Big Education Ape

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Tenure not quite automatic in L.A. The Educated Guess

Tenure not quite automatic in L.A.

Embarrassed by a Los Angeles Times story revealing teacher tenure has been all but automatic in Los Angeles Unified, the district is tripling the number of probationary teachers who will be fired this year.
The extra scrutiny will help weed out bad teachers before they gain due process rights that make it very difficult to fire teachers for poor performance. But L.A. Unified’s ability to identify effective teachers is still hampered, as in many districts, by a poor evaluation process and a problematic, two-year probationary period. The district is in the process of changing the former, but only the Legislature or voters can fix the latter.
(Read more and comment on this post)

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SCUSD Observer: Budget forums begin next week...

SCUSD Observer: Budget forums begin next week...:

"The district has scheduled four community forums to discuss SCUSD budget cuts. Each is scheduled from 6:30p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Feb. 17 – McClatchy High School, 3066 Freeport Blvd.

• Feb. 23 – Rosemont High School, 9594 Kiefer Blvd.

• Feb. 24 – Luther Burbank High School, 3500 Florin Road

• March 3 – location to be announced

Complete results of both of the district's online surveys will be released next week."

Eduflack: Backbenching the Prez' Ed Budget

It has been a little over a week since President Obama officially submitted his FY2011 budget. Depending on who you speak to, it was the best of times/worst of times for the education sector. Overall, the Administration is seeking to raise the federal commitment to education spending by more than 7 percent. But that increase comes with a new set of priorities, a new grouping of funding streams, and some eliminations of long time, cherished programs. You can see Eduflack's original thoughts on the budget here.

During the original scrum, we heard from many of the groups we expected to hear from — including oldies but goodies like the NEA and AFT and the growing number of education "reform" organizations seem by many to benefit the new "consolidation." But Eduflack thought it would be interesting to see what some other organizations have been saying about the budget reccs, particularly those who are focused on the issues IDed in my original analysis. Unsurprisingly, most comments come from those unwilling to throw a big bear hug around the proposed budget.

On the issue of teacher quality and preparation, we have Dr. Sharon Robinson, president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (ISTE) opposing the elimination of programs such as the Teacher Quality Partnership saying:

Across the nation, colleges and universities are playing an indispensable role in supplying our schools, particularly hard-to-staff schools, with effective teachers who intend to serve as classroom leaders for

Internet rewiring youngsters' brains - Telegraph

Internet rewiring youngsters' brains - Telegraph:

"Experts believe the internet encourages users to dart from page to page, rather than concentrating on one source such as a book.
Described as 'associative' thinking, researchers believe it is reducing youngsters' capacity to read and write at length because their minds are being remoulded to function differently."

A survey designed to examine the internet's impact on the brain examined how 100 12 to 18-year-olds responded to a series of questions requiring some form of research.

They discovered that most of the respondents gave their answers after looking at just half the number of web pages older people examined.

They also found that younger people took far less time to research their answers and were therefore less thorough.

Professor David Nicholas of the University College London, who conducted the research, said it supported the growing theory that the web's hyperlinked network of information was helping to rewire youngsters' minds.

He revealed that 40 per cent of those taking part in the study viewed no more than three pages from the thousands available online, when researching a topic.

In contrast, people who grew up before the age of the internet repeatedly returned to the same source instead of flitting between

Letters - ‘No Child Left Behind,’ Revisited - NYTimes.com

“Making ‘No Child’ Better” (editorial, Feb. 5) misses the point that the No Child Left Behind law is founded on faulty assumptions of top-down mandates, zero tolerance, narrow forms of assessment, and privatization. These are all popular nowadays, but have been shown to be ineffective in other sectors (health, corrections, welfare and so on) and have a dismal track record so far in education.
“Tightening up” the law will only prolong the agony.
President Obama’s appointment of Arne Duncan as education secretary instead of the education scholar Linda Darling-Hammond has set authentic reform in education back by at least a decade. Educators aren’t the villains;

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education- Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Colleges still accepting applications for fall

A friend told me that her son had applied to half a dozen colleges and universities for this coming fall. She has become worried that he won’t get into any of them and should have applied to more. What can he do?

The same query was posed on a listserv by an educational consultant, who noted that the University of California may, for the first time, wait list students for the fall as officials figure out how many their financial straits will allow them to accept.

It turns out that there are scores of fine schools still accepting applications. In some cases, you have only days to finish the application, and in others, a lot longer. (See partial list below.)

Continue reading this post »

Doubt about learning styles

[This is my column for the Local Living section of Feb. 11, 2010.]

If you are in a mischievous mood and want to get a rise out of your favorite teachers or principals, send them a copy of "Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence," in Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Volume 9, No. 3, December 2008. (Actually, it came out in December 2009, but for a reason understood only by academics in the timeless search for truth, its official publication date was 12 months previous.)

Here is my summary of the 15-page paper: Learning styles are hogwash.

It’s not quite that bad. The four authors agree that "people differ in the degree to which they have some fairly specific aptitudes for different kinds of thinking and for processing different types of information." Some of us consider ourselves visual learners. Some of us think we learn best if we use our hands: draw, make models, stack coins. The authors conclude, however, that "at present, there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning-styles assessments into general educational practice."

Continue reading this post »

Fight to keep D.C. schools open fails
The last flickers of public school resistance against the weather in the Washington region faded at 4:32 Wednesday afternoon, when DCPS announced it was calling off Thursday classes.
So ends a snowbound four-day saga that began with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee planning to open up on a two-hour delay on Monday but ended with closures that have lasted all week. (Read my previous posts on this drama here, here and here.)
But for Rhee, the surrender is not quite unconditional. She says she still hasn't decided about Friday's scheduled day of professional development for teachers. Stay tuned.
Follow D.C. Schools Insider every day athttp://washingtonpost.com/dcschoolsinsider.

And for admissions advice, college news and links to campus papers, please check out our new Higher Education page atwashingtonpost.com/higher-ed Bookmark it!

More Detroit schools to close | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

More Detroit schools to close | freep.com | Detroit Free Press:

"Roughly 40 Detroit public schools will close, and the district will impose layoffs, furloughs and other concessions upon its staff this year to help close a $200-million deficit, emergency financial manager Robert Bobb said Wednesday.

Bobb said the closures will include underutilized high schools. Neither Bobb nor district officials would say which schools will close.

And the plan isn't a total surprise. School officials talked last year of possibly closing 60 schools over two years.

Bobb's comments came during the Crain's Newsmakers of the Year luncheon at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center, where he and Detroit Mayor Dave Bing were lauded as 'change agents in charge.'

Bobb said his last 11 months as the Detroit Public Schools' emergency financial manager have been filled with ups and downs, with the positives being getting to work with DPS students and negatives including being sued by the school board. But, he added, he sees hope."

Virginia governor wants more charter schools in state - washingtonpost.com

RICHMOND -- Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) unveiled an ambitious proposal Wednesday to expand the number of charter schools in Virginia as a way to offer a publicly funded, privately run education alternative.

McDonnell also said he wants to create virtual schools in which students can learn outside traditional classrooms and laboratory schools that would benefit from partnerships with Virginia colleges and universities.
All three proposals must be approved by the General Assembly during its 60-day session, which ends next month.
The recently inaugurated governor has declared charter schools a top priority in his first legislative session. He has long praised President Obama for his support of charters, and he recently hired a nationally known charter advocate as his education secretary.

Plan strips school councils of power to pick principals :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

Plan strips school councils of power to pick principals :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education:

"Hundreds of parent-led local school councils would be stripped of the critical power to pick principals under a bill introduced this week by the Rev. James Meeks, head of the Senate Education Committee.

Plus, up to 42,000 students at 65 of the city's lowest-scoring public schools would be entitled to tuition vouchers to attend private or parochial schools under an amendment Meeks said he is planning to another bill."

"I think they are radical changes,'' the Chicago Democrat said Wednesday of the two bills now in Senate committees. "Isn't that what the president ran on -- change? America has voted for change.''
Some school activists were stunned by Meeks' proposal to convert elected local school councils into advisory bodies. No longer would LSCs select and fire principals and approve school budgets, as required under the 1988 Chicago School Reform Law.
"Why would he want to get rid of the last segment of democracy that exists in our schools, where people who are most directly affected can have a voice in how their schools are run?'' asked Jitu Brown of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization.
Meeks -- pastor of Chicago megachurch Salem Baptist -- said Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman and his predecessor, now U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, have told him that "principals are the most important people'' in a school while complaining that "we don't pick the principals.'' The bill would "eliminate that excuse,'' Meeks said.

Removal Of Asperger's To Change Special Ed Access : NPR

Removal Of Asperger's To Change Special Ed Access : NPR:

"The American Psychiatric Association announced yesterday that it is proposing to eliminate the diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome from the official diagnostic guide of mental disorders. The revised manual would place kids who are currently said to have Asperger's within an expanded definition of autism.

That change might affect how families get special education services in public schools. Currently, parents of children with autism turn to the federal law that guarantees a free public education for students with disabilities. Kids with autism clearly qualify, but for kids with Asperger's, it's much less clear. They are are often highly intellligent, but have social problems that make it hard for them to thrive in school.

Melinda Bird, senior counsel with the advocacy group Disability Rights California, says the current guidelines used by psychiatrists present parents with confusing criteria for the disorder. As a result, Bird says, 'parents spend unnecessary time arguing whether a child meets every one of these nuanced criteria.'"

State commissioner vows 'never again' for test snafu that kept homeless student from graduating

State commissioner vows 'never again' for test snafu that kept homeless student from graduating:

"The state education commissioner Wednesday promised that no student will ever again have to choose between graduating from high school and being homeless.

Commissioner David Steiner - lambasted on Keith Olbermann's show Tuesday night as the 'worst person in the world' - said all state family homeless shelters will get a schedule of state exams to avoid the situation that prevented a Brooklyn high school student from earning a diploma.

Rosa Bracero, 17, was prevented from taking a Regents exam she needed to graduate because she had to sit in a homeless shelter intake center all day after her family was evicted.

She took the test a few days later, but the state refused to score it, citing fears of cheating.

Steiner is meeting with Rosa and her mom Friday in Manhattan to express his regrets about what happened."

Department of Education eying deal for official sports network for the city's schools system - NYPOST.com

Department of Education eying deal for official sports network for the city's schools system - NYPOST.com:

"It's like ESPN for the high-school set.

In a bid to drum up money and interest for academic sports, the city Department of Education is putting out feelers for a company that could serve as the school system's official sports network.

The proposal would grant the rights to film, air and promote Public Schools Athletic League activities on cable or network television -- as well as online -- in exchange for marketing rights and other privileges.

Officials also hope to secure sponsorship dollars from the new network to add sports like table tennis and flag rugby, according to PSAL chief Donald Douglas."

Schools are likely targets for N.J. budget cuts | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/10/2010

Schools are likely targets for N.J. budget cuts | Philadelphia Inquirer | 02/10/2010:

"TRENTON - A key Republican lawmaker says he expects school-aid cuts when Gov. Christie lays out his budget plans tomorrow.

'I would expect some significant impact on school aid as a result of his updated message on budget,' said Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R., Burlington), the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee.

Christie inherited a deficit of more than $1 billion in the current budget, which runs through June 30. According to two other sources with knowledge of the budget, Christie is expected to propose from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion in spending reductions tomorrow when he addresses the Legislature in the first major policy speech of his tenure.

The sources cautioned that decisions on how to balance the spending plan had not been finalized. But they acknowledged that aid to schools was one of the few big pots of money left for Christie to draw from as he tries to balance the budget more than halfway through the fiscal year.

Malone said he met recently with Christie and the state treasurer. New Jersey's fiscal picture, he said, remains bleak."

Advanced Placement Exam Report - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Issues Statement on College
Board's Sixth Annual AP® Exam Report to the Nation

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell issued the following statement regarding today's release of the College Board's 6th Annual AP (Advanced Placement) Report to the Nation (Outside Source).:

"California continues to be a national leader in terms of the number of students who take AP and other advanced courses. As indicated in the College Board's new report on AP test data, 32 percent of California students in the class of 2009 took at least one AP exam during high school, compared to 26.5 percent nationwide. In addition, 20.8 percent of California students in the class of 2009 who took an AP exam during high school earned a score of 3 or higher (on a scale of 0 to 5), compared to 15.9 percent for the nation.

"I am especially pleased that the report shows that the Hispanic or Latino and African American subgroups of California students experienced relatively larger percentage gains in AP exam participation and performance when compared to white students. This is evidence that we are making progress in closing the achievement gap in California's public schools.

"California's success in the most recent cycle of AP exams is impressive. We must remain dedicated to helping all students meet high expectations and closing the achievement gap.

"Finally, I am pleased to point out that the College Board's report identifies the AP Spanish Language exam given to students at Calexico High School in the Calexico Unified School District (Calexico, California) as an 'Exemplary AP Program,' based on Calexico High School being a public school with the largest number of Latino students from the class of 2009 scoring a 3 or higher on a particular AP exam. I hope that this outstanding program can be replicated at schools with similar student populations throughout our state."

Refusal of federal money for education affects Texas schoolchildren - News

Refusal of federal money for education affects Texas schoolchildren - News:

"Gov. Rick Perry's decision not to compete for up to $700 million in federal money for education may be a move that will make Texas schoolchildren suffer, a university professor said.

James Riddlesperger, a political science professor, said Perry's decision will only put funding for Texas education further behind.

'That money will be spent,' Riddlesperger said. 'It's already been appropriated. It's going to be spent somewhere, and what that means in terms of Texas is it puts Texas even farther behind in the competition than they would be.'

According to a New York Times article, Texas officials spent more than 700 hours preparing the application for the grant, known as Race to the Top. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded more than $250,000 to hire consultants to assist the state in the process, according to the article. Perry's decision came just six days before the Jan. 19 application deadline."

California Lawmakers Fail the Grade on Racial Equity | California Progress Report

Applied Research Center published its fifth edition of the California Legislative Report Card on Racial Equity today, as people of color look to legislative solutions to pull their communities out of the recession. Unfortunately, California lawmakers are failing the grade. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger scored an “F” in racial equity, while the State Assembly scored a “D” and the State Senate scored an “F.”

The report is available here.

Though communities of color represent nearly 60 percent of the population, the state of California’s leadership has not addressed this majority population’s needs. California state lawmakers slashed budgets across social, educational and health services last year, exacerbating long-standing racial disparities.

The majority of progressive racial equity bills were authored in the Assembly, with Speaker Karen Bass and members Kevin de Leon, Hector De La Torre, Tom Ammiano and Jose Solorio among the leaders. The Senate scored worse overall though President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg received a “B.” Schwarzenegger scored well on criminal justice bills supporting juveniles. But the governor’s overall score dropped 24 percent since 2007.

LAUSD’s Dance of the Lemons - Page 1 - News - Los Angeles - LA Weekly

Several years ago, a 74-year-oldDominguez Elementary School fourth-grade teacher was having trouble controlling her students as her abilities deteriorated amid signs of "burnout." Shirley Loftis was told by Los Angeles Unified School District administrators to retire or be fired, and she did retire, but hardly under the school district's terms.

The principal at Dominguez, Irene Hinojosa, recalls how she spent three years documenting Loftis' poor teaching skills and inability to control 10-year-olds. "From the minute I observed her, she basically didn't seem to have the knowledge of the standards and how to deliver them," Hinojosa tells L.A. Weekly. "I had her do lessons on the same standard over and over again, and children did not get it. On simple math concepts [such as determining perimeters and area] — over and over, she didn't know how to deliver."

Each September, a new crop of children quickly caught on to the fact that Loftis had lost control. Full-on classroom fights flared up. One child beat another with a backpack, and others threw objects — even a chair,

LA teachers take on the charters | SocialistWorker.org

LA teachers take on the charters | SocialistWorker.org:

"THE BATTLE has begun: Corporate Los Angeles and the charter school operators in one corner--and teachers, parents and community allies in the other.

On February 23, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) school board will decide on the fate of 30 schools--12 existing ones and 18 new ones, serving 40,000 students. Under a 'school choice' motion passed by the board last fall, the schools will be run either by charter companies--or by teachers and parents.

On February 2 and 6, 'advisory votes' were held in the communities around the 30 schools, where parents, teachers, students and community members got to choose between plans put forward by charter school operators and those put forward by teachers, with input and support from parent, community and district allies.

In all 30 cases, local plans written by teachers and their collaborators won! Some 87 percent of parents who voted chose the 'local school plans' written by teachers and allies."

Low Hispanic Population Remains at UC Berkeley - The Daily Californian

Low Hispanic Population Remains at UC Berkeley - The Daily Californian:

"UC Berkeley may be missing out on opportunities for federal funding due to the campus's low population of Hispanic students.

Funding is available to what the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities classifies as Hispanic-serving Institutions, or institutions that have a Hispanic population of 25 percent or more, according to the association's Web site.

The organization also offers associate membership for campuses in which Hispanic students make up 10 percent of the student population.

While UC Berkeley does not meet the association's criteria for a Hispanic-serving classification, it does qualify for associate membership with an 11.9 percent Hispanic population in fall 2009.

After receiving membership, these institutions may petition the U.S. Department of Education for grants, said Melba Castro, UC Riverside director of First Year Success Programs.

While the number of incoming Hispanic freshmen at UC Berkeley increased to 1,299 in fall 2009-up 0.6 percent from 2008-Hispanic undergraduate enrollment has remained steady over the last five years.

Due to Proposition 209, which banned affirmative action in California in 1996, UC Berkeley may not give preferential treatment based on race in order to increase minority enrollment, said campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore."

'Race to the Top' must include charter school expansion - STLtoday.com

'Race to the Top' must include charter school expansion - STLtoday.com:

"In mid-January, Missouri applied for nearly $750 million of the U.S. Department of Education's $4.35 billion 'Race to the Top' program.

The competitive grant program, which President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced on July 30, aims to bolster states that are seeking education reform initiatives that improve student achievement.

While there is no question that Missouri Commissioner of Education, Chris Nicastro, and her staff worked hard to complete the application since announcing their intention to seek such funding, that application can only be described as incomplete without a push for expanding charter schools in Missouri.

Currently, Missouri has a geographical cap on charters that only allows them to operate in and accept students from the St. Louis and Kansas City public school districts. This policy is in direct conflict with Secretary Duncan's strong statement last June that 'states that do not have public charter laws or put artificial caps on the growth of charter schools will jeopardize their applications under the Race to the Top fund.'"

Alberto Torrico: Safe Communities Start with Safe Schools -- Support Cops Protecting Campuses

Alberto Torrico: Safe Communities Start with Safe Schools -- Support Cops Protecting Campuses:

"Education is a way out -- and a way forward. But, in California's most crime-ridden high schools, education is also putting our students in harm's way.

My folks came a long way -- immigrating from Bolivia and Japan -- and working as janitors to provide a better, safer life for my three brothers and me. Like a lot of immigrants, we lived in a neighborhood that was full of fine families, but also home to a small group of young people who were making the wrong choices. So, my brothers and I would watch out for each other on the way to school -- and in the halls between classes.

Today, my brother Fabian, is still watching out for kids as a proud veteran of the San Jose Police Department while my brother, Cesar, keeps a sharp eye out for students as principal of Franklin Elementary School."

Karen Symms Gallagher: Ed Reform Debate Needs Bigger Battlefield

Karen Symms Gallagher: Ed Reform Debate Needs Bigger Battlefield:

"President Obama wants to rewrite the No Child Left Behind Law to give schools greater incentives to booster their students' achievement. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has charged that many university-based teacher preparation programs are not equipping teachers for the 21st century classroom.

Few will dispute that more education reforms are needed. But many of the prescriptions may not be up to the task of dramatically improving student achievement because they are rooted in a reform paradigm that has failed to produce this desired result.

In an essay titled 'The End of the Education Debate,' Chester Finn Jr. argues that the long-reigning paradigm, with its defining ideas of standards, testing and (school) choice, has run its course. What's needed now, he says, is a more fundamental rethinking of how schools are governed and financed if we are to move student achievement scores off the flat line and into an upward direction. In other words, we need to change the context in which reforms are implemented."

Making 'No Child' Work

Making 'No Child' Work:

"San Bernardino County Schools Assistant Superintendent Dr. Margaret Hill is no stranger to the rough and tumble world of educating America’s school children. Her professional career spans 39 years in public schooling including a stent at the helm of one of the state’s and perhaps one of the country’s most challenging campuses: San Bernardino High.

So it was not news that a study published last month by UC Riverside researchers which surveyed 740 board certified teachers on the effectiveness of the No Child Left Behind Education Act found that 84 percent reported overall unfavorable attitudes about the law."

The Santa Barbara Independent The Cruelest of Cuts

Though it wasn’t really his fault, Eric Smith sure wasn’t going to win any popularity contests with the crowd of mostly faculty, staff, and parents at the Santa Barbara School Board meeting this week. Thanks to the public education-destroying realities of the latest California state budget proposal, the Santa Barbara School Board needs to slash their general fund budget for the fourth time in the past year, after enduring several million in cuts to their roughly $119 million operating budget. District Deputy Superintendent Smith is the man tasked with figuring out where the next $6 million in necessary reductions can come from.

To that end, on Tuesday night, he presented a visibly pained board with a menu of potential reductions that, among other things, equal the unavoidable loss of teaching positions and popular school programs, bigger class sizes, and drastic reduction in school site maintenance. As Boardmember Annette Cordero lamented during the meeting, “All the things that were priorities to cut have already been cut. … Now we are getting to the things that we have all felt needed to be saved.”

AFP: TED Prize winner Oliver wants food revolution

AFP: TED Prize winner Oliver wants food revolution:

"LONG BEACH, California — Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver won heavyweight allies in a campaign to foment a food revolution.

Oliver received a TED Prize that entitled him to make a wish that the group's influential members would try to make real.

He revealed his desire during a high-energy talk at a TED gathering with the likes of Google co-founder Larry Page, Microsoft chief strategy officer Craig Mundie, YouTube co-creator Chad Hurley, and Amazon.com boss Jeff Bezos.

'I wish for your help to create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity,' Oliver said on Wednesday.

Oliver started a movement to get school children eating healthier food in Britain and is now taking on the United States."

Lawyer, education supporter to sue Colorado over TABOR - The Denver Post

Lawyer, education supporter to sue Colorado over TABOR - The Denver Post:

"As a lawyer, Herb Fenster defended Interior Secretary Gale Norton in Indian trust litigation.

He went to the mat with then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney over the sudden cancellation of a multibillion-dollar contract for the A-12 stealth fighter and won nearly $3.9 billion — the largest judgment ever entered against the government — for contractors who had worked on the craft.

His close friends include William Swing, the former Episcopal bishop of California, and he occasionally debates with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia over what it means to be a 'true originalist,' someone who interprets the U.S. Constitution in a way they believe its authors intended.

The Boulder Republican's next battlefield is Colorado's tax-limiting Taxpayer's Bill of Rights. By the end of the month, Fenster will sue the state in federal court over TABOR."

Rep. Diane Watson to announce retirement today - On Politics: Covering the US Congress, Governors, and the 2010 Election - USATODAY.com

Rep. Diane Watson to announce retirement today - On Politics: Covering the US Congress, Governors, and the 2010 Election - USATODAY.com:

"Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., plans to announce her retirement this morning, according to the Los Angeles Times and others. The Times, citing a congressional source, says that the 76-year-old Democrat 'was tiring of the cross-country trips and wanted to spend time with her mother, who recently turned 100.'"

Watson was the first African-American to be elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education in 1975, according to her biography. She also served in the state Senate and was appointed by then-President Clinton in 1999 to serve as ambassador to Micronesia. She went to Congress in 2001 after winning a special election to complete the term of the late Rep. Julian Dixon.

Her expected retirement announcement will come a day after Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Mich., announced he would not seek a 9th term, as we reported yesterday.

U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers to retire after 16 years in Congress | Grand Rapids News - - MLive.com

U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers to retire after 16 years in Congress | Grand Rapids News - - MLive.com:

"GRAND RAPIDS -- The end of this year will mark the end of a political era. That's when U.S. Rep. Vern Ehlers, R-Grand Rapids, will step down after 16 years on Capitol Hill.

'The most important thing to me is that people realize I tried my very best to be an honest person, honest with my colleagues and my constituents, and that I was a decent person, a person of integrity, who worked my hardest for them,' said Ehlers, 76. 'Some people stay too long,' he said. 'I wanted to go out while I was still a strong leader playing a valuable role, not forced out by health or age. I have no regrets, because I accomplished a lot both in the state Legislature and in Congress.'

Ehlers was to announce his decision today in the foyer of the Gerald R. Ford Federal Building. He said after 50 years, people still refer to the 3rd Congressional District (formerly the 5th District) as 'Jerry Ford's District.' He said he considers it a huge compliment when people tell him he's a lot like President Ford, because he considered him to be straight-forward, even-handed and honest."

Sad state of education | Petaluma360.com | Petaluma Argus-Courier | Petaluma, CA

Editor: I have been a member of the Petaluma School District’s Superintendent’s Lay Advisory Council for the past 10 years. On Feb. 2, we were addressed by Deputy Superintendent Steve Bolman about the state of the upcoming city school budget, along with projections for the next few years.

I would have to say that never in my 15 years as a parent who has kids in public schools have I been as distraught by these budget figures as I am now.

We all know that the state of the economy is not good, and we all know that the state of California’s economy is worse than most states. However, I’m not sure that we as parents have fully grasped the real impact of this on our kids and what we spend for education.

California, that place that continues to trumpet education as our best investment, is now the 49th state in the nation in terms of school spending. That means that we spend less than 48 out of 50 other states on our children’s primary and secondary education. Why are we so far behind the rest of the nation, when we are told that without an educated population, we can’t compete for businesses, neither within our own country nor within the global economy? How many times have you heard politicians stand up and say that our children are our greatest resource? Well, no one is backing that statement up in Sacramento. What happened to support for education in our state capital?

School garden programs are vital to students' education and health - washingtonpost.com

School garden programs are vital to students' education and health - washingtonpost.com:

"Caitlin Flanagan, writing in the current issue of the Atlantic, imagines a scene in which a poor Mexican immigrates to California to do farm work in hope of a better life for his son, only to have him wind up in Alice Waters's Edible Schoolyard garden.

To some, this might seem no more than a small irony of modern life: one person's effort to escape from the land meets with another's mission to reconnect us with it. But to Flanagan, it is a place to launch her scorn for Waters's project and the prodigious movement it has spawned."

California students among the most successful on AP tests - latimes.com

California students among the most successful on AP tests - latimes.com:

"Report finds 21% of high school seniors had passed at least one Advanced Placement exam by 2009. The passing rate among Latinos and African Americans in the state also slightly increased."

California boasts one of the nation's highest percentages of public school students passing AP tests, but educators are concerned about a dramatic slowdown in the rate of students taking those college-level courses, according to an annual report released Wednesday.

In 2009, about 21% of California's senior class earned a score of 3 or higher on one or more Advanced Placement exams. The national rate was 16%. The tests are graded on a scale of 1 to 5, with scores of 3 and above accepted for college credit at many colleges and universities.

The number of high school students taking AP exams nationally almost doubled from 2001 to 2009, but course enrollments are slowing, particularly in California, said Trevor Packer, vice president of the College Board, which administers the tests and released the report.

In the last decade, California saw 8% average growth in AP course enrollment each year. In the 2008-2009 school year, that growth slowed by almost half, and the current year's growth is only 1%. California schools have been experiencing declines in enrollment in recent years.

"In the 2010 exams, we expect to see a further slowing down," Packer said.

Daily 49er - Our View- CCC system may offer 4-year degrees

Daily 49er - Our View- CCC system may offer 4-year degrees:

"Marty Block, San Diego State University professor, dean, and director turned Assemblyman is proposing a bill that would allow some California Community Colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees in nursing and other “high demand” subjects. “For the first time, in more than a decade, [SDSU] has said they will not admit all CSU qualified freshmen,” Block said, “So somebody has to provide them with that educational access.”

SDSU is not the only university applying this policy. With the budget crisis hitting the California State University system and University of California system the hardest, California’s higher education is cutting enrollment. Assemblyman Block seems to believe that allowing community colleges to award bachelor’s degrees would give California students access to the educational opportunities they need."

Calif. lawmakers question state agency spending - San Jose Mercury News

Calif. lawmakers question state agency spending - San Jose Mercury News:

"SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Agencies across state government spent tens of millions of dollars last year on office furniture, new vehicles and conferences, drawing the ire of state lawmakers who used a Wednesday hearing to criticize such spending as California grapples with an ongoing fiscal crisis.

The spending was compiled by the staff of an Assembly committee and showed, for example, that the state Department of Transportation spent more than $13 million buying non-emergency vehicles in the first half of 2009. The Department of Education spent nearly $1 million on meetings at a hotel.

Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, questioned the tens of thousands of dollars spent on office chairs made by the Prison Industry Authority.
'We're using free labor, but it seems like I could buy it cheaper from Office Depot,' he said.

Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, R-Thousand Oaks, said the expenditures look out of place when lawmakers asked Californians last year to pay higher taxes and vehicle license fees."

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News School Beat: Educational Assessments – Where Are The Parents?

BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News School Beat: Educational Assessments – Where Are The Parents?:

"While California struggles with an overwhelming budget deficit and faces potential lawsuits for inadequately providing for public education, the state, along with 39 other states and the District of Columbia, has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Education with the hope of qualifying for the so-called Race To The Top program.

This competitive grant process promises to award 4.35 billion dollars to the most successful states or consortia of states. It is estimated that California could receive up to $700 million from this grant, but even among those school districts in the state that signed a memorandum of understanding in support of the state’s application, it is unclear what will be required in order to be successful. Grants will be made in two rounds – the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010. California will learn in April, 2010 if its application qualified."