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Thursday, March 11, 2010

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Mar. 11

Submitted by Erika Owens on Thu, 03/11/2010 - 10:33 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink
Phila. principal defended; cartoon denounced The Inquirer
An Inquirer political cartoon that showed South Philly Principal LaGreta Brown asleep at her desk caused quite a stir at the SRC meeting.
See also: Cartoon attacking principal ripped at SRC meeting Daily News
Phila. School Officials Irate Over Newspaper's Cartoon Portrayal KYW
Opportunity to learn, rush to equity The Notebook blog
In this guest blog post Herbert Kohl laid out things we should think about when considering reauthorizing NCLB.
Teachers’ union endorses Onorato PA2010.com
The PSEA endorsed the Allegheny County Executive in the Democratic primary for governor.
Parent Teacher Conferences A Very Public Education blog
The tightly scheduled conferences don't leave much time to really discuss any issues students may be having.
Make Every School a Charter? Philly School Search blog
Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.
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Education Research Report: Peer Victimization Linked to Youth Suicide

Education Research Report: Peer Victimization Linked to Youth Suicide:

"Peer Victimization Linked to Youth Suicide

Youth who are threatened with or experience physical violence, or who are injured by peers report more suicidal thoughts and behavior than non-victimized youth, according to a study released in the July 19th online edition of the Journal of Pediatrics. Conducted by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the study documents a significant connection between this type of peer victimization and youth suicide.

Scientists measured physical violence by peers, a form a peer victimization that can occur during bullying and other incidents, and the relationship to suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Findings show that youth threatened or injured by a peer were 2.4 times more likely to report suicidal thoughts, and 3.3 times more likely to report suicidal behavior than non-victimized peers."
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SCUSD Observer: Community forum tonight at Kit Carson

SCUSD Observer: Community forum tonight at Kit Carson

Community forum tonight at Kit Carson

Superintendent Raymond continues his series of meetings on proposed budget cuts tonight from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Kit Carson Middle School in East Sacramento.
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Draft common core finally is out The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

Draft common core finally is out

Tags: , , 
Posted in Common Core standards
California got its first glimpse Wednesday of draft common-core standards in math and English language arts that, sight-unseen, the Legislature has put the state on a path to adopting this summer.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell immediately praised the “rigorous” draft standards as “well organized to give a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn … to succeed in both college and the workforce.” And a number of national organizations, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the American Federation of Teachers, endorsed them.
But others expressed caution and criticism, particularly about some of the math standards and sequence of learning them. Among those was Ze’ev Wurman, a high-tech executive from Palo Alto who helped develop California’s standards and assessments in the mid-1990s.
(Read more and comment on this post)
By John Fensterwald on March 11th, 2010

State replaces 3 dozen schools on ‘worst’ list

Posted in No Child Left Behind, Turning around failing schools
The State Board of Education will be asked today to approve a list of 188  failing schools that is significantly different from those that the State Department of Education proposed on Monday.
Education officials have dropped 37 middle and high schools from the original list (see end of this post for the names). Because of faulty methodology, many of those schools were higher performing that the schools that have replaced them. Whether the state has finally got it right is another matter.
(Read more and comment on this post)
By John Fensterwald on March 10th, 2010
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Schools Matter: Imagine in Trouble...Again

Schools Matter: Imagine in Trouble...Again

Imagine in Trouble...Again

A few days ago I predicted the Imagine Schools would be in the news again in roughly a week if they could keep up their three scandals in less than a month pace.

Well, it's been two days and an Imagine-run school in Nevada is under investigation.

From the KTNV news:

Parents of students at a charter school in North Las Vegas are concerned about an investigation into the possible mishandling of fires on campus.
The "Imagine100 Academy of Excellence" may not be living up to its name.
Action News has learned the North Las Vegas Fire Department is investigating the charter school.
"I've heard one of the rooms caught on fire," says parent Clemon Hudson.
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In-depth Analysis of Race to the Top Finalists Partnership for Learning

Partnership for Learning

Student success is at the heart of our work. We bring business, education and community leaders together to build a stronger public education system. Our goal is for Washington state to lead the nation in preparing every student to succeed in college and the world of work.
EDUCATION ARTICLES

    Gov. Gregoire says legislators must stay after if schools bills stall

    Posted on 10 Mar
    Seattle Times
    View this article >>

    New national math, English standards drafted

    Posted on 10 Mar
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    View this article >>

    Governor makes principals use ‘dance of the lemons'

    Posted on 09 Mar
    Tacoma News Tribune
    View this article >>
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WHAT'S NEW
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Rise & Shine: School closure fight could delay HS placements | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: School closure fight could delay HS placements | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: School closure fight could delay HS placements

by Philissa Cramer
  • A judge in the school closure lawsuit ruled that high school decisions shouldn’t go out yet. (Daily News)
  • Students and parents in Riverdale are fighting off a dress code for a second time. (Riverdale Press)
  • Proposed national standards would guide what all students learn in reading and math. (Times)
  • The Daily News says the proposed national standards will raise the bar for all students.
  • Nicholas Kristof says the world needs a new of Teach for America — in developing countries. (Times)
  • Doug Lemov, from Elizabeth’s Times article, describes his “Taxonomy of Teaching.” (NPR)
  • Kansas City will close half of its schools after this year for budget reasons. (Times)
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An Inconvenient Truth In Math: A Very Viral Video - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

An Inconvenient Truth In Math: A Very Viral Video - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

An Inconvenient Truth In Math: A Very Viral Video

March 11, 2010 5:00 PM
BlackboardTeal.jpg
Math Wars:
The Top Viral Video On This Topic

--And It Ain't a Pretty Picture For "New Math" aka Everyday or Terc Math--


With national standards in Math being introduced this week, I thought it might make sense to show one of the top videos (it's not new-new, but message works) in the Math war saga since the teachers AND knowing which Math program/approach to teach with is more important than the standards themselves.

We thought we would start with this video to get the conversation going . . . what has been your experience with the different Math programs, as a teacher, parent or student? What have you heard?

Since we received more questions about teacher and trainer Kathleen Jalapour's post on The Daily Riff the other day, we would highly recommend to check it out if you missed it and want to learn more about Singapore Math. She makes understanding the concepts very easy to us regular folk. Click here to link :"Singapore Math: How I Learned To Love The Numbers".


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

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

MoCo warns about larger classes, layoffs

Montgomery Superintendent Jerry Weast (TWP).













Should this man lead a school system?

The president of the Detroit Board of Education is a man named Otis Mathis III. His biography says:
He was raised in Southwest Detroit and still lives there with his wife, with whom he has six children.
He is a “Vietnam-era veteran.”
He earned a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Wayne State University.
He served as Wayne County Commissioner.
He was a substitute teacher for Detroit Public Schools.
He was executive director of the Detroit Veterans Center.
He was elected president of the school board by his colleagues in January by a 10-1 vote.

It doesn’t tell you that he was a whiz at math in school, or that he had a reading disability identified in fourth grade that placed him in special education, or that he still has a problem expressing thoughts in writing.
Continue reading this post »

School budget cuts not such big news

[This is my Local Living section column for March 11, 2010.]
You saw the headline on the front of our Metro section recently: “Deep budget cuts approved for Prince George’s schools.” The news from Northern Virginia was much the same: “Fairfax County schools chief proposes dramatic budget cuts” and “Proposed Arlington schools budget cuts back in many areas.”
I have been reading stories like this in the Post for nearly 40 years. They have become a ritual. We think that readers want to know what is being done with their tax dollars in their local jurisdictions’ most important government service, education, and how much more they might have to pay next year.
All that is fine. I just wish the stories did not convey such a strong impression of telling us how schoolchildren are doing, or will be doing, because the stories give few or no clues to that important matter.
Continue reading this post »

The Shaw redemption

Last winter, several eighth-graders presented Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee with what was likely an unprecedented request: add a ninth grade so they could stay at their middle school, Shaw@Garnet-Patterson.
The students said they liked the change of culture that new principal Brian Betts had brought to Shaw--a 2008 merger of two struggling middle schools--located in Ward 1's U Street neighborhood. They wanted more of Betts and his program before they moved on to high school.
Rhee said yes, and about 100 students signed on. She also told my colleague Jay Mathews that it was a one-time thing. "It's maybe not the right decision for the system," Rhee said, "but it is the right decision for those kids."
Rhee has now granted the Shaw kids another extension, and will add a 10th grade this fall. Spokeswoman Jennifer Calloway said Rhee made the decision after meeting with the students again.
Continue reading this post »

Chief Justice responds to GU Law professor

As reported in this paper and others, the news media was briefly distracted last week by a rumor that Chief Justice John Roberts was going to step down for health reasons.
The rumor was spread by Georgetown Law students, who had heard it from a professor, who had made it up. Professor Peter Tague planted the canard in class as part of a lesson on the credibility of sources. By the time he explained that the information was false, students had spread the story into cyberspace.
On Tuesday, speaking to Alabama law students, Roberts replied.
"I do have to announce something," Roberts told the students. "Apparently the professor who said that has been so overwhelmed, he's decided to leave teaching. I feel sorry about it, but what can you do."
Students laughed. It was hard to know, though, if Roberts was joking.
Has Tague, a tenured professor, resigned? Was Roberts planting a false rumor about the man who had planted a false rumor about him?
A Georgetown Law spokeswoman said Tague was not resigning, without further elaboration.
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