ASCD Inservice: In Case You Missed It

ASCD Inservice: In Case You Missed It

In Case You Missed It

Check out what's been happening around ASCD:

• Join ASCD for our Summer Conference in Boston, Mass., July 1–3.

• The latest issue of ASCD Express offers insight on how to sustain summer learning.

• Steven Weber reflects on the just-completed school year.

• There is a path to irrelevance and a path to empowerment. Which will you choose?

• Sean Slade discusses the differences between connecting with the community and empowering the community.

• The Summer Boot Camp Webinar series continues next week with Lisa Dabbs. Make sure you register for these informative sessions.

Add your own highlights in the comments, and check this spot for our regular weekly digest of ASCD activities.

Capitol Alert: Michelle Rhee sets up California PAC, hires Sacramento lobbyist

Capitol Alert: Michelle Rhee sets up California PAC, hires Sacramento lobbyist

Michelle Rhee sets up California PAC, hires Sacramento lobbyist

Michelle Rhee has taken her first steps onto California's political playing field, establishing a committee to make campaign contributions and hiring a lobbyist.

The former Washington, D.C., schools chancellor -- who founded the StudentsFirst education advocacy group in December -- has hired Sacramento lobbying firm Gonzalez, Quintana & Hunter, according to filings with the secretary of state's office. The firm,

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2011/06/michelle-rhee-california-pac.html#ixzz1Ouu9887M

This Week In Education: Five Best Blogs: Hubris, DFER Standout, & Ugly Habits

This Week In Education: Five Best Blogs: Hubris, DFER Standout, & Ugly Habits

Five Best Blogs: Hubris, DFER Standout, & Ugly Habits

by Alexander Russo

Does Reform Have to Equal Sagging Polls? EdSector: Which would you rather have: a sweeping reform whose implementation is delayed in the courts and likely to be overturned at the next election? Or a reform effort that elicits buy-in and thus long-term impact?... The Right Way to Approach School Reform American Times: Hubris is at the heart of all this overreach, in Florida, in Wisconsin, in Michigan. And hubris comes at a price. ... The Inside Game Tom Hoffman: Boy that guy from DfER is a real standout jackass... And the Most Overhyped Edu-Entrepreneur of the Moment

Finishing another project. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Finishing another project. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Finishing another project.

by Fred Klonsky

For the twenty-sixth time I watched as the fifth graders paraded out of the building. This year to the tune of something peppy. I didn’t recognize the tune. But you could dance to it and it had a good beat, as they used to say on American Bandstand when I was a kid.

When the fifth graders were gone, I started to do a bad boogie past the fourth graders who all clapped and laughed. Laughing more than clapping. Then I grabbed Linda by the hand and we did a little swing to the accompaniment of more clapping and laughing.

This is when I start saying, “This will be the last time I will …”

My colleagues have already warned me that it will drive them nuts. I should stop now. It is annoying.

More schools rethinking zero-tolerance discipline stand | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog

More schools rethinking zero-tolerance discipline stand | The Defenders Online | A Civil Rights Blog

More schools rethinking zero-tolerance discipline stand

Posted By The Editors | June 3rd, 2011 | Category: Education | No Comments » Print This Post

Zero-tolerance rules, once hailed as the panacea to an explosion of serious student misbehavior in schools, are now recognized more and more as part of the problem, not the solution and are being significantly modified or replaced altogether by policies that are “more child-centered,” according to a news article in theWashington Post.

“The tide is beginning to turn,” Matt Cregor, assistant counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told a Post reporter, “but we have a very long way to go to see these reforms realized for all districts across the country.”

Cregor and other observers say that zero-tolerance policies – which mandate that school officials respond

Phone Banks and Precinct Walks through June « State of Emergency

Phone Banks and Precinct Walks through June « State of Emergency

Phone Banks and Precinct Walks through June

from State of Emergency by CTA

The target date for a new State Budget is June 15th. In order to stave off even more devastating cuts to schools, public safety and vital programs, we need two Republicans in both the State Senate and Assembly to vote for a new budget that extends current revenues. We cannot allow a small group of Republicans to stop our forward progress to rebuild the California economy.

Phone Bank Times/Locations:

San Mateo Labor Council
Location #1: Labor Council, 1153 Chess Drive, Foster City
Tuesdays, 6/14, 6/21, 6/28, 5:30 – 8:30PM
Location #2: IBEW 617, 1701 Leslie Street, San Mateo
Wednesdays, 6/15, 6/29, 5:30 – 8:30PM
Thursdays 6/23, 5:30 – 8:30PM
Contact: Julie Lind, 650-572-8848 or smclcjulie@sbcglobal.net

South Bay Labor Council
Location: Labor Council, 2102 Almaden Rd. San Jose
Tuesdays, Thursdays (through June 30th), 5:30 – 8:30PM
Contact: Derecka Mehrens, 408-266-3790 ext. 566 or derecka@atwork.org
Sign up at http://www.atwork.org/rsvp

Alameda Labor Council
Location: SEIU-UHW, 60 Thomas L. Berkeley Way, Oakland
Monday & Wednesday, 6/13 and 6/15, 6-8:30PM
Contact: Jean Cohen, 510-632-4242 or jean@alamedalabor.org

Monterey Bay Labor Council
Location: Labor Council, 931 E Market Street, Salinas
Tuesdays, Thursdays (starting 17th) co-sponsored by CSEA, 5:30 – 8:30PM
Wednesdays, co-sponsored by SEIU 1000, 5:30 – 8:30PM
Note: Monday, Friday and Sunday nights are open at the MB CLC office for local unions to adopt
Contact: Glen Schaller, 831-840-5947 or political@mbclc.org

Sacramento Labor Council
Location: Labor Council, 2840 El Centro Road, Suite 111, Sacramento
Sundays – Thursdays, 5:00 – 8:30PM
Contact: Kevin Ferreira, 916-832-3233 or kevfer@sherwest.net
or Bud McKinney, 916-607-0649 or bud137@sbcglobal.net

Fresno-Madera-Tulare-Kings Labor Council
Location #1: SEIU 521, 5228 E. Pine Ave, Fresno
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30-8PM
Contact: Dillon Savory, 559-269-0165 or dsavoryclc@yahoo.com
Location #2: SEIU 521, 1811 Sunnyside Ave., Visalia
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5:30-8PM
Contact: Adam Urrutia, 559-635-3735

Kern-Inyo-Mono Labor Council
Location: Labor Council, 200 West Jeffery Street, Bakersfield
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5-7:30pm
Contact: Rob England, 661-364-7101

Tri-Counties Labor Council
Location: Labor Council, 816 Camarillo Springs Road, Ste #G in Camarillo
Tuesday 6/14, 5-8PM
Contact: Marilyn Valenzuela, 805-987-0101 or marewol@aol.com

Orange County Labor Federation
Location: Hometown Buffet, 1008 17th Street, Santa Ana
6/15 and 6/29, 530-8pm
Contact: Jacob Regalado, 619-847-9339 or jregalado@seiu1000.org

San Diego-Imperial Labor Council
Location: Labor Council, 3737 Camino Del Rio South, Suite 403, San Diego
Mondays and Tuesdays, 5-8PM
Contact: Elizabeth Newman, (619) 283-5411 or enewman@unionyes.org

San Bernardino-Riverside Labor Council
Location, date and time TBD
Contact: Laurie Stalnaker, (909) 825-7871 or sbrivclc@earthlink.net

Precinct Walk Times/Locations:

Berryhill SD14/ Berryhill AD26
June 11th, 10-230pm
Location: CSEA River Delta Field Office, 5375 West Lane in Stockton
Contact: Jared Rivera 323.217.3430 jrivera@seiucal.org

Canella SD12/Berrythill AD26
June 11th, 10-230pm
Location: North Valley Labor Federation, 538 McHenry Ave. in Modesto
Contact: Alma Hernandez, 213-359-8070 or ahernandez@seiucal.org

Conway AD 34
June 11th, 9-1pm
Location: SEIU 521, 1811 Sunnyside Ave, Visalia
Contact: Adam Urrutia, 559-635-373

Healthy Skepticism of Education Entrepreneurship - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Healthy Skepticism of Education Entrepreneurship - E.D. Kain - American Times - Forbes

Healthy Skepticism of Education Entrepreneurship

by E.D. Kain

Rick Hess has words of wisdom:

Sigh… Look, Sal Khan is clearly smart as hell, a Renaissance guy, and a terrific teacher. But what he’s done, more or less, is make a bunch of excellent lectures available on YouTube. That’s an excellent development, and a promising platform. In the vernacular of my Education Unbound, it’s a textbook example of a brilliantly executed 1% solution. Where I get lost is why the hype portrays this as so radical and newsworthy. We don’t see medical device makers on TV or in

The Right Way to Approach School Reform

by E.D. Kain

Kris Amundson sums it up:

Walker’s approve-disapprove rating now stands at 43-53. Kasich faces an even bigger deficit—just 33 percent of Ohio voters approve of his on-the-job performance, while 56 percent disapprove. In Florida, Rick Scott has a 29 – 57 percent gap. (Scott, you may recall, was elected with less than 50 percent of the vote in a very close election.)

But is their unpopularity due primarily to pushing for big changes in K-12 education? Or is the answer more complicated than that?

For an answer, we might take a look at what’s happening in Illinois. Conveniently situated between

Modern School: Unions Strike Out With Big Bankrolls and Tactical Bankruptcy

Modern School: Unions Strike Out With Big Bankrolls and Tactical Bankruptcy

Unions Strike Out With Big Bankrolls and Tactical Bankruptcy

by Michael Dunn

California’s largest labor union, the SEIU, is planning on making big donations to “moderate” Republicans, in a sign that mainstream unionism is for all practical purposes dead. It’s not so much that they are supporting Republicans, who are infamous for their disdain for unions, but that they continue to labor under the delusion that they can purchase the loyalty of politicians of any stripe. In this case, the SEIU believes that by supporting “moderate” Republicans they can purchase their support for regressive tax extensions that would essentially buy the state one more year of the status quo and save a few jobs and services, primarily on the backs of the state’s poorest and most vulnerable residents.

According to the Bay Citizen, the SEIU has created a new political action committee that will make political donations exclusively to the GOP. Leaders of the union said they want to

School Tech Connect: It's The Management...

School Tech Connect: It's The Management...

It's The Management...

by effacethefacade@yahoo.com (Tim)

Via Small Talk, I saw this article about an obvious case of age discrimination in Chicago. Read the thing; it's appalling. There's just so much going on here, including the corrupt little you-scratch-my-back arrangement the U of C has with the former mayor, who uses the term "globalization" now with the same frequency with which Rudy Giuliani used to say "nine eleven."

Anyhow, Ben Joravsky writes well, as everyone knows, and I may be minimizing the importance of the "almost" in this sentence, but here's what he writes:

For me, it has a different effect-- it makes me want to make enough noise to get the raving, charter school

I'd love to change to world

My favorite song by Ten Years After, with history of album covers, concert posters, famous art and band member portriats.
Lyrics:
Everywhere is freaks and hairies
Dykes and fairies, tell me where is sanity
Tax the rich, feed the poor
Till there are no rich no more

Id love to change the world
But I dont know what to do
So Ill leave it up to you

Population keeps on breeding
Nation bleeding, still more feeding economy
Life is funny, skies are sunny
Bees make honey, who needs money, monopoly

Id love to change the world
But I dont know what to do
So Ill leave it up to you

World pollution, theres no solution
Institution, electrocution
Just black and white, rich or poor
Them and us, stop the war

Id love to change the world
But I dont know what to do
So Ill leave it up to you (more)

Schools Matter: Let's get serious about extending the school day

Schools Matter: Let's get serious about extending the school day

Let's get serious about extending the school day

by skrashen

Let's get serious about extending the school day

Sent to the Chicago Tribune, June 10, 2011

It was inspiring to read Jean-Claude Brizard's bold suggestion that Chicago extend the school day ("A push for longer school days," June 10). Proposals to extend the school day by 30 minutes or even an hour, however, fall far short of what is needed.

Let's push ahead and consider an even longer day.

A study published in the Journal of Irreproducible Results in 1991 concluded

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Two looks at the Marshall High "turnaround"

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Two looks at the Marshall High "turnaround"

Two looks at the Marshall High "turnaround"

by Mike Klonsky

Marshall teacher Anthony Skokna, fired for being a veteran teacher who earned too much.

The first is from Ben Joravsky at the Reader:

It's curious, this double standard we have when it comes to cracking down on low-scoring schools. The man in charge of the system retires with, among other things, a well-paid, do-little position at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Meanwhile, the teacher on the front line winds

And the Most Overhyped Edu-Entrepreneur of the Moment Is...? :: Frederick M. Hess

And the Most Overhyped Edu-Entrepreneur of the Moment Is...? :: Frederick M. Hess

And the Most Overhyped Edu-Entrepreneur of the Moment Is...?

by Frederick M. Hess • Jun 10, 2011 at 10:22 am
Cross-posted from Education Week

Print

Send

RSS

Share

I'm up here today at UPenn's "NEST" gathering (Networking Ed Entrepreneurs for Social Transformation). Last night, after the opening dinner, a slew of interesting folks headed out for shop talk and Game 5 of Heat-Mavs. Given my knack for annoying my friends, I found myself wondering aloud about a question that a person of discretion really shouldn't ask at a gathering of entrepreneurs: namely, who's the most overhyped edu-entrepreneur of the moment?

Now, I always say that you can't much blame the hypee for being overhyped. Any smart entrepreneur is going to take advantage of opportunities to extend their work, so they're hardly to blame for taking advantage of a hype machine that's mostly the product of lazy journalists, fad-embracing reformers, thrill-seeking philanthropists, and wishful thinking. Nonetheless, the disappointing reality is how often we've taken terrific ideas and turned them into disappointments by blowing them up into fads.

Folks had various thoughts on the matter. But I won't put anyone else on the spot. Instead, for what it's worth,

Promised Raises Haunt Pink Slip Debate voiceofsandiego.org: Education

voiceofsandiego.org: Education

Promised Raises Haunt Pink Slip DebateComments (2) | 7:00 pm

When budget cuts menaced San Diego Unified last spring, the school board struck a tit-for-tat deal to get out of the hole. Employees agreed to take furloughs that shortened the school year by five days and cut their pay for two years. After that, San Diego Unified would gradually increase their pay roughly 7 percent.

The tradeoff for workers from custodians to principals was clear: Take a cut now but get more money later. It hinged on the hope that school funding would start to recover before the raises went into effect.

Now, less than a year and a half later, school board members who struck the deal are seeking to amend it, saying they fear the district's financial situation could be worse than they'd hoped. San Diego Unified is pressing its unions to put off those raises as it projects future shortfalls ranging from $25 million to $97 million. The board believes it could afford to cancel hundreds of layoffs if it delays the raises.

Read the rest of this article

Audit: Student Governments Lacked Cash ReceiptsComments | 4:09 pm

More than half of student governments at San Diego Unified middle and high schools that were checked by outside auditors don't keep adequate records for receiving cash, according to a preliminary audit.

When outside auditors checked on more than two dozen schools, they found that middle and high school student governments often lacked receipts or other documents to ensure the money was accounted for. Heather Daud, audit supervisor at Christy White Accountancy, said the school clerks know the rules, but often have trouble ensuring that other people follow them.

"People are handing them money without proper backup," Daud told a school district committee.

Read the rest of this article

National PTA Hosts Call-in Day for Family Engagement in Education Act of 2011

PTA | For Immediate Release

National PTA Hosts Call-in Day for Family Engagement in Education Act of 2011

Attendees Urge Members of Congress to Cosponsor S.941/H.R. 1821

ORLANDO, FLA. (June 10, 2011)- Today, National PTA® is hosting a “National Call-in Day” in support of S.941/H.R.1821, the Family Engagement in Education Act of 2011. During its national convention in Orlando, Fla., and through an email action alert to members today, the association asked members to urge their Members of Congress to cosponsor bipartisan legislation that would improve the lives of millions of children and families. The legislation would strengthen family engagement in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which both Congress and the Administration have placed as a top priority this year. The bill would provide incentives to districts and schools to implement best practices, such as parent leadership academies, place family engagement coordinators in schools, and provide professional development for educators on how to partner with families. The bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Representatives Todd Russell Platts (R-PA/19) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY/4), and in the U.S. Senate by Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Christopher Coons (D-DE). In addition, tomorrow, Saturday, June 11, National PTA will host a second Family Engagement in Education Act call to action during the convention with a “National Postcard Campaign.” Convention attendees will sign postcards addressed to their Congressional Representative to urge them to cosponsor H.R.1821. The postcards will be delivered directly to Capitol Hill. About National PTA National PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools. PTA is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit association that prides itself on being a powerful voice for all children, a relevant resource for families and communities, and a strong advocate for public education. Membership in PTA is open to anyone who wants to be involved and make a difference for the education, health, and welfare of children and youth.

ASCD Inservice: "Our Best PD Was Teacher-Chosen"

ASCD Inservice: "Our Best PD Was Teacher-Chosen"

"Our Best PD Was Teacher-Chosen"

During a focus group at ASCD's 2011 Annual Conference, an Ohio principal reflects on what makes professional development work:

I think that the most beneficial versus least beneficial professional development has been whether it is chosen and directed by teacher choice as opposed to administrative choice. That takes some planning to get teachers together and make those decisions, but teachers should never walk into professional development and not know what it's about. Too often, teachers just know, I have to come in for PD on this day, this the topic, and this is the presenter.

Teachers should have some decision and choice about PD, because then it's going to be more meaningful and they're going to be more committed. They're out there spreading the word, "You've got to come to this because it's going to be

Inclusion touches you. Pass it on. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Inclusion touches you. Pass it on. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Inclusion touches you. Pass it on.

JUNE 10, 2011

I teach in a K-5 school that has struggled for more than a decade to make the inclusion of students with special needs a natural part of our work. It turns out that far from being natural, it has to be something you consciously fight for every day.

Kelly has been a Special Needs teacher in our building for over a decade. Her class is being moved to another building in the district. Today, on her last day here, see wrote to all of us.

Dear friends, family, advocates,
I write this email with very mixed emotion.
When I graduated from college, I heard the buzz word “inclusion” and I swore I knew the meaning. I knew exactly how to work with special needs children and families. I knew it all, I thought. I could not have been more wrong. I didn’t really know the meaning of inclusion until I began working with all of you. I came into a school that had everything that I wanted. I wanted these children to have equal opportunity. I wanted them to be with their peers. I

The gang disease | Being Latino Online Magazine

The gang disease | Being Latino Online Magazine

The gang disease

by Maitri Pamo

In my last article I offered some thoughts regarding the challenges that face Latino immigrant children as they navigate the intersections between their parent’s native culture and U.S. society. For many immigrant children, the difficulties associated with transition into a new culture can lead to life paths that are exactly the opposite from the hopes that immigrant parents carry with them when they make the brave journey here. One of the more dangerous and socially destabilizing choices that disenfranchised individuals can make is to join a gang

Gang activity in the U.S. has long been a serious concern not only for law enforcement, but also for the communities that are victimized by gang presence. Among Latinos, gang membership is an alarmingly fast growing epidemic. As of 2007, 49 percent of all gang members in the U.S. were Latino.

While there are multiple factors that influence an individual’s decision to join a gang, there are several potent indicators that can predispose people, both male and female, to align themselves with this increasingly violent, increasingly trans border phenomenon.

One important risk factor is the lack of a consistent adult presence and involvement in the life of an individual who feels marginalized by the dominant society. Without a strong connection to an adult, either due to lack of adult interest or to conflict between the adult and the at risk individual, the probability that this individual will seek out membership in a gang is greatly increased.

Seeking a sense of belonging and structure, the potential gang member is often drawn to an organization that offers the

This Week In Education: AM News: New Study Reaffirms Preschool Effects

This Week In Education: AM News: New Study Reaffirms Preschool Effects

Media: "Nation" Writer Named New America Fellow [image: image from www.danagoldstein.net]Big congratulations to writer Dana Goldstein, who's been named a fellow at the New America Foundation Foundation, which Goldstein describes as having "all the most fascinating events, policy papers, and ...

Radio: Showdown Between Ravitch & Alter [image: image from www.artsjournal.com] Ever wonder what would happen if Diane Ravitch and Jonathan Alter were on the same stage or in the same studio? Who would interrupt whom? Would apologies and FOIA requests be required to get access to the ...

AM News: New Study Reaffirms Preschool Effects [image: IL_CT (4)] Preschool benefits last into adulthood, study says AP: Preschool has surprisingly enduring benefits lasting well into adulthood, according to one of the biggest, longest follow-up studies of its kind....Do more on jobs, Dems tell ...

No More PCs, No More Books, No More Teachers’ Dirty Looks? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

No More PCs, No More Books, No More Teachers’ Dirty Looks? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

No More PCs, No More Books, No More Teachers’ Dirty Looks?

by larrycuban

Two pictures capture the future of desktop computers in schools and the eventual move to cloud computing.

Bart Simpson and classmates, sitting in rows of desks facing the teacher and a blackboard filled with arithmetic problems, all have mobile devices. They are seemingly connected to servers on data farms watching and listening to things far removed from providing answers to the multiplication and division questions on the board.