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

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

Gourmand hopes to transform D.C. school lunch

Jeff Mills once ran a three-star restaurant in New York and appeared on "Sex in the City."

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Jeff Mills, director of food services for D.C. schools, is shown with fifth-graders Tynique' Jackson (L.) and Qunay German (Susan Biddle/The Washington Post).

VALERIE STRAUSS

The Answer Sheet

A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

Posted at 6:30 AM ET, 03/24/2010

Disaster for Florida teachers: Senate Bill 6

A bill in the Florida Senate would go a long way to destroying the teaching profession in the state: It would eliminate job security, and link most of a teacher's pay to how well students perform on standardized tests. The bill takes to extremes the notion, supported by President Obama, of linking teacher evaluation to test scores.

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Posted by Valerie Strauss | Permalink | Comments (5)

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JAY MATHEWS

Class Struggle

What's Right and Wrong With Our Schools

Posted at 5:30 AM ET, 03/23/2010

Could schools cure our uncivil discourse?

"What has happened to the teaching of critical skills, decision-making based on weighing alternative policies or courses of action, and respect for those who hold differing opinions on local and national issues?"

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Posted by Jay Mathews | Permalink | Comments (16)

RECENT POSTS

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Katherine Bradley funding Dunn deal

The private funds that DCPS officials said would be used to hire former Obama White House communications director Anita Dunn will come from philanthropist Katherine Bradley, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee told the D.C. Council Monday. Bradley is donating $100,000 through the D.C. Public Education Fund, the non-profit set up by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to handle private contributions to school reform.

The Post reported Friday that Rhee had reached out to Dunn, one of the Washington's most accomplished Democratic media consultants, to help tell the school reform story more effectively. Rhee said that she and Dunn first spoke about a year ago, and that after she left her White House post in November, she and her firm, Squier Knapp Dunn, began advising DCPS on a pro bono basis.

"We've had a lot of challenges as it relates to our communications," Rhee said, adding that positive developments in the school system don't receive the attention they deserve. "We can't alw

EducationNews.org - EducationNewsToday

EducationNews.org - EducationNewsToday

EducationNewsToday

DPS fraud reports increasing

Detroit -- Acknowledging "rampant fraud" in the Detroit Public Schools, Inspector General John E. Bell Jr. on Tuesday detailed computer theft, misuse of nearly $23,000 at two high schools and falsified overtime claims

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Staff fighting Robert Bobb's plan for DPS

School board members, bus drivers and support staff in the Detroit Public Schools went on the offensive Tuesday, attacking the plans and actions of Robert Bobb, the district's emergency financial manager. ...

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Chiefs Press Education Secretary on ESEA Issues

State superintendents pose tough questions about flexibility and rural education, but generally support the ESEA-renewal blueprint....

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Judge: No school prom but lesbian's right violated

AP - The prom's still off at a Mississippi high school that canceled it instead of letting a lesbian student bring her girlfriend, but a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the district's actions did violate the teen's constitutional rights....

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Texas legislative panel ready to search for school finance fix

A special legislative committee on school finance, concerned about the bleak revenue outlook for public education, indicated Tuesday that it will be open to a wide range of funding ideas. ...

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50 test positive for TB exposure

Fifty students and faculty members tested positive for exposure to tuberculosis during a public health screening last week at Lilburn Middle School. ...

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CPS officials plan menu overhaul

Chicago public schools plan to ditch their daily nacho service in high school and get rid of doughnuts and Pop-Tarts for breakfast as part of a major nutritional overhaul of menus, according to interviews and documents examined by the Chicago Tribune. ...

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Students take over school

Two hands just aren't enough for a principal walking the halls....

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Baltimore County schools chief wins praise for raising achievement despite rise in poverty

Asked about the best days he experiences as Baltimore County schools superintendent, Joe A. Hairston rejects the premise of the question...

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Rewriting God and country

3.24.10 - As a culture war battleground, revision of the social studies curriculum standards in Texas isn't likely to stir the same level of rancor as abortion or gay marriage. ...

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One teacher’s cure for senioritis

An award-winning high school teacher in Virginia has come up with a cure for senioritis, that "crippling disease" that affects high school seniors in a big way from now until graduation. ...

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Gourmand hopes to transform D.C. school lunch

Jeff Mills once ran a three-star restaurant in New York and appeared on "Sex in the City." ...

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Closing schools affects communities as well as kids

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — In a neighborhood dotted with boarded up homes, trash and gang graffiti, McCoy Elementary has been an oasis....

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State senator urges closing the book on Texas state ed board

AUSTIN — It is time to consider abolishing the State Board of Education because its distractions over cultural wars are hurting public education, Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, said Tuesday....

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At Some New York Schools, Wait Lists Grow Longer

In the face of kindergarten overcrowding, moving to the right neighborhood no longer guarantees access to the right school. ...

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Seattle schools won't charge PTAs a fee on donations

A few days after Seattle Public Schools told parent groups they would be charged for giving money to schools, district officials said Monday that won't happen after all. ...

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Schools failing to guide young women into careers in science, math and technology

3.23.10 - Stephanie Rosenthal's elementary school teachers in Potomac, Md., gave her plenty of encouragement to pursue her interests in math and science but when she developed a passion for robotics early in high school, she had to chart her own course....

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Parents say special-ed kids falling victim in charter battle for space

Special education students are falling victim to the fierce battle to find space for charter schools inside city school buildings, parents and advocates say....

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Green Dot to close high school

Green Dot Public Schools, one of California's largest and most respected charter management organizations, plans to close one of its 16 Los Angeles campuses, officials announced Monday. ...

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Big-City Test Scores on Rise, Report Says

3.23.10 - A new report from a Washington-based advocacy group for urban districts sees progress among big-city students on state tests and NAEP. ...

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Ride It Out � InterACT

Ride It Out � InterACT

Ride It Out

MARCH 24, 2010

by ACT Guest Bloggers

Today’s Guest Blogger: Heather Wolpert-Gawron

(a.k.a. Tweenteacher)

Teaching is a daily exercise in, as a wrangler buddy of mine used to say, “getting back on that horse.” Each day teachers struggle, reflect, and try again to have success whether it’s with a failed lesson, a failed student, or this failed system. But to be a good teacher requires a daily attitude and conviction of “I will crack this puzzle,” for without that determination, we would never be able to uncover that which makes some students laugh, or work hard, or plan for a future they previously believed had no place for them.

In fact, it’s a common occurrence in your first year or so in teaching to go home dejected, many times in tears, asking yourself why this strategy didn’t work or this student didn’t succeed. Your nights are spent researching, brainstorming, planning, and throwing out the crumbled paper of previously made plans, in an attempt to finally see that light bulb of learning go off over some struggling student’s head. You finally go to sleep, if indeed you sleep at all, dreaming of possible solutions, thinking outside the box, only to finally have your eureka moment in your car’s rear view mirror on the way to work. Maybe today’s the day that you’ve cracked the code to their comprehension.

Teachers, real teachers, don’t give up on their fight. They don’t give up on their school and their community. Neither should real leaders.

But that’s just what 49th District Assemblyman Mike Eng was heard saying in an off-handed

Rise & Shine: Struggling district lacks functional parent council | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Struggling district lacks functional parent council | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Struggling district lacks functional parent council

by Philissa Cramer

• State Sen. Malcolm Smith said politics didn’t cause a charter school he founded to move. (Daily News)
• District 16’s parent council, which has two members and no president, can’t get anything done. (NY1)
• A school closure lawsuit is delaying high school decisions. (Daily News, Times, Post, Insideschools)
• Extra-long kindergarten waitlists have parents anxious. (GothamSchools, Times, Post, Daily News)
• The expanded School of One program is offering personalized math instruction to 240 students. (WNYC)
• The city school board approved $400 million in contracts to bus companies accused of corruption. (Post)
• All the mayor’s commissioners went bowling last night, and Joel Klein rolled a 126. (Post Page Six)
• More than 150 high school students competed at a high-level science fair yesterday. (Daily News)
• n Island parents got a rare audience with Chancellor Klein at a local PEP meeting. (S.I. Advance)
• New York City is one of few places whose school closures this year aren’t budget-related. (AP)
• When closed schools sit empty, communities suffer. (AP)
• The decision to close an Albany charter school will have wide-reaching effects. (Albany Times Union)
• The chairman of a chain of small schools offers a defense of charter schools. (L.A. Times)
• Chicago is launching an initiative to rid its schools of Pop Tarts and other junk foods. (Chicago Tribune)
• D.C. has hired a New York City restauranteur to revamp its school lunch program. (Washington Post)

Sacramento Press / When in doubt, fact-check it out - Sac Press holds research and fact-checking workshop

Sacramento Press / When in doubt, fact-check it out - Sac Press holds research and fact-checking workshop: "When in doubt, fact-check it out - Sac Press holds research and fact-checking workshop"

When in doubt, fact-check it out - Sac Press holds research and fact-checking workshop

Professor Dianne Heimer from the Sacramento City College Journalism Department spoke about the simple steps that can be taken to make sure that you are getting the right information in stories at Tuesday's researching and fact-checking workshop held at The Sacramento Press.

This important topic focused on helping writers learn how to recognize a reliable source and when to second-guess their facts. Heimer stressed the importance of the accuracy of facts and credibility, saying, "Factual inaccuracy in your writing can discredit your reputation and your publication's reputation."

She was able to talk about this further by demonstrating the importance of getting primary sources, such as an interview with someone directly involved, to enhance accuracy. Secondary sources are also good for getting information, but with the Internet so easily accessible, it is necessary to look at where the information is coming from.

"An easy trick is to look at the tail end of a web address' URL," she said. "Sites ending in .edu, .org and .gov are more credible."

Heimer stressed that while secondary sources can be a great asset, it is important to fact-check and still get firsthand accounts when possible.

The workshop went on to focus on the importance of fact-checking. She said

D.C. Vouchers Aren’t Vouchers � The Quick and the Ed

D.C. Vouchers Aren’t Vouchers � The Quick and the Ed

D.C. Vouchers Aren’t Vouchers

by Kevin Carey

For me, the Heritage Foundation is unavoidable. Not because it’s a player in education policy–George W. Bush’s 2001 push to expand federal control over K-12 schools effectively killed retrograde education conservatism, and Heritage has had little to offer on the topic since. I can’t escape it because I live at the intersection of 5th and D St. NE and Heritage is on the north side of Massachusetts Avenue between 3rd and 2nd. Every working day for the last nine years I’ve walked by the Heritage entrance in morning and again at night.
For a while there were a lot of SUVs with Texas plates and dark-tinted windows parked outside but things are quieter these days. Still, they’ve expanded steadily over the years. First they took over the adjacent building and turned into a dormitory for their interns. (In the summer they wear the preppiest clothes imaginable; it’s like a rainbow sherbet explosion, with bow ties.) Then they started a huge multi-year project to retrofit the building’s brick facade in columns and grey limestone. They’ve re-sodded and then re-ripped up the small front lawn on at least three separate occasions, including the last few weeks, closing the sidewalk and forcing pedestrians out into heavy rush hour traffic. It’s inconvenient and annoying but I take comfort in the fact that it also looks really expensive, and as such represents money not spent on pursuing delusions of imperial conquest or preventing poor people from getting life-saving medical procedures. Maybe if they’d gone with a cheaper grade of stone cladding or less polish on the brass bell logo embedded above the entrance, they could have peeled a few votes off the health care bill. This thought pleases me as I dodge homicidal taxis during the walk home.

March’s “The Best…” Lists | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

March’s “The Best…” Lists | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

citizens »

Mar242010

Larry Ferlazzo

March’s “The Best…” Lists

Filed under monthly best lists

Here’s my monthly round-up of “The Best…” lists I’ve posted in March (along with a couple I wrote in late February after I had published the January “round-up”):

The Best Online Resources To Learn About King Tut — February, 2010

The Best Resources For Showing Students Why They Should Continue Their Academic Career — February, 2010

The Best Sites To Learn About The Earthquake In Chile (& Possible Tsunami) — February, 2010

Golden Gate [X]press : Educators rally at the Capitol

Golden Gate [X]press : Educators rally at the Capitol

Educators rally at the Capitol by Amber Sandhu, staff writer MARCH 24, 2010 1:56 AM
A little over 1,000 students and faculty united in front of the Capitol to protest fee hikes and budget cuts. Four buses left SF State March 22 at 7 a.m. with approximately 90 students and 10 faculty members on board. Carlos Baron, professor in the department of theater arts, boarded a separate bus named "Lola," which included the popular puppets that were used for the March 4 rally. He feels that the use of "agitation-propaganda" helps to incite a response among people and gets the message across. Students came from different departments to help him carry the puppets in the protest. When marching with his students to the Capitol, Baron yelled into the megaphone "Draculator, Governator, you're a cruel incarcerator!" Baron said that he wished the issue with politicians could have been discussed in a civil matter, "but, we have to take it to the streets." A student dressed up as a skeleton to represent the old age of students graduating, another dressed as the "Draculator" to represent the government sucking the money out of schools. Nadia Conrad, 25, a political science major and actress for "Draculator," has been involved in organizing awareness for budget issues and education. She said there is money in California, but the priorities remain skewed. She added that

The Orion - Faculty lost; education suffers

The Orion - Faculty lost; education suffers

Faculty lost; education suffers

By Andrea Wagner

|

Published: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Updated: Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Strips of torn tape and nail holes on pale yellow walls decorate the empty half of an office about the size of a dorm room.

Midway down a row of offices in Trinity Hall, history Professor Timothy Sistrunk, shares space with an empty desk.

Last semester his colleague and friend Robert Archer, who shared an office with him for more than 14 years, was not re-assigned.

In another department, religious studies Professor Tom Parker retired after learning he would not be re-appointed.

Like Parker and Archer, Sistrunk is part of the adjunct faculty whose positions were never guaranteed and until last fall, it was not a big issue.

As California universities adjust to sparse budgets, temporary faculty is the first group of people hit.

“Far and away it’s the worst it’s been,” Parker said.

When people started talking about layoffs of temporary faculty, Parker and his colleagues thought it was a joke, he said.

There is no way the college can function without temporary faculty, he said.

More than 100 lecturers lost and counting

Chico State lost 108 temporary faculty starting fall semester, according to data reported by the California Faculty Association.