Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Education Week: NEA Plan for Rewriting NCLB Departs From Obama's

NEA Plan for Rewriting NCLB Departs From Obama's

The National Education Association has put forward its most detailed recommendations to date for the overhaul of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, in what a union official calls a new approach for the federal law.

“We think there is a real opportunity for policymakers to change the framework of what’s in the statute,” said Donna Harris-Aikens, the director of education policy and practice for the 3.2 million-member union. “I don’t think there was an appetite for doing that during the last time around. It probably doesn’t mean every single word [in ESEA] is going to change, but we’re using this as a way to start a discussion.”

The union’s close engagement in the law—even as the legislative window for moving a bill this year begins to close—stands in contrast to the rewrite that resulted in the current version of the ESEA, the No Child Left Behind Act, which became law in 2002. Teachers’ unions were widely considered to have been left out of that reauthorization. ("Unions' Positions Unheeded On ESEA," Nov. 6, 2002.)

“Even if they bring something to the Hill and it’s rejected, they have to keep fighting for it, for their constituency,” said Jack Jennings, the president of the Washington-based Center on Education Policy, a research group. “Activist teachers especially feel strongly and they want to get into detail on

Advocates Weigh Obama's Commitment to Early Ed.

Excitement cooled after a high-profile early-education proposal failed to gain traction, but hopes now turn to ESEA reauthorization. (April 12, 2010) | Comments (2)

Thousands of Miami-Dade Teachers Absent in Protest

Thirty percent of the district's teachers did not show up to school in response to a proposed law that would establish a merit pay system and do away with tenure for new teachers.

• Colo. Lawmakers Want Changes to Teacher Tenure Law

(April 13, 2010, AP)

Report: California's spending transparency online lacking but 'emerging' | California Watch

Report: California's spending transparency online lacking but 'emerging'

by Chase Davis

Chase Davis

Although California earns low marks for its efforts to make state spending transparent on the Web, its work in recent years to make information about contractors and other state expenses searchable online earned it a place among the "emerging" states in the field, according to a study released this morning by the Public Interest Research Group.
The study lists California among 25 states whose efforts have improved in recent years and are poised to improve even more as the transparency movement continues to picks up steam nationwide. Seven states, including Illinois and Texas, were dubbed by the study to be leaders in the field. The other 18 states, which include Massachusetts and Washington, were considered lagging.
California scored points for its Web site disclosing contract expenditures, which was created last year by an executive order from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A bill further bolstering state transparency was passed in

NorthJersey.com: Teachers take off the gloves

Teachers take off the gloves

Friday, April 9, 2010
LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY APRIL 10, 2010, 9:48 AM

BY PATRICIA ALEX

THE RECORD

STAFF WRITER

8 Comments

Bergen County representatives of the state teachers union have ratcheted up the campaign against Governor Christie's agenda in a fiery memo that encourages members to "get some dirt" and "go public," and adds the education commissioner to the "attack list."

STAR LEDGER FILE PHOTO

Gov. Chris Christie answers questions from students in classroom 306 at Montclair High School on March 30.

But it's the memo's closing "prayer" that is sure to ignite controversy:

"Dear Lord … this year you have taken away my favorite actor, Patrick Swayze, my favorite actress, Farrah Fawcett, my favorite singer, Michael Jackson, and my favorite salesman, Billy Mays. … I just wanted to let you know that Chris Christie is my favorite governor."

The memo, sent to locals in the county earlier this week and obtained by The Record on Thursday, is signed by New Jersey Education Association field representatives, including Joe Coppola, president of the Bergen County Education Association.

Coppola said the "prayer" was a joke and was never meant to be made public.

"Obviously, it's inappropriate," he said. "I would never wish anybody dead."

Our views: Veto school bill (April 13) | floridatoday.com | FLORIDA TODAY

Our views: Veto school bill (April 13)

Start over on sweeping education reforms

Gov. Charlie Crist should veto Senate Bill 6, the one-size-fits-all merit-pay plan for Florida teachers.

Not because merit pay plans are necessarily harmful to education. Plans designed with flexibility to fairly reward effective teachers can increase accountability and learning.

And not because the current system for firing ineffective teachers doesn’t need some fixing. It does. But SB 6 falls far short on setting up a fair reward system and punitively strips teachers of job protections.

A veto from Crist can force state lawmakers who refused to make needed changes to the bill, despite vocal opposition from the public, to go back to the drawing board and get it right.

The outcry came from many teachers, but also from conservatives such as Brevard County school board members Amy Kneessy and Andy Ziegler. Eleven Republican House members voted against SB 6, rightly fearing it would cause major new problems for schools.

Brevard’s GOP House delegation all voted yes, turning a deaf ear to constituents’ concerns the bill would do real damage to the classroom.

That’s regrettable.

For his part, Crist can expect harsh attacks from his own party and negative fallout for his U.S. Senate campaign if he wields the veto pen.

He shouldn’t let political considerations interfere with doing what’s right.

A veto from Crist should be the start of discussions over education reforms, with everyone at the table, including educators.

Problems that must be addressed in new reform proposals include:

Are charters' students doing better? New way of grading schools will tell | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

Are charters' students doing better? New way of grading schools will tell

BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI
FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER

The latest report on Michigan's charter schools, to be presented to the state Board of Education today, does not compare the performance of charter students to those in traditional public schools -- a controversial practice done in past years.

In previous years, the annual report compared test scores in all charter schools with the average score of 20 traditional (and mostly low-performing) districts in which about 75% of Michigan charter schools are located. By that measure, charter schools do better.

The new 33-page annual report, created by the Michigan Department of Education and Michigan State University, explores topics including student performance and profiles. The report also recommends giving the department more authority over charter schools and a small increase in funding to pay for that.

But when it comes to how charter school students are faring academically, the report focuses only on charter school performance, stating in this year's report, "Performance growth is measured as it should be: not against any other school, but against the PSA's (Public School Academy's) own track record of achievement."

The report shows charter student performance improving on the MEAP exam. In math, for instance, 73% of student met or exceeded expectations in 2008, compared with 67.1% the year prior.

However, when the report was released last year, a Free Press analysis comparing charters

What happened to civil rights in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act signed by President Johnson on April 11, 1965? | California Progress Report

What happened to civil rights in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act signed by President Johnson on April 11, 1965?

Posted on 12 April 2010

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By Jack Loveridge
Justice Matters

With the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) getting underway on Capitol Hill, a meaningful anniversary will pass unobserved in Washington. Forty-five years ago this Sunday, President Lyndon Johnson signed the act, rebranded by the Bush Administration as No Child Left Behind, into law. With the stroke of a pen, the federal government’s role in public education was revolutionized, placing emphasis on ensuring educational opportunity in low-income communities.

The law came as a critical step in the Great Society legislation package designed to fight poverty and racism. For Johnson, who was trained as a schoolteacher and had taught in a poor Latino community in Texas, ESEA held as much potential for fighting racial injustice as the Civil Rights Act passed the previous year. With the federal government mandating desegregation, education commissioner Francis Keppel designed ESEA to ensure students of color were not just seated in classrooms, but that they also received a high quality education and had the real opportunity to continue to college.

Schwarzenegger's "Marine Poaching Areas" to Go Into Effect on May 1

Prop 8 Supporters Target New Enemy: Impartial Judges of California Courts

About That Pensions Report

by kaldveer

By Robert Cruickshank
The headlines were breathless: California pensions short by $500 billion! An independent analysis by Stanford graduate students was commissioned by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is being used by California's own deficit scolds to argue for cutting pension benefits. For that reason, it's important we get this issue right.

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