The Educated Reporter: The greatest feature story ever.

The Educated Reporter: The greatest feature story ever.

The greatest feature story ever.

by Linda Perlstein

At the EWA conference last week I told someone I would send them the link to my favorite piece of journalism ever. Of course I have forgotten who. So, whoever you were—and even if you are not them—read this piece, “The Peekaboo Paradox,” by Gene Weingarten of the Washington Post. It is about a children’s birthday party entertainer. Here is where one is tempted to say, “Yet it is about so much more.” Except that it’s not. I mean, this particular children’s entertainer has a gambling problem, an organization problem and some lingering ghosts,

Rick Hess is doing my job for me ...

by Linda Perlstein

... by shooting education reporters some story ideas and other food for thought. I have been really interested in the degree to which teachers unions are or are not realistic proxies for the actual views of actual teachers,  so #3 and #8 resonate especially. And given that reading yet another story about KIPP or Green Dot might make my eyeballs burst, #2 intrigues me as well.

San Diego schools making little headway - SignOnSanDiego.com

San Diego schools making little headway - SignOnSanDiego.com

San Diego schools making little headway

BY MAUREEN MAGEE, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

THURSDAY, MAY 20, 2010 AT 7:51 A.M.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego’s fourth- and eighth-graders made modest gains on a federal reading assessment administered in the nation’s largest urban school districts, according to data released Thursday morning

At least one expert believes the “relatively flat” performance may have something to do with the churn of superintendents in the San Diego Unified School District.

“San Diego has kind of been stuck. It hasn’t been moving very much lately compared to some of the other urban districts like Atlanta , New York andDistrict of Columbia,” said David Gordon, a member of the governing board that steers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). “Improvements in reading have been made where there is consistent and stable leadership and focused professional development.”

San Diego is searching for its fourth schools chief in less than five years and the district has earned a reputation for fostering difficult relationships between its superintendents and school board.

Consistency with leadership, curriculum and teaching is a trend among urban districts that have made the most gains in reading scores, said Gordon, who is also the Sacramento County superintendent of schools.

In 2009, San Diego Unified’s eighth-graders were in the national spotlight for their impressive gains in math scores administered by NAEP. But progress in math, Gordon said, does not always rely as heavily on administrative consistency.

The release of the “Nation’s Report Card” shows results of reading tests taken by fourth- and eighth-graders last academic year in 18 big-city districts.

Administered by NAEP, the “Trial Urban District Assessment” tests students on their ability to comprehend,

Only 10 percent of Latino dropouts gets a GED | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Only 10 percent of Latino dropouts gets a GED | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Only 10 percent of Latino dropouts gets a GED

by Gustavo Martínez on May 20 2010 Posted in Social justice in education

• 
  
  COMMENTS (0)PRINT
• 
  
  EMAIL

Tags:

• data
• dropouts
• graduation rates
• immigrants

Latinos remain at the bottom of educational achievement both locally and nationally. This worsens when one finds out that the alarming dropout rate comes along with low GED attainment.

Barely 1 in 10 Latino dropouts have a General Educational Development (GED) credential, according to a report the Pew Hispanic Center released last week.

The relatively low level of GED credentialing among Hispanic high school dropouts is especially notable because Hispanics have a much higher high school dropout rate than do Blacks or Whites. Some 41 percent of Hispanics age 20 and older in the United States do not have a regular high school diploma, versus 23 percent of comparably aged Blacks and 14 percent of Whites.

Recently-arrived Latino immigrants don't fare as well as native-born Latinos in this matter; only 5 percent of those dropouts who recently immigrated to the United States have a GED compared to 21 percent of their U.S.-born counterparts.

Some 52 percent of foreign-born Latino adults are high school dropouts, compared with 25 percent the native born. And among Hispanic dropouts, some 2

Folsom Cordova school district joins lawsuit against state - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Folsom Cordova school district joins lawsuit against state - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

Folsom Cordova school district joins lawsuit against state

by mgutierrez@sacbee.com (Melody Gutierrez)

Folsom Cordova Unified School District is one of nine districts that jointly filed a lawsuit today against the state of California asking that the current education finance structure be declared unconstitutional.
The California School Boards Association, California State PTA, Association of California School Administrators and a group of more than 60 individual students and families are also a part of the coalition that filed the lawsuit.
The case, Robles-Wong, et al. v. State of California was filed this morning in the Superior Court of California in Alameda County. The plaintiffs are asking the state to scrap its existing finance system and properly fund the education programs required by the state.
The lawsuit comes at the same time grassroots groups representing thousands of California low-income

Jaywalking With LAUSD - Perdaily.com

Jaywalking With LAUSD - Perdaily.com

Jaywalking With LAUSD

by Leonard

Did you ever have the experience of thinking you heard something before, but you just couldn't quite place where and when you heard it? That's the way I have been feeling about the nondescript orwellian edspeak that all of us in public education continue to be tormented with. And then, it finally occurred to me where the logic defying statements like "No Child Left Behind" and "all [illiterate] students are going to college" really come from. In 1979, Peter Sellars played an idiot savant -- emphasis on the idiot -- in the movie Being There. Chance the Gardner has people ascribe to him great insight, when the simpler and more reasonable interpretation is that Chance the Gardner is just a moron.

The epiphany that LAUSD is being run by Chance the Gardner clones, who are not really bad as much as they are banal people, is a truth that is painful to accept when one realizes that in dealing with LAUSD leadership, there is no there there. For these folks heading LAUSD, their work is not a profession, but rather a job that it takes everything they have just to memorize the slogans they continue to repeat like a catachism where questions are followed by answers to be memorized, but please don't have any expectation that these public education leaders actually understand what the hell they are talking about. This ah ha moment explains why we

Schools Matter What Educators Are Learning From Money Managers

Schools Matter

by Kenneth Libby

Warning: do not read this Forbes piece if you recently finished eating:

What Educators Are Learning From Money Managers
Daniel Fisher, 06.07.10, 12:00 AM ET

Brownsville Elementary School in Brooklyn is surrounded by neighborhoods with the highest murder rates in New York City. But inside the charter school at 10:30 a.m. everything is tranquil. Dressed in identical uniforms of green polo shirts and khakis, students walk carefully along tape strips in the halls before sitting down at their desks. Except for controlled bursts of excitement, as when a teacher asks kids to yell out their goals for a lesson, classrooms are hushed in concentration. Children perform tasks like organizing papers on their desks and placing pencils next to their books with precision.
The emphasis on polite manners and discipline is straight out of the 1930s. Except for what

Dr. D. Rigour Is Baaack: Commie Core Standards? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Dr. D. Rigour Is Baaack: Commie Core Standards? - THE DAILY RIFF - Be Smarter. About Education.

Dr. D. Rigour Is Baaack: Commie Core Standards?

Commie Core Standards?

Will Connecticut Students Learn How To Skin Gators &
Mississippi Students Love Arugula With Their Raspberry Vinaigrette?

by Dr. D. Rigour
Thought Leader Extraordinaire Humor


State Governors have convened again to bring in a system of Common Core Standards across the country so that all children will be taught exactly the same thing in English and Math from kindergarten through high school.

(And not, in my mind, coincidentally the major beverage companies have simultaneously announced a plan to remove sugary sodas from schools! The terrifying logic from the fizzy drink giants is that, as the national body of students, deprived of corn syrup, lapses into a countrywide coma brought on by conformist doses of Pythagorean theory and non- rhyming poetry those same Governors will plead with them to reenter the schools and supersize the portions doled out to induce a level of ADHD suitable to the new learning challenge.)

Feast your eyes on the draft of the Common Standards in English! Page after page of detailed specifications for what teachers must teach and students must learn. Reading this is such a delightful way to spend my time because no one else will, and that very fact, my friends, will confirm my stature as being smarter than everyone else in the room.

Schools Matter: "The best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans"?

Schools Matter: "The best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans"?

"The best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans"?

by Kenneth Libby

It wasn't that long ago that Secretary of Education Arne Duncan claimed hurricane Katrina was "the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans". Duncan's disgusting comment might have held some weight if the claim was actually true (although it would still be remarkably insensitive), but multiple scholars have raised questions about the so-called "recovery" of the NOLA schools. Most recently, the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota released a report, "The State of Public Schools in Post-Katrina New Orleans: The Challenge of Creating Equal Opportunity," which challenges the narrative of a miraculous recovery in the NOLA schools. It's certainly a must-read. Here's the executive summary:

Charter schools in New Orleans have been hailed as the silver lining to Hurricane Katrina. The state of Louisiana used the hurricane as an opportunity to rebuild the entire New Orleans public school system, and launched the nation’s most extensive charter school experiment. This report evaluates how this experiment has fared in providing quality education to all students of the public school system regardless of race, socioeconomic

AP-Univision Poll: Hispanic discrimination high

AP-Univision Poll: Hispanic discrimination high

By ALAN FRAM, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, May 20, 2010

---

Print

E-mail

Share

Comments (2)

Font | Size:

---

MORE NEWS

• Oil arrives on La. shore, edges into key current 05.20.10
• Jobless claims rise by largest amount in 3 months 05.20.10
• 3 Americans jailed in Iran reunite with their moms 05.20.10

(05-20) 08:37 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
Who's discriminated against in America? More people say Hispanics than blacks or women — and it's far from just Hispanics who feel that way.
An Associated Press-Univision Poll found that 61 percent of people overall said Hispanics face significant discrimination, compared with 52 percent who said blacks do and 50 percent who said women.
The survey also underscored how perceptions of prejudice can vary by ethnicity. While 81 percent of Latinos said Hispanics confront a lot or some discrimination, a smaller but still substantial 59 percent of non-Hispanics said so.
It is not unusual for members of a group to feel they face more prejudice. In this survey, that was especially true when people were asked about "a lot" of discrimination. Fifty-five percent of Hispanics but only 24 percent of non-Hispanics said Hispanics encounter that.
"I see it in people's faces, in the way they react," said Raymond Angulo, 66, a Mexican-born U.S. citizen and retiree from Pico Rivera, Calif. "It's gotten somewhat better, but it's still there. I feel like it's never going away."
However, Jason Welty, a lawn care specialist in Indianapolis who is not Hispanic, said he has seen little evidence of the problem despite working frequently with Hispanics.
"They're treated by most of our clients and the people we work with just like anybody else," said Welty, 30.
The AP-Univision Poll compiled the views of 901 Hispanics, which were compared with the results of a separate AP-GfK survey of the general population.
Attention on whether Latinos are singled out for unfair treatment has intensified since last month, when Arizona enacted a law requiring local police to ascertain the citizenship

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/05/20/national/w083737D51.DTL&type=education#ixzz0oUmwghcU

Colorado District Revolutionizes Salary Schedule, Or Does It? � The Quick and the Ed

Colorado District Revolutionizes Salary Schedule, Or Does It? � The Quick and the Ed

Colorado District Revolutionizes Salary Schedule, Or Does It?

by Rob Manwaring

For virtually every school district in the country teacher pay depends upon a teacher’s years of experience (steps) and some measure of educational attainment (columns). Harrison School District Two in Colorado made national news when it announced their new salary schedule which moves away from the step and column approach. There proposal appears to be a perfectly rational and balanced approach. See the charts below for more details. The district will conduct evaluations, incorporate outcomes, and consider level of educational experience. This data will annually be assessed to determine whether a teacher advances to the next pay level gets a raise, or advances to the next job description (gets a promotion). Presumably over time, teachers would receive a cost of living adjustment even if they stay at the same salary tier. Teachers will initially be placed on thin the new salary tiers with plenty of room to grow. If a teacher receives three consecutive poor evaluations, the teacher can go down a level.
What is shocking to anyone who doesn’t work in education, is that this a major innovation in teacher

A Brief History of 20th Century K-12 Education in America (Expressed as a Function)

by Forrest Hinton

Thanks to my colleague Kris Amundson’s compass of creativity, I happened to stumble upon this nifty blog that expresses complex life phenomena and relationships on simple index cards. Here’s my first shot at being a copy-cat.

School Improvement Models Face Opposition in Congress - Politics K-12 - Education Week

School Improvement Models Face Opposition in Congress - Politics K-12 - Education Week

School Improvement Models Face Opposition in Congress

by Alyson Klein

First it was Race to the Top. Now the school improvement models are running into trouble on Capitol Hill.
Flanked by major players in both the national teachers' unions, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, today announced a framework (not a bill) that would basically ditch the idea of having just four options in favor of a broader array of possible remedies for schools.
Chu wants to use the reauthorization of ESEA to prod schools to promote flexibility and collaboration (such as beefing up mentoring and induction programs), remove barriers to student success (such as increasing community involvement and support), and foster teachers and school leaders (such as increasing the use of support staff like speech therapists and school psychologists). And she wants schools to be given a longer time frame, three to five years, to turn around.
Not surprisingly, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, who showed up

Will Duncan Regret 'High, High Bar' in Race to Top Round 1?

by Michele McNeil

Minnesota is out of Race to the Top, round two.
Massachusetts is publicly thinking (posturing?) about it.
With two states that have traditionally been national leaders in student performance waffling, or down right begging off of the competition, you've got to wonder how strong the field of competition will be for those states that remain. To be sure, some very, very bold plans will come in from the likes of Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, and Georgia, which were strong finalists in round one. But this time, because U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan set a "high, high bar" in round one, picking only two winners, he's looking to give away 10 to 15 more awards. Just how deep is the Race to the Top bench?
Besides Minnesota, we already know that Kansas, Indiana, and almost certainly Alaska and Texas won't apply in round two. West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin also announced yesterday that his state is dropping out. Vermontannounced late last month it wouldn't apply either. Neither will South Dakota, Idaho, or Wyoming. Other states that likely won't apply, based on their decision not to file an optional notice of intent with the department, are:

HISD plans to cut enrollment at costly alternative school | School Zone | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

HISD plans to cut enrollment at costly alternative school | School Zone | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

HISD plans to cut enrollment at costly alternative school

HISD Supt. Terry Grier, reversing course, told the school board this morning that he plans to recommend continuing the contract with Community Education Partners to serve children with discipline problems.
To cut costs, which Grier said was his major concern with CEP, the district will reduce the number of students it pays the private company to serve.
Instead of paying CEP a flat $18.3 million for 1,600 students, the district will pay for 1,200 students next school year. That will cut costs by as much as $4.6 million, according to HISD's report. The district will set aside $1 million in case it exceeds the 1,200-student cap, however, so the cost savings might not be as great.
The district will reduce the number of students it pays to serve by another 200 over two years.
Chief Financial Officer Melinda Garrett said the district considered contracting with the Harris County Department of Education instead, but it would cost as much as $2.5 million for a facilty. CEP has its own buildings.
Grier said there wasn't enough time for the district to develop its own disciplinary alternative program.
Grier had ordered a study of CEP shortly after taking over HISD last fall. The study isn't complete (the Texas A&M University researcher fell ill), but Grier and Chief Academic Officer Chuck Morris said it has been difficult to gather data from CEP. Preliminary results, Grier said, showed that student attendance rates at CEP were around 75 percent. The goal in the current contract is 85 percent.
In a revised contract with CEP, the district plans to require CEP to collect more data such as more carefully tracking dropouts.
I hope to talk to Grier after the school board workshop to understand better why he has decided against severing ties with CEP. As School Zone and Chronicle readers know, this

Connecting and Leading � InterACT

Connecting and Leading � InterACT

Connecting and Leading

by ACT Guest Bloggers

Sarah Kirby-Gonzalez is a fifth-grade teacher in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, and was named the district’s 2010 Teacher of the Year. Sarah is a National Board Certified Teacher, and also serves as the Transitional English Coordinator at her site, providing the second language students with interventions and programs to meet their needs. In 2008, Sarah earned her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from California Sate University, Sacramento. Sarah is a Teacher Consultant for the Area 3 Writing Project at University California, Davis. She has been a History Day coach to her students since 2005 and was recently named Sacramento County History Day Teacher of the Year. Sarah was a participant in the Teaching American History Grant and attended the Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute. This summer she will attend a seminar on Thomas Jefferson in Philadelphia, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Sarah also teaches a summer writing course to fourth and fifth grade students through the Academic Talent Search program at Sacramento State University, Sacramento. Accomplished California Teachers is proud to have Sarah as one of our newest members, and we are grateful to her for taking the time to respond to some questions for this guest blog post.
How did you become a Teacher of the Year (TOY)?
In Folsom Cordova Unified School District (FCUSD) each school nominates one teacher of the year to represent their site. This is voted on in a secret ballot. Since our high schools represent a larger staff, they are able to nominate two candidates. All of these teachers are invited to interview for the district TOY. Prior to the interview, teachers submit their answers to a short questionnaire along with the reasons for recommendation from the site (usually the principal does this). The interviews are held during the school day, and last roughly twenty minutes.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Have you heard...?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Have you heard...?

Have you heard...?

by Mike Klonsky

1960 Woolworth sit-ins

...We're in the "post-racial" era

Except that in Kentucky, the Limbaugh Party just picked a T-Party senate candidate who would like to roll back the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yes, Rand (named after Ayn?) Paul thinks the law impinges on the freedom of businesses to refuse service to African-Americans, gays, disabled, if they so choose. Paul is also (no coincidence) a big voucher/charter proponent. He obviously feels that through privatization, schools will no longer have to admit ELL and special-needs students, if they so choose.

Already being done, Rand.Thanks anyway.

Then there's my new favorite wingy think-tanker, AEI flack Rick Hess, leaping to defend Supt. Horne's ban on ethnic studies in Arizona. Hess, it seems, favors and enforcement of white "unum" in the curriculum. Hess has now earned his own SmallTalk tag (below) along with Finn, Petrilli and a tiny handful of other wing-nut edexperts. But I still can't understand how this paid flack for AEI gets his own blog at Edweek.