Taking Women's Rights Seriously

Gordon Brown: Taking Women's Rights Seriously

The sustained degradation and subjugation of girls and women remains the world's most pervasive human rights violation.

Today, well over 100 million are 'missing' because of increased mortality from inequality and neglect and the majority of the 2.4 million victims of human trafficking, which treats people as products, are female. In its numbers and scale, the systematic discrimination outstrips even the wholesale abuses of the 18th and 19th century slave trade, which we today deplore as an obscene example of inhumanity from another era.

Yet, in supposedly civilised and enlightened times, girls and women around the world suffer unimaginable atrocities: forced marriage, rape, mutilation and death in pregnancy and childbirth. In Sierra Leone, a woman has a one in six chance of dying in childbirth in her lifetime -- a grotesque transformation of what should be the happiest time in a family's life into one of the most dangerous. Discrimination also means girls and women are more likely to be in poverty, denied schooling, deprived of health care, excluded from political and economic decision-making and die young.

West Contra Costa teachers authorize strike - ContraCostaTimes.com

West Contra Costa teachers authorize strike - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"The vote came as a response to forced contract changes made by the district's board of education earlier this summer, after months of negotiations failed to produce a new agreement. The district made changes to seniority provisions, increased class sizes, placed caps on teachers' current and retirement health benefits and eliminated benefits for teachers' dependents.

District officials have said they can no longer afford the current health care benefits, with the cost about doubling since 2001. They say the district is spending more money than it is bringing in, and that painful cuts are necessary to avoid bankruptcy.

Schickele has said there are other ways to make cuts -- such as shortening the school year -- and that many of the imposed changes to the contract have nothing to do with cost-saving."

Hitting the school grounds running: New recruits offset shortage

Hitting the school grounds running: New recruits offset shortage:


"There are some unique issues, especially in middle school, a teacher has to deal with, she said. With class changes, teachers deal with about 130 students a day, and just as many personalities, Hubbard said.
'Maturity levels vary in the class, and they vary in the students from day to day,' she said. One day, students may act like they're 12, and the next like they're 2, she said.
On the first day of school, Purvis and her students found common ground over a story. Purvis read to her third-graders Wemberly Worried, a book about a mouse nervous about her first day of school.
When asked whether they were nervous about the first day of school last week, most of the students raised their hands. Purvis admitted to them that she was, too.
But 'they're not going to be judging you on the first day of school, just like you're not judging them, and we're going to work it out together,' Purvis said."

Privacy concerns arise over student data - USATODAY.com

Privacy concerns arise over student data - USATODAY.com:


"Privacy concerns have touched off a debate this summer about whether schools should change the practice of sharing student contact information with outside sources.
School districts and colleges nationwide are allowed to sell or share student lists that contain information such as the names, ages, phone numbers and home addresses of students.
The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 lets schools decide how much student information they designate as public record for use in school directories, yearbooks and other school publications, says Jim Bradshaw, with the U.S. Department of Education. Outside groups have access to public record information.
'Once the data gets out, they have no real control over what happens,' says David Holtzman, a former security analyst and author of the book Privacy Lost."

Education lapses deflate economy

Education lapses deflate economy

The McKinsey report examined the economic dimensions of four distinct gaps in education: (1) between the United States and other nations, (2) between black and Latino students and white students, (3) between students of different income levels and (4) between similar students schooled in different states.

In each instance, the gap has come at an enormous cost, in the billions of dollars and even in the trillions of dollars, to the nation's economy and to its human capital. Just a narrowing of the gap in one of these four areas would mean hundreds of billion dollars to the U.S. economy.

So why aren't we paying attention? Is it because we have heard much of it before? Or is it that we are so caught up in the daily grind of this recession? Or are we hesitant because race and ethnicity are prominently figured in confronting this challenge?

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10324805/The-Economic-Impact-of-the-Achievement-Gap-in-Americas-Schools

Charter school owes N.J. $415,938 | CourierPostOnline.com | Courier-Post

Charter school owes N.J. $415,938 CourierPostOnline.com Courier-Post:

"In October 2008, the department's Office of Fiscal Accountability and Compliance began a review of the charter school's fiscal and governance practices from 2007 through the end of previous academic year.
The charter school, which has been on a state-issued probationary status since late last year for numerous administrative problems, needs more improvements. The state report cited inadequate board of education supervision, improper bonus and hiring practices, poor petty cash management and missing bid, travel and enrollment procedures
'The review disclosed numerous deficiencies and internal controls issues in the financial operations of the charter school,' according to the report. '. . . The charter school has received shut off notices, late notices, health insurance cancellation notices and late charges; eventually the phones were shut off.'
Freedom Academy Charter School Board President Dwight Moxie admits mistakes have been made, but many issues revealed in the report have already been corrected as part of the state's probationary demands. The board is preparing an appeal, specifically the amount of money requested"

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa To Urge LAUSD To Allow New Schools To Be Privately Operated - cbs2.com

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa To Urge LAUSD To Allow New Schools To Be Privately Operated - cbs2.com:


"New schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District could soon be privately operated if Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gets his way.

Villaraigosa is expected to urge LAUSD Board Members to approve a resolution to allow 50 new schools to be operated by charter operators and other institutions for 2010-11 school year.

Those schools are planned to be opened in the next three years.

Villaraigosa said the idea will allow those most qualified to better run the schools and ease some of the financial burden from the City of Los Angeles.

The school superintendent would make the decision based on the operation and instructional plans the bidders submit.

However, opponents of the resolution met Saturday and issued a statement that states the motion: 'fails to address key issues impacting students, parents, teachers and LAUSD employee bargaining units.'"

Take Arne Duncan’s phony school reform money and run--- fast!

Take Arne Duncan’s phony school reform money and run--- fast!:

"The coast is clear school superintendents. You can come out now; non-educator emeritus, Arne Duncan is in charge of your school district even though he has never taught a class or run a school in his life. Once again people outside of education are calling the shots school superintendents haven’t got the guts to make. Hire a good writer, cook up some irrelevant statistics, hook up with ACORN, submit your Race-to-the-Top grant, then take the money and run. Your financially scrapped district can’t afford to ignore the $5 billion-dollar man’s bribe to hand over control of your community schools to the Washington D.C. Politburo. But, after he hands you the money with all the strings attached, run as far and as fast as you can from quack school reform methods that could actually do more damage than good."

In the red, US school districts cut yellow buses - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

In the red, US school districts cut yellow buses - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:


"About 23 percent of school districts surveyed by the American Association of School Administrators say they are reducing or eliminating school transportation for the coming school year as part of cost-cutting measures. That's up from the 14 percent who considered such measures during the 2008-2009 year.
'I've seen it happening in Massachusetts, in Ohio, in Indiana. A lot of school districts are looking at in varying degrees,' said Robin Leeds, industry specialist with the National School Transportation Association.
Parents and transportation advocates say the proposed cuts will have wide-ranging repercussions - affecting everything from parents' work schedules to student attendance. Many also worry that the cuts will jeopardize the safety of students who may have to cross busy highways or dangerous roads to get to class. Deadly school bus crashes are rare, while past studies have shown riding to school in a car, walking and bicycling account for hundreds of student deaths a year."

Reform ABCs | Editorials | PE.com | Southern California News | News for Inland Southern California

Reform ABCs Editorials PE.com Southern California News News for Inland Southern California:

Reform ABCs

"The issues are clear. The various studies portray a school system that is overly regulated and irrationally financed, with muddled lines of authority and conflicting incentives that discourage improvement.
Changing that status quo, however, would require the state to give local districts and schools more power to make decisions, rather than dictating policy from Sacramento. The state would also have to streamline an overgrown education code that puts a higher premium on administrative paperwork than good education practice. And any reform should restructure the state's complex and inefficient financing system, tying funding more closely to need and giving local districts greater budgeting flexibility.
Districts also need to be able to offer differential pay and incentives to good teachers, so that the schools with the biggest challenges do not end up with the worst instructors. And the near impossibility of firing ineffective teachers only obstructs educational improvement.
Given the state's budget mess, focusing reform on hauling down more money is understandable, if misguided. Money will not fix California schools, and it is no substitute for systemic change."

Open Letter to Kenneth Roth

Neoliberalism, Charter Schools and the Chicago ModelObama and Duncan's Education Policy:Like Bush's, Only Worse


Neoliberalism, Charter Schools and the Chicago Model

Obama and Duncan's Education Policy:Like Bush's, Only Worse


"This is deeply troubling, for many states which do not want charter schools or have found the experiment to be less than adequate and in fact damaging to kids and funding, for traditional public schools will now be forced to choose stimulus money over policy, a form of economic extortion and increased federal and corporate control over decision making, especially at a time when many of these states are literally financial insolvent. This is another example of how disaster politics operates, only this time the disaster is not a natural disaster but an economic disaster that threatens public policies."

A $5 Billion Bet on Better Education

Letter From Washington - A $5 Billion Bet on Better Education - NYTimes.com

A recent study by Stanford University found mixed results on charter schools, which began in the 1990s and now number 4,600. In 17 percent of cases, especially in high-poverty areas, charters provided clearly superior education to the traditional public schools. But more than a third of the schools were actually inferior to the public schools, Stanford researchers found.

Teachers and their unions are skeptical about linking instructor evaluations and rewards to student test scores, arguing that it only would encourage teaching to tests, not creating richer learning experiences for children.

The largest teachers’ organization, the National Education Association, finds particular resistance in a number of its state affiliates.

Even Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, which has an urban focus and a history of working with school reformers, says: “By doing this through regulation and not legislation, I worry that Arne will get some short-term results, but he’s not creating long-term educational reform,” she said.

Board Meeting Video

Board Meeting Video:

"Heidi McLean
Sacramento Coalition to Save Public Education
Asks the Tough Questions"

A Tribute to
L'eo Bennett Cauchon- Parent
Yearning to be Engaged

Louis Yanez
PTA VP of Thedore Judah Elementary
Honored by SCUSD Board for Outstanding Service

SCUSD Out of the Loop at John Morse

Editorial: Detroit schools, teachers union should follow N.Y.'s lead | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Editorial: Detroit schools, teachers union should follow N.Y.'s lead detnews.com The Detroit News:

"Early this summer, Detroit Federation of Teachers union President Keith Johnson told The Detroit News 'seniority is sacred.' Johnson added that he would do everything possible to protect that clause in the current contract.
But as Weingarten herself pointed out, tenure should never be mistaken for 'lifetime job security.'"


UFT, Green Dot reach tentative contract agreement for Bronx charter - United Federation of Teachers:
"Green Dot salary and benefits at a glance

Runs from Aug. 25, 2008, through Aug. 31, 2011.DUE PROCESS

A just cause standard for discipline and dismissal, which begins for teachers and guidance counselors on the first day of employment [no probationary period].

A four-step grievance procedure which ends in binding arbitration.A professional mediation process for any school-based disagreement or issue.

TEACHER VOICE AND PROFESSIONALISM

School-based policy committees, with UFT member majorities democratically selected by the UFT chapter, for leadership, professional development, budget, calendar and programming, and pay stipends.A professional evaluation system based on the principles of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

COMPENSATION

A 14 percent premium on the New York City Department of Education salary scale, with a maximum teacher salary of over $114,000.Participation in a GHI-HIP Health Plan modeled after those available to New York City municipal employees, in the UFT Welfare Fund and in the pension and Tax-Deferred Annuity program of the Teachers’ Retirement System.

WORK CONDITIONS

An “untimed” professional workday which includes the student day, staff meetings, professional development and preparation time, and the New York City Department of Education school calendar, with eight additional professional development days.Smart boards in every classroom and laptops for all educators.

For links to the entire contract, go to www.edwize.org/uft-green-dot-sign-pioneering-contract-for-nyc-charter-school."
draft

Steiny: Schools shouldn’t use data only as a way to beat up on teachers | Julia Steiny | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Steiny: Schools shouldn’t use data only as a way to beat up on teachers Julia Steiny projo.com The Providence Journal

"By far the best thing No Child Left Behind (NCLB) did was to force states to build robust data systems. The worst thing it did was use a subset of that data, mainly test scores, to jump to ugly conclusions, like schools weren’t “meeting expectations,” a euphemism for failure. NCLB measures everything in the negative. In five years, when all kids in all schools MUST be 100 percent proficient, even the rich kids’ schools will be failures. By then, NCLB will have created equal opportunities for all teachers to resent data."

Rhee Spells Out Teaching Expectations With 200-Page 'Learning Framework' - washingtonpost.com

Rhee Spells Out Teaching Expectations With 200-Page 'Learning Framework' - washingtonpost.com:

"Teachers will be subject to revamped evaluations based in part on the new teaching and learning framework, which will deploy a corps of 'master teachers' to join principals in assessing instructors. The changes are an attempt to make performance reviews more objective and less vulnerable to school politics or personal issues. The new evaluations also are expected to include improvement in student test scores as part of the criteria by which some instructors will be judged.
Students will face a revised disciplinary code, with an emphasis on defusing conflicts before they start and minimizing the use of suspensions that keep students home or on the streets instead of in class."

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10294037/DC-Public-Schools--Teaching-and-Learning-Framework

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency

Media-Newswire.com - Press Release Distribution - PR Agency: "(Media-Newswire.com) -

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan issued the following statement today in response to news that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for a special legislative session to address education reform:

When I visited California in May, I challenged the education leaders -- I asked them if their state was going to lead the Race to the Top or if they were going to lead the retreat. I am encouraged by the governor's proposal which appears to be consistent with the reforms the President and I have outlined. I am hopeful the education package the governor has proposed will garner the support it needs to pass ultimately removing a legislative barrier that prohibits the state from distinguishing good teachers from bad teachers. These are tough decisions that will not only require the political will of the governor but also that of the elected officials, unions, legislators and community leaders. California may indeed serve as an example to other states that are facing similar challenges -- this is a step in the right direction."

GOP donors wait as out-of-staters lift Bennet - The Denver Post

GOP donors wait as out-of-staters lift Bennet - The Denver Post:

"A California fundraiser for Bennet attracted Hollywood and education interests. It was hosted by philanthropist Eli Broad, who knows Bennet, the former superintendent of Denver Public Schools, from education-reform efforts, said Bennet's campaign manager Craig Hughes.
Donors included actress Jami Gertz and several Hollywood producers. Bennet also got donations from National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former NBA star."

Charter teaches lesson in stonewalling » Redding Record Searchlight

Charter teaches lesson in stonewalling » Redding Record Searchlight:

"After a recent investigation of the school, the California Financial Crisis and Management Assistance Team stopped short of direct accusations of financial wrongdoing. But it did report conflicts of interest by the superintendent, Henry Bietz, that appear to violate state law, and investigators noted lax financial controls that, as the report delicately put it, 'increase the probability that fraud and/or abuse can occur.'"

Failing California Charter Schools
California Charters Closed by Category (103 Schools)

The Press Republican - Article: Educators endorse community schools

The Press Republican - Article: Educators endorse community schools:

"It's said it takes a community to raise a child.

Educators agree.

So a resurgence in the concept of community schooling is under way as school districts across the country transform academic buildings into one-stop centers for health and dental care, mental-health counseling, social services and family resources — on top of academic offerings."

Get The Community Agenda