FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, October 5, 2012

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A week before space shuttle Endeavour begins its 12-mile crawl through Los Angeles, officials said the public will have limited access during the two-day trek to the California Science Center in Exposition Park.

Education Headlines

Friday, October 5, 2012

Burbank High School's new field a symbol of pride for south Sacramento students

This isn't Granite Bay or Elk Grove or some other suburban campus. It isn't even one of Sacramento's wealthier schools. It's Luther Burbank High School – "Blood Bank," they used to call it – where the football team plays at Titan Stadium, a $9.3 million source of surging pride.

Court OKs lockups for severe truants

A state appeals court says juvenile court judges have the power to lock up youths who repeatedly skip school and ignore court orders to attend classes and follow the rules.

Four in alleged soccer team hazing file claims against school district

Four teenagers who say they were sexually hazed by soccer players at La Puente High School filed legal claims against the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District on Thursday.

Santa Clara County Board of Education willing to foreclose on former superintendent

The Santa Clara County Board of Education will try to recover money loaned to Charles Weis, even if it means foreclosing on its former schools superintendent.

San Ramon Valley school district asks voters for $260 million school bond

District officials are hoping local voters will be generous once again and pass a $260 million school facilities bond measure, called Measure D, that would fund a number of infrastructure and technology upgrades for district schools.

Baron: San Francisco City College to get special trustee

City College of San Francisco is out to prove that even a behemoth can be nimble when being chased by a predator. Late Thursday afternoon, the California Community Colleges Board of Governors approved CCSF’s voluntary request for a special trustee to help the country’s largest community college hold on to its accreditation.

LAUSD students can win iPads, cars for perfect attendance

Beginning this month and extending until May, students with perfect attendance will qualify for monthly drawings for prizes. High school students with no absences during their senior year will have the chance to win one of the two cars being given away by Clear Channel Media.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

San Diego administrator contests demotion

Brenda Campbell, a longtime San Diego Unified School District administrator placed on paid leave the first week of the school year, is now suing her employer in an attempt to be reinstated.

Pajaro Valley errs in superintendent salary

The Pajaro Valley Unified School District owes Superintendent Dorma Baker more than $30,000 because of a payroll error.

Sacramento Mayor Johnson highlights his role in public education

Mayor Kevin Johnson's job description doesn't call for a lot of involvement in city schools. But in another sign that Johnson considers the state of public education in Sacramento a key concern, the mayor presided Wednesday over a launch ceremony for City Year. The national education nonprofit has placed 50 young tutors and mentors in city schools to focus on improving attendance records and course work for students who are falling behind.

Seven Ideas for Meaningful Parent-Teacher Conferences - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher

Seven Ideas for Meaningful Parent-Teacher Conferences - Teacher in a Strange Land - Education Week Teacher:

Seven Ideas for Meaningful Parent-Teacher Conferences

by Nancy Flanagan

Let me describe the worst parent-teacher conferences I ever attended. Picture a large, echoing gymnasium, with teachers seated behind tables set nearly edge-to-edge around the perimeter; two molded-plastic chairs face each table. In the center of the gym, a roiling mass of hundreds of parents, trying to locate their daughter's teachers, assessing the length of lines. Facing each table, a line of parents, standing, waiting for their three-minute "conference" with the teacher, also their only opportunity to sit down during the evening.
How did parents know that a conference should take three minutes? Because it said so in the information sheet picked up at the front door. Also on the sheet: a reminder that teachers should not be asked for a special phone or e-mail chat, later. In other words--here's your three minutes. Use 'em or lose 'em. When parents finally made it up to the table, they could hear conferences on either side of them, while the people waiting behind were a) keeping tabs on the length of each conversation and b) discreetly eavesdropping.
My husband and I did this for four years, dividing and conquering the lines, sometimes stopping for a stiff drink 

World Teachers'Day | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

World Teachers'Day | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization:

World Teachers' Day 2012: Take a stand for teachers!

“Take a stand for teachers!” is the slogan of World Teachers’ Day 2012 (5 October) which UNESCO is celebrating along with its partners, the International Labour Organization, UNDP, UNICEF and Education International (EI).  

Taking a stand for the teaching profession means providing adequate training, ongoing professional development, and protection for teachers’ rights.

All over the world, a quality education offers hope and the promise of a better standard of living. However, there can be no quality education without competent and motivated teachers.

On this day, we call for teachers to receive supportive environments, adequate quality training as well as ‘safeguards’ for teachers’ rights and responsibilities...We expect a lot from teachers – they, in turn, are right to expect as much from us. This World Teachers’ Day is an opportunity for all to take a stand.    

       Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General

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About UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation is a specialized United Natio...

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About EI

Education International is the voice of teachers and other education employees across the globe. A...

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WTD video message

Click on read more to see EI General Secretary Fred van Leeuwen's video message for World Teachers...

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RadioLabour feature on WTD

RadioLabour, the international labour movement's radio service, has interviewed Fred van Leeuwen, ...

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Materials and statements

Click "Read more" to download resources pertaining to World Teachers' Day.

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Teacher's rights

UNESCO has launched on their website an interactive map where you can tag your WTD2012 activity. H...

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Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on World Teachers' Day

World Teachers’ Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of teachers across the globe. Education is recognized worldwide as the most important driver of economic growth and social change, and teachers are the ones leading the way.

World Teachers' Day - October 5th

CELEBRATE WORLD TEACHERS' DAY

NEA President, Dennis Van Roekel conmemorates World Teachers' Day and calls onCongress to pass the American Jobs Act

This year, on 5 October, World Teachers' Day will be celebrated around the world around the theme of "Teachers for gender equality".

The day commemorates the signing of the 1966 and 1997 UNESCO Recommendations on the Status of Teachers and Higher Education Teaching Personnel.

We invite you to take part in the celebration of the teaching profession and the promotion of gender equality. Click here for the official website. 

How can you participate?

Send an e-card on the World Teachers' Day website,

Join us on Twitter with the #wtd2011 hashtag,

Upload a photo of your favorite educator to our Flickr page,

Download a World Teachers' Day poster

Organise events around the theme. Take photos of your events and upload them onto the World Teachers' Day website.

On the Move for Gender Equity

Maria Teresa Cabrera, the first female president of the Dominican Teacher's Union is an example of how the Latin America Project on Equality with a Gender Perspective strengthens unions and builds capacity in achieving quality education for all.

(Mira el video en Español aquí)

Download our Pay Equity toolkit. Education International has prepared a toolkit to help you advocate for gender equality in the teaching profession, particularly equal pay for work of equal value. The kit consists of a template press release and letter to your government, as well as a briefing note on ILO Conventions and the most important facts about pay equity. You can download the toolkit here.

Tell world leaders and intergovernmental organisations about the situation of gender equality and the teaching profession in your country by joining UNESCO's online discussions. Your participation will certainly give them a realistic vision of the state of the teaching profession and gender issues in your country!

Value-Added? | The G Bitch Spot

Value-Added? | The G Bitch Spot:

Value-Added?

by G Bitch

Go read Michael Deshotels’ Serious Flaws in VAM and Mr. Free’s analysis of value-added [the link in the quote below].

Yet despite all the evidence I am about to present here, all of these actions that are so destructive to the teaching profession and to the education of our children will soon start happening. Pleaseclick on this link to the LAE website for Mr Free’s analysis. For this post I will just summarize one of the most critical findings in his study.

The value-added “model” has been criticized before, and only makes sense if you need to believe that “numbers” 

Modern School: Cut Class, Lose Welfare—MI’s Latest Attempt to Bail Itself Out on the Backs of the Poor

Modern School: Cut Class, Lose Welfare—MI’s Latest Attempt to Bail Itself Out on the Backs of the Poor:

Cut Class, Lose Welfare—MI’s Latest Attempt to Bail Itself Out on the Backs of the Poor

by Michael Dunn

Get to Class, Punk (Image from Flickr, by DonkeyHotey)

A new Michigan law (effective October 1) requires all children to be in school full time or the entire family will become ineligible to receive welfare benefits, the Detroit News reports. Furthermore, all new cash-assistance applicants will now be required to prove school enrollment for their children and good attendance in order to receive aid, while families that have lost benefits due to truancy will have to prove their child has attended school for 21 consecutive days before they can regain eligibility.

Of course it is difficult to succeed in school if you do not go to class and truancy certainly hurts 

Romney’s Plan to Put More Cash In His Pockets

by Michael Dunn

In a desperate (and cynical) attempt to buy last minute votes at the presidential debates last night, presidential hopeful Mitt Romney proposed an across the board income tax cut of 20% for everyone. To sweeten the deal, he said he would balance the cuts by eliminating deductions and loopholes so there would be no net loss in federal revenues.

What could be fairer or more generous?

20% might seem like a lot, and it is if you are rich. Even after the loopholes are closed, it is 

Presidential Debates and Education

by Michael Dunn

In a nutshell: both presidential contenders want more sticks and fewer carrots. Both want more testing and less thinking for students, more privatization,  and more work and weaker unions for teachers.

Obama wants more Race to the Top (RttT), which he has mischaracterized as a grassroots initiative since states write their own grants, with their own reform proposals. However, the Obama administration has made it abundantly clear that states will not receive a penny unless they adopt the Common Core Standards (CCS), continue using high stakes exams for students and make their scores on these exams a major part of teacher evaluations, and 

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Numbers Game In Education

Missouri Education Watchdog: The Numbers Game In Education:

The Numbers Game In Education

by Anngie

Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat and most recently That Used To Be Us, was interviewed by Jim Fleming on NPR's All Things Considered recently and had this to say about American education,

"Well, if you take the PISA test, which is the best kind of international comparative test on writing, math and science for 15-year-olds, we're right there in the middle of the pack with Slovenia.  We are not leaders in these math and science competitions or in the writing competitions.  We quote the latest sort of statistic, there's an annual kind of you know, math genius competition for college 

Race to the Top Frozen Out in Fresno - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Race to the Top Frozen Out in Fresno - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher:

Race to the Top Frozen Out in Fresno

by Anthony Cody

Follow me on Twitter at @AnthonyCody
Both President Obama and his debate challenger Mitt Romney took time Wednesday night to praise the controversial Race to the Top program, but down where the rubber meets the road, the program is hitting some obstacles. The Department of Education now requires school districts to get formal buy-in from teachers when they apply for Race to the Top funds. This is proving to be a problem as some teachers have become skeptical about the changes the program requires.
About a month ago the Executive Board of the Sacramento City Teachers Association, representing 2600 teachers in the state's capital, voted to reject participation in Race to the Top. They cited concerns that the timeline would require them to rush to complete a teacher evaluation plan, and that the effort would interfere with urgent work to ensure passage of Prop 30, which they hope will provide essential funding. They also pointed out 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Testing madness, stress driving good teachers out of public schools

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Testing madness, stress driving good teachers out of public schools:

Testing madness, stress driving good teachers out of public schools

by Mike Klonsky

There's an excellent piece in yesterday's Texas Trib (NYT), "Strain for Teachers Runs Deeper Than Budget Cuts," which gets to the heart of the matter for my pre-service, college of ed students. It's not just massive ed budget cuts, nor the inequities in funding that are driving the best and the brightest away from teaching in urban public schools -- although that helps.

Ms. Peterson taught for 10 years in the Houston Independent School District at Johnston Middle School, which serves primarily economically disadvantaged, black and Hispanic students. For 

Ratification of Chicago teachers contract sets stage for assault on public education

Ratification of Chicago teachers contract sets stage for assault on public education:

Ratification of Chicago teachers contract sets stage for assault on public education

By Joseph Kishore 
5 October 2012

Chicago teachers have voted to accept a contract supported by both the administration of Democratic Party Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union. The vote on the contract came two weeks after a CTU delegates meeting ended the seven-day-long strike of 26,000 teachers.

The new contract includes all the essential demands of Emanuel, including the expansion of the school day and year without increased pay, the establishment of a test-based evaluation system and broad powers of principals to hire and fire teachers regardless of seniority. These measures are aimed at victimizing teachers for the crisis of public education. They are 

LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 10-5-12 Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch's blog:

Remember When Teachers Crashed the Economy?

by dianerav

Do you remember when teachers and principals brought the economy down in the fall of 2008? Remember how they caused the stock market to collapse?
You don’t? Neither do I.
No matter. States are busily figuring out how to take away teachers’ pensions to right the economy, and reformers are blaming “bad” teachers for the outsourcing of jobs to China and India. The reformers say that the jobs are being outsourced because Americans aren’t skilled enough to do the work, but it seems more plausible to believe that they are being outsourced because educated workers are cheaper in China and India than in the U.S. Know any engineers willing to work for 1/3 (or less) their current salary? Know any workers willing to sleep 

ALEC Triumphant in Louisiana

by dianerav

I wrote a post about radical legislation in Pennsylvania that will authorize the Governor to create a charter commission with power to overturn local decisions. This legislation was written by the corporate-funded organization ALEC.
The Louisiana legislature passed the radical ALEC agenda last spring. Teachers lost tenure; unqualified people can become teachers. Test scores determine teachers’ careers. More than half the state’s students are eligible for vouchers, with some going to fundamentalist schools. Charters will pop up everywhere. Students can take their tuition money to online schools that get poor results, or to any snake-oil salesman that hangs out a shingle 

How to Raise Test Scores Easily and Quickly

by dianerav

This comes from Students Last. Satire alert!

PSBA Joins Oct 17 Protest

by dianerav

I just learned that one of the exhibitors at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association/Pennsylvania Association of School Administrator’s annual conference will offer stamped envelopes to encourage attendees to write a letter or send an email to the President on October 17, calling for new policies in education. Please call for an end to high-stakes testing, to privatization, to punishing teachers, principals and schools based on test scores. Please call for positive measures to support our students, teachers, principals, and schools.

The Evil Spawn of NCLB in Ohio

by dianerav

The state auditor in Ohio found 10 schools in Columbus where thousands of students had mysteriously been removed from the school’s rolls to inflate the scores.
This is the predictable result of high-stakes testing, which has incentivized cheating, score inflation, and gaming the system. This is not the first instance where a district or a state has tried to puff up its results to meet its 

No Excuses? Read This.

by dianerav

When President Obama visited Memphis, he was introduced by a handsome, articulate teen, Chris Dean.
Read what Chris wrote about his life after the President left town. Read about the details that the “no excuses” reformers dismiss.

Chicago Public Schools Outperform Chicago Charters!

by dianerav

This is a smart, funny article that demolishes the claim that charters are better than public schools.
The writer, Ben Joravsky, did something almost unprecedented after he read denunciations of unionized public schools: he checked the facts. This is a little-used, old-fashioned skill that seems to have been abandoned by the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, as well as the major broadcast media.

Ideas for an archive?

by dianerav

Looks like we will get a sizable number of people to write letters to President Obama on October 17.
Tim Furman suggests we set up a place to collect copies and share them.
I don’t know how to do this. Anyone have an idea?