Friday, August 27, 2010

Life since Katrina: 3 stories of survival - Boston.com

Life since Katrina: 3 stories of survival

A brass band plays as singer Charmaine Neville, actress Shauna Rappold (both not pictured), and others hold a symbolic jazz funeral for victims of Hurricane Katrina, as the fifth anniversary of the storms in downtown New Orleans, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

By Pauline Arrillaga, Sharon Cohen and Allen G. Breed

AP National Writers / August 27, 2010

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When Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed New Orleans and the surrounding region five years ago, hundreds of thousands of lives were changed forever, in myriad ways. Hundreds died, but even among survivors, many lost all that was familiar. And recovery is a process that still goes on day by day.

Here are three stories of survival and readjustment, by Associated Press writers who tracked down individuals they had first met in Katrina's chaotic wake.

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The Thomas family: Evacuated from Katrina's floods, now rooted in Arizona desert

Five years ago, the family had never seen a cactus up close. Mexican food meant Taco Bell. And the phrase "dry heat" would have been absurd. Back then, of

This Week In Education: RTTT: Consulting Firm Helped Four States Win RTTT Funding

RTTT: Consulting Firm Helped Four States Win RTTT Funding

by Alexander Russo

Jenn Vranek, founding partner at Education First, may have been instrumental in helping Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, and Tennessee win RTTT funding. Or at least that's what the EdFirst website says.

As you may recall from last year, the Gates foundation gave 15 states extra money for consulting help -- first in secret and then publicly. The assistance wasn't always helpful. Minnesota Public Radio wondered whether McKinsey did a great job with that state's application. Illinois got help from BCG and

Catalyst Notebook :: In the News: City Colleges open admissions; Chicago State's high dropout rate

Catalyst writers and editors share their perspectives, analyses and the news behind the news on improving Chicago area public schools. Our on-the-ground reports will tell you what’s happening in schools and education circles here and elsewhere. Our views will tell you what to make of it.

In the News: City Colleges open admissions; Chicago State's high dropout rateSun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell decries the end of open admissions at Chicago's City Colleges, saying "would mean that many of these students could end up being denied access to higher education. If that is our intent, then things are going to get a lot worse before they get better."

Continue Reading In the News: City Colleges open admissions; Chicago State's high dropout rate »

Posted By: Cassandra West On Fri Aug 27, 2010 In In the News
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College-prep for all no guarantee of higher achievementDo more rigorous courses raise student achievement? Not necessarily, according to a study by the Consortium on Chicago School Research. A new policy brief from the Consortium, in effect, sounds a warning about the national push for tougher learning standards for all students.
Continue Reading College-prep for all no guarantee of higher achievement »

Posted By: Lorraine Forte On Thu Aug 26, 2010 In High Schools

Progress slows in closing achievement gaps in D.C. schools

Progress slows in closing achievement gaps in D.C. schools After two years of progress, Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee's effort to narrow the vast achievement gap separating white and African American students in D.C. public schools has stalled, an analysis of 2010 test score data shows. Education - United ...

Hostility across U.S. jars Muslim college students Although the Muslim students hadn't eaten since dawn, something besides food was on their minds as they loaded plates with tandoori chicken, chickpeas and rice at American University to break their Ramadan fast. Islam - United States - Religion and ...

Schwarzenegger pumps up weightlifting team with fundraiser - Sacramento Sports - Kings, 49ers, Raiders, High School Sports | Sacramento Bee

Schwarzenegger pumps up weightlifting team with fundraiser
By Matt Kawahara - Updated: 2:54 am
Three years ago, Sae Vang didn't think he'd ever get on an airplane, much less travel the world competing in Olympic weightlifting meets.
Video Report
Volunteer Spotlight: The Literacy Little League
By Cynthia Hubert - Updated: 8:58 am
In need of help: The Literacy Little League, a volunteer reading program at Edison Elementary in the San Juan Unified School District. The program targets third-graders who are working on their reading skills.
Ortiz foe in Los Rios race missed statement deadline
By Loretta Kalb - Updated: Wednesday, August 25 2010 - 8:38 am
A candidate who unsuccessfully sought to block former state lawmaker Deborah Ortiz's name from the Nov. 2 ballot for the Los Rios Community College District board has been thwarted in efforts to receive an extension for his personal candidate's statement.
Sacramento schools rank high and low in exit exam
By Melody Gutierrez and Phillip Reese - Updated: Wednesday, August 25 2010 - 8:44 am
West Campus High School proved again why it's one of the most sought-after schools in the Sacramento area after posting top scores on the California High School Exit Exam.
New data shows progress on high school exit exam
District-by-district exit exam scores

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/education/#ixzz0xoE3qDOn

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: "I felt more removed from teaching than I had in my 15 years on the job...."

"I felt more removed from teaching than I had in my 15 years on the job...."

by Mike Klonsky

In his recent Arkansas speech, Sec. Duncan crowed that, "more than two thousand L.A. teachers have asked the Times for their scores." Here's one of them. She's Nation Board Certified teacher Kim Jones, who teaches at Ivanhoe Elementary School in Silver Lake. Kim's commentary appears in today's Times:

After reading the recent stories in this newspaper about "value added" evaluations, which look at whether individual teachers raise or lower their

Teachers to survey students – if they choose The Educated Guess

The Educated Guess

Teachers to survey students – if they choose

Posted in Teacher Development

With the governor’s signature of SB 1422, students have won the right to express views of their teachers. It will take another bill, however, to win the right to actually be listened to.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Gloria Romero of Los Angeles, is a victory of sorts for the California Assn. of Student Councils and a civics lesson in sausage making.

The bill allows high school student governments to work with teachers on creating a student opinion survey on various aspects of the classes they take and their teachers’ effectiveness. The surveys will be distributed to teachers annually.

Here’s where the “buts” start. Teachers wouldn’t have to distribute them if they didn’t want to. The answers would be kept confidential. Only the teachers would have access to the answers; administrators wouldn’t have a right to see the responses. The survey could not be used as part of a teacher evaluation or be entered in a teacher’s personnel file.

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By admin on August 27th, 2010

How 5 Race to Top judges scored California

Posted in Race to the Top

The five unidentified reviewers of California’s Race to the Top application generally praised the district-led approach that California took and expressed optimism that ceding control to districts committed to reform could succeed.

But what stopped them, with one exception, from giving the state winning marks were three areas that participating superintendents and state officials figured would be problematic: lack of union support for the application; a troubled statewide data system that lags behind other states; and uncertainty whether the state could deliver commitments to create more effective teachers and principals.

The U.S. Department of Education released the scores and evaluations of statesin the second round of Race to the Top on Wednesday. It showed that especiallyin California, the numbers were all over the place. You’d have thought that two of the reviewers had read different applications.

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By John Fensterwald on August 26th, 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

U.S. officials refute Christie on attempt to fix Race to the Top application during presentation | NJ.com

U.S. officials refute Christie on attempt to fix Race to the Top application during presentation

Published: Thursday, August 26, 2010, 9:45 PM

Statehouse Bureau Staff
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Excerpt of N.J.'s Race to the Top interview shows officials with no budget answer

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TRENTON — When New Jersey failed to win up to $400 million in federal education money, Gov. Chris Christie blamed Washington bureaucrats, saying they refused to allow the state to fix a simple error in its application.

But today, the U.S. Department of Education released video footage contradicting Christie’s claim. The video shows state officials struggling and failing to provide correct budget information during a 90-minute presentation. In addition, a federal official said the state never provided the required information.

Schools to get $51.9 million in federal funds | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Schools to get $51.9 million in federal funds

by Erika Owens

Pennsylvania may have lost out on Race to the Top funds, but the state has just doled out another pot of stimulus funds through the School Improvement Grant Fund - to the tune of $51.9 million for some of Philadelphia's troubled schools.

The list of awards from the state totals $101 million, with the School District garnering just over half that, earmarked for 27 of its low-performing schools. For 11 of those schools, the grants exceed $2 million. Schools have three years to use the funds.

Featured Title:

29 local schools are winners - most getting grants in the millions

Parents setting up independent school in northeast Portland | OregonLive.com

Parents setting up independent school in northeast Portland When Sarah Phillips and David Friedman couldn't find a school that suited the needs of their daughter, now 8, they decided to start one. The Portland School Project is set to open in September 2011 in Northeast Portland with 35 students in grades ...

Montessori school at Portland's South Waterfront accepting enrollees Parents interested in Montessori education will have another option this fall. Montessori Children's House, a 4,000-square-foot facility nestled among the condo towers in South Waterfront, will open Sept. 13 at 3626 S.W. Bond Ave. on the ground floor ...

State revenue down again, but corporate kicker may be coming Oregon's latest economic forecast shows revenue from personal income taxes way down and revenue from corporate taxes up, possibly enough to trigger the corporate kicker.

Blog U.: A Formula for Increasing Enrollments Without Significantly Driving Up Costs? - Technology and Learning - Inside Higher Ed

A Formula for Increasing Enrollments Without Significantly Driving Up Costs? Joshua Kim

Students Arrive in One Week Meg Palladino

Math Geek Mom: (Photo) Shopping in Cleveland Rosemarie Emanuele

The Formula for Race to the Top Success – Hire a Winning Grant Writer � The Quick and the Ed

The Formula for Race to the Top Success – Hire a Winning Grant Writer

by Rob Manwaring

Local stories are picking apart why a specific state won or lost the Race to the Top. For example in Colorado, it was not highlighting their most relevant legislation – SB 191 (See Chad Aldeman’s earlier post) – and the lack of union support. In California, it was poor data systems, lack of union support and questions about whether the state could deliver (here). In the case of Ohio winning, it was a clerical error in New Jersey that made a difference. Of course absent that error, perhaps bloggers would be talking about the effectiveness of New Jersey’s presentation team, and the Andy Smarick effect

School Tech Connect: All The President's Friends

All The President's Friends

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

This is the basic attitude of people who think the President's education policies are sound.

We like how you're privatizing the schools, but please, don't waste our kids' time with your socialist

The Rightward Lurch Of Basic Conversations, Redux

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

I've moved around so much in my life, I'm not even sure I have a dog in the fight to save Social Security. I'm vested in pension systems, and with the windfall laws, I have no idea if I'll even ever qualify for Social Security, although they send me a nice statement every once in a while.

Anyway, this was an interesting clip I saw over at C & L. It's Alan Simpson, representing the interests of "the lesser people" on the Catfood Commission. Alan Simpson is a dbag, there's no doubt. It's his right. But to his credit, he stands there and engages rather than dodging the encounter.

Popout

Can you imagine being in a family with this guy? It makes more sense to me that the President would pick Arne Duncan to run education when I look at whom he's picked to chair Catfood.

Massachusetts Invests $204 Million For Education Jobs Fund | Gov Monitor

Massachusetts Invests $204 Million For Education Jobs Fund

Source: Governor of Massachusetts Posted on: 26th August 2010

Governor allocates $204 million in federal Education Jobs Funds to districts across the Commonwealth, Funds will save teacher positions.

Governor Deval Patrick today allocated $204 million from the federal Education Jobs Fund to school districts across the Commonwealth, bringing state support for public schools to its highest level in history.

A combination of state and federal dollars totaling $4.07 billion will ensure all school districts receive more state aid – at least $25 per student – than they did last year.

The new funding, which follows yesterday’s announcement that Massachusetts secured $250 million in federal Race to the Top dollars, will support an estimated 2,700 teaching positions.

“Great schools are the key to our future, and great teachers are the key to great schools,” said Governor Patrick. “With this significant infusion of funds, we are building a better, stronger future for our kids, our communities and our Commonwealth.”

“Governor Patrick and I have consistently said education is a priority of our administration, and today we continue to put those words into action,” said Lieutenant Governor Timothy

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Friday, August 27, 2010