?" she said.

The only official word came from Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's spokeswoman, Mafara Hobson, who said (brace yourselves):

"The mayor cannot comment on personnel matters."

Continue reading this post »

Ricoh and California Polytechnic State University Open Digital Printing Laboratory -- WEST CALDWELL, N.J., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ --

WEST CALDWELL, N.J., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Ricoh Americas Corporation and California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) officially opened the Ricoh Digital Printing Laboratory in conjunction with the university's celebration of International Printing Week commemorating Benjamin Franklin, an early pioneer of printing technology. As part of Ricoh's strategic focus on the digital production printing market, the company has partnered with Cal Poly's Graphic Communication Department to benefit students and the industry alike. As the cornerstone of the laboratory, Ricoh donated a fully configured Pro C900S digital color production printing system to the university's Graphic Communication Department, with on-going service donated by IKON, a Ricoh company. The partnership was first announced at Print '09 in September of last year.

The Ricoh Digital Printing Laboratory will provide benefits for students, printing professionals, and the industry as a whole. Students enrolled in Cal Poly's Graphic Communication curriculum are exposed to Ricoh technology via the school's experiential "learn by doing" approach to education. The Pro C900S is also central to Cal Poly's student run and managed printing and publishing company: University Graphic Systems (UGS). This exposure to both digital printing technology, and the business of running a print shop, helps prepare students for industry leadership positions. The Digital Printing Laboratory will also play a role in special student projects, offering research and testing capabilities, such as allowing senior-level students and faculty to provide product evaluations on system performance related to quality, productivity, color management, and substrate and toner handling. Seminars and workshops will also be made available to Ricoh customers, providing the ability to explore emerging trends in digital printing markets and applications.

01.22.2010 - Positive prospects for California's green businesses, study finds

Positive prospects for California's green businesses, study finds

By Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations | 22 January 2010

BERKELEY — California's green businesses are more focused on local markets and more likely to stay in the Golden State than are their non-green counterparts, according to a University of California, Berkeley, study released Thursday (Jan. 21). And when compared with traditional businesses, green ones are more likely to expand.

"Innovating the Green Economy," a report by researchers at UC Berkeley’s Center for Community Innovation (CCI), was unveiled at yesterday’s conference on green economy innovation. (A policy brief from the report, titled "Green, Local, and Growing," is posted on the CCI website; the complete report will be available on the website next Wednesday.) Sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the study comes at a time of heightened economic anxiety and of renewed pledges by elected leaders in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento to focus their efforts on job creation — especially green jobs.

The researchers found that in California, the green economy accounts for just one percent of jobs in the state, but is growing about 50 percent faster than the rest of the economy overall.

And while the green economy’s innovation appears concentrated regionally in areas such as the East Bay, Silicon Valley, San Diego and the Central San Joaquin Valley – there’s evidence of wide ripple effects in terms of jobs as green businesses concentrate on new products and services and as many traditional firms develop new green processes within their operations.

"This suggests that the entire state stands to benefit from the growth of the green economy," reads the introduction to the report that William Kittredge, director of the Economic Development Administration’s Performance and National Programs Division, described yesterday as "groundbreaking."

News: Autism Speaks responds to recent publications citing autism clusters in California.

News: Autism Speaks responds to recent publications citing autism clusters in California.:

"NEW YORK, N.Y. (January 21, 2010) Two recent, separate publications identified regions with higher than expected numbers of autism cases or clusters in California. Using data collected by the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS) on 2.5 million births including almost 10,000 autism cases from 1996-2000, investigators at UC Davis uncovered several clusters of elevated risk for autism. Autism Speaks, the nation's largest autism science and advocacy organization, reviewed these studies and found that the majority of these clusters were found to be strongly associated with higher parental education and, to a lesser extent, with parents of older ages. It is thought that parents with higher levels of education may have better access to the regional diagnostic and service centers in California, as the DDS relies on parents actively seeking services. Thus the distribution of cases is likely influenced by proximity to specialty research and service centers."

In Memoriam: Joyce King Stoops, 86 - USC News

In Memoriam: Joyce King Stoops, 86 - USC News:

"Joyce Barlow King Stoops, lifelong educator, philanthropist and supporter of USC, died Dec. 16. She was 86.

King Stoops devoted significant resources to USC and to helping the USC Rossier School of Education prepare future educators and enhance faculty productivity.

She was born in England on Jan. 25, 1923 and grew up in rural Ohio. She worked as a nurse and a technician in a chemistry laboratory, where she was in charge of analyzing flame thrower gel for impurities during World War II while she earned her teaching credential and a bachelor’s degree at Northern Illinois University.

Later she moved to California and earned a master’s degree at California State Univeristy, Long Beach, and an Ed.D. at USC in 1966."

UCLA Prof Proposes Sending Convicts To College - Los Angeles News - LA Daily

As the state is poised to embark upon a historic prisoner release, one professor argues that sending convicts to college could save the state hundreds of millions of dollars in lockup costs while at the same time turning career criminals in productive members of society.

In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, UCLA film, television, and digital media professor Chon A. Noriega proposes to transfer 10 percent of state prisoners, ones who are "nonviolent offenders who have an aptitude for higher education," to the state's university systems. Because the state spends 6.5 times the amount it pays to educate a UCLA student on housing a prisoner, he calculates the cost benefit would be immediate in these budget-strapped times: $536 million would be saved annually.

Majority of Union Members Now Work for the Government - WSJ.com

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show that a majority of American union members now work for the government. The pattern of unions adding members in government while losing members in the private sector accelerated during the recession. The typical union member now works in the Post Office, not on the assembly line.

Representing government employees has changed the union movement's priorities: Unions now campaign for higher taxes on Americans to fund more government spending. Congress should resist government employee unions' self-interested calls to raise taxes on workers in the private sector.

Overall Union Membership Down Slightly

The BLS's annual report on union membership shows the labor movement's decline in membership continued in 2009. While a full 23.0 percent of Americans belonged to labor unions in 1980, by 2008 only 12.4 percent did.[1] In 2009, that figure dropped slightly to 12.3 percent.[2] There are now 15.3 million union members in the United States, 770,000 fewer than in 2008.[3]

University of California students suspended for protesting budget cuts

University of California, Berkeley (UCB) students Angela Miller and Zach Bowin have been suspended from school, and Miller threatened with eviction from student housing, for participating in a protest that occurred outside of UCB Chancellor Robert Birgeneau’s campus home on Friday, December 11, 2009. (See: “Police crack down on California student protests: California governor denounces ‘terrorism’”)

The protest was part of ongoing actions by University of California (UC) students last fall and early this winter in opposition to a massive assault on public higher education in the state. As the result of a multi-billion dollar reduction in funding, in mid-November fees were raised at the 10 UC campuses located across California by 32 percent. Coming alongside hiring freezes, increases in class size, reductions in course offerings, and limits on enrollment, the tuition hike has meant that many students have had to either drop out of the UC system or forego enrollment because they cannot afford to attend.

Campus police arrested eight people at the December 11 protest, including the two UCB students and two students from University of California, Davis, charging them with felony property damage, threatening a university official, rioting, attempted burglary, attempted arson of an occupied building, and assault with a deadly weapon upon a police officer. The police set bail at over $100,000 for each arrestee.

UC names Berkeley's Brostrom to systemwide post - Inside Bay Area

UC names Berkeley's Brostrom to systemwide post - Inside Bay Area:

"University of California regents today named UC Berkeley Vice Chancellor Nathan Brostrom to a systemwide administrative post.

Brostrom, who was instrumental in financing Berkeley's upcoming retrofit of Memorial Stadium, will make $375,000 as executive vice president for business operations for the 10-campus system. He had been in the position on an interim basis since September.

UC Berkeley hired Brostrom in 2006 from JP Morgan Securities, where he was the western manager of the firm's public-finance group. He was brought to the campus, in part, to find innovative ways to raise money, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said at the time.

Brostrom also has worked for Merrill Lynch and the state treasurer's office."

State schools chief wants flexibility on class size 012310 - The Augusta Chronicle

ATLANTA --- The state's top education official said Friday that as local school boards face more state cuts they should be given greater freedom to increase class sizes.

"We have to give the local systems the ability to manage through this," Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox said at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education's fourth annual media symposium. "There's no way they can manage that (more budget cuts) without increased flexibility. ... It's not popular, but it's going to mean for a few years that our class size goes up. There's no way around it."

Currently, school systems must request approval from the state Department of Education for class-size waivers. Cox is proposing the Legislature pass a law that would allow districts to set class sizes without state approval.

"I think the General Assembly has to act," she told the media representatives. "They've got to step up to the plate."

Chiang warns Schwarzenegger, Legislature of cash shortage in current fiscal year - Sacramento Business Journal:

In a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger and California lawmakers Friday, state Controller John Chiang warned that “$2.7 billion in cash solutions are necessary” to avoid a cash shortage in this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

“I respectfully urge you to swiftly address the state’s projected budget and cash shortfalls for the remainder of the current fiscal year and the next in order to protect California’s economic recovery, continue the financing of public works projects, and prevent Californians hurt by the recession from experiencing even greater financial hardship,” Chiang said in the letter.

“According to my projections, California will drop below its $2.5 billion prudent minimum cash balance on March 30 by $1.3 billion. On April 1, the state will be in the red by $197 million, and our resources to pay bills are not expected to return to safe levels until April 21,”

Student Press Law Center -Calif. student free expression law to reach Senate floor

Student Press Law Center - News Flashes

Update to Calif. student free expression law to reach Senate floor

CALIFORNIA – An updated version of the student free expression bill is set to take the Senate floor Monday, according to a legislative staffer.

“We’re pretty confident,” said Adam Keigwin, chief of staff to Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo).

The bill, SB 438, which if enacted will prevent attempted censorship by charter school administrators, passed the Senate’s judiciary committee in a unanimous 5-0 vote last Wednesday.

The bill, introduced by Yee, amends California Education Code Section 48907 -- the state's student free expression code -- to read "pupils of the public schools, including charter schools, shall have the right to exercise freedom of speech and of the press ..."

The legislation is a direct result of an incident at Orange County High School of the Arts, according to Keigwin, where administrators relied on ambiguities in the existing free-speech law to defend a weeklong delay in printing the student newspaper, the Evolution.

The Evolution, advised by Konnie Krislock, was postponed because of administrative reaction to two articles -- one about the school's theme of the year and one about the school's contract with a food vendor that openly espoused religious views.

“We don’t believe that any form of censorship occurred,” said Dr. Ralph Opacic, the school’s president and director. “We believe that we were acting appropriately in exercising our right to prior review.”

“In light of that differing opinion, we want to make it crystal clear that charter schools need to adhere” to this legislation, Keigwin said.

Get To Work : California's job training system needs overhauling

Get To Work : California's job training system needs overhauling
California's job training system needs overhauling

An excellent blog posting by former Employment Development Department director Michael Bernick touches on how the state's job retraining apparatus is reacting to this recession.
Among other points, Bernick notes that the Workforce Investment Boards, a principal conduit of federal funds for retraining "dislocated (laid-off) workers" has lots of money but has been slow in spending it because its training boards have not been able to idenity enough occupations that are hiring in sufficient volume to justify revving up the training engine.
Bernick also says: "For some time, California has had a diverse retraining system, with the community colleges, California State University (CSU) system, adult education schools, community-based training agencies, and private proprietary schools."(emphasis added)
So far as I can glean from my reporting on the jobs front, it is a misnomer to call this agglomeration of players a training "system." They are more like a collection of well-intentioned but largely uncoordinated fiefdoms that have not yet created the menu of training options that our desperate situation so desperately demands.
Many of these agencies, like the community colleges and the adult education centers, are overworked and underfunded due to the state budget crisis. They are in not in the enviable position of the Workforce Boards which may have more money right now than they can prudently spend.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/gettowork/detail?entry_id=55786#ixzz0dRnwCVRP

Steven Greenhut: Public Employee Unions Are Sinking California - WSJ.com

An old friend of mine has a saying, "Even the worm learns." Prod one several hundred times, he says, and it will learn to avoid the prodder. As California enters its annual budget drama, I can't help but wonder if the wisdom of the elected politicians here in the state capital equals that of the earthworm.

The state is in a precarious position, with a 12.3% unemployment rate (more than two points higher than the national average) and a budget $20 billion in the red (only months after the last budget fix closed a large deficit). Productive Californians are leaving for states with less-punishing regulatory and tax regimes. Yet so far there isn't a broad consensus to do much about those who have prodded the state into its current position: public employee unions that drive costs up and fight to block spending cuts.

Earlier this month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a budget that calls for a $6.9 billion handout from Washington (unlikely to be forthcoming) and vows to protect current education funding, 40% of the state's budget. He does want to eliminate the Calworks welfare-to-work program and enact a 5% pay cut for state employees. These are reasonable ideas, but also politically unlikely.

Arnold said what? - Times-Standard Online

Arnold said what? - Times-Standard Online:

"Wow! Did everyone miss the recent quote by Governor Schwarzenegger that was printed in the 1/16/10 Times-Standard? The governor said: “The reason why I'm passionate about education is so all the children in California can get the attention I got in Austria.”

Amazing. Let's see if I've got this straight now. Arnold, a Republican, is extolling the benefits of education in a (gasp!) SOCIALIST country, Austria. An individual (Arnold) who has made a consistent habit of slashing education funding in a state that once had an education system that was the envy of the country (California) and who refuses to even discuss raising taxes to balance the budget is pointing out the benefits of a country that prioritizes public education and other programs for the common good and that has a significantly higher tax rate."

REGIONAL: Local districts unsure about 'Race to the Top' funding

REGIONAL: Local districts unsure about 'Race to the Top' funding:

"As the federal government dangles a financial carrot to encourage school districts to commit to a series of education reforms, more than half of North County districts so far have decided not to bite.

That carrot ---- the Obama administration's so-called 'Race to the Top' program ---- comes with what some educators consider serious strings. To qualify for the money, states and school districts must agree to requirements such as using test data in teacher evaluations, giving parents more of a say in what school their child attends and financially rewarding high-performing teachers.
The California Department of Education, which is expecting as much as $700 million from the federal program, set a Jan. 8 deadline for school districts to sign a memorandum of understanding indicating they wanted in on the deal."

California's Education Leader Says Teacher Evaluations Need To Change | KPBS.org

California's Education Leader Says Teacher Evaluations Need To Change

| KPBS.org: "CALIFORNIA — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said drastic changes are needed in the way teachers and principals are evaluated in California schools. The superintendent made those remarks during his final State Of Education address"

O'Connell admits the way in which teachers and principals are evaluated doesn't work. He said federal education reforms that California recently approved could help change how that’s done.

The reforms are tied to the Obama administration's Race To The Top program. California schools can now use student test scores in teacher evaluations. O'Connell says test scores should not be the only way people are evaluated, but that it's a key element in measuring performance.

“I don't think anyone of us can stand here today and say we know exactly what the right evaluation system should look like. But it is evident that the current evaluation system provides too little value and it really is time for a change,” O’Connell said.

O'Connell wants teachers unions and school officials to develop a fair evaluation system. The

Loveland High School defends its mascot, history in face of state bill, 1/23/2010 - Reporter-Herald, Loveland, Colo.

Loveland High School defends its mascot, history in face of state bill, 1/23/2010 - Reporter-Herald, Loveland, Colo.:

"Once again, the use of Indian mascots by Colorado high schools has come under fire.

And once again, officials at Loveland High School say they’ll do whatever it takes to keep Indians as part of the school’s tradition.

On Thursday, state Sen. Suzanne Williams introduced Senate Bill 107, which would require each public high school (denoted as grades nine-12 in the bill) of a district or charter high schools that use an American Indian mascot to either stop using it or gain approval of its use from the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs."

Friday, January 22, 2010

Surveys may help with Sacramento City schools budget woes | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

Surveys may help with Sacramento City schools budget woes | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News:

"SACRAMENTO, CA - Sacramento school officials are asking for help to solve the district's budget crisis and close the achievement gap.

Parents, teachers, students, staff and anyone else who wants to can log on to the Sacramento City Unified School District's Web site and take two surveys on the issues.

Superintendent Jonathan Raymond called the surveys 'an historic effort to involve all people across this community in the critically important decision about the future of our schools.'

SCUSD had estimated its funding shortfall at $18 million but when the governor released his state budget proposal, the district' s red ink grew to $28 to $30 million."

The Educated Guess � Few low-income districts pass parcel taxes

Parcel taxes are one of the few ways that cash-strapped school districts can raise money for schools. Few districts try, in part because it takes a two-thirds majority of voters to pass one. And most often, it’s wealthy communities that succeed.
In its report, Educational Opportunities in Hard Times, UCLA’s Institute of Demcracy, Education and Access looked at the 29 districts that put a parcel tax on the ballot last year. In the 20 districts that passed a parcel tax, the average percentage of students receiving free or reduced price lunches — a measure of poverty — was 15 percent. In the nine districts in which the parcel tax lost, an average of 56 percent of students received free or reduced lunches. In not one of the districts that passed a parcel tax was the average percentage of students received free or reduced lunches above 40 percent.

State of Education 2010 - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Details
Accomplishments, Challenges, and Opportunities
to Improve Public Schools in State of Education Address

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today delivered his 7th annual State of Education Address. In his speech to educators, policymakers, students, and parents, O'Connell highlighted progress made over the past seven years in improving student achievement and applauded California's educators for doing the hard work to achieve these results even as schools were forced to absorb deep cuts in funding.

He outlined the promise of Race to the Top to improve student achievement and help close the achievement gap, even as schools face the challenge of absorbing billions in budget cuts.

"Race to the Top offers an opportunity to make systemic changes that could fundamentally improve our education system," O'Connell said. "Our success will rely on creating a new relationship between the state and the local education community – a relationship that allows educators to focus on the core business of school: student learning."

O'Connell said that the state's role must evolve from regulating inputs and monitoring processes, to maintaining world-class standards providing assistance, leveraging best practices, and monitoring results; while the role of local educational agencies will need to be one of leadership and innovation. The state will strengthen the local reform efforts by investing in a more comprehensive education data system that will support the effective use of data to focus all efforts on the needs of students. Researchers, county offices of education, and other support providers will collaborate by helping to identify what works, share expertise, and rapidly implement proven strategies.

"Our goal is to foster professional learning communities of teachers and leaders who will work together to innovate, examine data, and share effective practices," O'Connell continued.

O'Connell described how California can support professional learning communities by revising – but not weakening – California's standards, by streamlining and improving their sequencing.

O'Connell said that work to revise California's standards would be coupled with the development of aligned assessments that use multiple measures to evaluate student learning, an accountability system based on individual student growth, and a teacher evaluation system that measures effectiveness by using student achievement data as a key measure. In order to create such a system, the state will facilitate a collaborative process with teachers unions, management organizations, and local educational agencies to design model teacher and principal evaluations. The results could then be used appropriately for decisions such as promotion, compensation, professional development, and tenure and ensure the equitable distribution of effective teachers and school leaders in hard-to-staff schools, subjects, and specialty areas.

O'Connell also urged the adequate funding for California's public school system and called for passage of Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 by Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) that would allow Californians to pass parcel taxes to support local schools with a 55 percent vote of the people.

"People who choose to make education their life's work are our heroes," O'Connell said in conclusion. "They need better tools, more support, and, yes, more funding. But the vast majority of those in our system do incredible work transforming the lives of students. We have an opportunity – indeed, an obligation – to step up and help them. We cannot afford to wait any longer. We cannot let our challenges become obstacles to student success. We will find no better time than now."

For the full text of O'Connell's 2010 State of Education Address and a press packet, please visit State of Education Address, January 22, 2010 - State of Education.

Expulsion of Willows High student with shotguns near campus overturned - Latest News - sacbee.com

Expulsion of Willows High student with shotguns near campus overturned - Latest News - sacbee.com:

"A Willows High School student who was expelled for having firearms in his pickup that was parked near the school will be reinstated and have record of the disciplinary action expunged from his record.

That ruling was made this morning by Glenn County school trustees acting on an appeal filed by Gary Tudesko.

The Oct. 26 incident occurred a few days after the start of waterfowl hunting season in an area where duck hunting is a major pastime. Tudesko said he was returning from a morning hunt and did not have time to take the shotguns home without being late for school."

voiceofsandiego.org | News. Investigation. Analysis. Conversation. Intelligence.

Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

I'm officially ticked off about the weather. San Diego, this was definitely not in the orientation video. Try not to let the newsblitz get wet:

We blog about a bid for budget autonomy for Point Loma schools. It's a lesser degree of independence than splitting into a separate district or going charter, which the coastal schools have also mulled. But it's already inspiring parents across the district to try and start up their own local groups.
After a whole lot of hullaballoo, Del Mar schools may not close any of their sites at all, the Union-Tribune reports. The board seems to be leaning away from the idea.
I accidentally overlooked these two opinion pieces yesterday in the UT: School board member John Lee Evans argues against the idea that the school board was "installed" by the teachers union and other "mythology." State Sen. Gloria Romero touts her Race to the Top bill.
Also in the UT: University of