Education | Critics swoosh down on UW Provost Phyllis Wise over Nike role | Seattle Times Newspaper

Education | Critics swoosh down on UW Provost Phyllis Wise over Nike role | Seattle Times Newspaper:

"University of Washington Provost Phyllis Wise is facing growing criticism from students, faculty and lawmakers for taking a seat on the corporate board of Nike, which last year signed a contract with the UW worth a minimum $35 million to the university.

Some say Wise, the UW's No. 2 administrator, now faces a conflict of interest and should step down from her new role as a director on the board of the clothing and footwear company. Wise defends her appointment, saying it will benefit the university and allow her to push for positive change at Nike."

How to Fight Your School Closing: A Carefully Constructed, Interactive Grassroots Campaign Can/May Save Your School. � Ed In The Apple

How to Fight Your School Closing: A Carefully Constructed, Interactive Grassroots Campaign Can/May Save Your School. Ed In The Apple:

"The Department has proposed the closing of 22 schools, fifteen of them high schools. Although the accompanying press releasesgive “reasons” for the closing of each school the process is baffling in that other schools, with worse data were not recommended for closing.

The new governance law requires a comment period and a public hearing in the district before a final vote by the PEP, the replacement for the central board. A majority of the PEP is appointed by the mayor, and, with the exception of Patrick Sullivan, the Manhattan Boro Prez appointee the panel has routinely approved each and every contract and policy proposed by the chancellor."

Spencer Grants to Seek Critical Look at Schools' Data Use - Inside School Research - Education Week

Spencer Grants to Seek Critical Look at Schools' Data Use - Inside School Research - Education Week:

"Close on the heels of federal efforts to prod states to build and make use of new systems for collecting longitudinal data on students, the Spencer Foundation is rolling out an interesting new grant program that is designed to ask hard questions about what exactly educators are going to do wiith all the data they collect.

Says the foundation:

Educators in K-12 and higher education nationwide are being called to use data and to adopt data-driven decision making as a tool to improve their practices and ultimately to improve student outcomes. ... Yet there is limited, if any, inquiry on what might actually work in these different settings and why. This leaves educators drowning in data and high expectations that improvement will follow without helping them develop a better sense of how to use these data for improvement purposes.'"

The Third Annual NYCDOE Arts in the Schools Report: Cognitive Dissonance - Dewey21C

The Third Annual NYCDOE Arts in the Schools Report: Cognitive Dissonance - Dewey21C:

"This week the NYCDOE released its third Annual Arts in the School Report. Along with about thirty colleagues primarily from the arts field, I attended the report presentation at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

The document itself must be applauded for all the work that went into it. In this difficult economy, the mere existence of this report must be given its due.

The point of this blog entry is to push the NYCDOE to dig deeper, for the sake of our students and their families."

Sacramento Press / Casspi celebrates Hanukkah with community

Sacramento Press / Casspi celebrates Hanukkah with community

Sacramento Kings forward Omri Casspi scored a career-high 20 points Wednesday, grabbed eight rebounds and notched two assists. Thursday, he noshed and schmoozed with about 200 people at a Hanukkah party at Memorial Auditorium put on by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region.

Casspi sat in the lobby for nearly an hour signing autographs, talking to fans and posing for photos. He also spoke of how he celebrates the Jewish holiday in Israel.

"I usually (celebrate it with) a small group of family, we get everybody to come together, light the candles, sing songs and pray together," he said. "Usually we do that all week (and) on the last night, we go to my grandparents' house, invite all the family and go out together."

Sacramento Press / State turns over $31 million for RR tracks

Sacramento Press / State turns over $31 million for RR tracks

Helping to save $20 million in local federal stimulus money, the state of California on Thursday ponied up $31 million in Prop. 1B funding for projects connected to Sacramento's future regional transportation center.

The Sacramento Area Council of Governments and the city of Sacramento told the California Transportation Commission this week that the city would lose the federal stimulus funds unless the agency paid out the Prop. 1B money as promised, said Erik Johnson, SACOG spokesman.

The bulk of the $31 million will be used for a $60 million railroad track relocation, the first phase of the train station and public transit center being built in the 244-acre historic railyards adjacent to the Sacramento Valley Station downtown.

"In order to receive the $20 million, we had to have all of our funds to move forward," Johnson said. "Congress wanted to have the stimulus funding move quickly. They (the state) understood that need."

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - “We will look at your union contracts.”

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - “We will look at your union contracts.”:

"The role of teachers unions in education reform has been on my mind a great deal lately. The issue was front and center when I talked to school board members in California. It looks like Maryland’s union might obstruct that state’s efforts to make changes to teacher policies. And during ED’s Race to the Top technical assistance workshopyesterday, the role of unions and reform came up several times.

I’ve been trying to decipher where Secretary Duncan comes down on all of this, and I’ve reached some tentative conclusions.

First, he has strong reform inclinations. He was willing to talk about reform issues during a speech at this year’s NEA convention, a move that got him booed on several occasions by the organization’s membership. In a little-noticed but important November speech at the Chamber of Commerce, after noting some reform-oriented moves by some local unions, he delivered very pointed words: “Now let me be absolutely clear about this: Labor issues are an impediment in many places, and we must continue to challenge them.” In an article recently published on the NEA website, he challenges antiquated rules on tenure and pay."

Center for autistic children closes

Center for autistic children closes:

"A San Antonio center that treats and educates autistic children has abruptly closed, leaving 35 employees without a job and stunning dozens of families who rely on the facility for its specialized care.

Because of financial difficulties — and more than $100,000 in debt — the Treehouse Pediatric Center & Behavioral Services was forced to shutter Thursday, its officials said, blaming in part its largest payee, a military health insurance manager that officials said hasn't paid in three months.

“I know everyone has a lot of questions. We have a lot of questions, but we don't know all the answers yet,” said Alicia Haff, a local attorney who has served as a Treehouse board member since 2004. “Unfortunately, Treehouse is done, bowing out.”"

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Guess where speech censorship runs rampant!

EducationNews.org - A Leading Global News Source - Guess where speech censorship runs rampant!:

"Guess where speech censorship runs rampant!

Seven out of every 10 American colleges and universities censor speech with rules that violate the U.S Constitution, according to a new report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

The organization's 2010 report on campus speech codes reveals, despite the U.S. Constitution's assurance of freedom of speech and a multitude of court precedents establishing that includes offensive speech, that:

At State University of New York at Brockport, e-mail with 'offensive language or graphics' is banned 'whether or not the receiver objects, since others may come in contact with it.' Also banned is e-mail that might 'inconvenience others.'"

toledoblade.com --

toledoblade.com --:

"THE right to religious liberty and freedom of association are fundamental in America. But what is not is the obligation of public universities to subsidize a religious student group that is committed to discriminating against some students.

As we see it, that is the crux of the dispute between a San Francisco chapter of the Christian Legal Society and the University of California-Hastings college of law in a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. The society lost its recognition - and funding - as a student group because it refused to abide by the school's anti-discrimination policy.

Under that policy, student organizations must allow fellow students to join and potentially seek leadership positions in any group without regard to 'race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, age, sex, or sexual orientation.' Society leaders refused to accept gay or lesbian students."

Youth employment program wins 2 awards - SGVTribune.com

Youth employment program wins 2 awards - SGVTribune.com:

"Monrovia's Youth Employment Service (Y.E.S.) summer internship program, which gives at-risk students practical job skills and experience, was honored last week with two prestigious state awards.

The Y.E.S. program was presented with a Golden Bell Award in the category of 'Partnerships and Collaboratives' from the California School Board Association at the organization's annual Education Conference at the San Diego Convention Center.

Monrovia Unified School District Superintendent Linda Wagner, Mayor Mary Ann Lutz and Santa Anita Family YMCA Chief Executive Officer Damon Colaluca were among community officials on hand to accept the award.

The Y.E.S. program also received the 2009 'Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership Award,' which recognizes excellence in building communities through collaboration."

For-profit colleges prepare for state oversight - ContraCostaTimes.com

For-profit colleges prepare for state oversight - ContraCostaTimes.com:

"Two-and-a-half years after state regulators took their eyes off about 1,700 for-profit and vocational colleges, a new agency is set to pay attention once again — but with some major exceptions.

The new Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education will oversee about 1,200 schools beginning Jan. 1, but not big players such as the University of Phoenix and DeVry University. The new regulations exclude those colleges because they are supervised by regional accreditors.

The exemptions have worried some consumer advocates, who say accreditors will not protect more than 100,000 students from problems that have plagued the industry in the past, such as sudden school closures and inadequate job training. Colleges covered by the bureau include those that train students to drive trucks, fly helicopters or become court reporters or beauticians, as well as more traditional schools that award undergraduate and graduate degrees."

Latino Youth survey bolsters proof that programs targeting young Latinos are needed -- now (Latina Lista)

Latino Youth survey bolsters proof that programs targeting young Latinos are needed -- now (Latina Lista)

Latino Youth survey bolsters proof that programs targeting young Latinos are needed -- now

Categorized under | Tags:

The last two sentences in the opening paragraph that introduces the Pew Hispanic Center's latest report Between Two Worlds: How Young Latinos Come of Age in America should have everyone sitting on the edge of their seats.

Never before in this country's history has a minority ethnic group made up so large a share of the youngest Americans. By force of numbers alone, the kinds of adults these young Latinos become will help shape the kind of society America becomes in the 21st century.

Those lines are significant because it's Latino/a youth who comprise the largest share of high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, have a personal knowledge of a gang or someone who is in a gang, less likely to pursue college, work in a low-skilled job, etc.

Rather than take this information as a doomsday prediction for this country, this reports enables, not just the Latino community, but local school districts, colleges, state governments and Congress to know where to take action now before the nation reaches a crisis point for having an undereducated majority populace.

Hopefully, this report can be used to validate the warning bells that are being sounded now and programs that state governments are trying to get off the ground but are being met with resistance from segments who don't see why money should be spent on Latino children or why there is such an urgency.

For example, one of the findings of the report was:

Latinos make up about 18% of all youths in the U.S. ages 16 to 25. However, their share is far higher in a number of states. They make up 51% of all youths in New Mexico, 42% in California, 40% in Texas, 36% in Arizona, 31% in Nevada, 24% in Florida, and 24% in Colorado.

Perez Speaks About Calif. Schools Federal Funding - cbs13.com

Perez Speaks About Calif. Schools Federal Funding - cbs13.com:

"Schools across the country will compete for millions of dollars promised by President Obama. But here in California, a capitol controversy could blow the whole deal for our schools.

California's competing for $700 million to help struggling schools. But, the same people in charge of securing those funds could cause us to miss out on them."

If we don't make the changes, California can't compete for that money," says Governor Schwarzenegger. 

Once again, the governor is at odds with lawmakers over how to fix schools to meet President Obama's standards so the state can collect federal dollars. 

"The assembly ought to think just about the children, not about the special interests," Schwarzenegger says. 

The California Teachers Association and Education Reform groups are also in the battle that boils down to two key issues: charter school oversight and how much power parents should have over their child's education. 

The governor and the senate are on the same side, but the assembly rejected their plan and passed their own, which the governor is now threatening to veto. 

UC students must take responsibility for actions - Inside Bay Area

UC students must take responsibility for actions - Inside Bay Area:

"BAGS FULL of trash strewed in front of Wheeler Hall at UC Berkeley. Conference halls left damaged and in disarray in Kerr Hall at UC Santa Cruz. Classes canceled because of barricaded buildings.

All of this in the wake of students protesting the 32 percent tuition increase and budget cuts throughout the statewide university system.

The cause is most certainly worthy. The idea that fees will reach $10,000 a year per student is outrageous, especially to families who already struggle to pay college tuition. Programs and job positions at every university are being slashed, leaving students to wonder what their college education is really going to be worth. It's unfortunate, disappointing, outrageous — and students are rightly angry."

PSLweb (Party for Socialism and Liberation): Corruption in California higher education exposed

PSLweb (Party for Socialism and Liberation): Corruption in California higher education exposed:

"Student movement demands 'open the books'

A massive student movement has erupted in California in the last six months. It has grown exponentially as California State University and University of California officials hike fees more than 30 percent, furlough faculty, and lay off workers. Added to the laundry list of complaints is the apparent corruption of senior officials, illustrated by the case of David J. Ernst.

Ernst was the chief of information technology services for Chancellor Reed in the CSU system when he accepted $152,441 in improper reimbursements, according to a state audit. This was on top of his $204,420 per year salary."

Australian primary school, which teaches Sanskrit & where boys stand when girls enter

Australian primary school, which teaches Sanskrit & where boys stand when girls enter

A primary school in Australia teaches Sanskrit, Latin, world religions, Shakespeare, and philosophy; besides organizing annual Shakespeare Festival; in order to make students “responsible world citizens”.

Not-for-profit John Colet School in Belrose outside Sydney (New South Wales, Australia), an infants and primary school founded in 1985 by men and women studying together at School of Philosophy in Sydney, claims to take the genuine care for the whole child—the academic, cultural, physical, moral and spiritual dimensions.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, applauded the School for encouraging children for exploring the wisdom/values of ancient Hindu and other scriptures, teaching of classical languages like Sanskrit, offering mantra mediation, incorporating morality in daily routine, aiding the children to discover Self, vegetarian food policy, etc. Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged educational organizations of the world to provide wholesome education to children to produce better citizens for tomorrow’s world.

In John Colet School, students daily shake hand with teacher as an expression of partnership. As a part of “school behavior”, “boys stand for girls when they enter a room”. School’s Discipline Policy says: "Nothing should be done to the point of boredom".

At ten years of age children may, if they wish, take up a system of mantra meditation. The school and staff responsibilities include: to aid the children in “Discovering and uniting with God”. Children are introduced to some of the eternal human questions: What am I? Is there a Creator? The works of East and West—the Bible, Plato, Shakespeare, the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads—are used as a basis. Its academic curriculum includes memorizing prayers.

The School advocates and teaches the traditional Judeo-Christian virtues. Under “moral education” it points out: “At school the boys and girls are encouraged to relate to each other as brother and sister. Exclusive boy friend/girl friend relationships are not encouraged as they distract from studies and are therefore inappropriate. They also lead to division, rivalry and exclusion.”

In arithmetic, favoring traditional approach, multiplication tables are taught. “We aim for students to understand mathematical problems, rather than using calculators with little understanding”, School stresses. Although school fulfills its obligations in ensuring that the New South Wales primary syllabus is covered in computer studies but believes that the emphasis in a primary school should be on the human interaction between teacher and student, and that concentrating on the computer tool of learning is often at the expense of important long-lasting knowledge.

In accordance with the virtue of harmlessness to all creatures, school has vegetarian food policy which applies to all food consumed at school and on excursions, including hot healthy lunch provided daily where children have a choice of milk or water to drink. Birthday cakes should not contain any meat based products. “As the school kitchen is vegetarian, it is extremely hygienic”, School claims. Before dining, the children say a prayer of thanks together. The School also has a no junk food policy.

If a teacher’s behavior departs seriously from basic standards of moral conduct, such as those embodied in the Ten Commandments, then this may be a basis for that teacher no longer being considered a fit and proper person to remain on staff. Its website quotes from Bhagavad-Gita: "Mind that is peaceful and clear with a heart that is pure" (Chapter 17). Its Shakespeare Festival involves every child and it offers extra classes in chess.

Annual fee is $8,500 in addition to “other applicable fees billed separately”. Gilbert Mane is the Headmaster while Michael Thomas is Board of Governors Chairman. John Colet (1467-1519) was a Renaissance humanist, theologian, and English scholar.

Brownley, Solorio Discuss Assembly’s Big Step Forward in Race to the Top | California Progress Report

Brownley, Solorio Discuss Assembly’s Big Step Forward in Race to the Top | California Progress Report

Brownley, Solorio Discuss Assembly’s Big Step Forward in Race to the Top

Posted on 12 December 2009

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By Assemblymembers Julia Brownley and Jose Solorio

SACRAMENTO – In this Democratic weekly address, Assemblymember Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica), Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education, and Assemblymember Jose Solorio (D-Anaheim) discuss legislation passed in the Assembly this week that will make California a strong competitor for federal Race to the Top education funding by implementing key reforms for California’s schools.

Click onto the following link for the English language MP3 file. The running time is 2:10.

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20091211RadioAddressEngl...

Click onto the following link for the Spanish language MP3 file. The running time is 2:36.

http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20091211RadioAddressSpan...

Website of Assemblymember Julia Brownley: www.asm.ca.gov/brownley

Website of Assemblymember Jose Solorio: www.asm.ca.gov/solorio 

Transcript:

Hello, this is Assemblymember Julia Brownley, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Education.

This week, the Assembly passed legislation that will help bring about long term improvement for California school’s and make our state competitive to win President Obama’s Race to the Top Initiative.

We’ll target California’s low performing schools with proven turn-around strategies and the tools needed to make them work.

We’ll use real data to better coordinate classroom instruction and keep parents and the public better informed about student progress.

And new state standards for math and language arts that are internationally benchmarked will be developed to help our students prepare for college and careers in a competitive global economy.

The Assembly held many hearings over the last few months and worked with education stakeholders to make sure these and other reforms closely adhere to the federal guidelines states must follow to receive a portion of the $4 billion in Race to the Top funding.

In passing the education bill this week the Assembly listened to compelling concerns and made important amendments.  We expect further discussion and compromise—like the compromise the governor says he supports—as the bill moves onto the Senate for consideration.

As the Race to the Top deadline gets closer the progress we’ve made puts California in a better position to win.  More important, we have set the stage for real and lasting reform. But the governor must do his share. More than 25 percent of the Race to the Top’s score will be based on a comprehensive plan he outlines – one that he has not yet shared publicly.

This is Assemblymember Julia Brownley. Thank you for listening.

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$2 million to guard officials in San Francisco

$2 million to guard officials in San Francisco:

The San Francisco Police Department spent just over $2 million last year to provide regular security for Mayor Gavin Newsom, other city officials on an occasional basis, and for visiting national figures and foreign dignitaries.

"The same information is readily available in other cities, Mirkarimi pointed out. Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson - a former NBA star - earlier this year put out a request for a private security company that could guard him for less than the $90,000 annual cost of police protection. Mirkarimi was also able to get the annual security costs for other city's mayors: $450,000 for two full-time police officers during the day and one at night to protect Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and $339,000 for three officers to protect Houston Mayor Bill White with another $76,000 budgeted for overtime."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2009/12/12/MNT41B32F6.DTL#ixzz0ZUN2VRTw

Jaime Richards: It's service that sets 'KJ' apart - San Jose Mercury News

Jaime Richards: It's service that sets 'KJ' apart - San Jose Mercury News:

"WHEN KEVIN Johnson was accepted into UC Berkeley, nobody imagined that one day he'd become Sacramento's Mayor Johnson.

Yet, if you could wind back time and stop it at a defining moment, you'd freeze 'KJ''s clock on the first day of an English course he took during his freshman year.

At the time, the mayor was not known as a student. He was a stud baseball and basketball player. So, when he realized he was the only student in the class who didn't know the meaning of the word 'euphemism,' nobody would've been stunned if he wasn't bothered by it."

But he was. And that moment of frustration set the tone for the extraordinary life that was to follow. Not so much that he went on to become one of Cal's all-time greatest basketball players. Not so much that he went on to become one of the Phoenix Suns' all-time greatest basketball players. But because he went on to become one of California's all-time greatest difference makers after his basketball glory days were over.

Most jocks wouldn't have cared that they didn't know a word. Because Johnson did, it's not shocking that his post-NBA career has been extraordinary.

After his stellar career with the Suns (which followed a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers), he returned to his roots to transform Sacramento.