Wednesday, December 16, 2009

New Jobs Bill Would Include Money for Facilities, Edujobs - Politics K-12 - Education Week

New Jobs Bill Would Include Money for Facilities, Edujobs

By Alyson Klein on December 16, 2009 9:50 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Don't call it a second stimulus, but House Democratic leaders introduced a bill yesterday that's meant to help jump-start the still-sluggish economy, but includes some new money for K-12 education (although nothing on the scale of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed last winter).

The bill includes a $23 billion state "education jobs fund," which looks fairly similar to the nearly $50 billion State Fiscal Stabilization Fund that was created under the ARRA, in that states must restore cuts, proportionally, to K-12 and higher education, then the rest of the money goes for other education purposes.

Most notably: It appears that those four education redesign assurances you've heard so much about would not apply to these new funds. That means states wouldn't have to report on how they plan to make progress on turning around low-performing schools, improve teacher quality and distribution, bolster standards and assessments, and step up data collection.

The Educated Guess � Obama official: Innovation to drive ed agenda

The Educated Guess � Obama official: Innovation to drive ed agenda

Educators and legislators have dismissed the federal Race to the Top money and related competitions for education dollars as one-time gimmicks designed to push President Obama’s agenda on education.
James Shelton has some advice: Get used to it. Innovation, he said will drive reform in the new administration. “This is early training for what’s to come.”
As the assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the U.S. Department of Education, Shelton knows about what he speaks. Shelton manages the department’s competitive teacher quality, school choice and learning technology programs. That will include what’s expected to be hotly contested Invest in Innovation or I3 grants, a $650 million program that will award school districts, in partnerships with museums, corporations and universities, with grants of $5 million to $50 million.
Shelton spoke this week to educators and business leaders at the HP’s Cupertino campus in an event sponsored by the Silicon Valley Education Foundation and TechNet, the high tech lobby.

Make Your Group a Resource - PTOToday.com

Make Your Group a Resource

If people think of your group as welcoming and helpful, they'll turn there first when they have questions—and the PTO will gain their support and loyalty.

by Evelyn Beck

You probably don’t think of “serving parents” as a goal for your PTO. You help the school and the students; parents should be serving the PTO, not the other way around. In truth, though, helping parents is probably the most important thing you can do to ensure the long-term health of your group and the school. shows that when parents get involved in their children’s education, students do better in school, the school improves, and teachers are happier. That’s why the most successful groups focus on building a stronger connection with parents. They know that giving moms and dads a more positive image of their group and the school pays off in increased involvement. That translates into more volunteers, better fundraising, a stronger school community, and a better learning environment.

A key way to grow that connection is to make your group a resource for parents. You have access to valuable information and contacts that can help parents. You just need to put them to use.

Help for Newcomers

The PTO for the Maine School Administrative District 51, based in Cumberland, has a mentoring program for new families. Newcomers receive a list of names they can call, or they can request that someone contact them. The advice sought ranges from recommendations for pediatricians to where to get the best pizza in town, says PTO cochairwoman Gloria Nicholson. A more formal mentoring program at Our Lady’s Christian School in Erie, Pa., matches new and veteran families who have children of the same age.

Some parent groups assemble handbooks with tips on everything from what to do if your child is sick to the school’s visitor policy. Information like this is posted on a new parent webpage at Sylvan Park Elementary Paideia Design Center in Nashville, Tenn. It includes a map to illustrate the drop-off and pickup route and the ending time for kindergarten. The website address is posted on the school marquee as well as on a magnet sent home with students. “We encourage people to make it their homepage,” says PTO president Julie James.

PTOs also offer more general parenting resources. For example, the Lincoln Park (N.J.) Elementary PTO links to “Questions Parents Ask About Schools,”a free pamphlet from the U.S. Department of Education.

Get Schooled | ajc.com

Arne Duncan at Grady: Students willing to tackle race issues

4:34 am December 16, 2009, by Maureen Downey

In his whirlwind tour of Atlanta Monday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan seemed to have the most fun with the students at Grady High School. (See earlier blog on his session with educatorsand community leaders.)

The session was short but lively as the teens talked about bridging the racial divide at their midtown high school

Duncan joined 23 members of Grady’s Social Diversity Club. The education secretary listened far more than he talked, but was impressed with the students’ insightful comments about why teens tend to socialize with classmates who are similar to them. Some kids felt the racial divide had its roots in elementary and middle schools that were largely segregated due to Atlanta housing patterns.

Grady High School principal Vincent Murray, left, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, center, Adolfo Carrion, director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs Policy, and APS Superintendent Beverly Hall listen to a discussion of the Social Diversity Club during

Continue reading Arne Duncan at Grady: Students willing to tackle race issues »

Rules on teachers, schools could change to snare aid | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Determined not to leave up to $400 million in federal funds on the table, state lawmakers appear determined this week to resolve differences in House and Senate bills that mandate significant changes in public schools.

To qualify for the Race to the Top federal stimulus money, Michigan would have to make changes to allow merit pay for teachers, lessen restrictions on opening charter schools, plan for sanctions for underperforming schools and make it easier for people to become teachers. Teachers unions and local school officials have fought the ideas in the past.

Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said state and federal initiatives will produce "a sea change" in the way troubled schools operate and kids learn. "It's a huge deal," he said.

And it's a lot of money for a state with big money problems. The Democrat-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate have approved different versions of legislation that must be resolved before Gov. Jennifer Granholm can sign it.

Michigan's Race to the Top application is due Jan. 19, with the first round of funding to be announced in April.

School grants spur state lawmakers to action

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has called the Obama administration's Race to the Top initiative "education reform's moon shot," the largest pot of discretionary school funding -- $4 billion or so -- in the nation's history.

But the scramble set off to qualify for the federal government'scompetitive grants has been very much Earth-bound.

In Michigan and other states, legislators and education officials have engaged in a frenzy of deal-making to win Race to the Top funding.

Whether the end result is real classroom change -- especially in the chronically troubled schools that are the main target for reform -- won't be known for years.

Sacramento mayor vs. mall owner: No deal yet - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Sacramento mayor vs. mall owner: No deal yet

By Loretta Kalb, Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak

lkalb@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 - 12:08 am

Four months after issuing an ultimatum to the owner of Sacramento's struggling Downtown Plaza, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday that the owner has signaled that it's willing to sell.

But the owner, Westfield Corp., said it's not that simple.

In a statement released hours after Johnson's announcement, Westfield said it would be willing to sell the plaza "under certain conditions." But the company objected to what it characterized as Johnson's plan to run streets through the 38-year-old pedestrian mall. The company also said Johnson is interested in building an arena next to the mall, an idea that first surfaced in 2004.

South Phila. High principal left A.C. post under pressure | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/15/2009

South Phila. High principal left A.C. post under pressure | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/15/2009:

"South Philadelphia High School's principal faces harsh criticism over the Dec. 3 attack on Asian students by some of their African American schoolmates.

But controversy is nothing new to LaGreta Brown.

During nearly a decade in Atlantic City, a tenure that included running the city's major high school, Brown became involved in numerous disputes with parents, teachers, and staff. Her time there ended in 2008, when she resigned ahead of a school board vote on her dismissal.

Brown is not speaking to reporters while she focuses on fixing South Philadelphia High, district officials said yesterday."

Will Local Teachers' Unions Sign Off on State 'Race to Top' Plans? - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Will Local Teachers' Unions Sign Off on State 'Race to Top' Plans?

By Stephen Sawchuk on December 15, 2009 12:13 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Increasingly this is a question that's coming to my mind as I collect and read states' letters to their districts on the Race to the Top.

You may recall that states earn additional competitive points for having stakeholders, including local districts and teachers' union officials, sign off on MOUs with the state to implement the programs. Thus there's a big incentive for them to get as many local districts and union leaders on board as possible.

So far, the Florida MOU strikes me as the most interesting. It would require districts to work the terms and conditions of the state's RTTT plan into their bargaining agreements or risk having their subgrants terminated. (Rotherhamtakes note of this also.) The state plan will include a teacher evaluation instrument in which 50 percent of the rating will be based on state or district assessments. That's potentially a very tough sell for teachers, and it will be enlightening to see how many affiliates in the Sunshine State agree to bargain it.

Pennsylvania's MOU, on the other hand, does not include

Key L.A. Unified staff positions are funded privately -- latimes.com

Key L.A. Unified staff positions are funded privately -- latimes.com:

"Private money is paying for key senior staff positions in the Los Angeles Unified School District -- providing needed expertise at a bargain rate, but also raising questions about transparency and the direction of reformsin the nation's second-largest school system.

The highest-level outside-funded position belongs to Matt Hill, whose salary is covered by the foundation of billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad. Hill is overseeing the district's high-profile effort through which groups inside or outside L.A. Unified could take over new and low-performing schools.

The pay of more than a dozen others is funded by a nearly $4.4-million grant from the Wasserman Foundation, a $1.2-million grant from the Walton Family Foundation and smaller amounts from the Hewlett and the Ford foundations."

One way to spend RttT funds: lengthening the school day | GothamSchools

New York State is months from knowing whether it will win coveted Race to the Top funds, but already community groups are offering ideas for how to spend the money.

The Coalition for Educational Justice held a rally on the steps of Tweed Courthouse today calling for the federal stimulus funds to be spent on lengthening the school year and increasing the school day by 30 percent for low-performing schools. The proposal also calls for schools to place less emphasis on standardized tests and to offer more arts education and Advanced Placement courses.

Teachers union president Michael Mulgrew, who seems invigorated by UFT’s renewed war with the Department of Education, criticized the department for ending a program that had given some schools extended days. “The city does not have a plan to help these students,” he said.

Gov. Paterson says he'll win budget fight - NYPOST.com

Gov. Paterson says he'll win budget fight - NYPOST.com:

"See you in court.

That's the message Gov. Paterson delivered yesterday to the teachers union and other critics threatening to file suit to block his move to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars to schools to keep the cash-starved state afloat.

'I don't have any [concerns],' Paterson said when asked about lawsuits expected to be filed as early as today by the New York State United Teachers.

Paterson said he's confident he'll be upheld in court, and blamed lawmakers and advocates for opposing his initial deficit-reduction plan that would have shielded poor school districts from steep cuts and put state finances on a sounder footing."

Seeing Politics in Proposal to Cut Student Transit Subsidy - NYTimes.com

Seeing Politics in Plan to Cut Student Transit Aid

It was the question on the lips of many New York politicians on Tuesday, but Gov. David A. Paterson may have phrased it best: “Who wants to take MetroCards away from kids?

The culprit, it appeared, would be theMetropolitan Transportation Authority, which is expected to approve an austere budget on Wednesday that would, amid other significant cuts, phase out the free bus and subway rides considered a basic right for half a million students who commute to school in the city. Authority officials say that such a cut would come to save the agency about $170 million a year.

But amid the outrage, some transit advocates acknowledged that proposing a cut that would hit riders on an emotional level may be the best chance for the cash-strapped agency, which is facing a nearly $400 million budget shortfall, to eke out additional money from the political powers that often hold it at bay. “Of all the issues that they put on the table, this is the one that may demand that the city and state intervene,” said Neysa C. Pranger, a spokeswoman for the Regional Plan Association, a transportation advocacy group.

Free and discounted student MetroCards get priority for funding after MTA drops benefit

A glimmer of hope emerged Tuesday that city students will get to keep their free and discounted MetroCards - even though the MTA says it can't afford the program.

Gov. Paterson said the benefit - which helps about 585,000 kids get to school every day - would be first in line for money if there's an uptick in state revenue next year.

"The first thing I will do with added revenue is target them back to the MTA in order to relieve the young people from losing their MetroCards," Paterson said during an appearance in the Bronx.

A spokesman for state Senate Democrats went further, saying legislators may try to rescue the program by cutting other areas.

"As we work towards 2010-2011 budget, it's conceivable we will take steps to keep the program intact if at all possible," Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Democratic leadership in Senate, told the Daily News.

"Any attempts to restore the program would mean reductions would have to be made in other budgetary areas, and this is something we would certainly like to do," Shafran said.

The cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority dropped the bomb last week that it planned to end the longtime benefit.

Under a budget plan expected to be adopted by the board today, students would pay half fares in September 2010 and full fares starting September 2011.

The Associated Press: NYC school kids face paying to ride to school

The Associated Press: NYC school kids face paying to ride to school:

"NEW YORK — The cash-strapped agency that runs New York City subways and buses is considering a proposal to end the more than 60-year-old practice of giving free rides for schoolchildren, a move that could cost half a million students nearly $1,000 per year in transportation fees.

The proposal before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board to end free rides for schoolchildren has parents wondering how to get their children to school.
'This is a crisis,' said Kevin McCall, a neighborhood activist who led a protest against the proposal in front of a Brooklyn high school on Tuesday. 'This is totally insane. It would make parents have to choose between food and any other necessity or a"

Fewer college grads want to teach - San Bernardino County Sun

Fewer college grads want to teach - San Bernardino County Sun:

"A new report finds that fewer college graduates are becoming teachers in California and many teachers lack the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in the classroom.
The report was released Monday by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at UC Santa Cruz.

It says the number of people enrolled in teacher education programs fell from 78,000 in 2002 to 52,000 in 2007. The number of preliminary teaching credentials issued dropped from 27,000 in 2004 to 19,000 in 2008.

Even before the report came out, Pomona Unified School District officials had concerns about a shortage of teachers, district spokesman Tim McGillivray said."

Teachers, others could face retirement changes - Salt Lake Tribune

Teachers, others could face retirement changes - Salt Lake Tribune:

"When Bill Broderick retired from his job teaching math last school year, he wasn't necessarily looking for another one.

But the Granite Technical Institute was looking for someone like him: an experienced educator with the skills to teach computer programming. He decided to apply and started his new job shortly after retiring.

'We are being sought after,' Broderick said of teachers like himself who return to teaching after they retire, earning pension payments, reduced salaries and 401(k) contributions. 'The people who have been hired back are bringing experience you can't get anywhere else.'"

Mass. school denies suspending student for drawing - Yahoo! News

Mass. school denies suspending student for drawing - Yahoo! News:

"TAUNTON, Mass. – A Massachusetts school district on Tuesday night denied a father's claims that his son was suspended for drawing a stick figure of Jesus on a cross.

The Taunton School District said in a written statement that the second-grade student was never suspended over the sketch and that a drawing circulated to reporters by the boy's father, Chester Johnson, is not the same one that was discovered by the teacher.

The district also denied that the boy and his classmates had been assigned to draw something that reminded them of Christmas or any other religious holiday."

Education bill weakened, critics say - The Boston Globe

Over the past two months, more than 20,000 teachers and their supporters have bombarded Beacon Hill with letters, e-mails, and telephone calls, urging legislators not to give superintendents unprecedented authority to ignore union rules as they overhaul troubled schools.

So far the lobbying has paid off. The education bill approved by the Senate last month eliminated several controversial proposals, including a provision that would have allowed superintendents to dismiss any teacher at a failing school regardless of job performance.

Now, as the fiercest education debate in 16 years heads to the House, groups of business executives, parents, and school leaders say the bill has been so watered down that it will do little to help improve the education of students in the state’s worst schools. Instead, they say it puts the interest of teachers above their students.

“There is no leader of any organization that could make effective changes with those kinds of handcuffs,’’ said Linda Noonan, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. “It’s almost like a bad bill would be worse than no bill.’’

Class Struggle - A holiday guide to books for kids

Class Struggle- A holiday guide to books for kids:

"I share this secret only with recluses like myself who lack the imagination to conceive of any gift better than a book. If you are buying for a child — particularly if you are in a last-minute Christmas shopping panic — scan this list compiled by a company called Renaissance Learning.

It is an amazing document. Parents who keep track of what their children are doing in school, particularly in this area, might be vaguely aware of Renaissance Learning and its famous product, Accelerated Reader, the most influential reading program in the country. It was started 23 years ago by Judi Paul and her husband, Terry, after she invented on her kitchen table a quizzing system to motivate their children to read."

Why don't American love their museums any more? | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

Why don't American love their museums any more? | delawareonline.com | The News Journal:

"The words “museum” and “mausoleum” sound an awful lot alike. And according to two recent studies out of Washington, D.C., if America’s museum directors and curators don’t make some fundamental changes in the way they do business, their institutions might soon become tombs."

Last Thursday, the National Endowment for the Arts published the sixth in a series of surveys it has conducted since 1982 that seek to measure public participation in the arts. The news was not good. The NEA found a notable decline in theater, museum and concert attendance and other “benchmark” cultural activities between 2002 and 2008. In 2002, 39.4 percent of people 18 and older participated in such events within the previous 12 months. Last year, that number had dipped to 34.6 percent. Sure, the economy probably has something to do with the drop. But if you look deeper into the study’s numbers, you will see that by and large cultural institutions are having a difficult time keeping pace with the demographic changes that are reshaping the American population.

Elizabeth Merritt was one culture observer who was not the least bit surprised by the NEA’s new statistics. She directs the Center for the Future of Museums, a year-old initiative of the American Association of Museums in Washington. To put it bluntly, her job is to devise strategies to protect museums — once called “the most powerful and useful auxiliary of allsystems of teaching” — from “creeping irrelevance.” Because museums tend to be more democratically oriented than, say, opera or ballet, she feels a strong compunction to prod the people in her field to become more observant and responsive to the changing public around them

Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, December 16, 2009