Saturday, August 7, 2010

School Tech Connect: We're A Mean, Mean Country

We're A Mean, Mean Country

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Is there anything more emblematic of the kind of nation we're becoming than this nonstop drumbeat forvengeance layoffs? There's this whole army of people out there that want to use the recession to fire veteran teachers. They're under the impression that there's this horrifically lazy, ineffective veteran teaching force out there that should just be let go based on some formula for determining effectiveness.

The sky-is-falling people have whipped up such

Post-Mortem on Food Stamps

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Like I said yesterday, I'm mortified that I was gunning for the Edujobs bill without realizing that we paid for it with food stamps. Mea Culpa. I should have known, but here's what went down.

Like everyone else, I've been paying attention to David Obey, and I saw this article where he tells us that the

Friday, August 6, 2010

CHARTER SCHOOL SCANDALS: Indiana Math and Science Academy

Indiana Math and Science Academy

by The Perimeter Primate

Indiana has two known Gulen schools; both are in Indianapolis.
HISTORY
Indiana Math and Science Academy – West was originally called IMSA – Indianapolis. It opened in 2007 having been authorized by Ball State University.
Indiana Math and Science Academy – North is due to open fall 2010 (press release HERE) having been

This Week In Education: USDE: Duncan Bullied Into Bullying Summit

USDE: Duncan Bullied Into Bullying Summit

You said beer summit.

No I didn't. You must've heard wrong. What a dummy.

Well I don't want to go. It's my week off. Barack said I could.

It's just one event, you skinny punk. And I don't care what Barack says -- he's not here, is he?

Two whole days in the middle of August? That's crazy. You can't make me do it.

Just show up and do your little speech, you crybaby. The DCCC needs you the rest of the time, anyway.

EVENT DATE: Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 11-12, 2010

Remainders: Electeds pile on Klein over charter expansion | GothamSchools

Remainders: Electeds pile on Klein over charter expansion

by Maura Walz

Lots of LES electeds criticized the city for ignoring a state ruling against a charter expansion. (Lo-Down)
Marc Epstein: The state should fix high school Regents exams, too. (City Journal)
Ravitz vs. Ravitch: the DOE’s new communications chief takes on a major critic. (HuffPo)
Is the middle of a recession the right time for education reform? (Hechinger)
One teacher is skeptical that the city will spend its $200 million share of edujobs properly. (Chaz)
NewSchools Venture Fund has a new $100 million fund for innovation. (Politics K-12)
A charter student is suing a city paper for using his photo in a story about gangs. (Courthouse News)

UC.world � The Quick and the Ed

UC.world

by Kevin Carey

It’s often hard to predict the future. But not always. For example, I’m certain that in 2050, barring global catastrophe, there will be a place called “the University of California, Berkeley” where exceptionally bright student will come to live and study. Eminent scholars will be there too, working with one another and teaching students face-to-face. People will drink too much on weekends, go to football games, say things that they’ll look back on with a mixture of pride and embarrassment, and complain about parking.
I’m just as certain that in 2050 the University of California will be granting bachelor’s degrees to students who

City opens doors to new physics, G&T, and ESL teachers | GothamSchools

City opens doors to new physics, G&T, and ESL teachers

by Philissa Cramer

In a Friday afternoon gift to prospective teachers, the city announced today that it is relaxing hiring restrictions in a few more subjects.
Principals are now allowed to look outside the city’s current teaching corps to fill physics, gifted and talented, and elementary English as a second language positions. Applicants who want to teach gifted classes must have special certification from the state.
The positions join a handful of others that are exempt from the Department of Education’s

The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores

by GothamSchools

Could aspiring teachers get a taste of what it’s like in an urban classroom? QUICK Hits � The Quick and the Ed

QUICK Hits � The Quick and the Ed

QUICK Hits

by Forrest Hinton

Quick Hits is a short compilation of question-raising news stories, blog posts, and video clips that Education Sector team members are reading or viewing each day.

Could aspiring teachers get a taste of what it’s like in an urban classroom? (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Why aren’t college students hitting the books as much as they once did? Greater efficiency isn’t the answer, says this AEI brief. (American Enterprise Institute)
What’s the new fastest way to get to school? (h/t Matt Yglesias)
Why have civil rights groups been reluctant to embrace charter schools, even though charter support among minority parents continues to rise? (Education Next)

The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores | GothamSchools

The top and bottom 15 middle schools by test scores

by GothamSchools

Schools that screen come out on top and schools that take neighborhood students fall to the bottom of our next rankings installment, which tackles middle schools.
A few charter schools are also in the mix — both on the top and bottom lists. Unlike

Opposition to “Waiting for Superman” slow in gaining steam

by Maura Walz

Will teachers offended by the crusading film “Waiting for Superman” make their voices heard? A first attempt has fizzled, so far.
The film’s negative portrayal of teachers unions has drawn criticism from, among others, teachers union president Randi Weingarten. So when Donors Choose, the website that helps match small donors with teachers seeking to fund classroom projects, sent out an email to its members asking them to pledge to see the film, a

Paul Strange will not seek re-election as Mt. Diablo trustee - ContraCostaTimes.com

Paul Strange will not seek re-election as Mt. Diablo trustee

By Michelle Maitre
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 08/06/2010 11:28:28 AM PDT

Updated: 08/06/2010 11:50:09 AM PDT

Paul Strange announced today that he will not seek re-election to the Mt. Diablo school board.

In a post on the Mt. Diablo schools blog, Strange, a district trustee since 2006, wrote: "To properly serve the school district, I believe a school board member must commit in excess of a thousand hours per year to school board service. In the past few years, I have committed that level of time. This commitment has kept me away from my family and my business. When I first joined the district, my son was in kindergarten and my daughter in preschool. This year, they will be in fourth and fifth grade."

Strange is the second incumbent to decline to seek re-election in November. Longtime trustee Dick Allen also won't run again.

Three seats are open on the board; incumbent Linda Mayo has taken out papers for re-election. Today at 5 p.m. is

Romer leaving Obama administration, returning to UC Berkeley job

Princeton Review deems Cal State East Bay 'Best in the West'

Freedom High teacher and former NFL player Frank Beede is named NFL's teacher of the year

New AC Transit bus passes for students

World War II vet from Walnut Creek accepts French Legion of Honor medal

No action taken on suit filed by former Monte Vista High principal

Berkeley attracts DNA samples -- and political heat

Mt. Diablo district's poll results contradict officials' claims on tax rate options

Teachers from California, Hawaii to present summer research in Livermore

This Week In Education: Event: GOOD Kicks Off LA Event

Event: GOOD Kicks Off LA Event

cThe folks at GOOD education (including former contributor Amanda Millner-Fairbanks) are hosting an education event of some sort in LA later this month, featuring all sorts of luminaries and ne'er do wells (Randi Weingarten (President, American Federation of Teachers), Jordan Henry (Teacher,

CMSA: Pregnant Charter Teacher Fired For Organizing - District 299: Chicago Public Schools Blog

CMSA: Pregnant Charter Teacher Fired For Organizing

by Alexander Russo

Remember how in June we found out that the teachers at CMSA (Chicago Math and Science Academy) charter school had organized? Well the latest on that front is that the school allegedly fired one of the leaders of the

Back To School On Monday For Many

by Alexander Russo

Don't forget -- Monday is back to school day for all the "year round" schools.

There are now 195 such schools, 63 new ones according to the press release below, plus 19 additional high schools on Track E.

Any words to the newbies out there from all of you who've already crossed over into Track E Land?

AM News: "Year-Round" Schools Start Monday

by Alexander Russo

Five Chicago schools starting year-round classes Sun Times: Starting Monday, for the first time, five Chicago neighborhood high schools will begin "year-round" classes -- a move some hail and others predict could explode in "disaster."... TIF surplus Daley Chicago Tribune: If Daley declares a surplus to free up those TIF dollars, he'll have to share them with the local governments that have been shortchanged by his ever-expanding TIF empire. He should do it anyway... What communities are planning for Promise Neighborhoods Catalyst: Profiles of what five communities are proposing (Englewood: Roseland, Chicago Lawn, I forget the rest)... Taser Use By Chicago Police Officers Increases Sharply Sun Times: hicago Police officers have nearly quadrupled their use of Tasers since the department equipped every beat car with the electric-shock weapons earlier this year, according to new figures released by the Independent Police Review Authority...Bill Ayers To Retire WBEZ: Longtime University of Illinois at Chicago professor Bill Ayers is retiring

Romer leaving Obama administration, returning to UC Berkeley job - Inside Bay Area

Romer leaving Obama administration, returning to UC Berkeley job

By Ben Feller and Julie Pace
Associated Press

Posted: 08/06/2010 08:00:55 AM PDT

Updated: 08/06/2010 08:50:51 AM PDT

WASHINGTON -- Christina Romer, one of President Barack Obama's most pivotal economic advisers, is resigning from the administration and returning to her job as a professor of economics at UC Berkeley.

Romer, the head of the Council of Economic Advisers, announced her resignation Thursday, effective Sept. 3. She becomes the second high-level Obama aid to leave this summer, following the resignation of White House Budget Director Peter Orszag.

The White House cast the decision as an unsurprising one driven by family reasons; in a statement, Obama said Romer has long wanted to return to California, where her son will be starting high school in the fall.

Romer has been one of the administration's most prominent voices on the economy, making frequent appearances on

Princeton Review deems Cal State East Bay 'Best in the West'

Palo Alto nonprofit says teens are seeking more counseling in wake of Gunn-related suicides

Freedom High teacher and former NFL player Frank Beede is named NFL's teacher of the year

San Leandro dilemma: How to spend $50.1 million

Berkeley attracts DNA samples -- and political heat

Teachers from California, Hawaii to present summer research in Livermore

No action taken on suit filed by former Monte Vista High principal