Saturday, April 24, 2010

Last Teacher In, First Out? City Has Another Idea - NYTimes.com

Last Teacher In, First Out? City Has Another Idea

By JENNIFER MEDINA

Published: April 24, 2010

RelatedPeter Borock, 23, is in his second year teaching history at Health Opportunities High School in the South Bronx. It could be his last.

Room for Debate: Getting Rid of Bad Teachers

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With New York City schools planning for up to 8,500 layoffs, new teachers like Mr. Borock, and half a dozen others at his school, could be some of the ones most likely to be let go. That has led the schools chancellor, Joel I. Klein, into a high-stakes battle with the teachers’ union to overturn seniority rules that have been in place for decades.

Facing the likelihood of the largest number of layoffs in more than a generation, Mr. Klein and his counterparts around the country say that the rules, which require that the most recently hired teachers be the first to lose their jobs, are an anachronism in the era of accountability that will upend their efforts of the last few years to recruit new teachers, improve teacher performance and reward those who do best.

“Nobody I’ve talked to thinks seniority is a rational way to go,” Mr. Klein said. “Obviously there are some senior teachers who are extraordinary. You recruit young talent you think is good for the future, and to just get rid of that by the numbers seems to me to be a nonsensical approach.”

This month city officials persuaded lawmakers in Albany to introduce a bill that would allow the city to decide which teachers to let go, although its chances of passing are slim.Similar legislation in California, where thousands of young teachers have received letters saying they could be out of work, moved forward last week, backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arizona abolished seniority rules last year, and this month its Legislaturebanned the use of seniority if teachers are rehired.

Unions argue that administrators want to do away with seniority protections so they can

Letter to School District Superintendents in Florida � Tangerine, Florida

Letter to School District Superintendents in Florida

by tangerineflorida

I am a public school teacher who is watching our public education system being killed like an insect in the hands of a child. Systematically, the legs are being torn off of the bug one at a time. The abdomen, thorax, and head are all that remain. Next week the plan is to sever more pieces to all but kill this public trust.
A fire needs heat, oxygen, and fuel to burn, the oxygen is being limited and the fuel has become scarce. The flames is weakened…. See More
Even though Senate Bill 6 was vetoed, there are supports from that bill that are being killed in this last session. Systematically the props are disappearing by law.
Look at the headlines of newpapers around the state. Massive lay-offs throughout the state are killing public education. Fuel is being withheld to keep public education ignited and glowing.
I would like to suggest that our state legislators be invited to every high school graduation across the state. Every school should be inviting those leaders who are voting to smash public education into the ground.
Media will be there and cameras will be rolling as these elected officials are put on the spot to speak about the importance of education and the future. Parents and a new batch of voters will be listening. Media will be taping these same people who just kicked all the slats out of district budgets.
This idea must come from the top down! Timing is critical. Make these Jeb-licans look into the eyes of those who were not failed by the system. These are the representatives of the people, who have not been listening to the voters.
Educators didn’t have to follow politics so closely before because we thought we were safe. But public education has been attacked this session. We must bring the poilitcian into our domains

Education Week: Tensions Flare in Race to Top's Second Round

Tensions Flare in Race to Top's Second Round

States, Teachers’ Unions Clash Over Contest-Driven Reforms

By Michele McNeil

But in doing so, states from Massachusetts to Colorado are tangling with their teachers’ unions as they test how far they can go to meet federal officials’ demands that they be aggressive, yet inclusive, in devising a road map to dramatically improve student achievement.With the second-round deadline for federal Race to the Top Fund grants less than six weeks away, states are rushing to raise the stakes on their education reform plans as they fight over the remaining $3.4 billion in prize money.

“On one hand, the federal government is saying, ‘Be bold,’ which implies significant challenge to the status quo, which then tends to be disruptive and generate resistance,” said S. Paul Reville, the education secretary in Massachusetts, where the American Federation of Teachers affiliate has revoked its support of the state’s second-round application over teacher issues. “Yet at the same time, the federal government is asking us to get full [district and union] support,” he said. “That’s the dynamic tension.”

In Florida, legislation that would have revamped teacher evaluations, potentially positioning the state for a better Race to the Top score, sparked an outcry from teachers; Republican Gov. Charlie Crist ended up vetoing the legislation.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist talks with Susan Beauchamp, a school counselor at Twin Lakes Academy Elementary School in Jacksonville, Fla. On a recent campaign stop for his U.S. Senate bid, a crowd of teachers and other education specialists thanked the governor for vetoing a bill that would have tied their pay to student test scores.

—Bob Mack/The Florida Times-Union/AP

In Maine, the National Education Association affiliate is urging local union leaders not to support the state’s application after lawmakers passed legislation allowing schools to use student achievement as a factor in teacher and principal evaluations.

And in Louisiana, pending legislation to link at least half a teacher’s evaluation to student test scores—a priority under the Race to the Top—has come under intense fire from the Louisiana Association of Educators, an NEA affiliate, which has turned to automated phone calls and newspaper ads to rally opposition.

Not securing district and union support has its dangers, since nearly 20 percent of the Race to the Top’s 500-point grading scale

hinges on such support. Still, relying too much on buy-in also has its dangers, said Timothy Daly, the president of the New Teacher Project, a New York City-based nonprofit group that helps urban districts train and hire teachers.

“It’s leading states to make bad decisions, to water down the content and get everyone to sign on,” he said. “And many states will end up sorry.”

Teachers Strike Hits Day Two | NBC Los Angeles

Teachers Strike Hits Day Two

Negotiations continue but teachers and students stay home

By JULIE BRAYTON

Updated 7:28 AM PDT, Sat, Apr 24, 2010

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Teachers say there is an English lesson in a "one-word" adjective separating the Capistrano Unified School District and it's 2200 teachers.

What's the word? Teachers say it's "temporary!"

The school board says it must permanently slash teachers salaries by 10%, but the teachers want the cut to only be temporary.

There is a math lesson in this too. The district says $34 million must be cut 2010-11 school year caused by a drop in state funding. The pay cuts will save $19.9 million.

But some teachers wonder if something else is behind the move.

"This is something other than not having enough money. There's

Did vote on Lodi charter school violate state law?

By Layla Bohm
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Friday, April 23, 2010 10:39 PM PDT

Comments (No comments posted.)

When three Lodi Unified School District board members voted against a charter school earlier this week, their only reasoning was a worry that it could take money from other schools.

But did that vote violate a state law? California's education code lists five reasons a school board may deny a charter school's application. Those reasons address curriculum and program concerns, and make no mention of a financial impact on the school district.

The director of proposed Rio Valley Charter School plans to appeal the Tuesday night decision to San Joaquin County's Office of Education. Board members voted 3-3; the school needed a majority vote in order to pass.

The vote came as a shock to director Paul Keefer, who said that as late as the Friday before the vote, everything seemed fine. They'd ironed out bugs in the plan, discussing it with LUSD officials. "We worked many hours and countless thousands of dollars with attorneys — their attorneys and ours. It's unbelievable that they gave us direction and then rescinded it at the 11th hour," Keefer said.

The school is currently operating under a Sacramento-area district as part of Heritage Peak Charter School, but Keefer said he wants it to have stronger Lodi roots. The

NJEA chief's time is up; Gov. Chris Christie's attacks on education | NJ.com

JEA chief's time is up; Gov. Chris Christie's attacks on education

By Letters to the Editor/The Star-Ledger

April 24, 2010, 5:26AM

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerGov. Chris Christie

An attack on education

Earlier this week, Gov. Chris Christie stooped to a new low by comparing teachers to drug dealers (“Christie fires final shot on eve of school vote,” April 20). Although it is hard to contain my outrage, I refuse to resort to Christie’s incendiary tactics designed to exploit hard-working people’s legitimate distress and fear in this time of economic trouble.

As a hard-working, dedicated teacher motivated to educate as many children as possible, I appeal to people of decency and integrity to question Christie’s charges that teachers are out to “take money out of children’s pockets and put it in their own.” Do people really think we enter the profession to get rich? Shouldn’t educators make enough to support a family and own a home? Shouldn’t we be able to achieve the dreams we try to inspire in our students?

Or should we, as Christie demands, be forced to take an oath of poverty?

PhillyBurbs.com: �No deal yet as strike drags on

No deal yet as strike drags on

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By: ANNIE TASKER

The Intelligencer

North Penn schools - Teacher Strike

No new talks were planned for the weekend, and odds looked good that teachers would return to the picket line on Monday.

With no plans for weekend bargaining and both sides sticking to their latest proposals, odds looked good Friday afternoon for the North Penn teacher strike carrying into a second week.

North Penn Education Association President Alan Malachowski said union representatives were willing to meet any time over the weekend; school board President Vince Sherpinsky said there was no reason to believe that would happen unless teacher negotiators made significant changes to their proposal.

Teachers have been on the picket line since Monday and two meetings between their union and the school board this week brought their bargaining positions only $37,000

SB10-191: Contested Teacher Bill Easily Passes Senate Education Panel�|�State Bill Colorado

SB10-191: Contested Teacher Bill Easily Passes Senate Education Panel

Posted on 24 April 2010
Tags: SB10-191

By Todd Engdahl, EDUCATION NEWS COLORADO

Senate Bill 10-191, the controversial educator evaluation and tenure bill, was passed 7-1 Friday afternoon by the Senate Education Committee, the first key hurdle for what has become the top education issue of the 2010 legislative session.
The bill passed after the committee approved a lengthy and complex series of amendments, some of which significantly expand the timeline for implementation beyond what was proposed in the bill’s original language.
Under the amendments, the system wouldn’t fully go into effect until 2014-15, after a lengthy process of development by the Governor’s Educator Effectiveness Council, issuance of rules by the State Board of Education, legislative review and two years of development and testing.
The measure goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday afternoon and then to the Senate floor later in the week. If passed there, it of course will have to go through the whole committee-and-floor process in the House, where it’s expected to receive an even more skeptical view. The 2010 session has less than two weeks’ worth of working days left before it must adjourn.
Voting yes on the bill were committee chair Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins; the prime sponsors, Sens. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, and Sen. Nancy Spence, R-Centennial, and the other two committee Republicans, Keith King of Colorado Springs and Mark Scheffel of Parker. Sen. Rollie Heath, D-Boulder, a driving force behind

Education - Everything you need to know about the world of education.

Judge questions legitimacy of teacher layoffs

Union sought to reopen case after revelations about budget surplus

MORE ON EDUCATION

D.C. Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee (Benjamin J. Myers)

VALERIE STRAUSS

The Answer Sheet

A School Survival Guide for Parents (And Everyone Else)

Posted at 8:00 AM ET, 04/24/2010

Straight talk about charter schools

A hearing held in New York City this week about sounded more like a brawl than the information-gathering session it was intended to be. Read some of the testimony given by education historian Diane Ravitch, which was received by charter advocates as heresy.

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JAY MATHEWS

Class Struggle

What's Right and Wrong With Our Schools

Posted at 5:30 AM ET, 04/23/2010

The irksome myth about Garfield after Escalante

There is a widespread myth that Garfield High School in East Los Angeles went downhill academically after its superstar math teacher Jaime Escalante left the school in 1991. It is important to understand why this is false. Galvanizing school cultures are maintained by many people, not just hero teachers. Great teachers like Escalante can create such cultures, but the test of their validity is what happens after that teacher leaves.