Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sacramento Press / Strong Mayor: Johnson to pitch new ballot measure

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson has not been deterred by two court rulings that prevent his strong mayor initiative from being placed on the June ballot. His latest strategy is to ask the City Council to place a new strong mayor proposal on the ballot.

But Johnson’s new plan, which he announced on his blog Monday afternoon, cannot include the existing strong mayor initiative. That's because Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster struck down the initiative last month, saying it broke state law.

Johnson's blog entry does not explain the components of his new proposal. He described his new plan as a "collaborative executive mayor reform package." Joaquin McPeek, Johnson's spokesman, declined to specify details Monday night. McPeek said Johnson will take questions from reporters on the proposal Tuesday.

Johnson said in his blog that he would ask the City Council on Tuesday to consider his new plan.

"The time has come to spell out in simple language a handful of points necessary to make executive mayor reform work in Sacramento," Johnson wrote.

If the City Council decides to vote on a new measure, it will need to create a new proposal in 15 days. The City Council has a Feb. 23 deadline to prepare a measure for the June ballot.

“The City Council has the ability to put their own measure on the ballot,” city spokeswoman Amy Williams said. “They are barred by Judge McMaster’s order from placing the strong mayor initiative on the ballot.”

Johnson's strong mayor goals have been stymied by two courts.

Plaintiff Bill Camp sued the city of Sacramento, the Sacramento City Council and Thomas Hiltachk, the attorney who wrote the strong mayor initiative. Making major changes to a city charter through an initiative conflicts with state law, Camp argued.

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Feb. 9

Submitted by Erika Owens on Tue, 02/09/2010 - 09:37 Posted in Notes from the news | Permalink

Phila. schools open [today]; make up days aheadThe Inquirer
Schools are open today, but the make up days have not yet been scheduled.

Renaissance community meetings postponed The Notebook blog
With more snow forecasted for today, some and perhaps all of this week's meetings will be rescheduled.

Letters: For schools, new teacher contract is just the start Daily News
Letter from Education Voters PA Director Susan Gobreski.

Late education professor leaves long legacy The Temple News
Dr. Snelbecker will be honored with a scholarship in his name.

Elizabethan English and Education for Liberation PSU blog

Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.

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Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education- Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Fenty: "Don't get into my mens rea"

Mayor Adrian M.Fenty, hammered by parents and teachers for the abortive decision to open D.C. Schools on a two-hour delay Monday, was as elusive as Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee about exactly how they made the decision. Fenty, a former Howard University law student, even went Latin on my colleague Ann Marimow when she pressed him Monday afternoon.

"You take into account a myriad and a multitude of information. I don't get into my mens rea," said Fenty. "We made the right decision."

For those not up on their lawyer talk, "mens rea" refers to the mental state in which one commits a criminal act.

In any event, there's no school on Tuesday in DCPS.

Continue reading this post »

Four things every student should learn … but not every school is teaching | eSchoolNews.com

Four things every student should learn … but not every school is teaching

Education technology consultant Alan November reveals key lessons that today’s students must know in order to thrive in the Information Age

By Dennis Pierce, Editor

Schools are missing out on important opportunities if they fail to teach these lessons, says ed-tech consultant Alan November.

An awareness of the views of those in other countries, an understanding of how Google ranks the results of a web search, a knowledge of the permanence of information posted online: These are some of the lessons that every student should be learning in today’s schools, says education technology consultant Alan November—but not every middle or high school is teaching these lessons.

November was the featured speaker at a Jan. 14luncheon session during the Florida Education Technology Conference (FETC) in Orlando. Although the session focused on how to balance safety and learning in the digital age, during the course of the discussion November also revealed several topics that he said every member of the Net Generation should learn:

1. Global empathy.

November said he was talking with a senior executive at a global investment bank recently, and he asked the executive: What is the most important skill for today’s students to learn so they are prepared to succeed in the new global economy?

“Empathy,” the executive replied—the ability to understand and respect different points of view.

Most of today’s companies do business with customers all over the world, and several also have branches in multiple countries. Chances are good that when students enter the workforce, they’ll be working with—or doing business with—someone from another nation, with its own culture and its own unique perspective, at some point in their career.

It’s not hard to find people who are smart, the executive said. What is hard to find are employees who have to ability to empathize with, and be sensitive to the needs of, people from other countries.

Two businessmen invested big in schools race - Local/State - NewsObserver.com

RALEIGH -- Conservative businessmen Bob Luddy and Art Pope were the largest contributors in fall's Wake County school board elections, which ushered in a majority pledged to eliminate the district's diversity policy.

Final campaign finance reports show more than $340,000 in hard and soft money was spent during a contentious contest for control of North Carolina's largest school district. The majority - about $190,000 - boosted the fortunes of the four Republican-backed candidates who won.

Combined, Luddy and Pope provided $38,000 either to individual candidates or to the Wake County Republican Party's efforts in one of the most expensive campaigns in school district history. But Pope downplayed the influence he and Luddy had in the newcomers' victories.

"They were not elected by Bob Luddy or by myself," said Pope, a former Republican state legislator and head of a family-owned chain of retail stores. "They were elected by the overwhelming majority of the voters in their districts."

Wake County Republican Party Chairman Claude Pope Jr., a distant cousin of Art Pope, said campaign cash alone didn't guarantee political success in the school board race.

"As much money as you can spend, it won't help unless you have good candidates and a good issue," said Claude Pope, who has vowed to revive Republican fortunes by concentrating on local elections.

Opponents of the new school board majority said the reports show that Luddy and Art Pope, two influential critics of public education policy, are behind the new direction for Wake schools.

"It seems to confirm that Mr. Pope and Mr. Luddy played a really active role in electing the school board, and you'd think that their views would carry a lot of influence," said Chris Fitzsimon, executive director of N.C. Policy Watch, a liberal think tank.

The dividing lines

The nominally nonpartisan school board election broke largely along party lines, with most Republicans backing the four candidates who advocated neighborhood schools while many Democrats backed candidates who supported maintaining the district's diversity policy.

The winners in the four suburban districts on the ballot tapped into parental discontent about a broad range of issues: mandatory year-round schools, busing for diversity and the weekly early dismissals that detractors called "Wacky Wednesdays."

Supporters of the diversity policy didn't have any donors who provided as much money as Luddy and Art Pope.

Post-Gazette NOW - Local News - Education

Special Section: Education / Getting Smarter

This Education Planning Guide focuses on how to improve your chance of success in higher education. (Today)

Is genius genetic or is it nurtured?

Though he received a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant for his work in paleontology, Christopher Beard doesn't consider himself a wunderkind or believe he was genetically predestined for success. (Today)

How to make it: You have made it into college, now here's what to do

Students applying to college know doing well on the SAT and ACT entrance exams can improve their chances of being accepted at many colleges. (Today)

Duquesne University freshmen

Admit it, even smart kids need help studying

It used to be that avoiding study distractions was as easy as finding a quiet corner of the library and hunkering down. But in the wireless age, that's no longer a guarantee. (Today)

	Academic development
	Peer tutoring

Sometimes memorization is the only answer: Here's how

Phil Pavlik Jr. still remembers his worst grade in graduate school. (Today)

Drew Peters

Audit: Merged districts could save Kan. millions - Yahoo! News

Audit: Merged districts could save Kan. millions - Yahoo! News:

"TOPEKA, Kan. – Consolidating public school districts in Kansas could save millions of taxpayer dollars, although not enough to solve the state's budget crisis this year, according to a new report released Monday.

Kansas has 293 school districts and last forced consolidation in the 1960s when the state overhauled education governance. Since then, legislators have relied on districts to decide for themselves when it's time to merge, offering a few financial incentives to ease the process.

In its report, the Legislative Division of Post Audit looked at methods that would reduce the number of districts to either 266 or 152.

The first scenario — in which the state would have 50 fewer public school buildings and 230 fewer teachers and administrators — would save $18 million. Auditors said the consolidation could happen among districts that already split grade levels, such as one that has the elementary school and the other the high school."

Utah Legislature: Testing teachers — Educators could soon receive pay based on student test scores | Deseret News

Utah Legislature: Testing teachers — Educators could soon receive pay based on student test scores | Deseret News:

"SALT LAKE CITY — Whether teachers should earn their paychecks based on student test scores, popularity or their college degree and years of experience is drawing heated debate between lawmakers and educators.

Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights, is proposing a resolution that recommends guidelines for teacher performance pay plans.

'I want to ensure a quality teacher in every classroom,' she said.

Currently teachers are paid based on academic degrees, certification and years in the profession. Poulson, a former English teacher, says while experience should be rewarded, performance is also important.

The House Education Committee unanimously approved the resolution, which will now go to the House for debate. HJR3 includes promoting student achievement and making sure the merit pay plan is adequately funded.

Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said it's important to 'identify and reward people who are going above and beyond.'"

Study shows chances of having child with autism increases as women age - NYPOST.com

Study shows chances of having child with autism increases as women age - NYPOST.com:

"A woman's chance of having a child with autism increases substantially as she ages, but the risk may be less for older dads than previously suggested, according to a new study analyzing more than 5 million births.

'Although fathers' age can contribute risk, the risk is overwhelmed by maternal age,' said University of California at Davis researcher Janie Shelton, the study's lead author.

Mothers older than 40 were about 50 percent likelier to have a child with autism than those in their 20s; the risk for fathers older than 40 was 36 percent higher than for men in their 20s.

Even at that, the study suggests the risk of a woman over 40 having an autistic child was still less than 4 in 1,000.

The new research, released yesterday in the February issue of the journal Autism Research, suggests the father's age makes the most difference with young mothers.

Among children whose mothers were younger than 25, autism was twice as common with fathers older than 40 than with dads in their 20s."

Back to school

Back to school:

"No Child Left Behind has left many American children behind, so the Obama administration has proposed a comprehensive overhaul of the controversial 2002 legislation championed by his predecessor, George W. Bush. Obama's proposal softens some of the hard edges of NCLB, provides plenty of new cash to help states improve schools, and emphasizes student readiness for college and careers over test scores."

These changes will surely mollify some of NCLB's many critics. But will they work? Or do Obama's changes merely water down the best parts of NCLB - the determination to close the achievement gap and to force accountability for schools that consistently fail to make progress - without offering any new returns?
We're still waiting on full details, but we're concerned. It's true that NCLB was far from perfect. Critics were right to attack its hyperfocus on test results, its unfunded mandates, and its loopholes which allowed states to dumb down their standards rather than help students reach higher ones. The original NCLB was all sticks and very few carrots, and that was discouraging to students, teachers and schools.
Obama is right to offer more carrots - his approach rewards schools that make progress, rather than just punishing them if they fail. Mirroring his innovating "Race to the Top" competitions for reform, Obama's budget offers $900 million in competitive "school turnaround" grants and $1.3 billion in competitive funds for recruitment and training of effective teachers. We saw in California this year how the promise of federal education money forced the Legislature to make some long-needed changes - like finally allowing teachers to be held accountable for student progress.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/07/EDB21BS2HT.DTL#ixzz0f3PL2rY0

S.F. schools consider costly gay support program

S.F. schools consider costly gay support program:

"With everything from art classes, summer school and jobs on the chopping block this year, the San Francisco school board will decide this week whether to greatly expand school services, support and instruction on issues of sexual orientation"

The decision could cost the school district, which is facing a $113 million budget shortfall over the next two years, at least $120,000 a year - enough cash to cover the salaries of two classroom teachers.
The school board is expected to vote Tuesday on the fiscally controversial resolution calling for San Francisco Unified to add a new full-time staffer to manage "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning" youth issues in the district's Student Support Services Department.
It also would require the district to track harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and distribute an educational packet to parents, encouraging them to discuss "the issues of sexuality, gender identity and safety" with their children.
That commitment probably would cost about $90,000 a year for the staffer and maybe another $30,000 for the rest.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/08/BAF71BT9AP.DTL#ixzz0f3OlXZTz

Elected officials joining UFT lawsuit got campaign contributions from the union - NYPOST.com

Elected officials joining UFT lawsuit got campaign contributions from the union - NYPOST.com:

"Two teachers unions made campaign contributions to nearly all the elected officials who signed on to the UFT's lawsuit challenging the city's plan to close 19 public schools, The Post has learned.

Nine of the 10 state and city politicians who joined the suit -- filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court -- have received a total of $45,000 from the United Federation of Teachers or New York State United Teachers since 2006.

The contributions ranged from a high of $10,750, for state Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) since 2006, to a low of $500, for city Councilman Erik Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) in 2009.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew denied any link between the funds and the officials' backing, calling a suggestion of undue influence 'ridiculous.'

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer -- who got nearly $4,000 and major union support in his 2005 election bid -- also called the notion 'complete nonsense.'"

With Doubts on Crime Data, Questions About Bloomberg Policy - NYTimes.com

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an engineering major in college, has never been shy about proclaiming an unerring faith in statistics.

He created 311 as a way to collate data, and improve the lives of New Yorkers. He has whipped out education data to justify extending mayoral control, reward star employees and close laggard schools. Rarely does a month go by without Mr. Bloomberg citing data analysis as the marrow not just of his administration, but also of his private-sector career and his philanthropic foundation.

“I’m a great believer in the wisdom I learned in my first Wall Street job: In God we trust,” he said at a philanthropy conference in Atlanta last May. “Everyone else, bring data.”

But what if the data were somehow skewed?

That question has emerged as one of the by-products of a survey conducted by two criminologists that has raised doubts about the integrity of the New York Police Department’s highly regarded crime tracking program, CompStat. Relying on the anonymous responses of hundreds of retired high-ranking police officials, the survey found that tremendous pressure to reduce crime, year after year, prompted some supervisors and precinct commanders to distort crime statistics.

The survey did not address critical issues, like when the manipulation of the data was supposed to have occurred. So it is impossible to ascertain whether much of the skewing might have happened shortly after CompStat was started in 1995 under Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, or whether it may have continued or even worsened since Mr. Bloomberg took office in 2002.

The Educated Guess One spot to shop for free digital texts

The Educated Guess

One spot to shop for free digital texts

Posted in Community Colleges

It’s about to get a lot easier for instructors at community colleges to start using free digital textbooks in their courses. And once they do, the rest of the nation will follow – eventually.
This week, the Open Educational Resources Center for California went online. The web site will act as a clearinghouse for community college faculty interested in free digital textbooks but unsure how to use them. They’ll find links to the 450 or so texts now available, and soon they’ll see peer reviews of many of the titles. The course materials and textbooks are openly licensed or available in the public domain.
(Read more and comment on this post)

Board to hear charter school audit report

Board to hear charter school audit report:

"Lompoc Unified School District administrators have the unenviable duty of being responsible for the financial stability of charter schools inside the district — charter schools like Manzanita, which LUSD has very little control over.

Tonight’s meeting of the LUSD Board of Education will include presentation of Manzanita Public Charter School’s inaugural audit report, detailing the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
Another report, Manzanita’s “First Interim Report,” is also to be presented to the public and to the board at the meeting. The interim report reflects the school’s general ledger through Oct. 31, 2009.

Review of both of the charter school’s documents is “the right and responsibility” of the school district, according to district staff."

School staff says no to charter to safeguard state funds - Pasadena Star-News

School staff says no to charter to safeguard state funds - Pasadena Star-News:

"Staff at Pasadena Unified School District will recommend that the district board reject a petition for an Aveson Charter School in Northwest Pasadena, claiming the school could siphon millions of dollars away from the financially strapped district, Chief Academic Officer Alice Petrossian said Monday.

'We're declining in enrollment and while the district recognizes the importance of education options we don't need a charter school for programs the district already offers,' Petrossian said.

The board will consider the request for an Aveson International School for the Arts tonight.

The proposed school would be the third operated by Aveson Charter School in the Pasadena Unified district borders."

Response: Spread the Financial Aid Around >>

Response: Spread the Financial Aid Around >>:

"Recently, the Acting Director of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships (OFAS), Christopher Shultz, wrote a piece in the New U to clear up some misconceptions about how UCI apportions financial aid. Although recent studies have found that public research universities are shifting their funding priorities from need-based to merit-based grants that are awarded disproportionately to wealthy students, Mr. Shultz claims that the findings are not true of UCI.

Furthermore, the OFAS is actually in a “partnership” with students and our families to make sure that a university education is affordable without undue burdens of work and debt. To take this claim seriously, I’d like to offer to Mr. Shultz several easy ways that the OFAS can indeed be a “partner” to students.

First, provide students with clear statistics. The Shultz article packed several disjointed figures into one paragraph; a whirling mish-mash of numbers that don’t amount to anything. All that was clear was that about one in twelve need-based grants go to students from families in the top 15 percent of the income population. Why are families who can afford a private school education being given need-based aid? Or, why do one-third of merit-based grants go to those same families?"

In pennies and dollars, South Bay schools raise tens of thousands for Haiti - San Jose Mercury News

In pennies and dollars, South Bay schools raise tens of thousands for Haiti - San Jose Mercury News:

"In pennies and dollars, with a few large bills sprinkled in, Silicon Valley schools are rapidly filling a treasure chest to help quake-stricken Haiti.

Within days of the earthquake that devastated Port-au-Prince, South Bay schools were placing donation boxes in classrooms, collecting shoes and planning bake sales. And despite the tightened grip of a recession at home —and the worst financial crisis to hit California education in decades — the total has reached tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars.

'Haiti was already a suffering country,' said Los Altos High student Diana Chou, 17, who helped start a fundraiser at her school. 'Regardless of the fact that we're in a recession, it just seemed so much more important to get resources there.'"

ACLU Accuses Professor Of Anti-Gay Preaching | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel

ACLU Accuses Professor Of Anti-Gay Preaching | On Top Magazine :: Gay & Lesbian News, Entertainment, Commentary & Travel:

"The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has advised a public community college in California it must end improper religious-based anti-gay instruction by a staff science professor.
The civil rights group alleges that Professor Dr. Bradley Lopez's introductory health class is more preaching than teaching.

Lopez, who teaches at Fresno City College (FCC), “presents religiously-based and anti-gay views as 'science' or 'fact',” the ACLU said in a statement.

Lopez is accused of giving lectures where he taught that being gay is a “biological misapplication of human sexuality” and said that the “recommended treatment” is “psychological counseling” or “hormone supplements,” presented gay men and lesbians as a threat to society, used Bible passages as “empirical” evidence that life begins at conception, and asserted that abortion is “the leading cause of death in this country.”"

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