Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Low-performing N.J. schools with reform plans are awarded $45M in federal grants | NJ.com

Low-performing N.J. schools with reform plans are awarded $45M in federal grants

Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 9:45 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 9:12 PM

Star-Ledger Staff
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Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerThe halls and main Atrium of Central High School, in this 2009 file photo. Central High was among the 12 low-performing schools with a proposal for reform that was approved to receive a federal grant by the state education department today.

TRENTON — The New Jersey Department of Education today awarded $45.3 million in federal grants to 12 persistently low-performing schools that have proposed bold plans, including four who said they will replace half of the school’s staff.

Schools in Camden, Newark, Jersey City, Roselle, Trenton and one of the Essex County Vocational campuses will receive the money to adopt one of four federally required models to reform and boost student achievement.

"After you have seven years of noncompliance (with federal mandates), something drastic has to happen to change the climate, change the culture of the school, change the learning, really influence teachers to do a better job within the classroom," said Joseph Martino, interim superintendent in Roselle, which received a grant. "This community is on the brink of change." Abraham Clark High School in Roselle will receive $3.8 million. It is one of four schools in the state which selected the "turnaround model." This requires them to replace the principal and rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff.

Seven of the 12 schools selected the "transformation model," which requires the district to replace ineffective principals, extend the school day, and boost teacher training, among other changes.

One school, Renaissance Academy High in Newark, will reopen as two independent schools.

"Some painful steps will be required to implement these bold reforms," said state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler in a statement. "But these schools are ready to break from the status quo."

Some 27 of New Jersey’s poorest performing schools — based on measurements such as test scores and graduation rates below 60 percent — applied for a chunk of the federal funds. The districts will use the money over three years.

"Today we are providing new hope and a fresh start for thousands of children who have been trapped in underperforming schools," said Schundler.

Newark applied for grants for 10 schools and received about $22 million for improvements at Shabazz High, Central High, Renaissance Academy High, West Kinney Alternative and Dayton Street Elementary schools.

"Some painful steps will be required to implement these bold reforms," Schundler said. "But these schools are ready to break from the status quo."

Daniel Gohl, executive officer for innovation and change in Newark Public Schools, said the district

Florida professor Neil Shay picked to lead Oregon Wine Research Institute | OregonLive.com

Florida professor Neil Shay picked to lead Oregon Wine Research Institute

Published: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 6:14 PM Updated: Wednesday, June 16, 2010, 6:22 PM

Dana Tims, The Oregonian
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Oregon State University has named Neil F. Shay, a University of Florida professor and chair of the food science and human nutrition department, as the first head of the new Oregon Wine Research Institute.

Shay, who holds numerous degrees in fields such as biochemistry and molecular biology, will be charged with connecting OSU's research and extension programs with Oregon's grape growers and winemakers.

"We were impressed with his incredible skills at leading departments and industry groups and his ability to mentor faculty members and to find resources," David Adelsheim, a founder of the Oregon Wine Board, said in a statement. "Having mad

Schools Matter: With the Victory in Chicago, How Long Can NEA and AFT Continue to Hide from the Facts??

With the Victory in Chicago, How Long Can NEA and AFT Continue to Hide from the Facts??

by Jim Horn

Evidence that Chicago teachers have finally awakened can be seen in the sweeping victories by public school advocates in the most recent union elections. Will the message resonate across the country, or will NEA and AFT "leaders" continue to wine and dine Washington pols and the corporate goons who are trying to take over schools?

Commentary by Glen Ford:

"So-called school reform is not an education plan. It's a business plan."

The nation's unionized public school teachers are in a race for survival, whether they know it or not. Their worst enemy - the one that can do them and the public the most harm - was not George Bush, the white Republican, who called teachers' unions "terrorists." It is Barack Obama, the Black Democrat, who has taken the corporate education agenda

The End of the Best Friend - NYTimes.com

A Best Friend? You Must Be Kidding

Erik S. Lesser for The New York Times

PLAYGROUP Margaret Guest, center, in striped shirt, often has groups of friends at her home in Dunwoody, Ga.

By HILARY STOUT

Published: June 16, 2010

REPRINTS

FROM the time they met in kindergarten until they were 15, Robin Shreeves and her friend Penny were inseparable. They rode bikes, played kickball in the street, swam all summer long and listened to Andy Gibb, the Bay City Rollers and Shaun Cassidy on the stereo. When they were little, they liked Barbies; when they were bigger, they hung out at the roller rink on Friday nights. They told each other secrets like which boys they thought were cute, as best friends always do.

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Today, Ms. Shreeves, of suburban Philadelphia, is the mother of two boys. Her 10-year-old has a best friend. In fact, he is the son of Ms. Shreeves’s own friend, Penny. But Ms. Shreeves’s younger son, 8, does not. His favorite playmate is a boy who was in his preschool class, but Ms. Shreeves says that the two don’t get together very often because scheduling play dates can be complicated; they usually have to be planned a week or more in advance. “He’ll say, ‘I wish I had someone I can always call,’ ” Ms. Shreeves said.

One might be tempted to feel some sympathy for the younger son. After all, from Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, the childhood “best friend” has long been romanticized in literature and pop culture — not to mention in the sentimental memories of countless adults.

But increasingly, some educators and other professionals who work with children are asking a question that might surprise their parents: Should a child really have a best

Make Group Maps With “Share My Map” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Make Group Maps With “Share My Map”

by Larry Ferlazzo

Share My Map lets you create a map — and a “social community” of others who can contribute to it by adding points of interest, photos, video, or text information.
After registering, it’s pretty easy to use, and you can embed Flickr photos just by using their url address. People can comment on the map but, there again

YouTube Creates Online Video Editor

New Orleans Infographics

“Are We Addicted To The Internet?”

My Revised Final Exams (And An Important Lesson)

Grantmakers Meet To Discuss ELL’s — Will Anything Positive Come From It?

“Listen Music”

Stay.com

SSPI O'Connell Announces Summer Meal Sites Opening - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces Opening of Summer Meal Sites for Families Hard Hit by Economic Downturn

SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced socioeconomically disadvantaged children may receive free meals during the traditional summer recess under the Summer Food Service and the Seamless Summer Feeding Option at hundreds of sites throughout the state.

“Many families are still reeling over the economic downturn that has made feeding the family quite a challenge,” said O’Connell. “Thankfully, there are still places for families to take their kids and certain adults for a free, nutritious meal to help spread their grocery dollars during the summer break.”

“When school districts were forced to cut summer school last summer due to state budget cuts, this meant many summer meal sites were closed as well,” said O’Connell. “I am pleased to see so many school districts, food banks, and community agencies opening new sites to increase access to nutritious meals and snacks during the summer,” stated O’Connell.

“This kind of local leadership is exemplified by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). After cutting their summer school offerings last year in response to budget cutbacks, they operated 60 summer meal sites. This summer they will provide meals at more than 300 sites—a 400 percent increase. The YMCA of Silicon Valley is one of many other local agencies significantly expanding their summer meal sites, planning to provide meals at 36 sites—40 percent increase from the number of sites they served last summer,” he said.

Socioeconomically disadvantaged children in California are eligible to receive at least one nutritious meal a day while during the school year. But when school is out during the long summer recess, many of these children won’t have access to well-balanced and nutritious meals that are important to their growth and development. When children do not receive proper nutrition, they are more likely to become ill and are not able to concentrate or perform well when they are in school. Providing children with nutritious meals when school is not in session helps them to return to school ready to learn and succeed.

In 2008-09, 51.3 percent of California's public K-12 population—or 3.2 million students—were enrolled in the state's free and reduced-priced meal programs. During that same time period, California served a record 794.3 million meals during the school year, 23.7 million more meals than the year before—a 3.1 percent increase. Historically, the state has experienced a 1 percent increase per year. More children are expected to enroll as California’s economic crisis continues. Despite this dramatic rise in the need for school lunches, the total average daily participation in summer meal programs for July 2009 was 481,376 children.

If California’s summer meal programs reach 100 percent of the low-income children who consumed a free or reduced-priced school lunch in 2009, an additional $189 million in federal reimbursement would come into those programs and boost California’s local economy.

Children 18 years and younger in low-income areas and individuals 18 years and older who meet the state agency definition of having a mental or physical disability, may receive free meals through the Summer Food Service and the Seamless Summer Feeding Option programs. Both are federally funded programs administered through the California Department of Education. The programs operate when school is not in session for 15 days or more. The summer meal sites must serve meals that include milk, fruits, vegetables or juice; grain products; and meat or meat alternate. The program allows sites to serve each day: two meals; a meal and a snack; or if at a camp, three meals a day.

To help parents more easily find a location to take their children, the California Department of Education has an interactive Summer Meal Service Sites Web page with a map of California. Visitors may select any county on the map to reveal a list of Summer Food Service programs near them. The interactive Web page contains contact names and telephone numbers where parents may get more information. The list is updated throughout the summer. To access the Web page, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sh/sn/summersites10.asp

Agencies and advocates may download free parental notifications in several languages about the summer meal sites from the California Department of Education's Clearinghouse for Multilingual documents athttp://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sf/mgmb.asp#resources

For more information about summer meals, please visit www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sf/.

NorthJersey.com: NJ Transit takes first steps to privatize its parking spaces

NJ Transit takes first steps to privatize its parking spaces

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

THE RECORD

NJ Transit took one of its first steps Wednesday toward privatizing some — or all — of its 40,000 parking spaces and raising as much as $100 million.
The Board of Directors agreed to spend $650,000 to hire a law firm to look for potential partners in managing the agency’s parking operations.
“We think this could be a win-win for not only NJ Transit and for our customers, but also for our municipalities,” said Jim Weinstein, NJ Transit’s executive director.
NJ Transit hopes to develop a plan by the fall for attracting potential investors.
“It is a complex process,” said Weinstein. “A number of places have gone through it

SRC approves some additional charter school seats | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

SRC approves some additional charter school seats

by Dale Mezzacappa on Jun 16 2010

Apparently responding to a furious lobbying campaign that started last Friday, the School Reform Commission approved some charter expansions for next year, although not to the level the operators had requested.

More than 20 charter schools has asked for an additional 1515 seats, and the SRC approved 1042 for the 2010-2011 school year.

Overall, the charters had requested and additional 9,262 seats over five years, which they said they needed to adequately plan and secure funding for facility needs.

The decision still left the charters with long-range planning issues. But the SRC and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said that the District too has planning issues because of budget uncertainties. It is still awaiting approval of the state budget to see how much it will get in basic education aid and how much is included for charter reimbursement.

"We can’t plan either," Ackerman said. "Right now, we’re all in the same boat." She said she felt the limited, one-year expansion was "fair, which is why the SRC voted for it."

SRC members and chief business officer Michael Masch said that granting the full five-year requests made by the charter schools would cost the District an

School Tech Connect: E.D. Hirsch Has Convinced Me About the Common Core

E.D. Hirsch Has Convinced Me About the Common Core

by Tim

E.D. Hirsch believes this:

He's making a larger point that I don't disagree with-- we're stuck with these bizarre pseudo reading-torture instruments because we don't have common curriculum to test. Only he thinks they're reliable relative to teacher quality more so than poverty.

And we've got to test. Test, test, test. It's the only way taxpayers are going to know if the schools "are any good." There is absolutely no other way. All children must study the same curriculum and take the same tests. (Except for people who can afford private schools, which for some bizarre reason want to write their own curriculum and totally shun state testing. And people may money for that crap?) And seriously, academic test scores are the ONLY measure of what schools do. All that other stuff-- the sports, the clubs, the arts, the

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Wednesday, June 16, 2010