Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Competing stories on size of impending deficit | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Competing stories on size of impending deficit

by Paul Socolar

Mayor Michael Nutter and Superintendent Arlene Ackerman held a telephone press conference Tuesday evening to acknowledge a $234 million hole in next year's District budget resulting from the loss of federal stimulus dollars, while rebutting reports of a much larger expected deficit as - in Ackerman's words - "purely speculative."

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Mayor and superintendent dismiss Inquirer report as "speculative"

Notes from the news, Dec. 22

by Erika Owens

notes from the news image Phila. schools facing big budget shortfall The Inquirer
Mayor Nutter and Superintendent Ackerman held a phone press conference Tuesday evening where they discussed the District budget shortfall next year, which will be at least $234 million because stimulus funding ends.

Promise Academy teaching staffs include many who are new, inexperienced The Notebook blog
Across all Promise Academies nearly 43 percent of teachers are in their first year with the District and nearly 75 percent are new to their school.

Lawmaker asks for state audit of Philly School District The Inquirer
State Rep. McGeehan has asked the state auditor general to look into the District's procurement practices.

High school debate final teaches valuable lessons Philadelphia Tribune
This week's Learning Key describes an After School Activities Partnership debate club, profiles the senior of the month, provides tips from PhillyGoes2College, and more.

See also: Masterman student named senior of the month Philadelphia Tribune
College tips – paying for college Philadelphia Tribune
Get writings, artwork published Philadelphia Tribune

Despite setback, immigrant rights groups continue to DREAM Voice of Philadelphia

Video: Need a Holiday Fruit Basket? Stop By Saul High School Roxborough-Manayunk Patch

Philadelphia High School for girl presenta concierto navideño Al Día

Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.

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Notes from the news

Rise & Shine: Newark went door-to-door for reform suggestions | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Newark went door-to-door for reform suggestions

by Philissa Cramer

Newark asked every household what to do with Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million schools gift. (WSJ)
The EPA’s plan to screen city schools for toxins doesn’t have the city’s approval. (Times)
The city is snatching up sites for schools where development has stalled in the recession. (Times)
Restructuring struggling schools only works when better teachers are brought in. (L.A. Times)
Making changes to the city’s juvenile justice system won’t be easy. (WNYC)
Page 6’s Cindy Adams predicts a one-day teachers’ strike in 2011. (Post)

Frameworks Include Pre-K and Common Core Standards «

Frameworks Include Pre-K and Common Core Standards

December 22, 2010 by Irene Sege

Photo: Michele McDonald for Strategies for Children

It’s official. Massachusetts has new curriculum frameworks that include pre-kindergarten and incorporate the Common Core State Standards approved in July. The final step came yesterday, when the state’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved the pre-k standards as part of broader frameworks in English language arts and mathematics. Last week, the Board of Early Education and Care (EEC) approved the aligned pre-kindergarten standards.

As I noted in a blog post last month, the pre-k standards are intended for children attending programs the year before they enter kindergarten. The final standards have not yet been posted online, but they contain only minor

What I Learned in 2010 Bridging Differences - Education Week

Bridging Differences - Education Week

What I Learned in 2010

Dear Deborah,

As 2010 draws to a close, I must tell you that this was probably the most amazing and wonderful year of my life. I spent the previous three years writing a book, and I had no idea how it would turn out. One never knows, do one (to quote the eminent jazz philosopher Fats Waller, and to note also that Billie Holiday sang the grammatically correct "One Never Knows, Does One")? But I digress.

When I finished the book in 2009, my agent sent it to every major trade publisher; 15 of them turned it down. They said it had no audience. They said I had to either write a policy book (which they would not publish) or a personal memoir (which they would not publish), but it couldn't be a mixture of the two. So, I eventually had the good fortune to land at Basic Books, which had published my very first book (The Great School Wars) in 1974; the new book appeared in March of this year, and it reached The New York Times bestseller list. He who laughs last, etc.

So, I have spent this year on a thrilling, grueling, exciting lecture tour. At first, I was invited to talk about the book, but after a couple of months, I no longer even mentioned the book. Instead I was talking about the present dangerous effort to distort the purposes of education, to hand vast numbers of public schools over to private corporations, and to treat children as data points to

AFP: Italian students hold anti-government protests

Italian students hold anti-government protests

(AFP) – 3 hours ago

ROME — Students took to the streets across Italy on Wednesday amid heavy security to protest against a radical reform of the university system planned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government.

The rallies came just over a week after protest clashes in the centre of Rome that injured nearly 200 people and saw cars set alight and tear gas fired in some of the most tourist-heavy streets of the Italian capital.

Protest organisers on Wednesday said they would avoid a confrontation with police by steering clear of the "palaces of power" in the city centre.

A student delegation was set to meet with President Giorgio Napolitano later on Wednesday to

Damn Good Education Daily

Parent 'Trigger' Law Draws Attention, Controversy

edweek.org - Published Online: December 21, 2010 Ismenia Guzman, right, a parent at McKinley Elementary school delivers petitions on Dec. 7 to Compton Unified School District Superintendent Karen Frison, to fil...

Larryferlazzo

My PLN Blueprint in 5 parts « My Island View

tomwhitby.wordpress.com - Shelly Terrell and Ken Royal are two friends who encouraged me to blog. Both are bloggers and saw something in me and my ability to communicate that I didn’t recognize. Through their encouragement,...

tomwhitby

We Live and Breathe Testing « InterACT

accomplishedcaliforniateachers.wordpress.com - What follows in this blog post is a series of emails I exchanged with a friend who teaches in Los Angeles. I’ve edited the content to eliminate extraneous material, and to protect this person’s id...

CohenD

Gates and Weingarten: Fixing Our Nation's Schools

newsweek.com - Weingarten: What we’re seeing is that the United States, instead of moving ahead, is actually stagnating. We’re basically in the same place we’ve been, and these countries have moved forward. They’...

mikeklonsky

Boston union to embrace use of student test scores in teacher evaluations

boston.com - The state’s largest teachers’ union, embracing a concept shunned by many educators, plans to offer a proposal today to use student test scores to help judge which teachers deserve promotions and wh...

EDPressSec

2010 Education In Review Part 2: City Hall, Teachers' Union Maintain Uneasy Relationship - NY1.com

2010 Education In Review Part 2: City Hall, Teachers' Union Maintain Uneasy Relationship

By: Lindsey Christ

The city and the teachers' union joined together in 2010 to end the practice of rubber rooms, but ended the year still divided over several major lawsuits. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

The relationship between the city and the powerful United Federation of Teachers remained rocky throughout 2010. Mayor Michael Bloomberg received a mixed reaction when he spoke at a party celebrating the 50th anniversary of the teachers' union's in March.

"Some of you cheer, some of you boo," said the mayor.

A month later, both sides came together to end the infamous "rubber rooms," the holding pens for

Charters get first dibs to buy city school | The Columbus Dispatch

Charters get first dibs to buy city school

But $5.23 million price tag for old Northwest Career Center is steep

Wednesday, December 22, 2010 02:51 AM

BY BILL BUSH

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Charter schools have long complained that they can't buy any of Columbus City Schools' vacant buildings. Now, their wait is over.

The only catch: $5.23 million, which the district says is the appraised, fair-market value of the 70,500-square-foot former Northwest Career Center.

The Columbus Board of Education voted last night to begin the process of selling the building at 2960 Cranston Dr. Built in 1976 near Dublin, it was declared surplus earlier this year, one of three vocational schools shuttered by the district in favor of two Downtown career centers.

By state law, charter schools will get first dibs on the property, which sits on 15 acres in a residential area west of Don Scott Field.

In early January, every charter school in Columbus will receive a certified letter giving them 60 days to accept the price. If no charter school submits an

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