Attaching a school funding bill to a war funding bill. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Attaching a school funding bill to a war funding bill. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Attaching a school funding bill to a war funding bill.

by preaprez

The $23 billion federal school funding bill is running into big trouble, even after a massive call-in campaign organized by the NEA yesterday.
The $23 billion was originally attached to a Senate appropriations bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
How do I feel about linking my pay to war funding. No need to ask.
But the Senate wouldn’t even do that. They dumped the schools and kept the wars.
No surprise there.
The House will probably try and attach the education funding in their version of the war appropriations bill.

The Educated Guess � Is CALPADS unfixable? No answer yet

The Educated Guess � Is CALPADS unfixable? No answer yet

Is CALPADS unfixable? No answer yet

Posted in CALPADS, Data

State education officials expressed deep disappointment last week on learning that California was out of the running for money to expand the statewide student data system.
They haven’t heard yet why the state placed 26^th out of 50^th in a grant competition that funded only the top 20 states. But they shouldn’t be surprised if the feds’ answer is, “Are you kidding? Why would you expect taxpayers to enlarge a data system when you have yet to get it to work right?”
Nearly one year into its operation, CALPADS, the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, is still struggling. Five months after a consultantwarned of an imminent system collapse and urged a top-to-bottom review, the student data system is still being fixed. It will take at least a month before it becomes clear whether the processes work, and the system can perform as designed. Still to be determined is whether management problems – a big factor behind the poor operation – have been straightened out.
(Read more and comment on this post)

By John Fensterwald on May 27th, 2010

Hour of decision for low-performing schools

Posted in Turning around failing schools

With the June 1 deadline looming for school districts to apply for dollars for chronically poor-performing schools, the state hasn’t heard from the U.S. Department of Education whether it’s getting any money to actually pass around. That unanswered question has added uncertainty to what’s already a been tense process for districts.
California’s share of the $3.5 billion one-time stimulus money for School Improvement Grants is supposed to be $414 million – a hunk of change for districts to help turn around schools. And there’s no saying an amount nearly this large will be available for that purpose in coming years, given the federal deficit and growing criticism in Congress over the prescriptive methods that President Obama has chosen as remedies for failing schools.
(Read more and comment on this post)

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan does his best Rivers

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Duncan does his best Rivers

Duncan does his best Rivers

by Mike Klonsky

Arne Duncan got bad grades on his phone call with teachers. He calls Cody back. Does his best Joan Rivers: "Can we talk?"

But will congress and the administration take heed of BBA's new talking points on ESEA re-authorization? Including:

Neither schools nor teachers should be held accountable based primarily on test scores of students. Such accountability can lead to

This Week In Education: AM News: Duncan Et Al Keep Pushing EduJobs

This Week In Education: AM News: Duncan Et Al Keep Pushing EduJobs

AM News: Duncan Et Al Keep Pushing EduJobs

by Alexander Russo

Dems trim jobs bill to woo moderates: Economic relief legislation pared back as union leaders and business lobby battle behind scenes... Teach for America expands into Detroit: The national organization will send 100 of the top college graduates from across the U.S. to teach at public and charter schools in the city. How should we teach our future teachers?: Ball said the people who will someday replace the nation's 3.8 million teachers need to learn how to do the same things in the right way, much like doctors who are all trained to deliver a baby, suture a wound and give a shot... Ann Curry Cites Wrong School's Alumni in Speech: In a commencement speech to graduates at Wheaton College in MA on Saturday, the 'Today' show's Ann Curry named some of the famous alumni they were joining. Unfortunately, the graduates she named, including Billy Graham, went to a different Wheaton College -- an evangelical school in Illinois with the same name.

Sec. Duncan on Innovation at the Aspen Institute :: Frederick M. Hess

Sec. Duncan on Innovation at the Aspen Institute :: Frederick M. Hess

Frederick M. Hess's Blog

Sec. Duncan on Innovation at the Aspen Institute

by Frederick M. Hess • May 27, 2010 at 9:15 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

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Yesterday, the Aspen Institute hosted Secretary Duncan and i3 chief Jim Shelton for a lunch conversation on educational innovation. There were maybe 35 or 40 folks in attendance, including hotshot supes Jack Dale and Jerry Weast, a handful of influential wonks, a smattering of reporters, reform studs like Common Core avatar David Coleman and New Leaders honcho Jon Schnur, NEA executive director John Wilson, and other assorted heavyweights.

On the whole, I thought it was better than Duncan's formal speeches. He spoke without any evident notes, pretty much steered clear of the "it's for the kids" rhetoric, didn't filibuster, and was admirably direct in responding to some questions--issuing strong affirmative answers to questions about whether the feds should financially penalize colleges which don't graduate students and whether textbooks are an anachronism.

Not much news, but a few points of interest. As Andy Rotherham pointed out yesterday, Duncan said multiple times that he anticipates only about 70 i3 winners--which would mean that more than 95% of applicants can expect to come up empty. And Duncan indicated that he doesn't want to hear any more complaints about

Eduflack: "Much Superior" Virginia?

Eduflack: "Much Superior" Virginia?

"Much Superior" Virginia?

by Eduflack

For weeks now, we have been hearing about states that have decided they will not pursue Race to the Top, Part II. Over at Politics K-12 , Michele McNeil has a dozen or so states that either have decided not to apply or are dangerously close to not applying before next Tuesday's drop-dead date for the final taste of the $4 billion pot.

This shouldn't be surprising. More than 40 states put in hundreds upon hundreds of hours of work and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on consultants to prepare their Phase I apps. Two states, Delaware and Tennessee, won in the early round. Those remaining states were left with detailed judges' scores to help guide a redo due June 1. But some states simply don't have the stomach for it, offering a host of reasons not to pursue.

Perhaps one of the most interesting reasons for declining was offered yesterday by Eduflack's home state of Virginia. According to the Washington Post, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is not entering the Race because of the Common Core Standards. The chief executive of the Old Dominion claims that Virginia's current academic

How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People | Intercepts

How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People | Intercepts

How NOT to Win Friends and Influence People

by Mike Antonucci

In the latest example of shooting yourself in the public relations foot, we hear from Hardy L. Brown, publisher ofBlack Voice News, a weekly newspaper in Riverside, California. Mr. Brown recounts how the California Teachers Association approaches community outreach:

For the past couple of years, California Black Media, a coalition of 22 African American newspapers across the state founded by myself and co-publisher Cheryl Brown, has sponsored a summit in Sacramento on various issues that impact the Black community. We invite experts on various topics to be a part of the panels so we can become better informed to educate our readers. This year the topics were “Crisis In Our Schools” and “Contracting With Our Small Businesses.”

Invitations were sent to select organizations to request that a high ranking policy maker represent that organization on the education panel and the CTA did not respond in a timely manner so we moved ahead. Working on a tight deadline to print the program and alert our readers of the event,

Attaching a school funding bill to a war funding bill. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Attaching a school funding bill to a war funding bill. � Fred Klonsky's blog

Attaching a school funding bill to a war funding bill.

MAY 27, 2010

tags: School funding, War funding

by preaprez

The $23 billion federal school funding bill is running into big trouble, even after a massive call-in campaign organized by the NEA yesterday.

The $23 billion was originally attached to a Senate appropriations bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How do I feel about linking my pay to war funding. No need to ask.

But the Senate wouldn’t even do that. They dumped the schools and kept the wars.

100,000 teachers might get laid off nationwide Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

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

100,000 teachers might get laid off nationwide

Obama scrambling to pass $23-billion bill that would ease cuts.

MORE ON EDUCATION

• Va. abandons Race to the Top contest
• Is the public turning on teacher unions?
• Maryland backs common standards
• Md. bus driver charged in porn case
• Sex abuse charge for ROTC instructor
• P.W. students' personal data stolen
• Texas ratifies conservative curriculum
• Fairfax budget cuts jobs, adds fees
• Opinion: Rhee has made a difference

VALERIE STRAUSS

The Answer Sheet

Posted at 6:30 AM ET, 05/27/2010

Vocabulary twist: Teaching words OUT of context

New vocabulary words should be taught in literary context. That's the conventional wisdom. But a teacher writes about how she she was successful with her students by being unconventional with vocab lessons.

Continue reading this post »

Surviving the college search with family intact

Picking a college is like juggling plastic explosives. The generation gap between parent and child is large. Other family issues intrude. Popular culture insists it is the most important decision parents and children will make together. But students often do not share the parental sense of urgency. Much can go wrong.

Continue reading this post »

"Higher-needs schools are hit inequitably" by the cuts, says Jennifer Moless, a kindergarten teacher in San Francisco. Moless has been pink-slipped but has also been told she's likely to get a reprieve. (Randi Lynn Beach-TWP)

EducationNews.org Students and Colleges Prepare for Direct Lending

EducationNews.org

ducationNewsToday | Open doors of education to at-risk foster children

EducationNewsToday | Just Say No to the Race to the Top

EducationNewsToday | House votes to restore some school funding

EducationNewsToday | New Push Launched for Education Jobs Bill

Global | Anger as Michael Gove refuses to set a cap on pay for academy headteachers

EducationNewsToday | Behavior issues drop at six Chicago Public Schools

EducationNewsToday | Widespread cheating found at city elementary school

Kids outperformed public-school students on science and social studies tests

5.27.10 - It's not just in math and reading that charter schools are dealing out aces. New data obtained by

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Students and Colleges Prepare for Direct Lending

5.27.10 - Students and Colleges Prepare for Direct Lending An overshadowed provision of the health-care overhaul, which takes effect July 1, will improve access to loans and Pell...

Full story

Cheating takes a high-tech turn

5.27.10 - Six Golden High School students were caught cheating on a chemistry final last week, forcing the school to make all 100 students enrolled in the course take the exam again before summer break begins next...

Full story

Vocabulary twist: Teaching words OUT of context

5.27.10 - New vocabulary words should be taught in literary context. That's the conventional wisdom. But a teacher writes about how she she was

Rise & Shine: Charters post high science, social studies scores | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Charters post high science, social studies scores | GothamSchools

Rise & Shine: Charters post high science, social studies scores

by Philissa Cramer

• Negotiations continue, but no deal yet in Albany on raising the charter cap. (GothamSchools, Daily News)
• New social studies and science test scores shows city charter schools outperforming others. (Post)
• The city asked a Brooklyn charter school to take down its $100 recruitment incentive sign. (Post)
• Upper West Side parents are pushing for more new schools to reduce crowding. (Wall Street Journal)
• The expansion plan for Girls Prep, a Lower East Side charter school, remains in jeopardy. (Post)
• The Daily News gives Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver credit for dealing with teacher evaluations.
• The Post says Andrew Cuomo’s first fight in the governor’s race is against Silver over charter schools.
• Cuomo’s running mate pick, Robert Duffy, is an education mayor. (GothamSchools, Times, Post)
• Duffy’s push for mayoral control in Rochester might falter in his absence. (Democrat and Chronicle)
• A head of a libertarian think tank says schools need not a bailout but more efficiency. (Post)
• Virginia is the latest state to opt out of Race to the Top’s second round. (Washington Post)
• Baltimore is going to start serving three square meals a day to hungry students. (Baltimore Sun)
• Los Angeles took back a third of layoff notices after teachers agreed to furlough days. (L.A. Times)
• Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor says No Child Left Behind has hurt civics. (AP)

Proposed Education Aid for States Would Help Only K-12 Quick Takes: May 27, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Quick Takes: May 27, 2010 - Inside Higher Ed

Proposed Education Aid for States Would Help Only K-12

Colleges in some states weren't thrilled with how little some of them received of the tens of billions of dollars in education funds that the federal stimulus legislation poured into states last year -- but even that disproportionate allocation may be looking pretty good to them right now. Democrats in the House of Representatives have proposed adding $23 billion in education aid to an emergency spending bill making its way through Congress now, aimed at keeping educators employed (essentially adding another year to the education portion of the stimulus law). But documents released by the White House in support of the measure Wednesday suggest that the money would be made available only to elementary and secondary schools. And a letter released by the Committee for Education Funding, while backing the new aid, urges lawmakers to consider "providing eligibility for funds to public higher education institutions" as well as K-12 schools.

High-Profile Trader's Harsh Critique of For-Profit Colleges

Education Dept. Audit Reasserts Critique of Accreditor

The inspector general's office of the U.S. Education Department has issued a final (and largely unchanged) version of a highly critical analysis last winter of the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. In the audit, the inspector general's office reiterates its view that the

Union Legislation in Ohio

Legislation in Ohio won committee backing -- on a party line vote, with the support of Democrats -- that would allow part-time faculty members and graduate students unionize at public universities, The Columbus Dispatchreported. Such unions are not permitted under current state law. Democrats said that the move would help attract talent and improve the quality of higher education, while Republicans charged that unions would increase college costs.

The Washington Teacher: WTU Elections Committee Elections- Vote Today At Logan !

The Washington Teacher: WTU Elections Committee Elections- Vote Today At Logan !

WTU Elections Committee Elections- Vote Today At Logan !

by The Wash. Teacher

IMPORTANT WTU ELECTIONS COMMITTEE ELECTIONS TODAY!

4pm to 7:30pm @ Logan School 215 G Street, NE Washington, DC 20002

Full Dues Paying Members Urged To Come and Vote

We need your participation to elect this committee who will be responsible for properly conducting the upcoming WTU Officers Election!

We Need You To Vote!

Read below and learn why your participation in today's election is important!

Why AFT President Weingarten stole my elected union job!

By Claudette Carson, 2009 WTU Elections Committee Member

In April 2009, five Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) members submitted petitions for elected office-The WTU Elections Committee. The unpaid job is small but important; the