Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Address to Value Voter's Summit #ows

Kimble's Corner: Congressman Kimble's Address to Value Voter's Summit:

Congressman Kimble's Address to Value Voter's Summit

by Representative Kimble

I am honored to be here speaking today before such a respected and well known organization. I will keep my comments brief, but as this is Columbus Day Weekend, I thought it most appropriate today to talk about Christopher Columbus.

Way back in 1492, there was no cable, no video games, no Ipods. What people used to get through their day was faith. It was this faith that lead Christopher Columbus to discover America so that we might all worship God as we saw fit. Columbus was a great hero, but I wonder what he'd say if he was alive today.

Would Columbus recognize America today. How would he react to seeing a country he worked so hard to discover becoming completely overrun with illegal aliens? What would he feel about Americans having to learn

ASCD Inservice: Support Principals, Transform Schools

ASCD Inservice: Support Principals, Transform Schools:

Support Principals, Transform Schools

by ASCD Bloggers

"For as long as I am a principal, I will always have a coach," says a principal who benefits from the transformational leadership coaching described in "Support Principals, Transform Schools," in the October 2011 issue of Educational Leadership. A team...

Is October the Longest Month for New Teachers?

by ASCD Bloggers

The initial jolt of back-to-school momentum has worn off, and teachers and students are settling in for the long haul of the school year. Teacher Cossondra George writes (in last week's most-clicked ASCD SmartBrief story) that new teacher, especially need...

In Case You Missed It

by Matthew Swift

Here's what is going on at ASCD this week: Kadhir Rajagopal author's page is now up. Hear what he has to say about creating success in urban schools. Steven Weber says on-track indicators can help identify struggling students and increase...

The Occupation Movement: On Greed, Unity & Violence « occupy california #ows

The Occupation Movement: On Greed, Unity & Violence « occupy california:

The Occupation Movement: On Greed, Unity & Violence

by *

from Bay of Rage:

Corporate Greed is the Wrong Target

Being “greedy” is what good corporations and businesses are supposed to do in capitalism. In this system, individuals can only get ahead by acting greedy, in their own self-interest. So while many recent city occupations in the USA have built themselves against “corporate greed”, “big business,” and “financiers on Wall Street”, we cannot forget that the most greedy corporations also donate the most to charity, that small business is just as much part of the system as big business, that productive industry cannot exist without finance. We must challenge the entire system. If we are really against “corporate greed” then we are against capitalism itself.

The 99%?

Yes, the 1% have been screwing us, for a long ass time. The 99% are reduced to working, serving and maintaining a system that makes us miserable and prevents us from realizing our potential. A growing number of

Occupy Wall Street: The Education Edition (Part 1) « Cooperative Catalyst #ows

Occupy Wall Street: The Education Edition (Part 1) « Cooperative Catalyst:

Occupy Wall Street: The Education Edition (Part 1)

by daretheschool

I am very happy to say that I spent my weekend occupying Wall Street. During this time, I had the amazing opportunity to speak with people who are not only angry, but hopeful. They are individuals who protest our country’s economic policies not out of hatred, but out of love for our country. They see the word democracy as more than just rhetoric. They view democracy as a dream that must be fulfilled in our lifetime. During the past two days, I spoke with students, teachers, and professors about their views on education and how it connects to their activism at Occupy Wall Street. I was interviewed by one woman

Message from the Velderman Education Action Group: No more selfish old teachers. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Message from the Velderman Education Action Group: No more selfish old teachers. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Message from the Velderman Education Action Group: No more selfish old teachers.

by Fred Klonsky

Ben Velderman of the Michigan-based Education Action Group.

The following letter was sent to an unnamed Fort Wayne Education Association member last june from Steve Gunn, pal and cohort of my stalker, Ben Velderman, of the Michigan-based Education Action Group.

From: Steve Gunn [mailto:sgunn@edactiongroup.org]
Sent: Friday, June 10, 2011 10:47 AM
To: A FWCS HS Teacher Name withheld
Subject: RE: EAG Response to a FWCS TeacherI don’t need to be an “expert.” I am a taxpayer. In case you haven’t noticed, we fund the schools and we will run them any way we choose, whether you and your self-serving union friends like it or not.
The vast majority of Indiana voters are obviously ready for reform , or they wouldn’t have voted the way they did. The nation is obviously ready for reform, or laws wouldn’t be changing as quickly as

Great Teachers and Principals Survey Data - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Great Teachers and Principals Survey Data - Letters (CA Dept of Education):

October 10, 2011

Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

RELEASE OF 2011 AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009
STATE FISCAL STABILIZATION FUND
GREAT TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS SURVEY DATA

In June 2011, the California Department of Education (CDE) began collecting data for the 2011 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), State Fiscal Stabilization Fund (SFSF), Great Teachers and Principals Survey. In accordance with the SFSF assurances, eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) were required to submit data regarding:

• The systems used to evaluate the performance of teachers and principals, and the use of results from those systems in decisions regarding teacher development, compensation, promotion, retention, and removal
  
  
• Whether the systems used to evaluate the performance of teachers and principals include student achievement outcomes or student growth data as an evaluation criterion
  
  
• The number of teachers and principals rated at each performance rating or level

As required by the SFSF, the reported survey data collected via the Great Teachers and Principals Survey was posted online; the data may be viewed on the CDE School Staffing Report Web page athttp://www.cde.ca.gov/nclb/sr/tq/schlstfrpt.asp. LEAs may review and update this information through December 1, 2011. Beginning this year, the CDE is required to submit this data to the U.S. Department of Education.

If you have any questions regarding the Great Teacher and Principal Survey, please contact the Title II Leadership Office, by phone at 916-445-7331 or by e-mail at GTPSurvey@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson

TT:aw

Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

2011–12 CALIFORNIA PARTNERSHIP ACADEMIES
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY AND RENEWABLE ENERGY GRANTS

The California Department of Education (CDE) is pleased to announce the availability of funds through the California Partnership Academies (CPA) Program. This funding opportunity is provided through Proposition 98 General Funds, legislated through Senate Bill 1 (Chapter 2, Statues of 2011, First Extraordinary Session), and is available for up to 21 grants in Clean Technology and Renewable Energy.

Application materials are available on the CDE Funding Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/. For background information about the CPA model, please visit the CDE CPA Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/hs/cpagen.asp.

Please follow the guidelines below when responding to the Request for Application (RFA):

• This RFA is only for comprehensive high schools serving at least grades nine through twelve, with a student population of sufficient size to accommodate a fully-implemented school-within-a-school of at least 150 students.
  
  
• There are two options for this application:
  
  
  • Existing “green” academies currently funded through Assembly Bill 519 or SB 70, whose funding is scheduled to expire in 2011–12 or 2012–13, and who wish to continue to operate a CPA program, may apply as “continuing” academies.
    
    
  • Schools wishing to start a new academy in 2012–13, starting with grades nine and ten in the first year of implementation, may apply as “new” academies.
    
    
• All successful applicants will receive a planning grant in 2011–12 for $15,000.
  
  
• Planning grantees showing evidence of substantial progress towards successful implementation of a CPA for fall 2012, based on a Planning Grant Progress Report to be submitted by May 18, 2012, will qualify for CPA implementation funding in 2012–13.

If you have any questions regarding this RFA, please contact Karen Shores, Education Programs Consultant, High School Innovations and Initiatives Office, by phone at 916-319-0478 or by e-mail at kshores@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson

TT:ks

cc: High School Principals

Last Stand for Children First: If Education Reformers Ran the NFL

Last Stand for Children First: If Education Reformers Ran the NFL:

If Education Reformers Ran the NFL

by Last Stand for Children

Fran Tarkenton shown above sitting on his helmet in the final moments of a 32-14 Viking loss in the 1977 Super Bowl wrote an excellent article recently for the Wall Street Journal. Tarkenton who is most known for a very long career without a Super Bowl ring to show for it joined former professional basketball player Arne Duncan in taking teachers to task. It did make me think about how great the NFL would be if run by education reformers.

• Due to the failures of college starts like Ryan Leaf and Brian Bosworth to become great play players, the

Great California Shakeout Drill - Letters (CA Dept of Education)

Great California Shakeout Drill - Letters (CA Dept of Education):

October 10, 2011

Dear County and District Superintendents and Charter School Administrators:

GREAT CALIFORNIA SHAKEOUT DRILL ON OCTOBER 20, 2011

Last year, more than 7.9 million Californians practiced “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” and other earthquake safety procedures as part of the second Great California ShakeOut drill. Students and staff at more than 360 districts and many private schools accounted for nearly 5.5 million of these participants.

Broad school participation in earthquake preparedness from the start inspired businesses, organizations, government agencies, and individuals throughout the state to participate.

The Great California ShakeOut is designed to provide a sense of urgency about earthquakes and to encourage people, organizations, schools, and communities to get prepared, to practice what to do to be safe, and to learn what plans need to be improved. Schools are leaders in preparedness, and your participation will set an example for many others to get involved.

I strongly encourage you to participate in the third annual Great California ShakeOut on October 20, 2011. The first step in participating is to register your school or district today on the Great California ShakeOut Web site athttp://www.shakeout.org/ (Outside Source). Registered participants will be given detailed information to assist them in conducting their drills.

The California Department of Education has worked with many partners to create age-appropriate resources for planning drills, promoting participation, teaching about earthquakes and preparedness, and educating families. You can find these resources on the ShakeOut “How Schools Can Participate” Web page at http://www.shakeout.org/schools/ (Outside Source).

If you have any questions regarding the Great California ShakeOut, please contact Mark Benthien, Executive Director, Earthquake Country Alliance, by phone at 213-740-1560 or by e-mail at benthien@shakeout.org.

Sincerely,

Tom Torlakson

TT:sp

Haunted by his ties to tainted nonprofit, Education Secretary Arne Duncan ignores questions about $174,000 "phantom" program he arranged for the group

The Sidebar: Haunted by his ties to tainted nonprofit, Education Secretary Arne Duncan ignores questions about $174,000 "phantom" program he arranged for the group:

Haunted by his ties to tainted nonprofit, Education Secretary Arne Duncan ignores questions about $174,000 "phantom" program he arranged for the group

In June I reported about an inquiry from Michael P. Goldenberg of Ann Arbor, MI, to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Goldenberg had questions about a $174,000 contract Duncan arranged when he ran the Chicago Public Schools (CPS).

The money was awarded to the Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF) a Chicago-area nonprofit. Now under investigation by federal and state agencies, SALF has been the

DuPage retired teachers react to Rep. Senger’s pension aggression. « Fred Klonsky's blog

DuPage retired teachers react to Rep. Senger’s pension aggression. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

DuPage retired teachers react to Rep. Senger’s pension aggression.

by Fred Klonsky

Dear Rep. Senger,

I am extremely disappointed to hear that you have added an amendment to HB 3827 that strips pension trustees control of their pensions. Could you please explain why you have chosen this direction concerning HB 3827? We would like to invite you to our DuPage IRTA meeting on December 7 at the Greek Islands restaurant at noon so that you may explain, first hand, your amendment to this bill.

I eagerly await your response.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Christine Turney
President, DuPage IL Retired Teacher’s Association

Dear Representative Senger.

by Fred Klonsky

Dear Representative Senger,

I am delighted to tell you that I have hundreds of readers in DuPage County and in Naperville. I have had the honor of sharing my views on teacher pensions with the DuPage chapter of the Illinois Retired Teachers Association at a luncheon just last Spring.

You should know that I have reported on your foul attempt to take control of the Illinois public employee pension funds on my blog and have encouraged folks to contact you and their own representatives to express their displeasure.

We will express our displeasure once again in November of 2012.

Fred Klonsky

Teacher

Park Ridge Education Association

Teachers increasingly use home visits to connect with students’ families - The Washington Post

Teachers increasingly use home visits to connect with students’ families - The Washington Post:

Teachers increasingly use home visits to connect with students’ families

(Sarah L. Voisin/THE WASHINGTON POST) - At their home, the Nunez Alvarez family listens during a meeting with their son Alvaro’s teachers.

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By Kevin Sieff, Published: October 9

The two high school teachers knocked at Apartment 512 of a Crystal City high-rise and waited to see the inside of Alvaro Nunez Alvarez’s life.

Up to that point, the teachers knew this about 14-year-old Alvaro: He was quiet. He had recently arrived from somewhere in Latin America. He was smart and ambitious.

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School Days 2011

A school survival guide for parents and students

They were there to fill in the blanks — to conduct a kind of parent-teacher conference on the family’s turf. There’s no better way, many educators say, to turn distant or unresponsive parents into allies and

Stand for Children, School Board Races and the Washington State PTA | Seattle Education

Stand for Children, School Board Races and the Washington State PTA | Seattle Education:

Stand for Children, School Board Races and the Washington State PTA

by seattleducation2011

Stand for Children, School Board Elections, the Washington State PTA and Chad Magendanz.

As I previously posted in Stand for Children Stands for the Rich and Powerful, Stand for Children (SFC) has proudly declared by way of its’ co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jonah Edelman, that he was successful in busting the teachers’ union in Chicago and he plans to do that again in the state of Washington. He has led the fight in other states by his own admonition in a video taped session during a seminar at the Aspen Institute, for “pension reform”, meaning cutting back on pensions or eliminating them altogether, and a teacher’s evaluation based on a student’s test scores.

The entire transcript will provide insight into how the 1% thinks and how they operate politically from backing

John Lennon - Working Class Hero #ows

John Lennon's Birthday: What Are His Greatest Songs? (VIDEOS)

First Posted: 10/9/11 08:40 AM ET Updated: 10/9/11 10:18 PM ET

The tragedy is that John Lennon graced the earth for but forty years. But a perfect storm of brilliance, social consciousness, personal pain and populist embers whipped around Lennon, leading the confused lad from Northern England to fit more life into those years than perhaps anyone else in the 20th century. For that, on what would have been his 71st birthday, we celebrate.

Born as German bombs rained down on Liverpool in 1940, Lennon was born to Alf and Julia Lennon, a forbidden couple that flouted class convention in a still hierarchical society. That, years later, their son would be a self-styled Working Class Hero seems, in retrospect, predetermined by the scandal into which he was born.

That awareness of the economic and social lines dug deep into Scouse society was aided by his unconventional childhood, which kicked off in earnest after he was forced, in a deep act of cruelty, to choose between his parents; with merchant sailor Alf, always itchy to return to the seas, he was coerced into choosing Julia, though that soon meant living with his Aunt Mimi, the disciplinarian who ended up raising him.

Embittered by his stolen childhood and bored by the regimented nature of post-war British schooling, he was, unsurprisingly, a minor rebel, a greaser and petty thief with a secret pain. It was drawing that was his first love, the first sign of his unparalleled creativity, though the boom of R&B rock n' roll, from Little Richard to Elvis Presley, soon

Latest stealth attack on our pensions. Remember Rep. Senger on Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Latest stealth attack on our pensions. Remember Rep. Senger on Pension Call Tuesday. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

Latest stealth attack on our pensions. Remember Rep. Senger on Pension Call Tuesday.

by Fred Klonsky

Pension-killer Illinois House Republican Darlene Senger.

This morning I received an email from retired teacher and pension activist Glen Brown.

He enclosed a link that led me to this report by John Kugler at Substance:

In a controversial legislative move, Republican Naperville Representative Darlene J. Senger joined Rep. Tom Cross (Republican minroity leader in the Illinois House) to put language in House Bill 3827 to strip the public pension boards of a majority vote for those affected by the pension funds to protect and