Texas AG Sues 3 Online Home Schools Education Week: From the Wires

Education Week: From the Wires

FROM THE WIRES

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Two Visions of State's Schools

Two candidates vying to become California's next schools chief have strong convictions about how to turn around the state's public schools and restore them to their once-envied position as national leaders.

October 22, 2010

State warns Cedarburg aobut sex ed option

October 22, 2010

NC teacher returns to class after charge

October 22, 2010

Legislators start Ark. lottery scholarship changes

October 22, 2010

N.Y.C. Agrees in Court Not to Release Teacher Data

October 22, 2010

Facing Federal Charges, Superintendent in N.J. Quits

October 22, 2010

Judge: Waterloo school dress code too strict

October 22, 2010

Texas AG Sues 3 Online Home Schools

October 22, 2010

Ohio Teacher Accused of Burning Crosses on Students Drops Lawsuit

October 22, 2010

Board consults with AG's office on scholarship law

October 22, 2010

Okla. college enrollment report shows increases

October 22, 2010

5 education board members say they support SQ 744

October 21, 2010

Alabama teen told to tone down wigs at school

October 21, 2010

Science Grows on Acquiring New Language

An emerging body of research dispels old myths about language learning and makes a case for multilingualism. (October 22, 2010)

THE SCHOOL LAW BLOG

Court: No Teacher Speech Rights on Curriculum

Teachers have no First Amendment free-speech protection for curricular decisions they make in the classroom, a federal appeals court rules. (October 21, 2010)

Character Education Found to Fall Short in Federal Study

(October 21, 2010) | Comments (7)

NYC Agrees in Court to Delay Release of Teacher Data

(October 22, 2010)

A Look at the Fuss Over Value-Added Teacher Data

(October 22, 2010)

FROM THE WIRES

• • Superintendent of Public Instruction: Two Visions of State's Schools
• • State warns Cedarburg aobut sex ed option
• • NC teacher returns to class after charge

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STIMULUS

—Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Stimulus-Aid Bonanza Draws Heat on Campaign Trail

Republicans slam the economic-stimulus package, while some Democrats argue its $100 billion in education aid helped preserve crucial school jobs. (October 22, 2010)

DIGITAL DIRECTIONS

Web 2.0 Fuels Content Filtering Debate

(October 22, 2010)

FEATURED BLOGS

STATE EDWATCH >•

Battles for State Schools Chief in Full Swing

COLLEGE BOUND >•

Students Applying to More Colleges and More Online

DIGITAL EDUCATION >•

NASBE Recommendations Point to Tech Integration

MORE BLO

Questions for parent-teacher conferences

Questions for parent-teacher conferences

Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

“Two people working together who have the best interest of the child in mind

lead to better outcomes for students.”

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

October 22 – November 19, 2010

ELEMENTARY SHORTENED DAYS

Check with your school

Miss a parent-teacher conference, go to jail — Joanne Jacobs

Miss a parent-teacher conference, go to jail — Joanne Jacobs

Miss a parent-teacher conference, go to jail

by Joanne

Miss a parent-teacher conference, go to jail for negligence, proposes Kim Worthy, a prosecutor in Detroit. The Good Men Project Magazine reports:

Her plan would require parents to attend at least one conference per year or face three days in jail. Parents of those excelling in school would be exempt, as would those whose health issues make travel difficult and those “actively engaged” with teachers through e-mail, phone calls or letters.

“We have to find any means necessary to get parents involved,” Worthy said

Education Stakeholders Forum to Be Held in LBJ’s Barnard Auditorium – ED.gov Blog

Education Stakeholders Forum to Be Held in LBJ’s Barnard Auditorium – ED.gov Blog

Education Stakeholders Forum to Be Held in LBJ’s Barnard Auditorium

On Friday, October 22, the U.S. Department of Education will host a Stakeholders Forum to inform constituents, national education organizations, and parent and community organizations about the Department’s current reform efforts and program activities. The event will take place from 2:30-4:00p.m., in the LBJ Building’s Barnard Auditorium.

The panelists for the meeting will discuss Race to the Top (RTT) technical assistance, next steps for the RTT state assessment consortia, Promise Neighborhoods investments, and the launch of the TEACH Campaign.

• Race to the Top Assessment Competition. Under RTT, the Department awarded approximately $330 million for two consortia to develop the next generation of assessments aligned with college- and career-ready standards. The two consortia are the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). They include 44 states and the District of Columbia, who were awarded $170 and $160 million respectively. Our presentation will describe plans and progress made by each of the groups.

• Promise Neighborhoods. Twenty-one nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education will receive Promise Neighborhoods planning grants to create plans that provide cradle-to-career services to improve the educational achievement and healthy development of children. The planning grants of up to $500,000 will support the work in a diverse set of communities in major metropolitan areas, small and medium-size cities, rural areas, and one Indian reservation. Each Promise Neighboorhood is led by a nonprofit organization, an institution of higher education, or a charter school. Each recipient puts great schools at the center of their work.

• The Launch of the TEACH Campaign. The goal of the TEACH Campaign is to increase the number, quality, and diversity of people seeking to become teachers, particularly in high-need schools (rural and urban). The effort also focuses on recruitment of teachers for subjects in greatest demand—Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)—and on teachers of English Learners (EL) and Special Education. The Department further hopes to connect aspiring teachers to information about the pathways to teaching including, preparation, certification, training and mentoring, while celebrating and honoring the profession of teaching.

If you can’t attend the Stakeholders Forum, watch a video or read the transcript of the forum at http://www2.ed.gov/news/events/forum.html

Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Co-Host Teach Town Hall with A&E Network at Temple University | U.S. Department of Education

Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Co-Host Teach Town Hall with A&E Network at Temple University | U.S. Department of Education

Assistant Deputy Secretary to Discuss Importance of Creating Safe, Supportive School Environments at Association of Pupil Services Administration’s Annual Conference in Baltimore

Kevin Jennings, assistant deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, will address the importance of creating a safe and supportive school environment at the National Association of Pupil Services Administration conference at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, in Baltimore.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Co-Host Teach Town Hall with A&E Network at Temple University

Public Discussion with Secretary Duncan and Gov. Rendell on Education Reform in Pennsylvania to follow TEACH Town Hall

Contact:

(202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov

Event Date 1 : October 25, 2010

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel to Philadelphia on Monday, Oct. 25. In the morning, Duncan will discuss the Education Department’s TEACH campaign during a panel discussion at Temple University. In the afternoon, he will join Gov. Edward G. Rendell for a public discussion on education progress in Pennsylvania at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

The TEACH Town Hall will be hosted by the U.S. Department of Education, A&E Network and Temple University. The event will feature a question and answer session about education in America and the importance of great teachers as well as highlight the Department’s nationwide TEACH campaign, aimed at recruiting the next generation of teachers. Temple University President Ann Weaver Hart will open the town hall at 11 a.m. and welcome guest speakers Mayor Michael Nutter and AETN CEO Abbe Raven. After a series of brief remarks, a panel discussion will begin about the importance of education to our nation’s future, the rewards and challenges of teaching and opportunities and pathways into the teaching profession. Joining Secretary Duncan for the panel discussion are Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, Northeast High School Principal Linda Carroll, fifth-year mathematics teacher Muhammad Al-Ahmar, seventh-year fourth grade teacher Diane Honor and Tony Danza whose first year teaching was profiled as part of the A&E series “Teach: Tony Danza,” launched on Friday, Oct. 1 at 10 PM ET/PT. Invited audience members include teachers, college freshman, high school students and potential teaching profession candidates.

The Temple University Town Hall marks the first official TEACH event since the campaign launched in late September. TEACH is the U.S. Department of Education’s national teacher recruitment campaign, which provides information and resources for students and prospective teachers. A&E has committed to supporting TEACH by producing and airing public service announcements on the network in the next few months.

In the afternoon, Secretary Duncan will join Gov. Edward G. Rendell at the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce for a public discussion on the state of education in Pennsylvania. Duncan and Rendell will each give brief opening remarks followed by a question and answer session with dozens of audience members, including federal, state and local elected officials, school superintendents, teachers, college and university officials, education association leaders, non-profit organization staff and business leaders. The discussion will center on the education progress Pennsylvania has made in recent years, including qualifying as a finalist in the Department’s Race to the Top competitive grant program and how to sustain the momentum for improving Pennsylvania’s education system. Following the event, Duncan and Rendell will hold a media avail from 3:25-3:40 p.m. EDT.

*** Media wishing to attend must RSVP by 4 p.m. EDT today, Friday, Oct. 22 to Emily Spitale via phone (212) 210-1327 or email, Emily.Spitale@aetn.com.

To learn more about the TEACH campaign or to learn more about how you can become a teacher, visitwww.TEACH.gov.

Event 1

Who :	U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Additional Panelists: Philadelphia School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, Northeast High School Principal Linda Carroll, Fifth-Year Teacher Muhammad Al-Ahmar, Seventh-Year Teacher Diane Honor Tony Danza Moderator: Temple University Dean of the College of Education Dr. C Kent McGuire Speakers: Temple University President Ann Weaver Hart, Mayor Michael Nutter, AETN CEO Abbe Raven
What :	U.S. Department of Education, AETN and Comcast’s TEACH Town Hall
When :	11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 25 (Media check-in begins at 9:45 a.m. EDT***)
Where :	Temple University The Temple Performing Arts Center 1913 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, Pa.

Event 2

Who :	U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Gov. Edward G. Rendell
What :	Pennsylvania Education Discussion
When :	2:15-3:15 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 25 (Media Avail will take place from 3:25-3:40 p.m. EDT)
Where :	Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 200 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa.

This Week In Education: Value-Added: Will NYC Media & Advocates Act Responsibly?

This Week In Education: Value-Added: Will NYC Media & Advocates Act Responsibly?

Value-Added: Will NYC Media & Advocates Act Responsibly?

by Alexander Russo

For me, value-added is more about journalistic ethics and the privacy of personnel files than anything else right now. The question is whether NYC media will behave more responsibly than the LA Times did if they get their hands on the database, and whether advocates will be able to see that pushing VAM too hard the wrong way is simply going to make it too

Teacher “effectiveness” ratings Freedom of Information Requests � School Finance 101

Teacher “effectiveness” ratings Freedom of Information Requests � School Finance 101

Teacher “effectiveness” ratings Freedom of Information Requests

by schoolfinance101

Andy Rotherham over at Eduwonk posted an Irony Alert yesterday as many media outlets poised themselves to start “outing” ineffective teachers by posting publicly those teacher’s value-added effectiveness scores.Rotherham argued:

In light of this blow up about value-added in New York City, in a lot of places if the teachers unions would actually get serious about actually using value-add data as part of teacher evaluations it could be shielded from “Freedom of Information”requests that identify teachers, just as many aspects of personnel evaluations are. They’re caught in their own mousetrap here. My take on the larger issue from a few weeks ago and LA.

I thought…. hmmm… really? That doesn’t seem right. Is this just a clever argument intended to dupe teachers

California unable to determine if charter schools are meeting students' nutritional needs - latimes.com

California unable to determine if charter schools are meeting students' nutritional needs - latimes.com

A state audit to determ

California unable to determine if charter schools are meeting students' nutritional needs

Though charters aren't required to provide free or low-cost food to needy students, the growth of the system has raised interest in the issue. But available information is too spotty for the state to know how many charter students need the aid or are getting it.

ine whether public charter school students are receiving nutritional meals on campus could not be fully completed because government databases are not reliable or detailed enough, officials said Thursday.

Although the report found that many California charter schools provide meals to their students, state auditor Elaine Howle said it was not possible to determine how many of the students were eligible for or participating in subsidized lunch and breakfast programs.

Charter schools — independently run, publicly financed campuses — are exempt from the federal law requiring public schools to provide needy students with at least one nutritionally adequate meal a day at a reduced price or for free.

Advocates for low-income families are concerned that this could force some parents to choose between the educational and nutritional needs of their children.

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica) said she requested the audit in January because the number of charter schools is growing, and research has shown a link between academic

Schools Matter: KIPP Hired Sexual Abuser Fired by NYC Schools

Schools Matter: KIPP Hired Sexual Abuser Fired by NYC Schools

KIPP Hired Sexual Abuser Fired by NYC Schools

by Jim Horn

From the NYPost:

. . . .Wayne Bartley, 46, a former science teacher at KIPP AMP Academy Middle School, held his illicit trysts with the 13-year-old girl, at the Paradise Motor Inn, a hot sheet motel in the Bronx, from March 2008 to May 2009, according to the Special Schools Investigator Richard Condon.

Bartley, who met his victim when he taught at IS 229 in the Bronx, also preyed on two other girls, investigators found.

He convinced another 13-year-old he met when he taught at IS 392 in Brooklyn to send nude photos of herself to his cell phone. He also gave cash to a third teen, one his KIPP AMP students in Brooklyn, and massaged her feet after paying for her pedicure.

The schools investigators turned over their findings to the Bronx and Brooklyn district attorneys

Dinner and teacher evaluations. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Dinner and teacher evaluations. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Dinner and teacher evaluations.

by preaprez

I’ll be sitting with folks I’m meeting for the first time. Maybe over dinner.

“So, Fred. What do you do?”

“I’m a K-5 Art teacher.”

There will be a smile, a nod and, “Oh! That must be fun.” And that will be the end of that conversation. We will both feel a little awkward and move on to sports, movies or the latest developments with Don and Peggy on Mad Men.

Things have changed.

Now when people find out I’m a teacher they want to talk about teacher evaluations and why more bad teachers

Report: State fails to track free meals at charter schools | California Watch

Report: State fails to track free meals at charter schools | California Watch

Report: State fails to track free meals at charter schools

October 22, 2010 | Deia de Brito

A report released yesterday found that the state Department of Education has failed to keep reliable data on the number of charter school students in federal school breakfast and lunch programs.

The report from the California State Auditor aimed to find out how many charter schools in the state were participating in federal school meal programs and how many students were eligible, but the department's databases provided unclear results.

“In investigating how the nutritional needs of charter school students are being met, so that the Legislature can make future decisions regarding the health and education of California's children, we were hampered by a lack of data,” the report reads.

Under the National School Lunch Act, qualifying low-income children who attend traditional schools are required to receive at least one free or reduced price meal. But charter schools,

Parents protest potential charter expansion to UWS

Parents protest potential charter expansion to UWS

The Success Academy Network, a well known charter school network that operates five schools across Harlem, has applied to open another location on the Upper West Side.

By Jake Davidson

Published October 22, 2010

The charter school debate surfaced south of Harlem this week at a crowded Upper West Side Community Education Council meeting that felt more like a protest.

An auditorium at P.S. 145 on 105th Street was full for most of the meeting Wednesday night, which focused on a plan to potentially open a charter school within P.S. 145, also known as the Bloomingdale School.

The Success Academy Network, a well known charter school network that operates five schools across Harlem, has applied to open another location called Upper West Success Academy that could possibly share space in P.S. 145. The city Department of Education says that school is currently only at 59 percent capacity.

This potential location on the Upper West Side marks a shift in the charter school

The Answer Sheet - On school reform, by Philadelphia's mayor and superintendent

The Answer Sheet - On school reform, by Philadelphia's mayor and superintendent

On school reform, by Philadelphia's mayor and superintendent

This post was written by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Philadelphia Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.

By Michael Nutter and Arlene Ackerman
To read the news coming out of Washington, D.C., you’d think the only way to reform public schools is by firing teachers, closing schools, and battling it out in the media.

Not so.

The aggressive strategies in D.C. led to some laudable gains in minority students’ academic performance. But it is clear that some members of the community may have felt alienated or left out of the process.