Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/21/2010

Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills | Philadelphia Inquirer | 05/21/2010

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Phila. schoolchildren lag in reading skills

In national urban testing, 61 percent of fourth graders scored below basic in reading.

Philadelphia schoolchildren fall into the middle of the pack or lag other pupils in 17 other big-city districts in reading, according to test scores released Thursday.

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Hispanic New York Project: You calling me assimilationist? By … | Educational New York

Hispanic New York Project: You calling me assimilationist? By … | Educational New York

Hispanic New York Project: You calling me assimilationist? By …

by Educational America

When a Latino makes strides to improve their lot by seeking higher education , they’re often labeled white-washed, Uncle Toms, etc. Just look around your neighborhood for examples or point your eyes in my direction as this happened to me, …

See the rest here:

Texas board adopts new primary school curriculum – Houston …

by Educational America

New York Times Texas board adopts new primary school curriculum Houston Chronicle AP sources: Graham, Reilly to head panel on spill By APRIL CASTRO AP Writer © 2010 The Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas – The State Board of Education has .

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DU CTLAT BLOG: The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education – May 20 …

by Educational America

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education – May 20, 2010 · http://www.jbhe.com/. Five African Americans Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is one of the nation’s most …

Follow this link:

AsburyParkEA.net » Blog Archive » The Morning Bell by NEA

by Educational America

The New York Times (5/11, Medina) reports that the New York “State Education Department and New York’s teachers’ unions have reached a deal to overhaul teacher evaluations and tie them to student test scores, brokering a compromise on an …..

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Amy Traub: "It's for the Kids' Education": New York Voters Support …

by Educational America

Governor David Paterson thinks he knows what’s on New Yorkers’ minds.

Read this article:

University of California: Few applicants on waiting lists offered spots - latimes.com

University of California: Few applicants on waiting lists offered spots - latimes.com

Few UC applicants on waiting lists offered spots By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times Of the more than 10,000 put on the lists for the fall, fewer than 2,000 are offered enrollment — and only for campuses in Davis or Santa Barbara. Schwarzenegger's proposal on prison healthcare draws criticism By Larry Gordon, Los Angeles Times Opponents say the plan to put inmate care in the hands of the UC system and medical schools could put doctors at risk and lead to high costs and malpractice suits. Cal State lost 10% of teaching force, union says By Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times There were about 2,500 fewer faculty members this month than last May on the 23 campuses, the equivalent of 1,230 full-time positions. On at least one campus the data didn't reflect recent hires.

EDUCATION Headlines from L.A. Now Students protest UCLA’s choice of commencement speaker -- again05/21/2010, 4:15 p.m. Boy, 15, collapses and dies while playing basketball with his brother at Crescenta Valley High School05/21/2010, 3:10 p.m. Pau Gasol teams with L.A. firefighters to teach safety tips at Boyle Heights school [Updated]05/20/2010, 8:37 p.m. Lawsuit filed in 2006 sexual abuse case involving 13-year-old girl at San Bernardino middle school05/20/2010, 6:03 p.m. Lawsuit aims to overhaul school funding system, provide schools with more dollars [Updated]05/20/2010, 11:56 a.m. New president for Los Angeles Harbor College05/19/2010, 6:05 p.m.

Cerritos City Council outraged by State’s raid of $11.8 million from Cerritos Redevelopment Agency

Cerritos City Council outraged by State’s raid of $11.8 million from Cerritos Redevelopment Agency

Cerritos City Council outraged by State’s raid of $11.8 million from Cerritos Redevelopment Agency

The State of California required the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency to make a payment of $11,812,007 to the Los Angeles County Auditor on May 10. The payment is a result of the State’s decision to raid $2.05 billion in local redevelopment funds.
“The State of California continues to live beyond its means and California’s cities are paying the consequences,” said Cerritos Mayor Joseph Cho, Ph.D., “State legislators must address
the State budget’s structural deficit instead of continuously raiding funds from local government coffers.”
The Cerritos City Council expressed outrage over the taking of the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency funds as there will be a significant negative impact on local projects. As a result of the loan, the development of the planned Cuesta Villas affordable senior housing project will be delayed.
Mayor Cho said, “Local seniors and school children will suffer as a result of the delay in the Cuesta Villas project. The affordable housing seniors so desperately need will take longer to complete due to the loss of funds. The estimated $3 million in annual revenue that Cuesta Villas will generate for the ABC Unified School District is indefinitely delayed,

CDE Denied Federal Data Grant - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

CDE Denied Federal Data Grant - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Issues Statement in Response to Federal Denial of Grant to Expand California's Education Data System

SACRAMENTO -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today issued the following statement after California was not named as a winning state in the federal competition for a grant from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education:

"California is strongly supportive of President Obama's education reform goals, including improving teacher effectiveness, adopting standards to ensure that all students are ready for college and careers, turning around lowest-performing schools, and strengthening the collection and use of education data. Using data is the key to making improvements in all four of these areas of school improvement.

"California's education data system needs to be stronger and more comprehensive. We know what we need to do to make our education data system world class, and we are ready and willing to do this work. Given the severity of California's ongoing budget crisis, we pursued the IES grant to help us make these critical improvements.

"It is deeply disappointing that states that seem to be further along in the development of comprehensive educational data systems were given preference in the IES grant evaluation process, rather than states, like California, that truly need the federal investment to better serve California students.

"I will review the feedback from federal officials about our application when it is available, and will continue to advocate for support for our data system from the U.S. Department of Education. I will also continue to make the case that here in California we also need to live up to our commitment to students and invest state dollars to make critically needed improvements to our longitudinal education data system."

Background: IES grants, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, are intended to support states with the development and implementation of systems that promote the linking of data across time and databases, from early childhood into career, including matching teachers to students, while protecting student privacy and confidentiality consistent with applicable privacy protection laws.

Nearly 1,000 kindergartners won’t get a spot at zoned school | GothamSchools

Nearly 1,000 kindergartners won’t get a spot at zoned school | GothamSchools

Nearly 1,000 kindergartners won’t get a spot at zoned school

by Elizabeth Green

The distance that 67 students re-routed from P.S. 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, (marked A) to a mix of five other schools will trek.

Kindergartners-to-be jilted by neighborhood elementary schools too crowded to hold them will receive a new school assignment in the mail this weekend, the Department of Education announced today.

Some of the new assignments will send families to less-coveted schools just down the block. Others will send the 5- and 6-year-olds on treks as arduous as a nearly 3-mile hike from Sunset Park to Red Hook, in the case of four unlucky Brooklyn families.

Letters with alternate matches are going out to 980 families, more than double the number that received them last year. But the matches are a better option than what seemed possible in March, when 1,885 families were told they would be on a waiting list. Schools have since found spots for many of those families.

None of the decisions are final, and all families will remain on their wait lists even while they receive their new assignment. The city expects some spots will open up as children are admitted to gifted and talented programs and private schools, schools spokesman Jack Zarin-Rosenfeld said.

The vast bulk of redirected children live in Queens, where 432 families zoned for 16 schools will be re-routed to a group of 18 less-crowded alternatives. (Brooklyn comes next with 220 redirected families, then Manhattan with 179, 101 in the Bronx, and 48 in Staten Island.)

Also:

• 37 children zoned for the Upper West Side’s coveted P.S. 87 will go to nearby P.S. 75 and P.S. 84 instead.
• One giant batch of 200 Queens children will be shipped to a new school opening in September in Elmhurst. They are being sent by schools including A-rated P.S. 143 in the Corona section of Queens.
• Four kindergartners-to-be zoned for P.S. 169 in Sunset Park are being told to report instead to the

Remainders: Klein’s approval rating drops nine points in new poll

by Maura Walz

• Chancellor Joel Klein’s approval rating dropped nine points since February in a new poll.
• In a reversal, the city will continue to cover the tabs of students who don’t pay their lunch money.
• The USDOE gave New York $20 million to improve the state’s data systems.
• On WNYC, Ed Sec Duncan worried about layoffs, shorter school days and disappearing summer school.
• To be judged well, teachers should forget their anti-cheating strategies, Arthur Goldstein writes.
• A Klein aide’s Bloomberg connections may have doomed his bid to lead the Empire State Pride Agenda.
• A Teach for America member likes the group, but hopes it isn’t around in another 20 years.
• State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery’s challenger is taking aim at her record on charter schools.
• A union columnist breaks down the data on IS 588 and Kings Collegiate Charter School.
• Rising sixth graders will find out their middle school destinations starting Monday.
• Do rising NAEP reading scores mean the city’s promotion policies are working? Paul Peterson wonders.
• And Haiti’s schools are slowly re-opening, though most in temporary buildings.

After test tampering concerns, Regents exams will be scanned

by Anna Phillips

High school Regents exams have long come under criticism for being easy to game: Teachers grade their own students’ work, and checks against cheating are flawed. That could change next year with a new rule voted in by the Board of Regents.
Rather than rely on a group of teachers and state officials to examine tests for grade tampering, the city will begin scanning students’ multiple choice answer sheets next year. State officials said scanning tests will let

Ethics of UC Berkeley's gene testing questioned Education — San Francisco Bay Area Schools, Performance, Profiles, News — SFGate

Education — San Francisco Bay Area Schools, Performance, Profiles, News — SFGate

Ethics of UC Berkeley's gene testing questioned

Genetic watchdog groups want UC Berkeley to suspend plans to ask incoming freshmen and transfer students...

Sacrificing educated workforce won't help

In 1790, President George Washington proposed to Congress the establishment of a national university. ...

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San Francisco Ballet School Student Showcase

The San Francisco Ballet School Student Showcase this week is not your run-of-the-mill recital - it's a chance to scout star dancers...

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ScholarMatch.org offers aid to needy students

The 80 or so stories that students posted on a new San Francisco-based Web site are for the most part deeply personal, summing up...

Chronicle 5.21.10 4:00 AM

Schools, students sue state over funding

More than 60 children and nine school districts across California filed a historic lawsuit Thursday, arguing that elected officials...

Chronicle 5.21.10 4:00 AM

Secretary Duncan Visits Bladensburg Elementary to Promote the Teacher Incentive Fund – ED.gov Blog

Secretary Duncan Visits Bladensburg Elementary to Promote the Teacher Incentive Fund – ED.gov Blog

Secretary Duncan Visits Bladensburg Elementary to Promote the Teacher Incentive Fund

Secretary Duncan listens to teacher Bridgette Blue speaking at the teachers roundtable

“In the first year, the financial incentives were attractive but as time went on, the program became a way to help improve my teaching practice and focus on student achievement.” This statement was one of the many comments shared by Bladensburg Elementary School teachers and administrators, Prince George’s County school district officials and local union officials who joined Secretary Arne Duncan for a roundtable discussion on Bladensburg’s implementation of the Financial Incentive Rewards for Supervisors and Teachers (FIRST) program.
FIRST is funded by a five-year, $17 million Teacher Incentive Fund grant awarded to Prince George’s County in 2007. Prince George’s County developed FIRST as a voluntary program with union support and input from teachers and administrators who served on planning committees. The program rewards participating teachers and administrators for school improvement and considers factors like student test gains, positive classroom performance evaluations, and professional activities such as mentoring other teachers or becoming certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Lewis Robinson, Executive Director of the Prince George’s County Educators Association, and a partner in the development of the FIRST program, credited the program for creating better collaboration and improving student achievement.
Following the roundtable discussion, Principal Rhonda Pitts, Lewis Robinson and FIRST participating teachers Bridgette Blue and Bernadine Reid, joined Duncan for a national media call to discuss Prince George’s FIRST program and kick off the competition for this year’s $437 million Teacher Incentive Fund program

Deputy Secretary Miller to Visit Japan

by jreeves

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller is traveling to Japan to discuss the importance of international education and exchange. His weeklong visit will include stops in Tokyo, Sapporo, Hiroshima and Kyoto. Miller will participate in a Town Hall meeting at Hitotsubashi University on Monday, May 24. He will also deliver a keynote speech and [...]

Todd May
Office of Communications and Outreach