New English Language Development Standards - State Approval of Instructional Materials Aligned to Common Core State Standards

New English Language Development Standards - Year 2012 (CA Dept of Education):

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces Adoption

of New Standards for English Language Development

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that the State Board of Education formally adopted new English Language Development Standards aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and designed to help English learners build critical knowledge and skills.

"These new standards will help California's English learners make academic progress as they also develop their skills in English," Torlakson said. "The teachers, researchers and scholars who helped develop these new standards have done incredible work that will help every child receive a world-class education and graduate ready to contribute to the future of our state."

"The State Board's adoption of the English Language Development Standards aligned to the Common Core represents a historic moment for California's English learners," said Michael Kirst, president of the State Board of Education. "California is leading the nation in developing an instructional blueprint that melds content learning and English language learning."

The new ELD Standards are aligned with California's Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects.

The standards describe the key knowledge, skills and abilities in core areas of English language development that students learning English as a new language need to achieve in grade-level content. The standards are designed to provide rigorous content in English language development.

The new standards were developed over the last year by the California Department of Education, which reviewed the latest research, theory and best practices in the field. The Department also held focus groups, convened a panel of experts and held public hearings and stakeholder meetings to receive input on the standards.

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Announces State Approval of Instructional Materials Aligned to Common Core State Standards

SACRAMENTO—Providing a crucial bridge for schools as they shift to the new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the State Board of Education approved the first supplemental instructional materials aligned to the new standards, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today.

"Approval of these materials gives schools another new tool as they work to bring the new Common Core standards to life in California's classrooms, providing a practical way to prepare children for the challenges of a constantly changing world," Torlakson said. "These materials—and those that will follow—focus on the key knowledge and skills students need for college and a career."

"Today's action by the State Board reflects the concerted efforts of the state's policy, legislative, and administrative bodies to put instructional materials in the hands of local districts to assist them as they transition to California's Common Core State Standards," said State Board of Education President Michael Kirst. "The State Board is working diligently to respond to the needs of students, teachers, and administrators as they implement the Common Core State Standards in their schools."

Instructional materials include textbooks, software programs, online or Web-based information, and other components that provide students with academic content to support their educational growth. The approval of the supplemental instructional materials should not be confused with a state adoption of instructional materials. Instead, these approved supplemental instructional materials bridge the gap between what school districts are currently using and the CCSS that include California additions adopted in 2010 by the State Board of Education.

California is among 46 states that adopted the CCSS. This state-led initiative establishes consistent, clear education standards for English-language arts and mathematics across the nation. The standards are research-based and internationally benchmarked, meaning they were informed by the practices of high-achieving nations around the world.

Torlakson started a process in 2011 to review supplemental materials aligned to the CCSS, because developing new curriculum frameworks and instructional materials was suspended in 2009 by the State Legislature and Governor until July 1, 2015. To expand that process, Senate Bill 140 (Lowenthal) was approved to help to create a shared and cooperative effort, involving teachers, administrators, and local and state educational leaders.

Publishers submitted 42 items for review. A group of reviewers were appointed by the State Board of Education in March 2012 and trained by California Department of Education staff. Of the 42 submissions, the reviewers recommended for approval by the State Board of Education, 12 supplemental programs for English language arts and seven for mathematics.

The materials cover kindergarten through grade eight in English-language arts and kindergarten through grade seven in mathematics. Because the 1997 California standards and the CCSS for mathematics do not match at grade eight, supplements for grade eight adopted mathematics programs were not part of the review.

For more information on the approval of the materials, please visit the California Department of Education Web page,Supplemental Instructional Materials Review.

Torlakson's efforts in moving toward the CCSS are a cornerstone of his Blueprint for Great Schools initiative, which provides a vision and direction for California's education system, including a focus on 21st Century learning, meeting the needs of the whole child, and rebuilding the ranks of California's teachers with resources and respect.

# # # #

Attachments

English Language Arts Recommended Programs

Publisher	Program	Recommended Grades
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	California Excursions	K, 2, 3, 4, 5
McGraw-Hill Education	California CCSS Treasures Supplemental	K–6
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	California Medallion	K–6
SRA/McGraw-Hill	Imagine It! CCSS Supplemental	K–6
Holt McDougal	Holt McDougal Literature California Common Core	6–8
McGraw-Hill Education	California Literature CCSS Supplement	6–8
Pearson Prentice Hall	Pearson Literature California	6–8
McGraw-Hill Education	Reading Wonders	K–6
Holt McDougal	Holt McDougal Literature	6–8
Scholastic Education	English 3D	6–8
Achieve 3000	KidBiz 3000 and TeenBiz3000	2–8
Scholastic, Inc.	Scholastic CA CCSS-ELA Gap Bundle	K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7

Mathematics Recommended Programs

Publisher	Program	Recommended Grades
McGraw-Hill Education	My California Math Supplement	K–5
McGraw-Hill Education	Everyday Math CCSS Supplement	K–6
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt	California Common Core Math	K–6
Pearson Scott Foresman	envision Math	K–5
Holt McDougal	California Math Curriculum Companion	6–7
McGraw-Hill Education	Cinch Math	6–7
Pearson Prentice Hall	Prentice Hall Mathematics	6–7

# # # #

Tom Torlakson — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5206, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

NYC Educator: Act of God? Contract? Forget it, Says Walcott

NYC Educator: Act of God? Contract? Forget it, Says Walcott:

Act of God? Contract? Forget it, Says Walcott

by NYC Educator

NYC Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott will not let natural disasters deter him from his mission. Kids must sit in school as long and as much as possible. Living through a disastrous hurricane never taught anyone anything, he reasons, and kids must make up the time they'd have spent preparing for standardized tests. After all, the more time they spent in school, the more circles will be correct, and the more likely it will be that his boss, Michael Bloomberg, will have achieved his divine mission to get those circles in the right places.

And that is the only thing that matters. If the circles are wrong, they can close schools. They can exil

NYC Public School Parents: Bloomberg -- and corporate reform -- lose big in last night's elections

NYC Public School Parents: Bloomberg -- and corporate reform -- lose big in last night's elections:

Bloomberg -- and corporate reform -- lose big in last night's elections

by Leonie Haimson

There was plenty of good news in last night’s election in terms of education initiatives, despite huge spending by the SuperPacs, billionaires and astroturf groups to push pro-privatization, free market corporate reform provisions through.  Though pro-charter school initiatives  in Georgia and Washington won, while outspending the opposition by millions of dollars, the Gates-supported proposition in Washington prevailed by only a razor thin margin.  

In California, Proposition 30 was victorious, which will prevent huge budget cuts to the state’s already underfunded schools.  Also Proposition 32 lost, which would have prohibit unions from making political contributions, leaving the field clear for  billionaires, superPacs, astroturf organizations, and corporations to further wreck our economy and privatize our public schools.  

While Michael Bloomberg is apparently claiming great victories through his own recently formed SuperPAC, he actually lost big last night, especially in terms of the education policies he is promoting.  

Let us count the ways:

• Indiana State Superintendent Tony Bennett, an aggressively pro-voucher, anti-teacher education chief, and according to Diane Ravitch, “the face of

Gov. John Kitzhaber: Parents, educators need to vote to raise taxes before schools shrink class sizes, add back days | OregonLive.com

Gov. John Kitzhaber: Parents, educators need to vote to raise taxes before schools shrink class sizes, add back days | OregonLive.com:

Gov. John Kitzhaber: Parents, educators need to vote to raise taxes before schools shrink class sizes, add back days

by Betsy Hammond, The Oregonian

Gov. John Kitzhaber wants schools to deliver better results, but says he can't deliver more money until voters approve tax increases.Faith Cathcart / The Oregonian

Gov. John Kitzhaber responded testily Wednesday when he was reminded that parents, educators and students all are clamoring for smaller class sizes, a full school year, lower college tuition and other education services wiped out by eroded state funding.

The only way to afford those improvements, he said, is for the public to start clamoring for higher taxes. 

"There is nothing we can do today that is dramatically going to add school days in the upcoming biennium. We are going to be lucky if it doesn't go the other direction. ," he told his overarching education board at its meeting in Portland on Wednesday, after several members urged him to tell the public he'll increase education funding.

Mother Crusader: The New, Stark Reality Of School Board Elections In New Jersey

Mother Crusader: The New, Stark Reality Of School Board Elections In New Jersey:

The New, Stark Reality Of School Board Elections In New Jersey

by darciecima

From former Highland Park School Board President Sharon Krengel  

Dear Darcie,

You didn’t lose the school board election yesterday. Turns out you never had a prayer – but that was through no fault of your own! It was because your name came out of a hat fourth out of four candidates for three seats on our local board. The numbers clearly show that many people chose to vote 1, 2, 3 on the tiny section of the ballot devoted to the school board election, right over the red button everyone had to push to cast their votes.

Our town, like many others, agreed to the Faustian bargain proposed by the governor last year. We moved our school board vote to Election Day so that we would no longer have to submit our school budget to voters. There are sound arguments in favor of this – why do voters have a say in school budgets, when they don’t vote on municipal, county or state budgets? Why should the school district pay for  a separate, costly election with low turnout?

But there are arguments against this change, too. We saw the most distressing one play out yesterday. Voters 

Glenda Ritz Wins Superintendent Job In Indiana, Upsetting Republican Incumbent Tony Bennett

Glenda Ritz Wins Superintendent Job In Indiana, Upsetting Republican Incumbent Tony Bennett:

Glenda Ritz Wins Superintendent Job In Indiana, Upsetting Republican Incumbent Tony Bennett

by Joy Resmovits

NEW YORK -- When Indiana won the "Education Reform Idol" competition organized by the right-wing think tank Thomas B. Fordham Institute, it was policy love at first sight for Michael Petrilli, the organization's executive vice president.

Under the leadership of Superintendent for Public Instruction Tony Bennett, a former basketball coach, the state created the nation's largest school voucher program; found consultants to run failing schools in Indianapolis and Gary; revamped teacher evaluations; and created A-through-F grades for schools.

So on Tuesday night, when Petrilli learned that Bennett had lost his election in an upset against Glenda Ritz, the state's teacher of the year, he let out a stream of expletives. "Tony Bennett! Sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t sh*t," he said. 

Fox News festival of election night failure : blue cheddar

Fox News festival of election night failure : blue cheddar:

Fox News festival of election night failure

November 7, 2012

By bluecheddar

Caricature of O’Relly is by DonkeyHotey, creative commons use.

Last night while Fox News was spinning on the floor like a toddler refusing to leave WalMart, I was happily bouncing between twitter and facebook. You might have had better things to do too.

So I gathered what I could locate of the faux news troupe’s delightfully pained broadcast right here.

I’ll also leave a link here for Andrew O’Hehir’s excellent play-by-play of the evening:  ”Fox News’ dark night of the soul“.

Some of the moments are missing, but I trust that we’ll see more video of FOX failure popping up on YouTube momentarily.

Here’s the dawning of reality for the FOX pundits. Their … pauses… suggest that… it’s very.. . . .hard to take.

Here are the moments when Karl Rove refuses to accept FOX NEWS’ 

86.6% want elected school board for Chicago Parents United for Responsible Education

Parents United for Responsible Education » Blog Archive » 86.6% want elected school board for Chicago:

86.6% want elected school board for Chicago

by admin

Victory!
Here’s just one West Side ward’s results, courtesy of Valerie Leonard, who writes, “A preliminary review indicates that voters overwhelmingly want an elected school board. This is significant, as Lawndale and East and West Garfield are Ground Zero for school closings and other school actions that are disruptive to student learning and cause community de-stabilization….
“Thank everyone who helped in any way: Provided technical assistance and other resources; circulated petitions; provided an endorsement; promoted this effort; educated voters; distributed literature; knocked on doors; made phone calls; provided a forum to circulate petitions; provided a forum to talk about the issues; videotaped forums or voted!!! We will be looking at results from all races around the City and sharing them with our state legislators as we advocate for an elected school board.  A special thanks to Dwayne Truss from the Austin neighborhood, 

A call for President Obama to change course on education:

A call for President Obama to change course on education

Posted by Arthur H. Camins on November 7, 2012 at 4:04 pm

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Education Secretary Arne Duncan(left) and President Obama. (Yuri Gripas/REUTERS)

 Arthur H. Camins is director of the Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education at the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.

With the election behind us, it is time for the Obama administration to step back from its education policy and access whether its foundation is sound and supported by evidence. It is a moment to summon the courage to change course.

 We have had wars on drugs, poverty and terrorism. Now, depending on perspective, we have a war either for or on education. Certainly, many educators feel under siege. Popular slogans like, “Whatever it takes,” sound like battle cries.  This brings to mind the documentary film, “The Fog of War,” as a metaphor for education reform.

In the hopeful 1960s, the nation’s focus on poverty was undone by a president fearful of accusations of being weak on defense and soft on communism and trapped by unexamined cold war logic. Lyndon Johnson failed to heed President Eisenhower’s prescient warning to beware of the influence of the military industrial complex.  As many presidents who 

UPDATE: Rejection of “education reform” proposal in Bridgeport will have repercussions - Wait, What?

Rejection of “education reform” proposal in Bridgeport will have repercussions - Wait, What?:

You know those “just run government like a business” guys…

by jonpelto

One of the larger individual donors to Residents for a Better Bridgeport, the Political Action Committee behind Mayor Bill Finch’s anti-democracy initiative that went down to defeat in Bridgeport yesterday, is a hedge fund manager named Zachary Zeitlin, a Westport resident who is or was a partner with Silver Point Capital in Greenwich.

In the “small world department,” Zachary Zeitlin is also one of Governor Malloy’s appointees to the Connecticut Board of Regents.  Those are the individuals that didn’t realize that only they had the authority to set compensation for the employees at the 

Rejection of “education reform” proposal in Bridgeport will have repercussions

by jonpelto

The defeat of Mayor Finch’s charter revision proposal that would have done away with an elected board of education and replace it with one appointed by himself will have significant repercussions within Bridgeport and across the State of Connecticut.

While the move toward mayoral control of boards of education has been far more limited than the Finch operation claimed during the recent campaign, the national “education reformers” have made it a high priority and have had a string of successes.  Bridgeport was widely expected to be their next big win.

But the “education reformers” were wall0pped yesterday as the voters of Bridgeport rejected their mayor and the City’s incumbent democratic apparatus.

The defeat was especially relevant since this year Connecticut found itself as one of the 

Daily Kos: A Mormon impact - on the election & the future of the Republican party?

Daily Kos: A Mormon impact - on the election & the future of the Republican party?:

A Mormon impact - on the election & the future of the Republican party?

by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Let me posit something for sake of discussion -  had Mitt Romney not been a Mormon he might have won, and it is possible that therefore Evangelicals within the Republican base will argue there is no reason for them to dial back on the social issue rhetoric.
Le's take the first.  We have been told that the Evangelical participation in the electorate dropped 7%.  Remember that something over 30% of Americans consider themselves Evangelicals.  Further, some Evangelicals who voted down ballot for Republicans who matched them on issues wound up voting perhaps for one of the minor candidates.
Recognizing that Evangelicals are not evenly distributed across the country, I would like you to consider that Evangelical rejection of Romney because he was a Mormon could have cost him 4 states:   FL (29), OH (20), VA 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers:

An Open Letter to President Obama from Bill Ayers

by Mike Klonsky

Dear President Obama: Congratulations!

I’m sure this is a moment you want to savor, a time to take a deep breath, get some rest, hydrate, regain your balance, and take a long walk in the sunshine. It might be as well a good time to reflect, rethink, recharge, and perhaps reignite. I sincerely hope that it is, and I urge you to put education on your reflective agenda.

The landscape of “educational reform” is currently littered with rubble and ruin and wreckage on all sides. Sadly, your administration has contributed significantly to the mounting catastrophe. You’re not alone: The toxic materials have been assembled as a bipartisan endeavor over many years, and the efforts of the last several administrations are now organized into a coherent push mobilized and led by a merry band of billionaires including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Sam Walton, and Eli Broad.

Whether inept or clueless or malevolent—who’s to say?—these titans have worked relentlessly to take up all the available space, preaching, persuading, promoting, and, when all else fails ...READ THE ENTIRE LETTER HERE. 

One lesson from Milwaukee: efforts to suppress the vote backfired « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!

One lesson from Milwaukee: efforts to suppress the vote backfired « Larry Miller's Blog: Educate All Students!:

One lesson from Milwaukee: efforts to suppress the vote backfired

by millerlf

From Barbara Miner’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog: View from the Heartland Nov. 7, 2012

One lesson from the City of Milwaukee results: people don’t like efforts to suppress the right to vote; it only makes them more determined.

Or, to put it another way, the Republican game-plan backfired.
In the 2008 presidential election, 275,042 ballots were cast in the City of Milwaukee, for an 80.33 percent voter turnout. Obama/Biden won 77.82 percent of the vote, McCain/Palin won 21.03 percent.
In 2012, 288,459 ballots were cast in the City of Milwaukee, for an 87.24 percent turnout. Obama/Biden won 79.27 percent, Romney/Ryan won 19.72 percent.
U.S. Postage Stamp commemorating the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibited Jim Crow-era attempts to suppress the black vote

Anybody want a used Tea Party? « Fred Klonsky

Anybody want a used Tea Party? « Fred Klonsky:

Anybody want a used Tea Party?

by Fred Klonsky

538 blogger Nate Silver.
I received a comment this morning:

This is probably not the right spot for this comment, but I want to thank Fred for keeping everyone informed regarding HJRCA49. I am sure that the continuous information supplied by this blog was instrumental in defeating this self-serving change to the Illinois Constitution. Thanks to the postings in this blog, both active and retired employees will continue to have their pensions protected by the Constitution, which is a major benefit in light of the possible legislation which is due to be voted on shortly.
- Richc46

I don’t know about how instrumental I was. A lot of public employees contacted a lot of their friends. Bloggers like John Dillon, Glen Brown and Tim Furman spent a lot of time blogging on the issue of public employee pensions. So we were able to keep Mike Madigan from getting his 60% vote on the Constitutional Amendm

Nationwide education update on ballot issues re: education | Seattle Education

Nationwide education update on ballot issues re: education | Seattle Education:

Nationwide education update on ballot issues re: education

by seattleducation2011

Diane Ravitch has been churning out election results on her blog and I just received this recap from a list serv source.

Voters defeated Michigan’s 2011 emergency manager law that allowed the state to appoint managers for municipalities and school districts deemed to be in fiscal emergencies and then allowed those emergency managers summarily to throw out previously agreed-upon collective bargaining agreements and unilaterally impose policy. There is some disagreement about whether a previous 1990 statute which established emergency managers will now be in effect. This earlier law did not permit the nullification of collective bargaining.

California’s voters passed Proposition 30, an initiative backed by Governor Jerry Brown to increase personal income taxes for seven years on those earning over $250,000. The tax issue, that will raise $6 billion annually, passed by a large margin—54 percent to 46 percent. The new revenues will 

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727

THE PERIMETER PRIMATE: Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727:

Much greater than expected: 2010-2011 Gulen charter school enrollment was 44,727

In August 2010, USA Today’s Greg Toppo wrote that Gulen movement-associated charter schools“educate as many as 35,000 students — taken together they'd make up the largest charter school network in the USA — and have imported thousands of Turkish educators over the past decade.”

At long last, the actual enrollment for the 2010-2011 school year has been tallied. The total is44,727, nearly 10,000 students greater than the figure suggested by USA Today.

It is important to note that eleven new charter schools were added

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Didn't Read The Fine Print

Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee Didn't Read The Fine Print

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Election hangover

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Election hangover:

Election hangover

by Mike Klonsky

I'm feeling a little hung-over this morning but still trying to get some of my election-night notes down on the blog. First and most importantly, I lost my $5 bet by badly underestimating the number of electoral votes for Obama. As you all know, I predicted 290 and it appears that he got (with the late addition of Florida) 332. Sorry Nate Silver, I should have kept the faith.

Second, Obama owes his victory to his well-positioned field workers,  an abysmal cast of Limbaugh Party opponents, and to an amazing turnout of his ever-forgiving base, particularly African-American, Latino, women (thanks Akin, Murdock, Ryan, etc...) and youth voters, in the key battleground states. Black vote was 93% for 

UPDATE: A real miss at Ole Miss: Students protest Obama re-election with racial epithets | Get Schooled

A real miss at Ole Miss: Students protest Obama re-election with racial epithets | Get Schooled:

Ole Miss chancellor on Obama protest: “Very immature and uncivil approach” to election results

by Maureen Downey

Here is the official statement from the University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones on the reaction last night of some Ole Miss students to President Obama’s victory over Gov. Mitt Romney.

University police were notified by students shortly before midnight Tuesday that Twitter chatter was indicating students were gathering near the student union to protest the results of the election. The officers found 30-40 students gathered in front of the union, and over the next 20 minutes the gathering had grown to more than 400 students, many of whom were chanting political slogans. The crowd was ordered to disperse by university police, and after about 25 minutes students had returned to residence halls. About 100 students gathered again at one hall, and university police dispersed the group and made two arrests for disorderly conduct, including one for public intoxication and one for failure to comply with police orders.
“While we are grateful that there were no injuries and …

A real miss at Ole Miss: Students protest Obama re-election with racial epithets

from Get Schooled by Maureen Downey

"What a maroon, what an ignoranimus."

Expect a lot of unfortunate attention to Ole Miss as a result of a rabble of immature students reacting badly and crudely to President Obama’s re-election last night. They shouted racial epithets and burned Obama signs until University of Mississippi police arrived and dispersed them.
While some news accounts appear to exaggerate the late-night event as a riot, the Daily Mississippian reported it with greater temperance:

Hundreds of Ole Miss students exchanged racial epithets and violent, politicized chants in response to the announcement of the re-election of President Barack Obama.
What began as an argument around midnight quickly spread across campus.
UPD responded to a fire alarm being pulled in Brown Hall as crowds gathered near Kincannon and Stockard (dorms).

I think the best comment in response to this ugly protest appears on the school newspaper site from an Ole Miss alum named Tyler. He wrote:

Protesting what?
It’s called democracy. This sounds like a bunch of …