Bilingual programs gaining popularity in East Bay schools - Inside Bay Area

Bilingual programs gaining popularity in East Bay schools - Inside Bay Area:

"Such 'two-way language immersion' programs, in which children are instructed throughout the day in two languages, are cropping up in public and private schools throughout the state. More than 20 of the programs operate in Alameda and Contra Costa counties alone, from Foothill Elementary School in Pittsburg to Burbank Elementary School in Hayward."

Thursday night the school was featured on National Television--Telemundo--one of the largest Spanish Television station in the United States!
The interview is in Spanish.


http://msnlatino.telemundo.com/shows/Noticiero_Telemundo/video_player?uuid=e66ff530-4f10-4308-87eb-5facff906076

DAC Chair Update & News

DAC Chair Update & News:

Message from Wanda

Welcome back to the new school year. The District Advisory Committee (DAC) Board has been busy this summer planning for the school year.

DAC First Meeting: Tuesday, October 20th meeting I recommend all DAC members attend this meeting. We got a fantastic speaker. You will also receive a special packet that incorporates all the handouts with information that you'll need to learn or know. We do not have enough time during the meeting to discuss. At this meeting we have the following:* Our new district superintendent, Mr. Jonathan Raymond will be there to greet you and introduce himself and his vision for the district.

"Guest Speaker Dr. Geni Boyer, the Director of Cambridge Academies/California Parent Information Resource Center (PIRC) 2. She will be speaking about parental engagement, school policies, Section 1118, school compacts, accountability and how school site councils can lead improvement at school sites. She is dedicated to promoting, supporting and sustaining educational opportunities for disadvantaged and at-risk students. Check out PIRC 2 website for helpful information: http://www.calpirc.org/. Dr. Boyer is very knowledgeable. Ask your questions."

Should the autism “spectrum” concept be abandoned?

Should the autism “spectrum” concept be abandoned?

Harold L. Doherty asks a really good question in his blog Facing Autism in New Brunswick. He asks: Should the autism “spectrum” concept be abandoned? and I think he makes a good argument – more eloquently than I can, but I’m going to try anyway.

The spectrum is much broader than it once was, now including Asperger’s Syndrome with what I call classic autism, as identified by Leo Kanner in 1943. Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) is also included in the group called Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

People with autism or autistic disorder are quite different than people with Aspergers Syndrome. The most obvious difference is that those with autistic disorder are much more like to have speech delays or never to speak at all, but there are other differences. There are also many similarities, and that is what makes the question difficult to answer.

Michael J. Sandel, Harvard Moral Philosopher, to Teach on PBS - NYTimes.com

Michael J. Sandel, Harvard Moral Philosopher, to Teach on PBS - NYTimes.com:

"Many of the 14,000 or so students who have taken Harvard’s wildly popular course “Justice” with Michael J. Sandel over the years have heard the rumor that their professor has a television avatar: Montgomery Burns, Homer Simpson’s soulless ghoul of a boss at Springfield’s nuclear power plant."

A Crazy Idea for Middle Schools - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education

A Crazy Idea for Middle Schools - Class Struggle - Jay Mathews on Education:

"When education pundits like me talk about the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland, Calif., the conversation is always about the middle school's leader, Ben Chavis. He is very different from us data-sifting eggheads. It is not an exaggeration to call him a wild man. He delights in upbraiding lazy students, outraging inattentive teachers and making wrong-headed visitors to the school wish they had stayed home.

He has the independent spirit of someone who had a successful career in construction, teaching and business before the then-woebegone AIPCS board asked him to rescue the school. He didn’t need the job. He did it mostly as a favor to fellow Native Americans--he was born into a Lumbee Indian family of sharecroppers in North Carolina--and as a challenge. He has many of the habits of some of the best educators I know--a wicked sense of humor, a weakness for shocking the conventionally wise and a deep love of children, particularly those who have had difficult lives."

The Answer Sheet - What's Going On In D.C.?

The Answer Sheet - What's Going On In D.C.?:

"It sounds like a great plot to a movie for kids: A security company that provides guards to public schools goes bankrupt overnight. Anxiety and confusion rule the day when kids go to school and discover that about 300 guards aren’t there. Some kids even get sent home because nobody can monitor the entrances! What fun!

But, as we know, this did just happen in Washington D.C.-- here’s the Post story. And once again we find ourselves asking: Who in the city could or should have foreseen this and why didn’t they?

This line of questioning gets tiresome."

D.C. Schools Lay Off More Than 220 Teachers, Lose 300 Guards - washingtonpost.com

D.C. Schools Lay Off More Than 220 Teachers, Lose 300 Guards - washingtonpost.com:

"In one of the most turbulent days in its recent history, the D.C. public schools system laid off more than 200 teachers Friday and coped with the abrupt loss of its 300 security guards, whose company went out of business overnight Thursday.

The combination of events, which included a skirmish between students and police at McKinley Technology High School that resulted in two arrests, highlighted the challenges faced by Schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) as they struggle to reform the troubled system in lean economic times. The layoffs were the deepest cuts for the school system since 2003."

Free online books available

Free online books available:

"A story I wrote last week on a program for free online textbooks has generated a lot of interest from readers, and many have asked where they can go to see all the free books.
The web site for Orange Grove Texts Plus is now up and running and available at www.theorangegrove.org. You can browse the list of more than 120 titles and even read them online if you’d like. You don’t even have to be a student.

Among the selections are “Core Concepts of Marketing,” “Latino American Literature in the Classroom,” “Reading Music: Common Notation” and “Mathematical Tools for Physics.” There’s even one I plan to check out, “Handbook of Independent Journalism.”"

Schools revist absentee policies

Schools revist absentee policies:

"Texas Education Agency officials are encouraging school districts to establish thresholds for what absentee rate would trigger the closing of schools. Meanwhile, Central Texas districts on their own have begun assessing their absence policies, including those that might encourage students to come to school sick.

'We're working on another letter that's working its way through our approvals process this week,' agency spokeswoman Debbie Graves Ratcliffe said. State financing is based on daily student attendance, but districts may apply for waivers to allow them to shorten the number of instructional days without suffering a financial penalty.

Officials with Austin-area districts say that their attendance rates exceed 90 percent in most cases. Ratcliffe said the school districts that have closed have tended to have attendance rates of less than 80 percent."

Solving the teacher pay issue could help students | Kalamazoo News - - MLive.com

Solving the teacher pay issue could help students Kalamazoo News - - MLive.com:

"Consider, for instance, that teacher pay now is typically based on seniority and whether the teacher has a master’s degree. Yet a teacher with five years of experience and a bachelor’s degree may well be superior to the 20-year veteran with a master’s.

Likewise, teacher contracts tend to treat employees the same regardless of what they teach or how they teach. That makes it hard to recruit teachers in math and science — fields with many other, more lucrative career options. It also is arguably unfair to English teachers who have a tremendous homework load if they are serious about writing instruction — you try grading 120 research papers. And what’s the incentive to assign those papers if the English teacher next door is showing movies — and making the same salary as his hard-working colleague?"

College degree no longer spells immunity from unemployment - BostonHerald.com

College degree no longer spells immunity from unemployment - BostonHerald.com:

"'Recessions are becoming a bit more egalitarian,' Adams said. 'It certainly has been hitting people of all education levels. And no longer is it the case that just having a bachelor’s degree shields you from economic downturns.'

After four months of reports in which analysts cited an easing up of recession, the release Friday signaled a setback.

U.S. employers cut another 263,000 jobs last month, up more than 40 percent from what analysts had forecast and another reminder that, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has suggested, the recession might be over technically but its fallout will linger."

Most of Oregon's 2,400 new teachers unable to find jobs this fall | Oregon Education - OregonLive.com

Most of Oregon's 2,400 new teachers unable to find jobs this fall Oregon Education - OregonLive.com:

"Most of the estimated 2,400 newly minted teachers who graduated from Oregon colleges of education this year were unable to get hired anywhere in Oregon, proving that a job often billed as recession-proof is not.

Education deans and others who monitor the job market say this was the state's worst hiring season for new teachers in at least a generation.

With schools offering jobs to only about one-third as many teachers as normal, there was fierce competition for nearly every opening, and brand-new teachers brimming with idealism but lacking professional experience often got shut out."

New formula to shrink graduation rates - Salt Lake Tribune

New formula to shrink graduation rates - Salt Lake Tribune:

"Utah's high school graduation rates won't likely seem as impressive once the federal government starts making all states crunch the numbers the same way in 2011.

Starting next school year, the federal government will make all states use the same formula and rules to calculate graduation rates in an effort to make sure rates aren't inflated and make comparisons between states easier. Under that new formula, however, Utah's graduation rates will likely be significantly lower than they have been.

For example, the state's 2008 graduation rate of 87.8 percent would drop to 78 percent if the federal formula were applied today, according to the State Office of Education. That's because each formula counts different types of students as dropouts or graduates, or doesn't count them at all."

NY1 | 24 Hour Local News | Health | Some Parents Conflicted Over Flu Vaccines

NY1 24 Hour Local News Health Some Parents Conflicted Over Flu Vaccines:

"In spite of what most medical professionals say, some parents are reluctant to have their kids vaccinated against swine flu and say such vaccinations put their children at risk. NY1's Education reporter Lindsey Christ filed the following report.

Public schools will be turned into vaccination centers this fall in an effort to combat the H1N1 virus, which is expected to make a return visit. City officials are urging parents to have all children vaccinated, but some parents have decided to opt out.

'We don't think there has been enough research done to convincingly say that this is something that is safe,' says Stuart Flaum of the National Autism Association.
There's been a longstanding concern among some that vaccines like the one against the H1N1 virus might somehow be connected to an increased risk of autism. Doctors say that fear is completely unfounded."

Washington College | The Elm Student Newspaper

Washington College The Elm Student Newspaper:

"The Republicans have unfortunately obtained a small but effective victory. They and a majority of Democrats were able to cut off federal funding to the community activist group, Association of Community Organizations of Reform Now (ACORN). Republicans have done this in response to some videos, initially circulated on Fox News, and I have to stress that the word news must be used very loosely when talking about that organization, that showed two conservative activists attempting to get ACORN workers to commit illegal crimes. One of them in particular showed the activists pretending to be a pimp and the other one pretending to be an underage prostitute who was trying to arrange a deal with their Baltimore office. There were others just as controversial but that still did not justify cutting their federal funding. This is essentially a good organization that did not deserve the treatment that it has received."

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Blogger for a Day: 'Our Plates Are Already Full'

voiceofsandiego.org: Schooled... Blogger for a Day: 'Our Plates Are Already Full':

"Among the rumors that seem to persistently surround contract negotiations between the San Diego Education Association and the San Diego Unified School District, there is one allegation that is as troubling as it is untrue. This is the notion that SDEA is attempting to sneak some sort of Machiavellian 'veto power' language into the contract under the guise of a 'maintenance of standards' clause.

Critics have alleged that maintenance of standards would produce catastrophic effects ranging from the somewhat mundane (slower textbook adoptions) to the truly obscene (all education reforms would have to be blessed by the union).

The extent to which the maintenance of standards hysteria has gained traction indicates that those who propagate these rumors are at best intentionally ill-informed and at worse maliciously anti-educator. The facts about SDEA's maintenance of standards proposal are readily accessible, and in no way resemble what we have just described. When we bargain for the working conditions of educators, we are bargaining for an improved learning environment for San Diego's children. We take this dual role very seriously."

Frank D. Yeary and Robert J. Birgeneau: New model needed to keep public universities public

Frank D. Yeary and Robert J. Birgeneau: New model needed to keep public universities public:

"Almost 150 years ago, in an effort to better serve a growing nation, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant Act, which gave struggling states federal land with which they could generate revenue to build colleges. The result of that bold action is a national resource: a structure for higher education that is admired, and copied, around the globe in places such as Japan, Germany and Canada.

We are the only country to have both private and public universities of world renown. Sadly, this amalgam of great public and private research and teaching universities is at risk as economically struggling states progressively disinvest in public higher education."

The new Forbes 400: Provocative wealth amidst social misery

The new Forbes 400: Provocative wealth amidst social misery:

"The personal fortunes of three men, computer magnates Bill Gates and Larry Ellison, and financier Warren Buffett, would each have been more than enough to resolve the 2009-2010 budget deficit of the nation’s most populous state, California, which has been met through deep cuts to social programs and public education, and the furloughing of state workers.

California is home to more than a fifth of the Forbes 400. Eighty-three California oligarchs have a combined net worth of about $234 billion, according to Forbes. That is a multiple of about eight times California’s two-year budget deficit."

Teen Unemployment Hits 25.9%, Congress Lends an Ear - Real Time Economics - WSJ

Teen Unemployment Hits 25.9%, Congress Lends an Ear - Real Time Economics - WSJ:

"The unemployment rate for 16 to 19-year-olds hit 25.9% in September, the highest rate recorded since at least 1948 (the earliest data the Labor Department supplies).
Lately, their plight hasn’t been falling on deaf ears. The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing earlier this week to address low unemployment among young people.

“Indeed, because of the horrible economy, younger workers are now competing with more experienced workers for positions traditionally [in] the domain of the young and less experienced,” Rep. George Miller, a California Democrat and the committee chairman, said according to prepared remarks. “Until the economy as a whole turns around, younger workers will continue to be hit the hardest.”"

Green California Community College Summit | GreenBiz.com

Green California Community College Summit GreenBiz.com:

"Pasadena, CA — Building Gateways to the Green Economy
California’s community colleges are home to some of nation’s most ambitious green building , renewable energy and green curriculum initiatives. They also account for 79 percent of higher education enrollment in the state, and engaging this diverse student population in green careers is critical to the state’s economic future.

In tough economic times, innovative ideas and new solutions are needed to sustain the growth of the sustainability movement. The second annual Green Community College Summit, October 5-7, 2009 at the Pasadena Convention Center, offers a rare chance for those involved in community college building, operations, and workforce development programs to get up to date on the latest developments in policy, technology and funding."