News : Arizona spends money on police and corrections, but is 38th in education - Inside Tucson Business - newspaper, business news, opinion, classifieds

News : Arizona spends money on police and corrections, but is 38th in education - Inside Tucson Business - newspaper, business news, opinion, classifieds:

"Roger Hartley, associate professor of public administration and policy at the University of Arizona, said the money states spend on education correlates with earning potential, while poverty correlates with crime.

“We can see that we’re putting more money into putting people in prison rather than educating and thereby keeping people out of prison,” he said.Kavanagh called that conclusion overreaching, and pointed to Washington, D.C., as evidence.”

They have one of the worst crime rates, and they spend more than just about anybody per student,” he said.

Travis Pratt, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at ASU, said crime rates aren’t simple enough to link one-on-one with education, but he said it would be wrong to dismiss any connection with education.

He said spending on law enforcement pays political dividends much sooner than education."

Federal Spending on Academic Research Rose Slightly in 2008 - Government - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Federal Spending on Academic Research Rose Slightly in 2008 - Government - The Chronicle of Higher Education: "

33 U. of California at Davis Number 33

Federal spending on scientific research at universities and colleges rose slightly in 2008, following two years of declines, but the federal share of total academic research spending again dropped, according to figures released on Thursday by the National Science Foundation.
Over all, higher-education institutions reported research-and-development expenditures of $51.9-billion in the 2008 fiscal year, 2.3 percent more than the previous year in inflation-adjusted dollars, the NSF said in a summary of the findings of its latest "Survey of Research and Development Expenditures at Universities and Colleges." The federal government remained the largest source of such funds, providing $31.2-billion in 2008, up from $30.5-billion in 2007. But the figures show a continuing erosion in the federal share of total spending, from 64 percent in 2005 to 60 percent last year.

Cal State LA holds teach-in about cuts - News

Cal State LA holds teach-in about cuts - News:

"The California Faculty Association and the Students for Social Justice/No Cuts Coalition presented a teach-in for California college students regarding recent budget cuts and enrollment fee increases Tuesday at Cal State LA.

Few PCC students were in attendance attempting to inform themselves with information about the various fiscal issues occurring within the California State University system for the upcoming semesters."

Punter Net prostitutes thank Harriet Harman for publicity boost - Home News, UK - The Independent

Punter Net prostitutes thank Harriet Harman for publicity boost - Home News, UK - The Independent:

"Prostitutes who use a website to advertise their services to punters have thanked Harriet Harman for giving them a free publicity boost when she called for the site’s closure earlier this week.

During her speech to the Labour Party Conference on Wednesday the equalities minister challenged California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to shut down Punter Net, a US-based website that allows British prostitutes to advertise themselves and the men who use them to rate their experiences."

Touro fights high school dropout rate of 40 percent - Vallejo Times Herald

Touro fights high school dropout rate of 40 percent - Vallejo Times Herald:

"Toward that aim, Touro has launched its urban education program. It prepares teachers to serve effectively in districts like Vallejo's that struggle with poverty, inadequate resources, low test stores, and diverse languages and cultures, O'Connor said.

Touro also is staging a day-long conference to give those who work with at-risk youth some tools and strategies they can use, O'Connor said. Among those are problem-solving techniques, ways to foster empathy and build listening skills, instilling self-esteem, and strengthening what he called the 'persistence muscle.'"

WBFO: Stimulus can't ease job pain for U.S. states and cities (2009-10-02)

WBFO: Stimulus can't ease job pain for U.S. states and cities (2009-10-02):

"Even after receiving billions of dollars of stimulus funds, state governments lost 10,000 jobs -- all in education -- and the trend may get worse in coming months.

'I don't believe that states have bottomed out yet,' said Raymond Scheppach, executive director of the National Governors Association. 'This fiscal year 2010 will be the worst year.'"

Education summit focuses on 'achievement gap' | students, groups, gap, state, achievement - News - OCRegister.com

Education summit focuses on 'achievement gap' students, groups, gap, state, achievement - News - OCRegister.com:

"Panelists spoke about the need to provide greater access for quality preschool especially in urban communities. They also emphasized providing a safe school environment, developing a stronger professional development program for teachers, raising expectations for students, and finding success stories to serve as examples.

But they also admitted the state's financial crisis has hindered the ability to implement some of these efforts. Schools are being hurt by larger class sizes, and fewer librarians, counselors, music and art programs, bus routes and other services, they said."

Robert Reich: The Truth About Jobs That No One Wants to Tell You

Robert Reich: The Truth About Jobs That No One Wants to Tell You:

"You see? The most important thing right now is getting the jobs back, and getting the economy growing again.

People who now obsess about government debt have it backwards. The problem isn't the debt. The problem is just the opposite. It's that at a time like this, when consumers and businesses and exports can't do it, government has to spend more to get Americans back to work and recharge the economy. Then -- after people are working and the economy is growing -- we can pay down that debt.

But if government doesn't spend more right now and get Americans back to work, we could be out of work for years. And the debt will be with us even longer. And politics could get much uglier."

Cal bringing in consultants to help cut millions from budget - ContraCostaTimes.com

Cal bringing in consultants to help cut millions from budget - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"UC Berkeley will hire consultants to help cut tens of millions from the campus budget.
Bain & Co. will spend six months guiding Berkeley leaders through a study of campus finances, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said Thursday. The university, which had its budget cut by $150 million this year, will pay the Boston-based firm $3 million plus expenses — half this year and the remainder next year.
The Bain collaboration will be part of an effort the university has named 'Operational Excellence' and is modeled after a Bain partnership at the University of North Carolina, which is starting to implement 10 changes recommended by the firm. Cornell University also is working with the company, said Birgeneau, who spoke to the leaders of both schools."

Treating Parents as Our Customers

Parents as Customers

We are often told that we should act more like a business. Setting aside the obvious problem that children are not widgets, you still are left with the chore of sorting out who the customers are.

One of the greatest problems of American education is a confusion over who we serve. Some would argue that the children are the customers. They sit in the seat each day receiving instruction. Others believe the community, big business, colleges or even the military are the customer since they hire or place the student.

I believe the parent is the customer. Customers are the people who can choose to take their business elsewhere. Students are captive to the process and the broader community must live with the product regardless. Students should be considered the workers since it is their productivity that really counts. The broader community, business and the rest are the shareholders. They own stock in the operation. These distinctions become very important when you understand that shareholders have very different expectations and values than customers. Shareholders want return on investment. Customers want value and service.

THANK YOU RACHEL MADDOW

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Hispanic Heritage Month

Hispanic Heritage Month

There are a lot of things, especially in these trying times, that we all wished we had more of. For some it’s difficult to see the blessings for the tribulations that cloud our journey. But even amidst all that, I can say that one of the many blessings I cling to is my Hispanic heritage. It is this heritage that has afforded me, a minority female, the opportunity to serve as the first female Cuban-American dean of an ABA accredited law school in the United States.

Yet I am not alone in my endeavors, as all across America more Hispanic men and women are embracing their heritage and turning to it as their motivation for success and to help others. Whether it is Nobel Prize-winning physicist Luis Walter Alvarez, political leader Nydia Velázquez or poet and author Julia Alvarez, we all have an opportunity to find our place in this world. But when we do, we must not forget how we got there. We must not forget our Hispanic heritage.

As a lawyer and educator, I can look back and say that it was in my blood. My grandfather, Gilberto Diaz Barreiro, was a respected civil judge in Camaguey, Cuba’s third largest city. His son and my father, Gaston Armando Diaz, was on the verge of earning his law degree at the University of Havana when his career plans were suddenly altered. Forced to move his wife and young children to New Jersey in 1961 to avoid Castro’s regime, my father had to leave Cuba before he could finish his legal education. He had only one class left to take before he would have become a practicing attorney, a dream that was ultimately fulfilled by me, his daughter, many decades later.

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Blogger for a Day: 'Our Plates Are Already Full'

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Blogger for a Day: 'Our Plates Are Already Full':

"As SDEA looked to bargain a reasonable workload model into our contract, we used a standard piece of contract language that is common in many districts and workplaces across the country: 'Maintenance of Standards.'

To explain the concept simply, maintenance of standards means is that if a teacher is required to complete tasks X, Y and Z during the current school year, the District cannot arbitrarily and unilaterally decide that the teacher is now required to complete tasks X, Y, Z and L during the following year (L representing a large quantity of additional hours of work) without either being compensated for task L, or having X, Y or Z removed from the teacher's plate."

Fact-checking Moore's 'Capitalism' | Comcast.net

Fact-checking Moore's 'Capitalism' Comcast.net:

"Despite the title of his new movie, Michael Moore really hates capitalism. He says it's a scheme for businesses to profit at the expense of the little guy.

The provocateur filmmaker is campaigning for an end to what he says is the 'evil' in our economic system and a return to the days when our lives weren't so defined by money. It's an ambitious theme, but some of his arguments in 'Capitalism: A Love Story' fall apart on closer inspection."

Bridging Differences: The Habits of Using Evidence & Reason Can't Wait

Bridging Differences: The Habits of Using Evidence & Reason Can't Wait:

"'To the extent that we can teach students to seek evidence and rational explanations, we will reduce magical thinking and encourage the application of reason and intelligence.' —Diane Ravitch, Bridging Differences, Sept. 29

We agree! That's my 'core.'

We also agree that Arne Duncan's agenda lacks evidence or rational explanations. Why? Partially because he ignores his own privileged schooling as irrelevant for all of those millions of 'others.' He's creating a system, a big business. He forgets that business data doesn't always speak for itself. Witness our current crisis."

Inside School Research: IES Plans Major Study of Stimulus Spending

Inside School Research: IES Plans Major Study of Stimulus Spending:

"A big criticism so far of the U.S. Department of Education's proposals for spending economic-stimulus dollars has been that they don't include a strong evaluation component. How can we learn from all those government-subsidized efforts to turn around failing schools, open up charter schools, build longitudinal data systems, and institute merit-pay programs for teachers and principals if we don't study them? The fear is that the nation will never again have an opportunity like this to study so much experimentation going on in so many places.

Well, it turns out the department is planning to seriously study those efforts after all. In an interview yesterday, the department's research czar, John Q. Easton, told me his agency is developing a multilayered, crosscutting, multimethod study of states' stimulus-powered reform efforts."

Education Week: IG Questions Use of Stimulus Aid for Education

Education Week: IG Questions Use of Stimulus Aid for Education:

"President Barack Obama did not intend for state lawmakers to simply cut state education spending and replace it with stimulus dollars.

But Congress made that tough to enforce, and the Education Department's inspector general said in a memo Thursday that some states are doing it.

That means instead of getting extra help to weather tough times, school districts and colleges could wind up with the same level of state aid or with cuts, even as local tax revenues plummet.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said some states are flouting the president's wishes."

Education Week: The Vanishing Innovation

Education Week: The Vanishing Innovation:

"Unfortunately for education, the interest in getting improvements to spread has been accompanied by a failure to give warranted attention to a second question: How do we get improvements to last? The phrase “scale up and sustain” is also part of our vernacular, but the “sustain” part often gets short shrift. While it is important to understand spread, it is endurance that separates the tipping of fads from meaningful change. Unless the investments we make in innovations have lasting impact, in the end, we have wasted our time and resources and, most importantly, squandered students’ opportunities to learn."

The CEO educator - Oct. 1, 2009

The CEO educator - Oct. 1, 2009:

"You mention differentiating pay -- rewarding teachers who achieve better results. In the business world that's obvious, but it's not the way things have traditionally been done in public education. How hard was it to make that happen?

Public education is an entirely different culture. Fundamentally, the only differentiator is seniority. The power in the system is fundamentally the power of the bureaucracy, of the political forces, of the union.

When I was at Bertelsmann, we were constantly focused on how to incentivize the workforce, inject increasing accountability, deciding where to substitute technology for human capital."

In a public school system it's an entirely different set of questions. And until you get used to the questions, you can't think too well about how you want to answer them.
But one could argue that public school teachers, especially the best ones, aren't in it for the money in the first place. Does paying them for performance really work?

I think it does. We haven't seen enough of it in America to know. But think about it this way: Every university I know pays differently for science teachers than it does for English teachers. But I pay the exact same for a science teacher and a physical education teacher. And then I pay the same whether you work in my highest-need school or in my most successful school.

Look, money isn't the only thing that drives teachers -- indeed, it isn't the only thing that drives school chancellors -- but money is an ingredient in the mix of things that matter to people. Fairly compensating them if they take on the tougher assignments, if they're doing the work where it's harder to attract people, like science and math -- that seems to me a critical component.

California Parent Center

California Parent Center:


"A Technical Assistance Center for School, Family and Community Partnerships

Training Preschool and K-12 Educators and Parent Leaders in California, Arizona, Nevada and
Serving Program Improvement Schools and Districts Across the Nation"