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Friday, October 28, 2011

Big Education Ape: 10-29-11 PM “We Are Public Education” EDition #OCCUPYAMERICA

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now:

Published by Coopmike48 – 7 news spotters today

China Announces ‘Occupy America’ « Borowitz Report

borowitzreport.com - BEIJING (The Borowitz Report) – The Chinese government raised eyebrows around the world today by announcing a mysterious national movement called “Occupy America.” In a brief statement, the Chinese...

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coopmike48 College Readiness Replacing Test Scores as Measure of High School Effectiveness - Education - GOOD -http://t.co/q3vWZdgxyesterday · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 All Out for Vigil Tonight at Civic Center Plaza in Solidarity with Occupy San Diego - http://t.co/smnvSA5s #owsyesterday · reply · retweet · favorite

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coopmike48 Panel: To serve poor children, a need to go beyond academics | GothamSchools - http://t.co/YJkKH9DTyesterday · reply · retweet · favorite

EducationSee all

The Newest Companies Coming Out Of Incubators: EdTech

fastcompany.com - This blog is written by a member of our expert blogging community and expresses that expert's views alone. Imagine K12 is a new Palo Alto incubator birthing only education startups. Can they change...

leoniehaimson

NWCN.com Washington - Oregon - Idaho

nwcn.com - by ERIC WILKINSON / KING 5 News NWCN.com Posted on October 26, 2011 at 4:28 PM Updated today at 5:39 PM SEATTLE - The Seattle School District is seeing a staggering number of homeless students. Mor...

mikeklonsky

SocietySee all

How Occupy Wall Street Cost Me My Job

gawker.com - Joining the Occupy Wall Street protests has its dangers. You could get pepper-sprayed or end up in handcuffs. Or, as Brooklyn-based journalist Caitlin Curran explains, your boss could see a photo o...

leoniehaimson

Push back on Emanuel's human relations cuts

chicagotribune.com - Longtime community volunteers say Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to shrink the city agency that battles all manner of discrimination could weaken its effectiveness.But Mona Noriega, the mayor’s appo...

tbfurman

Wall St. Protesters Arrested in Nashville Released

nytimes.com - NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nearly 30 Wall Street protesters who were arrested in Nashville are now being released. Jeff Blum of the Davidson County Sheriff's Office says the protesters were be...

fklonsky

PoliticsSee all

The mayor's millionaire club | Feature

chicagoreader.com - click to enlarge The third week of July was a busy time for Mayor Rahm Emanuel—he was working with police brass to reassign cops, announcing a competition between city workers and private firms to ...

fklonsky

Obama Using Education Issue as Political Sword

edweek.org - Published Online: October 27, 2011 President Barack Obama holds a child and greets the crowd after speaking about managing student debt during an event at the University of Colorado Denver Downtown...

mikeklonsky

WorldSee all

Outrage Over Veteran Injured at ‘Occupy’ Protest

nytimes.com - OAKLAND, Calif. — For supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement, whose diffuse anger has been a defining and sometimes distracting characteristic, the wounding of an Iraq war veteran here has p...

fklonsky

Occupy Atlanta moves on MLK historic site

11alive.com - Occupy Atlanta tries to settle in a field in the MLK historic district ATLANTA -- After being kicked out of Woodruff Park just days ago, Occupy Atlanta tried to settle in a field near Ebenezer Bapt...

coopmike48

StoriesSee all

Friday fillips. « Fred Klonsky's blog

preaprez.wordpress.com - News from Matt Farmer. BREAKING: CPS CEO J.C. Brizard will offer pizza parties, ice cream vouchers, and amusement park tickets to CPS students who back his “Chicago School Patriot” program by agree...

coopmike48

NYC Educator: Inscrutable

nyceducator.com - Our copying machine has been humming along for some time now with no problem. We also have a Risograph, which enables us to do higher-volume copying. Sadly, the English Department next door has had...

coopmike48

BusinessSee all

Tax breaks: Chicago's financial exchanges

chicagotribune.com - Tax breaks for Chicago's financial exchanges, which could cut state tax revenue by as much as $110 million a year, won endorsement from a key Illinois Senate committee Thursday but still face big o...

mikeklonsky

Blog posts on this issue

whitehouse.gov - The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release October 28, 2011 MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIESSUBJECT: Accelerating Technology Transfer and Comm...

coopmike48

#eduRead this paperSee all

Jersey Jazzman: The Ed Reform Gravy Train

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Jersey Jazzman: The Ed Reform Gravy Train:The Ed Reform Gravy Trainby DukeIt's a-puffin' into Newark - all aboard!One of every three dollars of private money spent so far in Newark’s bid to reform ...

K12NN

The despicable Mike Antonucci. « Fred Klonsky's blog

bigeducationape.blogspot.com - The despicable Mike Antonucci. « Fred Klonsky's blog:The despicable Mike Antonucci.by Fred KlonskyMike Antonucci is a right-wing blogger who spends his time attacking teacher unions. Almost exclusi...

coopmike48

#occupyamericaSee all

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    Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: A Concise Post about Why You Should Vote for the Challengers

    Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: A Concise Post about Why You Should Vote for the Challengers:

    A Concise Post about Why You Should Vote for the Challengers

    by Melissa Westbrook
    Mega-Concise

    First and foremost, every candidate should be considered on his or her own merits. Don't vote for the incumbents because they are the incumbents or challengers just because they are stepping up to challenge them. In short, don't vote on a slate.

    However, because of several votes that most of these incumbents made and lack of oversight on their part, they are all culpable for many of the embarrassments and financial losses this district has faced over these four year. Moreover, in their basic jobs as Directors, they have repeatedly not upheld or enforced their own Board policies. That they could not even do that is deeply troubling.

    All the incumbents had the opportunity to see red flags for months and even years before Pottergate exploded. Steve Sundquist and Harium Martin-Morris were warned by union officials two years ago that Potter was hiring unbonded and poorly-trained contractors. Potter did not even do background checks on some workers in
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    The despicable Mike Antonucci. « Fred Klonsky's blog

    The despicable Mike Antonucci. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

    The despicable Mike Antonucci.

    by Fred Klonsky

    Mike Antonucci is a right-wing blogger who spends his time attacking teacher unions. Almost exclusively.

    On his Wednesday blog (I never have and never will link to it) he wrote:

    Meanwhile, in Oakland:

    Many in the community, including the Alameda Labor Council and many unions as well as community organizations, have supported Occupy Oakland. The California Nurses Association staffed the camp’s first aid clinic, and the Oakland Education Association funded the porta-potties.

    The jokes write themselves, folks.

    I tweeted:

    Following the shooting of Iraq vet Scott Olsen by the OPD, union hater Mike Antonucci, “The


    Friday fillips.

    by Fred Klonsky

    News from Matt Farmer. BREAKING: CPS CEO J.C. Brizard will offer pizza parties, ice cream vouchers, and amusement park tickets to CPS students who back his “Chicago School Patriot” program by agreeing to wear “Juan Rangel T-shirts” to school every Friday. (In related news, CPS will also pay UNO $62 million for using Rangel’s likeness on those T-shirts.)

    From Ben Joravsky and Mike Dumke. (Mayor Emanuel) still found an hour to slip away for breakfast at the exclusive Chicago Club with a couple of millionaire bankers—Bill Downe, the CEO of the Bank of Montreal, and Mark Furlong, the CEO of Harris Bank.

    The IEA has issued a Call to Action on the pension killer bill. Blink and

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    #ows and #occupythehood March In Solidarity With Those Foreclosed On By Criminal Banks | OccupyWallSt.org

    #ows and #occupythehood March In Solidarity With Those Foreclosed On By Criminal Banks | OccupyWallSt.org:

    #ows and #occupythehood March In Solidarity With Those Foreclosed On By Criminal Banks

    by OccupyWallSt

    Jamaica Queens, NY — On Saturday, October 29th Occupy Wall Street, in solidarity with Occupy the Hood, will take action against the homelessness forced upon innocent Americans through criminal foreclosure practices. At 10:00am we will gather at Liberty Square and march to the J train, which we will take to Jamaica, Queens, the foreclosure capital of New York. Metro fare will be provided for those who need it. On the subway we will hold democratic forums on the intolerable hardships Americans have been suffering because of bank foreclosures.

    “According to the Mortgage Bankers Association and the FDIC, one child in every classroom in America is losing their home because banks are foreclosing on their parents. In Queens, the reality is even worse,” said Michael Premo, a volunteer who is helping with Saturday's event.

    At noon, we will gather in Jamaica Center and march through the neighborhood, winding through foreclosed homes. As we pass by foreclosed homes we will visually reclaim them with banners and signs in windows and

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    Dougco GOP active in Jeffco | EdNewsColorado

    Dougco GOP active in Jeffco | EdNewsColorado:

    Dougco GOP active in Jeffco

    by Nancy Mitchell

    Apparently confident of victory in Douglas County, Republican Party officials there want to lend a hand to GOP-backed school board candidates in Jefferson County as Election Day draws closer.

    Dougco Republican Party chairman Mark Baisley sent an email Thursday notifying party volunteers that they’ll be calling on behalf of Jefferson County school board candidates Preston Branaugh and Jim Powers until Tuesday.

    “Thank you for all of the phone calls that you have been making to get the vote out. The returns reported by the

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    Profile of the California Partnership Academies - High School (CA Dept of Education)

    Profile of the California Partnership Academies - High School (CA Dept of Education):

    Profile of the California Partnership Academies

    Profile of the California Partnership Academies for the 2009-10 school year, 467 California Partnership Academies (CPAs) that submitted reports to the California Department of Education.

    Career Academy Support Network 1.
    Charles Dayton, Candace Hamilton Hester, and David Stern
    University of California, Berkeley, October 2011

    Issued in cooperation with the California Department of Education and the James Irvine Foundation

    Executive Summary

    State legislation launched the California Partnership Academies (CPAs) in 1984. CPAs exemplify the career academy model for preparing high school students to succeed in both college and careers. Career academies are small learning communities within larger high schools, usually enrolling students in grades 10-12. Each year students take classes together, including core academic subjects and at least one career-technical course related to the academy’s career theme. A team of teachers works with the same group of students over several years, linking instruction across disciplines and over time. Employers provide internships and other opportunities for students to learn outside the classroom. Several evaluations of career academies in California and elsewhere have found positive effects on students’ performance during and after high school (Stern, Dayton, & Raby 2010).2. Career academies have provided a model for high school reform, and have become an important part of the current Linked Learning initiative in California.

    Each CPA sends an annual report to the California Department of Education. This profile is drawn from the CPA reports for the 2009-10 school year. It parallels a profile produced five years ago from the 2004-05 reports (Bradby et al. 2007).3. More information on academies and the supporting legislation is available on this website and atwww.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/hs/cpagen.asp.

    Overview of the Academies: Locations, Industry Sectors, and Sources of Support

    For the 2009-10 school year, 467 CPAs submitted reports to the California Department of Education. These academies operated in 278 of California’s 1,264 comprehensive high schools. Most high schools with CPAs rank below average on the State’s Academic Performance Index. The 437 CPAs that provided student-level data enrolled 48,436 students in grades 10-12 — about 3% of the State’s 1.6 million students in these grades. CPAs serve 36 of California’s 58 counties. California’s six most populous counties—Los Angeles, Sacramento, Alameda, Riverside, San Diego, and Contra Costa —have a total of 287 CPAs .

    Each CPA frames its curriculum around one of the 15 industry fields established for Career-Technical Education by the California Department of Education. The most common themes are Health Science and Medical Technology (76 academies); Arts, Media and Entertainment (66); Finance and Business (51); Engineering and Design (47); and Public Services (46).

    The three sources of supplemental support for CPAs are: grants from the State; financial or in-kind support from the host school district, required to be at least equal to the State grant; and financial or in-kind contributions from local employers, also required to be at least equal to the State grant. The State grant is therefore leveraged at least two-to-one by local matching contributions. In total, State grants amounted to $26.5 million in 2009-10, while school district matches totaled $41.3 million and employer matches $48.3 million. Thus, on average, CPAs received about 23% of their supplemental support from State grant funds (all in dollars), 35% in matching district support (mostly in-kind), and 42% in matching employer contributions (mostly in-kind). The matches from the districts were primarily in the form of personnel time to support a variety of activities, including instruction, tutoring and academic support. The matches from employers were for advisory board members, speakers, field trip hosts, mentorships, and internships.

    Student Profile

    By law, at least 50% of the students in each incoming class of CPA sophomores must meet three of the following six “at-risk” criteria (defined more specifically in the law): 1) having a poor attendance record, 2) being significantly behind in credits, 3) demonstrating low motivation for the regular school program, 4) being economically disadvantaged, 5) having low state test scores, or 6) having a low grade point average.

    CPA students are 53% female and 47% male. CPA student gender balances vary considerably among industry sectors, from Fashion and Interior Design (2 academies) which is 79% female to Manufacturing and Product Development (8 academies) which is 78% male. However, most fields are fairly well balanced, almost half are near a 50-50 split, and generally the balance between genders has improved somewhat since 2004-05.

    Student enrollment in CPAs is 59% Hispanic, 16% white, 10% Asian, 9% black, 3% mixed race or other, 2.5% Pacific Islander, and 0.5% Native American or Alaskan. The proportion of Hispanic students in CPAs is substantially higher than in grades 10-12 statewide; white student enrollment is substantially lower.

    Student Performance

    As in the previous 2004-05 CPA report, the data reveal high attendance rates in CPAs. By law, CPAs receive additional state funding only for students with at least 80% attendance; 96% of CPA students in 2009-10 met this criterion. Another requirement for CPA funding is that students earn at least 90% of the credits that would be needed during the year to make normal progress toward on-time graduation. In 2009-10, 83% of CPA students met this requirement.

    With respect to the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), in grade 10, 82% of CPA students passed the English Language Arts (ELA) section, compared with 81% statewide. On the mathematics portion of the exam, 83% of CPA tenth graders passed, compared to 81% statewide. In both ELA and math, statewide passing rates for tenth graders improved more than in CPAs since 2004-05. When students are compared within racial/ethnic categories, the biggest difference is for Hispanics, where the grade 10 passing rate for CPAs was 7% higher than the statewide rate in math and 6% higher in ELA.

    Ninety-five percent of academy seniors graduated at the end of the 2009-10 year, compared with 85% statewide. Examining gender differences, 96% of female and 94% of male academy 12th graders graduated, as compared to 89% of female and 81% of male students statewide. CPA graduation rates from grade 12 exceeded statewide rates for all racial and ethnic groups. Among the largest differences were an advantage of 16 percentage points for African American seniors in CPAs, and 14 points for Hispanics.

    Student Intentions and Experiences

    Most CPA seniors plan to combine college and work after they graduate. Three out of five students plan to attend a community college, and 28% a four-year college; a large majority of these plan to work while attending college. These plans are highly consistent with the CPA goal of preparing students to pursue a range of college and career options after high school.
    CPAs are designed to prepare students for both college and careers. In California, a key indicator of preparation for college is completion of the “a-g” courses required for admission to the University of California or California State University. For 2009-10, CPAs reported that 57% of their graduates fulfilled the a-g subject requirements, compared to 36% of high school graduates statewide. Among the experiences provided by CPAs to help prepare students for careers are mentorships and internships. In 2009-10, 71% of CPA 11th graders participated in mentorships, while 52% of seniors participated in a work-based learning experience. These indicators are consistent with those reported in 2004-05.

    Matching Contributions from School Districts and Employers

    By law, each CPA is required to receive financial or in-kind support from the host school district in an amount at least equal to the CPA grant from the State. In 2009-10, 96% of CPAs met the district matching requirement. The CPA law also requires each academy to receive financial or in-kind contributions from employers that equal or exceed the amount of the State grant. In 2009-10, 93% of CPAs met the employer matching requirement.

    Comparing Newer and Older Academies

    Since some CPAs operating in 2009-10 have been in existence for more than 20 years, while others are much newer, it would be useful to know whether an academy’s age is related to quality of implementation or level of student performance. However, comparing three groups of academies — those that started before 1994, between 1995 and 2005, and after 2006 ­— did not reveal any consistent relationship. The newest academies appear strongest on a-g completion, the academies that started in the 1995-2005 period look strongest on CAHSEE, and the oldest academies appear strong on all comparisons except senior internships. Graduation rate from grade 12, which is arguably the most consequential measure, is virtually the same among these three groups of academies.

    Comparing Academies by Industry Sector

    Since CPAs now exist in all 15 of the State’s career-technical education sectors, it is useful to consider whether academies in different sectors face different challenges and opportunities. The 12th grade graduation rate is quite consistent across sectors, but the a-g completion rate varies widely, for reasons that are not apparent. Mentorships and internships tend to be more available in sectors where student enrollment is predominantly female.

    Commentary

    Now in their 27th year of operation, California Partnership Academies have proved a durable model, although CPAs remain rather sparsely distributed throughout the state, occurring in just 22% of high schools. The average annual state funding of about $547 per student is quadrupled by local matching contributions. CPAs support a broad range of career themes. Ethnic data suggest good diversity, and gender balance in the large majority of academies is also good. Academy students slightly outperform statewide averages on CAHSEE pass rates, substantially outperform them in meeting a-g course requirements for UC and CSU, and report much higher graduation rates for seniors, especially among students of color. These results are encouraging since, by law, at least half of the students entering a CPA must meet specific “at-risk” criteria, and most CPAs are in low-performing high schools.

    While these are generally positive findings, we must point out that the information comes from academy self-reports, which may not always be accurate. Information that is contained in official student records — such as attendance, credits, demographic data, graduation, and CAHSEE passing rates, among others — may be more accurate than information that must be estimated by respondents, including a-g course completion and the value of contributions by employers.
    With that caveat, this profile of California Partnership Academies in 2009-10 is consistent with the profile from 2004-05. The academy approach — which combines small learning communities, integrated academic and career-technical curriculum, and partnerships with employers and higher education — evidently continues to prepare students for both college and careers.

    Notes

    1. This report was prepared for the California Department of Education, with support from the Department and the James Irvine Foundation. The full report is available at http://casn.berkeley.edu/downloads/CPA_Report_2009-10.pdf(Outside Source)
    2. David Stern, Marilyn Raby, & Charles Dayton, Career Academies: A Proven Strategy to Prepare High School Students for College and Ca- reers; CASN, UC Berkeley, 2010. Available athttp://casn.berkeley.edu/resource_files/Proven_Strategy_2-25-1010-03-12-04-27-01.pdf (Outside Source)
    3. Denise Bradby, et al., A Profile of the California Partnership Academies, 2004-05; ConnectEd California, 2007.

    Related Content
    • California Partnership Academies (CPA) - The CPA model is a three-year program (grades ten-twelve) structured as a school-within-a-school. Academies incorporate integrated academic and career technical education, business partnerships, mentoring, and internships.
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    President Obama. In Ohio, just say “no” on 2. « Fred Klonsky's blog

    President Obama. In Ohio, just say “no” on 2. « Fred Klonsky's blog:

    President Obama. In Ohio, just say “no” on 2.

    by Fred Klonsky

    It’s the oddest damn thing.

    There will be an issue on the Ohio ballot called Issue 2.

    If you vote yes, you support Governor Republican Kasich’s attack on collective bargaining rights in Ohio.

    If you vote no, you are voting to keep union collective bargaining rights in Ohio.

    Nothing could be more clear-cut.

    Ask a union member how they will vote.

    “No.”

    The press asked Republican flipper Mitt Romney his position on Issue 2.

    During a campaign stop thanking Ohio GOP volunteers Tuesday, the former governor of

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    Missouri Education Watchdog: Democrats Abroad Public Education Platform

    Missouri Education Watchdog: Democrats Abroad Public Education Platform:

    Democrats Abroad Public Education Platform



    This resolution was submitted to the DNC this week by Democrats Abroad France with the request that it be added to and approved as part of Democratic Platform for the next election cycle.Democrats Abroad is the official Democratic Party organization for Americans who are living outside the United States and is recognized as a "state" Party by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). It is represented on the DNC by eight voting members, as well as at the quadrennial Democratic National Convention.

    Democrats living in America. Is this what YOU think education should be?
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Issued to the Democratic Party platform committee in Washington DC.
    DRAFT RESOLUTION ON STRENGTHENING QUALITY PUBLIC EDUCATION FOR ALL AMERICAN YOUNG PEOPLE
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