Trib wrongdoers want millions in bonuses. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Trib wrongdoers want millions in bonuses. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Trib wrongdoers want millions in bonuses.

by Fred Klonsky

The same Chicago Tribune execs who object in their editorials to teachers receiving their average $43 thousand a year in pensions (teachers who must work 35 years before receiving full Teacher Retirement System benefits), are demanding $34 million in bonuses.

Here’s the AP article:

(AP) — The Tribune Co. is asking a Delaware bankruptcy judge to approve up to $43 million in bonuses for top executives and managers this year.

The plan calls for some 640 people to receive bonuses totaling from $16.5 million to $42.9 million if certain cash flow targets are met. The request will be the subject of a hearing Wednesday.

NYC Public School Parents: Waive Goodbye -- No Waiver for Cathleen Black!

NYC Public School Parents: Waive Goodbye -- No Waiver for Cathleen Black!

Waive Goodbye -- No Waiver for Cathleen Black!

by Steve Koss

With over one million students and eighty thousand employees, the NYC public school system is, in itself, larger than most American cities and represents an enormous educational challenge. Common sense would suggest that leadership of such an enterprise, fraught as it is with issues of academic performance, budgetary constraints, class size concerns, aging school buildings, lack of space and funds for new construction, needs for special education and English language learning, diverse constituencies, and a host of others problems, needs a visionary leader with solid pedagogical and educational experience. However, if you are Michael Bloomberg, you apparently do not think so.

In a stunning move, Bloomberg has followed up the resignation of Chancellor Joel Klein by naming as his successor not an educator, not an academic, not an education policymaker, but the publisher of Cosmopolitan, Country Living, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, O, Redbook, Seventeen, and Town & Country magazines. Cathleen Black has been an executive at New York Magazine, USA Today, and the

Civic Trust in Medicine and Public Schools: Paradoxes Galore « Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Civic Trust in Medicine and Public Schools: Paradoxes Galore « Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Civic Trust in Medicine and Public Schools: Paradoxes Galore

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Cover of Hannah and Her Sisters [Region 2

There is a scene in the film “Hannah and Her Sisters” where the character Mickey, a hypochrondriac played by Woody Allen, goes to his doctor to see if his loss of hearing is due to a brain tumor. The doctor runs a series of tests and can find no evidence that Mickey has a tumor. The doctor says to Mickey: “trust me.”

The film came out in 1986. In the current political climate of contested health insurance, 20-minute visits with harried doctors who scan records on the computer screen, and Internet self-medicating, few doctors would say “trust me.”

Polls do show a decline in public confidence in medicine. The 2010 Harris poll on confidence in institutional leaders, 34 percent of respondents said they had great confidence in their

Teacher and Principal Evaluation Web Resource - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Teacher and Principal Evaluation Web Resource - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell and the State Board of Education Unveil New Web Resource for Teacher and Principal Evaluation

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell and the State Board of Education today unveiled a new resource on the California Department of Education's (CDE) Web site about teacher and principal performance evaluation practices. The Web page is at Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems - NCLB.

"Effective teachers are the most important factor in students' success in school," said O'Connell. "Currently, the way a teacher's effectiveness is measured varies widely from district to district, and from school to school. In order to prepare all students for success and to close the achievement gap, we must support our teaching workforce by giving them frank and fair feedback on their performance, coupled with professional development and resources that help them excel in their profession. This new online resource provides information on evaluation practices that districts can use to help develop and nurture an effective teaching workforce."

The new "Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems" Web page includes information about teacher and principal performance evaluation practices, model policies, and ongoing reform efforts. The Web page also includes links to relevant facts, data, recommendations, and opinions from local, state, and national sources. It will be updated as the CDE and the State Board of Education work with interested parties who will provide additional resources and articles. The online resource is designed to increase awareness among school districts, local unions, parents, and the public about evaluation systems that may be adopted in communities throughout the state.

The Web page was developed following a presentation by administrators from Los Angeles Unified School District (USD), Fresno USD, and Long Beach USD in September before the State Board of Education, at which time the Board recommended the CDE and it work together to create a Web page to provide useful information. Many school districts are in the process of developing evaluation instruments, or are already using innovative methods to evaluate teachers and principals.

For information on the development of the "Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems" Web page, please visit State Board of Education agenda Item 3 at Item 3 (DOC; 98KB; 3pp.) and Teacher and Principal Evaluation Systems - NCLB.

Rutgers University student government to form privacy committee in wake of Tyler Clementi's death | NJ.com

Rutgers University student government to form privacy committee in wake of Tyler Clementi's death | NJ.com

Rutgers University student government to form privacy committee in wake of Tyler Clementi's death

Published: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 11:32 AM Updated: Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 11:36 AM

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Ed Murray/The Star-LedgerDavidson C on the Busch campus of Rutgers University, where the roomate of Tyler Clementi allegedly streamed a video of Clementi's sexual encounter with a man.

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NEW BRUNSWICK — The suicide of Tyler Clementi has prompted the Rutgers University Student Assembly to create a committee examining the school's privacy policies, according to a report on DailyTargum.com.

The committee, which has yet to be finalized, will also aim to educate students on University and residential life rules. The report said the school's administration is not aware of the plans to form the committee.

Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge in September, a few days after his roommate allegedly live streamed a video of his sexual

LAUSD/UTLA : In a fit of PEAC - Perdaily.com

LAUSD/UTLA : In a fit of PEAC - Perdaily.com

LAUSD/UTLA : In a fit of PEAC

by Leonard Isenberg

(Mensaje se repite en Español) On November 5th last week, I received the following terse email from David Rapkin of Progressive Educators For Action (PEAC), the self-proclaimed progressive activist arm of UTLA:

"At a certain point, people and groups need to disagree forthrightly on principle and part ways clearly. It is the decision of the PEAC leadership that your posts are no longer welcome nor permitted on the list."

David

Two days later after sending the following incendiary comment to David:

Enjoy the cool aid (reference to Jim Jones, Guiana, and the cult-like adherence to doctrine to the point of adamantly refusing to hear or deal with anything outside accepted dogma, i.e. fanatic.

I received the following email on November 7th:

Lenny,

As un-patronizing as I can make it un

Around the horn. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Around the horn. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Around the horn.

by Fred Klonsky

“Almost sold out,” says the announcement on the Catalyst website. IEA Executive Director Audrey Soglin will be speaking at a December 1st forum at the tony Union League Club sponsored by Catalyst and Business and Professional People for the Public Interest. Soglin will be speaking on teacher evaluation and compensation. Given what happened to our local collective bargaining rights on this issue, “almost sold out” is almost right.

Also to be found at Catalyst is some data on student retention and expulsions rates at charter schools. Not surprisingly they run higher than at public schools. Ten out of every 100 students left a Chicago charter last year.

A more fitting remembrance of Joel Klein’s tenure « Failing Schools

A more fitting remembrance of Joel Klein’s tenure « Failing Schools

A more fitting remembrance of Joel Klein’s tenure

NOVEMBER 10, 2010

by Sabrina

I won’t say anything else about Joel Klein or the new corporate toady who replaced him, because unfortunately, allowing large urban school districts to be run by know-nothings from the business world isn’t news. But this video from GEMNYC demonstrates what his role as Chancellor was really about: destroying public schools, instead of supporting them. The manner in which school communities were targeted (often on the basis of faulty Data, when an attempt to justify the decision was even made), labeled, shamed, and slated for destructive action is sadly very familiar, especially here in Denver. When will we learn?

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50,000 Students Protest in London; Conservative Party HQ Raided « occupy california

50,000 Students Protest in London; Conservative Party HQ Raided « occupy california

50,000 Students Protest in London; Conservative Party HQ Raided

by *

LONDON, England – Around 50,000 students marched through London today protesting the tuition increases. Thousands of students have since broken off from the main march and raided Millbank Tower, where the Conservative Party is headquartered. Students broke the windows on the main floor, and hundreds filled the lobby of the building. Police beat back the students, but as of this writing, students are still in the courtyard of the building. So far, 5 police have been injured, but no estimates on student injuries have been reported yet. Protesters have thrown bottles and other items on fire at the police line.

Schools Matter: Goldman Sees Gold

Schools Matter: Goldman Sees Gold

Goldman Sees Gold

by Kenneth Libby

From Marketwatch:

PRESS RELEASE
Nov. 9, 2010, 10:28 a.m. EST
LISC, Goldman Sachs Partner on Charter School Financing Facility

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. today announced the formation of a $25 million charter school facility that will finance the development of approximately 16 charter schools over the next two years.

The Goldman Sachs Charter School Loan Facility will be capitalized by Goldman Sachs and credit-enhanced by funds awarded by the US Department of Education to LISC, which will also manage the facility and its lending program. LISC currently supports 130 charter schools

Joel Klein Left Me Behind « EdVox

Joel Klein Left Me Behind « EdVox

Joel Klein Left Me Behind

by edvoxny

By Carol Boyd

The resignation of NYC public schools Chancellor Joel Klein has given a new meaning to the phrase “Joel Klein left me behind” that was chanted by the throng of angry Bronx parents outside the Department of Education’s (DoE) District 9 headquarters on Monday, despite the gusting winds and hail. Although the Chancellor calls Tweed Courthouse home, parents descended on the District 9 office because so many of the 239,000 children who suffered drastic declines in standardized test scores are enrolled in Bronx schools. Historically, District 9 has been the 2nd lowest performing district in the city. An attempt to deliver a failing report card to Mr. Klein in effigy was thwarted by the building security staff. The document gave the Chancellor a grade of “F” for failing to ensure that schools were providing intervention services for these struggling students.

After more than 8 years as Chancellor, a promising new venture in the private sector awaits Mr. Klein in a mere 53 days. Meanwhile for the more than 5,000 NYC students currently repeating 8th grade who may not receive

Joel Klein leaves behind a big challenge for new schools chancellor Cathie Black

Joel Klein leaves behind a big challenge for new schools chancellor Cathie Black

DAILY NEWS STAFF

Wednesday, November 10th 2010, 9:04 AM

Wenig/AP

Outgoing Chancellor of New York City's public schools Joel Klein leaves behind a big challenge for his successor, Cathie Black.

RELATED NEWS

• Who is new schools chancellor Cathie Black?
• New York City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein steps down
• Nazaryan: Cathie Black's big test
• Kids are big losers in test scores game

Joel Klein took over as schools chancellor in August 2002, staking his reputation on reforming city schools.

Here's some of what Klein will be remembered for:

- Helping change the teachers contract, eliminating the right for senior teachers to transfer to the school of their choice.

- Signing a deal with the union to eliminate the so-called rubber rooms, where teachers did no work but got paid while awaiting a disciplinary hearing.

- Closing 91 failing schools and replacing them with 474 new schools, including 234 high schools and 109 charter schools.

- Holding schools accountable by focusing on data. The most high-profile were A's to F's awarded on school report cards.

- Overseeing gains on the National Assessment of Educational Progress test, the gold-

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/11/10/2010-11-10_joel_klein_leaves_behind_a_big_challenge_for_new_schools_chancellor_cathie_black.html?r=ny_local/education#ixzz14tRgnf7y

This Week In Education: AM News: Midnight Classes For High School Students, Too?

This Week In Education: AM News: Midnight Classes For High School Students, Too?

AM News: Chicago Schools In A $700M Hole

by Alexander Russo

CPS Working on New Selective Enrollment Policy Fox: On Tuesday night, parents and educators packed Lane Tech to talk about the proposed changes and CPS Director of Student Assignments Katie Ellis will join us live on the FOX Chicago News at 9 p.m. to talk about the process...Chicago Public Schools sees $700 mil. deficit next year Sun Times: During the meeting, officials revealed the state still owes CPS $164 million from last school year and has been late on an additional $206 million so far this school year.. Charter school discipline Catalyst/WBEZ: A higher percentage of students transfer out and are expelled from charter schools than from traditional schools. Yet interviews with parents and students reveal support for tough rules, and do not support the notion that charters are inordinately “pushing out” children with behavior or academic problems.. Violent crimes on rise in North Side neighborhoods despite cops' claims Medill: Violent crime is on the rise in Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown, Lincoln Square and Edgewater despite recent claims by Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis that crime is down for the 22nd consecutive month in a row... Viruses sicken 125 in Cook County schools Sun Times: Gastrointestinal illnesses apparently being spread through Cook County schools have sickened more than 125 people, public health officials said Tuesday... TAP Schools Outperform 'Synthetic' Counterparts EdWeek: While this study doesn't have quite the same level of "power" as a random-assignment study—after all, the comparison schools here don't actually exist in any brick-and-mortar sense—it is, nevertheless, a strong indicator that something going on in the TAP schools is producing positive results for the students in them.

Quotes: A Counter-Productive "Fixation" On Value-Added

by Alexander Russo

The good work we’re doing trying to make comprehensive teacher evaluations will actually be hurt by this fixation on a value-added system. -- AFT president Randi Weingarten