Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, December 30, 2011

Three school districts here will merge teaching efforts - News

Three school districts here will merge teaching efforts - News:

Three school districts here will merge teaching efforts

Penn Manor, Hempfield and Manheim Township plan to unveil an “open campus” project that is believed to be the first collaborative effort of its kind in Pennsylvania
Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era
Dec 28, 2011 23:01
By BRIAN WALLACE
Staff Writer

Imagine a high school where students can take classes as early as 7 a.m. or as late as 9 p.m.

Some of the courses are taught face-to-face in the school, with others delivered online and still others taught through a mix of classroom and computer-based instruction.

At this school, tuition is free and students can enroll in specialty courses such as Latin and business Spanish that their home schools don't offer.

And by taking classes at night or over the summer, they could earn a diploma faster than their peers.

So how do students sign up?

Well, if they attend Penn Manor, Hempfield or Manheim Township high schools, they're already enrolled.

The three Lancaster County schools plan to unveil an "open campus"



Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/558484_Three-school-districts-here-will-merge-teaching-efforts.html#ixzz1i1zyy2kM

Youth Connections : Index

Youth Connections : Index:





I’m Beamin’ [I Get My Energy From My Inner G] | The Jose Vilson

I’m Beamin’ [I Get My Energy From My Inner G] | The Jose Vilson:

I’m Beamin’ [I Get My Energy From My Inner G]

Jose Vilson 2011

The past year has been amazing. I started off the year with the intention of becoming a more transparent and open person, leaving much of my youthful ways behind. I’m ending the year with the stark reality of fatherhood, and a sense of even higher purpose. In between, I started gathering the pieces for that to happen, and the inner resolve to continue solving the puzzle.

A Recap of Some of the Events of My 2011:

In the winter, I started off the year with a big secret that only a handful of people knew, one

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2011 | Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day…:

The Best Articles I’ve Written In 2011

I obviously write a lot of blog posts here, as well as one book, each year on education issues. In addition, I write a fair number of articles that appear in other publications like The Washington Post, ASCD Educational Leadership, Education Week, The Huffington Post and others (not to mention my weekly teacher advice columnin Education Week Teacher).

Here’s a list of them that appeared in 2011 (and you can see all the articles I’ve written here):

Our Most-Read Posts of 2011 | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights

Our Most-Read Posts of 2011 | LFA: Join The Conversation - Public School Insights:

Our Most-Read Posts of 2011

Getting families engaged in their children's education, using social media, turning around struggling schools, the morale of our nation's premiere teachers, and progress (or lack thereof) in efforts to improve the nation's major federal education legislation...This year, our most-viewed posts covered these topics, and much more. Here are our ten most-read posts of 2011 (as indicated by our trusty Google Analytics trackng system). Enjoy!

10. New Models for Family Engagement

9. Seeing the Future for Public Education

8. The Importance of Trust and Morale in School Turnarounds

read more

Schools Matter: Unpacking TFA Support: Twisted Logic and Assumptions

Schools Matter: Unpacking TFA Support: Twisted Logic and Assumptions:

Unpacking TFA Support: Twisted Logic and Assumptions

Teach for America (TFA), like Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) corporate-charter schools, finds opportunities where they least expect resistance—cities devastated by natural disasters (New Orleans) or communities ravaged by poverty. As I have detailed HERE, HERE, and HERE, TFA has now leveraged itself into Charleston, SC schools. Three articles in The Post and Courier present the twisted logic and assumtpions underneath support for TFA:

Struggling schools to get strong teachers (December 13, 2011)

Teach for America has supporters, critics (December 28, 2011)

Teach for America hope (December 30, 2011)

First, let's consider the twisted logic. The stated problem for high-poverty schools often includes that hiring and retaining highly qualified and experienced teachers is historically a challenge (Peske & Haycock, 2006);

Daily Kos: Healing the Heart of Democracy

Daily Kos: Healing the Heart of Democracy:

Healing the Heart of Democracy

In memory of
Christina Taylor Green (2001-2011)
Addie Mae Collins (1949-1963)
Denise McNair (1951-1963)
Carole Robertson (1949-1963)
Cynthia Wesley (1949-1963)

Christina died when an assassin in Tucson, Arizona, opened fired at a public event hosted by Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously wounded. Addie Mae, Denise, Carole, and Cynthia died when violent racists bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
When we forget that politics is about weaving a fabric of compassion and justice on which everyone can depend, the first to suffer are the most vulnerable among us - our children, the elderly, the mentally ill, the poor, and the homeless. As they suffer, so does the integrity of our democracy.
May the heartbreaking deaths of these children - and the hope and promise that was in their young lives - help us find the courage to create a politics of the human spirit.

Those words appear as the frontispiece of a remarkable book by a remarkable man. Let me tell you a bit about him.

Parker Palmer is one of the most important thinkers in America: he was picked as a visionary thinker by Utne.

Rhee, former D.C. schools chief, busy lobbying, helping Right wing politicians– USATODAY.com

Rhee, former D.C. schools chief, busy lobbying – USATODAY.com:

Former D.C. schools chief busy lobbying, helping politicians

More than a year after she resigned as chancellor of Washington, D.C., Public Schools — and nine months after her successor asked D.C.'s inspector general to investigate high erasure rates on standardized tests during her tenure —Michelle Rhee remains as high-profile as ever.

  • Michelle Rhee's non-profit is lobbying statehouses.

    By Charlie Nye, The Star

    Michelle Rhee's non-profit is lobbying statehouses.

By Charlie Nye, The Star

Michelle Rhee's non-profit is lobbying statehouses.

Students First, her Sacramento-based advocacy non-profit, this year successfully lobbied state legislatures in Michigan and Nevada to overhaul teacher evaluations and end "Last In, First Out" policies that many activists abhor.

On a conference call Dec. 13 with supporters, Rhee said Students First would soon enroll its one-millionth member.

And really: What other education wonk finds noisy protesters picketing her speaking

NYC Educator: The Ratings Game

NYC Educator: The Ratings Game:

The Ratings Game

You'd think we were a TV station seeking Nielsons, but actually we're the largest school system in the country. An emergency headline from vacationing Gotham Schools blares that we're going to lose a ton of money, but the story doesn't bother to inform readers of the limited uses for which the money can be used. This, of course, leaves readers with the impression the evil UFT is obfuscating so that the lazy worthless teachers won't be accountable. To show how fair and balanced they are at Gotham, they feature a DOE employee in their community section telling what a great job the DOE is doing.

The NY Times story is a little more comprehensive:
The money, known as school improvement grants, is supposed to help the schools lift their results through a series of changes, like replacing principals and at least half the staff members; giving teachers extra time for training and