Big Education Ape

Friday, February 19, 2010

outinlosangeles.com - Equality California Sponsors First Bill in Nation to Include Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation in State Government Forms

Introduced by Assemblymember Ted Lieu, the bill would enable the state to gather vital data about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community

Sacramento – Equality California is sponsoring a new bill that would require the state to add questions about sexual orientation, gender identity and domestic partnership status in the voluntary demographic section of California's government forms, enabling the state to gather vital data about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community's use of public services. With such data, the state can then deliver the appropriate level of services to the community.

The bill, AB 1878, was introduced by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) Tuesday.

"This bill will improve the state's ability to measure the community's needs for such crucial public services as job training, and it will ultimately enable California to ensure that LGBT Californians, especially those living in poverty, receive the services they need to take care of their families and to lead healthy lives," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California. "Currently the state collects little data on the LGBT community, and this bill would help close the information gap."

Nationwide Education Compact Benefits Military Children | KPBS.org

Nationwide Education Compact Benefits Military Children| KPBS.org:

"Rear Admiral William French, the commander of Navy Region Southwest, and Marine Corp General Anthony L. Jackson held a press conference today to highlight new legislation. AB 343 removes obstacles that affected children in military families.

More than 60,000 students in California schools are children of military families. Their parents often move frequently from one military base to another. But moving from school to school, sometimes in different states, can set back their education and make it harder to qualify for college.

State Assemblywoman Lori Saldana sponsored a bill in California as part of a nationwide initiative to make it easier for military kids to transfer from a school in one state to a school in another."

Schwarzenegger to Speak at Graduation | The Emory Wheel

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) will give the keynote address at this year’s Commencement ceremony, the University announced yesterday.

Vice President and Deputy to the President Gary Hauk, who oversees the selection process, said Schwarzenegger’s work as a politician has been aligned with Emory’s commitments — including his promotion of sustainability, the Special Olympics and physical education and after-school programs in inner-city schools.

“He has risen from relative obscurity into worldwide recognition,” Hauk said of the bodybuilder turned actor turned “Governator.” “There’s a clear resonance there between his life and career and what Emory hopes its graduates will carry forth in the way of aspiration.”

Schwarzenegger will receive an honorary doctor-of-laws degree at the 165th Commencement ceremony on May 10.

Schwarzenegger was not initially considered as a speaker for this year’s ceremony. The

State to audit UC finances - San Jose Mercury News

State to audit UC finances - San Jose Mercury News:

"The state will audit the University of California's finances at the request of a state senator who has criticized UC's spending decisions.

A legislative committee voted unanimously this week to approve the request by Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, who had asked that the state auditor examine the university's use of public funds and money raised from rapidly increasing student fees. Yee has often chastised UC administrators for their secrecy and compensation decisions.

'The UC administration expects taxpayers and students to foot the bill without asking any questions,' he said in a written statement. 'It is long overdue for the UC administration to start acting like a public institution and not a private country club.'"

Democrats trying to deal deficit a blow

Democrats trying to deal deficit a blow:

"Following a brief Olympic torch-bearing stint in Vancouver, B.C., Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is nearing the end of another work week of plotting cost-cutting schemes and hamming it up for camera-toting spectators.

It appears the governor's beloved spotlight has shifted outside his party this week.

The Senate Budget Committee Tuesday voted in favor of a Democratic tax strategy aimed at diverting state property and gasoline revenue toward California's massive deficit."

Following the 8-2 vote, state lawmakers are optimistic that an effort to phase out California's sales tax on gasoline and create a 4 percent residential and commercial property insurance fee will generate nearly $6 billion in debt relief by the end of the fiscal year beginning in July. The plan, which has the support of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger following failed attempts to borrow large sums of federal bailout dollars, could spare education and social service cuts in the coming months. The proposal still requires approval from the Senate and Assembly.

Gov. Schwarzenegger this week is also seeking a replacement for former Employment Development Department Director Patrick Henning, who resigned last year amid pressure by state officials over the

Golden Gate [X]press : SFSUnited prepares for statewide walkout

Students Faculty Staff United, an SF State-based coalition that organizes against cuts to higher education in California, conducted a SF State General Assembly meeting Feb. 17 to discuss the upcoming day of statewide action for public education.

On March 4, rallies, demonstrations and teach-ins will be held throughout California to unite supporters of public education from pre-kindergarten to the university level.

"We're having this meeting to build and broaden the efforts towards March 4," Queer Association Director Spencer Young, 23, said. "This is just the beginning."

Although SFSUnited is not officially recognized by SF State, it is comprised of students and faculty from a wide range of on-campus organizations who combined their efforts after the Business building was occupied in December 2009.

"The only reason we have SFSUnited is because faculty came out that day and it forged an alliance," SFSUnited member Akasha Perez, 20, said.

The Soulvine: Why not Cortines?! | Los Angeles Wave - Community News, Sports & Entertainment | Opinion

The Soulvine: Why not Cortines?! | Los Angeles Wave - Community News, Sports & Entertainment| Opinion

Why isn’t LAUSD school Superintendent Ramon Cortines under arrest? Why is Cortines’ prolonged, blatant and lucrative conflict of interest activity being ignored? Where is the district attorney when you need one? My friend Howard Blume reported in last Friday’s Times that Cortines, head of the second largest school district in the U.S., was paid $150,000 last year for serving on the board of Scholastic Inc., the country’s leading educational publishing company which sells its books to LAUSD. It seems Cortines has been on Scholastic’s board for several years and Scholastic has sold LAUSD $16 million worth of educational reading material over the past five years.

Why is nobody except my next door neighbor and I outraged by this textbook example of a conflict of interest? Cortines is paid $250,000 a year to head the school district and he’s paid $150,000 a year by the company that sells the school district its books! Cortines works for two masters and that is in direct violation of sections 1090 and 87100 of the Government Code. Any other public official would be under the jail for this kind of operation. So why not Cortines?

Cortines: LAUSD should be in charge - ContraCostaTimes.com

Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines recommended Thursday that the district keep control of a majority of schools that are part of a reform effort allowing outside groups to compete to run campuses.

Cortines' list of suggested operators for the 36 new and underperforming schools would allow outside groups to run 10 campuses. The rest would remain under LAUSD control.

His recommendations follow months of heated exchanges and accusations between the teachers, nonprofit groups and charters that bid to run schools under LAUSD's School Choice reform plan.

The Board of Education is set to decide on Feb. 23 based largely on Cortines' recommendations.

Some applicants hope that the elected officials will push a "bolder" agenda that would transfer more schools to control of outside groups.

"We feel the superintendent has not gone far enough down the road of true reform ... to ensure that all public school students are served by operators that have shown they can get the job done," said Allison Bajracharya, a policy director for the California Charter Schools Association.

Out of 36 schools, charter school operators applied to run 18 campuses. Cortines recommended they receive control of seven - including four that would share space with

City Brights: Zennie Abraham : UC San Diego party mocking Black History Month shows racism

City Brights: Zennie Abraham : UC San Diego party mocking Black History Month shows racism:

"Last weekend, UC San Diego was the site of an off-campus party held that mocked Black History Month. The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was pointed to as the organization that held the party, but its president says that's not the case.
California Assembly Speaker Karen Bass called for an investigation and issued this video statement:"

In the video, Bass said "It seems as though every single year this situation happens." That, in itself, is a chilling report on the state of race relations on California's college campuses.
At the party, called "Compton Cookout" women were given these instructions:

"Ghetto chicks have a very limited vocabulary, and attempt to make up for it, by forming new words, such as 'constipulated', or simply cursing persistently, or using other types of vulgarities, and making noises, such as 'hmmg!', or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises, grunts, and faces."

Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity President Garron Engstrom released this statement:

The UCSD chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity denies any association with the controversial "Compton Cookout" party held by a "group of [UCSD] students", identified by the University. Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) strongly condemns such actions and prejudices as the fraternity prides itself of representing a diverse cross-section of the UCSD student body.

The Daily Campus - Free speech doesn't extend to silencing others

Janis Joplin once sang, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” But for a group of 11 students at the University of California at Irvine (UCI) who were arrested for interrupting a campus speaker, freedom of speech is more than just a phrase – it is a right they feel has been violated.

Last week, Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, gave a guest lecture at the college. “USA Today” reports that every few minutes during Oren’s speech, students would stand up and shout critical statements concerning Israel. Oren was frequently forced to stop his speech to ask the students for his right to proceed. Ultimately, the 11 students were arrested for disobeying university rules.

The students who interrupted Oren are strong opponents of Israel and believed that they must draw attention to the Palestinian cause. Although they managed to consistently disrupt a campus lecture, they contend that their actions should be a protected form of speech.

Every student has the right to voice his or her opinion in a respectful manner; but while these students were expressing their views, they were also suppressing Oren’s voice. Regardless of the topic he was discussing, Oren had the right to the floor and should have been able to give his speech without the unruly shouts and insults.

The students arrested are college-educated individuals. It would behoove them to have done their homework before causing a commotion that resulted in their arrests. UCI is a public educational institution and is government-funded. Therefore, the First Amendment applies to the school. But the First Amendment right to freedom of speech is not absolute. Government officials (like public university administrators) can impose reasonable time, place and manner restrictions on speech. In this case, a school policy prohibiting the vocal interruption of a guest lecturer is an entirely reasonable restriction.

In wake of U.C. Irvine debacle, Israel’s ambassador brings message to Bay Area | j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California

Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States since last May, made headlines last week, and not the kind he prefers.

News outlets around the world reported on the relentless heckling Oren received during a Feb. 8 speech at U.C. Irvine — par for the course for high-profile Israeli officials.

But the American-born, Princeton-educated historian doesn’t mind tough debates. While shoring up U.S.-Israeli relations back in Washington, D.C., he frequently travels the country meeting with friendly, and sometimes not so friendly, groups.

During a swing through the Bay Area last week, Oren, 55, met with business and Jewish community leaders. On the drive from the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation to Stanford University, the ambassador invited j. reporter Dan Pine along for the ride. They talked about the state of U.S.-Israel relations, the heckling incident and the skill set Oren brings to a very demanding job.

Support for charter schools in Virginia - washingtonpost.com

The Feb. 15 editorial "Charter schools in Virginia" perpetuated a major myth upon which so-called reform efforts are based. The Post claimed that Virginia's school boards generally oppose charters because they see them as competition. If that were true, Virginia's charter school law might need revamping. But it's not true.

Virginia has few charter schools because Virginians generally support the existing public schools. They know that local school boards are open to innovation and don't see a need to create large parallel structures outside the system, as exist in the District, Arizona, Florida and California -- where charters fail at alarming rates.
Since the law was enacted, Virginia's school boards have considered 16 charter school applications -- and granted 10. This reflects thoughtful consideration of each application, not "general opposition" to all. One of the six rejected applications came in Fairfax. There, the superintendent and school board worked with the applicants to create a program within the existing public schools that uses essential elements of the proposal and effectively serves three times as many students for the same money. The parents did not need to create a charter school to achieve the innovations they sought.

Daily Pilot - Serving Newport Beach & Costa Mesa, California

Daily Pilot - Serving Newport Beach & Costa Mesa, California:

"Majority leader urges students to join the effort to raise fees on California’s oil industry, which he said could help schools."

A California assemblyman who wants to levy a tax on the state’s oil drillers appeared Thursday at Orange Coast College, pitching his bill to a group of student senators and pointing out that California pays $2 billion more a year on prisons than higher education.

The Assembly’s majority leader, Alberto Torrico (D-Fremont), urged the senators to take part in the campaign to raise fees on California’s oil industry, a move that could raise as much as $2 billion a year, nearly a half-million of which would be earmarked for community colleges statewide.

“Alaska has raised $400 million a year by doing the same, and all that money went to higher education,” said Torrico, whose district includes the East Bay area. “Every other state in the country charges some sort of fee for drilling. Why shouldn’t we?”

Torrico, in a 90-minute sit-down with nearly a dozen student senators, painted a grim picture of Sacramento’s fiscal woes and the future of higher education, saying that if something isn’t done in the next two years, 20,000 to 50,000 students will be turned away from the UC or Cal State systems because of budget cuts.

Complacency adds to fiscal crisis in education

Complacency adds to fiscal crisis in education:

"Please. Slow down and listen before you take up your pitchforks. I am not a monster. I am merely an educator and a parent. I, too, have been complicit in allowing our education system to deteriorate."

The primary focus in education has been "equity" - addressing the low achievement of students of color, students of low socioeconomic status - but profound fiscal challenges are shifting our attention. Public school districts across the state are increasing class sizes, decreasing the length of the school year, eliminating professional development and eviscerating art, music, athletic and summer school programs.
We educators are fish swimming placidly, heedless of the political environment. Or maybe we are frogs in a pot of simmering water. Maybe it's the unwavering "can-do" attitude of teachers that contributes to the state of affairs.
Raise our class size incrementally to 40? No problem.
No school nurses or counselors? Fine. We'll insert a needle into the thigh of a girl experiencing anaphylaxis, while consoling the boy whose father passed away.
No classroom materials? We'll pay out of pocket.
Fewer custodians? We'll teach in filth.
Cut our benefits? We'll take one for the team.
Maybe it is the parents who are to blame, especially those from wealthy communities. Rather than work to change a dysfunctional educational system, we ask: "What kind of check should we write?" We take care of our own.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/18/ED501C34E9.DTL#ixzz0fzFuZI1N

California Senate starts whittling $20 billion deficit - San Jose Mercury News

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers began chiseling away at a $20 billion deficit Thursday as part of a special legislative session ordered by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Democrats in the Senate started budget votes they said would prevent a cash crisis this spring. But they postponed the hardest decisions on education and social services, which make up the bulk of state spending. The Senate approved cutting the state payroll by 5 percent and trimming spending on inmate health by $811 million. Democrats also pushed through tougher tax collection policies, including a bill that would require out-of-state retailers to collect taxes on items sold to California residents.

Proposed measures

In all, Senate Democrats have proposed measures designed to reduce the deficit by more than $5 billion. After approving half the measures Thursday, the Senate put off the tougher votes until Monday, including a change to the state gasoline tax. The Assembly is expected to act on similar measures next week. The Senate on Thursday also approved the initial pieces of a legislative package designed to create or preserve jobs, including a measure that would end three-day-a-month furloughs for tens of thousands of state employees.

It's not clear whether Schwarzenegger will support all the proposals. Democrats, who hold a majority in both houses, began pushing changes on a majority vote without Republican support.

Republicans said much of the Democrats' package involved accounting tricks that don't address the structural deficit. Democrats are hoping an economic recovery could help narrow the size of the budget gap. The state Finance Department reported January revenues came in $1.4 billion above the governor's budget forecast. Still

Equity drives science lab decision in Berkeley

Equity drives science lab decision in Berkeley:

"A recent proposal by the Berkeley school district to move high school science laboratory periods from before- and after-school periods to the regular school day has received considerable attention in the media. We in Berkeley Unified are grateful for our community's passionate concern for the education of our children."

To understand the discussion, it is important to look at overall efforts to improve education for all in Berkeley. Berkeley's citizens and school board have a long tradition of taking seriously class, race, equity and excellence in education. For decades, the citizens of Berkeley have voluntarily taxed themselves to supplement state funding for public education in order to provide high-quality instruction in core academic subjects as well as the arts for all students.
Our educational equity work in Berkeley focuses on raising all students to the high standards that some students currently achieve.
This tradition continues in a unique collaboration of school, city and community groups - the 2020 Vision. The 2020 Vision recognizes that without "the village," we cannot address systemic problems - physical and mental health issues, nutrition and preschool preparation - that keep many of our students from achieving all they can. Rescheduling the high school science labs to be part of the regular school day is just one small example

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/02/18/EDHU1BUEGP.DTL#ixzz0fzEmKFXe

Oxnard School District puts superintendent on leave � Ventura County Star

Oxnard School District puts superintendent on leave Ventura County Star:

"Oxnard School District trustees placed their superintendent on paid administrative leave early Thursday, less than eight months after he was hired.

Trustees declined to comment on what prompted the unanimous decision on Superintendent Anthony Monreal, saying it was a personnel issue and citing confidentiality laws. Board President Al Duff made the announcement after trustees emerged from a closed session meeting about 3 a.m.

“It would be inappropriate to make any comments,” board attorney Yuri Calderon said after the meeting adjourned. He said officials were conducting an investigation, but he would not elaborate."

Class Challenges Affirmative-Action Ban Courthouse News Service

Courthouse News Service

Class Challenges Affirmative-Action Ban

SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - In a federal class action, Hispanic and black students say California Proposition 209's ban on affirmative action "has created a racial caste system" by admitting a disproportionate number of white and Asian students into the University of California system.
The class compares Prop. 209 to the Tuskegee experiment - in which the government left poor black sharecroppers with untreated syphilis, so it could study the progression of the fatal disease - and Plessy v. Ferguson's notorious "separate but equal" ruling. It claims that Prop. 209 passed in 1996 only because California's white majority electorate "overrode the overwhelming opposition" of minority voters. "Proposition 209 promised a 'color blind' Constitution. But that was and is a lie," the complaint states. It says that Prop. 209 actually "has been the sentry at the gate, denying the plaintiffs the chance for an equal and integrated education as promised by the Fourteenth Amendment."

Also called the California Civil Rights Initiative, the campaign for Prop. 209 was led by African-American UC Regent Ward Connerly, an opponent of affirmative action and racial preferences, which he claims actually discriminate against minorities.

This class action, led by the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality by Any Means Necessary (BAMN), claims Prop. 209 discriminates against poor minority

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Sacramento Press / City schools chief to announce proposed budget reductions to meet $30.6 million deficit in 2010-11

Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond will announce tonight at the Board of Education meeting that his leadership team and central office staff will “lead the way” in working to meet a projected $30.6 million deficit in the 2010-11 budget as he announces specific recommendations such as three furlough days for his top staff and unrepresented employees and $5.95 million in other reductions at SCUSD’s central office. The board item is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m. at the district headquarters, 5735 47th Ave. (Reporters: Please note that the time of the item may change as the meeting proceeds.)
“I would not ask other employees to make sacrifices unless we at central office are leading by example,” Raymond said. “These are difficult times, but our mission is the education of children and that has to be our first priority, painful as these proposals are,” the superintendent stated.
Other proposed savings or recommendations will include $15 million from

Charter Schools Enter Uncharted Waters (Gotham Gazette, Feb 2010)

They stood under the scaffolding outside PS 188, the Island School, separated by a narrow walkway and strongly held viewpoints. One group wore orange shirts and carried matching signs in support of the Department of Education's plan to give Girls Preparatory Charter, an elementary school planning to expand into the middle grades, more room in the building. Facing them were parents, students and teachers from PS 188 and PS 94, the other two schools in the facility. They said giving Girls Prep additional space will squeeze the low-income and local kids at PS 188 as well as PS 94's autistic students.

This rivalry on the Lower East Side represents one skirmish in a fight that has raged across the city -- from Harlem to Cypress Hills -- as the Department of Education attempts to carve out places in its buildings for charters schools.

In some ways, this fight is the classic New York struggle over space. But it goes beyond that.

Years after charter schools established themselves as part of the city's education mix, New York City and state now find themselves in the midst of a bitter fight over the role of the privately run, publicly funded schools. Supporters, including the Bloomberg and Obama administrations, point to the success of charters. They say the schools can provide parents with more choice, particularly in lower income communities where families have had few options. The fight against them, some charter supporters say, has more to do with protecting the teacher's union than with educating children.

Other parents and politicians, along with many teachers, fear that the Bloomberg administration wants to turn the public school system over to private operators who will ignore the neediest children in the system. Rather than setting up privately run alternatives to regular schools, these critics say, the Department of Education should concentrate on improving the schools we already have.

Approaching 200

The first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1992. But with unions leery of the proposal (even though United Federation of Teachers President Albert Shanker was

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