Friday, April 16, 2010

Florida Governor Splits With G.O.P. on Teacher Pay - NYTimes.com

Florida Governor Splits With G.O.P. on Teacher Pay

By TRIP GABRIEL and DAMIEN CAVE

Published: April 15, 2010

Enlarge This ImageMIAMI — Gov. Charlie Crist has been jawboned and buttonholed as he has traveled around the state in recent days, and his office was deluged with 120,000 messages. Passions have not run so high in Florida, the governor said, since the controversy over ending the life of Terri Schiavo in 2005.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In Miami this week, Leinad Coya, a seventh-grade teacher, protested the controversial bill that Governor Crist vetoed Thursday.

Enlarge This Image

Steve Cannon/Associated Press

A teacher, Scott Whittle, left, discussed a sweeping education overhaul with Gov. Charlie Crist, right, on Tuesday in Tallahassee.

This time, the point of contention was eliminating tenure for Florida public school teachers and tying their pay and job security to how well their students were learning.

On Thursday, Mr. Crist picked a side, vetoing a bill passed last week by the Florida Legislature that would have introduced the most sweeping teacher pay changes in the nation.

The veto puts Mr. Crist, a moderate Republican, at odds with his party base in the Republican-controlled Legislature. His decision has also renewed speculation that he might drop out of the Republican primary for a United States Senate seat and run in the general election as an independent. For months, he has been trailing the more conservative Republican candidate, Marco Rubio, a Tea Party favorite, in polls.

Mr. Crist said Thursday that his decision was not political.

Charter Extension Denied to Low-Scoring Stanford School

by By CAROL POGASH

Responding to low test scores, the Ravenswood school board denied a charter extension to a K-through-12 school created and overseen by Stanford University.

Despite Budget Woes, University Still Has Money for Bottled Water

by By SCOTT JAMES

The University of California may be in horrible budget straits, but it still has spent about $2 million in recent years on brand-name bottled water.

National Briefing | Rockies: Wyoming: Ex-Radical Sues Over College Speech

by By DAN FROSCH

William Ayers filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against the University of Wyoming over its decision to bar him from speaking there.

Study Skills | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Study Skills

“15 Infographics About Taxes”

by Larry Ferlazzo

I haven’t gotten around to making a “The Best…” list about taxes (maybe by next April 15th!), but here’s the next best thing….

Educational Social Networks

by Larry Ferlazzo

Ning announced today that they would no longer off hosted networks for free. Quite a few schools and education groups use Ning, so I thought I’d remind readers that I have a list of alternatives titled

“Water Economics”

“Timeline Of Environmental Milestones”

The Best Sites For Learning About The Volcano In Iceland

Parent voices concern over school changes | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/15/2010

Parent voices concern over school changes

By Kristen A. Graham

Inquirer Staff Writer

Some parents whose children's schools will be radically restructured in September have a message for the Philadelphia School District:
Don't turn us into a charter school.
That was the message one mother carried to the School Reform Commission Wednesday.
Stetson Middle School mother Vilma Cartegena said she spoke on behalf of a group of concerned parents whose children attend the school, on B Street in Kensington.
"They are not very happy when they hear the rumors that the school is going to be turned into a charter school," Cartegena told the commission through a translator.
The district's Renaissance schools initiative will dramatically restructure 14 of the district's lowest-performing schools in September. The schools will open with longer school days and years and Saturday instruction. Teachers will have to reapply for their jobs, and no more than half can be rehired.
Five schools will be under the direct supervision of Superintendent Arlene Ackerman. Nine, including Stetson, will be run by outside managers.
All but one of the outside managers eligible to run the schools plan to turn them into charters, though they will have to accept all students currently eligible to attend the schools.
The prospect of a charter upsets Cartegena, who said parents were confused and unclear on what the model

Judge questions need for equal L. Merion schools

The federal judge hearing the case of nine South Ardmore students who say race was used in a redistricting plan for the Lower Merion School District called into question Wednesday the central premise of the plan.

N.J. education chief set to work with Camden

State Education Commissioner Bret Schundler said Wednesday that he would explore working with Camden officials in turning around the city's troubled public schools, an effort he said could become a model for reform.

Education - San Jose Mercury News

News > Education

San Jose State to lay off 76 staff and eliminate 49 positions in budget crunch

Faced with an $18 million shortfall, San Jose State University announced Thursday that it will lay off 76 staff, eliminate 49 vacant positions, reduce part-time faculty and cut operating expenses. SJSU is midway through a two-year effort to shrink its base budget to $263 million, due to reductions in state funding.

To cut costs, SJSU to lay off 76 staff and eliminate 49 positions

UC Berkeley acceptances from outside California hit record high

Herhold: Teen's death-by-bullying warns us about our own children

UCSC to suspend community studies program

Fisher: Giving children a gift of the stars

Stanford stress ranked #1 by those who don't know

Seven South Bay and Peninsula school districts hold mail-only tax elections

Santa Clara County schools superintendent gets mixed marks

San Jose Great Bunny Rescue was a success

Protest over 'Mount Pleasant' book: Poizner declines to apologize

Fisher: Hip-hop stars find kids' letters persuasive

Education - latimes.com About 16% of students at La Crescenta high school agree to drug tests

Education - latimes.com

EDUCATION
Headlines from L.A. Now

About 16% of students at La Crescenta high school agree to drug tests04/15/2010, 8:04 a.m.
Cal State Stanislaus president says documents stolen, welcomes attorney general inquiry04/14/2010, 6:59 p.m.
Two fires break out at Birmingham High School04/14/2010, 7:01 a.m.
L.A. school officials approve job-saving pact that shortens school year04/13/2010, 6:09 p.m.
Students say they found documents relating to Sarah Palin fundraiser at Cal State Stanislaus04/13/2010, 2:38 p.m.

More ...

The Education Report Oakland parents strike, demand teacher’s removal

The Education Report

Oakland parents strike, demand teacher’s removal

By Katy Murphy
Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 8:18 pm in OUSD central office, elementary schools,families, parents, teachers
5 Comments »

Lazear Elementary School strike. Photo by Kristopher Skinner/Bay Area News Group

Parents at Lazear Elementary went on strike today, which meant they kept their kids out of school. Only 60 of about 300 children showed up in the morning.

The protesting parents said they’ve filed complaints about a problematic third-grade teacher for more than a year, and nothing has happened. They said they were tired of hearing about “the process.”

On the other end of the teacher firing spectrum, parents and teachers at Claremont Middle School last night expressed shock and horror that one of their star, go-getter teachers — a newbie, without job protections — received a dismissal notice. As is often the case with these first- and second-year teachers, she was apparently released without even knowing why. (Lillian Mongeau from Oakland North wrote about it in more detail.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Education Research Report: US needs better-trained math teachers to compete globally

US needs better-trained math teachers to compete globally

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

Ω

Math teachers in the United States need better training if the nation's K-12 students are going to compete globally, according to international research released today by a Michigan State University scholar.

William Schmidt, University Distinguished Professor of education, found that prospective U.S. elementary and middle-school math teachers are not as prepared as those from other countries. And this, combined with a weak U.S. math curriculum, produces similarly weak student achievement, he said.

The Teacher Education Study in Mathematics, or TEDS-M, is by far the largest of its kind, surveying more than 3,300 future teachers in the United States and 23,244 future teachers across 16 countries. Schmidt led the U.S. portion of the project.

"We must break the cycle in which we find ourselves," said Schmidt, who presented his findings at a

Budget crisis threatens to kick more San Diego children off the bus | California Watch

Budget crisis threatens to kick more San Diego children off the bus

April 16, 2010 | Corey G. Johnson

For years, along the coast of Northern San Diego County, parents of middle school students have paid about $500 a year so that their children can ride the school bus to classes throughout the San Dieguito Union High School District.

Photo by Charles Thompson

But the budget crisis has come a' knocking. And those buses, like so many others, may soon be going, going, gone.

District Superintendent Ken Noah met with parents and officials late yesterday to discuss the pending changes to the school bus program. According to the North County Times, state officials have told Noah that the matching funds usually provided to districts for transportation may soon be no more. So the district must either come up with the $483,000 that the state usually paid, either by doubling the fees charged to parents or by dipping deeper into existing operating funds.

It costs roughly $1 million for school transportation in San Dieguito. Busing is already slim, as only middle schoolers get to ride from home to school. Neither high schoolers nor the elementary school students that feed into San Dieguito get bus services. The district has slightly more than 12,500 total students.

Steve Ma, associate superintendent for business services, told the Times that using

Dan Walters: Tax debate heats up on Tax Day - Opinion - SanLuisObispo.com

Dan Walters: Tax debate heats up on Tax Day

By Dan Walters | dwalters@sacbee.com

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April 15 used to be simply the day that federal and state income tax returns were due.

However, with political angst running amok, it's been transformed into Tax Day with capital letters, pitting those who believe they're taxed too much by wasteful governments against those who contend that taxes are too low and vital services are dying.

Thus, hundreds of tea party tax protesters gathered at the Capitol on Thursday while union leaders and liberal politicians ramped up their pro-tax rhetoric.

Call The Bee's Dan Walters, (916) 321-1195. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/walters

The California Teachers Association touted its pending ballot measure that would repeal some big corporate tax loopholes that the Legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger enacted last year as they temporarily hiked personal income, sales and car taxes.

Meanwhile, the union-backed March for California's Future, which entered Sacramento County on Thursday and will arrive at the Capitol next week, trumpeted a $40 billion

Palin Contract Stolen? Calif. Students Say 'No'

A California university president says a portion of a contract between a school foundation and Sarah Palin for an upcoming speech was stolen from an administrator's office. Students say they found pages of the contract in a campus trash bin. (April 15)

A hostile Arizona - latimes.com

A hostile Arizona

The state's harsh anti-immigration bill goes too far. What's needed is national reform.

Earlier this week, Arizona lawmakers passed anti-immigration legislation that is unique in its stringency and harshness. The bill would strongly encourage police officers to engage in racial profiling by ordering them to check the status of people they merely suspectsuspect of being in the U.S. illegally. Even legal immigrants, in a move that harks back to fascist Europe, would be required to carry their papers at all times or risk arrest. Apparently Arizona legislators have forgotten Proposition 187, the 1994 California ballot initiative. That measure, popular with a frustrated public but ultimately deemed unconstitutional, would have cut off services, including healthcare and public education, for illegal immigrants. Arizonans have forgotten the lawsuits, national outrage and political backlash.

Although the California and Arizona measures are different, the frustration with federal apathy that fuels them is the same. Arizona is hostile to illegal immigrants because it is the main point of entry to the U.S. for migrants coming in from Mexico. (Californian hysteria softened after the San Diego border was fortified in 1994 and migration routes shifted to Arizona and Texas).

Some of the most established trails from Mexico crisscross private property in Arizona. Homes along these trails are sometimes burgled and vandalized; property is damaged. Some trails are littered with empty water bottles and human waste; trash, diapers, cigarette boxes and discarded backpacks. These are thoroughfares not just for job-seekers but for human traffickers and gun-toting drug smugglers.

The sense of peril at the border has been heightened by the killing last month of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz. Krentz was known for aiding migrants who landed on his property dehydrated, hurt and hungry. Tracks from the scene where he and his dog were shot led back toward Mexico.

Ravenswood board denies Stanford New Schools a new charter - San Jose Mercury News

Ravenswood board denies Stanford New Schools a new charter

By Jessica Bernstein-Wax

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 04/15/2010 07:44:52 PM PDT

Updated: 04/15/2010 11:27:58 PM PDT

Hundreds of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park elementary and high school students may have to leave their charter schools next year after the Ravenswood City School District board decided not to renew Stanford New Schools' application for a new five-year charter Wednesday night.

Trustees spent about three hours discussing the application and hearing numerous comments from parents, children and community members at the standing-room-only meeting before voting 3-2 against the new charter at about 9:30 p.m., School Board Member Larry Moody said Thursday. Board members John Bostic and Marcelino Lopez voted to grant the application from Stanford, which runs East Palo Alto Academy Elementary School and East Palo Alto Academy High School in Menlo Park.

"The elementary school just has poor data," Moody said. "The charter school petition says you've got five years to demonstrate that you are providing equal to or greater service than the local public schools — with that provision they failed."

However, board members directed Superintendent Maria De La Vega to work with Stanford officials on a proposal

Michelle Obama tours California community farm - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Michelle Obama tours California community farm

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 13:41:00 04/16/2010

Filed Under: Politics, Diplomacy, Foreign affairs & international relations, Agriculture

LOS ANGELES – US First Lady Michelle Obama toured a community farm in California to promote her campaign against childhood obesity as she arrived back in the United States after her first solo foreign trip.

Obama, who had earlier this week made a surprise stop in Haiti on her way to Mexico, was shown around the New Roots Community Farm in San Diego by two farmers and called for healthy foods to be made easily available.

"Healthy children come from a place, a place that is a healthy community," Obama said.

"If a family lives in a neighborhood with a grocery store nearby, it is simple, they are more likely to put fresh fruits and vegetables on the table because they will have access to it."

The event was used to announce a partnership between the popular First Lady's "Let's Move!" campaign and the California Endowment's Building

Learn from Race to Top failure - Bee Editorials - Modbee.com

Learn from Race to Top failure

Education reformers entered the national Race to the Top grant competition hopeful that California would be among the winners. Alas, the state wasn't among the finalists, and ranked 27th in the scoring among the 41 states that applied.

Rather than give up, reformers need to learn from the outcome of the application process, which proved useful in exposing the state's strengths and weaknesses.

On the plus side, California had strong support from the higher education community, parents, foundations, business organizations, and researchers, and it scored well for its long history in setting academic standards and aligning assessments to those standards. The state scored low on developing data systems to link student and teacher data to measure student academic improvement and teacher effectiveness. Reviewers also noted that the state does not collect data on developing, compensating, promoting, granting tenure to, and removing educators.

California's lag in these data areas is directly attributable to teacher union opposition. The California Teachers Association has long resisted attempts to tie teacher pay and ratings to student performance, arguing that such measurements are arbitrary and misleading. As a result, the CTA discouraged local union chapters from signing on. The state in turn