Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Local News | Ballard High School, preschool partnership to end | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Ballard High School, preschool partnership to end | Seattle Times Newspaper

Ballard High School, preschool partnership to end

When Casa Maria Montessori preschool moves out of Ballard High School at the end of June, it will mark the end to a learning partnership between Seattle high schools and preschools.
Seattle Times staff reporter
When Casa Maria Montessori preschool moves out of Ballard High School at the end of June, it will mark the end to a learning partnership between Seattle high schools and preschools.
Advocates say these programs — there were once three partnerships — gave high-school students invaluable insight into child care and early-childhood education.
But the district has been hammered by budget cuts — the closure comes at a time when the school district is laying off 85 central-staff office employees this year in an effort to cut expenses. The state also has cut K-12 funding throughout Washington during the past two years, and the district's subsequent cuts have included laying off dozens of teachers, closing schools, using savings and streamlining transportation.
It's a matter of space, too, said Ballard High School Principal Phil Brockman. School-enrollment numbers haven't increased during the past few years, but the school has a new program for students with autism that needs the preschool space.

Placing the Blame as Students Are Buried in Debt Education News - The New York Times

Education News - The New York Times


Is it really worth $100,000 in debt to graduate from a top school? And is it responsible?
Nitya Rajendran at the survivors breakfast at Trinity School in Manhattan. The event is a tradition for seniors who started at Trinity as kindergartners.

On Graduation Day, Seniors Take Time to Feel Like Kindergartners Again

At an annual breakfast for graduating seniors, students at Manhattan’s Trinity School gathered to reminisce with their first teachers.

New York State Votes to Expand Charter Schools

Officials hope the move will give the state a better chance of receiving $700 million in federal grant money.
From left, the author Hilaire Belloc is said to have failed to get into All Souls College. But fellows included Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia) and Sir Christopher Wren.

Oxford Tradition Comes to This: ‘Death’ (Expound)

All Souls College is scrapping its one-word exam, on which applicants demonstrated their intellectual flexibility.

Towns Challenge New Jersey Voters’ Wishes

Going against election results, councils have adopted many defeated school budgets with few additional cuts.

Today’s Oil Spill Updates | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s Oil Spill Updates | Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

Today’s Oil Spill Updates

Here are today’s additions to The Best Sites To Learn About The Gulf Oil Spill:
Critters Of The Gulf Oil Spill is a TIME Magazine slideshow.
Gulf Oil Spill Worst In History is a series of photos from The Sacramento Bee.
CNN has a series of high-definition images.
Gulf oil spill by the numbers is a L.A. Times graphic. (thanks to Mrs. Ilgunas for the tip).
The Skinny On The Oil Spill is another infographic.
An Environmental Disaster Unfolds is a slideshow from The New York Times.
If Top Kill Fails, What’s Next? is a video from MSNBC.
Gulf Oil Spill Reaches Land, Surpasses Exxon Valdez is a series of photos from The Denver Post.

Newsweek Column On Charter Schools


NJEA, Christie administration reach compromise Philadelphia Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia Education News and Colleges - Philadelphia Inquirer

NJEA, Christie administration reach compromise

After months of battling with the Christie administration, New Jersey's largest teachers union announced Thursday that it would support the state's second-round bid for up to $400 million in federal education stimulus aid.

In a rare instance of cooperation between the administration and the New Jersey Education Association, negotiations led to compromises on some key areas in the state's Race to the Top application, according to union officials.

The announcement came just days before the application deadline Tuesday.

In the state's unsuccessful first try, the NJEA opposed New Jersey's application, and very few local association presidents signed on to their districts' letters of intent to participate. Though no one factor caused the state's application to fail, federal evaluators did take note of the dearth of labor support.

In a letter sent Thursday to state Education Commissioner Bret Schundler, NJEA president Barbara Keshishian and executive director Vincent Giordano said they would recommend that all local presidents sign on this time.



Read more: http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20100528_NJEA__Christie_administration_reach_compromise.html#ixzz0pK280Txk
Play fantasy sports and win cash prizes instantly. Philly.com's Instant Fantasy Sports Games

L.A. teachers union rejects contest for federal school-reform grant | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

L.A. teachers union rejects contest for federal school-reform grant | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

L.A. teachers union rejects contest for federal school-reform grant

May 28, 2010 | 7:56 pm
The Los Angeles teachers union won’t sign the state’s application for federal Race to the Top school-reform grants, diminishing the state’s chances of claiming up to $700 million in grants tied to specific, but controversial reform strategies.
The grant has the potential to bind the state to future policies that would cost the state more than the one-time dollars would pay for, said A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. He added that the extra costs could strain school district finances and ultimately result in damaging budget cuts.
California fell short during the first round of competition for a share of the $4.35 billion in federal grants, but tried again at the urging of U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and developed a new strategy. A few school districts would pursue reforms more specific and more aggressive than in the original state submission.
The approach was a calculated gamble because federal evaluators rewarded plans that reached as many students in a state as possible. The two winning states — Tennessee and Delaware — scored high marks for doing so.

A handful of school districts, including Los Angeles Unified and Long Beach Unified, expressed early interest. The number of school systems has since swelled to 123, along with dozens of independently operated charter schools. These school systems represent more than 1.7 million of the state’s 6.3 million students. That’s more students than in all but six other states. Unions in 17 districts also signed on.
But other unions followed the lead of the California Teachers Assn. and nonunion critics in opposing

The Education Report Oakland to offer new media program

The Education Report

Oakland to offer new media program

By Katy Murphy
Friday, May 28th, 2010 at 3:17 pm in high schools, students, technology, teens, the arts

Oakland International High School filmmakers (photo courtesy of KDOL)

This fall, Oakland students will have the chance to produce news magazine-style video journalism and documentaries about life and issues in Oakland in a new R.O.P. class supported by KDOL, UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, and local filmmakers.

Jeff Keys, the fine arts chair and new media teacher at Head Royce, will be coming to OUSD to direct the Media Enterprise Alliance.

To get a taste of the kind of projects they’ll do, check out this 12-minute pieceabout Oakland International High School. OIHS students worked with documentary filmmaker Pam Uzzell and UC Santa Cruz film program graduate Chris Guevarra to produce the segment.

Read the rest of this entry »

Denver Public school board battles over teachers | Colorado Classroom — The Denver Post

Denver Public school board battles over teachers | Colorado Classroom — The Denver Post

Friday, May 28, 2010

How you see things depends on where you sit. � Fred Klonsky's blog

How you see things depends on where you sit. � Fred Klonsky's blog

How you see things depends on where you sit.


My superintendent is retiring in two weeks. She has had the job for eight years. She has spent eighteen years in the district including as assistant superintendent for curriculum and as principal.
She sent out an e-note to the staff today saying nice things about her time as an administrator and telling what her personal and professional plans were.
But there was this:
I am particularly proud of the work we have done to keep our focus the “whole child”. At a time when many districts across the country were only concerned with standardized test scores, we took a bold step and said that test scores alone would not define who we were.
Apprently there are two different realities. From the point of view of the classroom, never has their been as much

“Home, Preschool and School Coordination Boosts Achievement” | Engaging Parents In School...

“Home, Preschool and School Coordination Boosts Achievement” | Engaging Parents In School...

Race to the Top bill passes Senate, lifting charter cap to 460 | GothamSchools

Race to the Top bill passes Senate, lifting charter cap to 460 | GothamSchools

Remainders: Students similar, not the same at PS 194, Success

Five questions the new charter school law leaves unanswered

New York State Capitol, photo via Flickr.
New York State Capitol, photo via Flickr.
One consequence of the charter cap legislation passed in Albany today is clear: it’s now possible for 114 new charter schools to open in New York City over the next four years, more than doubling the number of charters

Race to the Top bill passes Senate, lifting charter cap to 460

It’s over folks. The State Senate voted this afternoon to allow 260 more charter schools to open in New York State in the next four years, improving the state’s likelihood of winning Race to the Top.
The vote was 45 to 14, with a handful of senators who had been vocal opponents of charter schools swinging to the pro-charter side. Among them was Senator Bill Perkins, whose Harlem district is home to one in five of the

Walmart funds aid health screenings in Portland Public Schools | OregonLive.com

Walmart funds aid health screenings in Portland Public Schools | OregonLive.com

Forest Grove School District to consider cutting two days off current school year

By Wendy Owen, The Oregonian

May 28, 2010, 4:59PM
Forest Grove School Board will decide next week whether to cut two days off the current school year after learning of state's latest shortfall. Full story »

Boston College grad from Tigard wins Fulbright

By The Oregonian

May 28, 2010, 2:51PM
Laura Yount, of Tigard, is a 2006 graduate of Grant High School and will travel to Bulgaria to teach English and study the development of Bulgarian dialects Full story »

Party poppers at Washington school leads to 12-year-old's suspension

By The Associated Press

May 28, 2010, 12:58PM
Party poppers are sold as toys. They have a small explosive charge that makes a popping noise and sprays confetti when you pull a string. Full story »

Walmart funds aid health screenings in Portland Public Schools

By Susan Green, The Oregonian

May 28, 2010, 11:45AM
Portland Public Schools' Visual, Dental and Audiometric program got a boost last week when Superintendent Carole Smith received a check for $60,000 from Walmart to expand the program's free health screenings. Full story »

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago's Little Red K-12 Schoolhouse

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Chicago's Little Red K-12 Schoolhouse

Chicago's Little Red K-12 Schoolhouse


"Small, rural schools have been doing this ever since things began"

Chicago Public School officials hope the Little Village structure will help them address a quandary they have long struggled with: how to transition students from their familiar elementary schools to often larger, less controlled high schools. At the same time, officials hope to decrease the