Thursday, July 8, 2010

Pizarro: Archbishop Mitty makes a deal with Howie Mandel - San Jose Mercury News

Pizarro: Archbishop Mitty makes a deal with Howie Mandel

By Sal Pizarro

spizarro@mercurynews.com

Posted: 07/07/2010 11:19:12 AM PDT

Updated: 07/07/2010 09:28:18 PM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Howie Mandel gets kisses on the cheek from Patricia Kara, left, and Lindsay... ( STUART RAMSON )

It turned out to be "deal" instead of "no deal" for San Jose's Archbishop Mitty High School, which has snagged comic and TV host Howie Mandel to perform at its annual Black & Gold gala on Nov. 6.

Mandel, the judge of "America's Got Talent," should be pretty impressed when he shares the stage at San Jose's Fairmont Hotel with the school's talented performers. Of course, you can always judge for yourself. For reservations and ticket information, call Sarah Janigian at 408-342-4224.

GREAT BY DESIGN: When Collette Pollard was going to San Jose's Pioneer High School, drama teacher Steve Dini let her help build and paint the sets for many of the school's shows.

Pollard went on to major in set design at DePaul University and got a master's degree in design at Northwestern.

Recently, she designed the set for the Chicago stage production of "A Street Car Named Desire," which got glowing reviews from The Wall Street Journal and New York Times.

Parents Carol and Clive Pollard are beaming with pride all the way from San Jose.

GREEN ENOUGH FOR YA? How can you make a farmers market greener? By having vendors use biodegradable

NEA RA: Video of Diane Ravitch. “Stand up. Don’t give them even half a loaf. No mas!!” � Fred Klonsky's blog

NEA RA: Video of Diane Ravitch. “Stand up. Don’t give them even half a loaf. No mas!!”

JULY 8, 2010

tags: Daine Ravitch

by preaprez

Here is some video of Diane Ravitch’s speech to the NEA RA:

Education | Seattle school leader Goodloe-Johnson's contract extension approved 5-2 | Seattle Times Newspaper

Seattle school leader Goodloe-Johnson's contract extension approved 5-2

In a 5-2 decision, the Seattle School Board voted Wednesday to extend Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's contract by another year.

By Nick Perry

Seattle Times staff reporter

In this Feb. 11, 2009 picture taken in Seattle, Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, speaks with mother, Jewell Goodloe, right, who moved to Seattle to be near her daughter. Goodloe-Johnson has set an ambitious course for Seattle that turns away from the path the district has pursued for roughly a dozen years. (AP Photo/The Seattle Times, Mike Siegel) ** MAGS OUT, NO SALES, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, EASTSIDE JOURNAL & SOUTH, CO. JOURNAL OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT TO: Mike Siegel/THE SEATTLE TIMES ** WASET203

State audit critical of Seattle school district

In a 5-2 decision, the Seattle School Board voted Wednesday night to extend Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's contract by another year.

It was a less than ringing endorsement for a leader who has faced growing criticism from parents and teachers.

School Board members Michael DeBell, Sherry Carr, Peter Maier, Steve Sundquist and Harium Martin-Morris voted in favor of the contract extension, while Kay Smith-Blum and Betty Patu voted against.

Smith-Blum said she'd heard from many in the

Rise & Shine: DOE’s non-school staff roster up 70% since 2003 | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: DOE’s non-school staff roster up 70% since 2003

by Philissa Cramer

The number of central Department of Education employees is up 70 percent since 2003. (Daily News)
Some summer school students are baking in non-airconditioned rooms. (NY1)
Bonnie Brown, the superintendent of District 75 for disabled students, is retiring. (S.I. Advance)
The newest conflict at John F. Kennedy High School is over its scoreboard. (Riverdale Press)
D.C. schools chief Michelle Rhee will introduce standardized tests in more grades. (Washington Post)
Some see virtual students as key to improving teacher training. (USA Today)
A new, teacher-controlled school in Detroit won’t have a principal. (Free Press)
The Washington Post defends the charter school board’s right to close failing schools.
A nationwide survey paints a dismal picture of social services for minority children. (AP)
The number of Boston students who aren’t fluent in English has ballooned recently. (Boston Globe)

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Portland school board defers tough budget cuts, pins hopes on Congress saving educator jobs | OregonLive.com

Portland school board defers tough budget cuts, pins hopes on Congress saving educator jobs

Published: Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 9:15 PM Updated: Wednesday, July 07, 2010, 9:35 PM

Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian
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A united Portland school board on Tuesday directed Superintendent Carole Smith to delay giving out layoff notice to scores of teachers and other school employees.

Smith and board members have said that cutting 180 teaching jobs and laying off teachers is probably necessary to balance the budget for next school year.

But doing so would also be ugly, painful and bad, in the words of various board members. So the board agreed Tuesday to delay its decision and hope that the U.S. Senate will save teaching jobs.

More specifically, Portland school board members are banking that the Senate will agree with a proposal passed by the House last week to award $10 billion of stimulus money to save educator jobs nationwide.

That would mean about $7 million for Portland Public Schools. The district could then balance its budget by cutting about 50 teaching positions from its 85 schools, not the 125 teaching jobs that Smith has proposed axing, given the recent $19 million cut in state funding.

Under either scenario, the board would cut about 25 central office jobs, 38 positions in special

O'Malley pledges $1 billion to build schools, echoing '06 race against Ehrlich

By John Wagner

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 8, 2010

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley pledged Wednesday to spend an additional $1 billion on public school construction if elected to a second term, returning to an issue he raised early in his 2006 campaign against then-Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.

"We have made big investments, even in the toughest of times . . . but our work is far from over," said O'Malley (D), standing outside the same elementary school in Annapolis where he promised four years ago to spend significantly more on school construction than had Ehrlich (R).
Since O'Malley took office in 2007, the legislature has approved almost $1.3 billion in state spending on school construction, about $460 million more than it did under Ehrlich, who is trying to win the job back from O'Malley this fall.
Although O'Malley's new plan could result in less spending during a second term than during his first, he pledged to continue to meet a target of at least $250 million a year set in 2004 by a high-profile state commission.
O'Malley also offered several ideas to make schools more energy-efficient and less costly, including relying more on standardized designs.
After the event, Ehrlich spokesman Andy Barth knocked the Democratic incumbent for "once more promising to spend money he doesn't have and would have to borrow." Barth

AEA vs. Alabama GOP | NBC13.com

AEA vs. Alabama GOP

Birmingham, Ala.(WVTM)—-GOP gubernatorial runoff candidate Bradley Byrne has been the target of negative ads. Now he’s calling for an investigation into what he says are lies about him.

Both Byrne and the state Republican Party blame the Alabama Education Association and the state Democratic Party for the negative ads. But the AEA said, it’s just protecting public education.

The state Republican Party has fired a Marengo county committee chairman for his part in a political action committee that funded attack ads against Bradley Byrne. Now, Byrne believes that committee has changed it’s name and he’s calling for an investigation.

The ads connect GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bradley Byrne to President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama and liberal views. The “True Republican PAC” - paid for them. And now a new political action committee called “Conservative Coalition of Alabama” is following the same lead. Both Byrne and the state Republican Party blame the Alabama Education Association and the state Democratic Party for the ads.

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate, Bradley Byrne said, “These people are hiding behind phoney pacs, telling lies about me and trying to swing this election to elect somebody who fits the profile of the democratic bosses.“

Republican Party spokesperson, Philip Bryan said, “It’s really being used as a political slush fund for heads of the democratic party and that’s the unfortunate thing.“

The AEA said it was protecting public education when it gave money to the “True Republican PAC”, but denies any connection with the democratic party.

AEA Public Relations Manager, David Stout said, “AEA staff has not had any operational duties with the PAC. We contributed money which Dr. Hubbard told the press months ago that we gave money to the True Republican PAC.“

Two men said to be connected to the True Republican PAC ad are Dr.‘s Paul Hubbard and Joe Reed. Both are employed by the AEA, but the Democratic Party denies it employs either of the men. However, Reed is chairman of the state Democratic Caucus.

The AEA said it never paid the Marengo County Republican Chairman, who resigned, and the

Congress gives and takes away for schools | The Connecticut Mirror

Congress gives and takes away for schools

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By Deirdre Shesgreen

WASHINGTON -- Congress has created a conundrum for Connecticut educators. Should they lobby for money to minimize teacher layoffs if it means diminishing another badly needed education program?

For now, public officials and school advocates are refusing to choose, instead urging Congress to preserve both priorities, even as they acknowledge that is a tough sell.

The situation was unanticipated in May, when Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed a sweeping education reform package aimed at bolstering Connecticut's efforts to win $175 million in federal funding under President Obama's Race to the Top education initiative.

To make the state more competitive, the legislature passed a law creating a new teacher evaluation system, increasing high school graduation requirements, and strengthening charter schools, among other steps. That law gave the state a stronger hand as it applied for a share of $4.3 billion pot of federal Race to the Top funds.

On a parallel track, state Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan and other education leaders across the country launched lobbying campaign in early June aimed at getting Congress to approve a $23 billion education rescue package aimed avoiding what McQuillan said would be the "dire consequences" of possible teacher lay-offs and school closings.

The House of Representatives responded last week to the latter plea by adding $10 billion (pared

Schools Matter: Massive Rally Planned for Wake County on July 20

Massive Rally Planned for Wake County on July 20

by Jim Horn

Supporters from all faiths and political persuasions are joining the campaign to reinstate the successful socioeconomic diversity plan in Wake County, NC. From the News Observer:

RALEIGH Civil rights leaders are working with some of the state's largest and most influential church groups to bring thousands of people to Raleigh on July 20 to protest the end of Wake County's socioeconomic school diversity policy.

The Rev. William Barber, president of the state NAACP, has organized a wide range of church groups that have historically been involved in civil rights and social justice issues to oppose the move to neighborhood schools in Wake County. Using language heavy with religious overtones and accompanied by a comparison between ending the diversity policy and the old Jim Crow segregation laws, speakers at a news conference Tuesday at the state Capitol argued that they had the moral high ground in the fight.

"We're here today to fight against something that is extremely evil," said the Rev. John Mendez on

Thursday, July 8, 2010