Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Work with teachers, don't fire them - CNN.com

index.html. Wojcicki is chairwoman of the board of directors of Creative Commons and serves on the board of the Developmental Studies Center and the Alliance for Excellent Education.

(CNN) -- Little Rhode Island made big news in the education arena last month. Superintendent Frances Gallo fired all the teachers at Central Falls High School after negotiations with the teachers' union failed.

The move was triggered by low test scores -- only 7 percent of 11th-graders passed the state math tests, and 50 percent of the students at Central Falls failed to graduate in four years. Appalling numbers. Gallo wanted teachers to increase the length of the school day and spend time tutoring kids. The teachers' union was not convinced.

Even President Obama got involved and supported the firing, saying, "If a school continues to fail its students year after year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement, then there's got to be a sense of accountability."

Yes, accountability is right, but who is supposed to be accountable for this massive failure to learn? The general consensus is that the teachers are responsible.

Is it really all the teachers' fault? Columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr.thinks so. Having been a teacher himself for five years, he says teachers just like to complain. He doesn't say why he is no longer teaching, but he applauds the firing and blames the teachers. Superintendent Gallo agrees. She fired all of them.

Everyone agrees that the K-12 schools are failing, but the reasons are not as simple as Navarrette and Gallo think. Firing all the teachers is not the answer. Closing schools is not the answer.

Schools aren't failing because the teachers don't care or aren't trying. It's not because teachers fail to follow the curriculum. It isn't because they are poorly paid. Teachers go into teaching because they want to make a difference and help kids. They certainly don't go into teaching to get rich. They don't want to do a bad job, either; no one likes to fail. A recent survey of 40,000 teachers by the Gates Foundation shows that teachers are more interested in reform than money.

If you examine Central Falls High School closely, a few things stand out: More than 96 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, according to the school's Web site, and only 6 percent of the people in the town have a college degree. Does that tell you something important about the parents? They are struggling financially and lack postsecondary education.

Central Falls provides little or no parental support for students or for

Education Week American Education News Site of Record

TOP STORIES — NOW FREE | MORE Free Content

Interest Turns to ESEA Plan's Chances of Passing

The administration's blueprint for replacing NCLB draws support from some—but sharp criticism from the national teachers' unions.

• Administration Unveils ESEA Renewal Blueprint
• Teacher Beat: Teachers, Unions, and the NCLB 'Blueprint'

(March 15, 2010) | Comments (2)

State, District Leaders Press School Transformations

Spurred by fiscal pressures and federal reform priorities, district and state education leaders move swiftly and forcefully to make big changes. (March 16, 2010)

National Broadband Plan Addresses K-12 Needs

The new FCC report recommends changes to the E-rate program and removal of policy barriers to online learning.(March 16, 2010)

MORE EDUCATION WEEK STORIES

Thousands of Calif. Teachers Sent Pink Slips

The final tally of layoffs depends on the state budget to be adopted for the coming fiscal year.

• Los Angeles Finalizes Big Changes to Teacher Reviews

(March 16, 2010, AP)

Detroit Financial Manager Unveils $540M Academic Plan

The man appointed to overhaul Detroit Public Schools' finances unveiled a five-year academic plan that calls for making sure every high school graduate who applies to college is accepted. (March 16, 2010, AP)

Neb. Lawmakers Begin Juvenile-Justice Reform

A wide-ranging measure designed to ease pressure on the juvenile court system and keep kids in school got first-round approval from Nebraska lawmakers Monday.(March 16, 2010, AP)

W.Va. Gov. Determined to Call Education Session

Gov. Joe Manchin said the legislature can count on returning to the Capitol soon to ensure West Virginia wins funding during the next round of Race to the Top.

• Finalists Cram for Race to Top Presentations

(March 16, 2010, AP)

D.C. Money-for-Grades Program Needs More Cash

A program to pay D.C. middle school students for good behavior and grades is running out of money.(March 16, 2010, AP)

Effect of Chicago's Tougher Science Policy Mixed

High school students took and passed more courses as requirements increased, but the change did not boost grades or college-going, a study finds. (March 15, 2010) | Comments (1)

Book Trains Critical Eye on AP Program's Impact

New research probes a broad range of questions about Advanced Placement courses and tests, as expectations for them continue to climb. (March 12, 2010) | Comments (3)

EEOC Rules N.Y.C. Wronged Arabic-Language Principal

The founding principal of an Arabic-language school lost her job after she made controversial remarks about the word "intifada." (March 15, 2010, AP) | Comments (1)

The Shame of Newsweek - Bridging Differences - Education Week

The Shame of Newsweek

By Diane Ravitch on March 16, 2010 8:33 AM | 5 Comments | No TrackBacks

Dear Deborah,

Did you see Newsweek last week? What a stunning and uninformed attack on teachers and teachers' unions. The cover of the magazine told the story: The Key to Saving American Education, by Evan Thomas and Pat Wingert. It was printed on a classroom blackboard. In the background, on the same blackboard, was the handwritten phrase, repeated again and again, "We must fire bad teachers."

The story itself is a parody of a right-wing rant. It seems that the nation's classrooms are overrun with "bad teachers," pedophiles, "weak" teachers, ineffective teachers, dumb teachers, and others who remain in the classroom only because they have "lifetime tenure." Evil teachers' unions protect these people who are harming our nation's children. Researchers now know, the writers say, that if we could fire all these malingerers, the notorious achievement gap between the races would soon close and America would once again lead the world in education.

The writers hold out hope: non-union charter schools and Teach for America will "save" American education.

Leave aside the odd assertion that "much of the ability to teach is innate." (How do they know?) Leave aside the adulation for Michelle Rhee, Wendy Kopp, KIPP, and anyone who fights teachers' unions. Leave aside the horror stories about teachers accused of abusing students and keeping "a stash of pornography and cocaine at school." The article is a flamboyant example of outright hostility to teachers, to the organizations that represent them, and to public education itself.

Nowhere does the article mention that the highest-performing state in the nation is Massachusetts, where all or almost all teachers belong to unions; nor does it mention that the highest-performing nation in the world is Finland, where all or almost all teachers belong to unions. Nowhere in the article is there an example

Getting Smarter, Becoming Fairer

For more than a year, the Renewing Our Schools, Securing Our Future National Task Force on Public Education has investigated innovative strategies and approaches to improving public education. It has considered social, economic and demographic trends and their relationships to education. This work, in addition to several commissioned papers and six public forums, has culminated in the development of a progressive education agenda for a stronger nation.

Full Report
Foreword
Executive Summary (Resumen Ejecutivo en Español)
Introduction
Recommendation 1: More and Better Use of Learning Time
Recommendation 2: High Expectations, National Standards, and Accountability for All Students
Recommendation 3: Highly Qualified Teachers for Every Classroom and Strong, Effective Leaders for Every School
Recommendation 4: Connecting Schools with Families and Communities
The Road Ahead
Appendix A: Task Force Forums and Commissioned Papers
Appendix B: Task Force Biographies
Slide Presentation (Flash Required)
Press Release (el Anuncio en Español)
Event Details: August 23, 2005

Coalition gives Mayor Daley 'D' for job performance :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall

Coalition gives Mayor Daley 'D' for job performance

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March 16, 2010

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com

Mayor Daley is already reeling from a personal low 35 percent approval rating tied to the parking meter mess, City Hall corruption scandals and Chicago's first-round Olympic flame-out.
Now, a coalition of liberal-leaning civic groups is piling on -- by giving the mayor a "D" for job performance.
Developing Government Accountability to the People (DGAP) accused the mayor of "mortgaging the future" by selling off Chicago parking meters and draining most of the $1.15 billion windfall to fill a massive budget shortfall.
But, that's only part of the reason for the near-failing grade. The coalition forged in 2006 by the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, the Pilsen Alliance and the Coalition to Protect Public Housing is equally incensed by the mayor's priorities.
"It was really about equity. The city is working for some, but not everybody," said DGAP director Brian Gladstein.
"Except for the environment, they have failed to either be transparent around their policies or they have not been able to successfully create programs that are equitable across the city. Yes, there's a lack of money. But, the real issue is a lack of priorities for people most under-served in this city."
Mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard noted that the time frame for the new study "roughly mirrors the worst economic crisis in recent history."
"The mayor welcomes feedback from constituents. But, it strikes me as odd that he gets an 'F' in the area of housing just hours after announcing the 300th public housing resident to buy a new home with help from the

New Immigrant Rights Campaign to Mount Largest March of Obama Era | California Progress Report

New Immigrant Rights Campaign to Mount Largest March of Obama Era

Posted on 15 March 2010

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By Randy Shaw

“I cannot underscore strongly enough how pissed off the base is over the lack of action” -- Gabe Gonzalez, Center for Community Change

Last week, immigrant rights groups became the first major progressive constituency to issue a release publicly denouncing the Obama Administration. Blasting the White House for “escalating deportations and detentions” while taking no action toward enacting comprehensive immigration reform, national immigrant rights leaders are escalating a pressure campaign that will feature the largest march of the Obama presidency in Washington DC on March 21. The march comes amidst growing frustration over the President’s failure to advance an issue that galvanized enough Latinos to the polls in 2006 to give Democrats control of the House, and which helped elect Obama president in November 2008.

Within days of the public criticism, the President met with activists to frankly discuss the political realities of moving forward. Having used massive marches in cities across the nation to put immigration reform in the national spotlight in 2006, activists are now returning to this tactic as part of new campaign to escalate pressure on Obama and Democratic Congressional leaders. The goal is to finally pass comprehensive reform this year.

After activists came close to winning comprehensive immigration reform in 2006 and 2007, the election of Barack Obama and Democratic control of Congress seemingly made enactment a certainty in either 2009 or early 2010. Given the steep political cost of inaction — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and dozens of Democratic

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