Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Pa. layoffs loom as Congress nears vote on aid - Boston.com

Pa. layoffs loom as Congress nears vote on aid

By Marc Levy

Associated Press Writer / August 4, 2010

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HARRISBURG, Pa.—Pennsylvania's state and local governments would be forced to lay off a combined 12,500 public employees, including teachers, police officers and firefighters, if Congress doesn't send the state more recession-related aid, Gov. Ed Rendell warned Tuesday.

The Democratic governor has taken the lead in recent weeks to rally support for the federal bill, scheduled for a key Senate vote Wednesday.

Republicans oppose the measure, saying the price tag would add to the nation's growing debt. Democrats insist the proposed aid would be covered by cutting expenses and closing tax loopholes. They say that without the aid, many more Americans would be sent to the unemployment line.

"We're fighting to keep good jobs, to keep the economy rolling in the right

Karen Heller: In Philadelphia, public service pays| Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Aug. 4 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Aug. 4

by Erika Owens

Karen Heller: In Philadelphia, public service pays The Inquirer
Superintendent Ackerman isn't the only public employee with a nice salary; Carl R. Greene, in charge of the city's public housing, makes over $300,000 too.

See also: Tony Auth political cartoon The Inquirer

Mastery Charter summer school dilemma The Notebook blog
Even with a savvy, proactive parent to support him, Samuel Reed's son Kagiso was unable to get Mastery to reconsider requiring him to take a summer school course.

Last chance to save education jobs! PFT blog
Supplemental education funding will be up for vote in the U.S. Senate.

City employees in Philly to get discounts at some colleges The Inquirer

I Miss My Old Brain Philly Teacher blog

College isn't common stock The Inquirer (opinion)

Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.

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Notes from the news

First Anniversary of Blog: Thank You � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

First Anniversary of Blog: Thank You � Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

First Anniversary of Blog: Thank You

by larrycuban

Dear Readers,

This post marks my first anniversary as a blogger. I want to thank those readers who regularly read my twice-weekly posts, those who have dipped into them occasionally, those who have subscribed to the post, and finally those who have taken the time to write thoughtful comments. Over 56,000 people from around the world have clicked on to the blog since August 2009. Not exactly viral but, for me, most gratifying.

For the 114 posts I have written this past year, I have followed three rules:

1. Write less than 800 words.

2. Write clearly on school reform and classroom practice.

3. Take a position and back it up with evidence.

For anyone who blogs or writes often, I want to say that sticking to these rules has been no easy task. Yet after a year, it has been very satisfying. I remain highly motivated to write about policymakers, administrators, teachers, and students–all who inhabit the policy-to-practice continuum–and all who in different ways, with varied ideas, seek to improve schooling.

To me, writing is a form of teaching and learning. The learning part comes from figuring out what I want to say on

Minnesota schools are facing a chasm between the haves and have-nots over equal broadband access EducationNews.org

EducationNews.org

Daily EducationNews

After 13 years of Labour, one in three primary pupils are still failing the 3Rs
8.4.10 - The Government pledged a return to traditional lessons in English and maths afterwarning that achievement had 'flatlined' for much of Labour's time in office.

Minnesota schools are facing a chasm between the haves and have-nots over equal broadband access
8.4.10 - Beyond questions of fairness, a new study raises concerns about the state's economic prospects. Too many students lack full access to technological tools that are essential components of jobs training for the future. ...

Investigation of for-profit colleges finds fraud, misrepresentations
8.4.10 - A government probe of 15 for-profit colleges found four cases in which campus officials encouraged applicants to commit fraud, and examples at every school in which officials lied about or misrepresented their programs. ...

'Free' movies, songs no more as colleges bust file-sharing
8.4.10 - College students who download music and movies from peer-to-peer file-sharing programs such as LimeWire and KaZaA will find themselves cut off when they return to campus this fall. ...

Commentaries

An Interview with Professor Donald Elder: Revisiting the Lincoln-Douglas Debates
8.4.10 - Michael F. Shaughnessy - The temperament of Congress is clearly less civil now than it was 40 or 50 years ago, and my theory is that while we were engaged in the Cold War, Republicans and Democrats could at least work together to defeat the common foe.

Education under Obama: A Conversation with Bill Evers
8.4.10 - Reason.tv's Paul Feine recently sat down with Evers to get his assessment of US education policy under Obama thus far. Williamson M. Evers was the US assistant secretary of education for policy from 2007-2009. Today, Evers is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution and serves on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's California Academic Content Standards Commission.

Effective from the Start
8.4.10 - Harry & Rosemary Wong - "I knew I needed procedures to manage my classroom, but I wasn't sure how to teach them. When you showed the example PowerPoints I began writing mine in my head, and as soon as the inservice ended, I worked for the rest of the day until I had it and my room perfected." ...

CURRICULUM: THE MISSING LINK
8.4.10 - In a July 21 New York Times cover story, reporter Tamar Lewin rightfully noted "the surprise of many in education circles..." that 27 states had already committed to adopting the new Common Core academic standards developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.

True culture change comes when hearts are changed
8.4.10 - Secondly, parents must deal with what's going on in the government-run institutions-of-liberal-indoctrination (public schools). Liberal teachers are stealthily implanting in student's minds the idea of rejecting conservative parent's values and adopting a Marxist/socialist "progressive" worldview.

What We're Watching: Bloggingheads on Acting White
John McWhorter and Richard Thompson Ford talk about school desegregation, "acting white," and black student achievement....

The Rives Resolution -- To Stop Pro-Islam/Anti-Christian and Anti-Judeo Bias in Students' Textbooks
Donna Garner - Randy Rives from Odessa, Texas, offered a Resolution on the floor of the Texas State Board of Education (7.23.10) that is meant to quell the pro-Islam/anti-Christian and anti-Judeo bias in students' World History textbooks. The Resolution is to be added as an agenda item for the September 22-24, 2010 meeting. ...

Education Week: Post-Katrina report a mixed bag for New Orleans

Post-Katrina report a mixed bag for New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A report on New Orleans' progress in the five years since Hurricane Katrina extols a "new spirit of reform and enhanced self reliance" and the remaking of the public school system, but it laments high crime, racial disparities and economic dependence on industries that are losing steam.

Encouraging signs in the fifth edition of "The New Orleans Index" by the Brookings Institution and the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center include the finding that the metro area recovered more than 90 percent of its population and almost 85 percent of its jobs, based on 2009 census estimates. In the city itself, the report said, the latest census estimate — 354,850 people as of July 2009 — means New Orleans has recovered 78 percent of its pre-Katrina level. But Katrina accelerated job losses in the city, allowing

Venture Philanthropy gives $5.5 million for expansion of KIPP DC charter schools

Private donor gives $5.5M boost to KIPP DC

A private donor hopes to double the number of D.C students in KIPP charter schools by 2015.

Eduwonk � Blog Archive � Round Two RTT Finalists: Some Cliff Notes from DE

Round Two RTT Finalists: Some Cliff Notes from DE

by smead

Guest post courtesy of Paul Herdman, Rodel Foundation of Delaware
Right now, 18 “round-two” states and DC are prepping for their high stakes interviews. They’re probably also breathing a collective sigh of relief that their applications are out the door, attending to fires left burning while they were working on their proposals, and catching up on sleep. Yet, with all this, there are other things that the finalists might want to add to their to-do lists prior to the RTTT announcement in a few weeks.
While the Rodel Foundation of Delaware is not directly engaged in the implementation of the state’s RTTT work, we are endeavoring to be as helpful as possible in our state. I’m looking for your input, and offering a few observations from the sidelines that I hope will be helpful as other states think about what they should be doing

Blog U.: ABC’s and PhD’s: Summer Reading - Mama PhD - Inside Higher Ed

ABC’s and PhD’s: Summer Reading Liz Stockwell

ABA Committee Blasts 'U.S. News' for Rankings A special committee of the American Bar Association has issued a reportcriticizing the impact of *U.S. News & World Report* rankings on law schools. The report says that the magazine's methodology "tends to increase the costs of legal education for ...

Aid Officer Arrested as For-Profit College Closes The sudden closure this week of Ascension College, a for-profit college in Louisiana, has been followed by the arrest of a financial aid officer who was charged with felony theft of $7,600 in tuition payments by students, *The Baton Rouge Advocate* ...

State school board adopts Common Core standards

California will toss out its current curriculum and require students to read the same textbooks and...

Photos

Tragedy puts UC Berkeley house in spotlight

A once-promising UC Berkeley junior lies in his parents' San Diego home, a breathing tube down his...

Photos

Tom Sherak re-elected president of film academy 2:52 AM
Breitbart: Enemy of the left with a laptop 9:00 PM
Democrats try to jump-start budget negotiations 6:48 PM
Democrats try to jump-start budget negotiations 6:16 PM
Naval Academy gets new superintendent 5:47 PM

New CA curriculum standards will take years to implement | California Watch

New CA curriculum standards will take years to implement

by Louis Freedberg

Louis Freedberg

Don't expect to see changes in the classroom any time soon following the vote this week by the California State Board of Education to adopt new national curriculum standards for the state in English language arts and math.
Theresa Garcia, the board's executive director, told California Watch that it will be two to three years before the standards will result in any noticeable changes.
Board president Ted Mitchell described the board's unanimous vote approving the new standards at the standing-

Could new solar power technology rival oil?

by Susanne Rust

Susanne Rust

A major breakthrough in harnessing the sun’s energy has just been announced by a team of Stanford University researchers.
Instead of just harvesting light energy from the sun – or alternatively, just the sun's heat – the researchers found a way to combine the two forms of energy into a highly efficient system.
And they say the technology is so inexpensive it could rival oil.
“It’s pretty darn exciting,” said Sue Kateley, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries

“Health Care Reform Infographic” | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

“Health Care Reform Infographic” Here’s another infographic reviewing the changes coming to health care in the U.S. over the next few years as a result of the new health care reform bill. It’s not as accessible as other ones on The Best Online Resources For Learning About Health ...

Part Fifty Of The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & Quickly The first part of this post is my usual introduction to this series. If you’re familiar with it already, just skip down to the listing of new sites… Here’s the latest installment in my series on The Best Ways To Create Online Content Easily & ...

For-Profit Colleges Mislead Students, Report Finds - NYTimes.com

For-Profit Colleges Mislead Students, Report Finds

By TAMAR LEWIN

Published: August 3, 2010

REPRINTS

Undercover investigators posing as students interested in enrolling at 15 for-profit colleges found that recruiters at four of the colleges encouraged prospective students to lie on their financial aid applications — and all 15 misled potential students about their programs’ cost, quality and duration, or the average salary of graduates, according to a federal report.

The report and its accompanying video are to be released publicly Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, the auditing arm of Congress, at an oversight hearing on for-profit colleges by the

At U. of Iowa, Recruitment Success Has Its Perils

By JACQUES STEINBERG

Stephen Mally for The New York Times

Prospective students and their families on a recent tour of the University of Iowa.

More students are going to the University of Iowa this fall than the university can accommodate, setting off a search for classroom and living space.

The Choice: Crowded Class | Post a Comment

For-Profit Colleges Mislead Students, Report Finds

By TAMAR LEWIN

Recruiters for 15 for-profit colleges encouraged lying on financial aid forms and misled potential students.

Cheating Inquiry in Atlanta Largely Vindicates Schools

By SHAILA DEWAN

An independent commission found no evidence of “any district-wide or centrally coordinated effort to manipulate” test scores.

WELL COLUMN

Summer Must-Read for Kids? Any Book

By TARA PARKER-POPE

A report says that for some children, the reading skills lost over the summer represent about two months' worth of schooling.

Schools Matter: For-Profit Diploma Mills: 15 of 15 Crooked in GAO Undercover Investigation

For-Profit Diploma Mills: 15 of 15 Crooked in GAO Undercover Investigation

by Jim Horn

When the oligarchs decided for Obama that the U. S. would be #1 in college graduates by 2020, they knew that such a goal would be as meaningless as the paper handed out by the Wall Street U's to the most exploited students whose K-12 non-preparation leaves them with no option for a college education except for a fraudulent one paid for by the taxpayer with Pell Grants.

But students and taxpayers just keep getting the business by big business as Arne does the rope-a-dope on cracking down in any significant way on these whale donors who can afford the big corporate donations. Why shouldn't they--they have an endless revenue strea

Rise & Shine: Former JFK principal loses suburbs job over theft | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Former JFK principal loses suburbs job over theft

by Philissa Cramer

The former JFK HS principal who took student money lost his new job in the suburbs. (Daily News)
The married PS 257 principal and IS 318 guidance counselor gave kidneys to their two sons. (Fox News)
The city won’t let Automotive HS’s football team use a nearby public field. (Brooklyn Paper)
City students are preparing their submissions for next year’s middle school film festival. (WNYC)
State officials rejected Girls Prep Charter School’s expansion plan. (GothamSchools, Post)
So many HS basketball players are in summer school that the city can’t attend tournaments. (Daily News)
Brooklyn parents aren’t putting much stock in the new, lower state test scores. (Brooklyn Paper)
Arthur Levine says education could undo the damage done to his old neighborhood. (Daily News)
The U.S. Senate is set to vote today on an aid package that would save teaching jobs. (Daily News)
Australian principals want the government to give them power to fire teachers. (The Australian)
Texas teachers are as white as they were decades ago, and experts want change. (AP)

Schools Matter: The Summer Slump in Reading: An Obvious First Step

The Summer Slump in Reading: An Obvious First Step

by skrashen

Sent to Time Magazine, August 2, 2010

Time says that "well-off American students may be falling behind their peers around the world" ("The case against summer vacation," August 2). Not so.

Studies show that American students attending well-funded schools who come from high-income families outscore students in nearly all other countries on international tests. Only our children in high poverty schools score below the international average. Our scores are mediocre because the US has the second highest percentage of children in poverty of all industrialized countries (22%, compared to Denmark's 2.5%). This

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Pa. layoffs loom as Congress nears vote on aid

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Post-Katrina report a mixed bag for New Orleans

Private donor gives $5.5M boost to KIPP DC

MORE ON EDUCATION

For-Profit Colleges Mislead Students, Report Finds

By TAMAR LEWIN

Published: August 3, 2010

Stephen Mally for The New York Times

By TAMAR LEWIN

By SHAILA DEWAN

WELL COLUMN

By TARA PARKER-POPE