Feinstein objects to cuts in K-12 jobs bill The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

Feinstein objects to cuts in K-12 jobs bill

Posted in Race to the Top, State Budget

California stands to get $1.2 billion for K-12 schools, enabling 13,300 teachers to keep their jobs, according to calculations by the Education Commission of the States, if the U.S. Senate approves – and President Obama signs – a $10 billion education jobs bill that the House a week ago.
But the president is threatening to veto it, even though it once backed a jobs bill three times as large, because the “Keep Our Educators Working Act” also contains $800 million in cuts to his reform initiatives, including a whack out of the $4.35 billion Race to the Top fund.
Last week, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein joined a dozen other senators in aletter objecting to the bill as well , which she and the others criticized for creating “a false choice between supporting teachers and supporting these critical reform efforts.” Senators must now come up with alternative cuts in federal spending for the K-12 jobs bill to have any chance of passage before school starts.
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By John Fensterwald on July 9th, 2010

Schools pursuing SIG money identified

Posted in Turning around failing schools

The Dept. of Education has now posted a list of all schools that are applying for School Improvement Grant money. These include 113 of the 188 schools identified as the persistently lowest performing schools in the state, which must commit to substantial reforms for the money, and 51 other schools seeking federal money for school improvements.
Among districts applying for up to $6 million per school are Los Angeles Unified, with 13 schools, San Bernadino Unified with 11 schools, and San Francisco Unified, with nine. Nine charter schools also are seeking grants. The State Board of Education will decide on Aug. 2 which schools get how much money.

By John Fensterwald on July 9th, 2010

Most on ‘worst’ schools list pursue fed grants

Posted in Turning around failing schools

Sixty percent of the state’s 188 “worst” schools ended up applying for federal money to turn their schools around this fall.
The 113 schools – among the persistently lowest performing 5 percent of schools statewide – are more than some predicted would apply, given districts’ anger and frustration over the selection and application process, the tight deadlines, and restrictions on using the money. Many schools could get far less than the amount they’re requesting. Nonetheless, the possibility of getting as much as $2 million per year for the next three years ultimately was enough to lure many cash-strapped districts to apply by last Friday’s deadline.
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Hochberg unmasks TEA's controversial rule EducationNews.org

EducationNews.org

Teacher union chief raps Obama in Seattle
7.9.10 - American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told her members meeting in Seattle on Thursday that the past two years have been "tougher

Minnesota will cover expensive autism treatment and therapy
7.9.10 - Leaders leave Oklahoma and the push for insurance coverage for autism treatment. After years of

Hochberg unmasks TEA's controversial rule
7.9.10 - RICK CASEY - Criss Cloudt understandably grew defensive last week as she tried to explain to a group of legislators how a student who got absolutely every question wrong on a TAKS writing test could be scored as passing it.

Utah re-examines 12th grade
7.9.10 - Kallyn Austin could have graduated at the end of 11th grade. But the Clearfield High student didn't want to give up drill team, Key Club and other activities. She wasn't ready to leave her friends. ... ...

English spelling 'too difficult for children'
7.9.10 - The complexity of the English spelling system is to blame for soaring levels of illiteracy among teenagers, according to a researcher. A high number of "inconsistencies" in the way basic words are spelt makes it much harder for children to read and write at a young age, it is claimed. ...

New 'animal studies' courses look at culture, not biology
7.9.10 - In his first year as an assistant professor in the University of Iowa's archaeology department, Matthew E. Hill made a move that many other junior faculty would have considered risky: he said he wanted to teach an undergraduate seminar on animals and culture. ...

Goal for High School Smoking Is Unmet
7.9.10 - DUFF WILSON - A report calls for a resurgence of antismoking advertising to counter a marketing campaign by the tobacco industry. The nation has failed to reach its 2010 health goal of reducing high school smoking to 16 percent, federal officials said Thursday in a report calling for a resurgence of antismoking advertising to counter the tobacco industry's $12 billion marketing campaign. ...

NorthJersey.com: Christie looks to privatize motor vehicle inspections, other services

NorthJersey.com: Christie looks to privatize motor vehicle inspections, other services

Christie looks to privatize motor vehicle inspections, other services

Friday, July 9, 2010
LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY JULY 8, 2010, 10:20 PM

BY CLAIRE HEININGER

STATE HOUSE BUREAU

STATE HOUSE BUREAU

New Jersey would close its centralized car inspection lanes and motorists would pay for their own emissions tests under a sweeping set of recommendations set to be released by the Christie administration today.

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Governor Christie

State parks, psychiatric hospitals and even turnpike toll booths could also be run by private operators, according to the 57-page report on privatization obtained by The Star-Ledger. Preschool classrooms would no longer be built at public expense, state employees would pay for parking and private vendors would dish out food, deliver health care and run education programs behind prison walls.
All told, the report says, New Jersey could save at least $210 million a year by delivering an array of services through private hands.
"The question has to be, ‘Why do you continue to operate in a manner that’s more costly and less effective?’ rather than, ‘Why change?’ " said Richard Zimmer, the

S.D. teachers union boss rallies labor leaders - SignOnSanDiego.com

S.D. teachers union boss rallies labor leaders - SignOnSanDiego.com

S.D. teachers union boss rallies labor leaders

BY MAUREEN MAGEE, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2010 AT 7:45 A.M.

Outgoing San Diego teachers union President Camille Zombro helped rally labor leaders from across the country to take a position of “no confidence” in the guidelines for Race to the Top competition for federal stimulus money during a national conference in New Orleans.

Teachers union representatives were winding down their work Tuesday, July 6, at the National Education Association conference, which started last week.

Guidelines for the competitive federal grants have been controversial because they link teacher evaluations to test scores.

Zombro, who wraps up tenure as president of the 8,000-member San Diego Education Association in

Teacher union chief raps Obama at national convention #AFTConvention

Teacher union chief raps Obama at national convention

Teacher union chief raps Obama at national convention

Says innovation key, but 'blame the teacher' crowd not productive

By FIONA COHEN
SPECIAL TO SEATTLEPI.COM

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten told her members meeting in Seattle on Thursday that the past two years have been "tougher than I've ever seen," with shrinking school budgets combined with increasing initiatives to punish teachers whose students don't succeed.

She urged her audience to fight against what she called the "blame the teacher crowd" by embracing new strategies to reform public education.

She called it "Fighting Smart": "searching for solutions we believe will work, even if those solutions force us to think outside the box or initially make us feel uncomfortable."

She spoke to more than 2,700 delegates gathered at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center. The loudest applause of the morning when she talked about her feelings of betrayal by the Obama administration.

"I never thought I'd see a Democratic president, whom we helped elect, and his education secretary applaud the mass firing of 89 teachers and staff in Central

Lamont jabs at education leaders | The Connecticut Mirror

Lamont jabs at education leaders | The Connecticut Mirror

Lamont jabs at education leaders

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By Robert A. Frahm

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont's plan for aggressive reforms in Connecticut's schools includes a shakeup in education leadership, starting with the State Board of Education and, possibly, the state's top education official.

The plan calls for removing "partisan appointees" on state boards governing education and higher education, replacing them with "people who are really committed to education [and] education reform, people who've been involved in the schools," Lamont said Thursday.

In a campaign stop in Hartford, Lamont outlined a plan called "Better Schools for Better Jobs,"saying he wants strong educational leaders, including a state education commissioner who will work closely with the governor's office to make education a key component in the state's economic plans.

Ned Lamont, Mary Glassman in Hartford. (Robert A. Frahm)

He stopped short, however, of saying whether he would keep Commissioner Mark McQuillan in the job.

"I'm going to take a fresh look at that. Let's see how we do on Race to the Top," he said, referring to the state's recent application in the Obama administration's competition for millions of dollars in federal school reform money.

He said the state got off to a slow start in the Race to the Top competition but that a sweeping reform bill passed by the legislature in the spring improved Connecticut's chances.

Asked about McQuillan, he said, "I'm going to reserve judgment. I'm not going there, but I do think you understand that I want somebody who's going to be a strong, pro-active commissioner."

In front of Hartford's M.D. Fox Elementary School, Lamont and running mate Mary Glassman

Law sabotages collective bargaining in Md. education

Law sabotages collective bargaining in Md. education

Friday, July 9, 2010

THE NATIONAL Education Association has named Maryland's Martin O'Malley (D) America's greatest education governor. Little wonder. Just days before Mr. O'Malley picked up his award, a new law took effect in Maryland that undercuts local control in collective bargaining by giving a significant new advantage to teachers unions, one they had been seeking for decades.

The Fairness in Negotiations Act attracted little attention when it was passed by the General Assembly and signed into law in May by the governor. But it has major implications for school labor contracts, and they are not positive. The measure, which took effect July 1, strips the Maryland State Board of Education of authority to resolve labor disputes between local school boards and unions representing school employees. Instead it creates a Public School Labor Relations Board, which will consist of two members nominated by unions, two members recommended by school boards and superintendents and a fifth to be independent but with experience in labor relations. The Maryland State Education Association, the NEA

AFT Convention in Seattle Day 1 � JD2718 #AFT Convention

AFT Convention in Seattle Day 1 � JD2718

AFT Convention in Seattle Day 1

by jd2718

Up to a point I’d been listening, fairly politely. Then Randi Weingarten read, from her prepared text:

“Our vision is that every neighborhood school should be an excellent school that all families know they can count on, every year, for all of their children.”

and that was too much. Neighborhood schools? When her legacy in the Bronx was to destroy neighborhood schools? When “school choice” guarantees that struggling schools are shut instead of improved. When kids routinely travel past several closer schools on their way to theirs. When Weingarten sat on the board of New

Fewer DPS teachers placed in poorest schools | EdNewsColorado

Fewer DPS teachers placed in poorest schools | EdNewsColorado

Fewer DPS teachers placed in poorest schools

by Nancy Mitchell

Fewer Denver teachers unable to find jobs on their own were placed into the city’s highest-poverty and lowest-achieving schools for 2010-11, according to district figures.
That’s a reversal of what’s occurred for at least three years, when the poorest schools were more likely to be assigned teachers who either did not apply to be there or were not chosen for hiring by the principal.
As of Thursday, 30 percent of Denver schools receiving Title 1 dollars – federal funds designed to mitigate high-poverty rates – were given teachers for fall from what’s commonly called the “direct” or “forced” placement list.

Forced placement of teachers is hot topic

Posted by Nancy Mitchell on Feb 19th, 2010.

A plan to limit the “forced placement” of veteran teachers in Denver’s lowest-performing and highest-poverty schools drew applause Thursday, and some opposition.

David Clayton, a parent at Montclair Elementary, echoed others when he said that he supported the plan “but only as a first step” toward extending the policy to all schools.

“Forced or direct placement is not good for our poorest-performing schools nor is it good for higher-performing schools,” said Clayton, a member of the group Stand for Children.

Because teachers with three years of experience are guaranteed jobs under state law, the district must place

City charter schools are big winners in veto by Gov. Paterson

City charter schools are big winners in veto by Gov. Paterson

BY GLENN BLAIN
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU

Friday, July 9th 2010, 4:00 AM

RELATED NEWS

• Schoolkids' suspensions through the roof
• Gov: Here are those 6,700 vetoes I promised

ALBANY - A surprising budget veto Thursday by Gov. Paterson means more money for city charter schools.

Paterson - as part of his ongoing battle with the Legislature over the state budget - vetoed an education bill that also capped how much school districts had to pay charters per student.

With the cap lifted, the cash-strapped city now must fork over an additional $42 million to charter schools.

Paterson said he had to veto the measure - which spells out how the state spends its education dollars - because the Legislature snuck in a provision that would have forced

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/07/09/2010-07-09_charters_big_winners_in_veto_by_gov.html?r=ny_local/education#ixzz0tBfRkMEb

Rise & Shine: Veto could add $42m to city’s charter spending | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Veto could add $42m to city’s charter spending | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Veto could add $42m to city’s charter spending

by Philissa Cramer

• One of Gov. Paterson’s last-minute vetoes lifts a cap on charter school funding. (Daily News)
• New York City’s spending on charter schools could go up by $42 million post-cap. (Albany Times Union)
• The veto, meant to curb state spending on schools, could hurt some districts. (Buffalo News)
• Debbie Almontaser, the ousted principal of the Khalil Gibran school, dropped her last lawsuit. (Post)
• Two teachers accused of a tryst at James Madison HS last year were drunk, a report says. (Daily News)
• Arne Duncan says the Senate’s edujobs bill version won’t cut Race to the Top funding. (Seattle Times)

The Answer Sheet - The problem with linking phys ed to academics

The Answer Sheet - The problem with linking phys ed to academics

The problem with linking phys ed to academics

My guest is Sean Slade, director of Healthy School Communities, a program of the ASCD, an educational leadership organization. By Sean Slade Student + Health = Academic Improvement. This equation is inherently correct. Though some educational columnists have downplayed or diminished the effect of physical, mental health and even social/emotional health on academic achievement, including an article by the Washington Post’s Jay Mathews, there is an abundance of evidence to show that students who are healthy will attend school more often, learn better and also do better on academic tests. Add to this long list of studies and reports recent publications from the Centers for Disease Control and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Quick Takes: July 9, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: July 9, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Settlement in Idaho Retiree Suit The University of Idaho has reached a settlement with more than 250 of its retirees, who sued the university over changes in their medical and life insurance benefits, KLEW News reported. The retirees claimed in their suit that the university had ...

Colombian Journalist Denied Visa for Harvard Fellowship A Colombian journalist has been denied a visa to come to the United States for a Nieman Foundation fellowship at Harvard University, the Associated Press reported. U.S. officials declined to comment, citing privacy laws. Bob Giles, curator of the ...

Follow the Money Delta Cost Project's newly released database will allow anyone to see where individual colleges get revenue and where it goes.

School Tech Connect: Bribery as Policy

School Tech Connect: Bribery as Policy

Bribery as Policy

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Much more here. There was a time when people were allowed to say things like this in conversations about school:

There are many wonderful schools that add great value to the education of their students each and every day, but are classified as low performing schools because of their students' scores on tests.