Monday, December 6, 2010

Morning Report: The Imported School - voiceofsandiego.org: Morning Report

Morning Report: The Imported School

Posted: Monday, December 6, 2010 8:19 am |Updated: 9:30 am, Mon Dec 6, 2010.

Posted on December 6, 2010

by Andrew Donohue

Mission Bay High essentiallywouldn't exist if it weren't for San Diego Unified's practice of busing students in and out of different neighborhoods: Nearly 80 percent of its students come from outside the area.

"We really are an inner-city school at the beach," one parent says.

Everyday life at Mission Bay High revolves around the school bus. Teachers start class late on rainy days to give the buses the extra time they need. School administrators need to know other parts of the city well and have held parent meetings as far away as Sherman Heights. The student body president has made it her mission to improve school spirit in a place where attending afterschool activities is always complicated by transportation.

"The unusual school is one window into the evolution of busing in San Diego Unified," writes education reporter Emily Alpert, "a longtime fact of school life that is still hotly debated between those who believe busing is a golden ticket to opportunity and those

NJEA to unveil plans for tenure reform, failing schools - NorthJersey.com

NJEA to unveil plans for tenure reform, failing schools

Monday, December 6, 2010

BY PATRICIA ALEX

THE RECORD

STAFF WRITER

The NJEA on Tuesday will unveil its plans for tenure reform and failing schools – two issues Governor Christie has used to criticize the state’s largest teachers union.

Christie has made tenure – the job protection afforded teachers – an issue in his ongoing battle with the union, which largely failed to heed the governor’s call for pay freezes and other givebacks.

The NJEA was excluded when the governor formed a committee in October charged with revamping teacher job evaluations.

“We want to put our voice out there and get involved,” said Steve Baker, spokesman for the union. “A lot of people feel it’s our job as educators to be involved in education reform.”

The governor’s office remained combative in its response to the union’s initiative.

Michelle Rhee 's New organization : StudentsFirst.org

StudentsFirst.org

Earlier today we published a post to give you a little insight into how Students First got started. But in this week’s issue of Newsweek magazine, you can read the full story of how our founder, Michelle Rhee, transitioned from Chancellor of the D.C. public school system to the CEO of a grassroots organization.

To read Michelle’s cover story, click here.

DECEMBER 06, 2010

In the movie Waiting for “Superman”, Harlem Children’s Zone founder Geoffrey Canada says, “A great teacher is a work of art.” But how does someone become that work of art? It sure helps to be a performer, to be creative and passionate, and to believe in all kids. But great teaching is also a science — a science that we've come to better understand in recent years.

Michelle Rhee brings her vision for school reform to Newsweek

DECEMBER 06, 2010

Earlier today we published a post to give you a little insight into how Students First got started. But in this week’s issue of Newsweek magazine, you can read the full story of how our founder,Michelle Rhee, transitioned from Chancellor of the D.C. public school system to the CEO of a grassroots organization.

Our movement to transform education begins today

DECEMBER 06, 2010

Until today, Students First was just an idea.Michelle Rhee, the former Chancellor of D.C.’s public schools, knew that all schools had the potential to perform. From her early days as a Teach for America educator to the test score gains during her Washington, D.C. tenure, she was a staunch believer that all students can come alive to learning. Too often, however, she saw vested interest groups and senseless bureaucratic structures stand in the way, sometimes without even realizing it.

The Answer Sheet - Willingham: Close to a magic bullet in education

Willingham: Close to a magic bullet in education

My guest today is cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia and author of “Why Don’t Students Like School?” By Daniel Willingham No one talks about “magic bullets” in education, except to warn that something is not one. Recent work in social psychology may bring us as close to a magic bullet at we’re likely to get. The intervention concerns gender and achievement gaps, those groups of students who persistently perform worse than we would expect. For example, women represent only about 25% of the PhDs in the physical sciences. There’s no evidence that they are any less capable than men, but they earn worse grades in college physics courses, and thus are less competitive for spots in graduate school. Many are likely discouraged from even applying.

ASCD Inservice: Merit Pay: Logic Turned on Its Head

Merit Pay: Logic Turned on Its Head Merit-pay debates smack of something out of Alice in Wonderland. Merit-pay advocates want to make it about money—until they don't want to make it about money. If teachers could get a deal like Wall Street bankers, bonuses would look good...

Why Merit Pay Won't Cost Us More One of my great frustrations of late is hearing reporters or policymakers ask, "How in the world can anyone afford merit-pay proposals in today's strapped budget environment?" The query always leaves me banging my head on my desk because it...

Report: Rhee starting advocacy group

GALLERY

The chancellorship of Michelle A. Rhee

Controversial D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee will announce her resignation on Wednesday, nearly four years after she was brought in by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty to improve the city's languishing public education system.

» LAUNCH PHOTO GALLERY

By Nick Anderson

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 6, 2010; 9:59 AM

Former D.C. schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee will take another step Monday to build her brand as an education reformer.

Word from Politico is that Rhee will soon unveil a national advocacy group related to parents, teachers and students via "Oprah" on television, then Newsweek.

Rhee could not be reached Monday morning for comment.

But a source close to Rhee and the new organization told The Post there would be an announcement on

The Circular Logic of Quality-Based Layoff Arguments « School Finance 101

The Circular Logic of Quality-Based Layoff Arguments

by schoolfinance101

Many pundits are responding enthusiastically to the new LA Times article on quality-based layoffs - or how dismissing teachers based on Value-added scores rather than on seniority would have saved LAUSD many of its better teachers, rather than simply saving its older ones.

Some are pointing out that this new LA Times report is the “right” way to use value-added as compared with the “wrong” way that LA Times had used the information previously this year.

Recently, I explained the problematic circular logic being used to support these “quality-based layoff” arguments. Obviously, if we dismiss teachers based on “true” quality measures, rather than experience which is, of course, not correlated with “true” quality measures, then we save the jobs of good teachers and get rid of bad ones. Simple enough? Not so. Here’s my explanation, once again.

This argument draws on an interesting thought piece and simulation posted a

University of Puerto Rico Heating Up Again « Student Activism

University of Puerto Rico Heating Up Again

by Angus Johnston

A student was arrested — and reportedly assaulted by cops — as she and two friends attempted to block an entrance to the Rio Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico this morning. (Link | Google Translation)

UPR was closed for two months this spring by a massive student strike. At the time, students were able to negotiate a settlement on extremely favorable terms, but administrators have since reneged on one of their major promises — an abandonment of planned fee increases.

With plans in place for a tuition hike of $800 in the coming semester, students have approved a plan for a new

Monday, December 6, 2010