Monday, December 6, 2010

NJEA to unveil reformed proposals on tenure, failing schools | NJ.com

NJEA to unveil reformed proposals on tenure, failing schools

Published: Monday, December 06, 2010, 1:44 PM Updated: Monday, December 06, 2010, 1:44 PM

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Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerNew Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian at the podium in this November 2010 photo.

TRENTON — The state's largest teachers union is scheduled to address proposals on tenure reform and low-achieving schools on Tuesday, according to a report by NorthJersey.com.

Gov. Chris Christie has made tenure a key issue when criticizing the union. The union plans to address people's concerns with tenure without eliminating it completely, said the report.

Previous coverage:

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• N.J. education chief promotes teacher tenure changes, 'merit pay' reforms

SO YOU WANT TO BLOW YOUR WHISTLE? Confessions of a whistle blower! | Dailycensored.com

SO YOU WANT TO BLOW YOUR WHISTLE? Confessions of a whistle blower!

by Peter Phillips

By David Goodstein

Expectation – The government really wants to uncover fraud and punish the guilty!
The Reality – Don’t bother, the government’s first priority is ‘taking care of business’, big business!

As the former Director of Education* for the Kaplan owned CHI Institute in Broomall, PA I was intimately involved in 2006 when an investigation by the State of Pennsylvania into the Medical Surgical Technician program began. A team of experts from Kaplan Higher Education headquarters led by the Regional V.P. Marc Ferguson was dispatched to Broomall, PA. to arrange the smoke and mirrors required to mislead the state. When it was suggested we bribe local hospital CFO’s with $5,000 or $10,000 dollar gifts to find extern sites for our students I pointed out that to hospitals charging $125 for an aspirin $5k or $10k wasn’t very much money. Perhaps a better solution was to just tell the truth. Kaplan decided I didn’t really grasp the gravity of the situation and the next day they escorted me out the door with my carton of personal belongings. Apparently someone who did grasp the gravity of the situation filed a complaint with the federal government. Judging by the statements in the WPO 10K

Queens Teacher: Cathie Comes Out With Guns Blazing

Cathie Comes Out With Guns Blazing

by Queens Teacher

Cathie Black blasts tenure for teachers as 'lifetime guarantee' while teachers union protests
BY Meredith Kolodner

The icy relationship between the Education Department and the teachers union shows no sign of thawing under the new schools chancellor.

Incoming schools chief Cathie Black blasted tenure for teachers in an interview that aired yesterday on Channel 7.

After saying she couldn't imagine running an organization based on the current method of evaluating teachers, she added: "Nor can I imagine at age 25...saying to somebody, 'You have lifetime guarantee for this position. Just show up every day.' It's inconceivable."

Principals can grant tenure to teachers after three years.

Outgoing Chancellor Joel Klein worked unsuccessfully for years to get rid of a provision that allows the least senior teachers to be laid off first.

Black, 66, said she's also against the policy because it could cause the system to lose "younger, newer, fresher

Controversial D.C. school reformer takes agenda national - CNN.com

Controversial D.C. school reformer takes agenda national

CNN Wires Staff

December 6, 2010 12:20 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Former D.C. school chancellor to launch education advocacy group Monday
Michelle Rhee will make announcement on the Oprah Winfrey Show, website said
Rhee stepped down from position as Chancellor in October

(CNN) -- Known as a reformer and a rebel, Michelle Rhee took a "revolutionary" step Monday, when she posted on her website, her intent to launch an education advocacy group, according to one educator.

"There is a significant interest within the country around what's happening in our public schools," Steve Perry, a principal in Connecticut and contributor for CNN said.

"She's gonna put together a grass roots organization of educators, and parents and individuals who just care about public education," Perry said, "she's focused on how we can fix it."

Speaking as someone who has inside information on plans for the group, Perry said "the idea behind the group is to provide another voice in the political conversation," because she understands that "what happens in the classroom is impacted by what happens in Congress."

According to Studentsfirst.org, Rhee will discuss her vision for a better education system Monday afternoon on the Oprah Winfrey

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...

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Monday, December 6, 2010