President Obama speaks about restoring security for middle class families after a lost decade of declining wages, eroding retirement security and escalating health care and tuition costs. January 27, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Education Report Smith’s budget cuts proposal, dissected
Smith’s budget cuts proposal, dissected
Some highlights from the Oakland school board discussion on Superintendent Tony Smith’s proposal for cutting $39 million from the general purpose budget. Note: District staff will bring back a report, later, on the “restricted” side of the budget, as well as the impact of the proposed cuts on individual school budgets.
9:05 – Tony Smith: “This is ongoing work and getting clear on what are our priorities … We’re going to keep working on this… Just to be clear, we will keep working on this until we come to board for the vote (in June).”
8:55 – Jumoke Hinton Hodge: “I want to support the direction that this is going in. … Let’s keep going down this road, but I feel comfortable and safe on this particular path.”
8:50 – David Kakishiba: “Upkeep of the facilities has always been the number one complaint we receive as school board members…. I need some degree of confidence that we’re not going in the toilet around our facilities.” Read the rest of this entry »
EducationCEO's Blog What’s best for our kids?
What’s best for our kids?
Just as I was thinking about the topic for my next blog, inspiration came from a few places. I have been seriously considering applying to Harvard’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership program for a few reasons. First, the university covers tuition and provides a stipend. Secondly, if you take a close look at all of the people who are ‘allowed’ to shape and change educational policy, a large majority of them are Harvard graduates, whether they hold MBAs or PhDs.
This sends a very clear message. The fact that our president has a Harvard Law degree does not hurt either. Add to that the fact that I have a soon-to-be 15 year-old son. We have had the ‘What do you want to do after high school’ talk several times and I think we will have the extended version over the next few weeks. Here’s the dilemma: If he does decide to go to college, then Harvard is out of the question for me. At least for the next few years. If he decides that he wants to attend a community college instead, then game
The Educated Guess PPIC poll: Tax us to protect K-12 schools
PPIC poll: Tax us to protect K-12 schools
Two-thirds of adults surveyed in a Public Policy Institute of California poll say they support higher taxes to maintain funding for K-12 schools. And a full 82 percent, including a majority of Republicans polled, oppose cutting K-12 education to reduce the state budget deficit. No other part of state spending comes close to engendering such support in the poll, which was released Wednesday.
Gov. Schwarzenegger should keep those numbers in mind, because they’ll only go up in coming months, as school districts lay out next year’s severe budget cuts and, in March, when they send out layoff notices to teacher (Read more and comment on this post)
Gov. Schwarzenegger should keep those numbers in mind, because they’ll only go up in coming months, as school districts lay out next year’s severe budget cuts and, in March, when they send out layoff notices to teacher (Read more and comment on this post)
Concern Over Value of Hearing on New York School Closings - NYTimes.com
Concern Over Value of Hearing on New York School Closings - NYTimes.com
When state lawmakers voted last summer to renew Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s control over New York City schools, they included a compromise devised to respond to complaints that the public had little opportunity for meaningful input.
Before making decisions, the panel that oversees the system would hold more public hearings and more votes, although the mayor would still appoint a majority of its members.
To some, the first major test of the new system was an exercise in futility.
Despite hundreds of protesters gathered at Brooklyn Technical High School on Tuesday night for a hearing that stretched nearly nine hours, the Panel for Educational Policy voted to accept all of the mayor’s recommendations and close 19 schools for poor performance. All of the members appointed by Mr. Bloomberg voted for the closings.
As the decisions reverberated Wednesday through the hallways of the schools that will begin to close next fall, some students and teachers expressed frustration, anger and exhaustion. Before the vote, many of the schools held rallies, compiled statistics, sponsored petitions and sent students and teachers to testify at the hearing, to no avail.
When state lawmakers voted last summer to renew Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s control over New York City schools, they included a compromise devised to respond to complaints that the public had little opportunity for meaningful input.
Before making decisions, the panel that oversees the system would hold more public hearings and more votes, although the mayor would still appoint a majority of its members.
To some, the first major test of the new system was an exercise in futility.
Despite hundreds of protesters gathered at Brooklyn Technical High School on Tuesday night for a hearing that stretched nearly nine hours, the Panel for Educational Policy voted to accept all of the mayor’s recommendations and close 19 schools for poor performance. All of the members appointed by Mr. Bloomberg voted for the closings.
As the decisions reverberated Wednesday through the hallways of the schools that will begin to close next fall, some students and teachers expressed frustration, anger and exhaustion. Before the vote, many of the schools held rallies, compiled statistics, sponsored petitions and sent students and teachers to testify at the hearing, to no avail.
Give churches space in vacant city schools: They're asking for equal access, nothing more
Give churches space in vacant city schools: They're asking for equal access, nothing more:
"Just before Christmas, I was paging through a newsletter from the Bronx Household of Faith, a small evangelical church that gathers on weekends in a New York City public school.
As I perused it, moved by the words and images, I couldn't help but wonder why the city Education Department has been fighting so doggedly in court, ever since 1996, to exclude this congregation and others from meeting in vacant school buildings on Saturdays and Sundays.
One photo in particular grabbed me: It showed Pastor Robert Hall talking to a homeless man. It was Hall and his co-pastor, Jack Roberts, who started Bronx Household of Faith in 1971, in a poor neighborhood a few subway stops north of Yankee Stadium. They founded the church to demonstrate how the Gospel of Christ could transform a community - reducing crime and drug use, rebuilding families and ultimately benefiting the entire neighborhood."
As I perused it, moved by the words and images, I couldn't help but wonder why the city Education Department has been fighting so doggedly in court, ever since 1996, to exclude this congregation and others from meeting in vacant school buildings on Saturdays and Sundays.
One photo in particular grabbed me: It showed Pastor Robert Hall talking to a homeless man. It was Hall and his co-pastor, Jack Roberts, who started Bronx Household of Faith in 1971, in a poor neighborhood a few subway stops north of Yankee Stadium. They founded the church to demonstrate how the Gospel of Christ could transform a community - reducing crime and drug use, rebuilding families and ultimately benefiting the entire neighborhood."
Mayor Says New York Teachers’ Next Pay Raise Must Be Smaller - NYTimes.com
Mayor Says New York Teachers’ Next Pay Raise Must Be Smaller - NYTimes.com
Breaking a long-established pattern in labor negotiations, MayorMichael R. Bloomberg plans to demand that city teachers agree to a significantly smaller raise in their next contract or face the prospect of 2,500 job cuts.
The threat, which the teachers’ union immediately called unacceptable, promises to be one of the most contentious elements of Mr. Bloomberg’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The mayor is scheduled to deliver his budget address on Thursday, but his office released a few details on Wednesday night.The teachers are in the middle of contract negotiations. Over the last eight years, they have received a cumulative wage increase of 43 percent.
Mr. Bloomberg has long said he does not like to bargain in public. But as he begins his third term, he is adopting a different tactic, and plans to say Thursday that the teachers need to agree to a 2 percent raise for the first $70,000 in salary, or else face downsizing.
Breaking a long-established pattern in labor negotiations, MayorMichael R. Bloomberg plans to demand that city teachers agree to a significantly smaller raise in their next contract or face the prospect of 2,500 job cuts.
The threat, which the teachers’ union immediately called unacceptable, promises to be one of the most contentious elements of Mr. Bloomberg’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. The mayor is scheduled to deliver his budget address on Thursday, but his office released a few details on Wednesday night.The teachers are in the middle of contract negotiations. Over the last eight years, they have received a cumulative wage increase of 43 percent.
Mr. Bloomberg has long said he does not like to bargain in public. But as he begins his third term, he is adopting a different tactic, and plans to say Thursday that the teachers need to agree to a 2 percent raise for the first $70,000 in salary, or else face downsizing.
Revised AP courses will emphasize concepts, not memorization - washingtonpost.com
Revised AP courses will emphasize concepts, not memorization - washingtonpost.com:
"If someone told you the College Board was about to rip apart the SAT and rebuild it, would that excite/surprise/aggravate/frighten you? Me too. It's about to happen, not to the SAT, but to our nation's second-most influential test, Advanced Placement, with large consequences for our high schools and colleges.
The AP program has such a tight grip on the school curricula of suburban areas such as ours that it has come close to inspiring the same fear and consternation as the SAT and ACT. I think that's good. AP is better than the SAT or ACT. It is a challenging series of courses in three dozen subjects ending in three-hour exams, independently written and graded with many essay questions, that can earn college credit and encourage thought and analysis."
The AP program has such a tight grip on the school curricula of suburban areas such as ours that it has come close to inspiring the same fear and consternation as the SAT and ACT. I think that's good. AP is better than the SAT or ACT. It is a challenging series of courses in three dozen subjects ending in three-hour exams, independently written and graded with many essay questions, that can earn college credit and encourage thought and analysis."
Influx of Immigrants Prompts School District Battles - WSJ.com
Influx of Immigrants Prompts School District Battles - WSJ.com
PLANO, Texas—This Dallas suburb, a wealthy enclave known for its top-notch schools, is struggling to integrate a flood of poor, minority students.
In a battle mirrored in other districts across the U.S., parents here have been fighting for months over which public high school their kids will attend: one under construction in an affluent corner of the Plano Independent School District, or an older school several miles away in the city's more diverse downtown.
Last month, the district's school board angered many parents when it created a Pac-Man-shaped zone that placed their children in the downtown school for grades nine and 10 instead of in the newer, closer campus.
The downtown school has the highest proportion of poor students of all high schools in the district; many are Hispanic and African-American.
"We want to go to our neighborhood school," said Kelly McBrayer, a white, 48-year-old stay-at-home mother of three who lives near the site of the new high school.
Mrs. McBrayer and other parents from her neighborhood held a silent protest at a recent school-board meeting. They wore black T-shirts with the shape of the new attendance zone in bright pink and the message "Pac-Man in your neighborhood soon?"
A study in sabotage: Teachers union torpedoed state's shot at $700M
A study in sabotage: Teachers union torpedoed state's shot at $700M
Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/01/28/2010-01-28_a_study_in_sabotage.html#ixzz0duiZN1PL
The teachers union played a more destructive role than previously understood in all but certainly scuttling New York's shot at as much as $700 million in federal education funding. Surprise. Surprise.
Well known is how the United Federation of Teacherspressured lawmakers to support anti-charter school poison pills, undermining the state's application for Race to the Top aid. But there was more to the union's sabotage.
U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan established grant criteria that included using student performance data to boost achievement and assess teacher effectiveness. Duncan also required states to show the support of local districts and unions.
Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/01/28/2010-01-28_a_study_in_sabotage.html#ixzz0duiZN1PL
BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News � Oregon Voters Deliver Game-Changing Victory
BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News Oregon Voters Deliver Game-Changing Victory
Pundits like to claim California voters are anti-tax. Of course, we've raised various all kinds of taxes at the state level -- including the Prop 10 cigarette taxes in 1998, and the Prop 63 millionaire's tax for mental health programs passed in 2004. Still, even though our reputation remains, we've got nothing on Oregon, where no tax has been approved by statewide voters since1930.
Until now. On Tuesday, Oregon voters delivered a huge victory for progressives by approving Measures 66 and 67 -- raising taxes on incomes over $250,000 and large corporations to generate $733 million to close the state's budget deficit. The Oregon legislature had approved the taxes last summer, but a corporate / teabagger alliance organized to put it to voters in a referendum.
One wonders if the national media will cover this victory at all - much less at the levels of the Massachusetts Senate race. Although they'll almost certainly ignore it, the lessons for California are enormous and extremely important.
Pundits like to claim California voters are anti-tax. Of course, we've raised various all kinds of taxes at the state level -- including the Prop 10 cigarette taxes in 1998, and the Prop 63 millionaire's tax for mental health programs passed in 2004. Still, even though our reputation remains, we've got nothing on Oregon, where no tax has been approved by statewide voters since1930.
Until now. On Tuesday, Oregon voters delivered a huge victory for progressives by approving Measures 66 and 67 -- raising taxes on incomes over $250,000 and large corporations to generate $733 million to close the state's budget deficit. The Oregon legislature had approved the taxes last summer, but a corporate / teabagger alliance organized to put it to voters in a referendum.
One wonders if the national media will cover this victory at all - much less at the levels of the Massachusetts Senate race. Although they'll almost certainly ignore it, the lessons for California are enormous and extremely important.
Mineral King Publishing - The Exeter Sun & The Lindsay Gazette
Mineral King Publishing - The Exeter Sun & The Lindsay Gazette:
"The race began even before fundingwas available. Local school districts are divided about the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program, but throughout the nation and certainly California, those looking for any funding they can get in a cash strapped economy are weighing in.
Under the Obama Administration guidelines, Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; implementing ambitious plans in the four education reform areas described in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA); and achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring that students are prepared for success in college and careers."
Under the Obama Administration guidelines, Race to the Top Fund provides competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; implementing ambitious plans in the four education reform areas described in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA); and achieving significant improvement in student outcomes, including making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduation rates, and ensuring that students are prepared for success in college and careers."
Interned Japanese eligible for degrees Daily Pilot - Serving Newport Beach & Costa Mesa, California
Daily Pilot - Serving Newport Beach Costa Mesa, California
If you’re a Japanese American who was sent off to an internment camp while World War II played out, you could now qualify for an honorary degree from a state university or University of California campus, and any of the community colleges in California, including Orange Coast College and UC Irvine.
The special program is part of a state Assembly bill signed into law last fall by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The monumental task of finding some of these former prisoners, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s, is beginning to take shape statewide.
The program intends to rectify the educational gaps that Japanese internees suffered through their wartime relocation and imprisonment at internment camps scattered in remote locations around California and other Western states.
Interned Japanese eligible for degrees
If you’re a Japanese American who was sent off to an internment camp while World War II played out, you could now qualify for an honorary degree from a state university or University of California campus, and any of the community colleges in California, including Orange Coast College and UC Irvine.
The special program is part of a state Assembly bill signed into law last fall by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The monumental task of finding some of these former prisoners, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s, is beginning to take shape statewide.
The program intends to rectify the educational gaps that Japanese internees suffered through their wartime relocation and imprisonment at internment camps scattered in remote locations around California and other Western states.
The WIP Contributors: California’s Prison Spending Grows While the State Budget Shrinks
As I sit and write this, a young man sits in County Jail awaiting his sentence. Three years ago he was involved in a fight while in juvenile hall for drug related charges. This fight made him eligible for Division of Juvenile Justice, formerly known as California Youth Authority (I prefer to call it Gladiator School). However, it‘s not the fight that will likely send him to DJJ - it’s the two drug tests he failed in a row.
My client is a drug addict; he has not committed another violent offense. Since his time with me, he has enrolled in adult school, has set his sights on college, and has survived circumstances that would make most of us lie down in the fetal position and give up. And yet this young man can still be sent to prison or spend extended time in County Jail for smoking marijuana. Since the beginning of my employment in the California Juvenile Justice System as a Social Worker, I’ve come to accept that most of the
Parcel tax for schools will appear on June ballot - San Jose Mercury News
Parcel tax for schools will appear on June ballot - San Jose Mercury News
Following a lengthy report detailing how Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest budget proposal could widen Milpitas Unified School District's deficit even further from $1.5 million to nearly $7 million over the next two years, if passed trustees swiftly and unanimously adopted a resolution to levy a parcel tax for the June 8 election on Tuesday evening.
"It's sad to hear our report tonight on the governor's proposed budget and what it's really going to do to us but I think everybody in the state is in that boat too," said Board of Education Vice President Michael Mendizabal. "And this time the community has a chance to decide now if we're going to stay on the boat or get on one that's a little bit better."
Now that the resolution has been approved, approximately $84,000 from the building fund will be paid to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters for school district participation in California's June primary election (with a March 10 filing fee). If passed by the necessary two-thirds of voters at that time, an $84 yearly tax for five years will be levied on all parcels of taxable real property in the district in order to collect revenues by the end of 2010. The resolution states that an exemption from payment of the special tax may be granted on any parcel owned by one or more persons 65 years of age or older who occupies the parcel as a principal residence, upon application for exemption. At this time, district officials have not decided how such a process would
Pasadena Unified puts parcel tax on May ballot | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times
"Pasadena residents will vote on a parcel tax for schools in May. The Pasadena school board unanimously voted to put the tax on the ballot at Tuesday night’s school board meeting.
The levy would be $120 per residential and commercial parcel each year for five years, with exemptions for low-income seniors, officials said. It would raise an estimated $7.1 million annually beginning next fall.
Like other California school districts, Pasadena Unified has suffered funding reductions because of the state’s ongoing budget crisis."
The levy would be $120 per residential and commercial parcel each year for five years, with exemptions for low-income seniors, officials said. It would raise an estimated $7.1 million annually beginning next fall.
Like other California school districts, Pasadena Unified has suffered funding reductions because of the state’s ongoing budget crisis."
City Brights: Erica Sandberg : Excellent education: a right or a privilege?
City Brights: Erica Sandberg : Excellent education: a right or a privilege?
Being deeply entrenched in all things money, I see first-hand the link between quality education and real, lasting economic success. The better schools you attend, the greater the chance you'll find and prepare for work that will provide satisfaction and financial stability. This is not to say that other factors (such as parent involvement) don't count or that some people don't overcome the odds and attain wealth and happiness without attending or graduating from college, but I'm talking the basics here: kindergarten though high school.
The sad fact is that California public schools are in jeopardy. Many are wonderful now, but as the Chron's Jill Tucker reports, 113 million in funding cuts over two years will change all that. Teachers are facing lay-offs, class size will swell to unmanageable numbers, and programs that make schools appealing to students will be slashed. Want to make kids dislike and devalue formal learning? This will do it. And as a society, we can't afford to have children reject education. Those who do are more likely to make poor financial and lifestyle choices when they reach adulthood, draining the resources of the population at large.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/esandberg/detail??blogid=132&entry_id=56108#ixzz0dubzyjWF
Being deeply entrenched in all things money, I see first-hand the link between quality education and real, lasting economic success. The better schools you attend, the greater the chance you'll find and prepare for work that will provide satisfaction and financial stability. This is not to say that other factors (such as parent involvement) don't count or that some people don't overcome the odds and attain wealth and happiness without attending or graduating from college, but I'm talking the basics here: kindergarten though high school.
The sad fact is that California public schools are in jeopardy. Many are wonderful now, but as the Chron's Jill Tucker reports, 113 million in funding cuts over two years will change all that. Teachers are facing lay-offs, class size will swell to unmanageable numbers, and programs that make schools appealing to students will be slashed. Want to make kids dislike and devalue formal learning? This will do it. And as a society, we can't afford to have children reject education. Those who do are more likely to make poor financial and lifestyle choices when they reach adulthood, draining the resources of the population at large.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/esandberg/detail??blogid=132&entry_id=56108#ixzz0dubzyjWF
State Universities Want More Students to Graduate - ABC News
State Universities Want More Students to Graduate - ABC News:
"For years, American colleges and universities have focused on getting more students to seek higher education. Now they want to make sure more of their students leave campus with a diploma.
Despite deep cuts in state funding, public university systems around the country are launching campaigns to boost graduation rates, especially among low-income and minority students who trail their classmates in earning degrees.
California State University, the nation's largest four-year system with 23 campuses and more than 400,000 students, on Wednesday announced an ambitious initiative to increase the percentage of students who graduate in six years, from 46 percent to 54 percent by 2016."
Despite deep cuts in state funding, public university systems around the country are launching campaigns to boost graduation rates, especially among low-income and minority students who trail their classmates in earning degrees.
California State University, the nation's largest four-year system with 23 campuses and more than 400,000 students, on Wednesday announced an ambitious initiative to increase the percentage of students who graduate in six years, from 46 percent to 54 percent by 2016."
BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News � School Beat: Reduce the Achievement Gap through Income Diversity
"After a decade-long debate regarding student assignment and the reality that San Francisco’s public schools remain segregated by race and income, the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is just a few months away from implementing a new student assignment system. By all indications it will not look extremely different from what currently exists, with some level of a lottery system for placement of students and a condensed number of variables for how students are placed in requested schools, such as academic achievement, language ability and socio economic status. This conservative approach will not achieve the Board of Education’s request for the new student assignment system to be a catalyst to close the achievement gap between ethnic groups attending public schools."
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