Fourteen city schools land on state review list | GothamSchools

Fourteen city schools land on state review list | GothamSchools

Fourteen New York City schools landed on the state’s list of “schools under registration review,” the state education department announced today.

That’s down four from last year, after three city schools were added to the list this year but seven schools were removed. Schools are placed on the SURR list if their English and math scores on state exams are farthest from a state-set standard, prompting the threat of closure if the schools do not improve.

The three schools added to the list this year are all high schools, Washington Irving High School, the School for Global Studies and the Grace H. Dodge Career and Technology High School. All seven of the city schools removed from the list are elementary and middle schools.

“The SURR process has served New York well, particularly in terms of improving English and math results in the lowest performing elementary and middle schools,” State Education Commissioner David Steiner said in a statement. “Now we must align SURR with the process we’ve created for identifying and helping the Persistently Lowest Achieving schools. Doing so will focus greater attention on those schools that have had unacceptably low graduation rates for many years.”

The state’s list of “persistently lowest achieving” schools, which it announced in January, singled out the bottom 5 percent of schools to target for replacement or closure. Nearly 60 schools statewide — primarily high schools with low graduation rates — landed on that list, including 34 New York City schools.

City Limits - City Limits Magazine: March 2010 | Hope or Hype In Harlem?

City Limits - City Limits Magazine: March 2010 | Hope or Hype In Harlem?:

"March 2010

Founded by a committed advocate for low-income children, nurtured by the politically powerful and Wall Street titans, and lauded by media around the world, the Harlem Children's Zone has raised a nation's hopes. The Obama administration wants to use it as the model for a nationwide antipoverty plan. But what is really known about the success of the Zone? Is there enough evidence to base a larger initiative around it? Are other cities capable of developing their own versions of the Harlem Miracle? In the new City Limits, read an in-depth evaluation of the program that's inspiring the federal government's most innovative poverty-fighting initiative in decades."

Study sheds light on 'teenage night owl syndrome' - latimes.com

Study sheds light on 'teenage night owl syndrome' - latimes.com:

"Students are going to sleep later and may be underperforming in class because they're not getting enough bright light in the morning, researchers say. Better school lighting may help."

Riding in school buses in the early morning, then sitting in poorly lighted classrooms are the main reasons students have trouble getting to sleep at night, according to new research.

Teenagers, like everyone else, need bright lights in the morning, particularly in the blue wavelengths, to synchronize their inner, circadian rhythms with nature's cycles of day and night.

If they are deprived of blue light during the morning, they go to sleep an average of six minutes later each night, until their bodies are completely out of sync with the school day, researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute reported Tuesday in the journal Neuroendocrinology Letters.

The finding was made by fitting a group of students with goggles that blocked blue light and discovering that their circadian rhythms were significantly affected.

"These morning-light-deprived teenagers are going to bed later, getting less sleep and possibly underperforming on standardized tests," said lead author Mariana G. Figueiro, a sleep researcher at the institute's Lighting Research Center. "We are starting to call this the 'teenage night owl syndrome.' "

"This is a nice little preliminary study" that definitely needs to be replicated, said sleep researcher Mary A. Carskadon of Brown University, who was not involved in the research. "I think the big take-

Straight A's -- but still not ready for college - Inside Bay Area

Straight A's -- but still not ready for college - Inside Bay Area

A perfect grade-point average in high school is a coup, no doubt about it. It tells students they're at the top of the heap — at their respective schools.

But a straight-A transcript does not guarantee a student is ready for college-level work. About 20 percent of the freshmen who enter Cal State East Bay with a 4.0 GPA need at least some remediation in math, English or both, according to Greg Smith, associate vice president of enrollment for the university.

The rate is about 60 percent when you include all first-time freshmen in the California State University system. Most of the 25,000 Cal State students placed in remedial classes each year held at least a B average in high school and completed a long list of university-approved college preparatory courses, as the admissions system requires.

Mike Kirst, professor emeritus of education and business administration at Stanford University, says that statistic is evidence that grades, course titles and even "honors" labels are suspect. It's what's taught in the courses that counts, he said — and too often, that content is weak.

"In America, high school course content and homework demands and pacing is detached from college," Kirst said. "If you're not in AP (advanced placement) classes, it's really quite dangerous."

"It's not just Oakland at all," he added about college preparation in high school. "It's more common than uncommon."

Frank Worrell, an educational

psychology professor at UC Berkeley, said students with strong grades are more likely to succeed in college — but that

We need to plant a flag in the sand to protect public education | Clovis Independent

We need to plant a flag in the sand to protect public education | Clovis Independent

We need to plant a flag in the sand to protect public education

It’s time that someone plants a flag in the sand, and I guess it has to be us. 

Public schools in California have been brutalized by a series of funding cuts since 2008 that are worse than anything since the Great Depression.  In part, these cuts are completely understandable. The economy has been in a free fall, and it is only natural, then, that schools share in solving the budget problem.  However, since 2008, public education has been disproportionally on the receiving end of the State’s budget problems, absorbing 59 percent of the reductions, though we account for about 43 percent of the budget.

This slash and burn approach to public education funding has resulted in schools across California gutting their programs for students.  In many cases, students are being denied access to performing arts and athletics, having their instructional year shortened, losing out on the opportunity to attend school in buildings that are modern and well-maintained, and even losing high quality teachers due to lay-offs.

Well I say enough is enough.  Our kids deserve better, and if it means we must plant a flag in the sand and fight to preserve their education, so be it.  In Clovis Unified we aren’t going to make those kinds of sacrifices. We aren’t going to gut our programs and services to students, or give up on maintaining the world class facilities for which we are known, nor are we going to sacrifice the very people who have made our school district a wonderful place of learning.

Yes, our Governor’s proposed budget leaves us with a $28 million hole to fill before we can claim a balanced budget.  And yes, this comes on top of th

Robert Reich, ex-labor secretary, sees better economic times ahead | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

Robert Reich, ex-labor secretary, sees better economic times ahead | mydesert.com | The Desert Sun

American families have endured nearly two years of stress and punishment under almost unprecedented financial turmoil, but the economy is beginning to turn around. Sort of.

“Things are getting worse more slowly,” former Clinton Administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich told a packed audience Tuesday at Eisenhower Medical Center's Annenberg Center for Health Sciences, part of the 2010 Rancho Mirage Speakers Series.

The economy “will turn up. I promise you, it will turn up. … You can bank on that.”

Reich, a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, served in three presidential administrations — including late president and Rancho Mirage resident Gerald Ford's. Reich also helped lead President Obama's economic transition amid a downturn that eventually became the nation's worst since the Great Depression.

In an interview prior to his speech, Reich said he supported the Obama Administration's nearly $800 billion economic stimulus package, which he said helped save an estimated 1 million American jobs — but it didn't go far enough.

Billions more in federal funding should have been pumped to the state and local levels to help keep school districts, police and fire departments, and homeowners across the country afloat, Reich said.

Banks that took even more billions in taxpayer money to avoid collapse, since they were dubbed “too big to 

The State Hornet - Faculty concerned at town hall, Gonzalez still optimistic

The State Hornet - Faculty concerned at town hall, Gonzalez still optimistic

Faculty concerned at town hall, Gonzalez still optimistic

By Kalie Barnes-Young

|

Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Updated: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Robert Linggi - State Hornet

Juanita Barrena, biological studies professor, expresses her concerns to President Alexander Gonzalez at the town hall meeting Feb. 9 in Capistrano Hall.

Sacramento State President Alexander Gonzalez expressed hope and optimism despite growing concerns from faculty members regarding the budget cuts during the town hall meeting on Feb. 9.

The meeting highlighted California’s ongoing budget crisis and how it would affect Sac State.

“Obviously, California is in a crisis. I don’t have to repeat it,” Gonzalez said.

But repeat it he did, emphasizing many times the “tough” state of the economy and the “difficult” times facing students, faculty and staff.

Although students were at the forefront of the discussion, there were only about a dozen of them present in Capistrano Hall’s Music Recital Hall, compared with the larger number of staff and faculty members.

Budget Planning and Administration Associate Vice President Stacey Hayano said that even with the restoration of $305 million in one-time cuts to the California State University, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes, funding will 

Study: Charter Schools Increasing Racial Segregation in Classrooms

Study: Charter Schools Increasing Racial Segregation in Classrooms

Study: Charter Schools Increasing Racial Segregation in Classrooms

Encouraged by the Obama administration, efforts to expand the number of charter schools are being organized around the country. But concerns are being raised about the system. We speak to UCLA’s Civil Rights Project co-director Gary Orfield about a new study that suggests charter school growth is increasing classroom segregation. [includes rush transcript]

Guest:

Gary Orfield, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. He is author of many books, including School Resegregation: Must the South Turn Back? and Dismantling Desegregation: The Quiet Reversal of Brown v. Board of Education.

JUAN GONZALEZ: Efforts to expand the number of charter schools are being organized around the country. In Virginia, Republican Governor Robert McDonnell outlined a plan on Wednesday to increase the state’s cap on the publicly funded, privately run schools. In Mississippi, the state Senate passed a bill Tuesday to clear the way for charter schools. Here in New York City, the city’s Panel for Educational Policy recently approved closing nineteen public schools at a time when Mayor Mike Bloomberg was pushing state legislators to lift the cap on charter schools. 

Part of the push for the new charter schools has come from the Obama administration. Under a new program called “Race to the Top,” states are competing for $4.3 billion in federal grants for reforming schools. States submitted applications for the money in January. The money will be doled out by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, a strong supporter of charter schools. 

AMY GOODMAN: While the charter school movement is growing, some concerns are being raised about the system.
A new study by UCLA’s Civil Rights Project suggests charter school growth is increasing classroom segregation. Seven out of ten black charter school students attend schools with extremely low numbers of white students. Black students account for 32 percent of charter 

San Diego Gets $4.95M to Boost Life Sciences Employment | Xconomy

San Diego Gets $4.95M to Boost Life Sciences Employment | Xconomy

San Diego Gets $4.95M to Boost Life Sciences Employment

Bruce V. Bigelow 2/16/10

A $4.95 million grant from the federal stimulus package will be used to boost education, training, and placement services for people who are seeking jobs in San Diego’s life sciences and health care professions, according to local biotech and education leaders.


The grant is part of more than $225 million in stimulus funds awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to create jobs in health care and related high growth industries. About $100 million is intended to help train health care workers throughout California, according to a statement issued by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. In addition to providing training and certification, the governor says the funding is intended to help health care providers adopt and expand the use of health information technology.


In a statement, Schwarzenegger says, “The health IT grants will help California build a world class system to promote and expand the way information is shared, protecting medical privacy, promoting efficiency, and will ultimately help reduce health care costs.”


The three-year grant allotted for the San Diego region will be used to boost a collaborative education and training program for more than 1,000 incumbent and unemployed workers in the life sciences, according to anannouncement issued by San Diego State University, Biocom, the San

The Associated Press: Calif race-based admissions law challenged anew

The Associated Press: Calif race-based admissions law challenged anew

SAN FRANCISCO — The law that bars the University of California from considering race in student admissions violates the civil rights of black, Latino and Native American students who are underrepresented at the state's most prestigious campuses and blocked from seeking redress through the school's governing board, a class-action lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.

The federal court suit was brought by the Michigan-based, pro-affirmative action group By Any Means Necessary. It challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 209, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 1996 that prohibited racial or gender preferences in public contracting, education and employment.

A federal appeals court and the California Supreme Court have rebuffed earlier efforts to overturn the 13-year-old law. But Shanta Driver, the group's lead counsel, said a renewed federal challenge is timely because the U.S. Supreme Court has since issued a pair of rulings upholding some school desegregation programs. The gap between Latino and black high school graduation rates and UC enrollment has grown since Proposition 209 was enacted.

"Thirteen years of a ban on affirmative action in the state of California has left, in particular UCLA and Berkeley, with just pitiably low numbers of black and Latino students," Driver said.

At the heart of the complaint is the claim that minority students and their parents are being uniquely disadvantaged in violation of their due process rights because Proposition 209 prevented the university's governing Board of Regents from setting admissions policies that include race, gender and ethnicity, but not other characteristics, as factors.

The Diamondback - Staff editorial: University de-Moted

The Diamondback - Staff editorial: University de-Moted

Yesterday marked the beginning of the canonization of St. Clayton Daniel Mote Jr. He “set Maryland on a course charted to place it among the world’s greatest universities,” a university press release gushed. He “led [the university] on a 12-year journey into the top tier of public universities,” according to The Washington Post. The state’s flagship university is now in “the same class as the nation’s crown jewel state schools,” The Baltimore Sun editorial board declared.

When Mote announced he will step down as president, effective at the end of August, it triggered flurries of remembrances from faculty, students and alumni — most of them positive.

Since Mote assumed office in 1998, the university has reached new heights. What was once considered a safety school by many now measures itself against top tier institutions like the University of Virginia, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Michigan. Fundraising has increased dramatically. Construction has boomed. Comcast Center and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center — to name two buildings — were completed under his watch. Graduation rates have increased dramatically, along with the credentials of incoming freshmen. And the list goes on. There is no doubt Mote will depart as highly successful and well regarded.

Mote excelled at one of the key tasks of being a university president: scratching the backs of state officials, big donors, students and faculty. He delegated many responsibilities to capable vice presidents and aides. While his speaking skills have never sent a tingle up anyone’s leg, what he lacks in charisma he makes up for in pragmatism, vision and competence.

Officials are working to secure this legacy. The university has created a website outlining his achievements. A photo of him talking with Nelson Mandela is splashed across the top. A 10-page PDF listing Mote’s accomplishments, from “Fund-raising and Friend-raising” to “Academic excellence,” is available.

L.A. Unified to seek $100 parcel tax hike - latimes.com

L.A. Unified to seek $100 parcel tax hike - latimes.com:

"The four-year increase would alleviate the school district's projected budget deficit but probably not prevent class size increases, teacher layoffs or a shorter school year."


Los Angeles voters will be asked in June to approve a temporary $100-per-parcel annual tax to help fund city schools, but Supt. Ramon C. Cortines warned Tuesday that the increase still would not be enough to head off bigger class sizes, teacher layoffs and, possibly, a shorter school year.

Facing a projected $640-million budget shortfall, officials said the parcel tax would yield $95.2 million annually for the four years it would be in effect. The school board needed to act quickly, Cortines said, so the money could offset some cutbacks for the upcoming school year. For the same reason, the measure had to go before voters in June. Pollsters had favored November as likely to deliver a more liberal, tax-friendlier electorate.

Parcel taxes require a two-thirds majority vote within

University of California Student Association to Hold Rally Over Fee Hikes | California College News

University of California Student Association to Hold Rally Over Fee Hikes | California College News
University of California Student Association to Hold Rally Over Fee Hikes

by the California College News Team

Advocates for the University of California are extremely upset and want to see lawmakers make education a bigger priority when it comes to the budget of the state. This unrest has led to a rally by the UC student association. A big part of the demonstration will focus on the fee hikes that continue, yet classes are being cut making it tougher to graduate on time. Over 300,000 people are on the UCforCA.org list which organizes the movement for legislators to fight for more money for education. Governor Schwarzenegger has a good plan for 2010-2011 where he is pushing to allocate more funds towards education, which is a shift in the right direction. However UC schools are still going to feel budget pains, as that plan will not be enough to get things back to where they should be.

On March 1 when the UC President, campus regents, and chancellors meet with legislators in Sacramento, the rally organized by the University of California Student Association will take place. People across the state are rallying to protest this injustice to education, which 

Viewpoints: Student voters can influence outcome of education crisis - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Viewpoints: Student voters can influence outcome of education crisis - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee:

"Last fall, students across California mobilized against cuts to higher education to a degree not seen since the student movements of the 1960s and 1970s.

It started on Sept. 24, when thousands of University of California students and faculty skipped or canceled classes and held huge rallies decrying the $812 million that the state Legislature had cut from the UC budget. The activism escalated in advance of the UC Board of Regents' vote to increase student fees by 32 percent, and from Nov. 18 to 20, a three-day strike swept the UC system.

A diverse range of students joined together in a wide variety of actions – everything from writing letters to legislators to occupying buildings – and in the end the message made it through to Sacramento: We cannot balance the budget on the backs of students."

On campus, is heckling free speech? Or just rude? - USATODAY.com

On campus, is heckling free speech? Or just rude? - USATODAY.com

Every few minutes during a talk last week at the University of California at Irvine, the same thing happened. A student would get up, shout something critical of Israel, be applauded by some in the audience, and be led away by police.

The speaker —Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States — was repeatedly forced to stop his talk. He pleaded for the right to continue, and continued. University administrators lectured the students and asked them to let Oren speak. In the end, 11 students were arrested and they may also face charges of violating university rules. (Video of the event, distributed by a pro-Israel group, can be found here.)

Those who interrupted Oren, not surprisingly, are strong critics of Israel who believe that they must draw attention to the Palestinian cause. But an argument put forward by some national Muslim leaders in the last week has sent the discussion in a new direction. Those groups maintain that interrupting a campus speech — even repeatedly — should be seen as a protected form of speech.

INSIDE HIGHER ED: Increasing campus tension over Israel

ON THE WEB: Some campuses try to prepare for protests

"The students voiced political views to shame the representative of a foreign government embroiled in controversy for its outrageous violations of international humanit

Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money - latimes.com

Districts refusing reforms could hurt California's chances for grant money - latimes.com:

"The state hopes to win up to $700 million in Race to the Top funds. But a large portion of districts and teachers unions eschew California's proposed changes and refuse to sign its grant application."

A large number of California school districts and teachers unions have refused to accept education reforms being pushed by the Obama administration, and that could hamper the state's chances of winning hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants, some officials fear.

The money would come from a $4.3-billion set of competitive school-improvement grants that Washington plans to begin awarding to states this spring under the administration's Race to the Top program. California officials are hoping to win up to $700 million of that money.

Federal officials have outlined four main areas of reform to be considered in awarding Race to the Top grants: more sophisticated data systems to track student progress, common education standards, intervention in low-achieving schools, and improved efforts to train teachers and principals.

But a majority of California school districts and about three-quarters of its teachers unions, as well as some charter schools and other education agencies, have declined to sign agreements that require them to abide by those changes.

"It's not what I would have hoped for," said state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who sponsored legislation aimed at qualifying California for the federal money.

Many states amended or rewrote education laws to meet the administration's reform agenda. In California, this included a change that was vigorously opposed by unions and others: linking teacher 

Pennsylvania Voters Support State-Funded Early Childhood Education -- HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

Pennsylvania Voters Support State-Funded Early Childhood Education -- HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 17 PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An overwhelming majority of voters across all regions ofPennsylvania support continued government investment in quality early childhood education (ECE), according to a new poll released on February 17, 2010 by the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC), the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) and the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC).  

More than four in five voters across the Commonwealth (81%) support providing early childhood education to all children inPennsylvania, with a near three-to-one margin of voters who believe ECE should be state-funded (71% in favor).

Support for the programs also crosses ideological lines. Approximately seven in ten conservatives (70%) favor quality early childhood programs, while nine in ten self-described liberals (92%) and moderates (88%) also express support.

Support of quality early childhood education programs is consistent across the state:

• In the T, the rural swath of the state outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, voters indicate strong support for quality early childhood education, with 88 percent in the Scranton- Wilkes Barre media market, 81 percent inJohnstown-Altoona, and 69 percent in Harrisburg-Lancaster-York favoring the programs;
• In Western Pennsylvania, three in four voters (75%) in the Pittsburgh media market favor early childhood education; and
• In Southeastern Pennsylvania, over four in five voters (81%) favor early childhood education, including an 

Voters to Decide Fate of Strong Mayor Form of Government - San Diego 6

Voters to Decide Fate of Strong Mayor Form of Government - San Diego 6:

Voters to Decide

SAN DIEGO - San Diego voters will decide in June whether to make the city's strong-mayor form of government permanent, create a ninth City Council district and increase the number of votes needed to override a mayoral veto.

The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place the measure on the June 8 ballot.

The strong-mayor system was approved by voters for a five-year trial period with the passage of Proposition F in 2005. The system will be automatically repealed on Dec. 31 unless it is made permanent by voters.

The language authorized by voters nearly five years ago mandates that a measure be placed on the ballot this year that would make strong-mayor permanent and establish a ninth City Council seat to coincide with the 2010 U.S. Census. It would also require a two-thirds majority to override a mayoral veto.

Under the switch to a strong-mayor form of government, San Diego's mayor assumed the duties previously held by a city manager, such as hiring and firing department heads and proposing the budget.

In the process, the mayor ceased to be a voting member of the City Council, which now consists of eight members. The mayor was given veto power, but that mayoral veto can now be overturned by a simple majority vote

Editorial: Wanted: School board candidates - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

Editorial: Wanted: School board candidates - Sacramento Opinion - Sacramento Editorial | Sacramento Bee

A strong public education system inSacramento's central city is crucial to the prosperity of the entire region. Sacramento City Unified seems primed for progress, even with the budget challenges that all school districts confront.

The school board has hired a talented and innovative superintendent. The board itself has four new members as the district switched from at-large voting to a system of seven geographic district seats.

Yet despite some hopeful signs, there's a chance that two school board incumbents will go unchallenged in November. That's not good for the school district or the incumbents themselves.

The seats up for grabs include those for District 1 (the area surrounding McClatchy High School); 

Join us in resisting the cuts | SocialistWorker.org

Join us in resisting the cuts | SocialistWorker.org

Andy Libson, a science teacher at Mission High School, and member of United Educators of San Francisco and the Educators for a Democratic Union reform caucus, has some questions for Superintendent Carlos Garcia.

February 17, 2010

A UESF member rallies for funding for schools, not war (Steve Rhodes)

Dear Superintendent Carlos Garcia,

I WAS one of the 100 or so teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors, child-development teachers or union representatives who attended your presentations at our United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) assembly meeting last month.

I heard your presentation where you reported that San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) was going to have to figure out how to cut $113 million from its budget over two years from a general fund that is just over $400 million per year. Of course, I was shocked to learn this, and for a while, it was hard to think of what to say. I think the words "Are you kidding me?" ran through my head, but beyond that, I wasn't sure.

One thing I do remember was how you spoke so eloquently about how you feel that the cuts that you intend to make were wrong. You spoke of how what you were being asked to do was wrong. How if any of us sitting in the audience actually "agreed" with