Big Education Ape

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Answer Sheet - Why we can't afford small classes anymore: One view

Why we can't afford small classes anymore: One view

My guest is Justin Snider, who teaches undergraduate writing at Columbia University and writes for The Hechinger Report, the nonprofit, nonpartisan education-news outlet affiliated with Teachers College, Columbia University. By Justin Snider Economic downturns aren’t all bad news. One upshot is that they force people to reexamine their expenditures. When money’s tight, most of us start to scrutinize where every cent is going. We reprioritize. Spending $25 for a night out at the movies, when we stop to think about it, doesn’t really make much sense – especially when we could wait a few months and own the movie on DVD for half the price. Four-dollar lattes each morning suddenly seem absurd. Recessions and depressions help us see, and correct, our wayward ways. We trim the fat, after having insisted for years there wasn’t any fat to trim. But when the economy is flying high, nothing looks fatty – though

US Chamber Urges Education Dept To Withdraw Proposed Debt Rule

By Darrell A. Hughes, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is urging the Education Department to withdraw a proposed policy that could strip some for-profit colleges of federal funds.

The issue stems from Education Department findings that suggest students are paying back loans at surprisingly low rates. In an attempt to reduce the number of students who are found to have heavy debt burdens, the department proposed a rule that would measure how well for-profit schools train students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation.

Schools could "pass" based on student loan repayment rates, or by maintaining a debt-to-income ratio below a certain percent.

The comment period for the proposed rule expired on Thursday, which has prompted the chamber to reiterate its concerns as the Education Department gears to review submitted comments.

A Numbers Game for High School Counselors - US News and World Report

A Numbers Game for High School Counselors Budget cuts are hampering counselors' ability to spend time working with students.

Finish, Don't Start, Your Degree Online Many employers are willing to help you complete your education online.

The Great Recession's Toll on Higher Education The tight economy has forced many students to fight for an affordable, quality education.

Central Office: Philly Board Makes Itself Look Bad - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

Central Office: Philly Board Makes Itself Look Bad

by Alexander Russo

The school board in Philadelphia recently approved spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on fancy new

Education Research Report: NCEE Releases Final Report on Two Adolescent Literacy Programs

NCEE Releases Final Report on Two Adolescent Literacy Programs

by Jonathan Kantrowitz

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There is substantial interest in helping the more than 70 percent of students who arrive in high school with reading skills that are below “proficient” on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Enhanced Reading Opportunities (ERO) demonstration evaluated two supplemental literacy programs – Reading Apprenticeship Academic Literacy (RAAL) and Xtreme Reading (XR) – targeted to ninth grade students whose reading skills were at least two years below grade level.

Over two years, about 6,000 eligible students in 34 high schools from 10 districts were randomly assigned to enroll in the year-long ERO class or remain in a regularly scheduled elective class (non-ERO group). At the end

ASCD Inservice: @-ing the 100@30

@-ing the 100@30

Tech & Learning magazine recently compiled their list of the 100 most influential ed tech people, breaking the list down into three parts: the most important ed tech peeps from the past and present and those shaping the future.

The latest installment, the list of future influencers, is out, and we'd like to make an addendum to the list—where to follow these pioneers on Twitter:

Ntiedo "Nt" Etuk: http://twitter.com/DimensionUGames

Keith R. Bujak: http://twitter.com/keifer5448

Andy Crozier: http://twitter.com/acrozier22

Blue Ribbon Schools Named - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Applauds
California Schools Receiving National Honor

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell applauded the achievement of 21 California public schools named this morning by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as 2010 National Blue Ribbon Schools.

The schools were among 304 schools nationwide to receive the prestigious award during the announcement this morning in Washington D.C.

"I congratulate these outstanding schools and celebrate this accomplishment made possible by hard work, commitment, and a determination to provide a rigorous education that is helping their students reach their full potential," O'Connell said. "I hope other schools will be able to follow their lead and turn struggle into success."

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program (BRSP) recognizes elementary and secondary schools that are both academically superior and have demonstrated dramatic gains in student achievement while serving an economically disadvantaged population of students. Schools so recognized are national models of excellence that other schools may emulate. All of the 2010 recipients were either previous California Distinguished Schools or Title I Academic Achieving Award schools.

The list of schools is attached.

Each of California's 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools serves a large population of disadvantaged students—ranging from 48 percent of the school's enrollment to 100 percent—and all have a history of dramatically improved achievement in English-language arts and in mathematics. On average, these 2010 Blue Ribbon schools increased the percentage of students scoring at the "proficient" and the "advanced" levels by 49 percent on statewide tests.

The 2010 schools were initially nominated last fall on the basis of their achievement history for 2005 to 2009, but in order for final Blue Ribbon certification, the schools had to make all of their 2010 Academic Performance Index state targets and all Adequate Yearly Progress federal accountability targets. The 2010 data are preliminary until the final results are released to the public on September 13.

California's 2010 National Blue Ribbon Schools will be honored on November 15-16 at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Two people from each school, the principal and a teacher, are invited to participate. Each school will receive a plaque and a flag to signify its Blue Ribbon School status.

A priority for selection is made for socioeconomically disadvantaged schools that have either shown dramatic improvement in student achievement from 2005 to 2009 or schools that have maintained a superior level of achievement from 2004 to 2008. The U.S. Department of Education designates a public school as "disadvantaged" if 40 percent or more of the students either: (a) participate in the National School Lunch Program; (b) have parents who did not earn a high school diploma; (c) receive Migrant Education services; or (d) are classified as English learners.

In addition to the 21 California public schools, four California private schools were designated as 2010 National Blue Ribbon Schools. They are named in the attachment below.

The U.S. Secretary of Education has recognized more than 6,000 outstanding schools in the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program over the past 28 years. To obtain further information on the program and review a list of 2010 winners nationwide, please visit the U.S. Department of Education Web site at:Awards - Blue Ribbon Schools Program (Outside Source).

Attachment

California's 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools (Public)

County	District	School
Alameda	Oakland Unified	Lincoln Elementary
Fresno	Clovis Unified	Jefferson Elementary
Fresno	Sanger Unified	Centerville Elementary
Los Angeles	Hawthorne	Hawthorne Math and Science Academy
Los Angeles	Inglewood Unified	Highland Elementary
Los Angeles	Little Lake City Elementary	William W. Orr Elementary
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Synergy Charter Academy
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	South Shores/CSUDH Visual & Perform
Los Angeles	Los Angeles Unified	Superior Street Elementary
Orange	Capistrano Unified	Richard Henry Dana Elementary
Orange	Garden Grove Unified	Sunnyside Elementary
Orange	Santa Ana Unified	Carl Harvey Elementary
Riverside	Lake Elsinore Unified	Withrow Elementary
Sacramento	Sacramento City Unified	Aspire- Capitol Heights Academy
Sacramento	Sacramento City Unified	Camellia Elementary
San Bernardino	Apple Valley Unified	Sycamore Rocks Elementary
San Diego	Chula Vista Elementary	Otay Elementary
San Diego	San Diego Unified	Kearny Digital Media & Design
San Diego	San Diego Unified	Preuss School UCSD
Santa Clara	Alum Rock Union Elementary	KIPP Heartwood Academy
Sonoma	Two Rock Union	Two Rock Elementary

California's 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools (Private)

County	City	School
Orange	San Juan Capistrano	Capistrano Valley Christian
Los Angeles	Rancho Palos Verdes	St. John Fisher School
San Mateo	Hillsborough	The Nueva School
Los Angeles	Los Angeles	The Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy of Temple Beth Am

# # # #

Race to Top: In Defense of New Jersey - State EdWatch - Education Week

Race to Top: In Defense of New Jersey

by Sean Cavanagh

New Jersey state officials, and Gov. Chris Christie's administration in particular, have taken a beating over the state's failed Race to the Top application, and a crucial error that may have cost them $400 million.

Now an official from a schools organization offers a spirted defense of the state's actions, arguing that the Obama administration had good reason to cut the state some slack.

David Griffith, the public policy director at ASCD—formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development—says in an online essay that federal officials could easily have allowed New Jersey officials to

NCLB Foe Releases Slew of Bills - Politics K-12 - Education Week

NCLB Foe Releases Slew of Bills

by Alyson Klein

Congress may not be making adequately yearly progress towards the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, but that doesn't mean it's not on the minds of lawmakers who are locked in tight races for re-election.

Case in point? Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., who has long been a critic of the current version of the law, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. He introduced a whopping three ESEA-related bills over a two-day period. Feingold is fending off a tough re-election challenge from three GOP opponents, including plastics manufacturer Ron Johnson. (This poll has Feingold just 1 point ahead of Johnson.) So he may see this as a good time to remind people of his independence on ideas like education.

One of the bills seeks to give parents and community members a bigger role in determining how their schools

This Week In Education: Economics: Heckman Questions Harlem Children's Zone

Economics: Heckman Questions Harlem Children's Zone

Highly regarded economist James Heckman (you read about him in Paul Tough's book, among other places), recently questioned the research behind the Harlem Children's Zone, which he says has "gripped the administration" even though it

Accountability: "Waistline" Vs. Actual Waistline [image: ScreenHunter_62 Sep. 10 00.36] If we needed any more evidence that people trust numbers too much -- or that numbers are infinitely manipulable, check out this little story from Esquire about the differences between the listed waist sizes of ...

Eduwonk � Blog Archive � Dropouts, Tune In

Dropouts, Tune In

by arotherham

Two new reports from Jobs for the Future plus a cool interactive web feature are all worth your time. One looks at six elements of dropout prevention (pdf). Includes a lot of great stuff, but I would have liked to see more on state early-warning system that actually start really early. States are still missing big opportunities to put all their data (and not just education data) to high-leverage use, and not just at the high school level. Also, as new

Teach for America is one of many reforms we need | THE EDUCATION FRONT Blog | dallasnews.com

Teach for America is one of many reforms we need

by William McKenzie/ Editorial Columnist

Morning News readers will recall that we ran this story about Teach for America on Sunday. Today, we ran this editorial.

Readers of this blog also may know that I favor Teach for America.
It's not a cure-all, so don't think I'm suggesting it as a replacement for all teachers. But TFA is one of many

Details of D.C. Performance-Pay System Unveiled - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Details of D.C. Performance-Pay System Unveiled

by Stephen Sawchuk

Leaders in the District of Columbia today announced details of the performance-based-pay program enshrined in its recently inked contract. Under the system, deemed "IMPACTplus,"—a reference to the IMPACT teacher-evaluation system upon which the pay decisions will be made—teachers deemed "highly effective" stand to earn annual bonuses of up to $25,000.

In addition to these one-off bonuses, teachers will have the opportunity to qualify for permanent base-pay raises as well.

But given the district's hotly charged political environment, payouts under the new program could already be in

NEA New Mexico Political Ad Omits Small Detail | Intercepts

NEA New Mexico Political Ad Omits Small Detail

by Mike Antonucci

NEA New Mexico is running a television ad supporting Democrat Diane Denish for governor. The ad features Las Cruces special education teacher Freda Trujillo and claims Republican candidate Susana Martinez would cut public education funding (the original ad is apparently unavailable on the Internet). What’s so unusual about that? Nothing, except the union failed to determine if using Trujillo in the

New Latino Voter Poll Finds Strong Support for Candidates Who Back Preschool | California Progress Report

Rush Limbaugh’s “Just Say No” Strategy Succeeds
by christine
By Randy Shaw
Remember when, amidst all the excitement over Barack Obama’s inauguration, Rush Limbaugh announced that he hoped Obama would fail? Limbaugh argued that the Republicans’ best strategy for revival was to “just say no” to everything proposed by Obama, regardless of the negative impacts on the nation. Limbaugh was attacked for his negativism at the time, but less than two months before the midterm elections his strategy has played out perfectly. Republican obstructionism has left many voters disenchanted with Democrats failure to achieve “change,” sufficiently depleting enthusiasm to potentially create the low-turnout midterm election upon which Republican success now depends. A President willing to paint Republicans as obstructionists from the start could have defeated Limbaugh’s strategy, but President Obama chose a different course.
read more

New Latino Voter Poll Finds Strong Support for Candidates Who Back Preschool

by christine

By Catherine Atkin

Each week, we hear new reports about candidates’ efforts to reach out to the Latino community, which accounts for 1 in 5 registered voters, and their messages about creating jobs, fixing our schools and building a brighter future for California.

Left out of these proposals, however, is an important first step in education reform – providing access to high-quality early learning programs that help lay the foundation for our children to start school ready to learn and succeed. This is a critical issue for Latino children, who account for more than half of all children under age 5, and who by 2025, will make up almost half of the new labor force in California.

Eliminating Tax Breaks Will Result in Budget Surplus

by christine

By Willie Pelote
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

A recent article entitled “Eliminating Tax Breaks Could Cut Deficit” puts the lie to the claim that public pensions are the source of the state’s budget woes.

According to the article, Sacramento could produce a budget surplus simply by closing loopholes in California’s tax code, which replicates many federal tax breaks and creates an additional 36 loopholes of its own.

Among the many wasteful tax expenditures and incentives that should be done away with are the state’s failed enterprise zone program, which costs taxpayers $500 million a year, and $3 billion worth of tax breaks granted to multinational corporations in 2009 as a condition of passing the state budget.

These are the same recommendations that the American Federation of State County&Municipal Employees (AFSCME) have been calling for since 2009.

UC Study: Prop 23 Kills Jobs, Hurts Cities, Causes Legal Chaos

by christine

By Steven Maviglio
California Majority Report

Hot off the press this morning is an independent analysis of California's Proposition 23 that says the initiative would create legal uncertainty, reduce California state revenue, and jeopardize new and existing clean energy jobs. The white paper, released today byBerkeley Law's Center for Law, Energy&the Environment, reports Prop. 23 would also slow California's efforts to reduce climate change and could have a domino effect on other states. Here's the press release.

Eduflack: Teacher Incentives and Australia-Bound Felons

Teacher Incentives and Australia-Bound Felons

by Eduflack

Can 18th century British boat captains teach us anything about the effectiveness of teacher incentives?

Early this morning, NPR featured an economist talking about English maritime history an economist talking about English maritime history. As many know, at one point Australia served as a prison colony for Great Britain. The British would send their criminals on a lovely sea voyage, eventually dumping their troublemakers on what was seen as the other side of the world.

The trouble was, by the time the trip from England to Australia was completed, nearly one third of the prisoners

8 D.C. area schools win National Blue Ribbon award for academic achievement

Sarah Hillware talks with Mayor Adrian M. Fenty at the School Without Walls, where Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the National Blue Ribbon School award winners. (Bill O'leary/the Washington Post)
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By Michael Birnbaum

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, September 10, 2010

Eight public and private schools in the Washington area received one of the highest distinctions in U.S. education Thursday as Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the 304 winners of the National Blue Ribbon School awards.

Duncan spoke at the District's School Without Walls on Thursday, citing the school -- the only one in the District to receive the award -- for its progress in raising achievement levels among disadvantaged and minority students.

The school, on the campus of George Washington University, requires an application for admission and

Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, September 10, 2010

US Chamber Urges Education Dept To Withdraw Proposed Debt Rule

@-ing the 100@30

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell ApplaudsCalifornia Schools Receiving National Honor

Attachment

California's 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools (Public)

California's 2010 Blue Ribbon Schools (Private)

Economics: Heckman Questions Harlem Children's Zone

New Latino Voter Poll Finds Strong Support for Candidates Who Back Preschool

8 D.C. area schools win National Blue Ribbon award for academic achievement

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Applauds
California Schools Receiving National Honor