Thursday, November 11, 2010

Seventy-four districts apply to join N.J. interdistrict school choice program | NJ.com

Seventy-four districts apply to join N.J. interdistrict school choice program

Published: Thursday, November 11, 2010, 9:55 PM

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Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerGov. Chris Christie delivered the keynote address at the National School Choice, a program that will soon become a reality among N.J. public schools. Seventy-four districts applied to receive students before the deadline.

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Declining enrollments and a need to help pay for school budgets has prompted school systems across the state to seek out-of-district students to fill their empty seats.

Seventy-four districts submitted applications by the Oct. 29 deadline to join the state’s expanded inter-district public school choice program, which Gov. Chris Christie signed into law two months ago. Most applicants were from the state’s southern counties; no districts applied in Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Middlesex counties.

An interested student can apply to participate in the program once the list of receiving districts is finalized by the Department of Education in January, giving students enough time to seek new schools for the 2011-2012 school year. Districts that receive additional students also get those students’ state aid

OEA’s new online presence, and a key union vote on Tuesday | The Education Report

OEA’s new online presence, and a key union vote on Tuesday

By Katy Murphy
Thursday, November 11th, 2010 at 12:40 pm in OEA, teachers, union contract
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Guess what, Oakland teachers? If you haven’t noticed, your union’s website has been rescued from the 20th Century and resuscitated by Oakland High School math teacher Rori Abernethy (who has an impressive blog of her own in which she recently showcased her student’s work).

The new OEA site is loaded with information about what your organization does, what your contract says, who your leaders are, how to reach them and how to get involved. It has a layoff survival guide and a pledge card for parents.

And, of course, a “Hot for Teachers”

Who Should Be Running The Country's Largest School System? | Education | Change.org

Who Should Be Running The Country's Largest School System?

by Jessica Shiller

Joel Klein, the controversial chancellor of New York City schools has just resigned. Rumors are flying about the reason behind his departure. Already a replacement has been named:Cathie Black, a media mogul whose most recent job has been as chairwoman of Hearst magazines.

For lots of people this has raised the question, What kind of person should be running an urban school system like New York's? Should it be a corporate leader, or an educator? In Chicago, where the CEO of the public schools has resigned, the teachers are calling for an educator at the helm. They argue that a business leader has not understood the complexities of teaching and learning, and an experienced educator is needed now that there is an opportunity for a change.

In New York City, the same arguments have been made. One of the main concerns raised about Joel Klein was that he did not listen to teachers and parents enough. Some perceived him as treating New York City schools like his own corporation. Some parents are rejoicing over Klein's departure. Some teachers are too. His most

Union solidarity. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Union solidarity.

by Fred Klonsky

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Sit-in at the Chicago Park Hyatt, September 2009. Six months before the 2010 RA.

First, let me say it again.

Good for the IEA’s Board of Directors for moving the IEA RA out of the Hyatt Regency O’Hare after receiving a request to do so from the leaders of United Here.

Unite Here represents the housekeepers and other hotel employees who have been in a battle with Chicago

Getting all “bubbly” over that spending “bubble?” « School Finance 101

Getting all “bubbly” over that spending “bubble?”

by schoolfinance101

Let me just say that I hate this graph!

FIGURE 1 – NATIONAL TRENDS IN PUPIL TO TEACHER RATIOS

Why? Well, this is my own version of the graph… but it is a graph that has been used many times over, of late, to make the argument that American public schools have simply been drowning in an excess of public funding for decades and that public school districts nationally have leveraged all of that additional money over time to

Schools Matter: The Cathleen Black appointment: A precedent

The Cathleen Black appointment: A precedent

by skrashen

Many people are upset that the mayor of the New York City has appointed a personal friend with no teaching experience as head of education. They are concerned that the new head will continue policies of heavy testing

Will Our Students Save Education?

by Jim Horn

The Students Klein is Leaving Behind « EdVox

The Students Klein is Leaving Behind

NOVEMBER 11, 2010

2-out-of-3 Black and Latino students not on track for college after huge drop in state scores and DOE has offered no comprehensive plan for improving student performance

A day after hearing that Chancellor Joel Klein was resigning, struggling students led a rally with parents and advocates on Wednesday, November 10th at Department of Education headquarters in Manhattan to demand that the Chancellor and his staff create a comprehensive plan to get more than 239,000 New York City schoolchildren back on track for high school graduation and college. Calling themselves the “Students Klein Left Behind”, dozens of students testing below

Cathie Black: How can this be what we need? Part I – No Gaps « JD2718

Cathie Black: How can this be what we need? Part I – No Gaps

by jd2718

[Lynne Winderbaum, retired ESL teacher from JFK, longtime Chapter Leader, and through most of the Bloomberg years, our Bronx UFT HS District Representative, responds to the announcement that Joel Klein is leaving and that Mayor Bloomberg is trying to appoint Cathie Black to replace him. This is part 1 of 3. The second part will appear Friday, and the series will conclude on Sunday.]

I hope there are some people waking up this morning feeling optimistic about the future of New York City school children now that there is a “superstar manager who has succeeded in the private sector” entrusted with our students’ fate and future. But I woke up this morning feeling less hope than yesterday. It is as if all of the failures of the past eight years are considered worthy of replication. Cathie Black’s appointment is a confirmation of blind faith in the direction and policies that clearly have not improved the education of New York City children, created too many ill-conceived organizational changes and uncertainty in our schools, encouraged dishonesty to show pleasing data, and demoralized a teaching force that will need to be counted on as the only constant in an ever changing system.

By reaching into his circle of friends to find a leader for New York City schools, Mayor Bloomberg has

Brad Lander: NYC Schools: Democratic Public Education, or Corporate Widget-Maker?

Brad Lander

Member, NY City Council

Posted: November 11, 2010 03:23 PM

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NYC Schools: Democratic Public Education, or Corporate Widget-Maker?

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Mike Bloomberg's nomination of Cathie Black as schools chancellor is not only a bad personnel move. It is a symbol of a critical choice we are facing: Are our public schools a place to educate well-rounded citizens for the New York City of tomorrow? Or are they the junior academy of corporate America, oriented around test-taking and the bottom line?

The selection of Ms. Black is, of course, a bad personnel move. I'd like to feel inspired by her substantial business success in the male-dominated world of publishing. But she's totally unqualified for this job, with no background in education, no track record of public service, and no commitment to public education (she herself went to parochial schools, and she sends her children to a private boarding school).

Mayor Bloomberg's secret "selection process" -- in which he apparently considered no other candidates, and never conducted a public search -- itself reeks of contempt for democracy. We

This Week In Education: Thompson: An Education Plan for a Novice NYC Chancellor

Thompson: An Education Plan for a Novice NYC Chancellor

by john thompson

In the Huffington Post, John Merrow asked for a plan to help Catherine Black, a 66 year old public education novice, to "transform the city's schools into 21st Century institutions, places where students learn to ask questions, not simply regurgitate answers." Step #1 is to keep hiring non-educators as chancellor. Then, after non-stop test prep fails, New York City's leader can continue to proclaim in good conscience that transformational

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Thursday, November 11, 2010