Right wing’s schoolyard taunt: Obama’s a socialist and so's your mama | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times

Just when you thought the culture wars were ancient history comes this news bulletin: Conservatives are up in arms over President Obama’s planned speech to schoolchildren Tuesday, the day millions of Americans return to work and school after the Labor Day holiday, touting the value of education.

After a summer of stoking controversy over nonexistent death panels in healthcare plans, critics on the right are now charging that the White House -- which plans to broadcast the speech live on the White House website and over C-SPAN -- is trying to indoctrinate their innocents on issues like healthcare reform and federal spending. Thanks to conservative talk radio and the right-wing blogosphere, Obama’s speech to children has been turned into a lighting rod for socialism.

“As far as I am concerned, this is not civics education -- it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality,” said Oklahoma state Sen. Steve Russell. “This is something you’d expect to see in North Korea or Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.”

Even the chairman of a state Republican Party, Jim Greer in Florida, has joined the fray, warning that Obama is trying to "indoctrinate America's children to his socialist agenda."

With rumors spreading faster than a California wildfire, school districts in six states -- Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin -- have opted out and will not show the speech. Others are mulling it over.

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime

Quick: Name the 4 States That Haven't Spent an Ed Stimulus Dime

Alaska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, New Mexico.

These four haven't drawn down any of the money that's been made available to them via state stimulus grants, according to the latest spending report from the U.S. Department of Education. (You can check out edweek.org's nifty interactive follow-the-money map here.) This means these states haven't spent any of their special education, Title I, stabilization fund, education technology, or other smaller grants, such as vocational rehabilitation. Note the zeros in the "outlay" category in the department's report.

You'll note on the Education Department's spending report that, within these states, a portion of grants to other entities, such as higher education institutions and local school districts, have been spent.

What's interesting is that even South Carolina, where Gov. Mark Sanford unsuccessfully tried to refuse stimulus money, has spent some of its share.

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/10800261/Ed-Stimulus--latest-spending-report-from-the-US-Department-of-Education
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2009/09/quick_name_the_4_states_that_h.html

Inside School Research: Where's the Research in 'Race to the Top'?

Inside School Research: Where's the Research in 'Race to the Top'?:

"'Neither research evidence related to growth models nor best practice related to assessment supports the proposed requirement that assessment of teachers and principals be based centrally on student achievement'"

Education Week: Why Not Count Them All?

Education Week: Why Not Count Them All?:

"Before leaving office, U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings issued last October new regulations for how states should calculate high school graduation rates under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The regulations seemed simple: Take the number of students who graduated, then divide by the number of students who entered high school four years earlier. But what about those students who take longer than four years to graduate? How would they be counted? The short answer is, they wouldn’t."

Education Week: Officials Move to Quell Furor Over Obama Speech

Education Week: Officials Move to Quell Furor Over Obama Speech:


"The White House and federal education officials scrambled Thursday to reassure school leaders that President Barack Obama’s national speech to schoolchildren next week will touch on important educational goals, despite criticism from some conservatives that the president is planning to use the speech to “indoctrinate” children with his political views.

“The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning,” the U.S. Department of Education said in an e-mail urging schools to participate in what it called a “historic moment,” to be broadcast live Sept. 8 on C-SPAN and the White House’s Web site."

A national movement of foodies, farmers, parents and educators is pushing for better school food - San Jose Mercury News

A national movement of foodies, farmers, parents and educators is pushing for better school food - San Jose Mercury News:


"Schools like ACE Charter are contracting with companies that provide organic lunches. 'Farm to School' programs that connect schools with local farms — like the relationship between Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara Unified School District — are popping up nationwide. And Slow Food USA is organizing 'Time for Lunch,' a campaign designed to 'get real food in schools.' The effort kicks off on Labor Day with more than 300 'Eat-ins,' or community pot lucks, planned across the nation."

Advocates hope the momentum will lead to an overhaul of the Child Nutrition Act, the bill that governs the National School Lunch Program and is up for reauthorization in Congress this fall.

"It's the right time for this campaign," said Gordon Jenkins of Slow Food USA. "People are more food conscious overall. We have Michelle Obama planting a garden in the White House lawn. Now the burden is on us to show that there's a political will for this."

Most local school districts contract with large food service companies that prepare food off-site, often in other states, then freeze it and ship it to school districts. The food is then heated in microwaves or warmers. Corn dogs, pizza, and nachos — meals that are high in fats and cholesterol — are standard fare.

"Schools don't have kitchens anymore," Jenkins said. "If we really want healthy food, the food needs to be prepared at the schools."
But cost is an enormous barrier. Advocates such as Slow Food, which was founded in opposition to fast food and emphasizes eating locally grown food, are urging Congress to raise the reimbursement rate so schools can buy fresher ingredients.

Schools to focus on kids most likely to get shot :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education

Schools to focus on kids most likely to get shot :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Education:

"Using a newfangled probability model, Chicago Public School officials have identified the 1,200 Chicago public high school students most likely to be gunshot victims -- and will direct millions in resources to help them this school year, Schools CEO Ron Huberman revealed Thursday.

'These kids are in trouble, and we need to help them,'' Huberman said as he unveiled a $30 million plan to stem the student shooting deaths that have traumatized the nation's third-largest school system for several years."

Special education: Public schools pressed to pay for private schooling -- chicagotribune.com

Special education: Public schools pressed to pay for private schooling -- chicagotribune.com:

"Parents of students with special needs have the right to seek reimbursement from their districts for private school tuition, even if they did not first try their public school's special education programs, according to the recent ruling.

'This is an extremely important decision,' said Matthew Cohen, a Chicago attorney who specializes in disability law. 'It makes it clear that school districts ... may be held legally liable for placements that the parents make on their own.'

The practical effect on districts is unclear. Some educators fear the ruling will strain already cash-strapped districts and pit parents against one another as they clash over scarce resources. But it's unlikely parents will flock to private schools because they have to pay the cost, then seek reimbursement."

Kent teachers' union to consider defying court order - Covington Reporter

Kent teachers' union to consider defying court order - Covington Reporter:

"The Kent Education Association Thursday afternoon announced it was giving the district 'one more opportunity to do the right thing' before making a decision whether or not to defy a court order to end their strike and return to school.

'We as educators know that students or school boards or districts need extra time to get it right,' KEA President Lisa Brackin Johnson.

The union called a membership meeting at Green River Community College Thursday in response to King County Superior Court Judge Andrea Darvas's decision that their week-long strike was illegal under washington law.

Darvas ordered the union to law down their picket signs and go back to their classrooms beginning Tuesday, with students expected to arrive Wednesday."

Obama Plays Bait-and-Switch on "No Child Left Behind"

Obama Plays Bait-and-Switch on "No Child Left Behind":

"On the campaign trail, candidate Obama orated repeatedly, '... don't tell us that the only way to teach a child is to spend too much of the year preparing him to fill in a few bubbles on a standardized test,' and 'Tests should not be designed as punishment for teachers and students... Tests should support learning, not just accounting.'

Yet, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, an Obama basketball buddy from Chicago, recently announced the department's first big initiative: the 'Race to the Top' initiative, which will award $4.3 billion in federal grants 'to open the door to more charter schools and expand the use of student test scores for judging teachers,' per the New York Times."

Will California Use Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers?.

Will California Use Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers?. Category: News from The Berkeley Daily Planet - Thursday September 03, 2009

“It takes more than the ability to fill in bubbles to be considered an educated person,” says Marty Hittleman from the California Federation of Teachers. He testified at the hearing that the test regimen in schools is not helpful to most students. “We believe that the emphasis on standardized tests is misplaced and destructive. Multiple-choice tests in math and reading do not address the real goals of education. Teaching to the test not only narrows the curriculum but attempts to destroy any love of learning. When tests drive the curriculum, instruction suffers.”

Hittleman acknowledges that the existing ways of evaluating teacher performance, including classroom visits and peer counseling and review, can stand improvement, but he believes that they are working pretty effectively. What needs much more attention, he argued before the committee, is the social context of education: “Any effort to close the achievement gap in our schools that does not address the conditions children grow up in is doomed to failure.… Until this country and this state close the gap in job opportunities at a livable wage, healthcare, and affordable housing, efforts for improvement in the schools will have limited success.”

Secretary of Education Duncan has stated that he wants to preserve only the positive contributions of “No Child Left Behind” to education. But witnesses before Senator Romero’s committee, including Patty Scripter and Debbie Look representing the California PTA, spoke of their concern about a possible continuation of policies that were so harmful to education during the Bush years. Just prior to the hearing, Scripter expressed her view that “Evaluation of teachers and students should be done at the local level and should be based on multiple criteria.” She and Look are skeptical about the use of test scores to get rid of incompetent teachers.

Senator Romero’s hearing has been only a first step in addressing the requirements being imposed on California schools by the Obama administration. Legislators in Sacramento will have to craft a federal grant application that reconciles—if that is possible—these new requirements with the critique being voiced by many California teachers and their allies.

Sacramento Press / U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hosts town hall forum

Sacramento Press / U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan hosts town hall forum:

"Duncan also addressed a question on how to engage parents to be a part of the learning process. 'Parents are always going to be kids' first teachers, and they're always going to be their most important teachers,' he said. 'When parent's aren't engaged or they're fighting the teachers, they're part of the problem.'

'We need to do as much as we can to challenge parents to meet us more than halfway,' he added."

US education chief urges Calif. to enact reforms - San Jose Mercury News

US education chief urges Calif. to enact reforms - San Jose Mercury News:

"U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Thursday urged California lawmakers to make education reforms or risk falling further behind the rest of the nation and losing out on a slice of $4.3 billion in federal stimulus money.

Duncan met with lawmakers from both parties at the state Capitol as they prepare to debate potential changes to California law. If enacted, some of the reforms would allow the state to compete for federal money under the Obama administration's $787 billion economic recovery plan.

The Race to the Top competition will reward states that are focused on education reforms. States that agree to expand public charter schools will be first in line for the money, along with those that allow performance pay for teachers based on student achievement, which is currently prohibited in California."

State urged to revamp evaluations - Sacramento Politics - California Politics | Sacramento Bee

State urged to revamp evaluations - Sacramento Politics - California Politics Sacramento Bee:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's message was clear during his Thursday visit to Sacramento: California can either get on board or be left behind.
Duncan spoke about federal stimulus funds and education reform during stops at the state Capitol, a youth rally in Oak Park and a meeting of school officials and a public town hall meeting at the downtown library as part of the Sacramento Education Summit.

"Popular Comment
Yesterday's article described Hiram Johnson West's success with 100% passing the Cahsee. Part of their success stems from having a more rigorous admission process than other high schools. St. Hope didn't have that type of success even though it also is selective in who it keeps as a student. There is nothing magical about charter schools. Instead we should move to encourage more flexibility into the public school bureaucracy. Student test scores are impacted by too many factors out of the class room teacher's control to be used as an evaluation tool. Evaluate a teacher for things they control, are they prepared and do they establish a learning environment in their classroom, are they an active member of their school community, do they prepare and present good lessons, and opportunities for students to grow. You can't blame the teacher if the kids cut school, joined a gang or chose this year to use drugs. Who will teach inner city middle school if the tests impact salary?

-- JoeBarnett"

Sacramento City Unified's new chief is everywhere - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento City Unified's new chief is everywhere - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:

"Nine days into the job, Raymond has raised school flags, cleaned up the grounds of a campus and held the first of what he says will be twice-monthly town-hall-style meetings with parents.

They also might see him on the first day of school Tuesday, when Raymond says he'll ride a school bus before and after school.
And he expects to see a lot more of parents, too."

As flu spreads, 13% of students out sick at Grass Valley High - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

As flu spreads, 13% of students out sick at Grass Valley High - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News Sacramento Bee:


"About 300 students stayed home sick from Nevada Union High School this week, a number startling less for its size than its timing. Widespread illness doesn't usually hit during the first weeks of the school year, but public health officials say this year will probably be different because of the new flu spreading around the globe.

Roughly 13 percent of students at the Grass Valley high school were out sick Wednesday and Thursday. During the winter flu season, schools may see 15 percent of their students out sick, said Karen Milman, Nevada County's public health officer."

SCUSD Observer: Has anybody seen the facilities use agreement?

SCUSD Observer: Has anybody seen the facilities use agreement?

coopmike48 said...
...one of the worst things about civilization is, that anybody that gits a letter with trouble in it comes and tells you all about it and makes you feel bad, and the newspapers fetches you the troubles of everybody all over the world, and keeps you downhearted and dismal most all the time, and it's such a heavy load for a person.- Tom Sawyer Abroad

Learning to Roar

Learning to Roar Teaching Tolerance

In Puerto Rico, there is a saying: Somos cuatro gatos…miaou. In other words, how can we do anything? We are just four cats. Miaou.

In K-12 education, there is also a saying. How can we close the “achievement gap”? In other words, if our students’ parents speak little or no English, often lack formal education, and are strained by poor health, violence, inadequate housing and transportation and the related stresses of living in poverty, how can teachers be expected to bring those students up to speed with their peers? Miaou.

In my school district, we — teachers and parents — found a way to change the question. How can our community support the grassroots leadership development and organizing efforts of low-income parents and guardians to close the “opportunity gap”? Together we learned to roar.

NYC trying to work out a "formula" to fire teachers

This Week In Education: Thompson: Cross Examination

Much of Steven Brill’s New Yorker article on the "Rubber Room," has a ring of truth, but I do not know enough about those disputes to comment. Had Brill adequately cross examined other charges, however, the last third of his article would have been edited out.

Brill uses the stupid and inflammatory words of teachers against them, which is fair, as he also cross examines their factual assertions. But Brill seemed deaf to the false and inflammatory nature of his sources’ words.

And before considering other versions of the TNTP ideals, we should muse about this:

"Consider a framework that automatically fires the bottom x percent of teachers in terms of value added in a single year or average value added over a number of years. Unobserved differences among schools and classrooms almost certainly influence the estimates, and test error certainly introduces a degree of randomness. Consequently, mistakes will be made; however, outcomes could still improve compared with the system without such decision rules. Nonetheless, the implications of adding such risk and uncertainty may necessitate a substantial salary increase, and these monetary costs as well as costs associated with increased turnover would have to be weighed against any improvements in the composition of teachers."

And even if the bottom x perecent are not automatically fired, they are still indicted as suspect teachers placing them at the mercy of y percent of administrators caught up with the blame game and guilt by association. - John Thompson

California’s Race to the Top: Senator Romero’s Opening Remarks

Senator Gloria Romero -- California’s Race to the Top: Senator Romero’s Opening Remarks

“Today, decades after the Brown decision, we still have a form of segregation in our public school system. Nearly 80 percent of students in our lowest-performing schools are African American or Latino. Poor students and students of color are four times more likely to have under-prepared teachers. We have an achievement gap for African Americans, Latinos, and English learners that has been both persistent and pernicious – confirmed again with new test scores released just last week.

“Over the years, many of us in this Senate and in this room have advanced innovative legislation to find new ways to reform and transform public education. Impressive efforts have happened at the local level—oftentimes in spite of Sacramento or Washington. That includes: the use of student data to improve instruction and reward teachers in Long Beach and Fresno; an alternative compensation program in San Francisco that resulted from collaboration with the teachers union; a focus on better, not just more, high-quality charter schools throughout the state; a parents’ revolution that is captivating Los Angeles.