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Thursday, July 22, 2010

For Portland schools, new plan means layoffs, but not as many as feared | OregonLive.com

For Portland schools, new plan means layoffs, but not as many as feared | OregonLive.com

For Portland schools, new plan means layoffs, but not as many as feared

Published: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 6:55 PM Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 8:15 PM
Molly Hottle, The Oregonian Molly Hottle, The Oregonian
Staffing cuts by school
K-5 schools
Abernathy, 0.26 position
Ainsworth, 0.96
Alameda, 1.08
Atkinson, 0.66
Bridlemile, 0.77
Buckman, 0.69
Capitol Hill, 0.44
Chapman, 0.67
Chief Joseph, 0.43
Duniway, 0.71
Forest Park, 0.63
Glencoe, 0.78
Grout, 0.43
James John, 0.47
Lewis, 0.47
Llewellyn, 0.66
Maplewood, 0.60
Markham, 0.46
Richmond, 1.08
Rieke, 0.69
Rosa Parks, 1.05
Sitton, 0.37
Stephenson, 0.44
Whitman, 0.45
Woodmere, 0.65
Woodstock, 0.69
Total, 16.60

K-8 schools
Astor, 0.90 position
Beach, 1.07
Boise-Eliot, 0.56
Clarendon-Portsmouth, 0.63
Harrison Park, 1.07
Creston, 0.46
Creative Science, 2.05
Faubion, 1.22
Hayhurst, 0.73
Beverly Cleary, 0.75
Irvington, 0.70
Laurelhurst, 1.65
Lee, 0.80
Lent, 0.62
Marysville, 1.42
Peninsula, 0.49
Rigler, 1.94
Roseaway Heights, 0.74
Sabin, 0.79
Scott, 1.72
Skyline, 0.42
Sunnyside, 1.02
Vernon, 1.61
Winterhaven, 0.48
Woodlawn, 0.47
Total, 23.82

Middle schools
Beaumont, 0.56 position
Da Vinci, 1.43
Gray, 0.46
Jackson, 1.16
Lane, 1.29
Mt. Tabor, 0.86
Sellwood, 0.91
West Sylvan, 1.78
Total, 8.20

High schools
Benson, 4.09
Cleveland, 1.53
Grant, 1.37
Lincoln, 2.03
Pauling Academy, 1.20
Renaissance Arts Academy, 1.50
RAA Marshall Campus, 2.69
Wilson, 1.05
Total, 12.23

Alternative schools
Alliance, 0.82
ACCESS, 0.41
MLC, 0.61
Total, 1.84

Spared schools:Kelly, George, Jefferson, Biz Tech,
Roosevelt, Bridger, Humboldt, King,
Ockley Green

Schools adding staff
Hosford, +0.24 position
Franklin, +0.61
Vestal, +0.2
Arelta, +0.48
The Portland School District has announced specifics of its staff-cutting plan, spreading the pain far and wide but protecting the most challenged schools. As expected, high schools are generally being asked to cut the most.


The plan, released Wednesday night, will cut the equivalent of 139 full-time positions this coming school year, including the equivalent of 62 teaching jobs spread among 71 schools. In addition, the district will trim 52 special education and English as a Second Language positions, plus 25 in the central office.

Schools such as Jefferson High, George Middle and Humboldt Elementary, meanwhile, won't have to cut staff at all. An additional lucky
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In nationwide actions, hundreds arrested in civil disobedience for hotel workers rights. � Fred Klonsky's blog

In nationwide actions, hundreds arrested in civil disobedience for hotel workers rights. � Fred Klonsky's blog

In nationwide actions, hundreds arrested in civil disobedience for hotel workers rights.

JULY 22, 2010
by preaprez
Organized by Unite Here, 600 sat down on Wacker Drive in front of the Hyatt Regency in downtown Chicago. Hundreds more b0re witness.
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Schools Matter: Movers and Shakers

Schools Matter: Movers and Shakers

Movers and Shakers

by Kenneth Libby
Dan Katzir is leaving his position at the Broad Foundation. LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines will step down from his post next year. Might deputy superintendent John Deasy, a former deputy director of education at the Gates Foundation recently hired b
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Lincoln High School to add Arabic classes | OregonLive.com

Lincoln High School to add Arabic classes | OregonLive.com

Lincoln High School to add Arabic classes

Published: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 3:33 PM Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 3:43 PM
Carolina Hidalgo, The Oregonian Carolina Hidalgo, The Oregonian
Lincoln High School will offer introductory Arabic to nearly 50 students this fall, making it the only public high school in the state -- and one of a handful on the West Coast -- to teach the language.

The Portland School Board this week approved a $70,000 grant from Qatar Foundation International, a Washington, D.C., group that promotes cross-cultural understanding through education. The money is enough to pay a full-time teacher for one year and kick-start development of a four-year curriculum. Denise Dodson, who runs the group's West Coast programs, expects the grant to be renewed.


The foundation chose Lincoln because of its international studies program and long interest in Arabic. The school has offered after-school Arabic classes for more than a decade with help from Portland State University's Middle East Studies Center. The two are now working to expand joint cultural events and lectures.




Featured Story

Learning is intense, fast and fun in Portland's amped-up summer school

Jerry.jpg

By Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

July 15, 2010, 7:36PM
Officials hope to see a big payoff -- better grades, stronger reading skills and higher test scores -- among students from high-poverty schools taking part in a large, intensive summer learning program for students in the early grades, on the cusp of middle school or headed into freshman year Full story »
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Lincoln High School to add Arabic classes

By Carolina Hidalgo, The Oregonian

July 22, 2010, 3:33PM
Lincoln High School will offer introductory Arabic to nearly 50 students this fall, making it the only public high school in the state -- and one of a handful on the West Coast -- to teach the language. Full story »
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Oregon Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps performs in Tigard

By Special to The Oregonian

July 22, 2010, 1:26PM
The corps will perform "Dance of the Flames." Oh, and there's dessert, too. Full story »
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Portland schools announce where staffing cuts will be made

By Molly Hottle, The Oregonian

July 22, 2010, 11:28AM
Principals have until July 27 to determine where to cut, and layoff notices will most likely be given in mid-August. Full story »
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Aloha High 1970-71 Reunion: Share your stories on My Aloha

By Kjerstin Gabrielson, The Oregonian

July 22, 2010, 9:53AM
The founding classes of the 40-year-old high school take a walk down memory lane as they gather for their reunion this weekend. So, 1970-71 grads, what's your story? Full story »
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Beta Beta rummage sale supports scholarships for teachers and good deeds within the community

By Special to The Oregonian

July 22, 2010, 6:00AM
The organization for women teachers is Tigard, Tualatin and Sherwood's chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Full story »
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Education commissioner defends Texas Projection Measure | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Education commissioner defends Texas Projection Measure | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Education commissioner defends Texas Projection Measure



06:34 PM CDT on Thursday, July 22, 2010

By TERRENCE STUTZ/ The Dallas Morning News
tstutz@dallasnews.com
AUSTIN — Texas Education Commissioner Robert Scott Thursday defended a policy that has allowed schools to boost their state ratings by counting some failed students as passing, saying much of the criticism of the policy is politically motivated.
Scott, speaking to the State Board of Education, said the so-called Texas Projection Measure has been misunderstood and misrepresented by critics who contend the policy gives a false impression of school performance.
The complex formula allows schools and districts to count as passing some students who actually fail the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills if the projection measure shows they are likely to pass in a future year.
“There is a little bit of election year politics going on here,” Scott said. “It is very easy to demagogue. It is very easy for someone to say
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Remainders: Meet the next-generation three-ring binder | GothamSchools

Remainders: Meet the next-generation three-ring binder | GothamSchools

Remainders: Meet the next-generation three-ring binder

by Maura Walz
  • Want to learn sustainably? Buy 100% recycled three-ring notebooks. (GS Community)
  • The House has proposed cutting the Promise Neighborhood Initiative by 70 percent. (Hechinger)
  • What happens if you live in the Harlem Children’s Zone but don’t go to its schools? (Sara Mead)
  • A former Run DMC member is helping the city argue against child violence. (AP)
  • It’s not testing standards that are the problem; it’s the tests themselves. (JD2718)
  • A pitch for “productivity” as the next big education thing. (Joanne Jacobs)
  • So long to handing in assignments. Welcome to “publish it” teaching. (Innovative Educator)
  • Be the new administrative assistant to new Deputy Chancellor Sternberg. (SimplyHired)
  • Ray Cortines, who used to be chancellor here, is retiring from his LA post. (AP)
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Union demands charter school reinstate fired teachers | GothamSchools

Union demands charter school reinstate fired teachers | GothamSchools

Union demands charter school reinstate fired teachers

by Anna Phillips
img_0355
Union president Michael Mulgrew called on the public employment review board to reinstate the dismissed teachers.
Ending a relationship via e-mail is insulting, but doing it via FedEx is probably worse.
That’s how 11 staff members at a Queens charter school discovered they’d been fired last Tuesday. Now the city’s teachers union is asking the state’s Public Employment Relations Board to give the teachers their jobs
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Hechinger Report | Small schools with big hopes in Philadelphia

Hechinger Report | Small schools with big hopes in Philadelphia

Small schools with big hopes in Philadelphia

by Kristen A. Graham
Small high schools came to Philadelphia in a big way four years ago, when four new ones opened their doors.

Science Leadership Academy seniors await their graduation procession. Ninety-seven percent will attend college; 40 percent plan majors in science, technology, or math. (Photo by David Swanson/Philadelphia Inquirer)
Less than three miles apart, High School of the Future in Parkside and Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in Center City had vastly different beginnings.
Expectations for both were high. Both awarded their first diplomas this month.
But although leadership was identified as key to both, one had turmoil at the top and the other had a stable principal. Though both emphasized technology and were given freedom to innovate, one kept a close eye on


Reversing lagging U.S. college completion rates: What will it take?

by Liz Willen
There was a time when the U.S. could boast it had the highest percentage of its adult population aged 25-34 with college degrees, but it’s been a long time since anyone could make that claim. Lately, there’s been a great deal of attention focused on the need to ramp up the number of college graduates, and a report released on Thursday by the College Board came with a statistic that is intended to create alarm: We are now twelfth.

Texas’ incredibly shrinking dropout problem

by Justin Snider
Reports of another “Texas Miracle” are making the rounds in the media, as the Lone Star state says that the dropout rate for the Class of 2009 was 9.4 percent. That is, only one out of 10 students in Texas who entered high school in the fall of 2005 had quit school four years later.
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