Golden Gate [X]press : Educators rally at the Capitol

Golden Gate [X]press : Educators rally at the Capitol

Educators rally at the Capitol by Amber Sandhu, staff writer MARCH 24, 2010 1:56 AM
A little over 1,000 students and faculty united in front of the Capitol to protest fee hikes and budget cuts. Four buses left SF State March 22 at 7 a.m. with approximately 90 students and 10 faculty members on board. Carlos Baron, professor in the department of theater arts, boarded a separate bus named "Lola," which included the popular puppets that were used for the March 4 rally. He feels that the use of "agitation-propaganda" helps to incite a response among people and gets the message across. Students came from different departments to help him carry the puppets in the protest. When marching with his students to the Capitol, Baron yelled into the megaphone "Draculator, Governator, you're a cruel incarcerator!" Baron said that he wished the issue with politicians could have been discussed in a civil matter, "but, we have to take it to the streets." A student dressed up as a skeleton to represent the old age of students graduating, another dressed as the "Draculator" to represent the government sucking the money out of schools. Nadia Conrad, 25, a political science major and actress for "Draculator," has been involved in organizing awareness for budget issues and education. She said there is money in California, but the priorities remain skewed. She added that

The Orion - Faculty lost; education suffers

The Orion - Faculty lost; education suffers

Faculty lost; education suffers

By Andrea Wagner

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Published: Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Updated: Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Strips of torn tape and nail holes on pale yellow walls decorate the empty half of an office about the size of a dorm room.

Midway down a row of offices in Trinity Hall, history Professor Timothy Sistrunk, shares space with an empty desk.

Last semester his colleague and friend Robert Archer, who shared an office with him for more than 14 years, was not re-assigned.

In another department, religious studies Professor Tom Parker retired after learning he would not be re-appointed.

Like Parker and Archer, Sistrunk is part of the adjunct faculty whose positions were never guaranteed and until last fall, it was not a big issue.

As California universities adjust to sparse budgets, temporary faculty is the first group of people hit.

“Far and away it’s the worst it’s been,” Parker said.

When people started talking about layoffs of temporary faculty, Parker and his colleagues thought it was a joke, he said.

There is no way the college can function without temporary faculty, he said.

More than 100 lecturers lost and counting

Chico State lost 108 temporary faculty starting fall semester, according to data reported by the California Faculty Association.

The Business of Strengthening School Leadership - BusinessWeek

The Business of Strengthening School Leadership - BusinessWeek

The Business of Strengthening School Leadership

Board certification marks many professions. Penny Pritzker, chair of the Chicago Public Education Fund, asks: Why not education leadership?

Business leaders, no matter their political persuasion, understand that our nation's primary and secondary schools face a leadership crisis. It begins with low levels of achievement for too many students. The Conference Board reports that more than 40% of recent high school graduates lack basic skills in reading, writing, and math.

Even more alarming, is that we are entering an era in which there will not be enough school leaders with the experience and skills needed to address these and other pressing academic shortcomings. The California-based Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning reports that only 48% of primary- and secondary-level principals in California plan to stay in their jobs until retirement. At the secondary level, only 22% of the state's principals plan to do so. The Chicago Public Schools estimate that one-third of its schools will need new principals by the fall of 2011. Both projections are emblematic of the challenges that face school districts across the nation.

Business has a vested interest in improving our schools. An

The State Hornet - The March in March State Hornet coverage

The State Hornet - The March in March State Hornet coverage

The March in March State Hornet coverage

On Monday, students from across the state marched from Raley Field to the Capitol to protest against fee increases and budget cuts to higher education. According to California Highway Patrol, nearly 3,000 students participated in the protest.

Newest student trustee inspired by grassroots effort
By Kristine Guerra

The march to the Capitol on Monday reminded student trustee Nicole Anderson of why she joined student government.

“I think it was just seeing the passion behind it all and all the students out there together. I hadn’t really seen any sort of grassroots organizing in a while,” said Anderson, junior international relations major and one of two students appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees.

Anderson was part of the first batch of students who took the bus from Sacramento State to Raley Field, where nearly 3,000 protesters from other universities and colleges were waiting to march to the Capitol.

She said being on the Board of Trustees sometimes hinders her from realizing what students actually experience. Seeing her fellow students at the rally, hearing their chants and listening to their personal stories gave her a different perspective of how budget cuts are actually affecting students.

“One of the problems as a trustee is looking at the general picture … sometimes you forget to listen to the individual voices,” Anderson said. “Here at the rally, you listen to what students are saying directly.”

At the beginning of the protest, students were playing gongs and tambourines. Others showed up with skull face paints to depict what they call the “death of higher education.”

Familiar chants, like “Students, united, will never be divided,” “Education is a right,” and “Yes we can,” were heard throughout the protest. A few students expressed their animosity toward Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, holding up signs that say “Terminator terminates school, police, health.”

Assemblyman Marty Block, D-San Diego, was one of the few legislators who came out to join the students.

“If Congress was brave enough to support health care, then the

CA Schools' Long Financial Fall | KPBS.org

CA Schools' Long Financial Fall | KPBS.org

CA Schools’ Long Financial Fall

BY MIA TAYLOR

March 23, 2010

VIDEO

Above: The last time California spent more money on students then most other states in the country was 45 years ago, according to government and education association statistics.

SAN DIEGO — The last time California spent more money on students than most other states in the country was 45 years ago, according to government and education association statistics.

During the past five decades the state’s per pupil education spending has plunged from a one-time high of fifth in the nation in 1965 to 43rd in 2009.

“The citizens of California used to spend 5.6 percent of our personal income on schools. Now we are spending 3 percent,” said California’s former Secretary of Education John Mockler.

“We are spending 26 billion less on our children’s education, as a percent of our income, then when Ronald Reagan was governor in 1972 – before revenue limits and Proposition 13 and all of those things passed,” Mockler, now an education consultant, said.

As part of our series on Prop 13, KPBS set out to determine why California’s per pupil education spending has dropped so dramatically when compared to other states. Prop 13 is the 1978 ballot measure that capped property taxes at 1 percent of purchase price and limited yearly increases to 2 percent.

Just how did California fall to the bottom of the heap and how much of that decline is directly attributable to Prop 13? Pinning down an answer is no easy task.

The California Department of Education, the National Education Association (NEA), and the

Titan Editorial: In-class first, on-court second�|�Daily Titan

Titan Editorial: In-class first, on-court second�|�Daily Titan

Titan Editorial: In-class first, on-court second

By DAILY TITAN EDITORIAL BOARD
Published: March 23, 2010

The California Golden Bears started their game against the Louisville Cardinals, March 19, on a 12-0 run and never looked back, defeating Louisville 77-62 and eliminating them from the NCAA Tournament.

If it was up to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, both teams would have been eliminated before they even got a chance to lace up their Nikes.

Duncan is suggesting that teams that do not graduate at least 40 percent of their players be banned from postseason play.

This year, that would have kept 12 of the 65 teams in the tournament from participating, including one-seeded Kentucky. Maryland had the lowest rate of any tournament team, posting only an eight percent graduation rate. Baylor, Tennessee, Washington, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Clemson, Georgia Tech, New Mexico State and Missouri also failed to graduate 40 percent of their players.

Those numbers are astonishingly low, considering that the vast majority of college basketball players will never play a game in the NBA.

The NCAA uses a different formula to calculate graduation rates, excluding players who leave early to turn professional, drop out or transfer. However, using this formula produces only slightly better results.

Rather than the 43 percent average calculated using Duncan’s formula, the average graduation rate for last year’s tournament teams was 59 percent. That still leaves two out of five players failing academically

State schools chief admits future mandates unclear | Recordnet.com

State schools chief admits future mandates unclear | Recordnet.com

State schools chief admits future mandates unclear

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said Tuesday that being on the list of low-performing schools should be viewed as an opportunity.CRAIG SANDERS/The Record

By Roger Phillips

Record Staff Writer

March 24, 2010 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - As districts work to select the best approaches for improving their lowest-performing schools, California's highest-ranking education official suggested Tuesday that inclusion on the state's recently released list of struggling campuses be viewed not as a stigma but as an opportunity.

During a visit to Stockton, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said there are some schools not on the state list that wish they were, because inclusion provides the opportunity to pursue lucrative federal grant money.

"We have actually been contacted by some school districts asking to get on the list and actually been contacted by a mayor asking if a school in a city, not here, could be placed on that list," O'Connell said.

O'Connell stood in a hallway at the San Joaquin County Office of Education after the announcement of the planned opening for the 2010-11 school year of the New Energy Academy - a high school dedicated to preparing students for careers in green technology.

The school, to be part of the county office's Venture Academy, will be one of five such sites in the state and is a partnership between the California Department of Education and Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Breaking the News: Texas rewrites history, literally�|�Daily Titan

Breaking the News: Texas rewrites history, literally�|�Daily Titan

Breaking the News: Texas rewrites history, literally

By TANYA GHAHREMANI
Daily Titan Staff Reporter
Published: March 23, 2010

So, apparently, Texas wants to revise history. And it could happen.

I also apparently put too much faith in the education system.

Earlier this month, members of the Texas State Board of Education voted to change its requirements for history curriculum in public schools, which means they could be teaching a revised version of American history, complete with its very own conservative twist.

What exactly does the Texas State Board of Education want to alter? If they get their way, more attention will be paid to conservatives (conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly has been tossed around quite a bit in reference to these additions) and less attention will be paid to founding father Thomas Jefferson, due to his ideas and advocacy of the separation of church and state. Additionally, less attention would be paid to minorities in history.

Oh, and country music would be featured as a cultural movement. Really? What’s next, a mandated uniform of denim shirts and cowboy boots?

“These standards are rife with leftist political periods and events: the populists, the progressives, the New Deal, and the Great Society,” Texas State Board of Education member Don McLer

California's quality-blind layoffs law harms teachers and students - latimes.com

California's quality-blind layoffs law harms teachers and students - latimes.com

California's quality-blind layoffs law harms teachers and students

Factors related to job performance -- classroom management skills, the teacher's attendance and annual performance evaluation rating -- should be taken into account rather than length of service.

Over the last several weeks, in what has become a dismal rite of spring, nearly 30,000 teachers throughout California received layoff notices. Knowing how crucial teachers are to student success, you might wonder how schools make the difficult decision of which teachers to cut. After all, if layoffs are unavoidable, you would think that it would be in the interest of everyone to keep the best teachers and cut those who are least effective.

Unfortunately, the only tool that California schools can use to make these decisions is a calendar. That's because of an outdated state law that prevents schools from considering anything other than how long a teacher has worked in the school system to decide who stays and who goes. Schools have no choice but to ignore teacher quality. Newer teachers are always laid off first, regardless of how well they do their jobs.

The result? Even top-performing teachers may be cut. Last year, "teacher of the year" award winners in Santa Barbara, San Diego and Los Angeles were among those who received layoff notices.

Forcing schools to fire some of their best teachers while keeping less effective teachers is just one of many perverse side effects of California's quality-blind layoffs law. Most notably, this approach also disproportionately harms schools that serve the poorest students, English-language learners and students of color, who are more likely to have newer teachers.

What's worse, evidence from other parts of the country suggests that teachers themselves do not support these rules. When the New Teacher Project recently asked 9,000 teachers in two large urban

Ruskin to hold community meetings on higher education - San Jose Mercury News

Ruskin to hold community meetings on higher education - San Jose Mercury News

Ruskin to hold community meetings on higher education

Daily News Staff Report

Posted: 03/23/2010 07:45:32 PM PDT

Updated: 03/24/2010 12:49:11 AM PDT

Assemblyman Ira Ruskin plans to host three community meetings in the coming weeks to gather residents' feedback on an ongoing review of California's 50-year-old Master Plan for Higher Education.

Ruskin will hold meetings in Redwood City, Palo Alto and Los Altos to update constituents on the master plan, spokeswoman Karen Zamel said.

The master plan, approved by the Legislature in 1960, established a framework for the University of California, California State University and community college systems, including a pledge that every eligible student would have a place in one of the systems.

An Assembly committee co-chaired by Ruskin, D-Redwood City, is reviewing the master plan "to determine what

The trouble with assessing California schools | San Francisco Bay Area News - Crosscurrents from KALW

The trouble with assessing California schools | San Francisco Bay Area News - Crosscurrents from KALW

The trouble with assessing California schools

By NANCY MULLANE on Tuesday, Mar 23, 4:33pm

Recently, the California Department of Education released a list of the state's 188 lowest achieving schools. Five of the schools listed were in Oakland, and they could face dramatic consequences - like losing their principals and administrative staff. To determine where a school stands, California uses the Academic Performance Index, or the API. This number, which ranges between 200 and 1,000, measures the performance and growth of schools based on student test scores from grades 2 through 12.

But Tony Smith, Oakland Unified School District's Superintendent, says he disagrees with the state's assessment and is going to tell the community why tomorrow morning at a town hall meeting.

In advance of that gathering, KALW's Education Reporter, Nancy Mullane sat down with Jamie Marantz, an Executive Officer with the Oakland Unified School District overseeing middle schools. Marantz is a former teacher and principal of a low-performing school that was turned into one of the most desired middle schools in the district. And she says, the state got it all wrong.

Median tax to restore higher education: $32

Median tax to restore higher education: $32

The UC regents are expected later this spring to remove the word "public" from the schools it examines when setting the price for attending professional school, opening the door to even faster tuition increases. This one-word change will move another step toward fully implementing Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's vision, articulated in the 2004 "Compact on Higher Education," to privatize UC and CSU.

The governor has cut state support and overseen huge fee increases, shifting more of the cost of college onto students and their families.
The UC regents would be using tuition and fees charged by private universities, which serve far fewer students and were never designed to create opportunities for the people of California, as the basis for setting fees for UC professional schools. (The regents already implemented the proposed policy for the law school at Berkeley, which already costs more than Stanford's law school, $48,700 versus $42,400.) While the proposal coming to the regents is just for professional schools, the same arguments already have been made internally at the University of California to justify higher undergraduate tuition, too.
Facing public opposition, Schwarzenegger has done what every smart politician does: He has pretended to change. He decried the fact that California spends more on prisons than higher education and called for a constitutional amendment to commit at least 10 percent of the state budget to the University of California and California State University and limit prison funding to 7 percent.
Indeed, because he prepares the state budget, Schwarzenegger simply could have
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/23/EDB61CK4L2.DTL#ixzz0j5zOBxl7