Notes from the news, Apr. 15 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Apr. 15 | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Notes from the news, Apr. 15

by Erika Owens

Happy tax day. Also, don't forget to fill out your census form.
Ackerman creates new 'chief' position at $180,000 The Notebook blog
Leroy Nunery is a former Edison Schools executive and was a finalist for District superintendent. He'll work on fundraising and outside partnerships.
Parent voices concern over school changes The Inquirer
A Stetson parent testified about the Renaissance Schools overhaul plan that would convert many District schools to charters.
See also: New info on provider interest in schools The Notebook blog
Full Renaissance Schools coverage The Notebook
Charter oversight: failure Daily News (opinion)
Comparing the charter school financial scandals to the California gold rush.
Neighbors to be heard on school building sales Daily News
The District will now include community feedback in decisions to sell closed schools.
See also: Neighbors to be heard on school building sales Urban Direction blog
Students warned on dangers of flash mobs The Inquirer
Students were gathered at Hospitality Education Day.
See also: Head of public safety lectures students on "flash mobs" WHYY
Phila. Students Discuss Flash Mob Tourism Impact KYW
Allegheny: Trying to Improve Schools Philadelphia Neighborhoods
What Do Your Kids Know About Climate Change? Philadelphia Weekly
Five Local Early Childhood Educators to be Honored KYW
School Success Criteria Volume 3: Leadership Philly School Search blog
Please email us if we missed anything today or if you have any suggestions of publications, email lists, or other places for us to check for news.
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Notes from the news
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Essay by Dr. Jill Biden in The Chronicle of Higher Education | The White House

Essay by Dr. Jill Biden in The Chronicle of Higher Education | The White House

Essay by Dr. Jill Biden in The Chronicle of Higher Education

The following essay penned by Dr. Jill Biden will be featured in the April 23 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education, and can be found online HERE.

Community Colleges: Our Work Has Just Begun
Jill Biden

I have been a teacher for almost three decades and a community-college instructor for the past 16 years. Last spring, President Obama asked me to increase awareness about one of the best-kept secrets of higher education: the very sizable and valuable contribution of community colleges. Since then I have been visiting colleges around the country and reporting back to the president about their challenges, innovations, and ideas. This issue is a priority for the Obama-Biden administration. We are committed to making community colleges better and more accessible to students across this nation.

The passage of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 was a substantial victory for community colleges. The final legislation does not contain everything our administration had proposed, but it does include one of the most significant new federal investments in higher education, and in community colleges, since the GI Bill was introduced, over 60 years ago.

Pell Grants had been threatened with a 60-percent funding decrease, but we stabilized the Pell program and ensured that such grants would increase with inflation. The Pell Grant victory will put money in the pockets of millions of full- and part-time community-college students, helping them pay for tuition, books, supplies, and living expenses. This increase in financial aid is coupled with the recently expanded Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides students a tax credit of up to $2,500 per year for up to four years to offset higher-education expenses, including a partial credit for those who owe no taxes. It also sets up income-based repayment of student loans, capping loan repayments at rates based on income and family size. As a lifelong teacher, I am particularly pleased that income-based repayment helps those who choose public-service careers. Graduates who work as teachers, nurses, or in other public-service professions—and those who serve in the military—can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.

The reconciliation bill also sets aside $2-billion ($500-million per year over four years) to develop and improve educational and training programs at community colleges. Throughout the nation, community colleges will receive funds to help them serve students more effectively, and to help form partnerships with regional industry clusters so that graduates will be prepared to excel in the local work force.

This administration's commitment to community colleges is a long-term one. The president has asked me to convene a national summit on community colleges in the fall. We will bring college presidents, instructors, and advocates together with business leaders and other stakeholders to share best practices and successful

Forget allergy season, are your kids (and teachers) ready for testing season? EducationCEO's Blog

EducationCEO's Blog:

Forget allergy season, are your kids (and teachers) ready for testing season?

April 15, 2010

Spring brings warm weather, flowers, and Spring Break. If you’re a teacher or school student, you know that spring also signals the beginning of testing season. For elementary and middle school students here in Georgia, that means the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) and End-of-Course Tests (EOCT) for high school students.
According to a recent AJC article, this year’s testing season also brings scrutiny and tighter security measures due to the suspicion of testing irregularities surrounding several schools. Schools that had a high number of erasure irregularities, as well as those that did not will see some changes this year. For example, some districts will increase the number of supervisory staff members in schools to watch students as they test. The Atlanta Public School System has received a significant amount of media attention because it had the highest number of schools under investigation, with fifty-eight. I am still upset about the allegations, as the kids’ academic improvements have been called ‘questionable’ and some teachers have been falsely accused of either changing answers or prompting students towards

California's Regressive Tax System | California Progress Report

California's Regressive Tax System | California Progress Report

California's Regressive Tax System

by christine

By Robert Cruickshank
The California Budget Project is out with answers to the question "Who pays taxes in California?" As their report makes clear, there's another question that is equally important - "who doesn't pay taxes in California?" What the CBP numbers reveal is a state where the tax burden is borne by the poorest, in order to let the richest escape their obligations.
Measured as a share of family income, California's lowest-income families pay the most in taxes. The poorest fifth of the state's non-elderly families, with an average income of $13,200, spent 11.1 percent of their income on state taxes. In comparison, the wealthiest 1 percent, with an average income of $2.2 million, spent 7.8 percent of their income on state taxes.
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Schools Matter: Op-Ed by Houston KIPP Director, Joseph Miller: "KIPP could RIP the fabric of public education in Jacksonville in half"

Schools Matter: Op-Ed by Houston KIPP Director, Joseph Miller: "KIPP could RIP the fabric of public education in Jacksonville in half"

Op-Ed by Houston KIPP Director, Joseph Miller: "KIPP could RIP the fabric of public education in Jacksonville in half"

by Jim Horn

All sorts of right-wing opinions show up in the conservative paper, The Jacksonville Observer. But who would expect an executive with KIPP Houston to offer up such red meat to the privatizing faithful! And if you read the entire op-ed, you might be convinced that it was written by a local citizen who is excited beyond words that KIPP is coming to save Jacksonville. It is so full of homespun grits-iness, with a Bible quote from a dead local banker and even this charming good ole boy reference to a scattergram slide by Executive Director, Tom Madjanics:

Displaying a graph that appeared like it had been shot with shotgun birdshot, Tom said that these little dots represented Florida students that were in the group mentioned above and who were failing or performing poorly on standard testing. If a picture is worth a thousand words – this picture

This Week In Education AM News: Harkin Proposes Teacher Bailout

This Week In Education

AM News: Harkin Proposes Teacher Bailout

Fund Proposed to Prevent Some Teacher Firings NYT:  Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, introduced legislation on Wednesday to create a $23 billion jobs fund to prevent teachers from being fired because of budget shortfalls... Sen. Harkin proposes $23 billion bailout for schools Washington Post:  Sen. Harkin proposes $23 billion bailout for schools... 2 more arrested at Hawaii furlough sit-in AP:  Two more people protesting Hawaii's shortest-in-the-nation school year were arrested on trespassing charges Wednesday night during their weeklong sit-in at Gov. Linda Lingle's office...Former Gov. Bush: Still in charge at the Capitol? AP: Ease class-size limits -- check. Cut corporate income taxes -- check. End tenure for new teachers and link teacher raises to student performance -- check (for now)... Click below for more headlines.

...U.S. Falls Short in Measure of Future Math Teachers NYT:  American college students earned a C on a new test comparing their skills with their counterparts in 15 other countries...Judge Orders Halt to School Transfer Policy NYT:  A judge on Tuesday ordered a south Mississippi school district to stop allowing hundreds of white students to transfer out of majority-black schools, saying the practice violates a desegregation order... Gunman disarmed at Pa. school after striking guard AP:  A man with a gun who entered a public school for performing arts students was arrested Wednesday afternoon after he fought with a security guard who confronted him and both men crashed through a large window near the school's entrance....Pa. police: 3rd grader gave heroin to classmates AP: Police say a third-grader in Pennsylvania handed out more than 60 small bags of heroin to his classmates before his teacher discovered them.

NAACP Branch is Seeking Answers to Low Performing Schools

Who Is Under the Big Tent of the Republican Party?

NAACP Branch is Seeking Answers to Low Performing Schools

A couple of weeks ago the California Department of Education released a report that landed 11 schools in theSan Bernardino City Unified School District at the bottom of the pile in the state. The first report showed other neighboring districts had the same problem but for some reason they were removed the next day. A week later members of West Side Action Group (WAG) decided tocall a press conference in front of the district office tohighlight its concerns because the kids at the bottom are African Americans. The same is true in the surroundingdistricts as well as in county operated schools.

School Board President Danny Tillman, rebutted at the conference that some of the actions by the Department of education and WAG are politically motivated because Arturo Delgado, Superintendent of San Bernardino CitySchools is running for the County Superintendent of Schools against appointed incumbent Gary Thomas. Some people are supporting Thomas and others Delgado. ents has anything to brag about when it comes to educating Black students, which is my greatest concern.

The NAACP San Bernardino Branch is holding a meeting to try and uncover the facts and focus on educating our children.

I hope they will be able to shed light on the crisis wehave in our educational system locally and in Sacramento.

The Educated Guess Community college first: a parcel tax

The Educated Guess

Community college first: a parcel tax

Posted in Community Colleges, Revenue and taxes

The San Mateo County Community College District will make history in June if district voters pass a $34 parcel tax. It will be the first time, as far as anyone can tell, that one of the state’s 72 districts will have approved such a measure. Other districts will be waiting and watching.
It’s a sign of desperate times that the board of trustees decided to venture into what has been the province of K-12 districts. But, on a positive note, it’s an indication of the public’s growing recognition of the importance of community colleges – and their plight – that trustees are confident the ballot measure will pass. District spokeswoman Barbara Christensen said that polling indicates about 73 percent of likely voters favor the tax. But with a 3-4 percent margin of error, there’s also no room for confidence.
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By John Fensterwald on April 15th, 2010

Special ed option for laid-off teachers

Posted in Teacher Development

A one-year-old nonprofit is serving as a matchmaker between an abundant supply of soon to be laid-off teachers and a critical shortage of special education instructors. As a result, at least several thousand vacant special ed positions likely will be filled this fall by teachers who would otherwise be looking at unemployment or substitute teaching.
The California Teacher Corps announced this week that it is expediting efforts at retraining teachers who are interested in becoming certified to teach special education. The Corps represents alternative certification programs, which are particularly suited for individuals seeking second careers as teachers and, in this case, for teachers interested in working with handicapped children.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on April 14th, 2010

No longer highest paid teachers

Posted in Taxes, pay

Teachers in California no longer earn, on average, the most of any state in the nation. New York has taken over that distinction.
California has the second highest student to teacher ratio in the nation (20.9:1), next to Utah’s 21.4. And its spending per student has fallen two notches to 43^rd in the nation.
These are some of the statistics from the National Education Association’s annual report Rankings and Estimates for 2010. There aren’t many surprises, given the state’s fiscal mess. And since most of the data comes form the 2008-’09 year, figures on school spending will likely deteriorate, relative to the rest of the nation, over the next two years.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on April 13th, 2010

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Third grader hacks into Fairfax school computers

9-year-old targets, among others, Fairfax Superintendent Jack Dale

MORE ON EDUCATION

• School surplus roils DC politics
• Md law limits info to military recruiters
• Does Rhee's $34 million surplus exist?
• Harkin proposes $23 billion bailout
• Rhee: 'Conspiracy theorists' are wrong
• Md. outlines school reform plan
• D.C. raises would come from surplus
• Will NCLB revamp fail rural schools?
• Miss. schools ordered to desegregate
• Maryland releases school reform plan

Fairfax Superintendent Jack Dale (TWP).

VALERIE STRAUSS

The Answer Sheet

A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

Posted at 6:30 AM ET, 04/15/2010

When school reform made teachers sick -- literally

There is a story in Diane Ravitch’s new book, “The Death and Life of the Great American School System,” that policymakers should be forced to read whenever they are imposing yet another school reform plan on a beleaguered school district. It is about school reform implemented so forefully that teachers got sick. Not sick and tired of being told what to do by people who had never been in front of a classroom, but physically ill.

Continue reading this post »

JAY MATHEWS

Class Struggle

What's Right and Wrong With Our Schools

Posted at 10:00 PM ET, 04/14/2010

Washington area's top education bloggers

Several weeks ago, my blogging colleague Valerie Strauss (The Answer Sheet) and I announced our picks for best education blogs of this year. Our favorites were a diverse bunch, with many witty teachers, incisive journalists and droll experts of other kinds providing unusual perspectives. But Washington area education bloggers were severely underrepresented. I found only two, one in Fairfax County and one in the District, who had the acidity and depth I craved.

Continue reading this post »

The $34 million question

So does the $34 million surplus Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee described to the D.C. Council Tuesday actually exist?

This is the money she said was now available in the FY 2010 budget, three months after laying off 266 teachers, to underwrite part of the five-year, 20 percent pay package in the proposed labor contract. It's ultimately up to Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi to make that call.

Rhee said again Wednesday night that she has been assured by a staff analysis that the cash was there. But e-mails obtained by D.C. Schools Insider show that as recently as March 31, one week before the tentative agreement was announced, Rhee was raising significant doubts about the existence of the windfall.

Continue reading this post »

Ed Buzz: The Nation

• Illinois school fighting cyber-bullying(Chicago Tribune)
• Boston teachers asked to work more hours for same pay (Boston Globe)
• Advocates weigh Obama's commitment to early ed. (Education Week)
• N.Y. bill would allow layoffs of teachers with seniority (New York Times)
• Bilingual ed., immersion work equally well (Education Week)
• Schools tackle teacher-on-teacher bullying (USA Today)
• English-language learners making gains (Education Week)
• Researchers argue over Head Start study (Education Week)

Ed Buzz: The Region

• Loudoun looking to slash positions, up fees (WTOP)
• Kids at Md. school get tainted milk (Fox 5)
• McDonnell signs college lab school legislation (Richmond Times Dispatch)
• Schools reduce police presence (The Examiner)
• Montgomery College, schools brace for cuts (The Gazette)
• P.G. County PTA reinstated (The Gazette)
• Md. GOP: Don't raise dropout age (The Gazette)
• Birth-control center finds home at T.C. Williams (Alexandria Gazette Packet)
• Fairfax teacher quits over embezzlement charges (Examiner)
• MoCo teachers say they are overwhelmed (Gazette)
• Alex. considers new school boundaries(Examiner)
• PG parents fear impact of school cuts(WJLA)
• Md. lawmakers favor ed cuts (Baltimore Sun)

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

GothamSchools - Breaking News and Analysis of the NYC Public Schools

Rise & Shine: State won’t enter a weak Race to the Top bid again

by Philissa Cramer

• The principal at Brooklyn’s PS 38 was taped berating teachers over how they rated her. (Daily News)
• The student who aired conditions at Paul Robeson HS says the school told her not to come back. (Post)
• The Post says Robeson’s response to the “whistle-blowing” is another reason that it should be closed.
• State officials say NY won’t enter Race to the Top’s next round without a strong application. (Post, NY1)
• Assemblyman Jonathan Bing explains why he support a bill to end seniority-based layoffs. (Daily News)
• Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa has proposed a $23 billion bailout to stop teacher layoffs. (Washington Post)
• The Manhattan Institute’s Marcus Winters says despite the research, cash incentives work. (Daily News)
• Richard Slatkin, who founded the city’s autism charter school, shares his experience. (Fortune Magazine)
• American math teachers have weaker math skills than their counterparts in some other countries. (Times)