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Folsom Lake College SIFE prepares for San Francisco competition

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The Folsom Lake College SIFE will showcase 13 community-based business projects on April 6 in a competition in San Francisco.

Officials hope UC Merced expansion will spur jobs

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Merced officials are hoping expansion plans at UC Merced will help brighten the city's employment picture.

Humboldt State may cut entire programs

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Among the programs that could be eliminated at Humboldt State University are chemistry, computer science, fisheries biology, nursing, philosophy and physics.

Left in the 'white room?' Parents question son's 'manhandling' by Olivehurst school staffers

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Terra and Jeffrey McDonald accuse an Olivehurst school of manhandling their son and exiling him to the "white room." The school, however, says that's not what happened.

UC president: Hate acts may prompt policy changes

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University of California president Mark Yudof said recent acts of racism on its campuses, including several at UC Davis, have prompted UC to consider changing its policy on bias incidents.

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• Superintendent: More school districts face money troubles
• UOP welcomes first woman as school president
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Letter From the National Association of Secondary School Principals Urging Congress to Oppose U.S. Department of Education’s Misguided Models for School Reform � Larry Miller's Blog

Letter From the National Association of Secondary School Principals Urging Congress to Oppose U.S. Department of Education’s Misguided Models for School Reform � Larry Miller's Blog

Letter From the National Association of Secondary School Principals Urging Congress to Oppose U.S. Department of Education’s Misguided Models for School Reform

Filed under: NCLB — millerlf @ 7:23 pm

Attached and pasted below is a state organization sign-on letter from the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), urging Congress to oppose any expansion of the U.S. Department of Education’s misguided models for school reform. Instead of these models, we encourage Congress to embrace meaningful middle level and high school reform strategies during the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as detailed by the bills in this letter, and NASSP’s Breaking Ranks framework.

The Honorable George Miller The Honorable John Kline

2181 Rayburn House Office Building 2101 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington , DC 20515 Washington , DC 20515

March 26, 2010

Dear Chairman Miller and Ranking Member Kline:

On behalf of the nation’s middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and other school leaders, the undersigned organizations urge Congress to oppose an expansion of the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) misguided models for school reform and instead embrace meaningful middle level and high school reform strategies during reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

When the School Improvement Grants (SIG) guidance was first released in August 2009, we urged ED officials to reconsider the four proposed models for education reform that would all require the principal’s replacement as a condition for receiving SIG funds. We believed that the Transformation Model provided the greatest hope for promoting genuine school improvement as it was built around the continuous use of data to inform instruction, developing

Epoch Times - Cuts to Adult Education May Hurt NY Economy

Epoch Times - Cuts to Adult Education May Hurt NY Economy

Cuts to Adult Education May Hurt NY Economy

Anthony Ng, deputy director of Policy and Advocacy at the New York Coalition for Adult Literacy, stands in front of city hall on Tuesday in opposition to cuts proposed by lawmakers that would remove $2.6 million from the state's Adult Literacy Education p (Aloysio Santos/The Epoch Times)

NEW YORK—The Adult Literacy Education program will be taking a big hit due to drastic budget cuts proposed by lawmakers, according to a coalition of adult literacy advocates, teachers, students, and City Council members. Cuts were also proposed for GED (General Education Development) testing sites across New York.

The program would lose approximately $2.6 million during the next fiscal year on top of a $612,000 cut during the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year. GED testing sites would suffer a $1.15 million cut.

“Education is a right,” said Antony Ng, the deputy director of Policy and Advocacy at the New York Coalition for Adult Literacy. He added that the cuts would deprive people seeking to take the GED test throughout New York City and will negatively impact the local economy.

The programs, when they're fully funded, can help create a workforce, said Ng. People who are dependent on the program “need these jobs to help the economy recover.”

Bruce Carmel, the deputy executive director for the Brooklyn-based adult education school Turning Point, said

State may sit out second round of Race to the Top | California Watch

State may sit out second round of Race to the Top | California Watch

State may sit out second round of Race to the Top

April 7, 2010 | Corey G. Johnson

The proverbial "Fat Lady" has not sung yet on California's second attempt at the $700 million prize offered in the Race to the Top reform contest.

But if you listen closely, you might hear some practice "Me, Me, Me, Meee" yodels, buzzing in the background.

According to Tuesday's Sacramento Bee, Rick Miller, the deputy state superintendent largely responsible for developing and shepherding the first application, left the Department of Education this week for a consulting job.

And top state education officials, including State Superintendent Jack O'Connell, were "noncommittal" on whether California would even reapply by June 1 for the contest's second round. O'Connell told the Bee he was asking for staff recommendations before making a decision.

We are in the evaluative process," O'Connell told the Bee. "We want to thoughtfully

Waging political campaigns on the taxpayer dime | California Watch

Waging political campaigns on the taxpayer dime | California Watch

Waging political campaigns on the taxpayer dime

April 7, 2010 | Chase Davis

As we wrote yesterday, on Thursday the Fair Political Practices Commission will address petitions from several local government groups, which are arguing that commissioners did not have the authority to pass two 2008 regulations that keep them from spending tax money on political campaigns for bond issues.

But we thought you might appreciate seeing what a publicly financed bond campaign actually looks like.

Take a look at some of the ads we dug up from past municipal campaigns. Cities are allowed to send informational material, as long as it doesn't explicitly advocate for a position. But as with other political campaigns, the wordsmiths who craft these things walk a pretty fine line.

Latina Lista: Education report reveals less than a quarter of Florida Latinos have bachelor's degrees

Latina Lista: MediaCasts

Education report reveals less than a quarter of Florida Latinos have bachelor's degrees

LatinaLista.net -- When it comes to higher education, Latinos always seem to lag behind the pack. Recent reports reveal that only 10 percent of Latinos have earned a bachelor's degree, while Latinas are outpacing Latinos in college enrollment.

This disparity in genders and graduation rates among ethnicities serves as a window into what the future holds for this nation's economy since Latinos will be the majority in the labor force. It's a scary situation if something isn't done to get more Latinos and Latinas to go to college and earn higher degrees.

Florida is already seeing the impact of a Latino population with low education.

In a new report titled Florida: Policy Options to Accelerate Latino Student Success in Higher Education, released by Excelencia in Education, researchers say that if things continue as they are Florida's economy won't be able to remain economically competitive.

In 2008, 37 percent of Floridans 25 to 64 years of age had earned an associate's degree or higher. Given that a large portion of the demographic growth in Florida through 2030 will be Hispanic, the state's economic competitiveness will be highly dependent on the educational attainment of this population. However, the educational attainment of Hispanics in Florida is low. In 2008, about 23 percent of Hispanics 25 and over in Florida had earned a bachelor's degree or higher.

It's a scenario that could easily be repeated in Texas, California, New Mexico, etc. -- anywhere

Burbank Leader Charter schools absent in area

Burbank Leader Education

IN DEPTH:
Charter schools absent in area

While L.A. Unified has 157, Burbank and Glendale are still at zero.

By Max Zimbert

Published: Last Updated Tuesday, April 6, 2010 10:06 PM PDT

As Lyle Slack’s daughter prepared to begin sixth grade last year at Wilson Middle School, the Glendale resident and Woodbury University instructor changed course, instead enrolling his child at Renaissance Arts Academy, a sixth-through-12th-grade charter school in Eagle Rock.

“What got us thinking about moving our daughter, when she went from third to fourth grade at Glenoaks Elementary — her class went from 20 to 36,” he said. “When your class is up to 36, all you’re doing is being a traffic cop.”

After a tour of Wilson, Slack began researching alternatives.

There are more than 5,000 charter schools in 39 states and Washington, D.C., but nowhere are the campuses more promising than in Los Angeles, where the school district’s size, demographics and facilities are ripe for experimenting with education reform and reversing chronically low-performing schools, advocates said.

There are 157 comprehensive charter schools within Los Angeles Unified School District, but the tide so far has only lapped at the borders of Burbank and Glendale.

Options for Youth operates two charter facilities in Burbank focusing on at-risk youth, and it is not considered full-service.

“The extent to which charters exist in a given district or not depends largely on the politics of the school board,” said Priscilla Wohlstetter, a professor and the director of the Center for

California Chronicle | California Teachers Association Endorses Torlakson for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

California Chronicle | California Teachers Association Endorses Torlakson for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

California Teachers Association Endorses Torlakson for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

California Political Desk

April 06, 2010

CONCORD - The California Teachers Association (CTA) has voted to endorse Assemblymember Tom Torlakson's campaign for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The election for the non-partisan office will take place on June 8, 2010.

The CTA has 325,000 members around the state and is the largest affiliate of the National Education Association.

"As a teacher and former CTA member, I am so honored to receive the CTA's support in the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction," said Torlakson. "This endorsement is a great boost, not only to my campaign, but to our fight to ensure every single neighborhood school has the resources required to offer every California student a high-quality education in a safe and healthy environment."

"Tom is a teacher who has been a true champion of public education as a legislator. He has carried legislation to increase funding for textbooks, and worked with CTA to sponsor the Quality Education Investment Act, which has directed nearly $3 billion for proven classroom reforms to assist lower performing schools. CTA wholeheartedly gives its support to his campaign," said CTA President David Sanchez following the endorsement vote.

A second-generation teacher, Torlakson has applied his experience as a science teacher and high school coach to reform the way public education works as a member of the State Legislature. Torlakson has acted to improve student nutrition and physical education, give schools the funding support they need to ensure academic achievement,

State senators on education: 'Suck it up' - Home - The Orange County Register

State senators on education: 'Suck it up' - Home - The Orange County Register

State senators on education: 'Suck it up'

Teacher after teacher recently told me our divided legislators need to talk to one another to fix the educational funding crisis.

Good news: While I didn't exactly get them talking, I did get state senators on both sides of the aisle to agree on something.

But, I'm sorry to say, the agreement was that the next school year is going to be tough.

In the words of Senator Bob Huff, "Everybody's going to have to suck it in a little bit."

If you are inclined to get upset with Huff, chair of the Senate Republican caucus, consider it takes true leadership to deliver information we don't want to hear.

I had a boss once who would walk up and say, "I've got some bad news." It used to drive me crazy – until I realized he was giving my brain a moment to prepare for what was to come.

Huff's words are like that. Plain-spoken honesty is what we need from people we elect, regardless of the outcome. It's the only way to prepare.

Democrat Sen. Lou Correa practically applauded Huff's statement, not that he is satisfied with the sorry state of our educational system either.

"If he means suck it up, if he means we're going to have to struggle here, he's absolutely right," Correa told me.

To catch you up, some 1,500 teaching positions were eliminated in Orange County last year and another 2,219 pink slips went out in March. So, I'm visiting with teachers, legislators, superintendents, school boards and parents looking for solutions. Last week, we heard from teachers. Today, legislators have the floor. Next: superintendents.

Blaming Sacramento is pointless, Correa said. Instead, the senator pointed to the economy for the state's

Santa Clara County schools superintendent gets mixed marks - San Jose Mercury News

Santa Clara County schools superintendent gets mixed marks - San Jose Mercury News

Santa Clara County schools superintendent gets mixed marks

By Sharon Noguchi

snoguchi@mercurynews.com

Posted: 04/05/2010 04:50:52 PM PDT

Updated: 04/06/2010 09:39:48 AM PDT

Click photo to enlarge

Now, 21 months into Charles Weis' tenure as the... (Courtesy Santa Clara County Board of Education)

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When trustees of the Santa Clara County Office of Education visited Oxnard in 2008, they came away dazzled by what they heard about Charles "Chuck" Weis, then superintendent of Ventura County schools.

"We thought he walked on water," said Anna Song, now Santa Clara County school board president.

Weis, 59, seemed the perfect captain to right Santa Clara County's listing ship, after the bitter and tumultuous ouster of Colleen Wilcox over alleged harassment of employees.

Now, 21 months into Weis' tenure as the county's top schools' official, dissatisfaction is mounting with a superintendent whom critics say is too often absent and ill-prepared. There are questions about whether he's

Officials tour Alisal schools - MontereyHerald.com :

Officials tour Alisal schools - MontereyHerald.com :

Officials tour Alisal schools

Interim superintendent vows quick improvement

By CLAUDIA MELÉNDEZ SALINAS
Herald Salinas Bureau

Posted: 04/07/2010 01:28:07 AM PDT

Updated: 04/07/2010 01:28:07 AM PDT

In an effort to turn the page at the troubled Alisal Union School District, the interim superintendent and state-appointed interim trustee toured its schools Tuesday to get acquainted with the students and their needs.

"We're sharing with the principals what our plans are," said John Ramirez, the interim superintendent. "We're just being visible. If we want to build a team together, we have to be out here."

Last week, the California State Board of Education appointed Monterey County Superintendent of Schools Nancy Kotowski as interim trustee to the Alisal district, a move made at an emergency meeting in response to recent decisions by Alisal's three-member board of trustees. The local board was not supposed to be making major decisions after the state board voted March 11 to appoint a trustee.

Ramirez is confident the state won't reverse his appointment, and is moving ahead with plans to review improvement plans at each school, build consensus among principals, and offer a proposal on improving student achievement in a few weeks.

Ramirez and Kotowski plan to hold a retreat with principals Friday as part of his strategy.

He said he intends to visit the schools frequently to monitor progress.

"It's part of my goal, being very visible," Ramirez said.

Mary Magaña, principal at Oscar Loya Elementary School, led Ramirez and Kotowski in a tour of the campus, beginning with the administrative offices and following with Robert Aragon's third-grade class.

Aragon is still basking in his students' recent third place finish in a worldwide math competition.

"One school in Central America had 500 students" competing, Aragon told the visitors. "It lasted 48 hours, the

Alberto Torrico: AB 656: A Movement Both Online and Off

Alberto Torrico: AB 656: A Movement Both Online and Off

Alberto Torrico

Posted: April 6, 2010 01:30 PM

AB 656: A Movement Both Online and Off

The movement to save higher education is building momentum on the streets and on the Internet.

Californians understand the stakes. Over the past ten years, fee increases and painful budget cuts have undermined a system of higher education that was once the envy of the nation. These cuts in college programs and increases in fees are creating an ever-higher barrier to a quality education at exactly the moment when we should be investing in this proven economic engine.

The numbers speak for themselves. For every dollar invested in higher education, California nets $3 in return. Investing in higher education is the smartest choice California can, and should, make right now to jumpstart our economy.

For months, students - as well as faculty and community leaders - have been marching and holding rallies to make their voices heard. On March 22, nearly 5,000 students from San Diego to Sonoma marched to the Capitol steps in Sacramento, demanding solutions to save higher education.

One of the most immediate and important solutions is AB 656.

My bill, AB 656: Fair Share for Fair Tuition, is a simple and fair solution to funding higher education. A 12.5% severance fee on Big Oil will raise $2 billion a year for California's colleges

SB schools still in control - ContraCostaTimes.com

SB schools still in control - ContraCostaTimes.com

Long before the state released a list of the lowest performing schools in the state, more than half of San Bernardino district schools were failing under state standards year after year.

Thirty seven of the 67 schools are in the fifth year of program improvement, meaning their students failed to make adequate progress on standardized tests for at least six consecutive years.

Such schools are to receive focused attention from the state and district and could be taken over by the state if no improvement is seen.

But thus far, state officials haven't taken over any local schools and instead said they're leaving it to the local district to turn around the failing schools.

"They are to implement some form of alternate governance, but it is up to the distinct to determine what that will be," said Fred Balcom, director of district and school improvement for the California Department of Education. "Basically, the district comes up with a plan in Year 4 and implements it in Year 5."

Under state law, schools that fail to improve after five years must implement one of four corrective plans: replacing all or most of the staff including the principal, reopening the school as a charter, a state takeover or contracting with an outside entity to manage the school, or other major restructuring.

Most of the school districts with schools in program improvement have opted for "other," said Balcom.

"If they choose `other,' it's the