Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Seton Hall provost is named one-year interim president | NJ.com

Seton Hall provost is named one-year interim president

Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 1:19 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 1:50 PM

The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
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Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerSeton Hall University

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SOUTH ORANGE — Seton Hall University provost Dr. Gabriel Esteban has been named to a one-year term as interim president of the University, school officials announced today.

Esteban's term begins July 1 when current president Monsignor Robert Sheeran steps down.

The University named two finalists to replace Sheeran in April, but both have since withdrawn.

"We are extremely fortunate to have such a proven administrator leading our University at this time," Kurt Borowsky, chair of the Board of Regents, wrote in an e-mail.

Esteban was appointed provost in August 2007. He also served as dean of the College of Business. Before Seton Hall, Esteban worked at the University of Central Arkansas

Decision expected soon in Newark Central Ward council runoff between Bell, Sharif

By David Giambusso/The Star-Ledger

June 16, 2010, 12:31PM

NEWARK — A decision could come as early as Thursday night in the hotly contested Central Ward council race, according to Essex County leaders. "I would say in about an hour or so, I will know how many ballots will be counted."said Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin today. As of Tuesday night, challenger Darrin Sharif was 25 votes ahead... Full story »

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Newark schools superintendent waits to see if contract will be renewed

By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk

June 16, 2010, 6:52AM

NEWARK — Schools superintendent Clifford Janey's contract states that the state's education commissioner is required to tell him by Sept. 1 if his three-year contract will be renewed in 2011, and the state has not given any indication to their leanings, a report on NJ Spotlight said. The superintendent for the district, controlled by the state since 1995, is... Full story »

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Two Professors Try to Redefine Professor Quality � The Quick and the Ed

Two Professors Try to Redefine Professor Quality

by Forrest Hinton

Neither student course evaluations nor student results on curriculum-aligned standardized tests are good predictors of professor quality. In fact, even though students tend to give better reviews to instructors who have higher test scores, both of these performance evaluation tools are severely flawed. It turns out that professors with lower test scores and more negative student reviews are the ones adding the most value to college students’ educations.
If this seems completely illogical to you, you are well-suited for reading the rest of this post.
The conclusions above were reached by two professors—Scott E. Carrell of UC Davis and James E. West of the U.S. Air Force Academy—in a new research paper, “Does Professor Quality Matter? Evidence from Random Assignment of Students to Professors,” featured in the June 2010 edition of the Journal of Political Economy. As the title suggests, 10,534 students who attended the U.S. Air Force Academy from the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2007 were randomly assigned to required introductory courses. During their time at the USAFA, their academic performance in each course, as measured by standardized course exams, was tracked as they progressed through the curriculum.
To minimize any bias in this experiment, all instructors teaching core courses used common syllabi and all

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: What do these top 50 Chicago areas high schools have in common?

What do these top 50 Chicago areas high schools have in common?

According to Newsweek, these are the 50 best high schools in the Chicago area. A mixture of magnets, neighborhood schools, large and small(er). Please take note--not one charter school in the bunch and every one of the 50 is staffed with union teachers. Explain please, Sec. Duncan.

Parental engagement: Successful strategies require follow through | THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | dallasnews.com

Parental engagement: Successful strategies require follow through

by William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

In researching ways to get more parents involved with their children's education, which is a primary goal for ourGap project, I've had two informative conversations this month with Heather Weiss of Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. During one talk yesterday, we started discussing New York City's efforts to engage more families. Weiss, who started and directs the school's Family Research Project, reported that one strategy involves giving parents plenty of access to data about their children's school work in hopes of getting them ready for college.
I stopped her at that point and said we are trying something similar in Dallas with a pilot program in three schools, two of which are south of the Trinity. I told her that eyebrows have been raised about whether parents from predominantly disadvantaged neighborhoods would have enough access to computers to make the program worthwhile.
She acknowledged that the effort in New York has been slow-going, but she cited several common-sense steps that school leaders have taken to make the data-emphasis work. (You can read a report about the New Visions project here.)
For example, one Lower Manhattan school had opened its library early in the morning so parents could use the computers there. Also, in some parts of the city, parents work with other parents who may be more intimidated by the technologies. And students are even working with their parents to teach them how to access the data.
What particularly struck me was that New York City administrators go school to school to see how many parents actually log on. This isn't just some program they have punted out to the schools and gone on to the

Eduflack: Social Media Failure in Our School Districts

Social Media Failure in Our School Districts

by Eduflack

By now, we've all heard the concerns about social media in the K-12 setting. The fears of teachers revealing their personal lives of Facebook. The worry of what can be accessed and posted on YouTube, revealing the good, bad, and ugly of the 21st century classroom. Even ongoing tweets about both policy and practice in the classroom or the central office. The concern has grown so significant that many school districts have policies banning the use of social media, even erecting firewalls to ban access to sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter with LEA computers or through LEA-based Internet connections.

Last month, Eduflack wrote on edreformer.com about current disintermediation efforts. The concept is a simple one. Rather than work exclusively through the traditional media, hoping they can offer a complete and balanced story, more and more folks are doing the storytelling themselves. Using blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and the like, they cut out the media "middle man" and get the story directly to those stakeholders who need it most. The Obama Administration has been particularly adept at the practice, using the powers of the Internet and social media to build lasting dialogues on the issues of the day.

State Legislators Conference: What’s Working and What’s Not at the Local Level – ED.gov Blog

State Legislators Conference: What’s Working and What’s Not at the Local Level

On Monday, June 14, the U.S. Department of Education welcomed 25 state legislators from 17 states for a day-long conference with senior Department officials in Washington, D.C. The conference provided an opportunity for legislators to learn more about the Administration’s education initiatives. More importantly, Department officials heard directly from legislators about what is and is not working in education at the state and local level.
Stacey Jordan, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, opened the conference by stressing the critical role that state legislators play in education reform saying, “Our work cannot be done without you.” Deputy Secretary Tony Miller emphasized the importance of partnerships and collaboration, noting the unprecedented work being done by local and state officials to improve education.

With more than two hours of conversations throughout the day, state legislators spoke candidly with Department senior staff members, including Under Secretary Martha Kanter, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development Carmel Martin, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement Jim Shelton, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education Brenda Dann-Messier, and Senior Advisor on Early Childhood Jacqueline Jones, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Civil Rights, and Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education Thelma Meléndez.
The highlight of the day was a working lunch, led by Representatives Scott Hochberg of Houston and Alisha Thomas Morgan of Cobb County, Georgia. The legislators had a lively discussion that touched on a variety of topics, including higher academic standards, teacher quality, and charter schools. Senator Susan Paddack of Oklahoma wrapped up the hour-long conversation by underscoring the importance of education to our nation’s future and the need to refocus our energies on doing what’s best for the students.

Secretary Duncan closed the conference with remarks and by answering legislators’ questions on a range of issues. He praised the legislators’ courage and leadership, noting that the “amount of reform at the state level is remarkable.” He emphasized that “good ideas come from the local level” and he challenged everyone in attendance to rise to the coming challenges, saying that the reform agenda is just the start of the work needed to raise student achievement, close the achievement gap, and ensure that today’s students can compete in a global economy.
The day-long State Legislators Conference is the latest in a series of outreach efforts to state and local elected officials by the Department’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. The events give department officials valuable feedback on Administration initiatives, such as the Race to the Top fund, the Blueprint to reform the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and other efforts to reform schools.
Cole Bakely

Vista Schools Weigh Changing Elections voiceofsandiego.org.

Education

Vista Schools Weigh Changing Elections

The Vista school board will weigh this Thursday whether to start electing board members bysmaller subdistricts, instead of at large from the entire school district, the North County Times reports. Doing so is supposed to ensure minority voters aren't drowned out.

The push has countywide implications because it was spurred by a legal challenge elsewhere in California that could spur school districts to change their election systems. Vista may only be the first school district to alter how its board is elected.

Check out our earlier article about the case that

Schools Matter "Since 2003, more than 25,000 [Mass.] public high school students have finished high school without receiving a diploma."

Schools Matter

"Since 2003, more than 25,000 [Mass.] public high school students have finished high school without receiving a diploma."

If this crime against the poor is not enough to make the Boston Brahmins leading the current education genocide in Massachusetts hang their heads in shame, there's not much hope that anything emanating from their neo-eugenics policies

Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018 now available Center on Education and the Workforce - Georgetown University

Center on Education and the Workforce - Georgetown University

Report now available at cew.georgetown.edu/jobs2018.

Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018 now available HERE.

Today's webcast will be available for replay HERE.

Latest Research

Reducing Poverty by Aligning Policies

Current Obama administration policies emphasize Pell grant funding and community colleges. In a recent paper published by the Urban Institute, Dr. Carnevale argues that postsecondary education should also be aligned with employment policy.

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Jun 17, 2010

Are Efforts to Increase Equity in Higher Education Working?

Work looks like play at PE teachers institute | INDenverTimes.com

Work looks like play at PE teachers institute

By Rebecca Jones on June 16, 2010 · Comment · ShareThis

Beanbags flew through the air as teammates attempted to knock a giant “obesity ball” – a huge cloth-covered orb some 10 times bigger than the standard beach ball – back toward the opposing side’s goal line.

Nearby, other students sharpened fine motor skills as they threw and caught balls one after another in a “group juggling” exercise.

And in the far corner of the gym, another group of students gleefully practiced their zombie walk as they learned the steps to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance.

Other activities in the week’s agenda: fencing with foam noodles; hip-hop dancing; jumping jack tag; Frisbee fitness routines; building foam brick skyscrapers; jump rope routines; creepy crawler tag…

The students are all Colorado physical education teachers, and the instructors are all national award-winners who’ve come from around the country to participate in the 8^th annual Denver Public Schools Physical Education and Dance Summer Institute, a three-day affair that culminates Wednesday, June 16 at Metropolitan State College.

Though it looks for all the world like summer camp for adults, it’s actually a professional development course that gradually is changing the way physical education is taught in Colorado, insists Eric Larson,

College Inc. - For-profits: two new rules that really matter

College Inc. - For-profits: two new rules that really matter:

For-profits: two new rules that really matter

The Obama administration on Tuesday proposed 14 new rules to curb abuses in the for-profit sector of higher education. Most of the debate, though, has focused on two.

The rules cut to the heart of how the for-profits do business -- or don't. Industry leaders say the sector is well-run and regulated quite enough already. They complain of death by a thousand anecdotes via a series of recent press accounts that highlight disgruntled former students and employees. Critics allege a pattern of abuse, of which the alleged horror stories are merely illustrations.

(Disclosure: the for-profit industry includes Kaplan, owned by the Washington Post Co.)

One new rule would halt over-zealous recruiting tactics by some for-profit colleges, by barring the industry from compensating recruiters on the basis of how many students they bring in.

The other would require vocational programs to yield "gainful employment," as measured by the ratio of salary to loan debt among graduates. This rule would cut federal aid to for-profit schools if graduates spent more than 8 percent of their starting salaries on loan

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010